15 Things I Want my Daughter to Know

My Dearest Baby Blair,

Having a daughter in today's world is terrifying. I know you are just a baby right now, but I think about you growing up in these times and I can literally feel my stomach tie in a knot. I know there are a lot of things in life that will challenge you, a lot of things that will bring you tears, pain, sadness and confusion. As a mommy I want to always protect you from hurt...I wish I could just swoop in and wrap you up in your little blanket and hold you close and rock you to sleep in my arms forever. But of course that will never be able to happen, and the only way for you to fully experience life is for me to let you, and let you freely. Of course with that freedom there will be pain and confusion and hurt and many lessons learned. There are so many things I want to want you to know as you grow up into a girl and into a young woman and face the world. That there are so many values I deeply hope that your father and I do a good job of instilling in you. And although these are overflowing, here are some of the most important things I want you to know.

1. You are capable of anything you want to do and put your mind to.

2. Trust your gut and that feeling deep in your subconscious. Your instincts will never fail you. 
3. Trust yourself - you are strong enough, smart enough, and brave enough. 

4. Life is meant be lived, not planned. God's plan will always trump yours. But don't worry, it will be much bigger & better than you imagine.

5. You are so beautiful, without makeup, without the latest fashion trends, without changing yourself. Your body is sacred and an important gift that God gave to you, always protect it and treat it well.

6. You do not have to define yourself by a profession.

7. Sometimes the truth will hurt, but it is always better than a lie.

8. Giving always feels better than receiving.

9. You are a gift to the world. Your passions will make a difference. Your story matters.

10. You can always come home.
11. True love will make you a better person. 

12. There is nothing that is worth having that comes without hard work. If it was easy, everyone would do it and everyone would have it. It's the best things in life that are the hardest. Hang in there & never give up on your dreams!

13. Share what you have, and give freely. Everything is better with someone to share it with.

14. Your life is only what YOU make it. Make it a great one.

15. I love you more fiercely, more deeply and more unconditionally than you will ever know. No matter how far you roam or how different we become, I will always, always be on your team.

Love always,

Your mumma.

Sick Scenes // Homemade Soup Recipe

A rough past couple of weeks with sicknesses festering all around over here. Currently battling round two of a terrible cold, but at least Landon seems to finally be feeling better, & at least Blair hasn't caught anything yet ::knock on wood::
Sharing a few homemade herbal tea recipes & a delicious (vegetarian) homemade soup I pretty much just invented from everything I had in my fridge and pantry since I was not about to leave my bathrobe today. It came out so good, and is packed with all sorts of healthy super foods & nutrients. Totally recommend you try next time you are feeling under the weather, or just craving a healthy, warm soup during these terrible winter days.

Homemade herbal tea recipes: for sore throat, & for general detox and/or common cold.

Healthy homemade crock pot vegetarian soup.

Directions:

Combine the following in crock pot and let cook for at least a few hours. (The longer you let it sit and all simmer together, the better it tastes):

- 5 cups water

- 3 vegetable bouillon cubes. Mine were "extra large" so if yours are just regular sized, might want to add in a few more. That's the great thing about this soup...you can literally just keep tasting and adding as you go. & most of this is measured in "abouts" or by the vegetable or half vegetable. No need for precision, can just keep adding in more to taste.

- 1/2 sweet potato, chopped

- 1/2 white onion, chopped

- 1 celery stock, chopped

- About 1 cup chopped carrots

- about 1 cup of pasta (I used a quinoa pasta)

- about 2 cups broccoli florets

- 1 handful baby spinach leaves

- 2-3 kale leaves (ripped into bite sized pieces, discarding stem)

- about 1/2 cup chia seeds

VDay Bits

Goosewaddle GIVEAWAY!

I just received this new goosewaddle blanket and am seriously so in love. And I'm not the only one. Blair and Landon and even Chris all love it too. It is seriously the softest blanket you will feel in your life, not even exaggerating.

And today, I am hosting a GIVEAWAY to a very lucky one of you to receive your very own goosewaddle blanket, actually TWO - one large baby blanket PLUS one smaller goosewaddle "lovey" sized blankie - in your choice of colors!

All You Need To Do:
1. Leave a comment on this post, telling me which color you'd love to have - pink, blue, or white.
To Gain Additional Entries:
1. Share a link to this post on facebook & tell your friends about it!

2. Share a link to this post on Twitter! (Easy way to do this is just to hit the "share it" button at the bottom of my right sidebar)
2. "Like" Goosewaddle on facebook
3. Follow Mumma's Corner (either via google friend connect, bloglovin', or subscribe to posts by email)

*Please leave a separate comment on this blog post for each additional entry, letting me know your Facebook and Twitter name if applicable, and be sure to leave your email address on each post so I know how to contact you if you're the lucky winner!

Giveaway will run for 3 weeks from today and will officially close at 7:00pm cst on 3/5/14.

Good luck!!

3 Months.

My Sweet Babygirl,

I can't believe that today you turned three months old. I am so hyper-aware at how quickly time is moving right now. It seems beyond cruel that time moved so slowly when you were growing inside me and now that we are separate and I have you in my arms, it has been racing. I'm excited to watch you grow & develop into your own little firecracker personality, I'm excited for you to be able to play with your big brother, (who is dying for you to be able to play with him), and I'm so excited for the mother-daughter things we will get to do together. But I also wish I could pause time right here, right now and just hold you in my arms like this, my sweet baby girl, forever.

