sweet moments

Have you ever had a "mommy moment"? You stop, get lost in what your child is doing and your heart goes to complete mush. I have them often and they seem to come more frequently the more independent she gets. She will be 17 months on Thursday…my goodness.  I don't why this tugged at my heart strings but it did.  She sat like a big girl, in a big girl chair at the kitchen table playing on PBS kids…like a big girl. She giggled, sang along to songs, clicked buttons & clapped with pure delight in what she was doing.  All the while I stood off to the side in awe of how smart, beautiful & sweet she is and how fast she is growing up.

It was a sweet moment. 

{Paleo} Mexican Chorizo Stuffed Pepper…2 ways

OMG this is packed with sooooo much flavor.  I adapted the recipe from Mark's Daily Apple, one of my favorite paleo food blogs.  I have eaten this so many times & eat time I am wowed.  In fact, the chile paste makes a regular appearance - I use it for a variety of different things…It's amazing. 

What you Need:

4 dried ancho or California chiles

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 lb grass fed extra lean ground beef

1 lb chorizo sausage, casings removed

4 teaspoon chile powder

4 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 large bell peppers

Use a paring knife to cut the stem off the dried chiles. Cut the chiles open & scrape out the seeds. In pot heated on high, toast the chiles on each side until they start to puff up a bit, about 25-30 seconds.  Leave the pan on the heat, add a few cups on water & bring to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, turn off the heat, cover the pot & let the chiles soak for approximately 30 minutes. 

Drain the water & combine the chiles & vinegar in a blender.  Blend until a smooth paste forms.

Mix the ground beef, chorizo, chile paste & spices in a bowl until combined.  Cook in skillet over medium heat, breaking the meat into small pieces. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut off the tops of the bell peppers & take out the seeds. 

Place the peppers evenly in a baking dish.  Fill with seasoned ground beef. Cover pan with foil & bake for approximately 40 minutes or until peppers are soft. 

Serve with sliced avocado, grilled plantains or side salad. 

These are delicious for breakfast as well.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrap out some of the meat & set aside. Crack egg over pepper with meat.  Cook until egg white is cooked & yoke remains soft/runny.

First Snow Experience

With great anticipation it actually snowed here in NC.  They have been talking about it for weeks & several other areas of the state got snow the last couple of weeks but it never made it to our area. For days they have been talking about "bad weather", making a 3 hour early release for this afternoon the night before, etc.  Well…it snowed! Of course we got mostly ice because that's what it seems to do here in NC but we had REAL snow as well.  Growing up in the North East has given me a great appreciation for the white flaky stuff & some of my fondest childhood memories are building snowmen, snow forts & shoveling driveways for $$.  I was so excited for Addison!

She went outside excited without even knowing what I was taking her to see. She walked around the house all afternoon saying "hat" & putting it on.  Once I bundled her up in her hat & mittens she darted to the door & pranced around the front yard.  So we didn't get enough to build a snow man but we did get enough to see the joy light up on her face.

Mom vs Mom

I was reading my newsfeed on Facebook this morning and a topic I have wanted to blog about for quite some time was starring me right in my face. Competitive Parenting.

My friend Emilee posted :

"Absolutely disgusted at the amount of judgement that occurs from Mothers to Mothers. Seriously people - raise a happy, healthy kid no matter how you see fit - breast milk or formula, attachment or baby wise, baby led weaning or purées, vaccinate or not. Just remember the first time you judge someone else, what are you really teaching your kids??? I promise your example on how you treat others will make a bigger impact on the type of character they grow up to have than when they started eating solid foods."

Comment after comment people shared their own experiences being judged by other mothers.

We've all experienced it (we might even do it ourselves); judgement on whether or not we formula feed or breastfeed, judgment on schedules/routines, when foods are introduced, how foods are introduced, disposable/cloth diapers, co-sleeping, organic/non-organic…the list is endless.

Why do we do that? Why do we criticize one another instead of supporting each other? Being a mom, a new one at that, is emotional, terrifying, confusing & overwhelming as it is. Oh & don't forget about the insecurity we experience, worrying if the job we are doing is good enough. We are on a quest to find balance in a world of constant change.  The bottom line is that through this endless change we learn to adapt to what works best for our individual families. We have our own methods to try an keep a symbiotic balance.  Just because something worked in your household doesn't mean it will work in mine. We are all doing the best we can. Parenting is hard and complicated. We shouldn't make it even harder by clouding it with guilt & judgement. While we are fortunate to have thousands of parenting philosophies at our finger tips (websites, blogs, books) we sometimes become so fixated on a particular method that we start looking down on people who do things differently.

