You can judge me.

Seriously.



Why would you judge me do you ask?


Because I bought this for Saoirse.

That's right. I bought her a leash. Actually I prefer to call it a "safety harness." But let me defend myself before you go all "child degradation" on me. First, this is not degrading - it's a fun monkey backpack! Second, anyone who really does have a problem with these things I cordially invite you to take my daughter in public and force her to sit in her stroller. Even better, why don't you try carrying her for a few hours? If your arms aren't tired from carrying 25 lbs, maybe they'll get that workout you've been dying for if that 25 lbs is screaming in your face and struggling for freedom.

I feel like I'm doing the world a service. I'm sure nobody wants to hear my child cry-screaming, and I don't want her wandering off by herself. Win-win right?

Really.

We're going to Iowa soon-ish and I desperately needed something to assure her protection from crazy strangers and from her own curiosity while we're at the airport(s). 

I've heard of some people having serious problems with these things. I'll admit that I didn't think they were necessary when I was younger. But that was before I had a kid and realized the genius behind these things. Your child can walk and be safe while in public! Everyone is happy.

On another note, I made this last night for dinner.

Yummy.

It's a black bean salad/dip. You can eat it by itself but I highly recommend dipping some chips in there. Have I had onion breath for 24 hours? Why yes I have. And it's been amazing, thanks for asking.

Black Bean Salad

Serves 4

Two 16-ounce cans black beans drained and rinsed well (to avoid turning your salad grey)
1 very large tomato, diced (I used three)
1 16-ounce can corn (I used 3 corn cobs)
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced (the smaller pieces the better unless you really like raw onion)
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed and diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime, juice and zest
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar or more to taste

1. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and water chestnuts to a bowl (glass looks pretty) and mix.
2. Add cilantro, lime and balsamic vinegar and mix again. Serve alone, with cucumber open-faced sandwiches or chips for a perfect meal!

Her sensory box!

I decided today that I wanted to make Saoirse a sensory box that she could love and play with and love forever. GREAT IDEA!!

I started by poking holes in the side of a box.

Then I threaded some extra stripped fabric I had from previous blanket projects.

And I taped down the little bits on the outside so they could be pulled on pretty hard from the inside.

Inside.

Then I cut up some foam I had and glued it to the inside.

 Lastly, I cut little windows for her to look through.


I didn't get any pictures of her playing with the finished product because the box is TOO SMALL for her to play in! I blame it on her very large head (thanks daddy).

Oh well. It was a good try right?



On the plus side she really enjoyed the newspaper I shred up for her while she was waiting for her sensory box...

Must keep this in mind for a quick distraction.

On a side note, we had a pretty decent storm here last night. There was rain, wind, thunder, and lightening! In fact, the lightening struck the side of Y Mountain and started a tree or bush on fire. If you're 'in the know' you might understand how scary that actually is. The drought has made the already dry state of Utah pretty dang crispy and there have already been multiple wildfires that have consumed thousands of acres of land and a few houses.

Here's a blurry picture taken out of our kitchen window.

A little smudge of white smoke in the middle.

Watching the fire/watching the rain.

They got the fire out within about an hour but I guess it started back up again this morning? EMBERS people! They got that one out too. I hope they stomped and soaked the embers this time. Seriously.

My bready adventures

After being vegan for a while I feel like I'm slowly able to better appreciate healthier food choices. Right now I'm focusing on getting rid of preservatives and chemicals and things. Basically get it as natural as possible. For the most part we've been able to replace or cut out things that contain unpronounceable white powders and "natural flavors" (castoreum?). But a HUGE weakness of ours is bread. If you've never looked at the ingredients list on your weekly bread loaf you buy from the store lets just say that the list is so long and huge that the font is almost too small to even read. To remedie this problem I decided I was going to start making my own bread.

It was an AMAZING SUCCESS. I'm pretty sure I could eat this stuff all the live long day. This picture was taken of the two loaves just before I put them in the oven. They are probably about an inch or two taller now. 

