Summer Daze: Day 3

Grilling everything for dinner

Summer Daze: Day 2

Enjoying the wildlife around you.

Summer Daze: Day 1

Fried MD tomatoes from the Farmers Market

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Seeing the Ukuleles at the Earth Day celebration on Monday had me thinking back to my wedding day.

I was SUPPOSED to come down the aisle to Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole. However... our DJ's were how can a say..... a big piece of shit not very good. They played the wrong Hawaiian song as I stepped up to walk down with a dad on each arm. What's the big deal you say?? Well... every bride about to get married has a vision of themselves walking down to their hubby and the music playing. So almost every day a month leading up to my wedding I was listening to the song and imagining what was to come. Its such a beautiful song.

So with it being a beautifully sung song and the emotions of not having played right in the moment when it was supposed to... I tear up every time I hear that specific rendition of the song. I'm actually a freakin mess if it comes on and I'm not expecting it. Like at the end of Fred Claus or 50 First Dates. Enjoy. I had a hard time getting fully load before playing. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Side Note: Just watched this allllll the way through and just realized they are spreading his ashes at the end. Kinda morbid... but...... yeah... its my fav song.

Earth Day!

Uhhhh... Happy Earth Day... a day late....

Earth day was pretty busy for us so I'm just now blogging about it. Connor really didn't have a concept of what Earth was up until a few weeks ago. I picked up a book from the library about Earth day.



Connor: "What's Earth"
Me: "Its where we live. We live on earth"
Connor: "No, we live in Pasadena."

Damn kid... you're smarter than I thought.

So yesterday when we woke up I told him it was Earth Day and after daycare and dinner we would go to the library for some Earth Day celebrations.

On the way to daycare we talked about what was on earth. Clouds, trees, people, animals, water, and Lightening McQueen (I'm sure you can guess who thought that one up).

We ventured over to the Riviera Beach Library Branch and had a great show put on the by Ukulele Ensemble from George Fox Middle School. Connor couldn't read the words to the music provided but he swayed to the music with me and mumbled through the chorus parts of the songs. In between songs the library read stories. Of course Connor's favorite book, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss was read.

At the end of it all they had little pots of dirt and you could pick out which seeds you wanted to plant. Due to the reading of The Lorax, Connor thought we were planting Truffula Trees..... I kept telling him it was squash.

When we got home from work/daycare today he ran over to his pot of dirt to look for a seedling, looked at me and said, "There's a Lorax in here, I just know it."

Hope everyone takes the time this week to get back in gear with respecting the planet and what keeps us alive and well from day to day. Take care of Mother Earth and she'll take care of you! Because........"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing going to get better. It will not."

Waffle Maker Fun

Before leaving on my AZ trip I was doing research on (aka googling) processed food and weaning them out of our diet as Connor was having major stomach issues. Then I was reading articles on food dyes and how they are banned in some countries and yet the good old U.S.A. allows them.

That got me thinking about food stuff I've never really paid attention too. I looked at the waffles that Connor eats almost every morning for breakfast with fruit. BOOM... red dye and blue dye. I looked at french toast sticks I had bought him for a while and BOOM.... yellow dye. I kept looking and and looking at everything in the freezer aisle. Package after package had food dye and other random stuff in it. Now... I grew up on Eggos and Toaster Strudels and turned out just fine. I also grew up on Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops... yep... that's me... just fine. Well mostly... I do have funky stomach issues to deal with off and on.

The only waffles I could find that were "all natural" were the waffles that stated natural/gluten free. That's great... but there's only 6 in a box and cost just as much if not more than the other brand of waffles I had been buying.

So.... I go out to AZ with all this turning around and around in my head. When Connor was a baby and starting on solids I made all his baby food. Jarred food did not come into our house. Why? Well it grossed me out and if I could just take the time in making it why spend money on jarred food? I also made batches of pancakes and french toast to freeze and grab for his breakfast. At some point... Connor got hooked on waffles and it was easier for me to just buy them then make up batches of the other stuff.

I talked these thoughts out with my mom during my trip and before I left she actually gave me money for half of a really nice waffle maker. As soon as I got home I ordered it and it was in our house in no time. So here I had this awesome, shiny, brand spanking new waffle maker... what do I do with it??? I've never made waffles before!!!!!