I think sometimes we do it inadvertently. We analyze other mothers, comparing ourselves to them, and then we judge…ourselves. We question whether we live up to the "standards" & we get defensive. We justify our methods while attacking someone else's. I think the root is derived from competitiveness and jealousy.

The next time you find yourself judging another mother, look at the real emotion behind why you are judging them.

10 Things On Tuesday {Shoes I am Crushing On}

Addison has been wearing shoes since the day she was born but now that her feet have grown a little bit the possibilities (and her shoe collection) has grown tremendously. I am totally crushing on these:

1//Juicy Leopard Print Sneakers

2//Mint Mary Janes

3//Tiny Toms: Cordones

4//Mini Boden Boots

5//PePe Sandals

6//Mini Boden Rain Boots

7//T Stap Sparkle Shoe from Target

8//Manimal baby moccasins

9//Le Petit Tom

10//Bensimon Canvas Tennis Shoes

Lately

A lot has been going on around here lately:

• We cheered on friends of ours at the Carolina Fitness Challenge. Several people for our box competed & 2 made it to the finals WOD.  It definitely has given me even more of a push to want to compete
• We got an olympic lifting platform for the garage (for FREE)..score for us
• We had some super nice 70 degree weather 
• Addison has entered a whole new independent phase and refuses to let us help feed her.  I did catch her using her hands during snack time eating kale & blueberries
•  We wound up at the Dr's for a 104 temperature. When this girl gets sick her temp goes through the roof. I monitored it for 24 hours but eventually took her in. It was just a virus. She is totally back to normal now
• We have "organized" play time now.  Lately it's been consisting of coloring. 
• My sister visited from PA and we celebrated my Mum's birthday.
• I finally got olympic weightlifting shoes
• We had a few playdates
• I've been working 1-2 extra shifts a week so our routine has been out of sorts a little
• The chairs we bought on Craigslist are almost finished. I can't wait to share the end result 

The Great Trade In Event

Now is the time to upgrade to a big ticket baby item if you have been holding out. From today, January 18 through Sunday, February 10th Babies R Us and Toys R Us stores allow customers to trade-in used cribs, car seats, bassinets, strollers, travel systems etc. in exchange for 25% savings on the purchase of a new item.

It's the perfect time if you have been eyeballing that BOB stroller or Britax toddler carseat.

parenting lesson #2328

Parenting lesson #2328: silence is never a good thing. 

While I was cooking breakfast this morning Addison was sitting contently in the living room watching Elmo…or so I thought.  I noticed she got reallllllly quiet so I peaked over the bar to find her noshing on a k-cup. Oh my!

Here are a few pictures I found on the web that show just how mischievous toddlers can be:

Oh you know, just coloring the dog
{SOURCE}

Face painting with mommy's makeup
{SOURCE}

getting into the cabinets
{SOURCE}

what? it's art
{SOURCE}

needs no elaboration
{SOURCE}

I posted this on Facebook & I had so many funny responses; finding kids wound up in a wod of toilet paper, getting into the pantry only to be caught by trails of cheerios, eating parents cigarettes, eating dog bones….so so funny.

What have your "sneaky" toddlers done?

Addison Says

Here are a few new words in Addison's ever growing vocabulary: 

"Outside" as she points to the door. We have been loving the warmer weather & have been trying to take advantage of it. 

"Brock-ali" (broccoli). She says "brock" very throaty… it's hilarious.

"Boot". This girl loves her off white cable knit boots! 

"Eggplant." 

"Nuh-night" for when she is ready for bed.

"Book".

"Kiss". She loves to give kisses & asks for them frequently. 

I literally think she is saying something new everyday…it's hard to keep up!

Paleo Sriracha Chicken

It's no secret that I love sriracha or as I named it in college, "rooster sauce". It's my wake up juice in the morning, accompanying my eggs & veggies. It's the base to salad dressings. The perfect partner with mayo for a spicy & garlicky aioli….I literally put it on everything. A few weeks ago I didn't have time to run to the grocery store & prepare dinner so while I was at CrossFit Philip poked around the pantry & fridge. Things you will always find in my household: chicken breasts, sriracha, almond flour, lots of spices…amongst other things. He figured he couldn't go wrong if whatever he made had "rooster sauce" in it.  You might need to tweak your recipe a little bit as he didn't really measure & the measurements are all based on estimation.

