Post Its- Our Family's Happenings

E family photoshoot!

2012-01-30T13:33:00.000-08:00

And little Miss Mila's 1 year shoot

Remember when I took her mommy's maternity pictures?

I can't believe she's turning 1!

And just a little backround- Matt is one of Steve's childhood friends. They have been friends since elementary school! He was also a groomsman at our wedding, and they are just awesome friends to have.

Anywho, so I took some extended family pictures with the Aunt and Grandparents as well

Can you tell that they love this baby??

Proud grandparents!

So so cute, and love the colors

And those cute teeth

I love how teeny tiny she is in front of the door

This one kills me- she was pretty perturbed!

Baby feet are my favorite :)

FWD:Izzy forgot to get in her crib for naptime

2012-01-27T14:03:00.001-08:00

Izzy forgot to get in her crib for naptime

Digital Scrapbooking

2012-01-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

One of my New Years resolutions was/is to teach myself to Digital Scrapbook.

I've been wanting to learn for a few years now

and I FINALLY took the time to watch some tutorials online, and I'm so happy I did!

I think this will help me get back into scrapbooking, since one of my problems is actually getting pictures printed. This way I can put them on my layout with out having them printed out before hand.

I've only done 4 layouts so far, and all of them I plan to add some paper and other embellishments after I get them printed out.

Just thought I'd share :)

Happy Holidays from my home to yours

2011-12-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays from the Posts!

Here is a little update:

Kat spent the first few months of the year running as much as possibleto train for her first marathon, and ran an impressive 26.2 miles evenwith a knee injury at mile nine. After this huge accomplishment wegot a little scared because we realized she is even more stubborn than we thought, but we were all very proud of her amazing athletic feat.

Steve became a teacher and a student when he began classes at CalState San Marcos for his administration credential, look out for Principal Post in two years. In the few hours of the day notdedicated to school Steve trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and even competed in his first tournament, forging an impressive career recordof 1-1.

Jessica developed her artistic talents this year, drawing and paintingbeautiful works of art almost every day. She also grew athletically in gymnastics, hula dancing, and soccer, but has stayed true to herfirst passion for ballet and will return to ballet classes early next year.

Isabella has cemented herself as the family goofball, and she is a force nobody can ignore now that she talks nearly non-stop. She is an independent and confident girl, on Saint Patrick’s day Izzy let usknow she is not Irish…she is a toddler. She also knows how to have fun, shouting “Booya!” and “Party Time!” whenever the mood hits.

Best wishes for a peaceful holiday season,

Steve, Kat, Jessica, and Isabella

A few favs from Thanksgiving

2011-12-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

Loving my girlies

Cuddling & watching rudolph

2011-12-18T18:14:00.001-08:00

Cuddling & watching rudolph

Thankful Turkey

2011-11-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

Thought this would be a good place to share some of the preschool crafts I do. And now that I discovered pintrest, another place to store them all in spot!

I adore turkey project. They always crack me up! I do the pinecone turkey every year, and I've done a few renditions of Thankful Turkeys.
This one I came up with on a whim (actually it was a bit of a panic because I thought we didn't have the art project prepped. We did, I'm just a spaz)
Its great for all ages- even the one year old toddlers can just paint the bags, while the older kids can practice their writing skills!

What you need:
small brown bags (lunch sack style)
brown paint
googly eyes
red, orange, yellow, green construction paper.
newspaper
Rubberband
Glue
Stapler

Before hand:
Cut out leaves from the constuction paper, about two leaves out of a 8 1/2 x 12 sheet
Cut yellow triangles for beaks
and red "googles" for their gobble gobble. (I have looked up the correct name before, but its just as ridiculous as a gobble gobble so thats what I"m sticking to.....)

Set up the table for painting however you do it (we use a cheap shower curtain cut in half, and then old t-shirts for smocks)
I had the kids use sponges to paint all over the bag- brushes would work just find too
While waiting for the bags to dry, ask the children what they are thankful for.
Once the paint is dry, have the kids stuff the bags with newspaper
Then, close the bag however works best for you. We just twisted it shut and put on a rubber band
The older kids can write what they are thankful for on three leaves, then on the bottom 2 leaves write the child's name, "Thankful Turkey"
Fan the leaves out and staple them together, then glue them to the back of the turkey.
The kids can glue on a turkey face.
For younger kids, just do the assemblying for them.

This is Jessica's Thankful Turkey
And in case you need a little help reading what she wrote:
Family (with a backward capital E instead of F. Love it)
Izzy
Cousins

So sweet!
Happy Thanksgiving!

GF, SF, Vegan Persimmon Muffins

2011-11-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

Persimmons. What to do with persimmons?
I had never even tried one before we got them in our CSA box last year. I ate one- and they're pretty good! But honestly, it never sounds good to just eat as a snack. So, I looked up recipes. Last year I found a recipe for cookies, and they were delicious! For some reason I was having trouble this year finding anything that suited me, so I made one up :)
I used my Better Homes & Garden cookbook to help guide me, but it looks nothing like the original plain muffin recipe anymore :)

You will need:
2 cups of all purpose gluten free flour
1 1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 cup of honey
3/4 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp flax seed
1 tsp chia seed
1 Tbsp water
2 persimmons (about 1 cup of puree)
Walnuts (optional)
Coconut sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

First, warm your oven to 350*

Then cut the tops of your persimmons off, and if you have a hard core blender like a Vita Mix, you are done :) Throw them in and blend them up!

Once blended, I added the water, chia & flax seed. I blended them up a little more, then poured it into a measuring cup and let it sit. The chia seed and water replace any egg needed and act as a binder. The persimmon puree replaces the oil to make a moist muffin :)

(my little helpers!)

Next I sprayed my muffin pans with Coconut Spray Oil. Found this at Whole Foods. I was stoked :)

Then, mix together all the ingredients. I did the dry first, then added the persimmon mix. It solidified a bit, so Izzy had some trouble pouring it in.....

But we managed. Once all the ingredients are mixed in, put in some crushed up walnuts. Then divide into muffin tins- I filled up 18. Then sprinkle coconut sugar on top of each one and stick in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes.

They turned out gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside, just how I like 'em! Enjoy!

Being a mom.....

2011-11-18T13:12:00.001-08:00

Being a mother is something I've always dreamed of- and its been more amazing than I ever could of imagined. That being said- its HARD being a mama! I'm not talking about the toddler tantrums, the sleepless nights, the diaper changes/potty training, the drama, the mama guilt, any of that- I'm talking about the whole "letting them go" thing. Letting them grow into their own person who will one day find a partner and make a family of their own. Its the one relationship that you put your all into, and they are supposed to pull away. To grow up. I love my girls with all my heart and then some, and I love thinking about all the fun things the future holds for them. But if I really let myself think about it, I kinda freak out a little bit. I want to always be there to protect them, keep them in safe in our little family bubble. I know this isn't realistic, and I know I'm also not the only parent to go through my thought process. So for right now I'm trying to just live in the moment and enjoy everything that mommy-hood is bringing to me.

Since I'm on the topic motherhood- check out my guest post on The Short and the Sweet of It (my KRAP friend Alexa's blog )

KRAP Thanksgiving

2011-11-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had our first feast of the season..... its our second annual KRAP + friends Thanksgiving!
The four of us KRAP ladies (me, Rema, Alexa & Paula) got together early in the day to start the cooking and the wine drinking. I was in charge of the turkey and decorating the table- pretty easy deal if you ask me ;)
Here's Alexa & Paula cooking

And because I ALWAYS take pictures of my decorated table, but never do anything with the pictures, decided to share a little collage:

The four of us

Alexa's daughter Mila playing with my girls- so cute! They love each other already :)

Didn't get a group picture of all of us, because people were coming and going at all different times so it just never happened. I also forgot to take pictures of all the delicious food- probably was too distracted eating and drinking ;)
Such a fun tradition, hope to keep it up for years to come

Anatomy of a Preschooler's Outfit

2011-11-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

She seriously kills me with her poses.
I loved the little dress Jessica picked out, and that she asked for her hair to be in "ballerina bun"- her current hairstyle of choice. Such a little girl!