I tracked down a quick recipe online (god I love the internet) and swapped flour for gluten-free flour, added flax meal, used coconut milk rather then regular milk and then tossed some strawberries in the food processor and added them to the mix. WOWWOWOWOWOWOWOW were they good.

So as the next couple of weeks went by I got to thinking.... French toast on a waffle maker? Why not? Grilled cheese on a waffle maker? Why not? And yes everyone reading... you can make french toast waffles and grilled cheese waffles!!!

I just whipped up my standard french toast egg mixture, dipped the bread and tossed it on the waffle maker. YUM! Connor tore those up. For the grilled cheese I just made the them like I would for the griddle but put them on the waffle maker instead. Connor tore those up too.

What didn't Connor like? He isn't a fan of the waffles! I've tried all sorts of different things since my first batch but I think he's partial to the red dots from old strawberry waffles and told my aunt at one point he wanted her to take the brown off of his waffles... I guess he's used to the yellow coloring? UGH. At least its a start.

Conquering the Ice

Kev and I had the great experience of watching our little man grow up a little this weekend. I'm pretty sure it was our first time just letting him go and watching him figure it out.

This weekend Connor started ice skating lessons. Being a the big hockey fan that Kev is..... we decided to put Connor in some ice skating classes to see how he did and that way it could open up to playing hockey if he wants too later.

Kev helped Connor with getting his skates on. The first thing Connor asked for was his hockey stick. It was comical watching him trying to walk around with the skates on his feet. The class started and as soon as Connor got out on the ice he froze stiff with his walker. He wouldn't move. The teacher was trying to get all the kids to march their feet and push the walker. Connor would not and did not want to. You could see he was uncomfortable and wasn't sure of what was going on.

He fell.

The teacher helped him up and tried getting him to move some but he was insistent on standing still.

He fell again. Tears.

The teacher helped him off the ice to us. I gave him a little pep talk about how brave he was for getting out there on the ice and wiped away his tears. He went back to his walker. Then slowly with the help of his teacher she got his little legs marching. As she moved on to working another kid, we watched him slowly and then faster and faster moving his walker around the ice. The teacher turned around and was surprised to see how far he had gone. By the end of the class he was falling without fear and pulling himself back up without any help.

At the end of the class he was on the other side of the rink and the teacher held his hands and had him skate back to get off the ice. He was so excited with himself he wanted to go back out.

Connor has always had a sense of hesitation when it comes to doing something that could be dangerous or hurt him. He's never been one to climb on counter tops or jump off of stuff really high. He's just content at what he's got going on. Going out on the ice and slipping and sliding all over the place as a huge step for him. Watching him out there and afterward Kev and I were so happy for him. I can't put it into an exact word to describe what my heart filled up with emotion wise. It was different than anything thing I've felt before. It was a combination of pride, love, excitement, happiness and awe. It was just filled to the brim of awesomeness for him watching him conquer the ice.

The Greatest Show on Earth

The circus came in town and at the last minute Kev and I decided to take Connor. I'm NOT a HUGE circus fan but felt I couldn't deny my son the experience just because I'm not a fan.... well maybe... not gonna lie... I thought about it.

Connor loved it. At one point when the lights went low and the music got quiet he yelled, "The circus is awesome!" Sometimes I thought he was more interested in the light up spinning toy we bought him but his favorite was the motorcycles in the big round cage. At that point he had moved to my lap due to sleepiness setting in but as soon as those motorcycles hit the ring... boy oh boy did he light up.

All in all it was a good trip. With Connor being 3 years old there were some tears and tantrums but all minor. I think next year he'll understand more of what to expect so the nervous tantrums won't even show. But this year, he was enthralled with the whole experience.

For the last week Connor has now been asking us over and over about what was our favorite parts and then we have to ask him his favorite parts. He's also been telling me that I sat in seat one, he sat in seat two and daddy sat in seat three. He remembers the Moon Bounce down in the ring I wouldn't let him in (it was crazy crowded with kids and my wallet was up with Kevin). He remembers the clowns, the elephants and MOTORCYCLES. We might have started him on something.....

