A SICK DAY.

1. Honest Kids Grape Juice  // 2. Essential Oils // 3. Essential Oil Diffuser // 4. Clorox Clean-up // 

5. Lysol Disinfectant Spray  // 6. Method Hand Soap // 7. Mickey Foaming Hand Soap 

Sorry for the crickets lately, but we have been on the mend over here... First, Kurt came down with a seriously runny nose and then Kris got the stomach bug.  I am not one to go crazy about germs, I actually think it is good for the immune system, but I don't mess around when it comes to a stomach bug.  I went into serious clean freak mode and have the chapped hands to prove it.  I think we fared pretty well, luckily it's been a full two weeks and neither Kurt or I caught it, which I think is pretty good considering Kris and I shared a glass of wine an hour before it started and Kurt was laying in bed with him 5 minutes before.  (I do realize that actually writing this may totally jinx me)  Anyway here are some tips that I picked up...

1.  Grape Juice: Have any of you seen the whole Grape Juice thing on pinterest?  Well I pinned it a few months ago and sure enough found my self frantically scrolling through my boards when it struck.  I didn't have Welsh's 100% Grape Juice (which actually makes me want to vomit when I drink it, I'm not a juice person and have a hard time stomaching it) but I did have Honest Kids Grape Juice on hand which both Kurt and I had.

2.  Essential Oils:  Ok, I plan on doing a whole post on essential oils soon because I am big believer and there is so much info.  In the meantime, this is what I did specifically for this situation.  Kris started getting sick at around 10 pm.  At that point I moved to the couch and Kurt to his room,  all three rooms had a diffuser with thieves in it.  I also directly rubbed thieves on all of our feet.  I put one drop of oregano oil on my tongue about three times throughout the night when I would wake up to check on Kris.  Oregano oil is not suitable for children and is really, really strong so just I did this.  I also added peppermint to Kris' diffuser because it soothes the stomach and diluted it and rubbed it on his belly.  I did the same with frankincense as well.  I think this helped, he only threw up once after I started the oils on his belly, which is pretty good considering that I have heard this go around of the bug has been pretty violent.  I kept up with the thieves on all three of us... diffusers and applying it to the feet.  Kris also had a fever so I rubbed lavender on his chest and neck.

Please note:  Do some research before using essential oils on yourself or your family, some people have sensitivities and only a few are suitable for use on children.  Also, I only use young living brand of essential oils, they are they only ones that I know of that are pure enough to ingest.

3. Quarantine:  I completely quarantined Kris from the rest of us.  He was not allowed to leave the bedroom for two days.  And when he finally was able to get up and out of the house, I went crazy in there disinfecting.  I read that bleach is the only thing that will actually kill norovirus (stomach bug) so I used Clorox Clean-up and Lysol on everything!!! Disinfecting wipes won't kill the virus so I wouldn't use that.  I actually never use bleach to clean, it is way to harmful of a chemical however... desperate times = desperate measures.  I disinfected the whole house this way to be extra careful and opened doors and windows to air it all out.  Plus I was extra careful to do this when Kurt was sleeping so he didn't come into contact with any of the chemicals.

4.  Wash up:  Wash your hands with soap and water like crazy and do not touch your mouth or eyes.  This is pretty difficult with a toddler so make sure you wash your little one's hands as well.  I even found this cute Mickey soap to make it a little more fun for him, even though anything involving water is fun for him.

5.  Laundry: I washed everything with hot water for a few days and kept all of Kris' laundry separate. (Especially underwear or anything that was soiled from vomit... I know, gross!) I completely stripped the bed and washed everything with very hot water and sprayed the mattress with Lysol and I always have a mixture of thieves and water in a spray bottle that I sprayed all over as well.

Hope you are all feeling well and that you don't have to resort to these tips at all.

SNOW... A CURE FOR THE WINTER BLUES.

I am a big fan of snow...  I always feel like if it has to be cold I would much rather it be snowy and pretty than grey and rainy.  Plus, who doesn't love a snow day... a day dedicated to cozying up with the ones you love eating (and drinking) all day long!!!  Last weekend Kurt got to experience his first snow day and it was pretty magical.  We started the day by baking a blueberry breakfast cake while we waited for dad to finish shoveling... and then headed out to play.  He didn't know what to think of it at first, but he quickly came around and had a blast.

DON'T HOLD ME BACK.

In light of yesterday's negativity... I found this quote to be pretty fitting.  I am having a much better day today and decided that it should be some sort of code that you don't get your period on Valentine's Day, because that my friends was a doozy.  Enjoy your weekend!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY... And Other Stuff.

So I have to admit that today I am not really feeling the love.  Rather than seeing the day through rose colored heart shaped glasses I feel like hiding behind some seriously dark black frames.  I really do have so much love in my life so I feel silly even writing these words, but lately I feel lost.  The past five years have been quite the whirlwind and while I have gained so much along the way, now that I have the chance to sit back and take it all in I feel like I have lost myself along the way.  My spark, you know the thing that makes you tick, not sure when, but somewhere along the way it flickered out.  I constantly struggle trying to strike a balance between being a mom and being me, and I honestly never feel like I am doing either to the best of my ability.  I truly believe that to be a good mom you can not loose focus of yourself and what you love.  Well you guys, I've been searching... truly gut wrenching, list making, deep into my soul searching, and so far I've come up with nothing.  I have free time that I have no idea how to fill, a mind full of ideas, but I am having a very hard time taking a leap.  I am feeling discouraged, uninspired, and like I just don't measure up.  I find myself constantly comparing myself to others which is an awful feeling that I am just not used to.  I focused my entire college experience on "finding" myself (i know, so cliche... I literally just cringed writing that but it's true) and have always been very comfortable with who I am.  But somehow lately I have been comparing, judging, and have let some jealousy sneak its way into my life here and there.  Im trying, really trying to keep all these emotions in check, but the past few days, I have to admit they have gotten the best of me.

