Joy in the Journey

I have been wanting to write this blog post for awhile now, but didn't know exactly how to approach it. You see, what I want to talk about today is my journey to a healthier lifestyle.
Some people might call what I have been doing "diet and weightloss" or "work out plan", but for me it is more than that. This is a lifestyle change, a mindset change, and a determination not to be the person I was.
I have struggled with my weight since I was a teenager. I was put on prednizzone for my asthma and was on it for years. No matter what I ate, how much I ate, or how much I exercised I continued to put on weight because of the medication. So I kinda got in the mindset, it didn't matter how I treated my body.
After I was off the meds for awhile I found that I could loose weight by controlling what I ate. However, I did not do it in correct ways. I would binge and eat whatever I wanted to for one meal a day, and ignore the other meals, relying on caffeinated beverages to keep my energy up and do the things I needed to do. I am ashamed to say that this kept up alot longer than my "young and dumb" years.
After I had my daughter I lost alot of weight and liked the way I looked.

I was lighter than I ever had been, but I was skipping breakfast, eating a slice of turkey for lunch and then dinner. So of course the weight fell off, but the minute I "messed up" the weight came right back on.
I played with working out on and off, but nothing seemed to "stick". I would work out for awhile, and then I started making excuses not to work out. I always have wanted to be toned, but just lacked the determination.
A big change happened the day I turned 34, a friend of mine, for my birthday invited me to work out at her gym with her. I started going semi-regularly,and knew I needed to change. Not only for myself, but to show my children a good example, I wanted to teach them that you need to take time and take care of yourself.
I continued going to the gym until last July when I found out about a "crossfit type" group that met on the military post we are stationed on. I found out I liked picking up heavy things! I had never really worked out with weights before, relying on cardio only to keep my weight down. The group was extremely encouraging and I just kept going, and I found out that I like to work out! was shocked! Me, enjoying working out......I never thought that would happen.
Over the winter I got out of the habit a bit. The weather was bad and my husband had surgery and that kept me house bound. And then Maria Kang shocked the the online world with her "What's Your Excuse" picture. Where others took offense at it, I took inspiration. A friend of mine started a "No Excuse" workout group and I joined. Its an awesome community of women who workout together, support each other, celebrate any and every victory and push you to be the best you can be.
This year, 2014 things have just kinda clicked for me. It really hit me this week as we are in the middle of moving, but I am still making time for my workouts. Before I would have used this week as an excuse to "take it easy", but I have found that taking the time to work out has provided me with more energy and much needed breaks from the moving drama! I have loved the changes in my family as well. My kids are focusing on being active. We have gone on hikes and are planning more active things to do. My son, my little professor wants to be an "American Ninja Warrior". He has also made me promise to try out for it in two years time.....that will be interesting!

This is a picture of me recently. I am the same size as I was in the picture before, but weigh more! It just goes to show, the scale is not the important thing! It has taken me a long time to realize that!
This really has been a journey, and I know the journey is far from over. I know I will have days where I slip up, but I am able to get back up a lot quicker than a used to. I want to encourage other moms to take time for their health. It isn't being selfish, it isn't wrong, it is setting a wonderful example for our kids. It is taking good stewardship of the bodies God has given us.

Slowing It Down!!!

Did you know that what makes us "cry" when we cut onions is actually the onion's defense against predators? Before the cells of the onion are broken or cut it is actually sweet.
I learned this fact reading "Cooked" by Michael Pollen. I am only about 30 percent through the book, but it is amazing! I love history, and he really goes into the history of food. Fun fact....the English looked down on the French for using sauces and such in their cooking. The reason? England was much more prosperous and had good grass for grazing year round. They had high quality meat that all you needed to do was throw it on the fire and it tasted good. The less "well to do" French didn't have that and had to make the most of the tough meat they had by using vegetables and liquids to increase the flavor. And now French cooking is something to be sought after! How fun is that!! He also explains that science behind food, such as the onion explaining that not only to the onions make the meat taste good, they also helped protect the people from the bacteria that grows on meat.
He also talks about the patience that is takes to cook, and how in our world today, cooking should be the thing that slows us down and brings us together. It was that thought that was in my head as I prepared ziti for dinner tonight.
Usually when I make ziti, I just take some tomato sauce, add some spices and such and put it with the pasta and ricotta. Today I slowed it down a bit. I took the time to make a "proper" sauce. I took the time to roast the garlic before I added it to the ricotta. Now I am a stay at home mom, so I was able to do this during my kids quiet time and now it is just waiting for me to pop it in the oven for dinner. I love make ahead recipes!!