 

New Routine

Saturday morning I woke up at an ungodly hour to get my parents to the airport. This was a good thing though. It got me out of bed, dressed and out the door with no other option to drive myself to the farmer's market once I was done at the airport. Usually, on Saturdays I don't sleep in anyway because its my morning to get up with Connor. BUT even then its hard to get rolling on a new routine with a toddler under your feet... its soooooooooo much easier to just stay in your pj's after spending the week packing us up and running out the door each morning.

So here I was pulling into the Anne Arundel County Farmer's Market at 7am. Apparently, I was ahead of the game. Everyone was still setting up and I'm pretty sure I missed out on venders that hadn't shown up by the time I left. This really wasn't a bad thing per say. I really didn't know what to expect and now I know that I don't really have to show up until 8am if I want to get there early and knock out the trip at the beginning of the day.

So here I was... wandering around, not really knowing what to expect. I had cash on me (I NEVER carry cash on me) and my little tote bag to put veggies in. I got me some greens and green onions from one place, cheese made from raw milk at another place, fresh eggs (never had them before... why not try it out) from another, radishes from someone else (embarrassingly had to ask them to make sure it was a radish like I thought), and summer squash from another farmer. I was surprised about the summer squash but he said they have been taking off in his green house.

Not that I expected anything different, but everyone was super nice and thankful. What a great way to start off your weekend morning! Really though, I spend all week trekking back and forth from home to work with toddler in toe. We get stuck in traffic, or the toddler is cranky, or I'm cranky, or we're all just so busy that I feel some days would be better spent if they sped by fast to get them over with. Slowing down and appreciating those providing to you in your community and having them appreciate you helps calm that irritation building up as you're stuck in traffic later in the week.

I got home and looked in our fridge. It was a mess. I mean a total hot mess. Tupperware growing experiments with our left overs, questionable veggies and fruit in the bins, spills that didn't get cleaned up right away and you just couldn't tell what all we had. No wonder everything seems to get thrown out! No wonder I don't want to pack my lunch in the morning! No wonder I have zero desire to cook when I get home from work! Long story short... I made that fridge my B-I-T-C-H and its is clean and organized.

The whole experience and starting this new routine has me excited for this coming up Saturday as I see our produce get eaten up (and not thrown out!). Of course I supplemented at the grocery store with other veggies we needed/wanted that I didn't get at the market but its still Spring and we're only just now getting warm weather. I can't wait till our options grow and grow!

New Mode of Thinking

For the last year I've become more and more disappointed in the quality of the produce at one of our local grocery stores. I used to specifically go there for groceries as they always had a wide selection of produce and it was always a good quality. I didn't care it might cost a few cents or a dollar more than the store right next to our house because I new I was getting good produce.

However, in the last year I've been finding molded berries (all kinds), end of life almost rotten onions, sad looking squash and just the other day a molded orange. I used to point out to customer service when I found bad produce thinking it would help... but it hasn't... and I've stopped.

This winter I started thinking about checking out the Farmer's Markets in the area so I knew I was getting fresh produce not "going to rot the next day" produce. Of course, ideas like this tend to sit with me a for a while until I do them. For one thing, it was winter when I started this thought process and secondly.... I'd have to get my ass up and out the door to the market rather than to the store right around the corner when I felt like it. I'm lazy like that when it comes to grocery shopping.

Last month I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I had it saved on my "to read" list from when I wanted to read 30 biographies, autobiographies or memoirs before turning 30 (that NEVER happened). I kept putting it off because who wants to read about growing food??? Well, at least that's what I thought.

As soon as I started reading the book I thought, "OMG why didn't I read this sooner!?!" She spoke about the amount of money/oil/time that it takes to get produce shipped from places where its in season on one side of our country (or out of country) to the other side where its not in season or can't be grown period. She touched on how local farmers work hard to provide produce to communities when grocery stores are shipping it in from far away. She touched on many other topics such as dairy products, free range animals and getting to know your farmers in your area and what they provide to the community.

