Whirlwind

The past couple of days feel like a blur and super busy. We had a wonderful wonderful Easter weekend with Bryson's family in West Texas. I love visiting the "country" and my inlaws! (I also really appreciate that my phone doesn't work there, and I rarely get on the computer. It's very freeing!) Violet loooooved playing with her older cousins (3 year olds) and they are so sweet to her too! It's crazy to think that last year there were only three grandkids and now there are five grandkids!

On our way back to Houston we found out that my Grandma (mom's mom) had passed away. So we stopped to visit her and figure out details for the funeral.  (We all knew the time was slowly approaching for her to pass...She had been in nursing for a couple of years so it wasn't unexpected but still sad to know she is no longer with us) All my relatives both my mom and dad's side live in Colorado Springs. Which has always been easy when visiting.  Anyways it's been a whirlwind with Bryson starting his new job Monday (which is suit and tie, so we've had to do some shopping/outfit figuring out) and then trying to find out info for our travel to Colorado. It was actually fun to book flights, reserve rental cars, hotel and baby equipment stuff all in one night!  I felt very grown up, even though I am a grown up :)  Did you know Enterprise Rental Car provides a car seat, for a small fee, if you need one?! Hallelujah! And some hotels provide cribs too! Awesome!  We've flown with Violet before but it was to visit Bry's family and they had extras of everything so we knew we'd be taken care of.  Luckily, my cousin found a pack 'n play from a friend of us to borrow and we requested a carseat with Enterprise.  I know you can always check-in all of that kind of baby equipment as luggage, but I'm just glad we don't have too! It's bittersweet to be going to Colorado for my grandma's funeral, but at the same I'm excited for my relatives to finally meet V!

While I have been in shorts for the past two weeks, my Aunt just sent me a video of it snowing outside her porch! Yikes!

Happy Easter

Bryson's office was giving these away today for Customer Appreciation Day.  They decided to give them out between 7:30-9:30am (because that's when they could catch the most customers coming into the building). But hello, who's going to eat a mini-cupcake that early? I would!!  They actually had A LOT of these cartons leftover so he brought one home. Love him! I tried the second one from the left, with the blue "egg" on it. It was delicious! Chocolate cake with oh so creamy peanut butter icing. It tasted like a Reese's peanut butter cup! (They are from Confections Cupcakes) I can't wait to try the others!

Fro-Yo

It seems like everywhere you go there are cute little frozen yogurt shops popping up.  I've tried many and like most of them...but YogurtLand holds a very very special place in my heart!! It's super delicious, less expensive than others, lots of flavors, lots of toppings, mmmm just look how good this looks:

This weekend some friends of ours invited us to get some frozen yogurt with them. They didn't say the name of the place...but when we pulled up to Yogurtland I was SO excited!! I think this place is so special because if you remember two years ago we lived in NYC for 6 weeks working with college students. We may have visited yogurtland more than twice a week AND it was only 2 stops away on the subway! By the time our stay ended I may have had too much froyo since I gained 8 lbs (I blame half of it on yogurtland and the other half that I was in my frist trimester :)

Here were are enjoying our yummy yogurt with some of our co-workers in NYC :)

April Book #2 and #3

Strangely enough I saw this book and it was the cover that caught my eye.  It looks very very similar to another book I read a few years ago called The Memory Keeper's Daughter, don't you think?  (At first I thought it was the same book and maybe I had confused the titles.)  It's about the women in a mining town in Colorado in the mid 1940s.  The oldest woman, Hennie Comfort, befriends the newest and youngest girl that has just arrived, Nit Spindle with her husband. Hennie teaches Nit how to survive in the mountains and tells many stories of living in the town.  While they both enjoy quilting they also start to enjoy the company of each others friendship that starts to form. Hennie has to make some big decisions as an 86 year old and Nit and the town help her see what her future holds. This book was just okay. I was fun to read, but I didn't get really into it. 