Slow It Down Baked Ziti

1 box ziti noodles cooked according to the package
1 onion diced small
2 carrots diced small
1/2 cup mushrooms
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 cups red wine
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 head garlic roasted
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups uncooked baby spinach
salt to taste
Mozzarella cheese for sprinkling

Roast your garlic by cutting a head in half, sprinkling it with salt and olive oil. Place uncovered in an over at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the garlic is brown and juicy, set aside to cool. Once it is cool squeeze out of the skin and chop it up really small.

Drizzle olive oil in a saucepan. When the pan is hot add the onions, cook for about 5 minutes on med/low heat. Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the red wine, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and pepper flakes, bring to a boil and then down to a simmer. You are going to want to slow cook it will it reduced by about a 1/3 or about 40 minutes.

While the sauce is reducing, add your lemon zell, nutmeg, salt, roasted garlic and baby spinach to the ricotta and fold together.

Once the sauce is reduced, let cool for about 15/20 minutes. Mix the noodles into the sauce and then fold in the ricotts. Place into a 13x9 and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

When you are ready to bake it, bake it covered for 30 min at 350 degrees and then take the cover off and continue cooking for another 15 to brown the cheese.

Enjoy!

A Little Taste of Warmer Times

This week started out with 9" of snow!! Not exactly springtime weather. I love winter, but am very, very ready for springtime! I am craving anything that reminds me of warmer weather.
About two years ago I had a salad at a restaurant that included mango and goat cheese. I feel in love with the flavor and have expanded on it and it is now one of my favorite lunches. One of the best parts was the creamy poppyseed dressing. This year I am trying to simplify the foods that I am eating and when I read the back of the dressing bottle I decided that there had to be a recipe with less "stuff" in it. I found one online, but other than using the quanitities of things, I changed some of ingredients to be healthier!

Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup 2% milk
2 TBSP honey
4 tsp Apple Cider vinegar
2 tsp poppyseeds

(the original recipe called for mayo and sugar)
Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl, chill and serve with your favorite salad!

My salad includes spinach, arugula, radicchio, mango, strawberry, goat cheese and sliced almonds.

Confession Time

Little did I know that when I chose the word "consistency" to be my word for 2014 it would mean that I would be consistently shown areas in my life that I needed to change!! I should have picked an easier word like, "sleep" or "serenity".

Last week my dear husband had back surgery, which went very well, but requires a quite lengthy recovery period, 30 days to be exact. This is 30 days of him not being able to pick up anyting over 5 lbs, 30 days of him not being able to do anything but basically walking. I have been dreading this time. I have been complaining about this time, I have beein acting like a 2 year old in my brain about this time.

Until yesterday. Yesterday was a bad day, he was grumpy and in pain, the kids were wild and feeling the effects of two stressed out parents and I in a less than stellar mood. I started counting the hours till bedtime at about 8am. NOT GOOD. Last night after the kids were in bed I realized that in a way I enjoy playing the martyr.

In an odd way I like having something to complain about. I like taking all the burden on myself and showing how much I can do. On top of the regular things sometimes I add added burdens, things that I don't have to add, but that I think "look" good to others. I hope I am not the only mother out there who struggles with this. As moms we have alot to do, whether we are stay at home moms, or work outside the home, whether we have one child, or mulitiple little ones there is always something else to do. And we never get all the help we would like, even if we married our Prince Charming, he never steps in and helps as much as we would like. It comes down to the attitude we have as we go through our never ending "to do" list, and I have to admit that lately mine has not been steller.

I forget that I am not doing what I do each day for the approval of my friends on Facebook, no one on Pinterest is keeping track of how many crafts I do with my kids, or how many imaginative lunches I pack them. Better Homes and Gardens isn't lurking outside my house waiting for a chance to photograph my artfully arranged knick knacks. I do what I do each day for my kids, for my husband, for my Heavenly Father who blessed me with my family. Keeping my priorites straight in that way keeps the martyr complex away.

I love the first verse from Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Do Everything"




Your picking up toys on the living room floor for the fifteenth time today
Matching up socks
Sweeping up lost cheerios that got away

You put a baby on your hip
Color on your lips and head out the door

While I may not know you,
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?

Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long

As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you,
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Its All About The Love!

Don't you love it when everything you read, from all different sources all has to do with the same thing? Do you ever feel a bit "ganged up" on?

