Let’s Play Music

I have been working on some new adventures for our family lately and I was waiting for details to be finalized before I shared the news here.  I will be heading to training this week to certify as a Let’s Play Music Instructor!

I can not tell you how excited I am to be bringing this curriculum to the NoCO area!  I found out about it over the past few months and I was delighted to find such a theory based program that specially trains Preschool aged children to be ready for Private Piano Lessons by the time they graduate from the Let’s Play Music program.  These classes are so fun and engaging for kids and parents!  I will have 2 of my own children enrolled this fall and I hope many of you will join us as we learn the basics of music theory and have a blast singing and playing instruments.  I encourage you to watch the video below and see what it is all about.

I am so excited to announce I am now excepting students 4-6 years old this fall. If you have ever wanted your child to play piano or any other instrument, this AMAZING program is for YOU! Contact me for more details or to be added to my e mail list and receive information about preview and introductory classes this summer

This is an example of the Let’s Play Music Class which I will be teaching this summer/fall.

Another Pinterest success, Shaklee safe “Febreeze”

Well after my last post about the amazing amount of pins I have on my “treats to try” board on Pinterest, someone suggested I should do a blog of 365 things I tried on Pinterest.  Being that we still have our house on the market, it is Spring Soccer season, another birthday this week, and we just finished Easter (AKA the second busiest season in the church calendar,) I feel that may need to wait.  On a serious note, if you went to church last weekend, take a minute to thank/say a prayer for the amazing amounts of Pastors, staff, volunteers, who made that happen.  Our church is rather large and was packed out as usual, and I just am amazed at how much dedication so many people put into making the services “seeker friendly,” and such a time of celebration.  My husband and his team worked like crazy to do some super cool staging/media effects to make the services just that much more impactful for each person who walked in the door, in the hope that someone would be touched and their heart would be softened.  Incredible.  I heard at one of the other campuses, a soldier asked to be baptized after the service.  Jesus SAVES!

Mooooving on….I can now live in a fresh smelling house all the time, because of another awesome Pinterest experiment.

So, to preface this, we have our house listed for sale and so we have had tons of showings.  The way this works in modern times is that the agent who shows the home sends feedback via e mail to our realtor with a short 5 question surgery saying things like ” was the property clean?” Is the price about right?  etc.  Well, the first few showings we had 2 people comment that the house had a strange odor.  If you have never been to my house let me assure you, our house does not stink!  We seriously were tripping out for a bit because we have never noticed anything, not did our realtor or anyone else we asked.  We take the trash out often, the adults use deodorant, we all bathe and clean regularly, and do not keep dirty diapers around, roll in manure, let anyone smoke in it, etc.  SERIOUSLY we were asking pregnant ladies to  come sniff it for payment to see if anyone noticed anything.  It honestly usually smells like the last thing I baked/cooked most of the time because we use the kitchen 24/7.

The ONLY thing we could determine is that being that we are all Shaklee cleaning products household and have been for about 3 years was that the house does not have any cleaner smell.  Example:  windex, lysol, laundry detergent, etc.  Anyways, I am not about to go buy a bunch of scented candles/chemical air freshners/poisons to scent my house with fragrance because the general public thinks clean has a smell.  Clean smells like nothing people, NOTHING!  Not lemon, pine, or “apple mango tango,” “honeyberry hula,” or “lavender serenity.”  I did not make those up.  Those are actual cleaner scents.  Seriously.  Google laundry detergent scents, fascinating.

Getting off my soap box now.  Although, if you care, Shaklee is free to join this month with any order so if you have ever wanted to try any cleaning product that is safe for your family/home and once you are a member you are for life so it is a GREAT value.  No pressure, no minimum orders, etc.  Just message me or call me for details.

Anyways, I looked online after we were getting desperate to make our non smelly house smell like something that wouldn’t hurt us and I found this pin on how to make homemade “febreze” type spray so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try on some washable fabrics in case it doesn’t work.  I used my Shaklee fabric softener which is lightly scented, baking soda, and hot water.  It is AMAZING!!!  And, no one has commented anything about smells/scents/odors since we started spraying the house with it before showings.  We use it on carpets, bedding, towels, couches, etc and have had great success.

