Lifestyle Recipe Roundup

B-fast
Instant "no-oatmeal"  I just add a tsp of maple syrup.  Samantha LOVES it and Jeremy couldn't believe how good it tasted!  I do an assembly line-up of the dry ingredients, so making this in the morning takes less than 2 minutes (including cooking time)


On the side:
 We made these biscuits.  They are a little dense, but Jeremy couldn't stop eating them and made myself stop at 3.  The girls weren't a fan, but they really weren't biscuit fans before either.


Snack:
1 egg white to 1 cup almond meal, add seasonings you'd like, spread out on parchment paper.  Score the dough, sprinkle some salt and bake at 350 for 10-15 min. These are crackers that taste "just like real ones!" (Samantha)

Jer's  Alton Brown's Guacamole:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/guacamole-recipe.html (Jer leaves the seeds of the jalapeño in it)

Drink:
I'm still adjusting to find a good and easy coffee routine...this site has some amazing creamers that I've been using!  Not as sweet as I'd like, so I'm still working on it, but if you like your coffee mostly black, these are smooth and delish!

Dessert:
Coconut macaroons.  Adapted from this recipe:
1/3 cup sweetened chocolate
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup coconut sugar
6T unsweetened cocoa
3 Large eggwhites
1/4 t salt
1/2 t vanilla

Family Feud

Waiting for the flight there...had to get up at 5am on July 5th.  As in AFTER a 4th of July party

Air ride

Day 2 of auditioning...you have to be part of the audience for 2 shows...fun, yes but oh so exhausting!

After 2 more exhausting days of auditioning and waiting, they called us up!!

Squeee!

Purdy

Still no details on airdate and we can't tell you the results, so just stay tuned!!

Back in October 2014



On our first audtion we went to PF Changs, so we thought it fiting to finish off the whole experience there as well!
July 2015

October

July

October

July

Steve Harvey went on and on about how Jeremy married up...he never talked to me, though, so he has no idea who Jeremy actually married ;)

Godson

Jeremy and I became Godparents again together!

For size comparison-  Charlotte and Gerard

Big Sister Gemma

Flying through the ceremony...Father was running late!

"Don't worry mom, I took a picture of the baptism for you!"

In Awe

Magic Trick

Ready?  Now you see them...

Now you don't!

Where'd they go?

Op! Der day are!

Table Top

This one can now climb.

And loves to plank on any surface available.

Selfies of a Six Year Old

Despite the long-standing rule of HANDS OFF THE CAMERA I still pick it up every now and then with these types of gems:

And now they shall go into the file labeled "Blackmail" 

:)

Outdoor Update

And because this year hasn't been crazy enough, we decided to put some work into the outside of the place so it was more child-friendly.

This is what we started with 2 years ago.  Note the short forest and mud pit behind Jeremy.  Those are not bushes but hundred of tree seedlings.

Another view...behind the crazy girl :)

Another neighbor and I teamed up and cut down two trees.  It was very therapeutic to cut those all up...I did it all by hand over 2 weeks!  This is the before.

And after...like, waaaay after grass was planted.

Before from the other direction.

After!

Before

After!

BEFORE!!!

AFTER!!

There was so much erosion due to too much shade...

After!  Still lots of weeds, but those will go away now that the lawn people consider this area a "lawn".

Yay for walking barefoot outside!!

Car Fun

I made these for Charlotte for the car-ride.  

I couldn't help myself and let her play with them while I cleaned and packed.

She loved them...especially the one with a picture of Grandma Dean!

They didn't last long in the car, though.  She was just too tired.

Kitchen Remodel

No more florescent!

Before

slightly unfinished yet, but you get the idea of the transformation!

The sink was a last-minute splurge and it's my favorite part!

No more walking around to the dining room to empty the dishwasher!

This is what cleaning looks like EVERY DAY in a Paleo kitchen that has no sink or dishwasher...or oven or stove...

C really went to down helping me paint.

She didn't care a lick that there wasn't paint...she just wanted the brush!