Taking one simple step at a time to a more natural way of living
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
I am a BzzAgent!
A while ago I got a letter in the mail from the grocery store chain Kroger. I do most if not all of my shopping there. The letter was an invitation to become a BzzAgent. The letter specifically invited me to get free coffee and if you know me you know I love my coffee. I thought what the hey, might as well log on to the website and see what it was about. I logged on on found out that the BzzAgent website partners with one of my favorite survey sights MyPoints. Besides earning MyPoints for filling out surveys you can be chosen to receive free items like coffee, shampoo, cereal you name it. I filled out some very simple surveys that took me no time at all and earned a bunch of MyPoint points.
Shortly soon after I got an email from the BzzAgent website saying I was chosen to be part of the Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee Bzz Campaign. I was so excited! A few week later I got my little Bzz Box in the mail. Not only did I receive free coffee I was happily greeted with a bunch of coupons! I also had a pamphlet on the Green Mountain Coffee company.
Now, I have to say that I am very accustomed to their coffee as I already buy it in the store before the campaign but I knew very little about what Fair Trade was. Fair Trade goods are items that are purchased though farms and farmers who compensated fairly for their goods. When you purchase a Fair trade certified product, like Green Mountain coffee, you are not only getting a great cup of Joe you are ensuring that the workers and farmers are paid a proper wage and then in-turn their communities and families thrive though keeping their businesses sustainable. Fair Trade is also a non-profit organization they do not do charity but they teach disadvantaged communities how to use Free Trade to benefit their families and communities. The latter is my favorite part about Fair trade it follows with the.."teach a man to fish and you feed him for life" idea.
I really like their coffee and to be honest it is typically cheaper then other brands that cannot claim such high standards of practice. They have tons of flavors including Mountain Blue Berry...So, why don't you go get a cup and sit back and enjoy while feeling good about it :)
Want to know more about Free Trade click here
Want to know more about Green Mountain Free Trade Coffee...click below.
Shortly soon after I got an email from the BzzAgent website saying I was chosen to be part of the Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee Bzz Campaign. I was so excited! A few week later I got my little Bzz Box in the mail. Not only did I receive free coffee I was happily greeted with a bunch of coupons! I also had a pamphlet on the Green Mountain Coffee company.
Now, I have to say that I am very accustomed to their coffee as I already buy it in the store before the campaign but I knew very little about what Fair Trade was. Fair Trade goods are items that are purchased though farms and farmers who compensated fairly for their goods. When you purchase a Fair trade certified product, like Green Mountain coffee, you are not only getting a great cup of Joe you are ensuring that the workers and farmers are paid a proper wage and then in-turn their communities and families thrive though keeping their businesses sustainable. Fair Trade is also a non-profit organization they do not do charity but they teach disadvantaged communities how to use Free Trade to benefit their families and communities. The latter is my favorite part about Fair trade it follows with the.."teach a man to fish and you feed him for life" idea.
I really like their coffee and to be honest it is typically cheaper then other brands that cannot claim such high standards of practice. They have tons of flavors including Mountain Blue Berry...So, why don't you go get a cup and sit back and enjoy while feeling good about it :)
Want to know more about Free Trade click here
Want to know more about Green Mountain Free Trade Coffee...click below.
Friday, October 12, 2012
It's not always sunshine and rainbows...
The sun shines thought a window as she sits in her rocker glider cascading a warm glow on her and her baby..Quitely, she rocks as her baby nurses making soft coos.
This is what many women picture when they dream of their adventure into mommy-hood. The truth is very different from this. First, let me say that being a mom is the hardest job I have ever done in my life with the best most awesome rewards. I love my children with all my heart and soul but most days I feel like there are not enough hours in the day to do all the things I need to accomplish. Some days I totally forget to eat until I start getting dizzy and remember that the cup of coffee I drank at lighting speed at 7am does not count as a meal and oh by the way it is 2pm so maybe it is time to eat something before I pass out. My three year old is in a throwing phase and things can get very dangerous in my home. I have gotten very agile and great at dogging flying objects while carrying an infant in one arm and dragging a toddler to timeout with the other. Everything is a constant work in progress from meals to laundry. Some times I am so tired I can't sleep. I lay in bed and think about how tomorrow I will get a step ahead...yeah, sounds crazy but this is an actual problem I have. Well, dreamers can dream.
Being a mommy I have learned how to relax and take a deep breath..I have learned to let go of my expectations of what being a mom is. I have learned that my son eating a PB&J sandwich for dinner is not a bad thing. I have learned that a messy kitchen doesn't make me a bad mom but the fun we had coating my kitchen in flour while making cookies is what makes me an AMAZING mother! I will skip a homemade meal to got to the pumpkin patch and we will eat pizza for dinner and sometimes pancakes for dinner are awesome and so easy, might I add. Life is messy and while I may never be one step ahead of the game my babies love me and we are making memories.