If you read my previous post, you know that this year I wanted to focus on being more consitant in my habits. One of my habits is getting up at 5:15am to have my quiet time before the rest of the household gets up. The days go much better if I can get myself prepared mentally and spiritually before the rest of the household wakes up!

I am reading through Beth Moore's book, "The Beloved Disciple", following the apostle John. So much about John's life, and the epistle's he wrote after Christ's return to heaven were about love, love it happy, love is mushy feelings, what could be convicting about love....right????

Well, here is the thing, being loved is mushy and gushy and wonderful, but sometimes being the one who is loving isn't easy. We are called to love as Christ loved, and guess what, He loved EVERYONE, even the people that weren't the easiest to love.

That is how my morning started out, and as I was reading and processing that and thinking over my list of people that I really need to work on loving, and if we are honest we all have that "list" of people, you know the ones, the ones where we kinda cringe when we know we have to interact with them. The ones that are hard for us to love. Then I get hit with another aspect of love, not judging.

OUCH. I log onto facebook and see an article. The article was all about how as mothers we need to stop judging other mothers over their parenting style (if you are on facebook, check out the original post on my page or on Mom and Pop Culture's page. I know as a mother most of the time I am just guessing when it comes to parenting, now they are usually educated guesses, but guesses still the same. However, if someone dares to "question" me, my immediate reaction is defensive. Or if someone has a "weird" approach to parenting I immediately get a holier than thou attitude. The article points out that we are all in this together. It isn't a contest, no one should be keeping score.


If I am judging I am not loving. If I am being defensive, I am not keeping myself open to receive love. Now I have another aspect in my life that I need to work on being consistent on!

Who knew love could be such a tough subject?

Happy 2014

2013 kind of sped by for me. Historians will say that it happened and that there were individul events, but it just kinda all mushed together for me.

So onto 2014!

Two of my friends posted the same article of facebook that challenged the reader that instead of coming up with a list of New Years Resolutions, to come up with a word that they would like to have dominate their year. After much thinking, I decided that I want my word to be CONSISTENCY. (for my fellow "Modern Family" friends picture me clapping and saying "yay" every time I type the word)

I love to start things. I start things well. However, the follow through is a little rough. I have quite the list of excuses, everything from, "it wasn't the right system for me", to "the organizer wasn't pretty enough to make me want to use it". Now that my kids are older consistency (yay) is getting to be very important. Not only do I want to show a good example to them, I also want them to know that I am someone they can depend on, in both the promises I make to them and the disciplinary aspect of parenting.

I am taking the month of January to "overload" myself on information so I can weed through things and start establishing routines. I read Gretchen Rubin's "Happier at Home", and have been challened to go through my home room by room this month and get rid of things and make my home more peaceful. She suggests in her book making a lists of tasks that you really don't want to do and work on them 15 minutes a day. I really like that idea and am working on my list. I tend to jump into the "yucky" tasks and get tired out a quarter of the way through and get left with a bigger mess than when a started. Plus, doing it this way will help me practice consistency!

One of the things that she mentioned in her book that I am really looking forward to doing is creating "shrines". Now if you are like me, I orginally cringed at the word "shrine" because to me that invoked an idea of creating a place of worship, but that wasn't her meaning at all. Her idea is to group your possessions to highlight their meaning for you. For example..... I have a set of three shelves above our "coffee bar" right next to our dining room table. It is the perfect place to display knick-knacks. I have had the shelves there for over a year and they have been a revolving door of things. My dear hubby and I have different tastes when it comes to things displayed so the shelves have also been a source of shall we say, some lively "discussions".

Yesterday I decided that the shelves were a good place to start. They are in a very central place in our living area, so I decided to make them a "shrine" to our family.

The middle shelve houses special family heirlooms that came from my grandparents houses.

I think it is important that our children grow up with a strong sense of family. I want them to understand where they came from. It was a fun project yesterday, I can't wait to finish it when I get pictures developed and put up there!

So if you had to pick a word for 2014 what would it be?