I use my empty Shaklee bottle (approx 12 oz) and fill mostly with very warm water, then 1 TB baking soda, 1 TB liquid fabric softener and TADA!  Shake and spray!  It costs pennies to make, and can be refilled easily or adapted to fit whatever size spray bottle you have.

I did all the upholstery in our vehicle (which does have a funky smell, thanks to the previous owners, getting it detailed soon!) and it helped to make it smell fresher.

So, in conclusion, make some homemade febreeze and if you use Shaklee, you know it won’t even hurt your kids/pets.  Lovely.

Thank you for not smoking.

The End.

PS full disclosure, I totally am a Shaklee distributor and I would not post about their products if I did not use them and think they were awesome.

Cranberry coffee, Quesidilla fun, and Pinterest Peanut butter chip cookies

Happy Monday to you!  I love starting off the day with a cup of hot coffee during breakfast.  I rarely drank coffee prior to meeting my hubby, but my Bolivian family drinks serious coffee.  They have coffee for breakfast and coffee before bed (no, not decaf, I wondered too when I first discovered that tradition.)  Coffee time is a social time and I really love sitting with my hubby for even few minutes and talking over a mug of coffee (his with a little sugar, hers with a splash of milk/coffee creamer.)  Breakfast is usually the one meal our family eats together as sometimes dinners are rather sporadic with Richard’s crazy work schedule/rehearsals and now spring soccer is starting!

I set down my coffee and went up stairs for a minute and I came down to this.  See those little red dots?

Those would be dried cranberries.  One minute the baby was sprinkling them on her oatmeal, the next minute my coffee was speckled with them.  I did taste it and I do not believe that this will be a new flavor of Nestle Flavored Coffee Creamer anytime soon.

Ok, so Quesidilla tips.

1.  Go to King Soopers and buy Muenster Enchilado Cheese from the deli (ask for sliced, and I have never paid more than $3.99/lb in the past 2 years since we discovered it.

2.  If you do not have a quesidilla maker, I am sorry (they are pretty cheap at Target or Kohls, especially around the Holidays.)  You can definitely use a regular skillet and just flip them carefully.

3.  Use leftovers to make them awesome, we love roasted veggies (my fav!) leftover taco meat, rice, black or pinto beans, fresh chopped spinach or cilantro, shredded cooked chicken or turkey, the possibilities, oh the possibilities.

4.  Top with delicious accompaniments such as sour cream, guacamole or avocado slices, chopped cilantro, salsa, pico de gallo, etc.  Enjoy a family friendly, super easy dinner!

Also, I found this recipe on pinterest and I spontaneously bought peanut butter chips today in hope that I could remember which board I pinned it to and have time to bake this afternoon.  Holy yum.  Seriously, delish and not healthy at all.  Full of white flour, sugar, and we even added pastel Easter M&M’s to some in addition to the Peanut Butter chips for a vanilla rich, delicious and CUTE cookie.  We shared some and ate lots for dessert tonight, but I may need to freeze or give away the rest before I finish the batch.

http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/03/puffy-vanilla-and-peanut-butter-chip-cookies.html

Ok, better go eat one more for good measure and set my alarm to run an extra mile in the morning!

Have a good night!

Are you on pinterst?  Do you ever actually make things you pin?  I have been on pinterest for just over a month and I have like 50 pins on my “treats to try board.”  I seriously better get baking!  Also, I feel my working out board helps balance my treats board, is that goofy?  

