Best thing I ever ate, this week…

My Keto journey started in January of 2017. It was the hardest thing I had ever committed to doing, but I really loved how it made me feel.

Needless to say, moving to Maine put a HUGE kink in those Keto plans. We wanted to eat everything, try everything and indulge on dessert. After 6 weeks my body felt like crap!!!!

I am day 6 back on track with Keto. And again, it is the hardest thing ever. Currently I cannot tell if I have the Keto flu or simply the stomach flu!  So Yesterday I made a batch of bone broth and homemade chicken soup.

But seriously, the best thing I have eaten this week is fried cheese and pepperoni with some marinara sauce.  Now that I have an oven that I can use non stick skillets on, fried cheese it is. I literally just shredded up some cheese, threw it in the pan, added some pepperoni and let it fry!  AND NO JUDGEMENTS, the best part about it was licking the cheese grease off of the spatula!!!! THE BEST.

Watch our garden grow

We are desperately trying to get our garden finished. I keep asking myself, why is this taking so long??? This we we planned to finish. It would be beautiful outside and we would go out to garden, and within minutes, rain!!!!! It has rained all week on us.

We did manage to garden a bit, this crabgrass is crazy! Biggest part of our gardening is pulling it to clear the other space we want to be able to use.

I have discovered that something magical happens when you ask the kids to take pictures for you. Lincoln had my phone to capture Jaxx, and I just love the photos he captured! Jaxx is doing a great job pulling up the crab grass, when he isn’t busy playing with the hose and soaking himself and everything else within spraying distance.

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We plan to finish up this week. Buying more plants!!!!

We currently have 3 different types of tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, cauliflower, dragon peppers, basil and a blueberry bush. I only have a few photos but will keep posting as we watch our garden grow.

It has been a fun project plating together with the kiddos. They are super excited to be able to pick their own food. I am hoping it will make Jaxxon try more veggies….

NEVER HAVE I EVER

I toyed around with this post all night. Do I post or not?? That was really my big question.

So I decided it would be fun to play a little game. Never have I ever… Have you played?

So we recently bought an old farmhouse in Maine, and we love it. Our home was built in 1794, 224 year ago. Additions is mid 1800’s, so still a long time ago.

I would love to see your comments on things that you never ever had to go through prior to moving into a new place of your own.

Here is mine!

Never have I ever had to use a toilet plunger so often.

We have a strict no wipes down the toilet, we don’t need them in the leach field. So that isn’t the cause. But I feel that every few days after the little ones go to the bathroom, we are always having to plunge the toilets. So it made me think. Do these kids poop bigger than they did 200 years ago? Our toilets aren’t 200 years old so it has to be the plumbing system.

What have you encountered that you never thought you would have to go through? Leave me a comment!

 

Maine makes us better

 

The other day someone asked me how we were all adjusting to our move. Honestly, I would have to say that Maine makes us better. It isn’t always good, we are a family and definitely have our ups and downs. There is something about being in the middle of what feels like God’s country that forces us to bond.

The other night after dinner, we decided to stay outside and enjoy nature and each other’s company. That would never have happened in CA. We would have been on the couch in front of the TV.

The boys decided to build a fire and enjoy the outdoors.

 

 

 

After awhile Jaxx decided to sit on the porch with me and snuggle and watch the entertainment.

 

Eventually Jaxx and I just decided to stay put, and we fell asleep. Never in a million years in CA would we have fallen asleep on the back porch watching the boys and their fire. These kids love being outside, it forces us to spend time with them outside, therefore, we spend way ore time together as a family.

Maine is amazing!!!! One of our best decisions yet.

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Unwanted Dinner Guests

The hazards of living in Maine so far, chipmunks and mice. Side note, we found their hole… now to patch it up!

We decided to have dinner the other night out on the back porch. I made some steaks on the BBQ and we had a salad, trying to keep it as keto as possible. It is hard with Mike’s new found Ice Cream addiction!!!!

We are sitting around the table having a lovely family dinner and we hear them. The tin scatter of feet as the kids scream, what it is!!!! A really cute, not that I want it in my house, white and black mouse and three chipmunks. My biggest fear after the chipmunk in the house incident is that he is going to jump down onto the table. Here is one little guy half hanging outside from the hole they made in the screen, time to fix that too! No wonder we had so many flies in the porch the other day!

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So a nice relaxed family sit down dinner turned into flashlights and craziness. I think I will take these little guys over the massive raccoons and possums we had in CA that made a home in the attic.

 

Eggs anyone?

In case I haven’t told you, we LOVE Maine! We took a huge leap of faith and moved across the country, and it was the best thing we could have ever done.

Everywhere we drive we see eggs for sale on the side of the road. One day we decided to stop and check it out. So we pulled up along side this cute little egg house.

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Inside of it was a little red cooler that said 2.50 per dozen. You open it up and there are cartons of eggs and a cool whip container to leave the money.  Let me tell you, this would NEVER work in California. You couldn’t leave anything out without fear of it being stolen. Farm fresh eggs are amazing. I leave them in a basket on my counter. Did you know fresh eggs don’t need to be refrigerated???? We ended up meeting this great couple that sells these eggs at the pond. My eggs still have bedding on them and are all different sizes.

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And just in case you were wondering……
MEET THE CHICKENS!!!!

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I made Mike breakfast the other day and he asked me what was wrong with his eggs. I ran out of farm fresh and used store bought. Whoops… Funny how he could immediately tell. I don’t eat eggs so I am not much help there! Happy Hatching!

I miss the trash truck!

I never thought I would say that I missed the trash trucks. The taking of the cans to the street and the noise of the trash trucks in the morning always seemed like a nuisance to me. That nuisance now seems like a dream I wish I had again.

Instead, we get the pleasure of loading up our cars with trash!

Saturday is usually our “going to the dump” day. This weeks trip was especially stinky. I almost didn’t think I would be able to keep my insides in while we drove to the dump, all windows down, so glad it wasn’t raining. What the heck are we gonna do when it is snowing?

This was possibly one of the biggest culture shocks for me. Taking my trash to the dump. Let me tell you, it definitely changes the way you think about trash.  My biggest thought currently is what to do with the lobster soup in the fridge that I decided I just didn’t quite like.  I think it may have to stay in the fridge until the very last minute. Then we dump it into some strong trash bags and double bag it before we take it. Always a fear with liquid. I couldn’t imagine how horrible that would be if lobster soup spilled in the car!