On My Soapbox

I do my best to keep this blog lighthearted. I try not to "preach" or toss out opinions that could bring up conflict or start drama. However, something recently has come up and I feel strongly about it, so please bear with me, and after I get this out of my system I will get back to crafting and cooking and general happiness of all sorts!
I am sure you all have seen the controversial picture posted by a mom, Maria Kang entitled "What is Your Excuse?" I have seen the picture and been to her website and have read alot of rebuttles slamming her picture and saying that it is horrible and making "fat people feel bad". Alot of people are saying that she is making fun of heavier people.
After visiting her website I don't see that side of her at all. She has been on a journey just like the rest of us. She has struggled with her weight, eating disorders and other personal issues, and has conquered them. I believe she is sharing the picture as inspriation.
This year is the first year that I have consistently worked out for longer than a month or two. I have been doing Crossfit for 3 months now. I am doing things that if you had told the 16 year old me I would be doing, there is no way I would have believed you since I am asthmatic, dealing with thyroid problems, bad joints and an all around clumsiness! I am seeing results, I have muscle definition that I have never had in my life.
Why am I doing it? The biggest reason if for my health. I want to be around for my kids and my grandkids and be able to keep up with them. For those of you who know my little Roo, you understand what a challenge that is. I am also doing it as an example for my kids. We have a problem of obesity in this country. I want my family to be part of the solution to that! I want my kids to grow up thinking the excersise is just part of your day and never have to develop the habit.
Getting back to Maria Kang, I personally, don't believe she is saying that you have to look like her, I think she is saying, what is your excuse for not being physically fit? We all are not going to look like her. Her job is to work out, mine is not, mine is to run around and take care of my house and children.
As a Christian I believe my body is God's temple. To be a good steward of that temple I need to keep it in good shape by what I choose to do with my body and what I put into it.
I shall now step down from the soapbox and go craft something!

Friday Morning Musings......

Once upon a time, in a lifetime far, far away I was a "Monica". For those of you who had other pursuits in the 90's and early 2000's then following the antics of 6 friends in New York city I will explain.
The tv show FRIENDS was a perfect show to lure in the "Save by the Bell" generation. It satisfied the longing we had to have a "posse" that "Saved by the Bell: the College Years" didn't do. Everyone who watched a show had a character that they could identify with. Mine was Monica.
Monica was the super organized, cleaning guru of the group (some might say she was a control freak and a bit germaphobic,but I am not one of those people). When I lived on my own my books, cds and dvd's were organized by genre and then by author/artist in alphabetical order. My apartment was pristine, everything had a place, and if it didn't fit one of the categories is was hidden in a deep dark closet.
In case there are some of you reading this that think I "became" Monica to emulate the character on the show let me explain that I was like this since a child. My mother had to hide the shapie markers so that I wouldn't outline the toys on the shelf so that my sisters would know exactly where things went, and don't even get my started on how I kept my dollhouse!
But there is a bigger point of this blog post then reminicing about one of the best shows of all time. I would really, really like it if they made a follow up episode showing how Monica dealt with raising twins. I want to see how she managed to keep her house clean, because I don't have twins, but I have had to "relax" my standards.
When I had my Little Professor I tried my best to keep up the "Monica" style of housekeeping. During every nap I would painstakingly organize his board books alphabetically. I wiped down his toys every night to clean them. I mopped the floors everyday, and nothing was out of place. Then my little Roo came along, and all assemblance of order went out the window, and got shoved in deep dark places only the brave are willing to enter.
All of this hit me today as I was getting ready for the day and realized I was standing on my pjs, yes, on not in. Instead of placing them where they go, the proper laundry basket, I took them off and left them on the floor! Oh, the horror!!!! The 1999 me would be agast with terror! What have I become?
Oh yeah, I became a mother. Instead of having to clean up after one person, I have three other people to clean up after, and take care of, and entertain and drive around.
In my mind I long to be the perfectly organized mother. My home filled with pretty things that help stimulate my children's intellectual growth, a chart documenting what should happen everytime of the day. My children would always be dressed like the kids in the GYMBOREE ads. My house would inspire others and pictures of my organizational skills would dominate PINTEREST. And while I am living in a dream world, woodland creatures would frolic in my backyard, but they wouldn't be talking because that would be creepy.
I wonder if Monica's home would fall into disrepair. I wonder if she would she would still organize her towels into categories or just be happy that there were clean towels in a laundry basket. I would like to think that motherhood mellowed her out, that she would figure out as I have that taking time to sit down and play LEGOS is more important than making sure the LEGOS were organized in perfect boxes. That having a tea party with mismatched tea sets is more precious than making sure the tea sets match.

(this picture would make the 1999 me cringe in disgust, the 2013 me is going to leave it a bit messy and go play house with my little Roo)

Did You Miss Me?

I haven't posted in a very long time. Life has just been super busy! But now it is fall, the time of year that I love, and now that it is cooler bakiong and crafting are on my agenda!!