Somehow no matter how crazy and hectic the day get it all seems to melt away when my babies smile at me or we can have a 10 minute tickle giggle fight.
I want to share with you another story of mommy-hood from one of my amazing JuneBug mommies Marian Willis.
"If you have ever browsed the kids section of Pinterest, you know the common representation of parenthood (specifically mommyhood). It's a crafty, sparkly, loving, creative, and I have never in my life met anyone who has time for any of that bullshit. Oh, don't get me wrong, I pin stuff. I like to pretend that I will be a certain type of mom. The type that plans crafts, and then actually makes it to the craft store, buys the right supplies, and (this step is key) actually DOES the craft. Of course, this fantasy includes a cooperative child (adorably clad in a craft apron that has her name stenciled on it) and a maid to clean up whatever mess may occur. I do try, in a half assed sort of way. We color (with crayons stored in a ziploc bag, although all those pretty mason jars full of markers sorted by colors call to me), on a good day she'll get a scavenger hunt nature walk, and occasionally there are chocolate chip cookies or brownies baked. Mostly I fall far, far short of the pretty pictures I pin.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have amazing, easy kids. A 4 month old, Cordelia, who slept through the night pretty much from the get go, and who barely cries except when she is hungry or wet. A 3.5 year old, Finn, who is an articulate, funny, reasonably good little girl. I really have it easy compared to some moms, but there are bad days (weeks even), and we should not be afraid to talk about the bad ones.
Yesterday, I put myself in time out. Cordelia was annoying all day, not hysterical, but whiney unless she was being held. Finn is getting a cold, which, for her, means she is an emotional wreck. It was a long, virtually napless day, made longer by the fact that my husband was at work (which although I want to hate him for being gone, I can't reasonable object to this), then came home for a hour or so (during which he took Finn into our room to watch a movie, then fell asleep, leaving me with both kids still), and then went off to play darts (because he's in a dart league, which is in fact a real thing, I checked). Somewhere around 7pm, after yet another round of "Mama, I woke Cordelia up and now she's crying! Make her stop crying! Mama, she's crying!! MAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAA", I almost lost my shit. In my head, I screamed loud and long, because I was just so tired of being needed, but kept it in my head because I honestly couldn't stand anymore crying, even if it was me. Since my grip on sanity was very slippery, I decided I needed a time out. I walked over to the time out steps and sat down (replacing Cordelia's nukie on the way, which is all she really wanted anyway). Finn immediately followed me there and stared at me like I had gone crazy.
"Mama, what are you doing?"
"I'm in time out"
"Why?" "Did you break something?"
"Nope, I just need to regroup"
"Oh, well I better not talk to you because we don't talk to people in time out. I'll check back to see if you are ready to come out in a little bit."
Why is it so hard to say " Sometimes I really don't like my kids"? We all know it doesn't mean you don't love them. Or that you will neglect them in any way. Kids are relentless. If you spend time with them day in and day out (or night in and night out if you work days), there will come a time when you are sick of their shit. Throw in any type of behavioral, psychological, health, or learning issues and it just gets harder. Motherhood sucks sometimes (and the definition of "sometimes" is very fluid). We have to all agree that we will do whatever we have to to make it through this motherhood thing with our sanity in tact and our kids alive. So, to that mom that is buying their kid a candy bar at the checkout just so they will shut the hell up, I say, go ahead! Feel free to make a choice that others may judge. Ultimately, you know that you do the "right" thing as opposed to the easy thing as much as you can. So ignore the looks and know your doing a good job. Society teaches us that it is normal to judge others. I think we should give other moms a break (except the one lady who let her baby crawl around on the bathroom floor in a Walmart. Because seriously? That is nasty). This motherhood thing is hard and not always sunshine and rainbows.
For anyone who doesn't have kids yet, don't despair. Yes, it's at times. actually awful. It's tiring, stressful, and there will be days you don't want to do it anymore. But...
After about 5 minutes, Finn came back. She looked me dead in the eyes and in a tone of voice that I must use to talk calmly to her, she says "Are you calm? Are you ready to play nicely? You are? Okay, I love you, now lets go find a fun game to play."
And that, my friends was the return of the sunshine and rainbows."
As my readers I want you to understand that you are not alone..Being a mom is hard. Like most things in life it has is ups and downs but I am a firm believer that you reap two times as much joy as hardship you endure. So, for every bad you have you will have two good day! Share your stories with your friends I bet you will find that they all can understand where you are coming from and have similar stories...and if they tell you different feel free to roll your eyes because they are not being honest..
Thank you so very much Marian for sharing your story with me..it made me smile and I am sure it will do the same for many other women. Also, your babies are beautiful!