Color blocked dress- hand me down
Black flats- also hand me downs
Ballerina Bun

Halloween

2011-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Some Halloween pictures:
Jessica working hard on her jack o lantern design

Helping clean out the pumpkins! This lasted all of 2 seconds.....

My girls are such posers. Wonder where they get that from?

Notice how to Jessica's had eyelashes......

Izzy's final product. It's a sad one, it even has a tear :(

Before trick-or-treating, the girls were so distracted watching the other kids in costumes. It was near impossible to get a good picture. Actually it WAS impossible. But these will do :) Notice them wearing their first home-made costumes ever (and their mommy's first time making a skirt EVER. And you can tell....)

As per our tradition, we went trick-or-treating with Jessica's BFF Naima and in their neighborhood. Much more happening then our dead end street (that also has a HUGE hill we're thinking deters a lot of the crowds)

I was a fairy with them! Jess was a pink fairy, Izzy a blue fairy and I was the purple fairy (in case you couldn't tell)

Daddy was a punk rocker. But are mustaches really all that punk?

Always with the thumb in her mouth and finger up her nose..... le sigh, at least she's only 2!

Papa arrived for a visit just after we finished making our rounds. The girls were so excited to show him the loot!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Bates Nut Farm

2011-10-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

Aka- The Pumpkin Patch

We did a little petting zoo- thought Daddy did most of the feeding of the pets.....

Then we rode ponies. Correction - JESSICA rode ponies. Izzy was soooo excited to ride, until it was time. Then she refused.

Went on a hayride pulled by 2 big horses and took this family shot:

Posed for pictures in the Pumpkin Patch- then picked out 2 perfect pumpkins (by Jessica, Izzy just chilled in the wheelbarrow)

And headed home. A fun, fun day!

And I wonder where Jessica gets her "posing" from.....

2011-10-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

(but ps- aren't my new boots so cute! now just waiting for the right fall weather so I can wear them....)

Izzy doing.... gymnastics?

2011-10-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Apparently she's been out of gymnastics too long
She has forgotten that gymnastics was on soft mats, not hard blocks.
She set up these blocks and was bear walking over them telling me she was doing gymnastics.
In her underwear, of course.....

Izzy got a "Big Girl" hair cut!

2011-09-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

I took the girls to get their hair trimmed last weekend.

Izzy's was long over due- no longer rocking a mullet, but more a Farah Fawcett ala Charlies Angles look. That was still a little mullet-y.

I tried one time before to get it trimmed, but I was feeling wishy-washy, so when Izzy said no I said next time.

I was surprised when she walked over to the chair all by herself and climbed right in!

She had just watched Jessica do it, but still- she's getting so big!

Jessica got her hair trimmed too.

She wants to grow it as long as Miss Justine (our fabulous babysitter and sub-teacher at school)

Her hair is down to her bum, so we'll see if Jess can do it.

We're also going to grow it until next year right before kindergarten, where we will then cut it and donate it to locks of love!

(Not sure if you can see her feather, but its black & pink to match her soccer uniform)

Izzy got a little stacked bob. So cute, and her hair looks so much thicker in the back!

We love Miss Rosana, and love the new hair!

Pockets

2011-09-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

So Izzy is currently obsessed with anything with pockets.

Skirts, shorts, pants, dresses

If it has pockets, she's all about it.

She also still has a bit of a mullet and enjoys wearing her sunglasses inside.....

Jessica's perspective....

2011-09-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

Jessica has been really into using my camera to take pictures recently (Izzy is, too, but I don't let her do it as often. She IS only two.... I posted one of her pictures in this post).

Maybe she'll be into photography like her mommy!

Here are a few shots from August:

Obviously Mommy & Daddy are her favorite subject to shoot :)
I kind of love this shots, for her little 4 year old perspective

I'm a juicer

2011-09-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

So, as a part of my "health & all that jazz" journey, I've started juicing
I bought a cheap, $30 juicer on amazon- not wanting to splurge in case I didn't enjoy the juice
But now I'm kicking myself, and already have an eye on an upgrade
I've been juicing pretty much every day since I started my raw/vegan ish kick
And I'm hooked.
I actually find myself craving the juice!!!
What I have (from The Raw Detox Diet):
1 bunch of celery
5-6 Kale leaves
Ginger (about an inch or so)
A lemon or two
2 apples or other fruit (pear/plum/peach)
Occasionally a carrot stick or two
Delicious and nutritious!

The girls like to help me juice

But they aren't so into actually drinking the juice with me.....

I also recently watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on netflix
Super inspirational- check it out!

I've tried a few other juice connoctions, but I really like this juice
The lemon + the apples really make it not taste like I'm just drinking leaves
The celery makes a lot of juice, so I like that as well

Will check back and let you know if I discover any other juices, and let me know if you have any favs!

Just two more bites....

2011-09-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Dinner time, most nights
Coaxing Miss Izzy (who, by the way, LOVES to eat)
To finish her dinner.
She just likes to be difficult

Anatomy of a Preschoolers Outfit

2011-09-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Seriously, where did she come from????

Tutu outfit- hand me down

Hello Kitty Rainboats- Target

Sass a frass attitude- alllll her

seriously not sure where she gets this. but i love it!

GF/SF Zucchini Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies!

2011-09-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free)

In a large bowl, combined:
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup chia seed (this, combined with the banana, binds the cookie together like an egg normally would)
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup mayple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, combined: .
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup gf oats
1/2 cup gf all purpose mix
1/4 hemp protein
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Pour the second bowl into the first, then add:

1 finely shredded zucchini (about a cup)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup nuts of your choice (walnuts are delicious!)
Stir these into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking (I used coconut oil)
sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.

This was originally adapted from the book Animal Vegetable Miracle (inspired me to eat locally! AND to live on a farm. We'll see about that one. At least I'm working on getting my own chickens.....), but then I went a little crazy and it now looks nothing like the original recipe. Oh well! It has almost all the food groups (except the meat & dairy, but is that still a food group? Or is it the protein food group? Cause we have that....), it has protein, carbs, fruits AND veggies, the good kind of fat, and its delicious!

Uncle Chris

2011-09-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Love this picture of Jessica & her Uncle Chris

chillin by the pool

2011-09-03T11:24:00.001-07:00

chillin by the pool

Go Padres!

2011-09-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

For a family fun day a few weeks ago, we went down to Petco Park to cheer on the Padres!

We hadn't been since Izzy was just a month old!!!!

(Steve's been quite a few times with friends, but even I haven't made it down there!)

We love going to the padres games, so excited to do it as a family!

Pretty exciting stuff!

Izzy kept calling it football, and was looking forward mostly to eating hot dogs, but we have a baseball fan for sure in Miss Izzy!

Daddy saved the day and got tattoos for when the girls started to get a little antsy....

Jessica also took over camera duties and snapped a few pics of the game

Such a fun day, can't wait to do it again!

sprouted lentils

2011-09-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

One of the thing Raw Foodist are really into is sprouting foods. I have to admit, when I first started looking into the raw food thing, this part really scared me! It looked waaaaay too complicated. But the idea is that, when the grains are sprouting, they are starting to digest themselves, therefore making it easier on the human body to digest. Make sense? Kinda, not really, I know. I thought the same thing. But my friend Patty (she's my Raw food partner in crime these days) told me it was really easy to do lentils, and I should just give it a try. So I did.

