Holiday Highlights (and Lowlights…)

Hello & Happy New Year! I’ve been MIA for a few weeks which was not my intention. There were numerous times that I wanted to sit down and write something, but between an awful stomach flu, traveling, last minute Christmas shopping, and all the other holiday chaos, it just didn’t happen.

I had a couple of weeks off work which was awesome because it meant more time with Ryland and Parker. Unfortunately, the first few days of my holidays consisted of the worst stomach flu that I’ve had since I was a kid. I couldn’t eat or drink a thing but thankfully the worst of it only lasted about 36 hours. Even better, I was completely fine by Christmas Eve day.

We spent about 6 days at my parents house over Christmas. Visits with them always consist of lots of R&R for me since they’re obsessed with their grandson and keep him occupied pretty consistently. My grandma, uncle and little cousin came out for a few days too which was really nice. To say I indulged on turkey & sweet treats is an understatement :/.

We had a pretty relaxed NYE. A couple of our friends and their baby came over and we just hung out and rang in 2016 together (quietly due to sleeping little ones!).

Now it’s back to the grind. Ryland and I slept in lots over the holidays so it was a little rough getting up with the roosters yesterday morning. Ahhh January…everyone’s favorite month, I’m sure ;).

Work’s busy, school is busy, life is just plain busy. I don’t really make specific new years resolutions, but I do intend on always making family a priority over everything. We can get so consumed with life sometimes so it’s especially important to set aside time for the people you love everyday. I don’t ever want to look back and be disappointed with myself for not doing that. I catch myself scrolling through Instagram in front of Ryland which is personally just not something I want to be doing. I can see what’s going on in the not-so-exciting social media world when he’s in bed. I will never come across anything in the cyber world that is more important than time spent with my son.

Speaking of social media, I think it’s important to give ourselves a little reminder from time to time that we shouldn’t ever compare our lives to the lives of others as portrayed through the internet. I read a quote awhile back…”Comparison is a thief of joy.” I could not agree more. People glorify their lives and rarely post about financial, relationship or general downfalls. Myself included. I post pictures of a very happy toddler, not any of him having total meltdowns. I would never post a picture of Duncan and I in the middle of an argument.

We may look at someone’s life through social media and think “wow, everything is just so wonderfully perfect for them.” But that’s just not realistic and I personally think it’s very important to remember that, especially in a world where social media is becoming so dominant. I’m going to do my best to instill this “little reminder” into the minds of Ryland and any future child(ren) that I may have. My worst fear is to raise kids that feel inferior or inadequate in any way, especially because of what they are seeing or being told through the internet and any form of media. It terrifies me, actually.

I guess a general resolution I’ll make is to be the best version of myself that I can. Sounds cheesy, but I believe that to be a good wife, mother, daughter, friend and so on, I need to take care of myself and work hard towards living a positive life. So that’s what I’m gonna do!

I hope you’re holidays were wonderful and left you with even better memories. I also hope that your 2016 is filled with lots of health, happiness & inspiration :).

 

 

Halloween & 60th Birthday Celebrations

The cutest little cow I ever did see.

Moo.

We spent the Halloween weekend at my parent’s house on Vancouver Island, and what a great weekend it was. My mom & dad are just over the moon when they’re hanging out with Ryland. He can do no wrong in their eyes. Also, my mom puts chocolates on our pillows. Reese’s PB Cups for Duncan, Aero for me. Speaking of which, I ate every single mini Aero bar that Ryland scored while trick or treating…and I’m way too embarrassed to reveal the exact number. Never mind my dad’s birthday cupcakes, the waffles and whipping cream for breakfast, and a few (ok, more than a few) crisp apple ciders. But I worked extra hard at my spin class last night to get rid of some of the guilt and excess calories so I’m even. Yeah, sure thing.

On Friday we did some exploring and came across this little gem along the water:

There are so many beautiful lakes, beaches and trails on the Island (us British Columbians call it “The Island,” as if it’s the only island on the planet). And they’re never jam packed the way everything here on the mainland is. What do they say about life on the Island…”twice the fun, half the pace.” Totally true. I’m instantly in relaxation mode the second we get off the ferry. I sleep better, too. Must be something in the air.