In her story, her family lived a year on only locally grown food. The food came from their garden or the local farms around them. While that sounded super for them, for me.... if I want an avocado or banana... then gosh darn-it I'm gonna have it! I also don't see myself out in my back yard digging up dirt to plant a garden. I don't like getting dirty, sweaty or have the attention span (at this point) to keep up with a garden.... I can barely keep my blog alive. But I guess I never thought of the fact that my produce was being shipped from California/Mexico to Maryland. Um.... no wonder its on its last leg before it gets to my house! I've never spent so much time looking at where my food is coming from since reading this book.

The book did reinforce my desire to get to the farmers market when they opened this spring. I'll buy it from the market before I buy it from the store if it is in season and I can get it local. I started looking up our county's farmer's market and TA DA it opened up in just two weeks. I was excited. Really.... like really excited. Nerdy maybe? Who knows. What I did know was I'd be looking forward to freshness in the fridge.

And Then... It Was Gone

So I started running again in AZ. Then when I came home I was no longer stress eating so I started eating better. I felt great. I could feel my pants fitting better. I had energy. Little did I know my fingers were getting thinner too.

Then it happened.... some time between walking from my office to picking up Connor from daycare and putting him in the car.... my wedding rings fell off. BOTH! My engagement ring and my wedding ring are sodded together. We've looked all over this week. I had myself a good cry and let myself be sad and grumpy over it too.

I know its just a ring.... but its MY ring. My perfect rings. When Kev and I got engaged we were in our early 20's. We didn't make a lot of money and so my ring was modest, perfect and not a huge flashy rock on my finger. I loved my rings and what they represented to us as a couple. Sigh.

We're doing a through cleaning of my car this weekend. Beyond that... they're gone.

Spring Break

So how did I recover from all the stress of winter? I ran away. Well not really. The vacation was already planned before our crazy winter started. BUT.... I don't think I ever looked forward to getting away and just being gone before. I got on that airplane with zero mom guilt for leaving my kid. I was ready to fly away. Far away.

I flew to the one place where I would be taken care of and lifted up by a person who loves me dearly..... I flew to AZ and saw my momma (will Bill too!). If there is one person that can bring me back down to earth its my mom (Kev too but he needed to watch Connor so I could run away).

I spent five wonderful days in warm Arizona. I slept a lot, I read a lot, and I laughed a lot. We made bracelets, got facials, dyed scarves, went for walks, started running again, cooked wonderful food, ate wonderful food out and about, and went to the zoo. Not once did I have to worry about a diaper, a runny nose or what was for dinner. Kev was home handling all that so I could clear my mind.

The last two days of my trip I skyped so I could see Connor and he could get a mommy fix. I came home missing my boys and feeling back to myself. I'm a better mommy, wife, employee, friend and me for "running away". A big thanks to my Mom and Bill for taking me in and spoiling me rotten.

Goodbye Winter

I cannot tell you how happy I am to say goodbye to winter. I know most of us are but man oh man did the Sachs house have a rough long winter. This winter left me down, out of the count, burnt out, stressed out and with all sorts of not being able to sleep. What was the cause? Cold weather? Lots of snow? Change of weather depression??? No. A stomach bug. A ridiculous stomach that would not leave our little boy alone!

From the last week of January to the first week of March, Connor was having digestive issues at least once a week. There is nothing more awful than guessing if your kid is actually better and waiting for shit (or throw up for that matter) to hit the fan. Toward the end I was loosing my mind. I was missing a lot of work and falling behind, not sleeping because every time Connor sighed, whined or rolled over in his sleep I'd jolt awake thinking he was going to be sick. This was new territory for our family. As the 4 to 6 day mark of being sick free crept closer and closer I worried more and more waiting for the impending doom. It sucked. Bad.


Thankfully I can say that with the Spring that is slowly starting to show its face and bring us hope the stomach issues have left my son (***KNOCK ON WOOD***).


So here we are. I haven't blogged in over a month. I really lost sight of myself as we dealt with what was being thrown at us this winter. I'm back, rested, and have found the part of myself that isn't just mommy.

Keep Calm and Eat Dinner

Helping me cook dinner

Oh man.... I have a confession. Dinner routine in the Sachs house has totally gone off course. What used to be a special treat of movie night and eating in the living room watching TV has become the norm. What's worse? I started cooking Connor his separate dinners as he was starting to refuse what I was making him. I took the easy way around things because by the time the end of the day rolls around I just want to keep the peace. I've been up with him getting ready for daycare, most likely sat in traffic with him getting to daycare, worked all day and then by the time we get home we have almost 3 hours to spend together as a family.