Yesterday I made my first "fall recipe", Butternut Squash Soup. It is one of my favorite soups, and I have played around with different ways of making it, and I think I finally got it just right! So here is the recipe!

Welcome Back Fall Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 Large Butternut squash cut in 1/4s
Olive Oil
salt for sprinkling
1 appled cut in 1/4s
2 shallots with the skin peeled off
1 can chicken broth
1 cup of white wine (or apple juice)
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)
1 cup of milk

Place the squash, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, apple and shallots in a roasting pan. Pour one cup of water into the pan. Roast at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until squash is tender (keep an eye on the apples, take them out early if they need to be taken out).
When it is cool enough to touch, scoop out the squash and the apples from their skins. Add the squash, apples and shallots into a large saucepan. Pour in chicken broth and wine (or apple juice)simmer for 30 min.
After the 30 minutes are up add 1 tsp ancho chili powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes, let simmer for 30 min more.
Then blend the ingredients together with an immersion blender or in a blender in batches.
* at this point the soup is great to freeze if you are making this ahead of time*
About 30 minutes before you are going to enjoy the soup, add with milk and shredded parmesan cheese. Heat over low heat until it is heated through. Garnish with more cheese.

A quick side note, I would not try making this recipe in the crockpot. I have tried in previous years, and was disapointed in the texture.

This year I added Martha Stewarts Bacon Jam. However, I did tweak it a bit to make it "paleo friendly" for a few of my friends! If you google it you will find the original recipe, but I will share what I did.

Bacon Jam

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced small
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (reserve for another use); add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar, maple syrup, and coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and stir to combine.
Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers, up to 4 weeks.

Making this soup and the jam made my house smell so homey and "fally" yesterday!! What a great way to start the season!

The Good, The Bad and The Party!

There comes a point in every mother's life that you realize, no matter how bad you want to be June Cleaver, you will never be. While I would love to wear pearls while vacuuming they don't really go with pj pants and an oversized shirt. I would love to keep my house as spotless and pristine as she managed to, but really, I don't have stagehands that help out behind the scenes!
So with my new reality check in the front of my mind I would like to share the journey that was my daughters 3 year old birthday party.
It was Christmastime when we first started discussing my little Roo's birthday party. I had already been "planning" a fairy garden party, because isn't that what most girls would want? I must have forgotten who my daughter is, because when asked, she wanted a "Pink Superhero Party".
I was proud...my daughter is an individual, this would be no run of the mill birthday party! A pink superhero party! I could handle this with my eyes closed....everything would go smoothly! I would preside over the party with a calm smile on my face, not breaking a sweat! It would be magical!
I went on Pinterest and got inspired. I loved so many of the decorations, but I am not gifted in graphic design at all, so I called a friend and we brainstormed and she would take care of all of my design needs. I checked that off my list with a smug grin, easy...right? It is all about delegation!
I decided that instead of goody bags, the kids would love handmade superhero capes. I went to the store to by the fabric, pink and turquoise for the girls, red and blue for the boys. Fabric bought, my list for the party was going along swimmingly.
Then low and behold I realized that it was only a week till the party. WHAT? Where had the time gone? Panic mode starting setting in! I decided that I would knock out the capes that morning.
I had made the capes a million times in my head. I knew exactly what I would do. I would be done in 2 hours tops!
This is how the time went....
9:30am-9:45am - cut the fabric for all of the girls capes.
9:45am - 9:50am - sewed the first cape
9:51am - realized that I had sewed the cape in such a way that I could not turn it right side out
9:52am - 10:00am - took out the stitches while listening to my loving husband tell me how I should have done it to save me the frustration of taking out the stitches
10:01am - considered either a) divorcing my loving husband b)throwing my sewing machine at him
10:02am - realized that neither were a viable option.
10:03am - starting sewing the cape for the second time
10:08am - realized I had yet again messed up
10:09am - now thinking murderous thoughts about my sewing machine....it should know what to do right?
10:10am - got some more "suggestions" from loving hubby.....again considered a divorce lawyer
10:15 - started sewing cape for the third time
10:25 - finished cape number 1
10:30 - 10:45 finished cape number 2 and decided that I had PLENTY of time to finish the other 8 capes, after all I had 6 days....easy