First- soak a cup of lentils over night. Be sure to at least double the water- those lentils will get big!!!

The next morning, drain and rinse the lentils. I then laid them out on a towel covering a baking pan, covered it with another towel, and stuck it in a "dark place" ie. under my dining room table. I kept it there until that night, where I rinsed them then re-laid them out. The next morning I noticed some little baby sprouts!!!! I let them sit another day and that night I put them in mason jars and in the fridge. So yummy to snack on and in my salads! And so good for you! (and for some reason I cannot understand, they are less calories this way than when cooked)

I tried to sprout some quinoa but they smelled funky. Guess thats part of the process, but wasn't a fan so not going to try that again. Anyways, if you're thinking of sprouting, give lentils a try. So easy and so yummy!!!

Sweet Treats

2011-08-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest concerns whenever starting a new style of eating (which sadly, has been too many times) is what kind of "treats" I would be able to get. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I need me my treats!

So I was really worried about what kinds of treats are available in any kind of "RAW" diet- luckily, they are plentiful! My friend Patty emailed me with a link to Likes Veggies & Yoga and the problem was solved!

Averie has some amazing recipes that are vegan, high or all Raw, gluten free, etc. Then she busts out these totally gluten-full, white sugar, not so good for you (but she explains why in one of her posts) desserts as well, and those look just as yummy!

The desserts I have made so far:

Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip balls. I have made these seriously a bazillion times. I LOVE them
And she has a whole section of raw vegan "balls." I have made them with cacao nibs and my dairy free soy free choco chips. All were delish
Marshmellow stuffed Rice Krispie Bars. I used my marshmallows and my chocolate chips, but still used butter, so it wasn't 100% vegan, but they were sooooo so good. Steve's favorite- making it again for him for his upcoming bday :)
Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter and Oat snack bar. Vegan, and Girls approved :)
Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups. Off the chain
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars. I think these are my favorite bars I've made (another post on that, later)
Raw Vegan Chia Seed Pudding (you know I love me some chia!)
Raw Vegan Cheese Cake. Not exactly, but close enough for me!
Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse. To DIE for.

To name a few. And I have actually LOST weight eating all those deliciousnesses. (I'm aware that I just made that word up). Goes to show that good food is good for you, no matter the calories or the fat. Girlfriend needs to make a cookbook. I'd be the first to buy it!

I've done a bunch of Averie's other recipes as well- I've taken a liking to her blog, and her. Probably because she's in SD and likes yoga and has a little girl and likes photography, so we share a lot of common interests! But her blog is really easy to get lost in, she's constantly linking up to her old posts and recipes. Go check her out!

Izzy's point of view

2011-08-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Taken during Jessica's soccer game
LOVE

One of my favorite things....

2011-08-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

One of the best parts of soccer and swimming, is that its right down the street.

So we can just walk

I love that

(and Jessica and Izzy LOVE the sit and ride stroller!)

Izzy's swim lessons!

2011-08-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Swim pictures aren't the most exciting, but its still something that is going on at the Post household!

Jess is taking swim lessons Tuesdays and Thursdays with some of her preschool friends

Izzy is taking a mommy me class on Saturday mornings :)

They all look so cute in their suits

My goal is to have Jessica pretty much swimming by next summer (for our trip to the midwest to visit family, where pool parties and trips to the city pool are a big part of the day!) and Izzy at least putting her head under.

After this mommy me course is over, she's going to go to a big girl swim class all by herself! (and other 2 year olds, of course. Just no mommy!) It will be her fall activity while sister is in soccer. Oy, I sound like such a mom saying that....

I haven't gotten any of Jessica swimming because the lifeguards are total sticklers and won't let me get close until the last day. Then I can take all I want. So everyone will have to wait to see those.

Izzy and I in pool

Blowing bubbles

Dunking under water. She wasn't very happy about that....and look at me totally smiling. I'm mean.

The best part is being popcorn!

Well, I think the best part for Izzy is getting to eat a snack at the end of class....

Jessica is playing soccer!

2011-08-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

Jessica just started her first season of soccer!

I'm so proud of her :)

And I for sure have the potential to become a psycho soccer mom. I was cheering like crazy!

Her team is the Dragonflies (side note: the team didn't get to pick their own names. When I was a kid, that was one of the best parts! Was that just where I lived, or is this a new thing?)

AND her team colors are magenta & black.

How perfect?

Izzy is her number one cheerleader- if she has enough snacks, of course

So cute to watch her run around- she actually looks like she knows what she's doing!

This is right before she scored her first goal!

One of the best parts- half time fruit breaks :)

LOVE this action shot. Totally crop it close so you could see her expression- priceless! And she didn't even cry, just got back up and kept playing. Atta girl....

Her and coach

Scoring her THIRD goal! I know! Considering, in all four years I played soccer that I NEVER scored a goal, I was pretty darn impressed. And proud. Don't matter the fact that the girls have no idea what defense is (oh, she has the ball now? thats cool) and they don't even keep score.....

And she fell on the dirt right at the end of the game. This led to some tears....

and a pep-talk from Daddy

And then all was good.

So much fun, I'm loving this soccer thing. Though it is crazy juggling her soccer practices and games, and both girls swim lessons. They're also only four and two- and we want another ???- so its just the begining.....

GF/DF/SF Vegan Pancakes

2011-08-22T11:31:00.001-07:00

my pancake recipe is adapted from my Better Homes & Garden cookbook (love this cookbook!)

1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I use Bob Mill's)

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ripe banana (or egg)

1 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons applesauce

(chocolate chips optional, but so so yummy! I use dairy free chocochips. Mmmm)

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another, then mix the two. Then, put in a pan over medium heat with coconut oil. Flip when the side starts to bubble.

Serve with maple syrup

Anatomy of a Preschoolers Outfit

2011-08-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Girlfriend is a DIVA
I mean, really?
Where does this sass come from?

because hello kitty rain boots are all the rage in europe right now.....

Dress up tutu outfit

Pink hello kitty rain boots

work it GIRL

4th of July

2011-08-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

(oops, just realized that this never posted, nor was the post ever finished. Oh well, the pictures do a good job telling the story....)

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays- mostly because of the fun memories I had spending it with my cousins in Iowa.

We can't take the girls to Iowa every summer (as much as I would love to!) So I realized I needed to plan something almost as fun to make a tradition when we are home for the 4th. I organized a bike decorating a parade with a few friends, then we played (and ate!) at a park, then headed over to a friends house to bbq & wait for fireworks. Izzy & Steve went home early (Izzy was fighting a cold and needed her sleep) but Jess got to stay up late and we walked from our friends house to a park where we could watch the show!

Its not Iowa, but it was fun! (next year though, we're all about the mid-west for the 4th!)

A few fav pics from the day:

Jess helping me make fruit salad

mmm, stra

Health and all that jazz

2011-08-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

I've been a little frustrated lately
I feel like, through out my entire 20's, I've been constantly counting calories, watching what I eat, working out. I'm tired of it. I want to enjoy food and not be worried about the calories. I want to make healthy choices and take care of my body, of course, but I don't want to feel guilty if I have dessert. Or even if I decide to have seconds. I have worked very hard to lose all the baby weight, but it really feels like I've been constantly counting calories, wondering how many calories I burned in that work out, when will I finally hit my "goal" weight and be able to relax- since Jessica was born. I'm tired of it. So I'm trying something new :)
Making some changes. Along the lines of me being healthy and taking care of myself, so that I'm sure I will be around for my grandbabies and great grandkids, I also want to work on living a life commited to being green and taking care of the planet. So those great grandbabies? So that they can live long, healthy lives to, on a planet not destroying itself. I am not going to label what I'm doing, just say that I'm making healthier (for myself and the earth) life choices. I am trying to eat a more raw, plant based, vegan diet. I am by no means giving up meat, or animal products, but I believe for the health of myself and of the planet- I really don't need to have animal protein every day. Shoot, even every week. I can get everything I need from plants, and if I commit to eating mostly organic, locally grown produce, I'm helping the planet as well. And from what I've researched, this should also help with my ridiculous sweet cravings (getting enough minerals and vitamins through fruits & veggies) and help me hang out at a place I'm happy with, not having to worry about calories in and out.

