sunshine and berries

After days of rain, this weekend brought sunshine and blue skies for one brief, glorious day.  And what better way to harvest the sunshine than to pick strawberries? On Saturday morning, we rubbed the sleep from our eyes, fueled up with breakfast, slathered on the sunscreen, and headed out to the fields.  I love strawberries.  Evelyn loves them too.  I had it in my head that she would scamper around in the fields with my nephew and that she would be able to wait, at least until we got in the car, to eat the berries.  Ha ha…I have no idea what I was thinking.  As soon as she caught a glimpse of the bright red among the leaves, she said, ‘ohhhh, berries,” which sounds more like bay-eez.  There was no stopping her.  She was picking them out of my basket just as quickly as I could put them there.  When I moved the basket out of her reach, she started picking them on her own, eating stems and all, and even picking up squashed ones from the ground.  In the end, I had to keep giving them to her to prevent her from eating the really yucky ones on the ground.  She ate berries for the full hour or so that we were there.

Picking your own berries is incredibly inexpensive, so we picked a lot.  I suppose my eyes were bigger than my stomach and after we got them all home, I was hit with a slight panic about what in the world I would do with all of them.  I scoured the internet for some healthy ideas and ended up with these:

Dried

Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

Strawberry Shortcakes (Grain Free)

Frozen

As is (with a splash of cream)

 

What’s your favorite way to eat berries?

open letter to a stay-at-home-dad

Dear Michael,

I know we didn’t plan for this, but life is messy and plans don’t always work out.  God knows, what we plan for ourselves is usually far less grand than what He has planned for us.  What do we know anyway?  Who knew that you’d be at home with our little girl…her constant, her steady, her rock.   As a brand-new, first-time, huge-ball-of-nerves mom, I was nervous to leave my sweet, new baby at home with you (and I admit, a little jealous too.) I kept reminding myself, He loves her just as much as I do. He won’t let anything happen to her.  I had my doubts about whether you would be able to handle it.  I pictured a poor, screaming baby and a frustrated, exhausted Daddy.  I imagined every worst-case scenario and every potential disaster, but those things never happened.  You took on this new role, this role you hadn’t planned for, and you owned it.  From feedings and cloth diapers to doctor visits and sing-alongs, you’ve handled it all, and without a single complaint.

I know the past 16 months haven’t been easy for you, even if you’ve made them look that way.  I know that you’ve been frustrated and stir-crazy at times.  And even though you might not have noticed it through the monotony of the day to day, this experienced has changed you.  It has been such a joy to watch the two of you grow together.  Every milestone, every triumph has been yours as much as it’s been hers.

You probably have no idea but, you’ve taught me so much about being a mom.  You’ve taught me how to let go.  You’ve helped me cast away many of my new-mom anxieties. You might not do things the  way I would do them, but you do them like only you could.  The way you read her stories with silly voices, fling her up on your shoulders when she’s getting antsy, and sing her through her daily routines.  You are so very patient with her and she adores you. It’s said that God knows the desires of our hearts and even though I sometimes wish that I could be at home with our girl, He knows how very much I’ve always wanted my babies to have a Daddy like you.  I am so very grateful for everything you do and for the way you’ve shaped Evelyn into the amazing little girl that she is.  Thank you.

With all my love and much gratitude,

Happy Father’s Day!

Love,

Me <3

caring for curls

Recently, while I was out of town for a family event, I was approached by a woman who asked me what I do to make my hair look the way it does.  It wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question, and I always stumble over how to respond because a.) I assume most people will think I am crazy when I tell them how I style my hair, and b.)  it could potentially take a very long time to explain.  I have blogged about my hair-care process before, but it’s been awhile since I’ve talked or thought much about it.  It’s kind of just become part of my daily grind.  So, if I’m going to share my methods with her (via facebook and this blog) I figured I’d better update my routine and break it down as simply as I can.  All of this can sound very complicated and time-consuming (and I did spend a lot of time researching different methods and trying out different products), but once you figure out what works best for you, it becomes pretty quick and easy.  So, I’ve compiled some simple steps and rules to follow for taking care of curly hair.