Monday was Presidents Day and I decided that after my tramatic day before I needed to take a day off. So I read books on my Kindle, did any mothering that needed to be done, and played Fruit Ninga. After all I had 5 days!
Tuesday I kept thinking it was Monday, and had no stress, still had 5 days...it wasn't until the afternoon that I realized I had only 4 days! I was so stressed that I had to take a hot bath and drink a glass of wine to calm my nerves.
Wednesday I got organized and made lists of things I needed to get done....remember I still had 8 capes to sew!
Thursday I went to visit my friend who just moved. I brought the capes with me because she is an awesome seamstress and offered to "help" me sew them. She ended up doing all the sewing, because she is so much better at it than I am, and I cleaned the tops of her cabinets.
Friday, the day before the party, full blown panic mode set in! I made my list, checked it twice, loaded up on coffee and went to work.
First on my list....cupackes.
I will admit I used a box mix. I love baking from scratch, but have decided kids don't really appreciate the time and effort, they just want to get sugared up. I found some cool blue sparkles to put into the mix. I put them in the oven, with a smile on my face!

The smile kinda faltered when I took them out of the oven and realized that the blue sprinkles just made them look moldy! Oh well, they were going to get covered with hot pink frosting, no one would see the "mold" spots!
Next I decided that the next thing that should be done was to clean my house. I mean, that makes perfect sense, right? I was having a children's birthday party after all. I am sure the kids will play house inspector and care how the house looks.
I realized the folly of my thinking, but by that time I was too involved to give it up.

You can't really give up when your house looks like this!
I took some breaks in the cleaning to make my city scape. My plan, along with the capes was that each kid would get their picture taken in a "photobooth" that I would set up. I learned the hard way that spray paint doesn't work on cardboard. So I had to move to plan B, and cover the boxes with white paper, while convincing the birthday girl that the boxes weren't presents for her to open.
By then it was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and I decided that I should really empty the dishwasher and clean up the house so that when my loving husband walks in the place wouldn't be a complete disaster! As I emptied the dishwasher I went to put away a wine glass, but decided that a glass of wine was in order.

By the evening I was exhausted. I knew I still had to blow up balloons for the photos, but decided that could wait till the day of the party!
My cute little "alarm clock" woke me up at 530am. I got my MEGA cup of coffee and went to work. I barreled through the tasks, even having to run to Walmart for a few things that I had forgotten.
By the time guests started arriving I had found my cool and calm attitude. June Cleaver has nothing on me!! Now I get to start planning a Greek Mythology party for my little professor in June.....I have plenty of time!

Quick and Easy and Portable....Oh My!!!

While looking around Pinterest I came across a pin for a "White Bean and Artichoke Spread". It looked very yummy, so I bought some white beans and artichoke hearts awhile back, but finally decided to make it today.
I changed the recipe quite a bit to cover for what I had in the house and leaving out the fat. It came out more of a hummus consistency, rather than the spread the original recipe claimed, but it is alot healthier and flavor packed!

White Bean and Arichoke "Hummus"

2 cans white beans
1 can artichoke heart
1/4 cup bread and butter pickles
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp capers
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt to taste

Add all ingredients to your food processor. Blend and enjoy!

My little kitchen helper!!

I am back...did you miss me?

The last part of 2012 went by with a blur. My photography business kept me very busy, and then family time took up the rest.
So now that things have slowed down, as much as life slows down when you are a mom, I hope to have some time to blog a bit more.
While I am not a big New Years Resolution person, I do like to take the new year and use it as a new start for things that got kinda left behind the craziness of the holiday season.
One of the things that got kind of shoved to the side was taking time to just "play" with my kids. During the holiday most of our playing has an "agenda", whether it is crafting holiday gifts or playing "baker" all the playing had a reason. Today I decided to do something that I have wanted to do for awhile, especially since after Christmas we are all "armed" with NERF guns.
Alot of times our games are geared more for my little Roo because she is the youngest. Today I decided to bring out a game specifically for my little Professor.

This is the letter that greeted him when he got home from school today.

And he had plenty of ammo......

These are the dastardly villians who let themselves in while he was in school!!

He had a great time finding them and wiping them out. He and his sister are having a grand time hiding the villians for each other leaving me a few precious moments to write this blog post!

The Simple Life

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

Lately this verse has been going around and around in my head! This time of the year is really so very busy. Things tend to get "lost in the shuffle", attitudes get a little testy, patience wears thin and the whining and the crying increases. My tendancy is to want to do everything and do everything perfectly.

This verse has reminded me that I put too many expectations on myself. God doesn't expect perfection, He knows His children too well. God doesn't expect my "supermom" cape to always be spot and wrinkle free. God doesn't expect my house to be spotless, my children clean and always in matching outfits, and 5 course dinners on the table every night.