This is what many women picture when they dream of their adventure into mommy-hood. The truth is very different from this. First, let me say that being a mom is the hardest job I have ever done in my life with the best most awesome rewards. I love my children with all my heart and soul but most days I feel like there are not enough hours in the day to do all the things I need to accomplish. Some days I totally forget to eat until I start getting dizzy and remember that the cup of coffee I drank at lighting speed at 7am does not count as a meal and oh by the way it is 2pm so maybe it is time to eat something before I pass out. My three year old is in a throwing phase and things can get very dangerous in my home. I have gotten very agile and great at dogging flying objects while carrying an infant in one arm and dragging a toddler to timeout with the other. Everything is a constant work in progress from meals to laundry. Some times I am so tired I can't sleep. I lay in bed and think about how tomorrow I will get a step ahead...yeah, sounds crazy but this is an actual problem I have. Well, dreamers can dream.
Being a mommy I have learned how to relax and take a deep breath..I have learned to let go of my expectations of what being a mom is. I have learned that my son eating a PB&J sandwich for dinner is not a bad thing. I have learned that a messy kitchen doesn't make me a bad mom but the fun we had coating my kitchen in flour while making cookies is what makes me an AMAZING mother! I will skip a homemade meal to got to the pumpkin patch and we will eat pizza for dinner and sometimes pancakes for dinner are awesome and so easy, might I add. Life is messy and while I may never be one step ahead of the game my babies love me and we are making memories.
Somehow no matter how crazy and hectic the day get it all seems to melt away when my babies smile at me or we can have a 10 minute tickle giggle fight.
I want to share with you another story of mommy-hood from one of my amazing JuneBug mommies Marian Willis.
"If you have ever browsed the kids section of Pinterest, you know the common representation of parenthood (specifically mommyhood). It's a crafty, sparkly, loving, creative, and I have never in my life met anyone who has time for any of that bullshit. Oh, don't get me wrong, I pin stuff. I like to pretend that I will be a certain type of mom. The type that plans crafts, and then actually makes it to the craft store, buys the right supplies, and (this step is key) actually DOES the craft. Of course, this fantasy includes a cooperative child (adorably clad in a craft apron that has her name stenciled on it) and a maid to clean up whatever mess may occur. I do try, in a half assed sort of way. We color (with crayons stored in a ziploc bag, although all those pretty mason jars full of markers sorted by colors call to me), on a good day she'll get a scavenger hunt nature walk, and occasionally there are chocolate chip cookies or brownies baked. Mostly I fall far, far short of the pretty pictures I pin.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have amazing, easy kids. A 4 month old, Cordelia, who slept through the night pretty much from the get go, and who barely cries except when she is hungry or wet. A 3.5 year old, Finn, who is an articulate, funny, reasonably good little girl. I really have it easy compared to some moms, but there are bad days (weeks even), and we should not be afraid to talk about the bad ones.
Yesterday, I put myself in time out. Cordelia was annoying all day, not hysterical, but whiney unless she was being held. Finn is getting a cold, which, for her, means she is an emotional wreck. It was a long, virtually napless day, made longer by the fact that my husband was at work (which although I want to hate him for being gone, I can't reasonable object to this), then came home for a hour or so (during which he took Finn into our room to watch a movie, then fell asleep, leaving me with both kids still), and then went off to play darts (because he's in a dart league, which is in fact a real thing, I checked). Somewhere around 7pm, after yet another round of "Mama, I woke Cordelia up and now she's crying! Make her stop crying! Mama, she's crying!! MAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAA", I almost lost my shit. In my head, I screamed loud and long, because I was just so tired of being needed, but kept it in my head because I honestly couldn't stand anymore crying, even if it was me. Since my grip on sanity was very slippery, I decided I needed a time out. I walked over to the time out steps and sat down (replacing Cordelia's nukie on the way, which is all she really wanted anyway). Finn immediately followed me there and stared at me like I had gone crazy.
"Mama, what are you doing?"
"I'm in time out"
"Why?" "Did you break something?"
"Nope, I just need to regroup"
"Oh, well I better not talk to you because we don't talk to people in time out. I'll check back to see if you are ready to come out in a little bit."
Why is it so hard to say " Sometimes I really don't like my kids"? We all know it doesn't mean you don't love them. Or that you will neglect them in any way. Kids are relentless. If you spend time with them day in and day out (or night in and night out if you work days), there will come a time when you are sick of their shit. Throw in any type of behavioral, psychological, health, or learning issues and it just gets harder. Motherhood sucks sometimes (and the definition of "sometimes" is very fluid). We have to all agree that we will do whatever we have to to make it through this motherhood thing with our sanity in tact and our kids alive. So, to that mom that is buying their kid a candy bar at the checkout just so they will shut the hell up, I say, go ahead! Feel free to make a choice that others may judge. Ultimately, you know that you do the "right" thing as opposed to the easy thing as much as you can. So ignore the looks and know your doing a good job. Society teaches us that it is normal to judge others. I think we should give other moms a break (except the one lady who let her baby crawl around on the bathroom floor in a Walmart. Because seriously? That is nasty). This motherhood thing is hard and not always sunshine and rainbows.