The last three weeks have been up and down. Connor has been fighting a nasty imbalance of bacteria in his belly since having the stomach bug at the beginning of this month. I didn't realize what crappy food we were feeding him until I was trying to wean him off it to help balance out his sour belly!!! Talk about being disappointed in yourself.

Sooooo yesterday we started... I cleared off the cluttered kitchen table... made us ALL tacos (one of Connor's favorites). While he barely touched the taco meat he tore up some avocados and we all sat together as a family, eating dinner and gasp.... TALKING! It was a Christmas miracle for sure. I don't know how long we've been in his rut but its officially over. No more cluttered kitchen table making the living room look more enticing. No more!

I knew it was bad when tonight when I had the following conversation with Connor as I asked him to help me set the table....

Me: Connor come help mommy set the table.
Connor: Is Diva coming for dinner tonight?
Me: No. Its just the three of us.
Connor: Well who's coming over for dinner?

This is a total sign that we only eat at the table when we have company! Eek!!!! Sigh....

Sooooo tonight was evening two of eating at the table. Connor ate the same chicken as us (with a little bit of a fight) and I made him noodles tossed in coconut oil and green beans since I knew that was easier to eat than our asparagus and baked potato. At least its a start!

Longer Days

It's happened! Shhhh... don't say anything... we might jinx it..... I've been noticing the sun is up just a tad longer than in the past month.

Evidence: I'm still using my sun glasses on the way home from picking up Connor from daycare, I don't have to turn on my headlights RIGHT AFTER leaving work, the sun is still smiling at us if only for an extra minute or two when we pull into the drive way.

I was feeling the stir about two weeks ago. My insides were noticing that extra minute of daytime and taking it in. Then Connor said something last week when we got home, "What is the sun still doing awake?" He's feeling it too.... Shhhh don't tell mother nature... it might be too good to be true.

December into January is one of my least favorite times of the year. You wouldn't think that as in those months is my birthday, Christmas, New Years and then Connor's birthday. I'm pushing through those SHORT days as best as I can knowing that by the end of January the days seem to get longer each day... just an extra minute or two but longer none the less.

The feeling is refreshing even though there are many cold days ahead of us. Hold on though... Spring is just a few cold weeks away.

Library Visits

This week's books

Connor and I had our third trip to the library last night. We've been going on Tuesday evenings for the 7pm Story Time. I found myself at work excited for the evening ahead of us yesterday. I don't know why it surprised me as I'm a lover of reading myself but I am truly getting excited on library days for Connor.

We get there a little bit before Story Time and I check to see if there are any books available that I put on hold for him and then we head over to the Children's section. Connor likes to grab a basket and put books into it to read. We read books until Story Time and then afterward we go back and read a few more books. Before we head out the door I let him pick out two movies for the week.


I'm thinking the main reason I'm liking library nights so much is because its giving us new books to read at bed time and a new assortment of movies to watch throughout the week. All this new variety in our lives and no money spent!

And boy have times changed in regards to checking out books from what I remember. Connor checked out 4 books last night and 2 movies. I was concerned that he may have hit his max on checking out items and might not be able to check anything out when he went with daycare the next day. I asked what the limit was on checking out books and she said.................."99 books!!" I almost fell over.... 99 BOOKS! That right there would cause me some fines from the library for sure.

I usually try to pick up a new Dr. Seuss book that we haven't read yet (they can get looooooong and man he had quite the imagination) and then Connor picks out a few books. Last week he picked out Pippin by Gerard Moncomble and I really enjoyed it! It talks about how Pippin is a kitten and likes to go at his own speed. His mother is always in a rush and he secretly calls her "HurryMama". His father is always putting things off and he secretly calls him "LaterPapa". There is a concern that Pippin hasn't started purring yet. Its not until "HurryMama" and "LaterPapa" slow down and put him first that Pippin starts to purr. It spoke to me because I am certain that Connor is probably secretly calling me "HurryMama"!! I swear if we're going anywhere I know I'm rushing him all over.

