These past few weeks have been hard. So hard that I’ve hardly opened my computer for anything other than to watch reruns of Gilmore girls or plug somewhat numbly away at work deadlines. I wish I had a recipe polished up for you today, goodness knows I have a few that have been waiting to make their debut for the past month, but today I just wanted to come say hello. I am taking things one day at a time; focusing on my amazing husband and my wonderful kiddos, feeling lots of gratitude for everything we have and taking lots of deep breaths. I know I’m not alone in these hard seasons; I send my love out to any of you who might also be walking through hard times, and I hope you have as much love and support in your lives as I do.
I’ve been spending lots of time sitting out in the backyard watching the kids play in their playhouse, pluck parsley leaves to nibble on, and make mud pies. I love watching them gather their buckets and pails of water and squat down next to the sage, rosemary, and thyme plot where Gigi has, in addition to the herbs, planted bunches of fake flowers, and make a big, giant mess. It generally begins innocently enough, with a genuine attempt at making a mud pie. But soon enough it devolves into muddy chaos which leads to lots of laughter, hosed off hands and feet, stripped off clothes, and multiple baths and loads of laundry per day.
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Since I don’t have a recipe for you, I thought Gigi might be willing to share her recipe for making the perfect mud pie. She was… “I use mud and water and put it in a bucket and let it dry. I get the water from the big hose and I get it by myself. I put it in a bucket. I carry the water over in the bucket but sometimes in the watering can but not all the time to the dirt and you dump it out, and scoop it up and put the dirt in the bucket and I mix it with a shovel or a spoon from the playhouse. I leave it in the bucket for, like, 20 hours and keep it forever.”
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Allison - Sorry things have been rough. Hopefully better times ahead! If you are looking for ideas for a blog post…..I would love to see your garden! I see bits of it here and there but would love to see all the beds and different containers and what you have planted. My garden was pretty sad this year, but hoping next year we can get a better start and spend more time on it.
kacieblogs@gmail.com - Thank you, Allison. Oooh that’s a great idea. It’s coming together for fall. It always feels like it’s “unfinished”, but I have a feeling it’s always going to be like that. I should have Kyle do a raised bed tutorial too.
Allison - Yes, I’d love to see the raised bed tutorial! We need to build some. Your garden looks great to me-but I know what you mean, it seems like there is always something that needs to be done!
MamaTito - This is so cute! I want some mud pie!
MamaTito - I’m sorry it is a tough time – seasonal transitions always get me. I hope those sweet mud pies warm the soul. I am a mama with younger ones, trying to get this whole “new food” thing to be exciting. If no new recipes come to mind, feel free to try mine with your kiddos (keep in mind, the video is a bit “young,” but the recipes really are easy, fun and delish!) Sending you love!
Here’s my little “making food exciting for toddlers” project: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDSkBFZkOMnpO6RMKC3Edjw
kacieblogs@gmail.com - Thank you so much for sending this! x