Central Park and Grand Central Terminal

Today we braved the subway and went to Central Park. Before I moved, I called the MTA and asked them to mail me a list of all the subway stations that are wheelchair accessible stations since I found out that not all of them are.

Even with that list in hand we managed to get off at a station without an elevator and ended up having to lug the stroller up 3 flights of stairs. I have no idea what went wrong but thanks to the guy who helped me carry the stroller while Mimsy carried the girls.




Aaralyn was actually excited to go on a 'train' but she's just in the refusing to smile stage. At least she's looking at the camera.


Olivia is always happy to give a great smile for the camera though.


It turns out Olivai is quite the tease. She grabs Aaralyn's sweater, hair, hand or anything with in reach and yanks while laughing all the while.


Aaralyn tries to tell Olivia to leave her alone and put her arm back where it belongs.


But she doesn't listen and is right back at it. Then I hear

"Mommy, Livie is touching me!"
I say, "It's OK, she's just saying Hi"
B: "No, she is pinching me"  cue the cry, she yells, rips her arm back and then Olivia screams at the top of her lungs for Aaralyn ruining the fun.

Man I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this until they were like 7.

Luckily their seats recline far enough down that they are out of reach from each other. Aaralyn isn't the innocent one here either, I'll look down and she'll be leaning across the divider practically on Olivia laughing her head off while Livie is screaming bloody murder.

Our trip for the day was Central Park. It is beautiful of course. But the most surprising thing I learned about it is that it is entirely man-made. The only thing that was natural are the big rocks that kind of look like cooled lava. The designers created everything else and wanted to showcase many types of landscapes from forests, lakes, meadows and waterfalls.

We chose a path and just went for it.

 We ran into Balto standing watch atop a hill.

After a little wandering around and a tip from a conservancy worker we ended up at the famous Central Park Carousel.



Central Park has had a carousel since the 1870's and this one has been here since 1950. It is one of the largest carousels in the country and was made in 1908.



The carousel was fun and fast even for me. The girls had a blast seeing all the animals, going up and down and keeping an eye out for Mimsy. I was surprised that Olivia loved it as much as she did. I'm glad I decided to take her too.


We thought it would be fun to have a picnic while we were in Central Park so we decided to grab some 'organic, natural hot dogs' from a street vendor. I don't know how that works out but it was definitely good. Mimsy got a feta and spinach sausage one that she said might be the best she's ever had.

Olivia up to her old tricks
Watch Out!
Timber

Olivia sounds like this the whole time in a really high voice "hee, hee, hee, hee"
"It stopped!"
"Where'd she go?"
 Man life is fun and crazy with these 2.


I love this picture. Livie is happy and Aaralyn's expression is totally put out and saying like "Another picture? If you must." With her eyes closed in disdain.

 Around the bend we came to a water fall emptying into a big lake. I love all the surprises we were met with throughout the Park.

We decided to exit Central Park onto 5th Avenue.


It was crazy to walk down the avenue with these beautiful, towering buildings full of amazing shops and stores and think of all the other people who have done the same over the years. There were so many things that I wanted to stop and look at but it was impossible not to just get swept along with the crowd.

Mimsy took control of the stroller giving me a chance to snaps some pics. After getting our fill of the high-end shops we decided to veer off onto a quieter road and head for Grand Central Terminal. 


Grand Central is busy! Grand Central Terminal is the largest terminal in the world by number of platforms (44). Over 750,000 people pass through it daily.

Originally built in 1913 it fell into disrepair and was almost was torn down in the 60's. But it was saved from demolition by being designated as a historical landmark. Jackie Kennedy played a key role in preserving it.

It was restored and rededicated in 1998 featuring the original astronomical ceiling that was uncovered during the restoring process. There are constellations all over the 'sky'.

A fun fact is that the stars on the ceiling are the reverse of where they are found in our sky. Many people speculate that the design was flipped but the artists insisted that they made it from God's perspective when looking down at us.
Family Activities, Free Family Activities, Life with Kids,
Share:

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Today was a day I crossed something off my bucket list. Ever since i was a little girl I have dreamed of going to the Statue of Liberty. I have been to New York 3 times before this and have always been disappointed to be so close it it but not able to go. So this trip I made it a priority.

The day didn't promise good weather and it was raining once we stepped outside. Mimsy and I pushed the stroller down to Battery Park to catch a ferry. Aaralyn was so excited to go on a boat. Mimsy offered to watch the girls so I could go above and check out the view. The Financial District offered quite an imposing sight from across the river. 

Downtown Manhattan
The new Freedom Tower being built at Ground Zero just recently claimed the spot of the tallest building in Manhattan. You can see it on the left disappearing into the clouds.