Looking forward to next week! What are some Children's books we should look into picking up?

Tastefully Simple Tuesday!

Back again for another yummy Tuesday! This time I'm going to focus on two items. This weekend I used Onion Onion and Bountiful Beer Cheese Soup together to make one tasty casserole.

Onion Onion is a spice from Tastefully Simple that will become an every day staple in your kitchen. It's not just 4 different kinds of onions that make up this spice but garlic, sea salt, shallots, red bell pepper, parsley and chives all together for a delicious must have in whatever you are cooking.

Onion Onion can be a dip for chips and vegetables by mixing it with sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt for lighter version). You can add Onion Onion to olive oil, vinegar and water for a great marinade. Mix Onion Onion with ground beef or ground turkey for wonderful Burgers or Meatloaf. Mix Onion Onion into mashed potatoes, omelets, stews, soups or on top of whatever you're getting ready to toss in the oven for great flavor.

Bountiful Beer Cheese Soup is a Fall/Winter 2012 soup that warms you on the inside on a cold day. The soup itself is rather tasty but you can add chicken, broccoli, a can of diced tomatoes or a can of beans to turn the soup into a meal of its own. The soup can be used to make mac and cheese or Au Gratin potatoes. For an easy lunch you can top the soup with Bacon Bacon, minced ham, pop corn or shredded cheese. Prepare the soup with a dark beer and enjoy!!

On Saturday I decided to marinate chicken breasts in Onion Onion with olive oil and a splash of vinegar and water. I was planning on just cooking up the chicken with quinoa and roasting asparagus but looking in the cabinet I found I had Bountiful Beer Cheese Soup Mix. As I prepared the quinoa, I started making the soup in another pot. I figured I only need to make half the packet of soup because I only had one cup of quinoa and three chicken breasts. I used a 9 by 5 glass casserole dish and put the chicken and quinoa in it, poured the soup over top, and baked it. I served the casserole with with roasted asparagus and all I can say is YUM!!

Cheesy Onion Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Breasts

Bountiful Beer Cheese Soup
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 packet of Bountiful Beer Cheese Soup Mix

Quinoa
1/2 cup of dried quinoa
1 cup of water

Marinade
2 Tbsp of Onion Onion
Splash of water
Splash of vinegar
3 Tbsp of Olive Oil (I'm guessing as I didn't measure)

Directions:
A few hours before you're ready to cook everything combine the marinade ingredients together and add chicken. Let chicken marinade.

When you're ready to start cooking preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the dried quinoa and water in a pan and cook over medium heat until quinoa is soft and water has been absorbed.

Combine 1/2 packet of Bountiful Beer Cheese Soup Mix and 1 1/2 cups of milk in another pan and follow directions on packaging for cooking the soup.

Place chicken breasts and quinoa on the bottom of a casserole dish and top with soup. Bake for 30 min (or until chicken is cooked all the way through).

Notes:
This is for a smaller sized casserole as Kevin and I were the only ones eating. Feel free to double everything on this recipe and make a larger casserole.

If you don't like quinoa swap out that with rice or pasta!

Feel free to order from my site and or look around what other fabulous tasting foods Tastefully Simple has to offer! http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/asachs2

Humbled.

Last week was an extremely humbling experience for me. Sitting here now coming down from the Raven's Super Bowl win high I'm melting back into the experiences I had last week and wondering why Universe put them out there for me. I usually don't question things that Universe hands to me but its left me wondering what is around the corner this year.

A year after Connor was born I decided to put my Reiki practice on hold and focus on my new family. If I got a call for a Reiki session I did home visits as its hard to keep a relaxing environment in a home with a toddler. Slowly but surely those clients fell away and I was comfortable with that. For the last two years I've basically used Reiki in my day to day life on my own personal journey and with my family.

Imagine my surprise when I received a call from a family last Monday asking me to come to their house to do Reiki on their father who was in the process of passing over. They wanted me there every day until he passed. I dropped everything I could (except mine and Connor's Tuesday night library night) to help this man and his family. In the end, I only worked on him two times as he passed sometime after my second session with him.

When I was working on him, I was working on providing him strength, comfort, and helping release the ties to this world that were keeping him here suffering. At one point, I expanded my bubble of comfort and strength as the family said their heartfelt good byes to him. I did my best to become a vessel of calm and peace in a time that was full of sadness and out of control.