Unfortunately I don't have any after pictures... someone whose name rhymes with "Meer-shah" might have been a little impatient bumble bee to eat some.


Oh! I almost forgot to mention that this is VEGAN. My favorite part! Whole-wheat honey bread is my new best friend.

So you know when you go to the store and you see those amazingly cute baby/toddler things that you just HAVE to have? Yeah, so I bought this itty bitty tiny tooth brush (I mean, she'll need one eventually anyway), because it was dang cute. I've heard that you should start brushing their teeth as soon as they get them anyway. So after 4 teeth it's probably time to get a tooth brush. 

The blur really emphasizes how well this went I think.

Once I sort of brushed her teeth I gave her the tooth brush.

I wanted at least one good shot of her with the dang thing in her mouth. I think she's still a little confused by the whole process.

That "good idea" lasted about 2 minutes before she remembered the recently used bathtub was there. She has this thing where she needs to rub everything she can hold on the inside of the tub - which is really gross to me. 

I mean, naked bodies go in there.  

My little girl.

Um, here's a video of Saoirse. It was raining here in Provo - something that is about as rare as me washing the sheets.

*cough*

Anyway, us midwesterners get all excited and have to go experience the hard drizzle and since Saoirse has probably never seen rain in her life, it's probably a wonderfully confusing thing to see.

My triumphant return.

So I think I've officially decided to start blogging again. I think the reason I stopped was because I wanted to make my blog a little more private without creating a password and saw that it had been viewed in several different countries. Funny thing is that I know like, no one outside of the U.S. so to those 2,000 people in Russia and those 200 in Mongolia reading this, HELLO!

I think I just didn't like the idea of having, well, basically a photo journal/diary being read by total strangers. I mean, it's still kind of weird that somebody in New Zealand can see my daughters face and read about her latest and greatest achievements, but heck, nobody can read her name so it's not like she's in any danger anyway right?

So, I guess a lot of time has passed since the last post and you might assume that amazing things have happened and great feats have been met, but no. Not really. Unfortunately the life of a stay-at-home mom is not glamorous or all too exciting. Unless you think making homemade cleaner is exciting? Then stay tuned! You're in luck! I've got all sorts of little ways to get by while being poor.

Speaking of which, I'm going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding in two weeks. I decided that, to save money, (since I always stand by my "modest is hottest" rule) I would make my own jacket to go with the sleeveless dress. Well, I finally finished the painfully slow and stressful task of making it (out of $40/yd fabric mind you) and I might say that it looks fantastic. I mean, I'm pretty sure it could have taken a mere fraction of the time it took me for someone who actually knows what their doing. But for someone whose never made anything like that before? It is a win. Plus I found some super cute and cheap shoes to go with it. Man I'm feeling good.

That's right.

Now, some might like to think I'm talented (I like to think so at least) but in reality, I'm just poor. Am I complaining? No way. I get to learn really great skills so that I can save some money. For example, (I wasn't kidding about this), homemade cleaning solution! It's like, the best thing I've ever heard of for a couple of reasons, one, it's totally chemical-less and harmless to children and animals - aka totally natural! And since I'm on this all natural thing with my foods it doesn't hurt to clean a little safer too. And two, it is by far the least expensive thing out there and it cleans EVERYTHING - minus windows (if you're going for that streakless look that is).

It's easy to make

All you need is one grapefruit or an orange or something like unto them, and save the peels. I'm going to be honest, we usually just let our grapefruit rot because they're kind of gross so I don't even eat the inside.... anyway, put that in a quart-sized mason jar and fill it to the top with distilled white vinegar.

Boom.

Let that sit there for at least 3 weeks. This little puppy has been going for a month and a half. Unrefrigerated of course - nothing gross will grow in there because, it's vinegar, it kills things. 