Stop “washing” your hair.  This probably sounds kind of gross to some people, but shampoo contains harsh detergents that strip all of the natural oil off of your hair, making it dry.  One of the reasons that hair becomes frizzy in humid conditions is because it’s seeking moisture and the little strands just start “reaching” out for some hydration.  Hair that is already well-hydrated is less likely to fuzz out.  I use conditioner and the friction from my fingertips to massage my scalp and then rinse it well with warm water.  If my hair starts to feel dull or gets build-up on it, I mix a little baking soda into some conditioner to make a paste and massage it into my scalp, leave it on for a few minutes and rinse.

Boycott silicones.  Silicones can coat your hair, build-up, and weigh it down…and they are found in just about every hair care product out there, including all the ones that claim to tame the frizz.  You have to really check the ingredients on the conditioner you buy.  The most popular silicone you’ll see is dimethicone, but any ingredient ending in -cone can be an offender.  My absolute favorite silicone-free conditioner is Giovanni’s Tea Tree Triple Treat, but right now I’m just using good old Suave Naturals Coconut.  I’ve also used Tresemme Naturals and L’oreal Eversleek.

Learn how to plop (or plunk).  Plopping (aka plunking) has made a drastic difference in my hair.  Basically, you use a towel to place your hair in a permanent scrunch and leave it for several minutes (I leave it while I’m getting dressed and putting on my makeup).  It’s really hard to explain how to do it, but you can find tons of tutorials on YouTube.  Styling my hair upside down is also really helpful in creating a little lift at the roots.  In the shower, I rinse out my conditioner with my head upside down and then scrunch my curls while it’s still sopping wet before plopping it.

Throw away your combs and brushes.  I never use a comb or brush on my hair.  I only use my fingers to detangle while my hair is wet and coated with conditioner and once it’s dry…don’t touch your hair!  Well, except maybe to fluff it a little to give it some body.  I flip my head upside down and scrunch it up toward my scalp to give it a little volume after it’s dried, but I never run my fingers through it.

Flax Seed Gel.  I posted my recipe pretty recently, so click here to get it.  If you are a visual learner like me there are lots of tutorials on youtube for making this awesome styling product.  I love this stuff because it’s so cheap to make, but also because it’s not sticky.  There is nothing worse than touching your hair (I know, I told you not to do that, didn’t I?) and then having sticky hands.  The product gets on everything…your steering wheel, keyboard at work, telephone, blech…I hate that.  With flax seed gel, that doesn’t happen.  You also won’t have “the wet look” or crunchy hair, which I also hate.  Your hair might feel a little stiff after it dries, but you can soften it up by giving it a light scrunch.

Ditch the blow dryer.  Ok, this is not a requirement, but I just prefer to let my hair dry naturally.  I find that blow drying (even with a diffuser) makes my hair frizzier.  But, a lot of curlies use a blow dryer with a diffuser and have great success, so I guess it’s just a personal preference.

Well, that’s about it.  It seems a little complicated, but it’s really very easy and it takes me only a few minutes to style my hair, which is so important to me since I have an 18-month-old toddling around.  Her hair is curly too, by the way, and I apply some of the same principles to styling her hair.  So here’s the result. (Sorry for the bad lighting, bathroom self-portrait):

yard sales, banana muffins and other weekend miscellany

Look at this face…isn’t she fab?  I love this kid.  We had such a gorgeous weekend here.  The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.  I have been so lazy with my camera lately, resorting to using my iPhone about 99.9% of the time.  So, I pulled out the DSLR for some practice.  Funny, she actually looked at the camera with intrigue and when I told her to smile and say “cheese” she actually did.  She’s so used to seeing my phone that I think she secretly protests when I try to catch her on film and I can’t even get her to look at it.  But this strange piece of equipment…what is it??  She stared at me and tried to grab it a few times.

