Trendy lil Toddler (& Baby): Star Spangled Edition part 1

Claire: Ciao Bella by Gymboree (top and bloomers)

 Headband by Blossom&Vine 

Jack: Fore!! Axel&Hudson (again) shirt and shorts 

[I can't help it]

:-)

Red, White, & Blue {Cookie Decorating}

 My mom makes the best sugar cookies and homemade frosting in the world. not kidding. As a child I always loved decorating cookies, and now my sisters and I still love to do it with my mom and our kids (and occasionally a wiener dog named Derby too)!

We made these on the 2nd to take to our 3rd of July party, and it was so hard for the little ones to not eat the cookies! We told them they could each have one, and then we had to save the rest for the party.  The temptation was just too much for my Jacky boy.  He grabbed one off the table and announced that he was going outside to eat it. I quickly said, "No Jacky. Come here now." He handed over the stolen cookie and then covered his face with both hands and burst into tears. It was the saddest thing ever. Needless to say we went outside and ate a cookie together! 

Sometimes you just have to let them have another cookie.

xo

Marshmallow Sparkle Pops

Every year my Nana has a 3rd of July party at her house. He neighborhood sponsors an amazing fireworks display, so we celebrate a little early!

I was feeling a little crafty, so I enlisted the help of one very adorable 2 year old to help me with my "project."  We made Marshmallow Sparkle Pops.  I'm listing this under D.I.Y. and not Mmm D'licious, because I'll be honest, they look much better than they taste.  My husband tried them and said, "It's like a sugar ball, dipped in sugar and then dusted in sugar...a little to much sugar!" haha. But they did make a cute decoration, and if I had had more time, I would have wrapped them individually and sent them home with people as a little favor.

Ingredients [for about 30]:

Large Marshmallows
Candy Melts {I used red and blue- 1/2 bag of each}
Sprinkles...lots of sprinkles!
Lollipop sticks

How To: 

Follow directions on the Candy Melts bag :-)
Dip one side of the mellow into the melted candy
Dip/roll in sprinkles
Set (candy coated side DOWN) on cookie sheet that is covered with wax paper
Once the candy hardens a little (you can put them in the refridge to speed up the process) repeat on the other side using the second color.
Stick your lollipop sticks in before the candy hardens. I didn't do that, so I ended up sticking them into the marshmallow part that wasn't frosted.

Super easy, super cute, it was just too much sugar for me! haha. Next time I think I'll attempt Cake balls- same idea, but edible!

Wonder where my lil baby face was while we were doing our project? She was just playing in her exersaucer! Such a good girl! We got it down out of our storage and Daddy and Jack put it together for her! I feel like Jack should still be little enough to be in there! I remember when we put him in it for the first time! ahh. how time flies! She loves it! And Jack loves showing her all the little things on it!

my lil helpers!

On My Heart: My Heart.

Source: weheartit.com via Jana on Pinterest

Ba-boom, Ba-boom, Ba-boom

My heart.

My heart!

boomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboom

Something was wrong with my heart.  It was not just speeding, it was going berzerk. 

pounding so hard, so fast, I thought it might just stop. 

STOP. 

It lasted 3-4 minutes, and then all of a sudden...

a jolt.

Ba-boom, Ba-boom, ba-boom....back to normal.

This happened to me on Wednesday morning. I was just going about my business and it just starting going. This is actually the second time it has happened.  The first time was about 6 months ago, still pregnant with peewee, I called my OB thinking it was pregnancy related. He said not to worry, but if it happened again to go to the E.R.  It didn't happen again- until Wednesday.

Source: Pinterest

I hate going to the doctor for nothing, but since the heart is kind of a big deal- I figured I better get it checked out. So yesterday I went to the Cardiologist. After describing my "episodes" the doctor was fairly certain that I have something called

Supraventricular Tachycardia.

In supraventricular tachycardia, the heart rate is sped up by an abnormal electrical impulse starting in the atria.
The heart beats so fast that the heart muscle cannot relax between contractions. When the chambers don't relax, they cannot contract strongly or fill with enough blood to satisfy the body's needs.