I realize this is a total, random change from anything I've blogged before. But I plan on sharing recipes I've tried (and I have found some amazing ones!) and hoping to get some encouragment from any of you out there with similar values.

Wish me luck :)

Camping at the Beach!

2011-08-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

For our end-of-the-summer vaca (!!! how did summer go by so fast??!!!)

We went camping again

This time at the beach

And only for one night

It was a quick trip, but oh so much fun!

Izzy & Jess set up "camp" while we set up the tent

Then we got our suits on and headed to the beach to play in the waves!

The girls busted out their model poses for me

They are destined to be on America's Next Top Model, dontcha think?

When we got back, Papa & Uncle Chris arrived in time for s'mores and dogs!

(thats the nice part about camping at the beach, its only 20 minutes away so we can have peeps visit us)

(AND help us out by running to the store for pull ups and motrins. Oops, forgot those things.... Thanks Papa for saving the day!)

Uncle Chris was kind a enough to take some pictures.... of his foot....

Then we roasted some dogs for dinner

Izzy took a potty break (and apparently told a scary story)

LOVE this picture of the girls and my dad. They love their Papa!

Did I mention that we went camping on our 6 year wedding anniversary?

Exactly where I was hoping we'd be when we got married

(With 2 beautiful children, happy & all that, not necessarily camping on the beach. But that was a bonus!)

Best part of camping (in my opinon) S'mores!

Mmmmm, I love me some roasted marshmallows :)

Uncle Chris read them a bed time story while we cleaned up after dinner, before he and Papa took off

The next morning we made a yummy egg taco breakfast, Jessica helped clean up

We headed to the beach one more time. I swear Izzy had fun. She's just pissed off that she's getting too big for us to carry all the time. Just LOOK at that drama face!

This picture I LOVE- set the camera on self timer and we went frolicking in the waves. Hilarious! My feet aren't even touching the ground!

Came back to camp, had a quick banana party snack, packed up and went home

We were pulling into our driveway by 10:30am. Love how early we get up when camping.....

Steve and I will be going camping with some friends for his 30th bday in early October, but thats probably it for family camping this year. We had so much fun, hoping the girls did too, and can't wait for next years trips!

Loving about you....

2011-08-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

How you say "Oopie daze" for Oopsie Daisy

Your still baby pudgy legs and belly

Your ridiculously mullety hair and buck teeth (that you are getting from sucking your thumb.....)

How you say "Um, hmmmmm" when asked a question you don't know the answer to

When you say "Sorry MommyDaddy" when you get in trouble

How you're constantly getting into trouble....

How you have a bit of a lisp and miss the "ck" sound in words

How you are now entering the "why" stage

Loving it all, my Miss Izzy J

Miss B's 3 year shoot!

2011-08-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Chia Banana Date Cookies- GF

2011-08-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Since I am now obsessed with chia, I was so excited when I found this recipe online. Treats with the health benifits of chia! AND they're gluten free

Ingredients

8 Tablespoons of white chia seeds (though, from the minimal research I did, there isn't much difference between the two kinds)

8 Tablespoons of coconut flour

1 and a Half ripe banana

1 egg

4 tablespoons of chopped dates

4 Tablespoons of rolled oats

4 tablespoons of honey

2 teaspoons of baking powder

2 Tablespoon of water

Method

Grind the seeds and the flour together. This makes the seeds grind easier and aerates the flour. I did this in the coffee grinder- my first time EVER using it!

Put this mixture into a bowl and add the rolled oats.

Blend together the banana, dates, honey, baking powder and water. Love my Vita-Mix

Add this to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix together. The consistency should be similar to a cake batter but not as runny as a pancake mix.

Drop dessertspoons of the mixture on to an oiled tray. Bake in a medium oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Made about 30 cookies. Taste really similar to banana bread- thinking of trying it in muffin form next time :)

Recipe

Quinoa Cookies- GF!

2011-07-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Quinoa you say?

Baking with Quinoa? Craziness I tell ya!

But SO delicious.

Thanks to my friend Paula's blog, Healthiest Regards,

I found this fabulous recipe. Made a few tweaks, and here you go:

1.5 Cups Cooked Quinoa

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

1/4 Cup Honey

1.5 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/4 Cup Gound Flax Seed

1 ride banana, mashed up

1/2 tsp Salt

Dash of cinnamon & a dash of nutmeg

GF, Dairy free, Mini Chocolate Chips

Combine dry ingredients, except for the chocolate chips. Add wet ingredients. Mix. Add chocolate chips. Mix. Using a tablespoon, place dough on greased cookie sheet. Place in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes until cookies are browned on the bottom. Remove from the oven. Let sit and cool before moving off of the cookie sheets (they tend to crumble, not as much when they cool down though)

Makes about 50 small cookies, if you're good and don't eat all the dough first!

Nutrition Facts

homemade
quinoa cookies

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories

Total Fat

2.2g

Saturated Fat

0.5g

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

0mg

Sodium

49mg

Carbohydrate

6.6g

Dietary Fiber

Sugars

2.3g

Protein

1.6g

Vitamin A 0%	Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1%	Iron 2%

These are soooo yummy, and really- how y

Beach Day!

2011-07-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Again....

Its been a great summer for beach days!

This time we went with our preschool families. So much fun!

The best part is that Izzy is no longer terrified of the ocean and clinging to us like a baby monkey! She's actually braver than Jess now- totally wanting to run in the waves! Gunna have to get on those swimming lessons....

2011-07-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

We have an abundance of zucchini's in our garden right now- so I'm getting really creative with our recipes! We've already made bread, pancakes, pizza crust, noodles, and now- cookies! And of course, this is after also eating it just plain grilled or sauteed as a side dish. Those zooks sure know how to produce!

Secret Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/4 cup heart-healthy margarine { I used real butter. None of that fake stuff for me!}

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed { I used 1/2 cup of Agave. Saw it used in another gf zucchini cookie recipe that I did not have all the ingredients for, thought it sounded good!}

3/4 cup zucchini, very finely grated or chopped with skin removed {I kept the skin on!}

1 egg

1 1/3 cupsgluten free master baking mix(or all-purpose GF mix of your choice) { I used Bob Mill's all purpose}

{I added a teaspon of xantham gum. May have been too much, will try less or none next time}
1/2 cup gluten free certified oatmeal

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

1 (6 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips { I used vegan carob chips. I like keeping these in the house for baking. Because then I'm not tempted to nibble on them (like I am with real chocolate chips) }

Directions:

Cream margarine and brown sugar. Add zucchini and the egg. Stir in master mix, oatmeal, flax seed meal, and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen secret chocolate chip cookies!

{Recipe from Wellsphere.com}

Loving about you right now...

2011-07-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

I love when you randomly ask me to take your photo, and you bust out your super model poses

I love that you want to be an artist when you grow up

I love that you have such an opinion about what you wear every day

I love how you believe

I love to read you stories, and watch as you start to learn to read on your own

I love your little freckle under you big beautiful blue eye, and your blond blond hair

I love your big, squeez-y hugs

I love you and everything about you, my princess popcorn

Happy Birthday, Papa!

2011-07-21T01:50:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to the best Dad a girl could ever ask for

and the greatest Papa in the world!

We love you, Papa!