We celebrated my dad’s 60th birthday on Saturday before heading out for some trick or treating with our little cow. We had these t-shirts made, which we all wore, and they were a pretty big hit.

It totally looks like Ryland on the shirts, but it’s actually my dad when he was 5 months old.

We had some ribs for dinner and cupcakes for dessert, (a HUGE hit with a certain toddler), and then my dad opened his presents. He got a bit choked up when he opened the little book that I made him. That’s saying something because I think my dad has cried twice in my lifetime, each lasting for about 12 seconds. I did good! And he loved Ryland’s finger-painted masterpiece. It went up on the wall immediately.

Now let’s go get some caaaaandy!!! I have the sweetest sweet tooth ever. I try to satisfy it with fruit as much as possible, but on Halloween, all bets are off. I’ll take ALL the Starburst & Skittles PLEASE.

Cowpokes

And this, my friends, is why you have kids.

There was a small pack of goldfish which we let Ryland have, but other than that, alllll ours. We won’t be able to get away with stealing all his candy next year so we took full advantage this time around. But before that, we let him sort through it all, and I had a huge proud mama moment. He was putting all the Smarties in a little pile off to the side! You’re probably thinking “ok….and???” But in my eyes that makes him a little sorting genius. *Gush.* Ok, enough.

The one downside of the weekend was that Ryland came down with another cold. I swear, ever since he started going to daycare, it’s one after another. I’m told that’s the way it is at this age, but still. I hate seeing him not feeling well. He was still his usual party animal self all weekend, but nighttime was pretty rough. We all know how hard it is to sleep when we’re stuffed up, but it must be a hundred times worse when you don’t know how to blow your nose. Breaks my heart. Our one saving grace is this stuff:

Abundance Baby Balm

It’s meant for diaper rash, but I also put it under his nose and on his chest and feet when he has a cold. It really helps him settle down and it has a very soothing smell, sort of like Vicks Vapo Rub. I love it because it’s all natural and the little tin we have is lasting forever. We also put a pillow under the top end of the crib mattress which seems to help a bit…but Ryland moves all over the place when he’s sleeping so it doesn’t last long. On Saturday night he slept on top of me for most of the night and it was heaven. My shirt was drenched from his sweat and I was in a really awkward position, but there’s nothing better than having your baby sleep on you. I wish it didn’t only happen when he’s sick, but I’ll take what I can get. Thankfully, our little guy is on the mend now, and maybe, just maybe we can go a whole month before the next cold :/. You wouldn’t even know he was under the weather with big smiles like this:

Alrighty, there’s laundry to be folded, a dishwasher to be unloaded, etc., etc., ETC., (it’s never ending!) so I better get to it. Have yourself a really great day :).

A Crafty Weekend

Hi! I hope your weekend was a great one. We went for a hike, hung out at the park, had a visit with some friends and did a little grocery shopping. We also got pretty crafty around here. Ryland had his first finger painting experience and I made a little something for my dad’s upcoming birthday. Being a toddler, Ryland puts everything in his mouth, so I had to make sure the paint was “edible.” I searched the good old internet for toddler-safe paint and ended up mixing a few drops of food colouring with sour cream. I was thinking that it might smell funny once it dried, but nope! Hopefully that doesn’t change. I put the kiddo in the bathtub with the paint and a couple of canvases and he got right to it.

 

He obviously had a little taste…apparently he does NOT like sour cream. I was going to use yogurt but he loves that stuff and I figured he’d end up eating it instead of painting with it ;). One of his masterpieces will be a birthday present for his grandpa and the other is already up on our wall. My little Picasso!

