Apricot Jam



Yesterday we found time to make some apricot jam.  It was an all day process because we could only work on it while baby M was sleeping.  The girls were big helpers pitting and cutting up the apricots.  D was so cute.  She kept telling me repeatedly which bowl the pits go in and which one the apricot pieces go in, just to make sure I put them in the right one.  And she was very proud of her new cutting skills.

 

T wasn't interested at first because she was so busy pretending M's blanket was her ball gown (I've been reading them Cinderella) that she didn't have time to help.  But after 10 minutes or so she had finished playing dress up and came to see what we were doing. 

After the girls and I pitted enough apricots, I blended them a little in the food processor and put them in a pot.  Then baby M woke up so that was the end of jam making for awhile.  About two hours later, baby M took another nap and I was able to finish the jam. 

I used a no sugar/ low sugar pectin which I have never used before.  I hope I did it right and that the jam will set.  I only used 1/2 a cup of sugar and a few squirts of honey for 6 cups of fruit, so we'll see how it turns out.  In the past I have used more sugar than fruit with liquid pectin and equal amounts of sugar to fruit for powdered pectin.  It will be so much healthier if it sets right. 

Now we are in Yorba Linda visiting Leila and Pho Pho.  The girls got to go swimming for the first time this summer.  They had fun kicking in the water and splashing on the shallow shelf area of the pool.  Tomorrow we will have more adults handy so they can go in without their life jackets and go in the deep end with us. 

Picking Apricots

My parents planted four apricot trees on their property some 30-40 years ago.  Over the years one has died and two are heading that way.  The last one though is going strong.  The girls and I have been out picking every other day or so for the past week. 

 

We have just gotten a couple handfuls off of the dying trees.  But yesterday we picked two buckets of apricots.  I plan to take them out this evening, once it has cooled a little to pick some more. 

 

D was a big help not only picking but also placing all her apricots out on a tray so they could finish ripening.

 

Then hopefully tomorrow or the next day we will be making some apricot jam.  My grandmother used to make apricot jam every year with apricots from our trees and it tasted so good.  I will have to figure out how to involve the girls in the jam making process.  Maybe they can try pitting the apricots with butter knives.

The apricots are so flavorful and delicious.

California Girls

Our family had a lovely vacation week here in California at the end of April.  My husband had the week off.  We spent it mostly with his family but were able to spend Easter with mine.  Now he is back in Little Rock unfortunately, until he is done with residency at the end of June.  The girls and I are busy trying to get settled in here in our temporary home in Morongo Valley. 

We flew in the day before Easter and the flights went very smoothly.  On both planes, we got compliments from other passengers for the twins' good behavior.  Proud momma here!  They even napped on the second flight which I was not expecting, since it was earlier than their usual nap time.  The only rough part was toward the end of the second flight, when baby M started fussing because the pressure in her ears bothered her.  Luckily it was around the time for her to eat anyway, and it didn't take to long for her to quiet down.

 

Catching bubbles on Easter with our new car in the background

 

We got our new car, a Toyota Sienna.  It is nice to all fit in one car when we go somewhere with the grandparents.  And there is enough space for my sister, mother, me and all five kiddos in car seats to take trips together.  I am looking forward to that!  It is red, which happens to be my favorite color.  It also has a few bells and whistles that, though I could have done without, make it so nice to drive.

  

Ready to Hunt!

Our family spent a lovely and warm Easter at my sister's house with all the grandparents and my sister-in-law and her fiancé too.  The kids had fun playing together, hunting for eggs and catching bubbles.  I look forward to girls getting the chance to spend more time with their cousins.

Also during that first week back, Leila and I took the girls to La Habra Children's Museum.  It is a nice little museum.  I could see it getting boring within a few visits but the girls had a lot of fun there on our trip.  They climbed around, rode a merry-go-round, looked at trains, played the piano and went on stage.  There were a few school groups there, unfortunately, but we just had to avoid the rooms they were in until their group moved onto the next so it did work out. 

 

Playing dress up in La Habra