(Pictures taken on a recent Papa/granddaughters date- lunch at Boudins, just Papa & the girls )

Friends

2011-07-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends from highschool, Patty, came to visit last weekend with her family.

Steve was out of town on a fishing trip, which was a bummer, but it was so fun to finally meet Patty's sweet little girl and hang out!

We did a beach day:

Then my other good friend from highschool (Jessica, who lives down in San Diego) came up with her little boy (I took his first bday pics!) so we had this fun little reunion with our babies as well. But it was near impossible to get a good picture of everyone....

Then trying to get one of the just the kiddos- forget about it! Jess is the only one who sat and posed :)

So fun to hang out with you, Patty, Chip & baby G! Come back and visit again soon!!!!

GF Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies

2011-07-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Saw this recipe on The Short and Sweet of It and HAD to try it

Just swapped vegan chips for the chocolate chips

Honey for the brown sugar and BOOM- delicious cookies I can eat!

(I'm working on making these vegan. Just because I for some reason find it fun to make vegan baked goods....)

2 cups of peanut butter

2 cups of chocolate chips (I used vegan carob chips)

2 cups brown sugar (I used 1 cup of honey)

2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs (I've tried using bananas instead of egg. Didn't turn out so well. Delicious, but more just a big gooey mess than cookies. Will try something else and get back to you.....)

(I also threw in about 1/2 cup a shredded zucchini. Because I have a surplus of zucchini and thought it would be a good addition. I was correct.)

Mix it all up, pop on the cookie sheet and stick in a 350 degree oven for 8 - 10 minutes. Eat & enjoy. Makes about 40 good sized cookies! (they aren't the firmest cookie ever, a little soft and mushy, but I keep them in the freezer and you can hardly tell! Not sure if this is because there is no flour or if its because of the honey....)

Nutrition Facts

homemade
peanut butter cookies

Serving Size: 2 servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories

238

Total Fat

13.9g

Saturated Fat

2.8g

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

21mg

Sodium

123mg

Carbohydrate

22.7g

Dietary Fiber

Sugars

19.1g

Protein

7.9g

Vitamin A 1%	Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 13%	Iron 4%

Anatomy of a Preschoolers Outfit: ANTM addition

2011-07-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

So apparently Jessica now thinks she's a model

Seriously, from these poses its like she's watching America's Next Top Model or something, ridiculous!

She's been really into wearing her rain boots

With EVERYTHING

Even when its 90 degrees outside

She is also all about the dress ups. More than usual.

Pink leotard and dress up skirt

Pink polka-dot rain boots- Target

Hair in a low ponytail (because apparently, that's how princesses wear their hair. I personally prefer the higher ponytails, but what do I know? I'm just a mom.....)

Sass-a-frass 'tude- all hers

Date Night!

2011-07-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

We love our date nights

The most recent one: picnic on the beach with mason jar meals.

So, so fun

And really cheap, too!

Baby M

2011-07-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

I got to take pictures of my friends precious baby girl. She was just over 2 weeks- and so sweet and mellow!

Aww, I love babies!

My favorites:

Our trip to the Del Mar Fair!

2011-07-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

A few favorites pics from our trip to the Del Mar Fair (now actually called the San Diego County fair, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it)

Always come prepared! Pit stop before going in...

Eating Fried Food. I could not join in the festivities, but my bro go fried kool-aid and Steve got fried avacado. Nice.

Jessica rode an elephant! Izzy wanted to, but we figured she would actually throw a fit once up there and didn't want any scared elephants running off with my babies on top..... next year!

They LOVED the rides! It was so cute to see the two of them together. I love that Izzy is finally old enough to do things with Jessica, they're totally BFF's now :)

Jessica rode her first roller coaster! AND all by herself! I was so surprised at how brave she was!

Corn dogs for lunch. Woot!

and Chris had chocolate covered bacon for dessert....

My favorite part- Photobooths! AND we actually got a pic with all of us smiling! Made the day that much more perfect :)

Can't wait to go again next year!

Homemade Corn Tortillas

2011-07-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day, after our yummy breakfast and adventure at the WAP we came home, napped/rested, and then made homemade corn tortillas & fish taco's with fish Steve had recently caught.

Actually pretty easy and I know they will get easier. I need a tortilla press though.....

Found the recipe online, real simple:

Water & Masa Harina (you can find this at a Mexican market or online. Good thing I live so close to mexico, there is a market right down the street!)

Mix 2 cups Masa Harina

with 1 1/2 - 2 cups water

Apparently though, the ratio is where it gets tricky. I should have read around a little bit more before starting. You don't want it too wet, or it gets sticky. Too dry and it breaks a part.

Then you roll the dough into little balls:

This is where a tortilla press would be nice. We just had to pat and smoosh them down. We tried to roll them between wax paper, but they got sticky and it got kind of crazy. So I just decided it was easiest to use my hands

Sorry, pics are out of order. Me with my first successful tortilla!

Jessica trying to help with the rolling. Before I got frustrated and sent everyone outside so I could do it in peace :)

Then you just fry them on a pan, about a minute or so each side, when it they turn a nice golden brown color :)

Then, the best part- you get to eat them! I think we had about 16 successful tortilla's. So so yummy with our fish, cabbage, guac & black beans!

Daddy approved :)

Cheese-Bucket

2011-07-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

She's so ridiculous sometimes, but I love her. Cheesy grin and all

Baby M's newborn pics!

2011-07-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Man, newborn pictures are hard! I have a lot of admiration for all you fabulous baby photographers out there :)

These are Baby M, I took her mom's maternity pics just over a month ago (I also totally lagged on getting these pics edited). Her big sister is so proud! Beautiful baby girl, hope you enjoy

Zucchini Taco Pizza {GF & DF, of course!}

2011-06-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

This "pizza" was so awesome!

Got it from the book: Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism by Maria Emmerich

Tweaked the recipe from the book because I used dairy free rice cheese in place of cheddar, but it still turned out amazing! So great for all the crazy amounts of zucchini's we get in our garden, and just overall delicious (and healthy!)

Crust:

1.5 cups zucchini or chayote (what the heck is chayote?) peeled and shredded

2 eggs

2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese (I used rice cheese)

1 tsp Mexican spices (optional) (I used cumin, coriander, onion salt, & chili)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease cookie sheat. Peel & shred large zucchini (I left the peel on. Isn't that where all the good stuff is?)Add egg, spices, and cheese, and mix well. Spread the dough onto the pan evenly (watch the middle of the crust- it can be too think) and bake for 12 -15 minutes, or until the crust is cooked. Let cool. Makes a large crust (14"). Nutritonal Info: Cals: 785, Carbohydrates: 9 Fiber: 0 Fat: 49 g Protein: 75 g

For the Taco Pizza

Layer:

Pizza sauce mixed with salsa

Ground grass fed beef, cooked (I cooked up ground chicken with more taco seasonings instead)

Shredded lettuce

Shredded cheese

Chopped tomatoes

Red Onion

Sliced Black Olives (I swear you used to be able to find cans of sliced olives, but I can't find them anywhere now!)

Guacamole (optional) (but not really, its the best part!)

Sour cream (optional) (we skipped this)

Super duper messy, but so fun to make. The girls helped me layer the pizza, and everyone ate it. So good!

Pink Cupcake

2011-06-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

Jessica earned a special treat with mommy for staying dry all night for more than a week strait (finally! we're done with potty training! well, at least with her.....). She hasn't been sleeping with a pull up at night since she turned 4, but she recently began to wet the bed at night a lot more. I don't know why it went backwards, but bribery ended up working :)

I took her to CB cupcakes, which just opened up down the street.

One little cupcake, she got to pick the flavor and the frosting and the topping. Just a $1.50. Not bad!

