Garden, allergies & graduation

You know, cause they go hand in hand. No?

We've had quite the busy week! On Monday, Peytonn graduated from Preschool. Their school had a little ceremony complete with caps and gowns. The kids sang some songs for the parents and then the head priest and the teachers handed out diplomas. It was really cute! I can't believe my first born will be in all day kindergarten in just a few short months!

The on Tuesday, Peytonn and I traveled to Riley Children's Hospital for more allergy testing. Peytonn's last allergy test was when he was 3 years old and he was allergic to grass, pigweed, and oak trees.

This time around, he was allergic to 9 different things. Mostly different kinds of trees and weeds. He is due to have his tonsils out in July and then weekly allergy shots will start in September.

This week, Peytonn also learned how to ride his bike without his training wheels. He is so proud of himself!!!

Our garden is coming along nicely this year, unlike last year when is was severly neglected. Which was mostly due to my laziness pregnancy. This year, all of the flower beds and the vegetable garden are in much better shape! Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to make my own tomato cages this year. They are 100 times better than the cheapo store bought ones.

So far, we've planted tomatos, broccoli, peppers (red, green, yellow), jalapenos, red onions, green onions, and cilantro. I also have 2 basil plants planted close to the house in an old, smaller flower bed. The boys are very excited because there are little baby broccoli on each plant. Peytonn also spotted 3 baby tomatoes and some peppers last night.

We've also gotten 6 qts of natural strawberries for the last two weeks in a row. With the first batch, I made some strawberry chipotle jam/sauce. Its AMAZING! I canned most of it but left some in the frig to use.

Source: cookinfood.com via Courtney on Pinterest

This week, I simply put each container in a quart size ziploc bag and froze the berries. Then I can make jam later or pull them out to use in smoothies or cooking.

But the recipe for the jam and the chipotle sauce are very good!!