For anyone who doesn't have kids yet, don't despair. Yes, it's at times. actually awful. It's tiring, stressful, and there will be days you don't want to do it anymore. But...
After about 5 minutes, Finn came back. She looked me dead in the eyes and in a tone of voice that I must use to talk calmly to her, she says "Are you calm? Are you ready to play nicely? You are? Okay, I love you, now lets go find a fun game to play."
And that, my friends was the return of the sunshine and rainbows."
 |
| Marian's beautiful children |
As my readers I want you to understand that you are not alone..Being a mom is hard. Like most things in life it has is ups and downs but I am a firm believer that you reap two times as much joy as hardship you endure. So, for every bad you have you will have two good day! Share your stories with your friends I bet you will find that they all can understand where you are coming from and have similar stories...and if they tell you different feel free to roll your eyes because they are not being honest..
Thank you so very much Marian for sharing your story with me..it made me smile and I am sure it will do the same for many other women. Also, your babies are beautiful!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Post Baby Beauty..no I am not kidding!
Before you erupt in a fit of laughter as you sit in front of your computer in sweats that haven't been changed in two days with hair that hasn't been washed in three, smelling of the new hit scent Eau de toilette
of baby vomit and boob sweat hear me out. You can do a few small things in your post baby life to make yourself feel a bit more spruced up and by the way I will never tell a mom to get rid of the sweats. I mean that is our official attire :).
Clothing:
What I suggest is this...dress like a college student. I know your thinking this woman is crazy but think about it. While you were in college you rocked your sweats and felt pretty. You got cute sweats from Victoria's Secret or whatever your favorite brand is and it wasn't a problem. You rolled yourself out of bed from an all night study session and some how looked presentable. Also, don't forget about those black leggins which happen to look amazing with most of my maternity shirts. What? You are not rocking your amazing maternity shirts??? Well, why not? Now, they are much longer due to the fact that they are not going around you protruding belly, and work really well to cover the rear end area in my black leggings....don't judge me!
The big tip is to find workout gear and sweats (that will probably never see the inside of a gym) that flatter your particular body shape and don't be afraid of rocking your post baby body. Sure we are not back to our prepregancy shape but who care's! Being a woman doesn't mean being a size zero..You had a baby and that is the most womanly thing I can even think of. Besides, gone are the days of schlepping around in Hanes sweat pants so find something that fits you like your favorite jeans but in cotton. For example fit and flare or skinny( again, like leggins, can you tell I LOVE my black leggins) Let's face it most of us at 4mths postpartum like myself still cannot fit in to a single pair of jeans that we owned prior to getting pregnant and who wants to hang around in jeans at home anyways?
Hair:
OMG! I could cry buckets of tears about hair right now. If your hair is starting to fall out by the hands full you are not alone. I started losing my hair about 4 or 5 weeks ago and it has recently (read two days ago) has tapered off but I now have several very thin spot in my hair line..Okay, who am I kidding. They are bald spots! Postpartum hair loss is a result of your hormones beginning to regulate. While you were pregnant the hormone called progesterone was elevated in your body. Progesterone is the chemical of pregnancy and growth..think pro=good gesterone= gestation. This chemical will cause the amazing thick hair that you have and long strong nails during pregnancy because it promotes growth. In other words, there is nothing you can do about it. I wish I had better news or even a solution but the truth is that at about the time your baby hits their first birthday you hair will be back to normal but in the mean time what are you going to do?
There are more things that you shouldn't do then things you should. Do not pull your hair up tightly. Pulling on the root of the hair will loosen the hair root from the follicle and you don't need any more lose hair then you already have. If you need to pull your hair up then use something like Goody's Spin Pins or hair pins. Try to avoid tight hair ties. Also, Try using soft cotton or cloth head bands to cover up your temporarily receding hair line. Wash every other day at a maxium. The reason is simple, you want your hair to fall out naturally. You don't want to add any additional strain on your hair. Try to find a hair style that will require as little styling as possible for me it was this..day 1 wash and blow dry and style Day 2 french braid or sloppy bun with spin pins.
The last thing is time. Like I said this is temporary. Like all things in life this too shall pass..look at your beautiful and baby and smile! You will see that all the post baby blues and issues were well worth it.
of baby vomit and boob sweat hear me out. You can do a few small things in your post baby life to make yourself feel a bit more spruced up and by the way I will never tell a mom to get rid of the sweats. I mean that is our official attire :).