Of course, she chose all pink ;)

Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Vegan zucchini bread

2011-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

{Confession- this is not the gluten free zucchini bread. This is the regular zucchini bread I made my preschoolers. *but I did use whole wheat flour*

Just forgot to take a picture of my bread before I devoured it.....}

1 1/2 c. all purpose gluten free flour
1 c. zucchinni

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 c honey

1/4 c applesause

1 banana, mashed

1/2 c carob chips

1/2 c dried cranberries

1/2 c smashed walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients

In a second bowl mix together the honey, applesauce, mashed banana & zuchinni.

Mix the two bowls together, then add the carob chips, cranberries, and walnuts.

Put in the bread pan and bake for about 55 minutes. Delicious!

{Adapted from Better Homes & Garden "New Cook Book"}

Best Daddy Ever!

2011-06-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so late- craziest week ever! Getting ready for graduation at my preschool :)

Father's day was fun- we made a fancy breakfast for Daddy of gluten free french toast (because yes, majority of the time, my family eats like me with my crazy diet), turkey bacon, and yummy fruit

Jessica & Izzy picked flowers for daddy- I love that Jessica found the biggest flower in the yard:

Then we went to the WAP as is now our Father's Day tradition (we started last year)

Here are a few picture of Daddy & his girls:

Feeding the animals in the petting zoo. Both girls were terrified and would just drop the food 2 feet ahead of the animals

Watching the elephant show

Finally trying to pose them, but I should have done it earlier in the day. They were distracted and tired and would not hold still!

This obviously isn't the girls with their daddy, but kind of fun- the gorilla mama is holding her 2 day old baby!!!! So sweet!

Walking on the bridge, that Jessica had wanted to do forever, but we usually go under since we have strollers. So cute

After the WAP we came home and made fish tacos with fish that daddy caught, AND we made the tortillas from scratch! (I will post those pics later)

We have the best daddy and husband around!!!

Camping Trip Highlights

2011-06-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

So many fun memories from our camping trip. Want to be sure to preserve them, hope to one day get them in a scrapbook!

The highlights:

Car Ride:

-2 pee stops for an hour and 20 minutes of driving. AND we still had a pee pee accident

-"Big Mountains" everywhere. Izzy & Jessica both kept pointing them out. It reminded me of my youngest brother, Greg, pointing out every water tower he'd see when driving through Iowa

- We put on Jessica's Jams. A cd that we've had for Jessica for a few years. Izzy started getting really upset in the back seat, and it literally took us 5 minutes to figure out she was saying: "Isabella's Songs" So sweet! Made me realize we can't leave her out, got to treat the two girls equal. She's not a baby anymore!

-During the pit stops, daddy had to go, too (we pulled over on the highway, and used the portable potty for the girls). The girls could not get over that Daddy pees in bushes!

Izzy was so excited to finally set up camp!

The First Night

-Roasting hot dogs & marshmellows. They weren't a fan of the smoke (who can blame them?) and only lasted a few minutes before Daddy had to take over. Loved the messy faces after s'mores!

-Bedtime was much easier than we thought it would be! Both girls woke up in the middle of the night cold. So did mommy. We were better prepared for the next night

Jessica, Izzy, & Daddy roasted hot dogs!

Jessica & Izzy doing dishes. So cute!

So excited to be making s'mores!

Mommy s'more ingredients

Friday

-Izzy proved that is pretty much 95% potty trained. We set up her little potty in a corner and she would go over there every time she had to pee. Proving she is just a stinker and doesn't like to take herself to the potty at home....

-Taking the girls on a Nature hike! They learned about Mother Nature and had fun exploring

-Izzy requested blue chicken nuggets for dinner. Don't know where the "blue" came from, but it was pretty funny. And we kept having to explain to the girls the only food we had was what we brought.

-Down time- Izzy took a long nap, Daddy & Jessica took a walk to the pond, mommy layed out in the sun! Then mommy showed Jessica how to make "fairy houses" that she loved making as a little girl.

-We brought the girls bikes, and learned that bike riding with the girls is a 2 parent job! But oh so fun :)

Daddy & his fancy french press coffee maker

On our Nature Hike

Love love love this candid moment I was able to capture. So precious

Jessica's fairy house!

Bike riding

Friday Night
-Spagitti for dinner!

-We took an evening walk after dinner to see if we could find deer. It turned into a photoshoot when Mommy realized how great the lighting was!

-Bedtime was even easier BUT when Izzy started whimpering at 2am we made it worse by talking to her too much, then she started screaming and the neighbors got annoyed so she ended up in the sleeping bag with daddy.... at least Jessica slept through the whole night!

Mmmmm psgetti!

Evening walk- where Izzy had her first pee accident of the trip

This was her "no I didn't" face when we called her out....

Getting arsty with my s'more shot

Messy, messy faces!

All bundled up and ready for the cold/bed!

Saturday

- We packed up and said good bye to our super fun first family only vacation and camping trip. Can't wait to camp at the beach in August!

After a night of sharing his sleeping bag with Izzy, he didn't get much space from her.

Those girls love their Daddy!

The view of San Diego county on our way back home

June KRAP wine!

2011-06-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Finally posting about my monthly KRAP wine in the correct month!

Steve and I enjoyed this vino on our camping trip :)

This was a Syrah from Paula (I just realized that the 4 months each girl got were right next to each other. Not that it makes a difference. Just an observation. I'm a nerd) As she says on the bottle "Start summer off with a SYRAH!" ;)
Awesome wine, super simple and not overly complex. I think it would be good to pair with anything, but I enjoyed it with some s'mores ;)
I give it an A!

A few more wedding pics....

2011-06-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

So we had to get a family picture after Miss Angie's wedding- we were all dressed to the nines!

Here are a few of my favs (and please excuse the blue tint- my WB was off and I haven't had time to play around with it in photoshop yet)

Of course, Miss Jessica is pouting

Got one where everyone is smiling! (But I look like I am about to fall onto Steve...)

A few of just us- love this one, it reminds me of prom

You can see that Jessica & Izzy were running wild while we tried to snap a few of just us....

GF/SF Applesauce-Oatmeal Cookies

2011-06-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

I attempted to make some gluten free oatmeal cookies by just replacing the flour in the recipe with my gluten free flour baking mix. As yummy as they tasted, they did not come out so well- too thin and breakable (and Izzy would freak if her cookie broke). A friend had given me an excerpt from "Bake Deliciously!" Gluten and Dairy Free Cookbook by Jean Duane, Alternative Cook (I need to look into this book!) and it has tips on how to convert a traditional recipe to gluten free. So I sat down and convereted my oatmeal cookie recipe and got this- and they turned out delicious!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup honey (or brown sugar, but I had to keep it sugar free as well!)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/8 tsp baking soda (I'm not good at math. So there you go)
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal (threw that in for good measure!)
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/4 cup of Gluten Free Oats
1 egg
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
3/4 c. brown rice flour
1/4 c. cornstartch
1/4 c. quinoa flour
optional: 1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips.

1. Preheat oven to 375 (unless you have a ghetto oven like me, I had to put it on 400)
2. Mix butter with an electric mixer
3. Add the honey, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix till combined
4. Beat in the egg & applesauce. Mix till combined
5. Beat as much flour as you can (this was not a problem at all for me, I think because we had honey instead of sugar)
6. Stir in any remaining flour and the oats
7. Stir in cranberries and chocolate chips if you so desire (dont' know why you wouldnt' desire it though, its delicious!)
8. Drop dough on un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes (again, unless you have a ghetto oven. Then it takes about 12 - 14)

Makes about 24 cookies. Eat & Enjoy!