My dad is turning 60, so with some help from my good friend Pinterest, I put together this little booklet:

I bought a few sheets of pearly white card stock from Michaels and used a paper cutter at work to cut out 62 4″ x 4″ pages. I hole punched the top left corners and secured them all together with a metal ring/clasp that I happened to have in my craft box. I honestly don’t even know where it came from, but it was very handy for this project. I also bought a sheet of “dad” related stickers to stick on every few pages. Then I wrote out a list of all the reason I love my pops, picked my 60 favorite, and wrote one per page, plus a front and back page. Some are funny, some are cheeky, some are serious, but they’re all right from the heart. I thought it was a pretty cool way to let him know that he’s the best dad out there. In my opinion of course :). He’s not overly excited about turning 60, so hopefully our “artwork” makes it a little easier for him to enter a new decade ;).

I made some Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins for dinner last night and they were a hit! I put a few in Ryland’s lunchbox for daycare and froze the rest so that I can take a few out here and there for quick lunches or dinners. They are a perfect toddler meal. Basically, all the rice actually makes it in his mouth and they have a great balance of fiber and protein. I’ll post the recipe on Wednesday in case you’re interested.

Enjoy the rest of your day :).

Coconut Oil is Everything

Coconut oil has been around forever but it seems like it’s become HUGE throughout the last few years. And it’s not just for cooking and baking with, no way my friends. I currently use it for a few different things, but my #1 favorite use – moisturizer. I’ve always had issues with a dry face, especially in the fall and winter months. I’ve tried a million different moisturizers, all of which either leave my skin flaky, red, extra-sensitive or so oily that you can see your reflection. AND, once I hit 30, I became obsessed with the little fine lines creeping up around my eyes. So I wasted money on eye creams too…whether they were doing anything or not…anyone’s guess. Anyway, once I started looking into all the benefits of coconut oil and read that it can be used as a moisturizer (an anti-aging one at that!!), I decided to give it a shot. I was a little skeptical because hello…wouldn’t putting oil on my face make it kind of umm, oily?? NOPE. It is SO absorbent and i’m telling you, no more dry skin for this chick. My face feels softer and I swear it’s doing it’s anti-aging magic too. My grandma and uncle recently told me that I look 18…thank you coconut oil!!! I know they were exaggerating a little (a lot), but still.

I have a separate jar for my bathroom because I also do a weekly hair mask (I massage a spoonful into my hair until completely saturated and wash out a few hours later), and I also use it as a shaving cream and full body moisturizer. I’m basically much softer from head to toe. When Ryland’s nose was all dry and red from his cold, coconut oil to the rescue. Worked like a charm.

I use tons of this stuff in the kitchen. Baking, stir-frys, soups, salad dressings…the list goes on. I actually put a spoonful in my coffee this morning for the first time along with a little milk and brown sugar. I thought my coffee would look and taste oily…not at all. AND, I definitely notice an energy boost. The particular jar that I use in the kitchen is expeller pressed and refined for a neutral taste. I like the taste of coconut, but not in everything. My bathroom jar is “virgin” which leaves me smelling like the beach :).

Seriously though, there are so many uses for coconut oil and it’s SO good for you. Healthy fats are vital for good nutrition and this is one of the very best sources. I came across 101 Uses for Coconut Oil on this awesome blog awhile back and there are a bunch that I want to try. I basically spend all my time ordering my family and friends to drink lemon water and replace everything with coconut oil. Not at all annoying i’m sure…

Oh, before I go, I have to talk about a small miracle that happened last night. Duncan came hiking with us! This is a miracle because….I don’t want to call him lazy…but let’s call a spade a spade. He LOVES the couch and TV with a passion so this is a really big deal that had to be documented.

On that note, Happy Friday! Happy weekend!

Beat it, Cancer!

Hey hey! How was the weekend for ya? Awesome, I hope. Mine was pretty good. Did a little baking, hiking, wine tasting…as in the better part of an entire bottle. Fine, the entire bottle. I also participated in the CIBC Run for the Cure yesterday in support of a coworker of mine that is unfortunately battling breast cancer. She’s just started chemotherapy but managed to make it down to the event to see us off. I admire her strength and courage so much. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to have that monster in your body. My aunt beat breast cancer earlier this year, thankfully. I know too many people affected by it in some way. I wish cancer was a person so that people could beat the living you-know-what out of them. Seriously, just BEAT IT, cancer. No one likes you anyway.