The Dr. explained to me that it is not life threatening, but she of course wanted to do some tests to rule out anything else that may be.  Sooo- I had an EKG, then the nurse hooked me up to a fancy little/not little heart monitor that I have to wear for 24 hrs.  It has 5 chords, all affixed to different spots on my chest, and one very large pager looking thing I that I've had hooked to my pants all day [cerca 1998, 143-637 haha].  

I then went down to the lab to have blood work done.  It was crowded, and I sat waiting for quite a while.

Not life threatening.  

I texted my husband. Somehow just typing those words brought a whole flood of emotions. I could feel the lump in my throat and my eyes fill with tears.  My mind was flooded with fearful thoughts...What if these tests show there is something else wrong with my heart? What if I have a serious condition. My Babies. Life is so fragile. So fleeting. What if I die. 

Randomly, I had grabbed my little journal to take with me.  This was the Lord, because I never take it anywhere.  It is for my morning quiet time to jot down notes, thoughts, prayers, and it is filled with some of my favorite verses.  I just sat and flipped through reading verse after verse.  I was struck by how many of them had the word heart in them.  I felt like I was given a little mini word-study right then and there in the middle of the LabCore waiting room. Others just gave me the peace and reassurance that I needed in that moment. It was a really precious few minutes.

Source: generalvalentine.com via Grace on Pinterest

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Prov. 17:22

"Listen closely to my words, do not let them out of your sight. Keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body."

Prov. 4:20-22

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Eph. 2:10

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them that those who love your name  may rejoice in you. For surely O Lord you bless the righteous, you surround them with your favor, as with a shield"

Ps. 5:11-12 [My mom used to pray those verses to us every morning when we would be leaving for school. It is dear to my heart because of that!]

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Phil. 1:6

"But I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."

Ps. 13:5

It went on and on. Verse after verse reminded me of God's great love for me, his peace that surpasses all understanding, and the joy that comes from rejoicing in Him and His salvation.

Fear and anxiety are from the enemy, peace and joy are from the Lord.  I really believe all these tests will come back fine [I still have to have an ecocardiogram next Friday] but in the meantime, it was a reminder of how fragile and brief our lives can be. We are not promised our health, we are not promised tomorrow, but we are promised salvation and abundant life in Him! 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

Deut. 6:5

liking up with Casey here

Mmm D'Licious: Chicken Marsala

 Since most of my Mmm D'licious posts have been desserts [eek] and we are not making desserts right now...I'm trying to post more entrées! Here is one of my favorites and a staple around here!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

3-4 half chicken breasts
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
Knorr Turkey Gravy packet [or Williams Sonoma Turkey Gravy Base (available during the holidays) + 1/2 milk]
Sprinkle Lawrys Seasoned salt
Sprinkle Garlic powder
3 Tbs Yoshida sauce
1/2 C Sweet Marsala Wine

Cut chicken into pieces, cook in pan with butter and olive oil until white all the way through.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and garlic powder
Cook gravy as directed
Add to cooked chicken
Add Yoshida & Marsala wine
turn on the heat for a couple minutes

*this is also good with sautéed veggies {onion, bell pepper, squash] in it or as a side*

Serve over rice or noodles [I usually do noodles] with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

The heart of {art}

Last week my sister and I took our kiddos to Ceramicafe to do a little painting.  It was so much fun to watch the kids get so excited about it.  They loved every minute of it, from picking their piece to choosing paint colors, and the of course, the actual painting of it.  Children are so creative, and so uninhibited.  They are not afraid to express themselves through art.  I love that. Somewhere along the road of my life, a little bit of a perfectionist came along for the ride.  That, combined with my indecision, has hindered my ability to be {artistic}. Or maybe that just isn't my gift? No psychoanalysis necessary! ha. I don't know, but it sure is refreshing to watch children in that sort of setting.  Children really know how to live.  The are free, they are honest, they love and they laugh- uninhibited by things we adults get hung up on.  I love seeing the world through their joyful and innocent eyes.  They still have so much to learn about life, and yet they are teaching me about it.