Clothing:
What I suggest is this...dress like a college student. I know your thinking this woman is crazy but think about it. While you were in college you rocked your sweats and felt pretty. You got cute sweats from Victoria's Secret or whatever your favorite brand is and it wasn't a problem. You rolled yourself out of bed from an all night study session and some how looked presentable. Also, don't forget about those black leggins which happen to look amazing with most of my maternity shirts. What? You are not rocking your amazing maternity shirts??? Well, why not? Now, they are much longer due to the fact that they are not going around you protruding belly, and work really well to cover the rear end area in my black leggings....don't judge me!
The big tip is to find workout gear and sweats (that will probably never see the inside of a gym) that flatter your particular body shape and don't be afraid of rocking your post baby body. Sure we are not back to our prepregancy shape but who care's! Being a woman doesn't mean being a size zero..You had a baby and that is the most womanly thing I can even think of. Besides, gone are the days of schlepping around in Hanes sweat pants so find something that fits you like your favorite jeans but in cotton. For example fit and flare or skinny( again, like leggins, can you tell I LOVE my black leggins) Let's face it most of us at 4mths postpartum like myself still cannot fit in to a single pair of jeans that we owned prior to getting pregnant and who wants to hang around in jeans at home anyways?
Hair:
OMG! I could cry buckets of tears about hair right now. If your hair is starting to fall out by the hands full you are not alone. I started losing my hair about 4 or 5 weeks ago and it has recently (read two days ago) has tapered off but I now have several very thin spot in my hair line..Okay, who am I kidding. They are bald spots! Postpartum hair loss is a result of your hormones beginning to regulate. While you were pregnant the hormone called progesterone was elevated in your body. Progesterone is the chemical of pregnancy and growth..think pro=good gesterone= gestation. This chemical will cause the amazing thick hair that you have and long strong nails during pregnancy because it promotes growth. In other words, there is nothing you can do about it. I wish I had better news or even a solution but the truth is that at about the time your baby hits their first birthday you hair will be back to normal but in the mean time what are you going to do?
There are more things that you shouldn't do then things you should. Do not pull your hair up tightly. Pulling on the root of the hair will loosen the hair root from the follicle and you don't need any more lose hair then you already have. If you need to pull your hair up then use something like Goody's Spin Pins or hair pins. Try to avoid tight hair ties. Also, Try using soft cotton or cloth head bands to cover up your temporarily receding hair line. Wash every other day at a maxium. The reason is simple, you want your hair to fall out naturally. You don't want to add any additional strain on your hair. Try to find a hair style that will require as little styling as possible for me it was this..day 1 wash and blow dry and style Day 2 french braid or sloppy bun with spin pins.
The last thing is time. Like I said this is temporary. Like all things in life this too shall pass..look at your beautiful and baby and smile! You will see that all the post baby blues and issues were well worth it.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
It's Fall! Bring on the Pumpkin...and Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Sweet Lord it is fall! There are so many things about fall that I just love. Cool air, crisp leaves, sweaters, Ugg boots and.....pumpkins! Babies in pumpkins, pumpkin picking, pumpkin pie and PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES! Every year I take Trey and now Aubrey to a pumpkin patch and we take pictures and pick out a pumpkin and I seriously can't wait for that. I will add that I fully intend on buying a huge pumpkin hollowing it out and sticking my child in it and taking adorable pictures. I can't wait to share them with you all! I have already purchased two..yes two, pumpkin pies. I usually would make my own but I was feeling extra lazy.
Now, on to my favorite part of life..coffee! I am a super coffeeholic. I have Keurig Special Edition Coffee Brewer that I get more use out of then my oven or refrigerator. I have never been a huge Starbucks fan but who can afford 5$ for a latte (my favorite drink of choice) two times a day and I happen to think their coffee is bitter. So, I started to make my own. I purchased a milk frother and was good to go! So, I will share with you my tips to an awesome latte and my favorite homemade pumpkin spice latte recipe.
Regular latte
Brew a very strong 1 cup of coffee..On the Keurig I use the cup up from the espresso size.
Put 1 cup of milk in the micorwave and nuke it for a minute. I give the milk a run though with my milk frothier and pour it into my coffee....Voile!
Now on to the Pumpkin Spice!!!!
Pumpkin Spice Latte
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened canned pumpkin puree or pumpkin flavored syrup
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice *If you don't have pumpkin pie spice in your collection of spices, make your own! Mix equal parts of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg- and measure from there.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot brewed, strong coffee
2 tablespoons half & half cream
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar, or more to taste
whipped cream, optional
ground nutmeg
Now, on to my favorite part of life..coffee! I am a super coffeeholic. I have Keurig Special Edition Coffee Brewer that I get more use out of then my oven or refrigerator. I have never been a huge Starbucks fan but who can afford 5$ for a latte (my favorite drink of choice) two times a day and I happen to think their coffee is bitter. So, I started to make my own. I purchased a milk frother and was good to go! So, I will share with you my tips to an awesome latte and my favorite homemade pumpkin spice latte recipe.