I even have the nutrion facts for ya (if you don't add the chocolate chips and dried cranberries, it takes the calories down to 99. But i LOOOOVE chocolate, so thats not going to be an issue for me):

{Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens}

Nutrition Facts

homeade
oatmeal applesauce gf choc. cookies

Serving Size: 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories

139

Total Fat

4.8g

Saturated Fat

2.3g

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

16mg

Sodium

29mg

Carbohydrate

23.9g

Dietary Fiber

1.6g

Sugars

13.9g

Protein

1.6g

Vitamin A 2%	Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 0%	Iron 2%

Iron 2%

Family Camping Trip

2011-06-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

We went on our first family vacation with just the four of us.

Did not even realize that until we were there

But all other vacations and trips have been to visit people or with people.

We went camping for 2 nights and 2 days at Palomar Mountain

About an hour and a half drive from our house.

We had so so much fun

We are going to make it a yearly tradition- camping, just the family (who knows if it will always be "just the four us"- hoping to add to the family one day!) every summer after school gets out

I will post the highlights soon, but here are a few family pics!

The first night, making s'mores. (My favorite part of camping. No joke)

Goofing around

We went for an evening walk to look for deer, but I was so excited about this field and the perfect lighting, I instead grabbed my tri-pod and set up the self timer for some family pics!

s'mores the second night. i TOLD you it was my favorite part!

It was hard getting pictures of just the four of us. But we had a blast! I love my family :)

Flower girls!

2011-06-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

Jessica and Izzy were flower girls in Miss Angie's wedding in early June

The wedding was at the Wild Animal Park- it was such a fun and unique location!

Jessica has been a flower girl before (which I apparently never blogged about. THAT was a story. Bascially Steve ended up being the flower girl while he carried a crying Jessica down the aisle. He tossed the flowers and everything!) but this was Izzy's first time.

Jessica got to get all fanci-fied at the salon with the big girls!

She even got her nails done!

I tried to get a shot of her and me before we left, but she didn't like that idea...

When we got to the WAP she was ready with the map! (and Izzy with her shades ;) )

We had to glam Izzy up a bit, too. Yipstick that she immediately licked off

One perk, lots of cool things to look at while waiting for the wedding to start!

And thank goodness we had Miss Justine with us! She was our nanny for the day. She was also basically another flower, since she had to carry BOTH girls down the aisle and hand them off to Steve.

Who then threw the flowers on the aisle.

It was actually quite entertaining :)

Even though they didn't actually do their duties as they were supposed to, they were still the cutest flower girls ever!

Beach Day

2011-06-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Now that both girls are finally older, going to the beach is a lot more fun.

Hoping to go lots this summer and fall!

Here are some pictures from our beach day last Memorial Day

I love bikinis and baby's, especially when they have the budda belly!

Jessica takes a while to warm up to the idea of actually going into the water. At first she was content to just point and laugh....

But she finally warmed up, and had so much fun digging and splashing and jumping in the waves!

Izzy, on the other hand, never warmed up to the idea of playing in the water. She preferred to just eat her food...

Uncle Chris joined us. And just rolled around in the sand (he hadn't been to the beach in years!)

Steve and Uncle Chris did a little body surfing, too!

And they all made an awesome sandcastle!

We tried to get a family picture....

Then we buried Chris in the sand

We also found sand crabs- Izzy thought they were hysterical! Jess was brave enough to hold one

Such a perfect day at the beach. So happy we only live 20 minutes away- and can't wait to go so much more this summer!

May Wine

2011-06-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Posting about it in June,but it was drank in May!

Sonoma Landing Merlot

from Paula

"M is for May and Merlot!"

(I also didn't get a chance to take a good picture. One day I'll have the time to get everything done that I want to get done!)

This was a spicy wine, floral smells, and I bet it would be awesome with cheese. Mmmm, I miss cheese.....
It was drinkable and enjoyable. Nothing crazy, but I liked it lots. I give it an A. Now, to drink my June wine!

Off to the show!

2011-06-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Jessica and I went to see "The Wizard of Oz" put on by the city of San Marcos. It was a children's play, one of Jessica's friends neighbor was in it (you follow that?)

So fun doing these things with Jessica now- she's finally old enough.

I can't wait to take her to the Nutcracker this winter!

Spring cleaning kick

2011-06-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ever since Spring break, which was the first week of April, I've been on a "Spring Cleaning" Kick.

Got my closet all organized

Izzy's clothes organized

My bathroom organized (almost finished, still have to do the drawers, but I do have a HUGE bag of lotions/shampoos/makeup etc to be donated. Takers?)

Random spots in my kitchen

And thats the only place I finally remembered to pick up my camera to take before and after pics:

Before (half way through anyway)

After:

Before:

After

Before:

After:

Ahhh, feels so good to get stuff organized! I never, EVER have time to do this, but when I get going I really get going! The best was cleaning out the THREE, yes, one two THREE junk drawers we have in our kitchen. Look at this bowl full of freakin pens and markers and pencils. Things I can NEVER find when I need them....

Still have more to do but thought I would share what I accomplished so far :)

Watch out for that whale!

2011-06-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

These pictures crack me up
I was trying to have the girls pose in front of the whale statues at the Birch Aquarium one
Family Fun-day Sunday
Izzy was apparently terrified that the whale was going to eat her or something
so she would not pose for me and kept running back to the camera.
Love that Jessica thought it was a game and is laughing and running behind her....

Maternity Pics of Miss Lisa

2011-06-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

Got to take maternity pictures of the beautiful Miss Lisa

I took her older daughters 1 year old pictures last summer

Soon I will be taking baby sisters newborn shoots!

The most beautiful pregnant woman ever

Here are some of my favs:

My absolute favorite, she looks so so happy!

Newborn pics will be soon!

Anatomy of a Preschoolers Outfit

2011-06-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

Because its a been awhile
But Jess is still rocking the fabulous preschooler-esque outfits

Hot pink halters- because she loves hot pink and loves halters, target hand-me-down
Orange butterfly skirt- gymboree hand-me-down
Tights, because thats the rule with wearing skirts or dresses at school. Must have tights or shorts on underneath. Target, brand new but bought last fall
And how could purple stripped tights NOT make an outfit look fab?
Attitude: All hers

More pics

2011-06-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Snapped some more pictures of Jess at gymanstics when I was getting Izzy's shots. Too cute not to share :)

Angie & Nick's engagment pics

2011-05-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

My friend Angie, who used to work for me, asked me to take some engagment pics. For whatever reason her photographer doesn't do them, so I was thrilled to! Wedding photography is something I'm terrified of and don't have any desire to do (can we say "Bridzilla?") but I love taking pictures of couples I know in a relaxed setting. I have only taken engagement pictures of my brother and sis in law, but that was before I got into editing. So I was so excited when she asked! I took pictures of their baby girl, and their family pictures before Nick was deployed, before she was even pregnant! This is a family I photograph a lot

I am going to be a bridesmaid in their wedding in June, and the girls will be flower girls :)

Nick is a Marine so they wanted to get pictures with him in his Blues

LOVE the lightening in this one:

And a few of their little boy, he's such a charmer!

Izzy's in gymnastics, too!

2011-05-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

About a month after Jessica started gymnastics, Izzy & I started up a Mommy & Me gymnastics class. I did the same with Jessica, starting when she was a lot younger, and was really excited to do it again with Miss Izzy J. Both of their classes are on Saturday morning, and now they are at the same time. So I drop Jess off then Izzy and I start our class. We get out 15 minutes earlier than Jessica's class, so I still get to watch some (and our classes are held in the same gymnasium so I can be watching almost the whole time). Of course, this doesn't leave me much wiggle room with getting pictures! Luckily, one Saturday Steve had the morning free (he usually goes to jiu jitsu on Saturday mornings) so I armed him with the camera

Here are pics of Izzy's class:

Before hand, both girls staring a little girl throwing a fit in the backround. Probably picking up tips....