I turned the other way, and there it was, the Statue of Liberty. 

Statue of Liberty
As I looked at her I thought about all the immigrants who had left everything and everyone they ever knew, traveling miles and miles for weeks on end,  in crowded, smelly ships on the hope that they could find a better life. 

                      
Then, finally, their first view of America; a speck on the horizon getting bigger and bigger is this beautiful statue holding aloft the flame of Liberty for all to see. A flame that has come to embody all the faith, dreams, and hope America offers to the world. What a first impression.

The statue representing Libertas- the Roman goddess of freedom, was a gift from France envisioned by Frederic Bartholdi. After going through their own revolution France wanted a joint project raised to American Independence so they offered to construct the Statue if America agreed to supply the pedestal. 

Apparently, many Americans protested the idea and were offended at the thought of someone offering them a gift and then requiring them to foot part of the bill. By the time the Statue was ready and shipped to America, the pedestal still wasn't built and had to wait another year before being constructed.


Aaralyn got bored and kept trying to peek out the back of the stroller so I finally opened it up so she could look around.

We hopped back on the ferry and ate lunch while we waited for our next stop. Ellis Island.

Ellis Island
 Ellis Island was opened by the federal government and operated from 1892 until 1954. Prior to this, most immigrants were processed by the states, especially New York.

The first immigrant was a 15 year old from Ireland named Annie Moore followed by an estimated 10.5 million more.

 When the immigrants would first arrive they would go through registration where they would be asked their names and how much money they had among other questions. The government wanted every immigrant to have at least $25 so that they could support themselves and buy a train ticket somewhere. Anyone who was suspected to become a 'public charge', a criminal or sick with a contagious disease was not accepted which was about 2 percent of immigrants.       

The average immigrant stayed between 2-5 hours but those who were delayed for health or record problems were kept on the second floor where there were dormitories and a cafeteria. The dormitories were full of 2-person wide and 3 level high bunk beds that could be lifted up during the day to provide living space.

Mimsy saw a 30 min film about the immigrant experience and said it was quite touching. Unfortunately for me, the girls had had enough of sitting quietly so I left the movie and walked through a great exhibit about immigrant groups from 1550 to present day that was really interesting.

I had checked with grandmas from both of our families to see if we had someone who came through Ellis Island. The Auxier's were here before the Revolutionary War and the other sides of our families came as pioneers before Ellis Island was opened. 

Although I don't have a personal connection to Ellis Island, I enjoyed the experience of walking through another's shoes and felt a new love for my country and ancestors. The blessings my family and I have to live in America because at one point someone decided they wanted something more in life for them and their family are humbling. 

Our lives are testimonies of the fact that The American Dream is alive and well!
Family Activities, Life with Kids, New York,
Share:

Food Storage: Where to Start?

I think there are a lot of people who are interested in having food storage but just feel too overwhelmed to even know where to start. I know I was when I first started thinking about it.

1 year worth of food...it just seems so daunting.

I know it can be so overwhelming to think about getting a year's worth of food storage. The task seems almost insurmountable. But I have a few ideas to make it easier to get started.

There are so many different angles you could take. You could just buy extra of what you are already eating every time you go shopping. But I think the problem with that is that there are so many things that we buy that are perishable that I wouldn't want to 1. buy more of that or 2. buy the dehydrated or freeze dried equivalent because those foods are a lot more expensive and lets face it, not essential.

I think the best place to start is to think about how much food you would need to survive.

When I say survive, I mean it. No frills or extras.

To stay alive you could live off of Wheat, Milk, Honey and Salt.

Obviously you would need water too but we already established that it isn't really reasonable for a family to store more than about 2 weeks worth in a previous post.

The nice thing about these 4 items is that they can essentially be stored forever.

Honey, sugar and salt can all be stored indefinitely and if your wheat is packaged correctly, it can be stored for 30+ years. Same with powdered milk.

These items are also used as a base for almost everything in most of our diets and contain nutrients vital to survival. I will cover each of these items in separate upcoming posts.

To get an idea of how much of these items you will need to store, check out this food storage calculator.

Note: I think that having enough of these items stored would give a beginner peace of mind knowing that their family could survive if they had to. Remember though, this is just a place to start, a jumping off point.

Variety is the spice of life. Especially for food storage.

The next thing on the list would be beans/legumes. But I will show you how to enhance your food storage after the basics are taken care of.
Basic Food Storage, Long-Term Food Storage, Where to Start with Food Storage
Share:

Family Storehouse Coupon Code

Are you thinking about giving emergency preparedness or food storage items to your loved ones for Christmas? I went to the Family Storehouse the other day to buy a 72 hour food kit.

