A weekend of food!

It's been a long weekend here, and I've spent it in denial that I'm a student who needs to study. I've thoroughly enjoyed not thinking about school though, but I know it's going to come back and haunt me. Probably when I'm sitting in my sociology exam next Saturday and wishing that I'd been concentrating more on my lecture notes than the kitchen!

Actually, I might just get brownie points from that lecturer. We have her lecture on Friday afternoon from 4pm-6pm. It'd be an easy one to miss, and many people do. I've never skipped it though and a few times have felt a little lonely in the vast lecture theatre, with there sometimes only being 6-10 students of the 300 that should be there. I love the lecturer though, she's a midwife and often lets it slip that she is a big water birth and home birth fan. Anyway, last Friday was a guest speaker, we didn't find out until the last minute who it was or what they were talking about. Turns out it was a nutritionist who was doing a 2 hour lecture on the merits of a preservative and organic diet. We already have minimal preservatives in the house, and limit what the kids consume in the way of numbers. I've dabbled with organic, but always get shunted back to regular because of the cost. I do try to buy as much organic fruit and veg from the market, but even then I'm tempted by the cheaper alternatives.

I loved the lecture and after hearing all the scientific reasons that organically grown food is better, I vowed that I'd try even harder to buy it. I was all motivated after the lecture, and ready to spend this weeks grocery money on as much certified organically grown produce as I could. Duane was spending the weekend playing golf, so the kids and I ventured out on Sunday to the organic market in Miami. It's only a small market, but we managed to fill a few green bags with what we wanted. The kids picked out some organic and preservative free apricots to consume in the car. They weren't even phased that they were a black colour, not the preserved orange colour they normally are.

Next we headed to the organic supermarket that our lecturer had talked up. The kids have been enjoying chia seeds on their breakfasts for a few months, so I was pleased to see a big bag of that on sale. I also got some cheap Miessence deodorant and lots of yummy organic fruit and veg. Just as I was filling up a brown paper bag with Tassie sebago potatoes, I looked up and realised my lecturer was walking in the door! She recognised me and was so excited that I had obviously taken enough interest in the lecture and was buying some organic products. We chatted for a bit and she talked to the kids, commenting on how well behaved they were.

After our purchases, the kids and I headed out to the mall playground. Grace and Xav had a blast running around, whilst I sat huddled in the corner eating a piece of yoghurt covered almond slice that I had smuggled into the shopping!

Next we headed over for a turn on the merry go round, which both kids were very excited about.

Monday was also spent revolved around food. Both kids and I have spent the majority of the day in the kitchen. First we made chicken stock from a left over roast chicken, which we later turned into vegie and noodle soup for dinner. We also made soy and linseed bread to go with it, which was just delicious freshly out of the oven in time for dinner. We also made a wholemeal date loaf for the Autumn festival up at Grace's pre-school tomorrow afternoon and a big batch of Anzac biscuits to last the week. I used a new recipe for the Anzac's, one that substituted the butter for olive oil and they are just beautiful! There were so many, so I've put some away in the freezer for lunch boxes when the others run out. I nearly almost forgot we also made a batch of mini choc chip muffins, which were yummy! Little mouth fulls of chocolate goodness, with a gooey centre!

We also had a go at making paper, which surprisingly is not that hard! Grace made some pink love heart paper and Xav made some white squares, all out of rough copies of my communication essay!

I also wanted to put some photos of my gorgeous daughter. She has been hassling me for some sticker earrings, so Thursday night I took her shopping and after 3 solid hours we finally found some she was happy with. She LOVES them and is constantly feeling and checking that they are still there. She wanted me to take some photos of her with them in, and of course I obliged. She is such a little poser and most of the time loves the camera.

Over this weekend, I'm sure she's matured again. I was told that the year from 4-5 was time for huge growth - both physically and emotionally. I just never thought I'd see it happen right before my eyes.

Now, I really should get back to study. I've got another essay to start, an exam next Saturday to study for, group presentation to finish and I really need to go back over all the notes for muscles. Gosh, I though bones were tough - Nothing on muscles!