Regular latte
Brew a very strong 1 cup of coffee..On the Keurig I use the cup up from the espresso size.
Put 1 cup of milk in the micorwave and nuke it for a minute. I give the milk a run though with my milk frothier and pour it into my coffee....Voile!
Now on to the Pumpkin Spice!!!!
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsweetened canned pumpkin puree or pumpkin flavored syrup
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice *If you don't have pumpkin pie spice in your collection of spices, make your own! Mix equal parts of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg- and measure from there.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot brewed, strong coffee
2 tablespoons half & half cream
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar, or more to taste
whipped cream, optional
ground nutmeg
Directions:
 |
| All the yummy ingredients |
 |
| Mix together |
1. In a glass measuring cup or
microwave-safe bowl, whisk together milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, spice
and vanilla. It smells amazing BTW!
Whisk in Milk
2. Pour the pumpkin milk into a tall mug or glass and microwave for 1 minute and run your milk frothier through the mix until foamy. Add hot coffee. Pour in the cream. Add a teaspoon of sugar(or more if you like your coffee really sweet like I do). Stir, and taste.
3. Optional, but oh so good... add whipped cream on top and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Serve immediately!
I multiply this recipe by 4 and put it in a airtight container in my fridge. I use 1 cup at a time. I also use lactose free milk and I don't like the whipped cream..but this is why it is so awesome to make your own. You can adjust the recipe to your taste. ENJOY!
Tip: If the mixture is too thick for your liking or to thin add or cut back the amount of milk you use or you can use pumpkin flavored syrup instead. I prefer the real pumpkin because I feel like it is healthier. Also, my son LOVES this milk. I will heat it up for him and he thinks he is a big boy drinking coffee just like mommy.
Whisk in Milk
2. Pour the pumpkin milk into a tall mug or glass and microwave for 1 minute and run your milk frothier through the mix until foamy. Add hot coffee. Pour in the cream. Add a teaspoon of sugar(or more if you like your coffee really sweet like I do). Stir, and taste.
3. Optional, but oh so good... add whipped cream on top and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Serve immediately!
I multiply this recipe by 4 and put it in a airtight container in my fridge. I use 1 cup at a time. I also use lactose free milk and I don't like the whipped cream..but this is why it is so awesome to make your own. You can adjust the recipe to your taste. ENJOY!
Tip: If the mixture is too thick for your liking or to thin add or cut back the amount of milk you use or you can use pumpkin flavored syrup instead. I prefer the real pumpkin because I feel like it is healthier. Also, my son LOVES this milk. I will heat it up for him and he thinks he is a big boy drinking coffee just like mommy.
 |
| Left over pumpkin and my yummy pumpkin milk...sorry for the nasty fridge I swear it is on my todo list :) |
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Traveling and Family Vacations : We are here!
We started our adventure at 9am on Saturday morning and by 3pm we were in our room at Saratoga Springs Resort in Disney! My son was beyond excited and so was I. We chose our room for a few very specific reasons. 1) it had a kitchen 2) it had a washer and dryer 3) we had two places to sleep separated by a door so that Aubrey's night feeding wouldn't disturb Trey or my husband. One of us had to have a full night sleep and energy to run on.
We decided early on that we would not be visiting a park every single day. We needed down time and so did the kids. We organized our trip months in advance along with our reservations for meals(which is a must for a Disney trip. Reservations for character meals book up months in advance). We sat down with a piece of paper and listed which park we wanted to be at on a particular day. Next we scheduled our character breakfast, lunch or dinners. We did not always have a scheduled meal and would write that down too. Needless to say with a husband that is an engineer and my OCD we were very planned. I believe this is super important when traveling with children with the note that plans change and everything must be tentative. For us, having a plan allows us to relax more and enjoy the trip. We were not worried about what we were going to do for meals and where we were going to be when.
Our kick off event for the trip was a character dinner called Mickey's Back Yard BBQ. We told Trey about it the second we were walking out the door of the hotel room. He was so excited! I was kind of worried about Aubrey getting over stimulated and freaking out but she was fine. Trey on the other hand was extremely over whelmed. The music was very loud and there was a ton of people moving in all different directions. At first, he kind of shut down and stayed close to me then his brain needed to increase the intensity of a already very intense situation and he wound him self up. He had a good time but at some point he kept asking to go to the bathroom and when I took him the second or third time I asked him if he was okay. He flat out told me it was too loud and he did not want to re enter the BBQ. So, we left. We had already eaten and he had seen Mickey so it was fine with us. It was already around 9pm when we got back to the room so we settled in and went to bed.
The rest of the trip was equally as over whelming for Trey and I took notice of situations where the music was too loud or the situation was to intense. We watched parades from a distance and would tell him to put his hands over his ears. This helped a ton and he really enjoyed himself.
