Mangos! Avocados! Jalapeños! Pickled red onion! Pistachios! 

These ingredients are magical and really sing on a plate together. 

Arugula Salad With Mango And Avocado

For the salad, you will need:

3-4 big handfuls of (washed and dried) arugula

2 ripe mangoes, cut into chunks

2 ripe avocados, cut into chunks

1/4 c pickled red onion

1/2 c salted pistachios

1/2 a fresh jalapeño, thinly sliced or diced*

*Optional

For the dressing, you will need:

juice of one lime (lemon works too)

chopped cilantro (1-2 TBSP)

a few shakes of adobo ( I use Goya)

2-3 TBSP olive oil

I put the arugula on the bottom, then add the mango and avocado. I follow the fruit with the pickled onions. Sprinkle pistachios over the top. Add the dressing and you're looking at a very tasty salad. 

Enjoy!  

 If you're ever looking for an active, outdoorsy activity for your family, consider doing a family bike ride through The Meadows in Wethersfield. You'll find the entrance to The Meadows if you make a right off the the I-91N exit for Old Wethersfield (exit 26). This bike path goes through a wooded area before opening up to beautiful farmland.  

If you follow The Meadows trail for about five miles you wind up at The Ferry Park in Rocky Hill. Ferry Park Grille is located within the Ferry Park.  The grille offers a ton of great food options, including hotdogs, hamburgers, and excellent lobster rolls. 

You can have lunch at the grille and then either take the ferry across the river to Glastonbury or turn around and ride back to Wethersfield.  All said and done, the trail is about ten miles. 

My nine-year-old did this trip riding his own bike, but younger kids may need to be pulled on a bicycle-built-for-two or in a little trailer attachment.  When our kids were young, my husband or I would use the following for towing the tots:

https://www.rei.com/product/254220/burley-bee-bike-trailer-double

It is pricy, but we used this all the time. 

I hope you'll try this little trip.  

Pro Tip: Doing this before the day gets too hot is a good idea. 

     I can say with certainty that this summer my family and I will be doing more than we did last summer. That's not saying much because last summer we did nothing at all.  While I won't be bringing my family to indoor events yet, there's a lot Connecticut has to offer in the way of outdoor activities. 

You'll fine my Summer 2021 Bucket List below:

1. Lavender Pond Farm (Killingworth, CT)

I have never been here before, but I've always wanted to visit.  Strolling through fields of lavender sounds lovely to me. They also sell lots of lavender products- I'm looking at you, Lavender Lemonade!

www.lavenderpondfarm.com

2. AquaventuresCT (Glastonbury, CT)

This is a canoe and kayak rental, located on the Connecticut River. They offer paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, and paddle boats (for four). It looks like the rentals are for 1-5 hours. 

www.aquaventuresct.com 

3. Slipaway River Tours

Slipaway offers public and private tours of the Connecticut River. Departure docks include Wethersfield Cove, Glastonbury Riverfront Park, and Rocky Hill Ferry Park. 

www.slipawayrivertours.com

4. Elizabeth Park (West Hartford, CT)

We have been here many times, but we could go here a million times more and still be excited out it. The gardens are beautiful, there is a playground in one part of the park, and there is plenty of space for a summer picnic. This park also has a summer concert series. 

www.elizabthparkct.org

5. Buttonwood Farm (Griswold, CT)

From July 21-August 1, Buttonwood Farm sells bouquets of sunflowers and 100% of the proceeds go to Make A Wish Foundation of Connecticut. They grow 14 acres of sunflowers and they are beautiful. The farm also has a cool hayride and they make their own really tasty ice cream. I have brought my oldest son here, but I'm excited to bring both kids. 

www.buttonwoodfarmicecream.com

These are just a few of the activities I'm looking forward to. 

Have a great summer!!

Every year, I grow zucchini in the garden. It's usually just one plant, but I always have a ton of zucchini.  I have had to get creative with new ways of using this abundant veggie.

I have made a lot of zucchini bread in the past, but I wanted to try a new variation.  After a trip to a wonderful local spice shop (Penzeys in West Hartford), I thought I'd try anise instead of cinnamon in the recipe. I know you either love anise or hate, but I LOVE it!