During the begining "warm up" it takes Izzy about half the time before she even gets down to participate. Stinker

And then when she is down, I'm the one doing all the work (we were supposed to be skating. Don't I look like I could be the next Nancy Kerrigan?)

Jessica and her class warm up with us- look at Jessica go!

Then Izzy decided she wanted Daddy to do the class with her- so we did a little switch-a-roo

After warm ups its off to do bar work! (don't know if thats the official lingo...)

She basically just took a nose dive over these things she was supposed to be jumping over....

Totally blurry picture, but you get the idea of the set up...

and instead of walking on the bars, Izzy just wanted to post right there in the middle

Best part is the foam pit!

ANd what I really wanted to get a picture of most of all- Izzy walking in line with her hands behind her back. Its so cute when she does it all on her own, but of course she only does it 10% of the time. So glad I got a picture!

Waiting for stamps- she gets them on both hands AND feet. Pretty lucky gal.....

We'll see if Izzy stays in gymnastics for long, but for right now I'm loving the mommy/Izzy time we get!

Ch-ch-ch-CHIA!

2011-05-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

So, as I mentioned before, I recently read Born to Run and have been trying the whole vibram/barefoot running thing. In the book they talk about this super drink made out of Chia that the Tarahumara tribe drink. My blog friend Jessie posted on her blog how she made the drink, and it looked so easy I had to try it!

You take 8 ounces of water

mix in 1 tablespoon of chia seed (I bought it in the bulk section at Sprouts)

Let it sit for 5 minutes

Then stir, stir, stir, stir, for about a minute

Then let it sit another 5 minutes

Then I add some lemon juice and local honey (its supposed to help with allergies so I'm squeezing it in any way I can!)

Then drink!

Viola!

If you are a texture person, you may not be into this drink, but for me its AWESOME. Kind of like a non color fruit smoothie. And it seriously gives me energy. AND fiber. LOTS of fiber (just warning you all). I've been drinking it every afternoon with my afternoon snack and its seriously been the boost I need!

I looked up the info on, so thought I'd share what I found if anyone else was interested:

FOOD SUMMARY

Download Printable Label Image

Nutritional Target Map

2.83.4Fullness FactorND Rating

NutritionData's
Opinion

Weight loss:

Optimum health:

Weight gain:

The good: This food is very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Calcium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Manganese.

Caloric Ratio Pyramid

36%	53%	11%
Carbs	Fats	Protein

77
mildly anti-inflammatory

Poor Izzy

2011-05-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

Am I so mean that I think this picture is hysterical? I was trying to get Izzy to go in the Shark's mouth with Jessica (and as I type that out I realize that I guess it probably was a bit scary...) and Izzy was refusing- she was too scared! Poor Izzy

Mothers Day Gift

2011-05-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

Not the best picture (at all) but just wanted to share what the girls made me for Mother's Day.
They decorated the other side with fabric paints
But I'm loving their little hand prints

Outtakes

2011-05-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

It was ridiculously hard to get Izzy to take a normal/decent picture for her
two year picture with her dog.
Not to mention she now chooses what she wears most days and had a interesting outfit on...
Here are a few favorites:
Cheesy smile with dog in lap, shoes on the wrong feet, and mullet rockin

Showing me how old she is. By holding up two hands. Or ten fingers. She had no idea what she was doing...

Being a goober

Such a cheeseball! Climbed up on the side of the couch because she Could. Not. Sit. Still!

Two year olds crack me up

Izzy's Elmo Party

2011-05-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Few highlights from Izzy's Elmo bday party.

Please note that Izzy barely even watches Elmo, yet she insisted on a "Blue Elmo" party

So here it is!

I'm obsessed with making these Martha Stewart puff balls (guess they're called pom poms. Whatevs)

This particular combo is perfect for 4th of July- too bad I haven't figured out a way to store them...

An outtake from her mini-photoshoot (that was taken after I woke her up for her party!)

Skirt was a little short..... had to add some pants!

Its really hard trying to get a decent family picture...

We played with bubbles...

Greeting her friends!

Little bit of thumb sucking here and there...

Practicing the blow toy (we call them butterfly tounges)

Pinata!

Enjoying a piece of candy from the pinata, that mommy had to eventually just pull open on dump the candy out of

Fancy Elmo cupcakes from my friend Stephanie's Hey There, Cupcake

Singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out the candles! (had to move inside since it was so windy outside!)

Delicious

We opened presents after everyone left. We learned the hard way with Jessica's 2nd bday that present opening can get reeeeeeeeeeeeeallly crazy with a bunch of 2 year olds

Love her cheesy face when she's showing off some of her gifts to her Papa (Grandpa Adams, my dad)

The chaos after opening all the presents

Tried to keep it a mellow party, didn't go overboard or stress the details that much.

Izzy had a great time and loved every minute.

It was perfect :)

This little girl.......

2011-05-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Is already 2. TWO! TWO YEARS OLD!

Thats so big :(

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with my baby not being a baby anymore.

I think partially its because, when Jessica turned two I was 3 months away from giving birth to Izzy.

This time? Not even close to another baby.

We do want one, and hopefully we will be able to have another in the future,

but right now its not in the cards.

I also don't even know why I want another one when I have my hands FULL with the two I have....

But thats beside the point.

The point is, my chubba bubba big baby girl is no longer a baby.

She's practically not even a toddler.

She's a big girl (with very little hair. We're working on that)

She's got a big heart, a big personality, a big budda belly.

She makes me crazy and makes me laugh and makes me so very happy.

Love watching her grow, but wish she would slow down a little bit

{Pictures from Izzy's somewhat official two year photoshoot}

Born to be barefoot

2011-05-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

So, since my marathon, I haven't been able to run. At all. Knee pain- did PT, x-ray, MRI, everything, and don't know whats wrong. Long, frustrating story, but my knee is finally getting better. And I've decided to run barefoot. Well, not completely barefoot, I wear crazy toe shoes called Vibram Five Fingers. Yes- I'm one of those freaks now.

Actually though, since the first time I heard of barefoot running, I've been obsessed. I would notice every runner that was either barefoot or in the crazy foot gloves. I read about it online, I thought about how cool it would be, and I wanted to try it. It just vibes with how I tend to try to live my life. As natural as possible. Barefoot running makes sense- we were running LONG before shoes were invited, why do I need them now? Anyway, but to start running barefoot, you pretty much have to start from scratch. Running just a few minutes at a time to get your body used to running with no support from a shoe, and I was not about to do that (not after how hard I worked!) so I put it on the back burner. But still enjoyed spotting all the barefooters out there.

After my knee injury, I did a lot of research, and lots more reading on barefoot. I decided to finally try it out. I hadn't run for over 2 months so I was going to be practically starting over again anyway.

I also read Born to Run. I read about the book on just about every bare-foot running site or in any bare foot running article. Then it started popping up on some blogs I read, and every time it came highly recommended. Since I was committed to trying to run barefoot when I finally started running again, I bought it on Amazon (only $6 used!). I read it in less than a week- it was an awesome book. So good I made Steve read it. And he loved it so much it inspired him to run- and he was about to start, until I pointed out it might be a bit insensitive to the fact that his wife was injured and could not run and maybe he could wait until she was healed so her injury wouldn't be rubbed in her face, but thats a whole other story....

Anyways, so I am now wearing the vibrams every day to the gym, and have started running/walking on the treadmill. I've been starting slow- building up by starting at 5 minutes 3 x's a week. I'm determined to do this correctly and not hurt myself again- but so far so good. Its amazing to notice how my stride has changed, and how much lighter I feel. And make me realize how much I have missed running. Really hoping this works for me!

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt my first barefoot mile. I will let you all know how it goes ;)