I'd been thinking for a long time about what food to include in our 72 hour kits. Most of the advice out there is to have ready-to-eat food that requires little to no cooking. That usually translates into canned foods which are great but really weigh down the pack and take up space. 

Then I can across Family Storehouse and noticed that they sell a 72 hr kit with 33 servings including milk that weighs only 3 lbs!

I think it is a great option especially if you are evacuating because it frees up so much space and weight. I bought 2. 

All their meals come in 5 serving pouches that only require water to make. Yes, I know. Water is heavy. I don't plan on including more than drinking water in my 72 hr kits because I figure the only way we will be needing to eat this food is if we are evacuated or sheltering in place. 

There will be water at the shelter. Or we could use the water we have stored at home if we are sheltering in place and need to eat this food. (And I have extra water stored in my car trunks in case we are stranded somewhere.)

What's best about this food is that is can last up to 25 years. Now I don't have to worry about rotating so often. I'm sure I still will though. I can imagine these little pouches would be great on camping trips.

Can you tell how excited I am about this? 

I met the owner of the store while I was there. We talked about emergency preparedness and food storage of course. I told him all about my blog and he offered to give my readers a promo code for 10% off any purchase! Awesome huh? 

They carry all sorts or long-term food storage kits out of the same food pouches ranging from 5-8 servings. I can imagine what a treat it would be to have no cook meals like Chicken ala King and Beef Stroganoff some nights if we were living exclusively off our food storage. 

They also have first aid kits, emergency supplies, survival tools and water treatment equipment. I'm asking for their water filter system for Christmas...it's awesome.  

So if you are interested you can check them out at FamilyStorehouse.net and don't forget to use your 10% off by typing in provprincess at checkout. 

Merry Christmas Shopping!
72 hr kit, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Supplies Kit,
Share:

Another Reason to Grow and Preserve Your Own Food

My husband sent me a 60 Minutes piece about the Flavoring Industry and the methods they use to make our food taste good. I think it is a must see for everyone.

We all know chemicals are added to our foods. I mean what do we expect when right on the label it says 'artificial flavorings'?

But the thing I found most interesting in this clip is that the 'natural flavorings' in our food aren't necessarily from the source we think it is. For example, a flavorist mentions that they procure a 'natural strawberry' flavor from the gland of a beaver! You don't even want to know where that gland is located.

That just grosses me out.

I don't like thinking about all the junk that is added to our processed food to make it palatable. I mean there are many times I have bought something that said natural flavorings because I thought it meant it would be better for my family.

Now I realize we are all being manipulated.

Not that I blame them.. I mean lets face it. Food that is creamier, saltier and fattier usually tastes better. They want to make what sells. But for me, I want to know what is in my food and have it come from the real thing.

So not only did this clip make me feel really good about all the food that I have preserved myself, it made me more determined to grow as much as I can next year.

I'd love to hear what you all think after watching this.

Tweaking Tastes and Creating Cravings
Gardening, Preserving Your Harvest
Share:

Emergency Preparedness Planning for Infants and Children

Liquid Formula for my Baby's Disaster Supplies Kit
Disasters and emergencies can be stressful to anyone but more so when you have people besides yourself to look after, especially young children. 

When planning your disaster supplies kit, it is wise to consider what will make your life easier having children if such an event were to occur.

 My baby is exclusively breastfed. So when I was putting together our kits, I initially was going to just put all of her stuff in mine since I figured I would have her with me. I wasn't worried about food since I figured I would just feed her.

But then I remembered that under extreme stress it is very possible for your body to stop supplying milk. I can't really think of a more stressful situation then trying to deal with the aftermath of a disaster. Adding to that the possibility I wouldn't be able to feed her is more than I would want to handle.

Or, what if I was separated from my baby or something happened to me? I would want someone to be able to look after her. So I decided to make her her own kit that could be kept with her. I then saw these boxes of prepared formula for an amazing deal on amazon so I picked up a few.

I love them! I'm super frugal so I wouldn't ever use these everyday. But they are perfect for emergencies. The formula comes in 8 2oz bottles where you just have to take off the lid and pop on the nipple that comes included in the box. 

Before I bought the liquid formula, I had cans of powdered formula in her kit. They were a great option too. They were the sample cans the formula companies send you after you have a baby so I didn't have to pay for them. The only downside was that besides the formula, I had to pack water to mix it with and a bottle so it took up a lot more room in her pack. 