Fingernails and Fruity Pebbles

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Well, amidst the general working out harder/more often and eating healthier I do feel there are still days for a bowl of fruity pebbles.  You see, just yesterday I had a conversation with someone about the benefits/concerns about soy.  It seems that no matter what research/study you read about how good something is for you, there are just as many things recommending you avoid it all together.  Be vegan, eat Paleo/Primal, eat more whole grains, don’t eat grains, whole raw milk/no dairy, etc. etc. etc.  Pretty much the only thing most can agree on that processed food is bad for you.  So, when I am sitting next a bowl full of organic oranges ready to peel and eat and tons of bananas, it is hard to believe why anyone would eat anything but these seemingly healthy choices, right in front of me.  And yet some days, I really want a bowl of fruity pebbles.  (Disclaimer, I do not usually buy fruity pebbles or other junky type cereals, but sometimes I find them for AMAZING deals on the GG and it is a fun treat for my kids (Ok, ok, me too!)

So, the thing I have to remember is that in general, God created this world and everything in it for us to enjoy and sometimes that means eating a bowl of fruity pebbles (which I realize although God created color, fruit, and pebbles, man created this crazy concoction in our bowls…hang in there, I have a point.)  I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a treat/fill in the blank with whatever random thing you have a taste for once in a while.  I do not feed my kids or myself fruity pebbles every day, and rarely do my kids eat cereal for breakfast anyways.  They eat so healthy 90% of the time that I don’t feel bad if we have a relatively unhealthy snack sometimes.

Also, I don’t feel bad if sometimes i blow off dishes or whatever chore needs to be done in favor of painting my 1 1/2 year old’s fingernails outside in the sunshine.  This I realize is totally ridiculous, she is too young to appreciate much, including not to make a fist with wet nails  :)   However, the memory we made was priceless and she melts everyone’s heart every time she shows them her “pretty!”

Last night I had laundry to fold and the last thing I wanted to do was spend time on pampering type things (can you tell, I am not much of a glamour girl but i had promised Bella we would paint our toenails (Flip flop weather is here!  Woo Hoo!)  after Aliyah was in bed.  Well those precious moments on the front porch were something I would never trade, and yes I still have laundry to fold.

My point is, take advantage of living this life to the Glory of God and this means to ENJOY what He has given us.  Fruity Pebbles, fingernails, and so much more.  Enjoy your weekend!

I made myself lunch- Thai Turkey Burgers

OK,

so I don’t ever make myself lunch.  I usually eat leftovers from supper the night before or make a quick salad of bagged greens mixed with whatever leftover protein I can find topped with some simple nuts/fruit. Or I eat soup.  I love soups.  I often make huge batches of veggie based soups so I can munch on them for lunch for a week.  Yum.  Now I want some chicken tortilla soup.  Anyways, so the other day I had made this delicious dinner which we were totally having for dinner again that night because I made so much of it (recipe to come!)  This meant no meal prep for our evening meal and thus I could whip myself up a new recipe I had totally been wanting to try ever since I saw it posted on IowaGirlEats.com

http://iowagirleats.com/2012/02/27/thai-turkey-burgers-with-peanut-sauce/

Thai Turkey Burgers for lunch!  Woo Hoo!  So I quickly busted out the food processor and chopped the veggies and added to the ground turkey mixture and then dumped it all in a pan with a bit of melted coconut oil and can I just say, Oh My Word.  These are so delish!  I have to mention the peanut sauce, it would be good on anything, I mean anything.  I wanted to drink it.  Seriously.  So good.

What I did end up doing was taking half the turkey burgers and frying them in a pan with coconut oil and the other half I put in the oven and baked.  Definitely like the way the baked ones cooked better, but I would have to try this on the grill to make my final decision.  I crumbled one leftover turkey burger over mixed greens for lunch today and drizzled peanut sauce over the salad and kind of licked the bowl clean.

Also, it should be pointed out that 2 of my 3 kids tasted and ate this.  I purposely made it for lunch for myself because I didn’t think anyone would touch it.  Now, I am thinking it will be making a dinner appearance sometime soon on our monthly menu.

Well, enjoy the deliciousness that is turkey burgers and more new recipes to come!

10 random things, AKA where I have been

1.  We put our house on the market about 2 weeks ago.  Before that I literally was spending every minute cleaning/de-cluttering/posting stuff on Craigslist (anybody want to buy a Baby Bjorn?) etc.  

