dinner is served.

i love to cook. my goal for each meal is try and maintain some kind of seasonal logic to the ingredients. we eat lots of root veggies in the fall and winter, but no lettuces for us during the cooler months. instead i stock up on various squashes, potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onions. there are so many different ways to prepare the simplest ingredients, like potatoes, which people dismiss as bland, fattening or a useless starchy thing. potatoes are in fact quite healthy and important to your health; like fiber they can even offer protection against colon cancer. oh, sweet potato! my favourite winter foods to make are various soups and stews. 

red cabbage, empire apple and tomato salad.

 locally grown garlic with flecks of last summers soil still on it. yum!

fresh, locally prepared ready-made pizza dough for only $1.89!

i also consider where the food was grown or produced when doing my shopping. i try to buy close to home, because i want to try and leave a smaller foot print. in the summer months we shop at local markets or try to grow our own veggies. for us organic often means it is not local, but luckily, we have a dairy that is fairly close to home and they make organic dairy products. eating lots of dairy is a huge part of the finnish kitchen and something i love and bring to our family's traditions. recently i have switched from skim products to full fat, as dairy fat is not bad for us. just google it and you'll see. 

bear has a healthy appetite. grrrr.

tofu and veggie stew.

lion devours hummus on local rye bread.

now that spring is in the air and the snow is almost gone, dear hubby and i are making big plans for our garden. last year we produced very minimally as i was VERY pregnant and it was bloody hot! this year dear hubby is especially excited as he read "square foot gardening" by mel bartholomew. we have limited sun in our backyard, which makes it ideal for playing in, but tricky to grow stuff in, so we have plans to remove a few patio stones next to the house and build a small veggie garden. i want to try and utilize vertical space as well as the horizontal land area. bear was thrilled last summer with the minimal gardening we did do, and i think this season he will be even more enthusiastic. oh, i can't wait to dig my fingers into the cool earth and dig around planting various seeds and seedlings. 


and speaking of spring, here are some pictures to wet your palette...

~puddles~

chalk art. this is a snake.

umbrella's.

feel free to share suggestions, recipes etc on the comments section.

BAM, BANG, BOOM!

bear had an appointment with an allergist on tuesday morning. it was about an hour's drive to get there and we were running about 10 minutes behind schedule. getting all four of us ready and out the door on time is a difficult task and throw in an 8am departure time...  well, things get a bit chaotic!  we managed to hit the road at a reasonable time, but then about 30 minutes from the appointment time and15 minutes from the clinic we were rear-ended! bam, bang boom!! it happened at an intersection; we were waiting to turn right and almost started to go, but couldn't as a car came over the hill and then BANG, his van hit our van. nobody was injured except our van (of course). the guys explanation was (and this is verbatim) "uh, i thought you were going", well, we weren't, dumb ass, and you were obviously WAY TOO CLOSE TO US! why are people so afraid to leave safe distances between themselves and the vehicles in front?! blows me away!!!! we are not at fault, but we have to deal with getting the car repaired and, as you know, we don't have enough stresses on our plate right now. i guess, as they say, when it rains it pours; well, it's bloody dumping on us!!!

exchanging info

assessing the situation...our tail light got busted so the guy who hit us happened to have a cordless drill in his van and screwed the light back on with a random piece of metal. that's the drill under his arm.

anyhow...

at the allergist, bear was perfectly behaved. no whining, no complaining, no tantrums, no crying, no wriggling, not even a whimper or a squirm when the actual testing was being done. bear was tested for 7 different nuts and about 14 other common allergens, like milk, eggs, dust mites and seasonal allergens and everything came back clear. wooohoooooo!!!! no bumps or itchy spots to be seen, just little pen marks from where the triggers were placed. we are so relieved. SO, SO relieved. dear hubby has various allergies and a serious one to walnuts.

and today we saw another special doctor...

