Happy Birthday America!

Miss Emilie is all smiles in her red,white and blue!

She is 2 months old now! 

Mommy tries to eat health  (and quickly)and Jersey blueberries were beautiful and bountiful!

 Brunch.  I really wanna make a fancy flag cake, or fruit kabobs like I've seen on other's blogs,
 but with the new baby and toddler we are just lucky to be able to  even get out shopping for fruit
and have time to fix the simplest of meals.   Maybe I'll make these:

Yummy treats I saw on facebook.

  Recently Julie made some delicious lactation cookies. These are so good, you had better make a batch of regular cookies too, so the rest of the family will keep their hands off of Mommy's cookies!    The two special ingredients that help increase milk production are brewers yeast and flaxseed meal.
  I found them at Whole Foods, but most health food stores, and many grocery stores carry them too.

Lactation Cookies

2 tbsp. flaxseed meal and 4 tbsp. water

1 cup soft butter
1 1/2 cup  brown sugar or half brown /half white

2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla 

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3-4 tbsp. brewer's yeast powder

3 cups whole oats

1 cup chocolate chips

First, measure 2 tbsp. flaxseed meal into a small dish and add 4 tbsp. water,
and let soak, about 5 minutes.

Mix butter and sugar together, add eggs and beat till nice and fluffy.

Then add flaxseed and vanilla, and mix.

 Next add combined dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and brewer's yeast..  Mix thoroughly.

Add oats, and chips and mix. 

Drop onto non-stick cookie sheets by rounded tablespoonfuls. and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Julie enjoyed a cup of Mother's Milk Tea with her treats. It has galactagogues,
herbs that help nursing  mothers breastfeed.   Fennel and anise give the tea a licorice
 taste and fennugreek, coriander and blessed thistle help with milk production too.. 

She's got a great supply stored already for when she returns to work.

      We've had a few outings with the babies, and I've gone off  to some of my jobs,
       resuming my work with regular customers and  Selective Residential Services projects.
       I love seeing all the flags flying!  Especially now, in these troubled times,
       I think it shows respect and appreciation, affirms that we are still a great nation!

   I went to work at a friend's home the other day. Her flag has a solar light to illuminate it.
   I was delighted to see her front porch, and her pretty porch rail boxes and planters.
   I love her winning combination of  yellow begonias, asparagas fern, lamium,
   sweet potato vine, and coleus.

 I help some of my clients with landscaping and weeding. I've been hearing that we shouldn't
destroy milkweed, because it's a major food source for monarch butterflies.
 So I am trying to leave some growing at my daughter's.

Here's a healthy  Milkweed specimen thriving at my friend's.
Actually it's kinda pretty, don'tcha think?

Tommy is growing like a weed too!  Today he modeled a vintage Big Bird Lovie, blanket toy for me.
To get him to pose, I had to bribe him with the promise of a Batman movie and some M&Ms, (don't judge).
 I have listed Big Bird on my Etsy, along with some other nifty things.  See!   I'm still able to do a little work, even though it seems like I am just playing with the grandbabies all the time, but could you blame me?

 Fireworks Celebration at Art Museum   Philadelphia, PA 

I hope your 4th of July is blessed!

 I think while we are celebrating all weekend, with various family cookouts, and friend's parties, 

we must remember to be thankful for being able to live in America, land of the free, 

because of all those brave ones who have sacrificed so much to keep us free.   

Love, Linda