We are very lucky to have a child who doesn't ask for much so we never spent any money on expensive gift items(You already read the post where I pre bought items and packed them). The one thing Trey asked for was a fan that squirts water but I refused to get it. Well, to make a long story short we were waiting for a custodian to bring us a screwdriver to put batteries in the stroller fan for Aubrey for the 2nd time that day (note to self bring a screwdriver on vacation!) and the souvenir lady felt bad that it was taking so long and gave Trey the fan!
Lets talk about NIP. You all know I exclusively breastfeed Aubrey and I have to give a big thumbs up to Disney for this! They have air conditioned nursing stations in each park. They are so nice! I met some wonderful women in the room and it was a nice quite place to let Aubrey relax and cool down and to give me 15 or 20 minutes to relax myself!
I also nursed all over the place and not one single dirty look or rude comment! I became very comfortable with NIP on this trip and I never used a cover. It was far to hot. I did get a suggestion to get a A&A blanket in the nursing center. I had never seen them before and now I really want one. I did use my Undercover Mama so we kept it discreet.
All in All it was an amazingly exhausting trip filled with memories that I will never forget. My son still talk about it a month later so I pray he still remembers it as an older child and adult. We already are planning our next trip to Disney. We want to go for Halloween, Christmas and once in the summer to enjoy the water parks :)
We decided early on that we would not be visiting a park every single day. We needed down time and so did the kids. We organized our trip months in advance along with our reservations for meals(which is a must for a Disney trip. Reservations for character meals book up months in advance). We sat down with a piece of paper and listed which park we wanted to be at on a particular day. Next we scheduled our character breakfast, lunch or dinners. We did not always have a scheduled meal and would write that down too. Needless to say with a husband that is an engineer and my OCD we were very planned. I believe this is super important when traveling with children with the note that plans change and everything must be tentative. For us, having a plan allows us to relax more and enjoy the trip. We were not worried about what we were going to do for meals and where we were going to be when.
Our kick off event for the trip was a character dinner called Mickey's Back Yard BBQ. We told Trey about it the second we were walking out the door of the hotel room. He was so excited! I was kind of worried about Aubrey getting over stimulated and freaking out but she was fine. Trey on the other hand was extremely over whelmed. The music was very loud and there was a ton of people moving in all different directions. At first, he kind of shut down and stayed close to me then his brain needed to increase the intensity of a already very intense situation and he wound him self up. He had a good time but at some point he kept asking to go to the bathroom and when I took him the second or third time I asked him if he was okay. He flat out told me it was too loud and he did not want to re enter the BBQ. So, we left. We had already eaten and he had seen Mickey so it was fine with us. It was already around 9pm when we got back to the room so we settled in and went to bed.
 |
| First Character meet-up at Micky's Back Yard BBQ |
 |
| Watching from a distance with the best seat in the house |
 |
| The fan! |
Lets talk about NIP. You all know I exclusively breastfeed Aubrey and I have to give a big thumbs up to Disney for this! They have air conditioned nursing stations in each park. They are so nice! I met some wonderful women in the room and it was a nice quite place to let Aubrey relax and cool down and to give me 15 or 20 minutes to relax myself!
 |
| The nursing lounge in Magic Kingdom |
All in All it was an amazingly exhausting trip filled with memories that I will never forget. My son still talk about it a month later so I pray he still remembers it as an older child and adult. We already are planning our next trip to Disney. We want to go for Halloween, Christmas and once in the summer to enjoy the water parks :)
 | ||||
| My favorite family picture |
Friday, September 21, 2012
Traveling and Family Vacations with Kids: Step two..Getting there!
I knew early on that we couldn't mention a single thing to our son about our up coming trip. This is tip #1 Keep it under wraps. I could have swore that we didn't say a single thing but some how he knew what was up. Maybe it was the teachers at daycare or maybe we did slip up but he would occasionally say "I am going to ride on an airplane and see Disney". We would just laugh and say "Where did you hear that?" Or something like that.
Well, morning of the trip we got up and ate breakfast and then called the cab company. Once the cab was in the drive way we then told him that we were taking a ride. That was it! Not a single mention of Disney or an airplane. Believe it or not he was excited about something as simple as a cab ride. Once we got close to the airport we finally told him we were riding an airplane. I really wish I had the camera at hand because he was beyond excited. I knew that he was going to be very excited and there are so many things that call out to a three year old to touch and experience. (This is tip# 2 )My way of dealing with this naturally inquisitive behavior of a three year old is to involve him as much as possible in what were doing. First Trey was allowed to help drag one of the bags to the ticket counter. He was happy to yell out to the world "I am SO STRONG!" Once we got to the counter he was able to help push buttons on the ticket kiosk. His eyes were lit up with happy excitement. Then we had our first timeout. First let me say that I am not remotely afraid of what other people think about how I choose to raise or discipline my child (That is tip #3). It is your child and if a timeout right in the middle of a busy airport is necessary then go for it. Then it was off to security which was pretty easy due to the STROLLER LANE! Gotta love things like this. Trey loved taking his shoes off and helping load things on the x-ray belt and walking through the metal detector. Not that the security officers made us but there was no way he,Aubrey or myself were going through the x-ray machine.