Side Note: Penzeys is a cool spice shop to bring a child.  They have a smelling sample jar for each spice in the shop. If you're talking to your kids about their senses (especially the sense of smell) it's a great place to explore that. They also have a kid corner with coloring activities.

Zucchini Muffins With Anise

1 1/2 c flour

1 TBSP ground anise, plus a pinch or two

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 c sugar

1 c shredded zucchini

1/4 c oil

1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Mix the sugar, oil, egg, and zucchini in a large bowel. Add the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into lined (or greased) muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes. Check for doneness.  Enjoy!

This goes really well with tea. If you can't get enough of that licorice flavor (and happen to be nursing), I recommend Mother's Milk Tea to go with it. 

As it is June, strawberry season is in full swing! A great activity for toddlers, strawberry picking gets everyone outside and allows children to taste the fruits of their labor. 

If you are looking for new ways to use up the extra berries, try making freezer jam.  Kids have fun mashing up the berries and it is not as time consuming or complicated as regular jam-making. I used this recipe.

Enjoy!

Has your infant outgrown newborn diapers before you were able to use them all up? Don’t throw them away!  Try these ideas instead:

1. Use them as ice packs. While recovering from my c-section, the nurses in the hospital would occasionally give me ice packs for my sore stomach. To my surprise, these packs consisted of ice shoved into an opening in a newborn diaper. As the ice melted it was absorbed into the diaper and did not leak at all. Genius! I will use this in the future for boo boos (maybe even a headache or two). 

2. Use them to water your container plants. I haven't tried this yet, but the internet is filled with videos about using diapers to water your plants.  Take a look!  I know that I will try this on our house plants when vacation time rolls around. 

3. Use them to mop the floor. I tried this today and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.  

Place a diaper on the bottom of a Swiffer-type floor mop (any mop with velcro on the bottom will do the trick).  I use this natural floor cleaner.  Simply spray your cleaner of choice on the wood floor and go to town! 

4. Use them for packing up fragile items. Diapers are soft enough for a baby's bottom, so why not use them to pack up delicate vases?    

If you have found an alternative use for extra diapers, please share in the comments!  

I have not been crazy about every class I've tried with my son, but I must say that this class is a complete winner!  Kindermusik offers a wonderful balance between creativity, movement (which is so needed during the toddler stage), and literacy.

This is a blurb from Jen's Kindermusik website:
"With more than 35 years of experience as the leader in musical learning, Kindermusik International understands music’s unique ability to impact children (and families!) in profound ways.  Across private studios, public schools, and childcare centers in over 70 countries, children, parents, and teachers enjoy participating in Kindermusik’s fun, developmentally specific, and research-based music and movement classes. Parents also appreciate how enrollment in Kindermusik includes home materials, including their favorite songs, stories, and learning activities from class, so families can 'play' Kindermusik wherever they go."

As you've probably determined from the above quote, Kindermusik is an international franchise.  I cannot speak for every Kindermusik class out there, but I can attest to the fact that this particular class, Kindermusik with Jen (in West Hartford), is wonderful! Jen has a very warm way with children.  She is understanding when your child just wants to run around the room like a maniac. She is also extremely encouraging. These are just a few of the reasons why we have continued to take this class.  

Each session of Kindermusic has a theme.  This past session, the theme was all about the outdoors. The songs for this session were great.  During each class, Jen also shows pictures of different animals or objects (according to theme) and plays the sounds that each one makes.  This really helps children make connections with the world around them on a different level. My son particularly loved the bird sounds. After seeing the pictures and hearing the bird sounds, be became kind of obsessed with birds.  We now have a few bird books and he will spot every bird along the way when we take walks.   

Each session,  you will receive a book, a CD with all of the songs sung in class (and more!), as well as an instrument. My son has a growing collection of Kindermusik books and instruments, which he loves. 

Whether it is dancing with scarves, shaking maracas, tapping drums, or playing with the giant parachute (a class favorite), your child is bound to love the movement this class offers.  

If your child loves music and movement, this is certainly a class worth looking into.  There are classes for many different age groups, so feel free to ask about the right fit for your own child. 

A free trial class in usually offered before the start of each session.  For more information, visit www.kmwithjen.kindermusik.com.  You can also contact Jen Ludgin at jenludgin@comcast.net to schedule your free preview class.