The event itself was pretty amazing. The weather was absolutely perfect and the energy was so positive and humbling. And so much pink! The best was seeing so many grown men wearing tutu’s. Two thumbs up to them. I brought Ryland with me….he slept most of the time but here we are just before the finish line:

Other highlights of my weekend included a Saturday morning hike with 2 of my favorite dudes. Let me tell you, it is HARD WORK going uphill with 25 lbs strapped to your chest.

 

And because I did all that hiking and walking, I felt like I really deserved this:

Good thing I burned a bunch of calories because I’m too embarrassed to even tell you how much of this I ate. Did I share with Duncan? Nope! Did I hide it in the back of the freezer so that he doesn’t finish the tiny bit that’s left? Quite possibly.

Oh, we also went to my nephews first birthday on Saturday. There were about 8 kids, although it felt like 50. Such a sweet group of kiddies though. Most of us parents are friends from high school so it’s really awesome to watch our next generation together. Getting a decent picture was basically impossible, but at least they’re all in it!

And here’s my jellybean.

I just love him so much. It’s ridiculous, actually. And I love bandana bibs almost as much. Paperairplane.ca makes the BEST bibs for such a reasonable price. And it’s great to support other mamas.

Wow, I didn’t realize I had so much to talk about! I better leave it at that for the day. Have a good one!

Seriously Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. Seriously.

Hey there! Hope you’re having a great day so far. Duncan and I went on a 3 night cruise and got home yesterday so my days are a little mixed up. Feels like Monday so it’s really exciting every time I realize it’s already Wednesday :).

Our cruise ship was docked in Seattle all day Sunday so we decided to get off the boat and go on a little adventure. Although we’re Packers fans, (apparently), Duncan really wanted to check out Century Link Field since it was game day. We ended up walking to the stadium in the middle of a massive procession of Seahawks fans…Fan Walk? 12th Man Walk? I think it has a name. Anyway, that brought us to the parking lot where we had our first taste of real, live tailgating! It was so cool! The energy and atmosphere was electric. You can tell that a lot of these people really do live and breathe the game. I’m pretty sure we were literally the only ones there without any Seahawks gear on.

LITERALLY.

How cool are they??? I can’t believe all four dogs were ok with wearing sunglasses. No way Parker would let that happen! You can’t see it in the picture, but the lady dog in the far back corner was wearing a pink jersey and had a little pink bow in her hair. So sweet!!

The rest of our trip was really good. We missed Ryland like crazy, but I think it’s important…vital, actually, to have a little break once in a while. We get so caught up with being parents, work, life in general, so sometimes you need a chance to get away and reconnect. We didn’t realize how much we needed that until we were actually there. Of course I had a little mom guilt going, wondering if being away from him for that long was the right thing to do or totally selfish, but I know deep down it was a good thing. The best thing we (as in all parents) can do for our kids it to be happy ourselves. And I know he had a blast with his Grama while we were away and didn’t sit there feeling abandoned by his mean old mom ;).

OK, so let’s talk Banana Bread. Seriously. Healthy. Banana Bread. I’ve tried so many variations which have all been OK…but not great. Until now. So here’s what I did:

Seriously Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups oat flour (can be made by grinding up 2.5-3 cups of oats)
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks or chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º
2. Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan (I use coconut oil cooking spray)
3. Place first 5 ingredients into blender and blend until smooth
4. Add baking powder, baking soda, chia seeds, and about 1/3 of the oat flour. Blend until smooth and add remaining oat flour in small amounts until thoroughly blended.
5. Fold in chocolate chunks/chips.
6. Pour into loaf pan and bake on middle rack in center of oven for 35-40 minutes.
7. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. I place a plate on top and just turn it upside down and it comes out easily.
8. This is good for about 3 days so freeze any that might not get finished. Although there was no possibility of that in my house ;).

I’ll be honest…nothing beats my moms classic banana bread with tons of calories and butter and whatever else, but for a guilt-free option, I think I did pretty well here :).

Enjoy the rest of your day!!