2.  Anybody want to buy a really nice 3 bedroom 2 bath house in Loveland?   

3.  Dear Broccoli, why do you taste so good and make my house smell so bad when I cook you?  I am seriously still smelling the steamed Broccoli from last night’s dinner…

4.  We just had 2 birthdays in the midst of the cleaning/de-cluttering/craigslist posting chaos.  Happy Birthday to my 2 favorite guys

5. I have SO many blog posts in my brain, now to take the time to write them down!  I made a bunch of wonderful recipes lately.  What would you like to hear about first?  Thai Turkey Burgers?  Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake Oatmeal?  Chicken Pillows?  

6.  I did not know my 1 year old can sing Jesus Loves Me by herself.  She just belted out the chorus yesterday in her booster chair, waiting for me to wash her hands.  Be still my heart.  

7.  I am directing our church’s kids choir again.  It will be an intense month of rehearsals but after last week’s practice I am convinced they are going to knock people down for Jesus.  Vocally I mean, not literally.  

8.  I realized after having to keep my house “show ready” at all times, that I am not one of those people who cares about having a perfectly clean house and this may in fact, be the end of my sanity.  Jesus please let our house sell quickly!  

9.  God has been working mightily in my heart and has shown me some major work I have to do in spite of all the above things to lay down my “drill sergeant” like qualities and have patience and grace with my family.  Holy conviction Batman.  

10.  I have not forgotten my faithful readers!  Thanks for reading my blog and being patient with me, new recipes and fun posts to come!  Stay tuned!  

 

a recipe for healthier Blueberry Muffin Tops

Blueberry Muffin Tops

These were delicious and I actually felt good after eating one, bonus!

Blueberry Muffin Tops

a healthier blueberry muffin top.

Ingredients

1. 1 C whole wheat flour
2. 1/2 C oatmeal
3. 1/4 C sucanat
4. 1/2 tsp. baking powder
5. 1/8 tsp. sea salt
6. 1 egg
7. 1/4 C coconut oil melted
8. 1/2 – 3/4 C milk ( I used coconut milk)
9. 1 C blueberries

Directions

1. Mix ingredients in order just until combined. Fold in 1/2 blueberries. Drop into muffin top desired size on parchment lined/silpat lined baking sheets. Bake about 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until set. Remove and cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing.

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Jillian’s 30 day Shred: a review (repost)

I would just like to say, that anytime I am struggling with working out, I feel the need to re-read this post and it helps me to get my buns out of bed and get my work out done before my kids get up.  Amen.

This is a repost from when Aliyah was barely 2 months old.  She is now 20 months old and can do my Jillian workout DVD’s better than I can.

Originally posted in August of 2010:  So I decided to break my “I just had a baby and am supposed to be this fat” rut by starting to work out. My sister who had her 7 lb baby a month after I had my 8 lb girlie is officially skinnier than I and thus it is time to add working out to my fantastic dieting plan of breastfeeding and eating cookies.

So, here is my review of my first experience of this workout DVD, many thanks to my dear friend Laura who lent me her copy to try it out.

Day 1

This is a 20 minute DVD, I put on my shorts and tennis shoes and plan to quickly work out while my 8 week old naps and my 2 and 4 year old play.

I get started with the warm up, the 4 year old asks if he can exercise with Mommy, I agree and we stretch together. I spend a few minutes explaining why jumping jacks are called that and do 10. I realize I should have worn a sports bra to contain these massive milk bags and remember the baby needs to eat in about 15 minutes. I do 10 more while clutching my breasts, one in each hand to minimize the “elephant standing on my chest” pressure I am getting while I do each jack. Why are they called jumping jacks anyways? And who is this Jack? I add sports bra to my Target list.