This weekend kicked of yard sale season and our neighborhood has its community yard sales.  Oh, how I would have loved to open up shop and get rid of the many bins of baby items that are taking over our lives, but we’re hanging onto things until we have another little one.  I’m not normally a huge fan of yard sales.  I hate fighting the crowds and dealing with the heat, but this weekend was perfect.  The weather was gorgeous and since all the yard sales were taking place in our neighborhood, we just put Evelyn in the backpack carrier and set out on foot.

Michael actually got a jump start on Friday while I was at work and he found several great items.  You’ve gotta start out early or all the good stuff will be gone.  He was really looking for some outdoor toys for Evelyn, like a Little Tykes slide or other similar pieces, but we didn’t really come across any of those.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Shopping yard sales for baby and kid’s stuff is particularly fruitful, since babies and little kids tend to grow out of things very quickly and they don’t have much time to really wear things out.  A lot of people also receive items as gifts that they are never able to use, so it’s easy to find things that are barely or never used.  It amazes me that people spend the kind of money that they do on new clothes, shoes and toys for kids.  Yard sale and thrift store shopping is kind of a no-brainer for me.  It’s greener and way less expensive than shopping the malls.

So, here’s the loot…

Mini Recliner for Evelyn

Crayola Art Easel

Michael picked this out.

Evelyn had a blast playing in it….just before promptly pulling it from the ceiling.

In addition to these, I also picked up 3 hats, 3 pair of pajamas, a pair of jeans, another pair of shorts, and a July 4th outfit from Old Navy.

Boots!!

Little Tikes toy chest for outdoor toys

I got all of this for about $35!!!!  It makes me sad to think that I recently cashed in a $50 Target gift card and only got 2 pairs of shoes, a bathing suit, and 2 pairs of pajamas for Evelyn.

I spent most of Sunday in the kitchen, making all kinds of grain-free, sugar-free goodies.  Michael and I have been really trying to stick with our diet and cut way back on the cheating.  I made yet another batch of these awesome grain-free banana muffins.

I feel pretty confident sharing this recipe.  I started making these from a recipe I found online, but I tweaked it and changed it so many times that it really feels like my own.  Evelyn loves these.  She calls them “cake”.  If this is her idea of cake, that’s just fine by me…no sugar, no gluten…just a yummy snack.

Grain-Free Banana Muffins

• 2 very ripe bananas
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Mash the bananas and mix all the wet ingredients together.  I like to use a hand mixer.  I usually put the coconut oil in the microwave for about 30 seconds to bring it to liquid form before adding it to the eggs and bananas.

Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and stir to combine.  Scoop the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper liners.  The batter doesn’t rise much, so you can fill them a bit more than you would with regular muffins.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Well, it seems that spring is finally here.  Evelyn even enjoyed her first popsicle of the season.

Have a great week!!

blogging flunkie (and where is spring?)

I’ve been seriously uninspired as far as blogging is concerned.  I don’t know if it’s the fact that Spring is taking its sweet time to arrive or if there’s just not much going on around here.  Work is kind of bringing me down lately and I’m anxious about what’s to come in the next few months.  Michael will be finishing his Master’s and looking for work.  We might have to find child care for Evelyn.  There’s just a lot of uncertainty in my world right now.  But, aside from really not being in the mood to write, things are okay ’round here.

We tried Playdough with Evelyn again.  I gave it to her a few months ago, but she didn’t like it.  In fact, she cried when we tried to get her to play with it.  So we tried it again and she had a lot  of fun with it.  I started following a blog called MamaOT and one of the posts suggested presenting the dough in little balls and showing her how to squish it and poke it.   It worked!!

 

We’ve been going to a new church for the past few weeks and the first time we went we ended up arriving way too early.  So, instead of going back home to kill time, we decided to take a walk by the river…

Evelyn wanted to climb the rocks.  She loooves rocks.  It was too funny when she tried to pick up some of these huge ones.

She also decided to blow her nose on every single one of her scarves and fabric scraps.  This kid makes me laugh every day.