The past 3 months have truly been surreal. A whirlwind, sleep-deprived, & blurry, yet somehow still, absolutely surreal. Every morning, no matter how utterly exhausted I am, and no matter how brutally cold and dreary it is outside, you are always all smiles. Regardless of how little sleep or how hard the night before, you are there, fresh and happy and you start my day off like a ray of sunshine. 

Every day there are loads of laundry that need to be washed and put away. Errands that need to be run and grocery shopping and food prep and cooking and cleaning that needs to be done. Your big brother to care for and to help with homework and speech. Dozens of unfinished blog posts and scribbled notes of my dreams and plans for the future. Way too many people on my 'call back' list and businesses on my 'to call' list. A hundred notes on my 'to-do' list that have gone weeks, even months without getting to. But although I always have a million things to do, every day I find at least 30 minutes when we can sit quietly together and I rock you back and forth and watch you fall sound asleep in my arms. It's in these moments I get completely lost in you. The most relaxing part of my day is this time with you, just sitting and holding you, blocking out the rest of the world around us, watching your little chest rise and fall with each breath. And I sit here with you in my arms, mesmerized, adoring you. 

I sit and I hold you and I realize how big you're getting, and how ridiculously much you've grown since we brought you home from the hospital 3 months ago. I wonder what you'll be like when you're Landon's age. I wonder if I'll see my own personality traits shine through in you. I wonder if you'll grow up to be my best friend and I hope that I will be yours. I'm excited about the many things and experiences life has in store for you and for all of us together. I'm excited to see if you'll choose sports or dancing or drawing or acting, and where your passions will lie. But regardless of whatever becomes your passion, and whichever path you travel, I will be right by your side rooting you on, always. 

The world has great things in store for you my little one. But for now, at three months old, I am your world, and for that, I couldn't feel more blessed. 

I love you so much,

your mumma

Mayo-Less Egg Salad

Lately I've been craving egg salad, but I really don't like mayo. A little research on the internet and I found a ton of really simple substitutes that taste amazing (& so much healthier for you too). After trying a few different variations, here is my new famous mayo-less egg salad recipe.

This recipe makes 1 serving for one sandwich, so you can easily double or triple when making for two or three. I like to make a lot ahead of time and keep in the fridge so when it's time to make/eat, it's all ready for you.

What you'll need:

- 2 hard boiled eggs (I would recommend cage-free, vegetarian fed, organic eggs).
- 1-2 tablespoons tahini (this is your mayo substitute, which is just ground sesame seeds. It's found in the ethnic section of the grocery store, & is main ingredient in hummus. If you don't like tahini or don't have any, mash up half an avacado instead - tastes just as good)
- 2 teaspoons brown mustard
- Half a tomato, chopped
- about 1/4 chopped red onion
- Handful of spinach or 1 leaf of kale, chopped
- wrap, bread, bagel, or English muffin
- *optional cheese

Directions:
1. First & foremost, gotta hard boil the eggs. For some reason, I've always been very very bad at this. But follow these instructions and you won't mess them up again:
     - Put your eggs into a pot. Cover with an inch of cold water.
     - Bring water to a boil, then immediately remove from heat and cover.
     - Let sit for 13 minutes.
     - Transfer to a bowl of very cold water. Let sit for 10 minutes.
     - Can either put in a container or baggie and refrigerate, or you can eat them warm if you'd like.

2. While the eggs are boiling, chop up your onion, tomato, & kale/spinach. Add the brown mustard and tahini to your bowl of chopped veggies.

3. When the eggs are done and cooled off a bit, put the hard boiled eggs in the bowl with everything else and mash together. You can add more tahini, mustard, or pepper to taste.

4. Toast a bagel or English muffin and serve the sandwich open-faced. Or pair with lettuce on a wrap. Another option, adding/melting cheese on top.

Enjoy!

DIY Alphabet Book

I made this alphabet book for Landon and love it so so much. It was really simple to do if you are even a little tech-savvy. I took old photos from my phone and uploaded them to the very easy to use "Color Cap" app (free) to insert the text into them. Then I uploaded all my photos to my computer & mpix, where I made the hardcover 5x5" photo book. *Note, you can add text to them on mpix directly when making the book (or any other photobook publishing site you use).

What's especially great about this book is that it is so easy for a child to read themselves (& kids love reading books they made or that are about themselves), and It's also a great tool to help Landon work on his speech at night before we go to bed. Not only does it help teach new vocabulary words and the letters they begin with, but also helps your child vocalize progressive verbs paired with pronouns, and helps them with how to answer "who/what/where" questions. For example, on the "J" page, I'll say, "What are you doing here?" And he'll exclaim "I'm jumping!" So he's doing a great job answering the "Wh-" question, verbalizing the action verb and using the pronoun "I." You can still do this even on pages with nouns. For example, on the "K" page, which is for kisses, I'll say, "Who are you giving kisses to?" And he'll say, "I'm giving kisses to mama" Or on the "E" page he'll say, "I'm playing the electric guitar with papa."

And on top of it all it's an adorable "night stand" book (instead of a coffee table book, like that?) to have on display in his room.

A few tips & tricks when making your book:

- In order to find the perfect photo for a particular letter you might have to go beyond your current camera roll. I scrolled down my old Instagram posts and saved (or took a screen shot) of old images on my phone that I wanted to work with.

- Keep text away from the left/right edge of your image or else you might lose some of it in the binding when they go to make your book.

- On a similar note, I used the "SquareReady" app to give each of my photos a white border to safeguard against any images or text getting lost in the bind.