Once again Siri Mitchell did it again! This was such a good book! I'm now a huge fan! Sadly my library only has these two books, from her, so I may have to start buying the other ones :( But I told myself to not read this book too fast, enjoy it, and savor it. Well I had only a little self control! It just got to good to read slow! Susannah Philips, a young Puritan girl, thought she knew what her future was going to look like: a goodwife of the Puritan way to either John or Simeon. But Captain Holcombe enters the picture to protect the town from savages (Indians) and challenges Susannah's beliefs on God and who she is allowed to love.  So many emotions with this book and I just couldn't stop reading it! While the ending really surprised me, the point that is made is important and understood.

On to my next book!

If you have any book recommendations, leave a comment! I'm always up for a new read!

Overnight Oats

If you are a frequent reader of my blog you know what a hard time I have with breakfast.  I've been trying to be a little more pro-active in thinking ahead to what to make in the mornings for myself. Often a bowl of cereal or a granola bar doesn't cut it for me and I'm hungry again in 2 hours. I've read a few recipes about making Overnight Oats. I modified the PBfingers recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats. These are so tasty! I'm use to only eating hot oatmeal, so I had to mentally prepare for the cold taste of oatmeal.

Here's the original recipe:
1/2 cup old fashion oatmeal
1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup milk
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp peanut butter

Stir together and set in fridge overnight! Ta-da! It's that easy folks! (I didn't add a final picture, but honestly it didn't look pretty, but it remind me of Cocoa Pebbles cereal! My childhood favorite! My parents would never buy because of how sweet it was....good thing our babysitter always had them at her house :)


**We doubled the recipe (which gave me and Bryson plenty to share and lasts about 2 days), used crunchy peanut butter (I liked the extra crunch for texture), regular milk (she used almond milk) and added about 2 tbsp sugar. And we put a few slices of banana with it!**

Give them a try! They kept me full until it was time for lunch too!

Breakfast is VERY important! What did YOU eat this morning?

Normal

I don't want to keep scaring you guys with my healthy foods! I like to incorporate healthy recipes into our daily meals but every now and then this girl needs some homecookin'!

We picked out our own steaks while grocery shopping together the other day. (We rarely EVER grocery shop together btw, it was sure fun to do it together!) And this was Bryson's pick for his steak. It was huge hunk of meat!! This was my first time cooking steak too. I was really proud how they turned out! Juicy, flavorful and delicious. On the side is sauteed onions, mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. Yum.

See I'm still normal :)

April Book #1

I've been very curious on how and when to start potty training. Thank the Lord once again for my local library! Violet is very curious about the potty and going potty lately. She loves to flush, wants sits on my lap while I potty (no privacy ever with kids!), unrolls the toilet paper way to often and even has stuck her hand in clean and unclean toilet water! haha! This book gave great insight on 4 different potty training methods, from beginning in infancy (which many cultures do) to having a child-led potty training approach.  (I think I lean more with the child-led approach.)  I learned that there really isn't an "certain" age to when to start potty training, but more of where your child is at developmentally and if you as parents are ready to start.  It's definitely a process that takes a lot of patience for everyone involved.  Even though Violet is only 14 months, we'll probably buy a little potty soon to start an informal introduction to the great world of going potty :) This is a good book, easy read with lots of tips and stories of how other parents potty trained.

I Love Lentils

Tonight was my first time cooking with Lentils! I've eaten them before, but had never come across a recipe/or thought to cook with them. I'm so glad I found this recipe for Protein Power Goddess Bowl. It was very very delicious and really filling!

I did make a few changes, mostly because I had them already or just changed it according to taste.

My changes:

-Did not use Brown Rice or Parsley

-Used 1 small Tomato

-Used 1 White Onion

-Used Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing instead of the Tahini

-Added 2 Bell Peppers (red and yellow)

-Added Broccoli

-Added 1 tbsp Chia Seeds...duh!