bear had an appointment with an optometrist. for about a month his right has been going cross, so we thought best to get it checked-out. again, bear behaved so well and listened carefully to the doctors instructions. during one of the tests my heart skipped a little when he was supposed to match letters, he mistook a H for a T and a V for a X. i knew then that he would need glasses. after a few more tests that involved looking at a butterfly silhouette on the wall and having tiny a bright light shone in his eye, bear received a whopping two stickers from the doc! he of course was thrilled! we have to go back in a couple of weeks to get a more accurate measurement for his prescription and this will involve those awful drops that make your eyes super- duper sensitive to light. dear hubby is coming with us to that appointment. after that, then i guess we pick out some adorable little frames!

i'm not too concerned about the glasses. i've had glasses since i was about eight and have never felt hindered by them. here's a picture of me and my stylish self at age 10 while living in melbourne, australia; glasses are of exquisite taste with light blue colour on top half and pink on the bottom.

pinaattiletut

pinaattiletut 

these delicious little spinach crepes are a finnish staple and offered as part of the school lunch program. in finland children are provided with a hot, nutritious meal during the lunch hour as described here. i remember in primary school my friends and i would compete to see who could eat the most pinaattiletut; our teachers were thrilled! bear loves having these delights for dinner and i think one day he and lion will compete to see who will cram more into their bellies. pinaattiletut are traditionally served with puolukkahilloa (lingonberry jam), which luckily can be purchased at IKEA. 

and, what about that pan or lettupannu! my mom brought that heavy cast iron beast from our northern homeland and i just love it. reminds me of finland so much. this amazing pan is also great for cooking the perfect eggs for bagels!


*please let me know if you tried the recipe!

the eternal optimist

back in high school, one of my besties said she was amazed by my consistent positive outlook on things, and decided to call me the eternal optimist. i liked that description of myself and still do. but, optimism is hard to hold onto at times, even for me. over the last year and a half life has thrown some unthinkable obstacles in our way... BAM...BAM...BAM... one right after another. my optimism was truly tested. i had times of deep cynicism and days of darkness that were hard wade through, especially as a mother. there were times when there was no light at the end of the tunnel, only deep abyss and remaining hopeful was almost impossible.

it all began when, BAM, i was told i had a macro adenoma (a big tumour) growing on my pituitary gland; when i was popping prescription narcotics to help manage the migraines caused by the tumour, all the while mothering my sweet toddler bear and growing my little lion in my uterus; when, BAM,  i was told to throw away my dreams of a home waterbirth and plan for a ceaserian section, during which i would be completely under; when i was told my lion had had trouble breathing at birth and had to be intubated and then incubated as his lungs had serious problems; and then when our beloved family dog roo attacked a neighbour, again, and after crying for days we decided it was best to put him down; and finally (knock on wood) when just a few weeks ago my dear husband walked in the door and told me he had been laid off from his job. BAM!

our ferocious lion fighting at three days old.

sweet, sweet roo riggins. oh, how we miss you so.

the positive energy i carry in my self, hold in my soul and that rushes through my veins has been drained by all these events, but it has not disappeared completely. i consciously decided i can BAM back at life! life throws me a tumour? fine, but i'm not going to make lemonade with these sour lemons, but will throw them back at life as i don't want remnants of bad times around. and since i received the all clear after my november surgery, all i see is a new chapter. BAM you life! this is my chance to better my life, our life, to do all the things we talked about doing, but got scared off by the risks. and when dear hubby was laid offf, well, again all i saw and continue to see is a new chapter. BAM you life! this is an opportunity for dear hubby to find a job with new challenges and perhaps take us on a family adventure. 

wedding day february 17, 2007

although our life has been quite stressful lately, i feel tremendously lucky. i am lucky because i have beautiful, healthy children and a kind husband. i have parents and in-laws who love to help with the kids and are forever supportive. i have amazing friends who i can depend on when there are joys to be cheered or sadness to be cried out. 

i am eternally optimistic for us.

bigger than daddy.

since i am nervous about writing on this blog today, i have decided instead to include some pictures that fit with the "bigger than daddy" theme.

bear and lion~ my co-captains for grocery shopping

bear always talks about the day he will be bigger than daddy. there is also talk of the day when lion will be bigger than bear... we'll see if that day ever arrives. bets anyone? 

this is a drawing bear drew of himself.

fun in the snow.

a snow man built to stand bigger than daddy at about 8 feet tall!

bear cave.

looking for toys i presume.