In reading this verse I am reminded of the Pharisees in the New Testement. They added so many expections onto God's instructions. They wanted their inward "godliness" to be "on show" to the outside world. They wanted a checklist that they could check off to prove they were godly.

I am participating in a Bible study of Beth Moore's study of Daniel. This past week we have been in Daniel chapter 3, talking about the golden image good 'ol Neb had built, leanding up to the story of the firey furnace. Beth Moore spoke about how we need to be careful in our lives not to "build images" of ourselves. That we need to be genuine.

Yes, I will admit, I would love for the world to think that I am the modern day June Cleaver....but try as I might, that is never going to be the genuine me. The genuine me has "hidey holes of clutter" in my house. (For those of you who watch the show FRIENDS, my garage is Monica's closet) The genuine me likes to ignore the areas of the house that I don't always see. I long for a clutter and completely organized house, but I think that is just going to have to wait until my mansion in heaven!

What God requires is a just life. God is more concerned over how I treat people. To me that is saying that I need to treat all people justly, whether I know them or not. So the driver that cuts me off needs to be given the same benefit of doubt that a close friend of mine would be given. Sitting here drinking my coffee in my rarely quiet house it is easy to type those words, but it is really hard to put them in practice!

I think living justly also applies to how I treat myself. Do I treat myself fairly? No I really don't, I am tougher on myself than anyone else. It is a daily battle, that I hope someday I can win!

God also requires us to love mercy. In our own lives of course we love mercy! Mercy is what spares us from a life without God! Mercy rescued us....Mercy is awesome!! Then someone comes along and "wrongs" us....how we LOVE to bring out the fire and brimstone! How we love to make that person grovel and rain down judgement! We forget that every breath we take is because of God's mercy.

Walking humbly with God. To me this is saying to live our lives in such a way that it is God who gets the glory. God delights in giving His children gifts and talents, but it is our job to use them in such a way that it is God's image that is shown not our own "golden images".

I love this verse for its simplicity. It is a concise outline of God's expectations. I hope to live out this verse in this hectic holiday season. I pray that God would show me my "Pharisee clutter" and that I will become more genuine, more refined and just a tad saner!

A time....

As the seasons are changing I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3.
"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."

This summer, for me, was a time to tear down. There was alot of upheaval in our lives, alot of fear, alot of things that really shook me to my core. I didn't handle the stress in the best way, I kind of fell apart. But as the seasons are changing outside, the seasons of my heart of changing on the inside. It is a time to heal, a time to laugh and a time to mend.

This morning I embraced my new attitude and the changing of the seasons doing some things that I love to do. Fall is my favorite season, the smells, the colors, the weather and the food.

I looked out my window and saw a rainy fall day. So I lit some candles and got to work!
I went into my kitchen and pulled out my favorite fall spices:

With some help from my little Roo we made some yummy pumpkin scones.

Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg
For the Powdered Sugar Glaze:
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
For the Spiced Glaze:
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with fit the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half-and-half and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a 1-inch thick rectangle about 4 inches by 12 inches. Use a large knife to slice the dough making three equal portions. Cut each of the portions in an X pattern (four pieces) so you end up with 12 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.
While the scones are cooling, make the powdered sugar glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. When scones are cool, use a pastry brush to spread plain glaze over the top of each scone. Allow to firm.
While the powdered sugar glaze is firming, combine all of the ingredients for the spiced glaze. Drizzle over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (about an hour).

Recipe Note: you can freeze unbaked scones and enjoy hot from the oven scones any day of the week. Just freeze on a baking sheet until firm, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and place in a ziploc freezer bag. When ready to bake just pop into the oven straight from the freezer, no need to thaw. Just add a few more minutes to the baking time.


I found it on Pinterest on a great blog called Sweet Pea's Kitchen. We taste tested them and they were met with rave reviews!

The rest of the day holds some crafts, some sewing and a wonderful soup for dinner!

A Peachy Keen Dinner

Peaches are hands down, my favorite fruit. I love peach season and can never get enough! I had some local peaches that I needed to use yesterday, so I came up with a wonderful french toast cassarole which we gobbled down for dinner!

Ingredients 3 cups cubed bread (I used cinnamon raisin bread) 6 eggs 2 cups milk 2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon 4 peaches chopped sugar for sprinkling Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl, add your bread and stir till the bread is fully coated. Put in a 13x9 pan sprayed with a non stick cooking spray, sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake at 350 for about 30 min, or until the eggs are set. When it comes out sprinkle with powdered sugar. I topped ours with whipped cream, but it is just as yummy with syrup

USA!!! USA!!!