What you need:

4 organic free range antibiotic free chicken breasts
1/4 cup homemade Paleo Mayo or store bought (preferably olive oil based, without soy)
1/4 cup homemadePaleo Sriracha or store bought
1/4 cup almond meal (we use Trader Joe's)
3 tsp of Adobo seasoning (combination of onion powder, paprika, ground black pepper, chili powder,     garlic powder, oregano & cumin).
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley
coconut oil

Roasting pan
wire rack

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place your wire rack inside of your roasting pan.  Lightly coat your rack with coconut oil so the chicken doesn't stick. Mix your mayo & sriracha in a bowl until mixed evenly & set aside. Mix your spices & almond meal thoroughly. Coat the chicken with the sriracha & mayo sauce. Next, dredge the chicken in the almond meal mixture.  Place on wire rack & bake for approximately 20 min.  You should get a juicy chicken breast with a little kick, little crunch & garlicky goodness.

{TIPS} How to Keep Your Resolutions

Well, we are a week into the new year.  So far I've been "ify" with my resolutions; specifically being organized...I am having a hard time keeping up. Here are a few tips to help you keep your new year's resolutions.

Don't waste your time worrying about the "what IF's" or "what it would/could be like".  Focus on the actions/behaviors it takes to get you there.  For example, I want to compete in a fitness competition.  I need to focus on my training & nutrition…the things that are going to take me there, not the competition itself. 

Simply put: If it's not enjoyable, it's not sustainable. Reward yourself for getting all the laundry put away  & keeping the house picked up or put a dollar in a jar every time you go to the gym & treat yourself to a new pair of kicks. 

When you discuss your goals/resolutions with other people you can rally a huge support team around you.  If you are focusing on your nutrition, your friends/family might not tempt you with an invite to Five Guys, instead they may suggest meeting up at Whole Foods. 

The only way it's going to get done is by DOING IT! Stop waiting for tomorrow or  your trip to Ikea to get organized. You have to start somewhere. If organizing is one of your goals, start going through your closets & sorting your items. Set aside time everyday to help yourself accomplish your goals. 

If you set lofty goals/resolutions, reevaluate them & make sure they are attainable. Make milestones inside of goals. Example: I want to get organized.  That's a HUGE goal. Within that goal of being more organized I have made a list of specifics: which rooms, what type of organization for each room.  Knocking one off at a time gives a sense of satisfaction.

Put a plan in place.  What do you need to accomplish your goals? How are you going to accomplish them? Once you figure that out, find the necessary resources.

2013 isn't going to be a year of woulda/shoulda/couldas for this household.  We have our goals individually and as a family unit & we are going to get there!

Lately

Things are back in order our household.  The Christmas decorations are put away & toys are scattered about. All is right with my world. Here is what's been going on around her lately...

 Lots of assembling & playing with new Christmas toys

 Christmas parties & NYE parties have come and gone

 A trip to Marbles with cousin Hope

 Baby WOD's

boo for a duplicate picture of Hampton. 

 My oly barbell & bumper plates came

 I've increased my work hours but am still staying casual to pick up shifts on both days and nights when it works with Philip's schedule.

I PR'd on my deadlift: 235 lbs.

We had several play dates & I was able to catch up with some of my girlfriends.

Small lately post, huh?  I like it…it means we haven't been ridiculously busy!

The Itch

I don't know about you but every year when I take down my Christmas decorations I get the "itch".  As I unpacked the tubs with my year round decor I kept thinking "hmmm, how can I re-purpose this?", I'd rearrange & move items hoping that would satisfy me. Nope.  I started making a list of things I'd like to see change, projects I'd like to accomplish & the items necessary.  I then started flipping through my catalogs, Ballard, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, West Elm, Restoration Hardware...searching for some inspiration. Inspiration turned into creating a small list of things like needed like a new dinning room table runner & pillar candles.  I then started pursuing Pinterest & my small list became a big list: napa chair covers, vintage peony print, wing back chairs, play room items, etc. Next I categorized my "needs" & "wants" & broke them down by store potential. And then I hit Craigslist.  Surprisingly I was able to check 2 items of my list within a matter of minutes; 2 wing back sitting chairs. $40.00 for the pair. Ridiculous! A little sanding, a grey wash paint job, sweet new fabric for the back & seat & I have 2 new chairs for my living room.  Nothing like kicking off 2013 with a fun DIY project. 

Please excuse the messy garage :)