Spice of Life

Last night I was scouring the internet for cheap Paleo meals.  We have a very limited budget for groceries that has to last us the next two weeks.  We are very pleased with how we have felt since switching to Paleo, not to mention the fact that I have lost 10 lbs!!  People, that is huge considering my weight has been pretty steady since I had Zoe.  I have had such a hard time losing that "muffin top" that appeared post birth.  ;) Anyway...enough about that.  The point is, when we go back to eating "regular" food, we do NOT feel great.  Last week we ended up eating burritos and Top Ramen, because well...it's cheap.  I definitely felt the effects though.  So I was determined to plan some Paleo meals this week, on a budget.  One of the recipes I found was for Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash.  I did not buy organic sausage or vegi's this time, but at least the sausage was nitrate/nitrite free!  I have not tried it yet, gonna...

It is in my nature to be sensitive, caring and compassionate.  I hurt deeply for people.  If someone is hurting, maybe even someone I don't know, I want to cry and often do.  Why is it then that many times throughout my day, I do not feel very much compassion for my kids?  Before you decide to completely hate me, let me clarify a little bit... I love Kieren and Zoe with all my heart.  They are beautiful, smart, passionate little people that make me proud and amaze me everyday.  They also drive me crazy.  Today I was getting waaaaay too frustrated with Kieren and learning the alphabet.  I felt like, "why doesn't he know this?  He should know this by now!"  I told him he couldn't have any pie until he was willing to listen and learn his ABC's.  After cooling down, I was straightening my hair in the bathroom, staring at my own face and telling myself, "you are a total asshole."  "What is wrong with you?"  "You can't punish ...

Warning:  This is in no way a Paleo recipe...  ;) What do you do when it's cloudy and drizzly outside and National Pi Day?  Make pie of course!  We happened to have some frozen berries and one apple in the fridge, so I was inspired.  I looked online and found this recipe... Simple Blueberry Apple Pie www.foodnetwork.com Crust: 1 1/4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting Pinch of salt 1 stick of butter, cut into small cubes and frozen 1/4 cup ice water Filling: 16 ounces fresh blueberries (I used frozen mixed berries) 2 Golden Delicious apple, cored, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice (I used one Figi apple) 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch (I was out, so I used flour and it worked fine) 1/2 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp fresh lemon juice Pinch of salt 2 tbsp butter, cut into small cubes 1 egg 2 tbsp turbinado sugar 9 inch pie pan **I also added some ground ginger to the filling Directions preheat oven to 400 degrees F For the crust: In a food pr...

 My second letter to my Dad... Dear Dad,             I hope you are doing well.   It’s so nice to see the flowers sprouting up and knowing that spring is near.   I’m sure it’s beautiful in Sonoma County right now and the apple blossom trees are blooming.             Part of our bedtime routine with the kids is to sing to them and one of the songs I sing is Pearly Shells, because you and my mom sang it to me when I was little.   It has always been very special to me.   A couple years ago, Norm gave me a Ukulele for Christmas and part of his gift to me was learning that song and playing it for me on Christmas morning.   Needless to say, I cried.   It was a beautiful and priceless gift.   I will forever be thankful for the time we lived in Hawaii.   Although I don’t really remember it, I have pictures and ...

Last night I was looking at old pictures of the kids and thinking, wow...where did those little babies go?  People always say "it goes by so fast!" but when you're right in the middle of the "terrible 2's, 3's, 4's...it doesn't seem like it.  It's not until you're sitting on the couch one night waiting for your 5 year old to pick out a story that it hits you like a mack truck; wow, he's a little man now and in about 2 years he'll probably be as tall as me.  We went to tuck Kieren in and I looked at Zoe's little angel face, sleeping peacefully.  I almost don't even remember what it was like when she was a tiny baby and need to look at pictures to remind me.  Maybe God makes it that way for a reason because when I look at those precious baby photos, I almost want another one.  HA.  Then I wake up to the nazgul screams in the middle of the night and realize, nope, I'm done.  I have realized lately that I get distracted by the ...

This morning I set out to go to the bank and do some light grocery shopping.  I did not expect to have the worst shopping trip of my 5 years as a mom.  We walk into Safeway and immediately they both start begging for balloons.  Thank you Safeway for strategically placing ginormous balloons all over your store.  Not to mention candy and toys...but I'll save that for another day.  Anyway, I calmly tell them that we will not be buying balloons today mainly because when we do, Kieren pops it about 10 minutes after receiving it.  He continues to beg and whine and cry until we get to the avocados and he basically sits on the floor and starts yelling.  That was it for me.  I take Zoe out of the cart, grab his hand and we storm out of the store.  I plop them in the car and sit in the front seat, fuming.  I made it clear that when we get home, he will be losing all of his colored balls (it's an incentive program we have going) and at least one to...