Rumpus crossroad (odendron)

Lately, It's been more quiet here - for longer stretches than ever before. Admittedly, I'm not sure what I want to do with this space right now (after over 7 years). I love sharing snippets of our lives, but the girls are growing up (Grace starts middle school next year, gasp) and I feel like they are getting to an age where their stories aren't mine to tell anymore. Also, Instagram allows me to share pictures and smaller vignettes of our daily life eliminating the need for me to do that as much here. 

All of this is to say that I'm still here for now, but I'm also trying to figure out how I want to rumpus through to the next phase. In the meantime, happy spring! (Photo is our blooming rhododendron out front).

Fool me once

The girls were pretty shocked to find that their milk had turned green this morning as they poured it out. Once they realized it was April 1, they set forth to switch our sock drawers, hide backpacks and create inedible school snacks, sigh. And June just kept telling her favorite knock-knock joke. Happy April!

Curtain call

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that Grace is in the school spring musical, The Lion King Kids. We were both surprised and overjoyed that she accepted a part - especially her musical theater obsessed momma.  In true Grace-style, she was very tentative. While I did gently encourage her, I also didn't push it and ultimately let her decide on her own and in the end, she went for it. It is only open to fourth graders and it's their last year at the school so it's been a really sweet process to watch the group do this together. Grace is part of the ensemble, an animal villager - she'll puppeteer a group of birds - and she also has a small solo in one song. It is a small role, but she has to learn all of the songs and a lot of choreography. The rehearsals are intense (for us) - currently they are twice a week for two hours and soon after spring break they will start rehearsing full weeks. But she loves it. 

The younger girls and I try to get to the auditorium a little early to pick her up from rehearsals so that we can catch the last group number which they usually run through at the end. And so far, every time we're there for a number - and I hear those fourth graders singing their little hearts out to the beautiful african songs - I start to cry. Yes, I will most definitely be the blubbering parent in the audience for each and every performance - I've already warned the teachers and fellow parents - but I'll also share my kleenex because I'm betting most of them will be right along with me!

The more that you read, the more things you will know...

...the more that you learn, the more places you'll go. -Dr. Suess

The National Education Association has deemed today Read Across America Day (it's also Dr. Suess's birthday) - so I thought I'd share some of my favorite reads in the last year. These are the books I've found myself sharing and recommending to friends and family all year - a few that I loved and a few that were fun or just added more things that I know...and perhaps places I'll go:

All the Light You Cannot See (Anthony Doerr) - This was my favorite read of 2015.
Orphan Train (Christina Baker Kline)
Euphoria (Lily King)
The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah)
Between Shades of Grey (Ruta Sepetys)
The Shell Seekers (Rosamunde Pilcher)
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Anthony Marra)
Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mendel)

A Long Way Home (Saroo Brierley)

Out of My Mind (Sharon M. Draper)

A few favorites that I've read with the girls this year:
Wonder (R.J. Palacio)
Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories (R.J. Palacio)
The One and Only Ivan (Katherine Applegate)

Currently, I'm reading Loving Frank (Nancy Horan) and the girls and I are reading The Evolution of Calpernia Tate (Jacqueline Kelly). Happy reading! (And I'd love for you to share some of your recent favorites too)

A cooking club: Salad days & date nights

I mentioned last week that Brad and I are in the midst of attempting the Whole 30 food cleanse this month and today marks the half way point! We both (barely) survived Groundhog's day (because we totally celebrate that little rodent), the Superbowl, Mardi Gras and Valentine's day without alcohol, sugar, grains, dairy or legumes - but we did it! And the program is actually getting a little easier. Just a little. 

I'm keeping some notes on the experience and hope to write more about the process, but in the meantime, I'm sharing this salad recipe that I've been making at least once a week...sometimes twice...or three times?!? Since December, actually. I'm currently obsessed with dates...and pistachios...and the carrots are just a bonus. My friend Darcey made this salad for a holiday brunch last December and I couldn't stop eating it. So I asked her for the recipe and made it for every holiday meal thereafter. And then we started Whole 30 and I was so addicted to the salad that I tried it without the garbanzo beans and feta (both not allowed on Whole 30) and it's still AMAZING. It's all about the sweet dates...and the salty pistachios...and maybe the limes. Nonetheless, here is the recipe (from my friend Darcey who got it from Joy the Baker who got it from The Sprouted Kitchen):

Ingredients:
4 cups grated carrots (Joy insists on grating yourself, but I've always used pre-grated)
1 1/2 cup garbanzo beans rinsed and drained (I use a whole can)
7 medjool dates pitted and chopped (I sometimes use 7-10)
4 green onions white and green parts chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp. olive oil
zest and juice of two limes
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup shelled, roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large bowl combine the carrots, garbanzo beans, chopped dates, green onions, cilantro and chopped pistachios. In another bowl, whisk together olive oil, zest and juice of limes, cumin, nutmeg, turmeric, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the carrot mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle in the feta cheese and toss lightly. Serve immediately or cover and chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Random rumpusings

I know it's been quiet around here lately but I can assure you it hasn't been very quiet around here lately. Here are a few random highlights:

Snowmagedon x2 (plus 2 and maybe 2 more) - Today was our second snow day this week (our sixth of the year), but their isn't a TON of snow - like our last snow - and so the girls are over it. Their momma is too.

3 Rapunzels - All of the girls got haircuts on Sunday - all cute bob cuts. The older two were very apprehensive at first - afraid they might lose their powers, perhaps - but they all love their new do's and the shorter locks make our mornings much more manageable - which is pretty powerful around here.

Whole-ly smokes - Brad and I are on day 10 of the Whole 30 food cleanse and so far so good (okay, truth be told, it has been really hard, but we're rallying each other). The girls are not on the cleanse, but we have made some family-wide changes - primarily in our breakfast - that affect the whole crew (think less cereal more eggs and fruit). I've had lots of thoughts about the whole process which I may write about another time. In the meantime, wish us luck for 20 more days!

Super bowled over - We were excited to see the Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl on Sunday - but we also realized how we've aged in our super bowl watching festivities. Since we aren't drinking this month and are committed to eating very non-superbowl-ish foods, we decided to watch the game quietly at home. After we set the girls up with a movie, we realized that we don't get the television station that airs the game. No problem, we ended up live streaming it from my laptop, but the streaming was spotty and every few seconds the picture would pause which gave me a headache to watch. So I read a book while Brad endured the game and about 10 minutes in...he started snoring. ahem.

Doorjamb - On Monday afternoon, June was playing upstairs by herself (which she does from time to time) and when it was nearly time for us to pick up the older girls from school, I went to get her and the door was locked and she had fallen asleep upstairs (which she also does from time to time). We don't have a key to their door, so I tried to wake her from downstairs by banging and yelling, to no avail. I called Brad to pick up the older girls while I attempted to pick the lock and finally removed the door hinges so that I could get upstairs to find her fast asleep in her bed. We're getting a new non-locking doorknob asap.

Licecapades - I've been pitching a few essays to local websites recently including the story of our pre-Thanksgiving licecapades which you can read about here.

Hakuna matata - Grace got a part in her school musical this spring so we've been singing a lot of The Lion King these days which is my problem free philosophy.

Snow records

Last week Nashville received record amounts of snow -- and so we made a record amount of snowmen, tried to break record speeds on the sledding hills and consumed record amounts of cookies and hot chocolate.