Some other things that you may want to include in a disaster supplies kit for your infant include:
  • Diapers and Wipes (these can be used for washing hands and bottles)
  • Baby Food and Snacks, bibs and spoons
  • Water
  • Clothes
  • Favorite Blanket (It's a good idea to buy 2 of something that your child loves just incase something happens to the 1st one)
  • Bottles with disposable liners (if you don't have prepared liquid) or dish soap and bottle brush
  • Antibacterial Wipes
  • Medication
  • Bath towel
  • Pacifier
  • Immunization Records
  • Toys
Hopefully these tips are useful in planning for you infant in case disaster strikes. Do whatever you can, something is better than nothing.
Car kit, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Supplies Car Kit,
Share:

Preserving Herbs: How to Freeze Parsley

Garden Fresh Parsley
Today I'm going to show you how to freeze herbs. 

One of my neighbors gave me a ton of parsley from their garden. I love fresh parsley but it doesn't keep that long. Maybe a week in a glass of water.

Being able to freeze herbs is a wonderful way to preserve them before they go bad but still be able to add a fresh herb taste to your meals. You just grab an ice cube and pop it in your food and all the water around it melts leaving the parsley in pieces.

Freezing parsley is so easy. This method can be applied to any herb you want to preserve like basil, oregano etc.

Directions:

First, wash your parsley.

Dry the herbs. I use a salad spinner. It pulls all the water off the leaves without bruising them.

Meanwhile, bring some water to boil.


Next, separate the leaves from the stems. 



Chop the herbs. This is how they are going to be once you add them to your recipes so make sure you chop them in pieces small enough to eat.

Grab an ice cube tray and fill it with the herbs.

Next, pour the boiling water over the herbs. The boiling water will blanch the herbs helping them to retain their best color and flavor. It also helps keep the parsley from developing a slightly bitter taste which herbs will do if they are just frozen without being blanched. 

Stick trays in the freezer and freeze. Freezing herbs in ice cubes is the best way to prevent them from getting freezer burn.

Once hard, transfer them to a freezer-safe plastic bag. Then whenever a recipe calls for fresh parsley just take one of these suckers out, throw it in and voila! Fresh parsley taste without the hassle of trying to always have fresh herbs on hand.

Tips:
  • 1 ice cube of herbs equals about 1 Tablespoon.
  • The ratio of fresh herbs to dried herbs is 3:1 
  • Freezing herbs in ice cubes is the best method but there are other ways: 
Dry Freeze

Once your parsley is washed and dried off completely, separate the leaves from the stems and spread them on a cookie sheet. Put that in the freezer.

Once they are frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag and store. When needed, take a pinch of leaves out and use as recipe directs. 
Pros: less effort and steps than above.
Cons: might develop a slightly bitter taste although I haven't ever really noticed.

The Fastest Method: 

This is the way my host mom in Germany did it and it is by far the fastest and easiest. Once your parsley is washed and completely dried off, stack a bunch (stems and all) in a paper towel and roll once until the parsley is covered but there is still paper towel left.

Grab another bunch and roll again. You can see that I did 3 bunches in this paper towel. It is just a way to separate them a little better instead of freezing in a huge chunk.


Place in a freezer-safe plastic bag and freeze. When needed, reach inside and rip off as much as you need and toss the stems in the garbage. 
Pros: Less work upfront. A great method if you need to preserve a lot of herbs at once.
Cons: May develop the slightly bitter taste although I've never noticed. You also have to put in the work to separate the leaves and stems later while you're in the middle of cooking.
Freezing Herbs, How to Freeze Parsley, preserving food,
Share:

How to Dehydrate Mushrooms

Dehydrating vegetables is such a great way to use up extra food. Dehydrated food loses 75-90 percent of its moisture making it a very effective way to store a large volume without needing too much room.  And drying mushrooms is one of the best vegetables to dehydrate because they keep their flavors so well.

You can dehydrate things using your oven. But with the cost of energy as high as it is, I don't think it's very economical to dry them like that.

On the other hand, dehydrators are very energy efficient and are an easy way to dehydrate big batches of food any time. Dried mushrooms can be used almost anywhere fresh ones are called for, except perhaps salads. But even then dried mushrooms would taste good crumbled up and sprinkled on top for a little crunch.

Mushrooms are so easy to dry. So when my local store had them on sale, I stocked up.

Directions:
To start, DO NOT wash your mushrooms. You can wipe them off gently with a paper towel, but washing them whether for dehydrating or cooking is a no no. It will make them rubbery. Once they are dehydrated and you want to use them, you can wash them then.

OK, now that we got that out of the way, let's get back to the mushrooms.

Slice your mushroom about 1/4 inch thick. I bought the pre-sliced ones because I thought it would save time but I found out that there were quite a few I needed to slice smaller anyway.