Jillian picks up hand weights, the 4 year old is smart and informs me that we need those things to do this exercise. I get 2 soup cans out of the cabinet to use and start the strength portion of the DVD with diced tomatoes in each palm. My four year old whines that he has no tomatoes and I inform him that he can use the individual cups of applesauce we bought on the grocery game 2 weeks ago. He is DELIGHTED because those are normally saved for special trips like the zoo or park and runs to the basement to get a 6 pack of tree top. The 2 year old hears the word applesauce and abandons her dolls to find out why we are having a snack without her. I explain the applesauce is really hand weights and she can have some too. I do 10 reps and get them each 2 cups of applesauce to use.

The 4 year old drops an applesauce on his eye while doing the mat exercise. I stop to get the spiderman ice pack and encouarage him to sit out the next 10 reps. The 2 year old has now noticed I am wearing shoes in the carpeted living room and wants to know why she can not wear hers. I figure the explanation will take longer than the 11 minutes of workout left so I suggest she go find some socks. I help her put her tennis shoes on the right feet and compliment her brave fashion choice of pink and purple and green striped knee socks and a hawaiian sundress while I catch the last 5 reps of strength training.

I start the cool down by breaking up a fight between them and pick up the baby and realize she has a wet diaper and needs a change of clothes. I change the baby, sit down on the couch to nurse her and ask one of the kids to bring me a cookie as Jillian tells me how proud I am of myself.

Jillian, I like your workout, it didn’t feel like 20 minutes, you are right, it felt much, oh so much longer. Love Robin

PS I did break a sweat and get my heart rate up so I think I will try again tomorrow.

For the record, I do now own 2 sets of hand weights and no one has dropped any applesauce on their eye in at least a month.  :)

healthy recipes I have tried

So along with the clean eating we have been doing, I have tried a few recipes.  

After I tried the low carb pizza crusts made with veggies, I wanted to try to freeze a few for quick lunches for myself.  I topped one with red peppers, cilantro, spinach, and a little cheddar cheese and ate that one for lunch today.  I froze the remaining three and while searching (have you tried swag bucks?!) how to properly flash freeze these, I found this breadstick recipe also.  YUM!  This was a great use for another $0.99 head of cauliflower I got from last weeks grocery game.  Cheap and healthy, love it!  

Then I finally got some Sucanat to use as a healthier sweetener in baking and after I got past the super strong molasses smell (molasses reminds me of feeding sheep when I was a kid.  We used to mix it in their food to fatten them up…) I tried 2 new recipes.  

Both were good, both were different, but yummy.  

The first one was for Laura’s healthier brownies.  I love reading what Laura has to say about feeding her family healthy, whole, natural foods and I have wanted to get some sucanat ever since I first read about it on her blog.  I have been looking for it and not found it anywhere, but my sister finally spotted some at Whole Foods, in Fort Collins and picked me up a couple pounds.  (Thanks Jod!)

These Coconut Flour Brownies are fudgy, yummy, and gluten free!  (Dairy free also, if you use coconut oil.)  I sprinkled chocolate chips on top, which are not technically clean, but I think a little bit of dark chocolate is fine in moderation.  Especially when you consider all the awesome health benefits of using coconut flour.  All of us liked these, and they do not taste like coconut.  They did taste better after a few hours and even better the next day rather than hot out of the oven.  

I think the sucanat flavor mellows out as they cool or something.  These are not overly sweet, and I did use a bit less sucanat than the recipe called for.  

I also used whole wheat flour and some sucanat to make some blueberry muffin tops for breakfast, but I will save that post for tomorrow.  

Have a wonderful weekend!  

Have you ever tried Sucanat?   

Pepperocini Beef for shredded beef tacos

This is a favorite recipe so I think it deserves a repost since I made it again tonight. I love putting a roast in the crockpot and having shredded beef tacos 8 hours later!
Pepperocini Beef
So I did try a new recipe this week…
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2011/01/peperoncini-beef-sandwiches-slow-cooker.html?m=1

It was so good! We used the beef to make open face sandwiches on some homemade rolls topped with a slice of muenster enchilado cheese. They were so good and the recipe couldn’t be easier! I’m already excited to make this again using some flour tortillas instead of rolls. Shredded Beef tacos anyone?