I learned about the other side of life that is waiting for us last week. I've experienced bringing life into this world. As a mom, I've been learning about growing and learning from infant to toddler. I'm learning how life grows and independence is gained.

Last week was the first time I had ever been at someone's deathbed. I've always got the call that someone is dieing or that a person has died. I've been to many viewings and funerals... but I've never witnessed death in action.

It truly humbled me. I was able to connect with the energy that was letting go and ready to move on. I was seeing the physical body become dependent and weak. It was sad yet taught me respect for the dieing process. I learned that death isn't something that should be feared, its something that needs respect and strength. I learned the importance of letting go and saying good bye. Not everyone gets to say their good byes and I've realized how truly heart breaking that can be. I learned death is just as precious as birth. I learned that in any process of dieing, death is leaving the heavy physical body behind.

My heart was heavy and as I tried to disconnect from the energy after each session, it was the hardest I've ever had. Lifting myself up and celebrating a bit yesterday helped pull me out of the whirl wind of emotion and energy that I was feeling.

After all is said and done, have you experienced death in your life? What has it taught you?

Tastefully Simple Tuesday

This week I'm going to talk about a sauce mix that I have never tried up until this week, Mama Mia Marinara Sauce Mix.

I ordered myself a sample when I first started selling Tastefully Simple but have yet to try it. I kept forgetting that it was there and well.... our family is a Prego family. It works for us and tastes good.

The picture to left had me thinking it came in a jar with the tomato sauce. Imagine my surprise when it was spices in the little sample pack! Score! I love spices. So many uses in one little packet!




So last Wednesday it was just Connor and I grocery shopping and getting stuff for the rest of the week. I realized I had no idea what we were going to do for dinner when we got home. I picked up a pizza making kit. Fast and easy. Done.

Well..... as we were putting the sauce on the pizza I looked over and the sample packet caught my eye. We spread out the sauce and then I sprinkled the Mama Mia Marinara Sauce mix over the pizza sauce. Then we put the cheese on the pizza and I did one last sprinkle of the sauce mix over the cheese.

It gave what is normally (to me) a bland cheese pizza a bit of a kick and flavor. I was impressed.

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade pizza kit with Mama Mia Marinara Sauce Mix

THEN this weekend I was making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. I like to fancy up my grilled cheese sandwiches a bit. I was spreading butter on the bread in preparation for the pan and the left over sample packet caught my eye. I sprinkled some of the sauce mix over the buttered slices of break and then cooked the sandwiches. The mix cooked right into the bread. It was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamazing.

Grilled cheese sandwiches with Mama Mia Marinara Sauce Mix

I'm coming up with so many different ideas for this sauce mix and I haven't even tried it in a marinara sauce yet! I made sure I placed myself an order of the whole container last week! Next on the Mama Mia adventure is meatloaf!

Check out more Tastefully Simple products at my website! http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/asachs2

Leaps and Bounds

We had Connor's 3 year old Well Visit this morning. He turned 3 the begining of this month but due to being sick he couldn't get to his Well Visit until... he was well!

He got a doctor's kit for Christmas and has spent a lot of time giving us check ups and we've spent a lot of time giving him check ups. Good thing, so he knows what to expect.

He fought us on the hearing test but passed the vision test. He's such a character with people it blows me away. He's trusting, silly and can make almost anyone laugh.

The doc said he's pretty much average, healthy and one happy little boy. Connor left the office with two Lightening McQueen stickers and a lollipop. Life was good.

Where did my baby go? He's growing up month to month with learning new things by leaps and bounds. He's asserting his independence more and more. Doing things on his own, not wanting help. Soon he'll be too busy for snuggles and books before bed.... then what do I do? Facebook stalk him? Twitter Feed watch him? Endorse him on Linkedin. Sigh.... so not ready for him let go of my hand. Thankfully we're not quite there yet.

Edit.... His height is 36.5inches... not 3.5ft. Totally heard the nurse wrong!

Encouraging Reading

Yesterday I took Connor to the library to get his first library card. I was super excited and imagined us picking out books together and reading and talking about what we were reading.... how it really went....