I have never been much of an open book, it usually takes me a long time to warm up to people, so it surprises me more than anything that I have chosen this as my place to voice and vent my struggles.  Lately, this blog has become a way to hold myself accountable and really sort things out in my own mind, which is why I am sharing this way too personal information that I am very certain no one cares to read.

That concludes the pity party for now... I hope your day is filled to the brim with love, smiles, hugs, kisses, pretty pink hearts and all things warm and fuzzy.  I am off to kiss a very little man who is sleeping upstairs while I remind myself of all the ways I am blessed (there are many, many, many way... this I know).

YOU ARE. YOU EAT. // Week 5

So this week I didn't do a whole lot of planning, and I was perfectly fine with that.  We ate lots of leftovers, ordered pizza, ate at my sister's (who made really delicious chili that maybe she would like to share?) and then we had the best perogie's ever (thank's helen)... so there wasn't a whole lotta cookin' going on.  We did however, do a little baking and tried out a few interest recipes I've been wanting to give a go.  So here it is... Week 5.

Meal Plan//
1. Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs
2. Homemade Zeppoli's (by kris)
3. Brussels & Sausage Pesto
4. Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Cake

Shopping List//

Produce:

  Broccoli

  1 lb Brussel sprouts  

  3 large carrots (or a handful of baby carrots)

  2 cup fresh blueberries 

  8 cloves garlic  

  2 Lemons

  Rosemary(optional)

  Sweet peppers

Pantry:
  2 quarts Canola oil  (for frying)
  Confectioner's sugar
  Flour
  Olive oil
  Salt
  Sugar
  Vanilla extract
  1/3 cup pesto*

  (16 oz.) orecchiette,  1 lb. (or any pasta)

  Baking powder

  Garlic powder

  Pepper

Dairy:
  ½ cup Buttermilk**
  3 Eggs
  Parmesan cheese
  1 cup Ricotta cheese
  ½ cup Unsalted butter

Frozen:
  Frozen peas

Meat:
  Bone-in chicken thighs (boneless works too)
  Chicken sausage links (I used spicy Italian)

* Pesto- I made my own pesto... I just put a bunch of fresh basil, pecorino romano cheese, a few roasted pine nuts and olive oil in the food processor.  So easy and so good.

** Buttermilk-  This pretty much blew my mind, you can make your own buttermilk.  I usually stay away from recipes that have buttermilk because I hate buying a whole carton just to use a little bit and the rest always goes bad.  It is so easy to make with things you probably always have on hand... just place 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice (I used lemon juice) in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk until it reaches 1 cup and let stand for 5 minutes.

HOMEMADE ZEPPOLES.

Ingredients:
2 quarts canola oil (for frying)
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (for dusting)

Directions:
Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees.  (A deep fryer is probably the easiest way to keep the temperature consistent.  We don't have one so kris used a candy thermometer in a deep frying pan.)  The temperature of the oil is pretty important, so really keep an eye on it and keep it consistent.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Stir in eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla, the batter will be sticky.  (The recipe Kris was using said to mix all those ingredients in a saucepan over low heat until combined.  He didn't think was necessary and just did it in a bowl, but yo can try this method if you'd like.)

Drop tablespoons of the batter in the hot oil.  (If you are doing it in a frying an you will need to turn them, but they will turn themselves in a deep fryer.)  Fry until golden brown, about 3 or 4 minutes and test to be sure that they are cooked through.  Let them cool on a cooling rack covered with paper towels.  (We made ours a little too big at first so the were too brown on the outside and not cooked enough on the inside... so be sure to keep them on the small size.)

These were so delicious... perfectly light and airy... you didn't need much but we did dust with a little powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

source

OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS.

Ok, so we eat this a lot around here... it is really simple you just prepare everything in the morning, let it marinate all day, and then pop it in the oven for about an hour.  Everything in one dish and the chicken come super tender and all the veggies have that roasted, slightly caramelized goodness.  I got this recipe from my friend Dana, who when we came to visit her new baby bay and toddler fed us this deliciousness.  Oh yeah, we went to visit a new baby and she fed us... she's pretty much supermom.  (And we are the worst visitors ever!) Needless to say I was pretty floored how she accomplsihed brushing her teeth that day, let alone this.  Anyway she let me  in on her little secret and gave me this recipe.  Thanks Dana, I hope you don't mind me sharing!

Ingredients:
bone-in chicken thighs (boneless works too)
1 lemon
olive oil
salt
pepper
3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
garlic powder
rosemary (optional)

roasting vegetables:*
carrots
brussel sprouts
sweet peppers
broccoli
frozen peas

*  You can use a variety of vegetables, so try out some different ones.  I pretty much just use whatever I have in the fridge, the list above is what I used this time around.

Directions:
First clean your chicken and place in a large roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Wash your vegetables and chop up whatever needs to be cut.  Place them in a bowl and toss with olive oil so they are all coated.  Scatter your vegetables around the chicken in your roasting pan,  Squeeze the juice of one generous sized lemon over the chicken and vegetables; season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, minced garlic and top with fresh rosemary.

Cover with foil and let it sit in your refrigerator for at least an hour or two.

Heat over to 375 degrees and roast until chicken is cooked through, about an hour.  I finish it for a few minutes under the broiler to get it nice and crispy brown.

Enjoy!