Finally, we were though security and then the fun part. We announced to Trey that we were going to ride a train! He squealed and asked me where Thomas the train was. I had to lie and say he was sleeping so that we avoided a 30 minute conversation as to why he wasn't there. He loved riding on the train to the concourse and finally we got to the plane and he literally spent the next 20 minutes looking at all the planes and being a very good boy. I was very proud.
Next was the part I was the most nervous about....The plane ride.
We filed on to the plane and two things kept crossing my mind..1) I hope Trey is not one of those kids and 2) Aubrey is totally getting hungry. Well, I am happy to report that Trey was NOT one of those kids and was pretty well behaved. He did find the airplane bathroom fascinating and kept flushing the toilet but our boredom busters worked amazingly well. I nursed Aubrey often on the ride and she slept most of the way. I happen to feel very comfortable nursing in public and have no shame about it. I do try my hardest to be modest. I wore my undercover mama and that really helped.
Just to reacap..These are my bullit point tips for traveling with kids
1) Keep it under wraps : For your own sanity try not to tell them what is about to happen or every 2.3 seconds they will ask about it. Let them know what you are going to do moments before it happens.
2) Children are naturally curious and want to touch and interact with their environment so let them but only on your terms. Allow them to help when they can.
3)Don't worry about the disapproving stares of total strangers: If you need to do a timeout or a stern talking to then do it! Your children need to know that no matter where you are your rules still apply.
4) Enjoy the ride! Getting there is and should be half the fun. We are such a go-go-go society no one notices the fun in the little things such as a tram ride in the airport. To your kid this is an adventure so look though their eyes and enjoy the experience with them.
Part 3 coming soon The Trip!
Well, morning of the trip we got up and ate breakfast and then called the cab company. Once the cab was in the drive way we then told him that we were taking a ride. That was it! Not a single mention of Disney or an airplane. Believe it or not he was excited about something as simple as a cab ride. Once we got close to the airport we finally told him we were riding an airplane. I really wish I had the camera at hand because he was beyond excited. I knew that he was going to be very excited and there are so many things that call out to a three year old to touch and experience. (This is tip# 2 )My way of dealing with this naturally inquisitive behavior of a three year old is to involve him as much as possible in what were doing. First Trey was allowed to help drag one of the bags to the ticket counter. He was happy to yell out to the world "I am SO STRONG!" Once we got to the counter he was able to help push buttons on the ticket kiosk. His eyes were lit up with happy excitement. Then we had our first timeout. First let me say that I am not remotely afraid of what other people think about how I choose to raise or discipline my child (That is tip #3). It is your child and if a timeout right in the middle of a busy airport is necessary then go for it. Then it was off to security which was pretty easy due to the STROLLER LANE! Gotta love things like this. Trey loved taking his shoes off and helping load things on the x-ray belt and walking through the metal detector. Not that the security officers made us but there was no way he,Aubrey or myself were going through the x-ray machine.
Finally, we were though security and then the fun part. We announced to Trey that we were going to ride a train! He squealed and asked me where Thomas the train was. I had to lie and say he was sleeping so that we avoided a 30 minute conversation as to why he wasn't there. He loved riding on the train to the concourse and finally we got to the plane and he literally spent the next 20 minutes looking at all the planes and being a very good boy. I was very proud.
Next was the part I was the most nervous about....The plane ride.
We filed on to the plane and two things kept crossing my mind..1) I hope Trey is not one of those kids and 2) Aubrey is totally getting hungry. Well, I am happy to report that Trey was NOT one of those kids and was pretty well behaved. He did find the airplane bathroom fascinating and kept flushing the toilet but our boredom busters worked amazingly well. I nursed Aubrey often on the ride and she slept most of the way. I happen to feel very comfortable nursing in public and have no shame about it. I do try my hardest to be modest. I wore my undercover mama and that really helped.
Just to reacap..These are my bullit point tips for traveling with kids
1) Keep it under wraps : For your own sanity try not to tell them what is about to happen or every 2.3 seconds they will ask about it. Let them know what you are going to do moments before it happens.
2) Children are naturally curious and want to touch and interact with their environment so let them but only on your terms. Allow them to help when they can.
3)Don't worry about the disapproving stares of total strangers: If you need to do a timeout or a stern talking to then do it! Your children need to know that no matter where you are your rules still apply.
4) Enjoy the ride! Getting there is and should be half the fun. We are such a go-go-go society no one notices the fun in the little things such as a tram ride in the airport. To your kid this is an adventure so look though their eyes and enjoy the experience with them.
Part 3 coming soon The Trip!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)