In the car on the way to the library
Me: Connor, when we get inside we have to be quiet. We have to be quiet in the library.
Connor (whispering): Ok.

He whispered alllll the way there. As soon as we got into the library. Lots of loud talking and noise came spewing out of his mouth while we took care of paper work for his card. He also had lots of fun swinging the ropes that help define the lines back and forth and back and forth. Sigh.....

So we get the card, the Librarian hands Connor a sticker and we head over to the children's section.

Me: Connor why don't you pick out a book?
Connor: Um, no thanks.
Me: You don't want to read a book?
Connor: Yes.
Me: Then pick one out.
Connor: No you do it.

Sigh.... eventually he picked out a book and we read it before he got distracted by the table with the bendy wire that you can push beads around on it.

While he played I walked around and picked out two books to go home with us.

Me: Connor do you want to read another book?
Connor: Yes.
Me: Pick one out.
Connor: Um, no thanks. You do it.
Me: No. If you want a book you pick it out.

He picked out another one. We read it and added it to the take home pile. He proudly carried his books up to the front desk while yelling, "Hey lady! Scan my books and card." Sigh....

He sure is proud of that library card though!

"Shhh... quiet mommy we're in the library."

Tastefully Simple Tuesday

I've mentioned in my previous blogs that I am now an Independent Tastefully Simple Consultant! I'm hoping to start posting recipe ideas of what I'm doing with the products!

This week I am going to cover Oh My! Chai.

Oh My! Chai is not JUST a drink mix. It can add just the right amount of yum to your baking, breakfast or dips.

When its rainy, cold or snowy outside I love to make myself a cup of Oh My! Chai while Connor is napping and enjoy the quiet while I get a quick 10 - 20 minutes of relaxing time in. It can be made with milk or water... or both! There is also frappe directions on the container as well.


One simple quick way to turn plain Cool Whip into an even better topping for ice cream, cake, brownies or a dip for fruit is to add Oh My! Chai. This past week I did this for Book Club and a small get together we had for the Raven's Game on Sunday. We dipped fruit in it and I also added it the dip on top of Chocolate Ugly Cake after I was done with eating fruit.

Twice now I have incorporated Oh My! Chai into French Toast! I swapped out cinnamon with the Oh My! Chai. Usually cinnamon floats along the top and only the first couple slices of bread get the cinnamon before I find myself adding more into the mix. Oh My! Chai dissolves into the the egg mixture! Each slice of bread is getting some of the flavor! It gives my usual French Toast a little pick me up!

Here's my recipes:

Oh My! Chai Cool Whip Dip

This one is pretty simple. One regular sized tub of Cool Whip and add three spoonfuls of Oh My! Chai. Mix well.


Oh My! Chai French Toast

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
Splash of Milk
Splash of Vanilla Extract
3 Spoons of Oh My! Chai
8 - 10 slices of bread (any kind you choose)

Directions:
Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Add Oh My! Chai and mix together until dissolved. Dip slices of bread into egg mixture and cook on a griddle until both sides are golden brown. Serve with butter, confectioner's sugar or syrup.



Do you use Oh My! Chai an a different way than a beverage? Post your ideas here! Visit my site to order Oh My! Chai today!

A New Year

So wow. Long time no see. Soooooo how are you? We're doing fine.

A new year is here and I can't wait to share with everyone what we've been up to and our future adventures.

Let's see... since we've been gone... my parents visited from AZ, I turned 30, Christmas came and left in a whirl and Connor turned 3.

Lots and lots.

Check it out!

I turned 30 and we had an awesome birthday party for me. The decorations were adorable, the cake was yummy and cute, and I had my favorite people around me for a crock pot cook-off. Later in the week my mom and step dad took me out to dinner and the theater to see Billy Elliot.

This was the first Christmas where there was finally Santa magic. The whole thing clicked with Connor this year and he excited and happy waiting for Santa and waking up every morning to the elf on the shelf.

Sigh.... my little baby is becoming a big boy super fast. Jan 2nd he turned 3 years old. How did that happen?! How did time go so fast? He's so smart and witty it blows our mind. His cuteness can be just too much and his love for Lightening McQueen and his gang is stronger than anything.