The manipulation has begun

Okay. That is such a simple word - okay. So how did my daughter figure out already how to turn that against me?

Sariah has started saying okay instead of yes. And it is totally cute. But I came to a realization with this. That somehow she says okay and then I've agreed to give her the item in question. how did that happen? She is a total talker and usually I can figure out what she is asking for. But I still usually ask her to just make sure I know what she is saying so here is a figurative example.

Sariah says "Book". I say "You want to read a book?" (Just trying to know if that is what she is asking for. Sariah says "Okay" And now somehow I've agreed to read her a book right then.

Sariah says "Bite" in the direction of my candybar. I say "Bite?" Trying to see if that is what she said. Sariah says "Okay" And now I've somehow agreed to share my candy bar with her.

Wow she's too smart!

The petting zoo

Sariah enjoying the sheep at the petting zoo inside the Kansas City Zoo.

Uh oh

Okay so I must make a little confession. Yes I like to take my bowl
and drink the milk when I'm done with my cereal. I know that isn't
proper manners. But I figure it's just in my house and it so much
faster and easier. But well umm apparently i've taught this to Sariah.
Uh oh.

Delivery!

So I've started a new thing- having my produce delivered. Yep they bring it right to my door and IT ROCKS! A friend of mine told me about doing it (I will put her thoughts at the bottom) and so we tried it out and have been using it for almost 2 months now. I wanted to wait to post about it until I could really give an opinion. Basically I've decided I love it!

So there are two companies that my friend told me about.

FreshConnect KC. http://www.freshconnectkc.com/

Door to Door Organics. http://kc.doortodoororganics.com/

The company we use is FreshConnect KC. Basically I chose them for 2 reasons they seemed a little cheaper for what I wanted and as you can read about below they try to get local produce as much as possible, which I think is cool. To fill out the bin and have variety, they do use some store bought stuff that is organic.

So am I an organic freak? Not really. I mean if I go to the store myself I don't normally go for it. I really can taste no difference. I try my best to remain uneducated so that I'm not grossed out by the processing our food goes through. So if you are into organic go you! And this might be really great for you. Basically I do it because 1) I'm lazy- hello did I mention they deliver this stuff? 2) It has really helped push me to make healthier meals. Meaning that I try really hard to make the stuff we get and therefore we have been eating more veggies especially. We always did pretty good on fruit, but now we have upped our veggie intake too! 3) And with number 2. It has made me more adventurous. While we haven't gotten anything really weird. This last time for example we got eggplant. So I'm planning to do a lasagna with it. This is something I would never try on my own. 4) It is actually not too pricey for what we do. I personally get their small combo bin every 2 weeks which means I spend $50 every month on my produce. I have to get very little at the store to supplement so I think that is pretty good!

A couple of other side notes that I like:

--You don't have to be home when they deliver- you can leave a cooler out and they will put it in that for you.

--No contract. You can try it out and then stop at any time if it isn't working for you.

--You can have it delivered as often or as little as you like.

--You can see previous bins on the website to get an idea of how much and what you get. Every week is different. For example this Saturday, I will be getting:

Small Combo Bin
1lb Potatoes
1/2lb Carrots
2 ears of corn
1 Cucumber
1 Bunch Bananas
1 Bell Peppers
1 Eggplant
1lb Tomatoes
1/2lb Green Beans
1lb Peaches
1 qrt Blackberries

YUM YUM!!

So for those of you who are interested I would definitely recommend them. I have loved the stuff we got. And so far have been able to incorporate almost everything into a meal. (You can also ask to substitute if you know you won't eat a particular thing.)

And here is a picture I took of our first delivery!

And here is the info on both companies from my friend. She has used both and so this is her opinion:

There are two companies available now!

I was talking about Door to Door Organics. http://kc.doortodoororganics.com/
They do all certified organic produce. But they don't try very hard to have local produce. Because of this, the person in KC who merged with them was frustrated and left.

Out of that frustration, a friend of mine started:
FreshConnect KC. http://www.freshconnectkc.com/
They focus on local produce, raised organically/all-natural, even though most is not certified (because it's such an expensive process for a small local farmer.) They do still provide some non-local produce, which is all certified organic, in order to offer greater variety. In addition, they are also starting to offer local meat boxes, and I think local dairy is in the works for the future.

I switched from D2D to FCKC b/c I liked the local aspect better, plus the owner of FCKC is a friend of mine. At this point, D2D does still have some advantages, but I'm hoping that FCKC may improve on them as time goes. D2D is very easy to edit your account online. You can set up the produce that you never want to have, and tell them your preferences for what you want them to substitute. Also, they tell you a week in advance what produce will be in your box.

FCKC has started to tell you a tentative list of what they plan to have in your box, but they only get it from the local farmers the day before, so it's not guaranteed. You can email them personally to tell them your preferences. You are dealing with a small family-owned thing, so it's more personable, but also probably not as easy to set up.

Payment: D2D charges your credit card the day of your delivery.
FCKC asks you to pay cash or check upon delivery, or paypal up front. If you won't be there (all deliveries on Saturday so far), you just leave your payment in the cooler waiting for them.

The FCKC owner is the husband of the gal who started Happybottumus (cloth diaper/natural mothering store in Lees Summit). They are crazy busy and just had their third baby at the same time they were starting FCKC. I don't know HOW they do it! But it's working out really well so far!

Both companies offer small, med, & large boxes, including options for fruit only, veggie only, or mixed. The quality of both has been great. They've also both been excellent about replacing anything that was unsatisfactory.

If I were to sign up my mom, I would choose D2D b/c it maybe seems more user-friendly. But for myself, I'm going with FCKC b/c I want to support local farmers and businesses.

Temple Weekend

This was a special weekend for me. I suggested this trip last week to
my parents. My dad has been off chemo for over a month now. Next week
he meets again with his oncologist so we presume he will start back up
again next week. So this was a last chance weekend for him. The drive
is very taxing on him. So I proposed going and staying a night in
Omaha and that is what we did.

Friday afternoon I took Sariah over to Rob and Jessi's because they
were going out to James' work and were going to take her with them to
him. This saved me a little time. Then I picked up my parents and my
sister Meg- who tagged along for a weekend away.

I was able to go by myself Friday night to the temple. Then Saturday,
I got up early and snuck up again. After that I went back and got
everyone else. We took Meg to the zoo and then my parents and I went
to the temple together.

It was a special and amazing time. I know that there is a good chance
this was the last time I would be able to go with my dad. I can't even
describe how special and sacred this time was for me. It was more than
worth all the sacrifices it took to get there.

My daddy and me:

Peaceful sleep

Friday, I had to wake Sariah up from her nap to take her to Rob and
Jessi's house. When I went in I found her peacefully sleeping with
hands behind her head. She didn't even wake up when I turned on the
light to get a better picture. Isn't this just the cutest?

Sassy sunglasses