When you're ready for some cleaner you just strain the citrus vinegar liquid and poor it (the liquid of course) into a spray bottle. The bottle I have perfectly fits a jar-full of vinegar + a jar-full of water. You could use it straight up but I like to dilute it a little to stretch it as far as I can. And as far as I can tell, most people would suggest diluting it. Why? Who knows. Now, I KNOW what you're asking, "Does it cut down on the vinegar smell?" A little. You definitely still smell the vinegar but it's enough that I think it's worth the (very) little work to make it citrusy.

More to come later folks. Perhaps I'll mention the Minecraft obsession going on in my house sometime. Maybe.

My portabella pride.

It's been a while since I posted anything on here concerning vegan eatings but let me reassure you, the reader, that we are vegan and well!  We have slimmed up and wised up to the follies of man-made "food." I'm happy to report that my body now repels any and all dairy, and meat for the most part.  We eat out once or twice a month and I try to stay with the diet, occasionally eating some chicken or turkey.  But what I really wanted to talk about in this post is... the portabella mushroom!

As it turns out, these mushrooms are the meat in the vegan society.  There is also nothing I hate more than mushrooms.  They are a fungus.  People spend their entire lives avoiding fungus and they want me to EAT it?  No thanks.  But let's be sensible, being a vegan requires a bit of fearlessness when it comes to eating.  You have to eat new things especially when your diet only consisted of Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and Sterzings chips (ooooooooooh Sterzings, how I love thee).  We decided to try 3 different ways of preparing portabellas.  Okay really more like 2 different ways, but we'll say 3.

1. Portabella mushroom steaks:

Season prepared mushroom with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Grill for about 10 minutes.  We served this with baked beans (definitely not vegan friendly with Miss Queen Bean ruling her can-kingdom) and a baked potato with Stewed Tomatoes (a Forks Over Knives recipe) on top.

-Result-

The mushroom tasted REALLY good but the texture kind of did it in for me.  I figured out that if you season it like you would a piece of meat you'll get it to taste EXACTLY like your favorite kind of meat.  You just won't get it to feel like one.  Maybe I cooked it too long?  Who knows.  I probably won't be making it again for the texture reason.  The potato was good, as usual and the beans were satisfying the desire for fake sugar, salty meat, and FAKE SUGAR.  Bad Abby.

2. Portabella burgers:

Season prepared mushroom as you do the steak version; with olive oil (on both sides), salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Grill for a few minutes (I tried a little less time to see if it might not be so squishy).  Served with sweet potato baked fries - bake slices at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

-Result-

SO AMAZING.  Honestly one of the best burgers I've ever had.  So tasty and satisfying.  I would definitely make this again and am looking forward to making these somewhere in the mountains this summer!  The texture was again, not very mea-like, but it wasn't distracting either.  It worked with with the bread texture of the bun and was overall quite wonderful for all of my senses.

3. Portabella sloppy joes:

We bought small presliced portabella mushrooms (we were going to make the burgers again but they only had these little prepackaged, presliced deals so we tried it out) threw those in a pan with a little oil (oil wasn't necessary but we did it because our pan makes everything stick to it) and added 1/4 cup of Heintz Ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup or nasty preservatives) along with lots of onion powder, lots of garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, parsley, basil, and Montreal Steak Seasoning... I think that was it.  Served with baked sweet potato fries.

-Result-

I would make this again in a heartbeat.  Who needs meat when you can get the same taste and half the price??  I don't.

Her new teddy bear.

It's small.  It's ugly.  And I made it yesterday!  Enjoy!

It's made from the scrap cotton fabric I used for one of Saoirse's bed sheets.  I think it's actually kind of cute in its ugliness.

My killer Vegan Pancakes.

Revisited!  We changed the recipe a little to help the pancakes stay together a little better.  They tended to be a bit crumbly with the previous recipe.  It's much better now.

