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I love going blueberry picking. We’re so lucky to have a great organic blueberry farm right up the road. A few times every summer we hop in the car and go up to spend a couple of hours picking berries, admiring the gardens, visiting the chickens, playing on the swings.

It feels so wonderful to get out of the house with the kids. Early mornings (cause Lord knows we’re up early around here these days) are my favorite time to be out. Before it gets too hot, before we are slathered with sunscreen, before most everyone else is up. That’s my favorite time to be at the blueberry farm. It’s peaceful and quiet and cool.

A couple weeks ago, Kyle and I took the kids up, and since then I’ve been back with friends. We’re having another little heat wave now so we’ll be heading up to the farm again this week to get more ripe berries!

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Beet Chips RecipePINBeet Chips RecipePIN

Last week I shared this recipe for Roasted Beet Salad, and with beets still in season, I love finding other ways to use them. Making baked beet chips is easy, fun and they are delicious. These are the perfect snack. They’re fun for kids to help with too, although if you decided to go that route I highly recommend using only golden beets! These roasted beet chip are fun to make and pretty to look at… while they last.

ROASTED BEET CHIPS
Ingredients.
2 large red beets, peeled and trimmed
2 large golden beets, peeled and trimmed
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt

Directions.
Place your oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven to allow for even heat distribution. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Slice the beets as thinly as possible with a sharp knife or mandolin. Toss the beets with a few tablespoons of olive oil and lay them in single layers on baking sheets. Sprinkle the beets with a pinch of salt.

Roast for about 25-40 minutes, removing the slices as they become crisp. The cooking time will vary depending on the size/thickness of the chips. Sliced by hand they take between 25-40 minutes. If sliced with a mandolin they’ll be finished at a more consistent time. Start checking them around 25 minutes and remove them when they’ve shrunk and crisped up! Transfer finished chips to a cooling rack and let them rest for about 10 minutes.

Beet Chips RecipePIN

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
ROASTED BEET CHIPS

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sistersPIN

I’ve been asked quite a bit to share how Gigi is adjusting to her role as Big Sister… Honestly, she’s doing great. She doesn’t show all that much interest in Lulu, actually. She doesn’t really want to hold her, she doesn’t like when Lulu’s little hands or legs unintentionally grab her or kick her. She says, “I don’t like that!” when Lulu is crying. Up until just a week ago, Gigi just kind of did her own thing. Sometimes she’ll get excited and want to play with her and say, “Baby Lulu smiled at me!” or “Silly Baby Lulu!!!” Overall she is very accepting of her new sibling. As much as I want her to be excited about and engaged with Lulu, I also appreciate that she gives Lu space, and takes her own time and space. I never push it or force it. I make it a point to ask her if she’d like to help dress her, change her diaper, hold her but I don’t make a big deal out of it. I seriously thought that Gigi would be constantly wanting to wake her little sis up, wanting to hold her all the time. At first I felt a little disappointed that G didn’t seem as excited as I expected, but I’ve really learned to appreciate it.

In the last week or so Gigi seems to be getting more and more excited. Yesterday she said, “I sure do love my baby sister!” Which was wonderful to hear, and she’s been reading to her, sharing her blankies with her, and showing a lot more interest in engaging with her which makes sense because Lu is a lot more engaged with all of us.

As for meeting Gigi’s needs, I’ve noticed that she’s turning to Daddy a lot more for comfort, but sometimes she has a “mom only” day and I do my best to give her the attention she needs. In some ways bringing the baby home has made G regress a little, she wants to play baby, she once asked to breastfeed but then started laughing hysterically when I said “okay”, she has been a little more whiny, a little more sensitive. In other ways she has really “grown up”. She is now 99% potty trained (before Lu was born we were still having constant accidents), she gets cups of water for herself, can (kind of) get dressed on her own, and is showing lots of interest in other “big girl” tasks.

I’ve also been asked a lot how I’m handling having two kids. Honestly, most of the time it feels really great, doable, rewarding… and then there are the inevitable challenging days. There are moments where both of them have needs that need to get met at the same time and they’re both crying, both tired, both needing baths, both needing cuddles and I find myself trying to prioritize and execute meeting their needs as quickly as I can. In the “mom” department I feel like I’m doing a really great job. I feel mostly organized, on top of things, and I’m definitely keeping my head above water. Getting out of the house is challenging, even going to do something fun and fulfilling can feel draining, and I don’t even want to talk about how much I dread running errands! I know those things will get easier.

I’ve found it challenging to eat enough and to get enough exercise and often find myself having a string cheese for lunch, which doesn’t help with the depleted feeling. My foot is pretty badly injured still so getting exercise, going for a walk, etc. isn’t an option. I’m trying to be patient and take care of myself too but that has, by far, been my greatest challenge in the last couple of months.

For those of you that have two (or more!), did you have similar experiences or completely different? What did you find helpful?

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Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Pistachios, and Basil RecipePIN

I don’t know about where you are, but here the beets are ready to harvest. Our own beets, red, yellow and chiogga, all got a virus and we had to toss them. But luckily we have a wonderful farmers’ market with great people who grow great veggies. We live close enough to walk to the farmers’ market every week and as often as we can we join up with our neighbors and walk together (sometimes we even sip a beer along the way). I love to use whatever is in season in my cooking and the beets at the market look beautiful right now.

This simple but unique salad recipe is the perfect side dish. It’s flavorful, easy, and light. The goat cheese brightens it up and the basil compliments the beets perfectly. The addition of the pistachios add a little something special. I love to serve it alongside grilled chicken.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE, PISTACHIOS AND BASIL

Ingredients.
1 lb golden beets, peeled and cut into bit size pieces
1 lb red beets, peeled and cut into bit size pieces
4 oz goat cheese
small handful fresh basil, torn or cut into strips
small handful pistachios, shelled and broken in half
honey
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions.
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Toss the beets in 1/4 cup of olive oil and transfer them to a baking sheet.  Roast for 40 minutes, tossing occasionally. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, drizzle the beets with a bit of honey, and allow them to cool before transferring them to a serving dish.

Top the beets with the goat cheese, basil, and pistachios.

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
ROASTED BEET SALAD

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Recently we went with my friend Steph and her two kids to visit another friend’s farm. We’re so lucky to live in a place where friends’ farms are a five minute drive away! I was thinking about it and realizing that most of our friends have amazing gardens, some of them have cows, horses, bees, pigs, sheep, chickens, goats… it’s practically a petting zoo around these parts. I can’t wait to get our own chickens but it’ll have to wait until next summer. Redoing our backyard and having a baby has been enough projects for this summer! I love spending time on these farms. There’s something pretty wonderful about people who are putting all of their time and energy into their gardens, animals, land… you can read more about this particular farm here. That back to basics mentality really appeals to me, I wish I was better about practicing it in my own home.

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Little known fact, I have always wanted a pig for a pet. Preferably a micro-piglet. Kyle, for some unreasonable reason, does not seem thrilled about the idea. Plus, as much as I wanted her to love them, Gigi was pretty scared of the pigs on the farm. I may have to settle for chickens and bees.

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