If you are looking for a healthy meal, this is it! It's packed with protein and really flavorful! We all really enjoyed it! I of course added a few drops of Sriracha to my helping for spice! We thought this would be a good side too if you were cooking chicken or steak...hmmm maybe next time :)

New Furniture

We finally got paito furniture!! My parents picked up this Little Tikes table and foam padding for a total of $3 at a garage sale this weekend! It fits perfectly in our patio and Violet loves it! Along with climbing on the table, blowing bubbles, pointing at the cars/birds/trees/people/dogs that pass by, and playing ball, she's been working on some art pieces for her new collection. (Auntie Mandi you would love her color palate options!)

A 'lil bit of Comfort

I totally forgot to blog about this! Three weekends ago we had a weekend getaway, and it was wonderful!! Our friends from our neighborhood/ministry/community/basically like family-type of friends in Austin invited us to join them at  the Haven River Inn in good ol' Comfort, Texas. (It's a tiny town outside of San Antonio) The Haven River Inn is a cute  100 year old bed and breakfast on about 20 acres of land with the Guadalupe River streaming through it. There wasn't an actual "plan" for the weekend except to hangout and relax, and that was fine by us.  The three couples stayed in our own rooms in the big house and the single girls stayed in the cottage, which was perfect for cooking lunch and dinner and late night games.  The Haven served the most delicious breakfast! I want to try to recreate one of the casseroles!

They had these huge wrap around porches with tons of rocking chairs on them. While Violet napped (and I had the baby monitor with me) I sat on this porch and read, rocked...and rolled? But it was a relaxing time to be still, not have to do anything, and be some place peaceful. I looked out to this view:

The weather was cloudy Saturday morning but then cleared up for a beautiful sunny afternoon. Bryson spent most of the afternoon fly fishing with the guys, while I was able to catch up with the girls on the porch or hanging by the river.  This group of friends we have are truly amazing, so caring, loving and welcoming! It was like we had never left. Violet loved playing outside and with the other little girl Abi. They had so much fun together!

It truly was a wonderful relaxing weekend with friends! It made us really miss living in Austin, and especially living in the same neighborhood as these people. They are so inspirational, God-loving, kind and FUN!! We love and miss you guys so much!

I could write so much more about this weekend but I'd rather you experience it for yourself. If you are looking for a getaway I would totally recommend this place!!

Chia Seeds

Remember chia pets? I had this exact one when in jr. high!

Well apparently the little seeds are really really good for you. And I mean really good! I've come across them in a couple of healthy recipes, so I thought I'd look into buying some. Last weekend before I made a breakfast casserole I headed over to our local Whole Foods in search of these little seeds. They weren't as expensive as I thought and are so tiny they must go a long way.  After I came home I looked up more info about them and was shocked how nutritious they are!! I literally have been sprinkling them on everything I eat. Ask Bryson, he'll tell you! I'll put them on my yogurt, salad, sandwich, rice, mac n' cheese, ice cream and veggies! They have a little crunch to them, but no taste.  

Here are a few health benefits I discovered:

1. Antioxidants. Chia seeds are an excellent source of antioxidants containing even more antioxidants than fresh blueberries. The high amounts of antioxidants in Chia seeds also keeps the oils from going rancid - contributing to a long shelf life.


2. Water loving. The seed can soak up ten times its weight in water. When inside your body, the seeds help you stay hydrated longer, and retain electrolytes in your bodily fluids.


3. Endurance enhancing. Chia seeds are known as the "Indian Running Food". The ancient Aztec warriors would only eat chia seed during their conquests.


4. Omega-3. Chia is the richest plant-source of this healthy oil. By weight, chia contains more omega 3 than salmon, and it still tastes like whatever you want! Omega 3 oil is important in heart and cholesterol health. It’s also recently been targeted as a weight-loss helper. USA Weekend magazine also reports on a study where overweight dieters who included omega 3s in their eating plan lost 2 more pounds monthly than the control group, who did not.


5. Weight-loss. The essential fatty acids contained in Chia seeds helps to boost metabolism and promote lean muscle mass. The seeds are sometimes added to food to provide bulk and nutrients while adding very few calories. For these reasons, many people have found Chia quite useful in weight loss and weight maintenance.


These are just a few facts, read more about them here and here. Why wouldn't you want to eat these?!


Enjoy!