These pancakes were a scary substitute for our Sunday pancake breakfast.  I say scary because there is zero dairy/eggs/such things that make bready things happy.  Joseph found the recipe online and I refined it to exactly what my taste buds will force me to make a special trip to the store for.  You wouldn't guess for a second that there is no milk or eggs in these bad boys!  Yes, I did just make them for dinner.  YES, I enjoyed every single bite.  So good!  Sorry I have no picture, I was going to take one tonight but they were gone way too fast!

Vegan Pancakes

1 cup flour
2 Tbs sugar (we like to put 3)
2 Tbs (no less!!) baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk  (I use vanilla almond milk)
2 Tbs vegetable oil
apple juice

1. Heat pan to medium Heat.
2. Combine the dry ingredients.
3. Add milk and oil to the mixture until smooth.
4. (optional) add apple juice until you like the consistency.  I personally like my pancakes thinner so I add 2 or 3 Tbs of water, don't add anything if you like your cakes thick.
5. Make some stinking pancakes!
6. Serve with syrup or some delicious homemade fruit topping; just boil your favorite berry or fruit in a little water and a little sugar.  Boom done.


And people say that vegans eat boring food.  These are, by far, the best pancakes I've ever eaten.

Our selfish generation

We live in a selfish generation.  Being selfish is a tactic the one and only adversary uses to pull us away from our Savior, who is the definition of selfless.  It makes me sick just how horrible people can be.  Divorce, abortion and "living life" are all staples of our society.  I've been thinking a lot about abortion lately for some reason.  I guess related subjects have been in the news every now and then.  Obama used his "common sense" not to allow The Morning After pill on the shelves for anyone to buy (the argument was that children under the age of 17 should not be allowed to purchase such an item).  A doctor in the article I read about it said that these 11 year old girls who have poor judgment and have sex should not have to be punished by having a child but that the money and worry is enough punishment.  Um, no.  That's OUR world!  I can't believe it.  Murder a child because you don't want to take care of it.  Forget responsibility, we all just want to have fun without consequences!  Other examples of having fun without thinking about consequences are smokers, druggies, alcoholics, pornography addictions, ANY addiction, they all just want to do it because they 'like' it and it makes them feel good.  Garbage.  Let me tell you, I'm pro choice, you can choose whether or not you have sex.  You can choose whether or not to smoke (anything).  You can choose.  But the problem with this generation is that we are a people of now.  Now meaning, what we want, we want it now.  Forget the future, old people are boring.  NOW is the time to live!  Forget having kids, I want to have fun while I'm young!  Satan has confused the poor minds of this generation and now having values and morals that uppose adultery, abortion and addictions is strange and unusual.  What a generation we live in.  The generation of selfishness.  At least, from what I know, I can raise my children in the Gospel.  I can teach them what is right before the world has a chance to teach them what is wrong.  When I stand at the judgment bar before God I will then be able to tell him that I have done all that I could have done.  I only hope the example we set as a family can inspire the minds massaged numb by the adversary.

My very own Vegetable soup!

Serves 2

1 potato
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1/2 of a medium shallot
2 cups vegetable broth
about 1 cup noodles
water
2 Tbs flour
salt (optional)
garlic (optional)
pepper to taste

Chop shallot and celery and fry in a little water in a pot until shallot is almost translucent.  Then add chopped carrot and potato and the vegetable broth (and the seasonings if you want them).  In a separate bowl mix about 2 Tbs flour with just enough water to cover the flour and mix with fork until there are no clumps.  Add to pot.  Cook for about 20 or so minutes (I think I let mine cook for half an hour so the time doesn't really make a difference) then add noodles, cook for about 10 more minutes and serve!

Really yummy!  And I just made it up!  I'm feeling much more comfortable now cooking vegan meals.  I love it!!  It's got such a good flavor.  I wouldn't be opposed to doubling the amount of vegetable broth either.

I'm watching this right now, it's probably my FAVORITE movie.  Soooo good!!! 

Also, I will be putting up pictures from Thanksgiving in Iowa!!  I got to see my cousin Evan who I haven't seen in about 12 years!!!!  He's the nicest guy ever.  You would never know he was in prison for that 12 years.