Lay your sliced mushrooms on one of the trays of your dehydrate. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat until all of your trays or full or you run out of mushrooms. Turn on your dehydrator and let mushrooms dry for about a day. Mine were done after about 14 hours. I put my trays in after dinner, rotated them before I went to sleep and dried them overnight. They were done when I woke up.

Look how much they shrink down. You can tell your mushrooms are done when they are brittle and snap easily between two fingers.
Place in an airtight container. If you have oxygen absorbers your could put one in with it. You don't have to put them in a bottle but they won't get broken this way. This quart jar holds the mushrooms from two 8 oz. containers of fresh mushrooms.

Store these in a cool, dark place for 6-12 months. You could also extend the life of your mushrooms by freezing them from this point.

To Use:
Wash, then add to recipes that will be cooked for at least 20 minutes. Otherwise, soak in liquid (hot water, broth or wine for added flavor) for an hour or 2 before using. 

Tip:
You can also eat these plain like chips. For more flavor, sprinkle with seasoned salt before drying. They have a really nice crunch and earthy flavor which your kids will love.
Canning and Preserving, dehydrating, How to Dehydrate Mushrooms,
Share:

How to Make Pumpkin Puree in a Pressure Cooker

Wondering what to do with your pumpkins now that Halloween is over? A great way to use left over pumpkins is to make pumpkin puree. 

Pumpkin is actually really good for you. It is packed full of Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Potassium, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, and minerals like Copper, Manganese, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus. 

And get this. 

One cup of pumpkin provides 245% of your daily Vitamin A allowance. 

Now that you know how good it is for you, I'll show you how to make your own pumpkin puree from scratch. 

Directions:
Gather your pumpkins. Don't try to use a pumpkin that has been carved and hanging out on your porch for weeks. 

I didn't carve any of my pumpkins, I just stacked them next to each other for a more 'harvesty' display rather than 'Halloweeny'

This is a pie pumpkin also known as sugar pumpkins. They are smaller than the carving pumpkins and have a sweeter taste. You can use a carving pumpkin, the taste will just be a little less pronounced. But pumpkin recipes always call for so many strong spices like cinnamon and nutmeg that a carving pumpkin would do just fine.

Slice it in half with a sharp knife.

Scoop out the guts and cut out the stem. I have found that using an ice-cream scoop is perfect for getting all the stringy seeds out.

Chop up the pumpkin. I cut it into about 8 chunks.

Next throw them in your pressure cooker. If you don't have a pressure cooker you can lay them on a cookie sheet and cook them in the oven for 1 1/2 hrs at 375.

This is what I love about pressure cookers. I could cook this in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or I could throw it in my pressure cooker for 4 minutes! It saves so much time and energy costs.

When the 4 minutes are up, use the quick release method to release the steam and let your pumpkin pieces cool. I moved mine to a plate to cool faster.

After your pumpkin has cooled, scrape off the flesh and toss it in a blender or food processor. One pumpkin will yield anywhere from 2-4 cups of puree.

Blend until smooth. (If you have trouble, add a little water. Just decrease the amount of liquid called for in your recipe later) You may want to do this in a couple of batches.

Doesn't that look so much better than what you buy in the can? Why would you ever buy canned pumpkin puree now that you know how easy it is to make yourself?

You can use this puree for pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins or baby food. 

I am proud to say that I have never bought a jar of baby food. I love making my own baby food and knowing my girls are getting the healthiest food possible, not loaded with a ton of preservatives, salt or sugar.

This pumpkin puree freezes so well.

For the baby food, I just pour it into an ice-cube tray and then transfer the cubes into a freezer bag once they're frozen. The cubes make the perfect serving sizes so I just grab one or two out of the bag when I need one.

I also freeze puree for me to cook with later. (You could can it yourself if you would like but I feel freezing is more convenient. One store-bought can of pumpkin puree is about 1 3/4 C. But, I freeze mine in 1 cup measurements.There are recipes like pancakes that don't call for a full can so I like them in smaller increments because I can always just double up if I need to.

 I found the cleanest way to get the right amount of puree into my bag is to put my bag into the measuring cup first then fill it with the puree. That way you're not scooping the puree then trying to get it all in the bag without making a mess. 

Label your bags and freeze for a later date.

Or if you can't wait...

Pull out your favorite pumpkin recipe and get cookin'. I made chocolate chip pumpkin bread. It has such a warm, comforting taste. Just perfect to eat during the blizzard of a snow storm we got hit with last night.
How to Make Pumpkin Puree, How to's, Pressure Cooking,
Share:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)