I got my hands on this backpack carrier for around $30 at a local consignment shop.  Michael and I have been talking about the good old days when we used to go hiking all the time and whatever happened?!?!?  With this, we’ll be able to hit the trails again.  Time to dust off the hiking boots.

Hurry up, Spring!!

feeding a toddler grain-free

Eggs and avocado…a favorite breakfast.

I’ve talked a lot so far on this blog about our grain-free, mostly primal eating habits.  When I found out I was pregnant I decided that I would continue to follow the same diet and Michael and I decided that our child would be mostly primal too.  I’m happy to say that we’ve done a pretty good job of it so far.  While we want our little girl to eat healthy, whole foods, we do realize that we live in a world where people put processed, refined rice in baby bottles and Cheerios are the quintessential first finger food.  Avoiding grains, sugar, and processed foods is nearly impossible once your child is out of your own care and well, Michael and I plan to eat a little birthday cake every once in a while, so why would we keep it from her?  She’s had tastes of all the foods we normally avoid like pasta, cake, cookies, ice cream, and bread, but we don’t keep those things at home, so she’s only eaten them at the occasional family gathering or meal in a restaurant.  So, what do we feed her?  Well, to make a long story short, she eats what we eat, but she definitely has her favorites.

• Bananas – The first time I gave her a little taste of banana on my finger, she immediately started crying for more.  She eats a banana almost every day.
• Apples – She looooooves apples….apple sauce, baked apples with cinnamon, apple butter, no added sugar.  Is it any surprise that 2 of her first words were “nana” and “ap”?
• Avocado – She and I usually share an avocado for breakfast in the morning, along with some scrambled eggs.
• Eggs – Scrambled, fried, hard-boiled, or egg salad.
• Cottage cheese or yogurt – She will eat cottage cheese plain or with some fruit mixed in.  I buy a large container of plain Greek yogurt and then mix it in the food processor with strawberries or blueberries and bananas, no need for sugar.  She’ll also eat small chunks of other cheeses (cheddar, meunster, colby, etc.)
• Meat – we had a rough start with meat.  She just wouldn’t eat it and I think it was the texture she didn’t like, but she is starting to eat it more now.  She especially likes meatloaf and meatballs (made with pureed veggies and a tiny bit of coconut flour instead of bread crumbs).
• Sweet potatoes – She shovels these in like there’s no tomorrow.
• Veggies – We gave her a lot of veggies right from the start.  For some reason, she tends to avoid green veggies, though she has recently shown an interest in broccoli and I’ve even seen her chow down on brussel sprouts.  She loves carrots and she will eat peppers, onions, zucchini, squash, peas, and green beans, but it really depends on her mood.
• Fruit – this kid is basically the next thing to a fruitarian.  As well as bananas and apples, she will eat just about any fruit.  Some of her favorites so far have been kiwi, pineapple, prunes, figs, raisins, and strawberries.

I love that she will try anything.  Sometimes she spits foods out, but we don’t make a big deal about it, and we don’t write off that food forever.  Introducing a food sometimes requires several tries.  I am so looking forward to summer and lots of fresh fruit and veggies for her to try.

One of the things I have been worrying about lately is what will happen to her diet when/if we have to put her in child care.  Michael has starting applying for jobs and we’re hoping he’ll have something by the end of summer.  Does your child follow an unconventional diet?  How do you maintain some control when he/she is out of your care?

friday’s letters

Source: etsy.com via Lauren on Pinterest

 

Dear Winter, you suck.  Because of you, I am cold and bored.  Please go away.

Dear Evelyn, I love how you gave me lots of snuggly kisses tonight.  It was just what I needed after a long, crazy week.

Dear Downton Abbey, what the heck?!

Dear Facebook, I’m so glad I decided to let you go for awhile.  Our relationship was toxic and smothering.  I’m so much happier without you.

Dear Philadelphia, I might have to pay you a visit soon.  It’s been awhile.