Today is the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics! I didn't do much to celebrate the last Olympics (Winter 2010) because I was giving birth to my little Roo. We did watch quite a bit in the hospital, so much in fact that my hubby and I actually figured out the rules for "Curling". The kids and I spent the morning doing some Olympic crafts! They all turned out quite well, from our Olympic Ring paper chain, so some torches it really got the kids excited to celebrate!

Not only did I want to celebrate the feeling of the Olympics I wanted to do some crafts to celebrate our American pride!

It was a fun and educational morning as we talked about the different aspects of the games and such! Now we can't wait to start cheering!!!!

Instant Superhero....Just Add Boy!!

June was a pretty rough month for my Little Professor. He is feeling much better now, and back to his superhero antics. Every superhero needs a hide out so with a little help from Pae we turned his wreck of a room to a hideout fit for any superhero!

It was such a mess to begin with! Between packing/unpacking and being sick all pretences of keeping his room clean were given up! We went to Walmart to stock up on things that were needed, some storage and new bedding was on the menu.

We found these cute little cups in the party section. They were less than a dollar a piece and perfect for holding pens, pencils and whatever small treasures my little guy come across.

I bought some plain colored storage bins and added a superhero touch! I saw the idea for these online, and really love how they turned out! Between the cups and the bins his desk area is nice and neat! I printed out some superhero pictures from the internet and framed them in dollar store frames.

We now have a room fit for a superhero!

In order to keep it nice and tidy I am going to try something I saw online. Right before bed I am going to go into his room. If anything is out of place or on the floor it goes into a box. In order to redeem the item he has to do an extra chore. Hopefully this works!

Something Old to Something New

Today was a day of projects! I worked on my Little Professors room, I will share more about that when I am completely done, it will take a few days! I also took a toy organizer that a friend gave me a few years ago and turned it into something new.

It is in great shape, but didn't really go well in my Roo's bedroom. She is in a Tinkerbell phase, and when her godmother gave me an old Tinkerbell calendar I knew what I wanted to do.

This morning I took it apart and armed myself with purple and green spraypaint that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for 30 percent off yesterday. After multiple coats I got it covered....when have some purple grass in our backyard now, but oh well. After it dried I put it together getting to use my hubby's power drill...so very much fun!!! Then using mod podge I added the Tinkerbells to the side. I also mod podged some pretty scrapbook paper to the front of the bins to "girl-ify" it a bit. I really loved how it turned out, it is perfect for my little Roo's room!!!

Power of Prayer

I have sat down to write this post a few times today. I am struggling how to put my thoughts and feelings into words. This past weekend was very, very scary for our family. My son had some complications from his surgery that put him in the PICU. I saw my son in a way that I never want to see again. Today I am really struggling to get that image out of my head. I am trying to banish the fear and the complete terror that I experienced on Friday. So as of this moment I am putting on my armor (Eph 6). I am choosing an attitude of thanksgiving because God performed a miracle. It is very easy to slip in to the "what ifs". "What if" I didn't check on my son when I did. "What if" he didn't come to so quickly. The "what ifs" didn't happen. What did happen was the God stepped in. He gave me the instinct that I needed, He sent the paramedics in a timely fashion, He guided the doctors and nurses hands, He chose to spare my son. God's people stood around my family and prayed for us when we couldn't pray for ourselves. There are really no words to express my gratitude to those who prayed for us. To God be all the glory that my son is home, and on the road to recovery!

Birthday....part 2!!

Yesterday was my Little Professor's kid birthday party. The theme was LEGOs. We had to change some plans at the last minute because of weather. It was supposed to be a pool party, but it was rainy and cool, not exactly outside weather, so we moved the party inside. While it was a bit chaotic everyone seemed to have a good time! Each family got to take home a LEGO goody bag. Inside were snacks and a LEGO necklace. My dear friend used her awesome cake decorating skills to make him a LEGO cake! She is so talented! We had lots of kid friendly food, like this awesome "corn dog muffins". They couldn't be easier to make....just cut up hotdogs and bake them in your favorite corn muffin. So easy, and so kid friendly!!! As for presents....my little guy was excited to get a remote control car, LEGOS and some birthday money. Yesterday evening he and I made a trip to the LEGO store so he could spend his money. He was so excited, declaring it the best birthday EVER! My favorite quote of the day was when we were checking out at the LEGO store. He told the cashier, "This is the life.....money to spend and LEGOS in my hand!"