"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'"

Matthew 18:2-3

Run the Race

I love exercising.  A year ago I was going to the gym 4-5 times a week.  Kickboxing is my favorite, but I also like the Strength Endurance Training (SET) and Core Central classes too.  I found out I was preggo with Claire Bear exactly a year ago, and I kept working out until I was 8 weeks and I experienced some pain during TKB.  My plans of being 9 months preggo and still doing it went out the window.  It wasn't worth the risk.  I'm sure I could have done some low impact cardio or at least walked on the treadmill...but the truth is- I didn't. So for the next 10 months I of course was not sedentary...anyone with 1-2 year old knows you don't do a lot of sitting around, but I really didn't do any exercise to speak of.

Now Claire is 4 months old and summer is basically upon us [even though the weather hasn't really gotten the memo yet] and I'm ready to be back in shape. The only problem? I've been working out for 2 months and honestly- I'm stuck.  I'm just not losing this darn weight.  So what's the deal?

I have a couple of guesses.

The past 6 months there has been a lot of stuff going on in our family, and stress is never good for the waist line {or any part of you} It is actually pretty toxic.  [It also may or may not cause you to consume copious amounts of dessert comfort food].

I also may just have a sweet tooth that doesn't quit- and a husband who loves it just as much. We eat very healthy the rest of the time, but dessert is kind of a weakness of mine [and his- and I like being a sweet wife that bakes chocolate chip cookies for my guy when they sound good to him].  We are making a concerted effort to not eat sweets for a month. I've been doing pretty well...I'm finding half the battle is fought at the grocery store.

This is also my 2nd baby and C-section - so I suppose I shouldn't have assumed it would have been as easy "getting back" as it was the first time around.

So heres what I'm doing about it (and a couple tips if you are trying to get in shape too):

I'm kickboxing. YAY. I love TKB, and it literally torches the calories! I'm trying to go 3 times a week. The days I don't kickbox, I'm doing Insanity.  Have you heard of it? Its another Beachbody production like P90X, but its mostly cardio, plyo, and core training. It is a little insane.  I'm usually tired after the first 15 minutes.  It's good though because I don't have to have a babysitter and I can do it whenever I have a spare 45 minutes :-) *update* I did Jazzercise this morning with my sister...don't laugh. It's actually a really good workout. I left there dripping sweat.  I just might add it to the rotation :-)

I'm really trying to not eat dessert. A couple of tips? Like I said- the battle is really fought in the grocery store. If you don't buy it, its not available in that moment of weakness after dinner when the kids are asleep and you are relaxing with a good book {or three- more on that later}.  If I don't have it in the house, I don't eat it. Want another tip? Go grocery shopping after you just ate.  If I'm hungry when I'm shopping, I'm more likely to buy things that aren't healthy just because they sound good.

I'm setting goals.  I like having a chart and tracking my progress. Its encouraging, and it also helps keep me motivated.  We have a family vacation planned for the end of July, so that is my goal time-frame.

Here's a bonus tip: drink water!!! I love lemon water, so I'm drinking a lot of it! Especially after dinner. Somehow the lemon kind of takes away the sweet tooth! Oh and if I'm done with my lemon water- I brush my teeth right away! That also deters me from eating anything I shouldn't.

Regarding your health & weight, and really all areas of life, it really comes down to your choices.  Life is about choices. You can make good ones; choices that ultimately please the Lord, and subsequently you are blessed because of it; or you can choose to live your life according to your own will.  That road does not lead to blessing, it leads to destruction. We are called to take care of our bodies, for they are the temple of the Lord.  I want to be healthy and feel strong, physically and spiritually, and I want to please the Lord with my life and my choices.

I can't help but think of the analogy of our spiritual lives being a race we must run- with endurance and perseverance.  Just like exercising, we have to be disciplined and work at our relationship with the Lord.  If we do nothing, nothing will happen.  We won't be growing in our faith.  If we do not take time to have silence and prayer time, we won't hear His voice. If I never exercise or purpose to eat healthy food, I won't reach my goal.  What are you doing to exercise in your spiritual life today? Are you "feeding" your spirit with things that will draw you closer to the Lord?

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Hebrews 12:1-3

linking up with Katie here