Monday, August 31, 2015

Bits of Life Lately


    
proof that they really do love each other
garden picked tomatoes and basil, and my hand painted ceramic from Thrown Elements Pottery
Black Tie Wedding attire
& you guys ... my dress - Target
Date Night Nature Walk in beautiful Barrington
A grainy, blurry family movie night selfie
I know.
Blair's first ball game ... Made it to about the second inning
Shameless celebrity selfie with the talented Jordin Sparks ... love her new album!





Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Life's A Beach

Soaking up our last few nights of summer before school starts next week...




Tuesday, August 4, 2015

The Sacred In The Crazy

Make me a servant
Humble and meek
Lord let me lift up those who are weak
And may the prayer of my heart always be 
Make me a servant 
Make me a servant
Make me a servant today

I have found this to be the ONLY song Blair likes to be sung to her. It somehow completely calms her down and every night I rock her to sleep in my arms singing it softly to her. Once we were finished breastfeeding I got really sad thinking we wouldn't have anymore bonding experiences together, but sitting in this rocking chair lulling her to sleep with this song ... it does something in my heart and it reminds me that every day I am called to be the best servant I can be to these little people. 
Sometimes this work can feel unimportant and frustrating and so tiring. Many moments and many days I feel completely frazzled, forgetful, chaotic, and overwhelmed. But these moments, quietly singing this song to a beautiful, sweaty sleeping child sticking against my chest, I can experience a quiet-- sacred, space. Sometimes with life going at full speed I think we forget that the chaos, craziness, and times we feel overwhelmed won't last forever. It's not always a reflection of us. Even the hard stages of motherhood, they all pass and they are all temporary. For good or for bad. But it's only in the wake of those moments - the ones we might wish away - that we can really, fully feel the depth of the good parts. The light needs the dark to shine and in that sense I think we've got to know what the noise feels like to appreciate the peace. All you mamas out there, keep on keeping on. You are doing hard, hugely important work. We wouldn't get to experience the depths of the sacred without the pits of the crazy ... And help us to learn to be grateful for both. <3

Monday, July 27, 2015

Homemade Popsicles

Trying to beat the heat in these dog days of summer (that we are finally experiencing after a month and a half of rain almost every day!), and spending many days at the pool, having picnics and playing water games outside, and making and eating our own homemade popsicles. My kids love popsicles, and I used to always buy them from the store, but they have so much sugar and unnecessary ingredients in them. Even the ones marketed 'healthier' still contain a lot of unnecessary, inarticulate ingredients, and most of these are actually really expensive once you find out how easy and cheap these are to make yourself.
Last summer I picked up these popsicle molds at the Dollar Store and I've been making our own popsicles with these since, and you can too -- it's soo easy, and so much healthier for you and your kids!
Here is a recipe for our favorite, Cran-Apple Yogurt Pops made with R.W. Knudsen Family's Just Cranberry Juice. We love R.W. Knudsen Just Juice brand because they stand by wholesome ingredients without any artificial flavors or preservatives - they are made from organic single-fruits, with no added sweeteners and completely sweetened 100% by the juices straight from the fruit, and they taste absolutely delicious.
What You Will Need:
- 1 (5.3 oz.) container vanilla Greek Yogurt
- 1/3 cup cranberry juice (R.W. Knudsen Family Just Cranberry Juice is our favorite)
- 1/2 cup cinnamon (or regular) apple sauce (Santa Cruz Organic apple sauce is our favorite)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar
- 4 (3 to 4 oz. disposable cups and wooden craft sticks (If you don't have popsicle molds)

Directions:
1. Place yogurt, juice, apple sauce, and agave in blender. Cover and process until smooth.
2. Divide evenly into cups or popsicle molds. Cover cups with foil. Insert wooden stick into center. 
3. Freeze 3 hours or until firm & enjoy!
There are so many other easy variations to making your own popsicles -- you can literally blend in any fruit you fancy, or cut out the blender and mix in chopped fruit pieces. & if you are having a lazy day, you can just pour in orange juice, or half OJ half cranberry for a quickie. 
Check out more delicious and healthy summer smoothie recipes here - and for some more toddler meal and snack ideas check out this old post.

*Disclaimer: I have received R.W. Knudsen juice products to facilitate my review but the review and all opinions contained herein are 100% my own.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Bits of Life Lately

Landon at Summer Camp
Homegrown
The two fawns that frequent our yard 
A girls day
Nature walks
Fishin' 
Sidewalk chalk art
Barnyard Blair
Farm fun
Planted in the backyard...probably what keeps my baby deer around
Refrigerator raids

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