Make-Up Fun!

Ariella and I brought all our eye make-up over to mom's on Sunday and us girlies had some fun!!

Ariella did my and mom's eyes. She did rainbow eye shadow on me and then hand drew on some stars with liquid eyeliner. They turned out SO cool! I loved it!!

Gabriella did Auntie April's eye shadow

(Auntie April was a very good sport!)

Ariella after April gave her some eye shadow

Snow Princess April

(Ariella went a little crazy with the blue eyeliner!)

Xander showing off his owies. 

Jonathan said that Xander used rock make-up cuz he was so manly

(He had fallen down outside playing in the driveway and cut and bruised his face all up). 

It was so fun to do big, crazy eye shadow that we would never wear around town. We had some great laughs together!

Gabriella Turns 3

We celebrated Gabriella's 3rd birthday on Saturday with my family. (Her real birthday is today).

Wearing her "Birthday Girl" shirt and having her hair up in a big girl ponytail!

Enjoying her free birthday drink from Dutch Brothers. 

(a strawberry-mango smoothie made with coconut milk)

She got to stay up from nap and play Candy Land with Gramma and James. 

After dinner ready to start opening presents

Xander trying out Gabriella's bike she got from Gramma and Grampa!

Playing with her new Polly Pocket set with James and Emma

The Tinkerbell cake that April and I decorated

(go Carol Squared!)

Jonathan snuck his knife in right as I was taking a picture....

I made it a polka-dot cake! 

(gluten-free too!)

Cake time!

All the kids eating cake

Birthday girl enjoying hers

Xander eating some

Ariella!

Gramma helping Gabriella learn how to ride her bike

Me and mom!\

We had a great party. It is so nice to get together with family and celebrate the life of someone. We are so blessed with Gabriella and so humbled that God chose us to raise her. We certainly have our work cut out for us, but we are so happy to watch her grow more and more everyday and to watch her continue to have such zest for life!

90 Calorie Mini Quiches!

I got creative with dinner tonight. We enjoy quiche but it always takes SO long to cook! So tonight I decided to try making mini ones.

I diced up a cup of organic spinach, 4 mini sweet bell peppers, and then mixed them with 1 1/2 cups of shredded hash browns. 

After greasing 18 muffin tins I sprinkled the first three ingredients in. 

Next I mixed 10 eggs and 1 1/2 cups goat milk. I seasoned it with a little garlic, salt and pepper; then poured it over the veggies already in the tins.

(I used 1/4 cup measuring cup for this part and it worked perfectly)

After topping them with a smidgen of goat cheese (1/8 cup grated split equally between the tins) they were ready for the oven. 

About 25 minutes at 350 F (or until they are fully cooked). 

Here they are, all golden brown and ready to eat. 

Running a butter knife gently around them first, they easily turned out of the tins when I tipped them upside down. I topped them with a small slice of avocado (one small one split equally between all 18). 

They were delicious, gluten-free and dairy-free! My kids and hubby gobbled them up! 

Here is the nutrition info per quiche:

Total Calories     90

Total Fat    5.2 grams

Protein     5.8 grams

Total Carbs   3.9 grams

Perfect for the PCOS Diet, a low-carb diet or a Gluten or Dairy Free Diet! 

Fun With Sunglasses

I scored a coupon deal online a few days ago and got 3 pairs of designer sunglasses for $4.95 shipped to my front door. They came in the mail today and the kids and I had fun trying them on and playing with them!

My little ham!

"These glasses are really funny, mommy!"

Cutie Pie Xander! He LOVES wearing accessories; hats, scarves, glasses, monkies, etc.

Super Model Pose

Trying to take a picture of us all together!

Me and my girlie!

Super Models!!

"I like these ones best!"

Until My Heart Caves In

I had a health scare these last few weeks. After two trips to the doctor and one to the lab for some blood work (with both kids in tow!), I finally have some answers..... and they are

GOOD!!

I have spent a large part of my life not feeling good, constantly having stomach troubles and feeling aggressive. 4 years ago it was nice to find out that 95% of my problems were being caused by PCOS (see my previous post for more info here). 

Two years ago today we went gluten-free, dairy-free and legume-free. It was a rough first couple of weeks. I'll be honest, I cried several times in the grocery store because I had no idea what to buy to feed my starving husband. He was a good sport about eating salad, lots and lots of salads!

Today (I won't go into all the messy details) I was so blessed to find out that my blood work, hormone, insulin and thyroid levels were all in "normal" range. Hallelujah!!! I have been out of range for years and have paperwork that declares me as infertile (now I have paperwork that says I am very fertile!). 

I am so in awe of God's 

amazing goodness 

right now. It has been a long road; one filled with tears, anger, brokenness, struggles, and heart-ache. I can't even begin to explain how much Matt and I have gone through in the last 7 years due to my health. I am so 

grateful

 for him and his support. It would have been impossible for me to go through everything by myself and I can't imagine a better person to support me through everything. 

On the way home (to rescue my mom who was graciously watching both my rambunctious kiddos for me), all the health changes that we have made two years ago began to flow back through my mind. I became so 

thankful 

that God has brought the PCOS book to my attention (here is a link to the book that I based my lifestyle and eating on now, and yes, I did read all 500 pages). I feel

  blessed 

to have Matt be so supportive me of and my health. He has championed and fought for me and my well-being on every occasion. 

Between being gluten-free, (mostly) dairy-free, eating limited amounts of grains, limited legumes, and my new  breakfast smoothie (a Budwig based smoothie designed to treat and prevent cancer. You can get more info here) I am feeling amazing (and my blood work proves it!). 

I know the road ahead won't be paved in gold and it will not be even ground, but I 

know 

that God is for me, He is the 

redeemer of all things, 

I will always have great friends and family that will support me, and I will be always looking ahead to the horizon and 

believing 

that He works all things together for my good. 

These song lyrics are the best words that I can find to express how I am feeling today:

If I had no voice,

If I had no tongue,

I would dance for you like the rising sun.

And when that day comes and I see your face.

I will shout your endless glorious praise.

You are the song I’m singing.

You are the air,

You are the air I’m breathing

You are the hope,

You are the hope I needed.

and

I'm a warrior

With a warrior's heart

And it burns for you

For you

My love is fierce 

(My love is fierce)

I'm a warrior

(I'm a warrior)

I would die for you

Give it all for you

I won't give up

I won't give up on you

I won't give up on you

I will sing your name 

Until my heart caves in

Until my heart caves in

Outside Fun!

I have been feeling very energetic lately (something new for me!) so when the sunshine came out today the kids and I ventured outside all by ourselves (usually they only play outside with daddy).

Xander thinks he is pretty big stuff now that he gets to play  outside and wear shoes. He stomps around in them and laughs. Here he is getting ready to brave the grass...

Gabriella singing several songs that she made up. 

It was actually not too cold for us!

Playing with Josie and Rice Krispie (the outdoor cat that adopted us last summer)

Playing with bricks!

My beautiful girlie

Exploring the flower bed (yes, I know it is mostly a weed bed right now) with Josie

Playing on the bench that daddy made out of pallets. 

We had a lot of fun. The kids chased the dog and cat, we all laughed at the dog and cat chasing each other around the yard, we walked down to the end of the road and back, Xander tried to eat some chalk, Gabriella sang several songs about the Christmas Lights that are still up, and we stomped all over the driveway. 

I sure do love my silly kids and am so thankful that I get to be a full-time stay at home mommy to them!

Delicious Dinner

Experimented a little bit with dinner tonight! I am so thankful that I am married to a man who is willing to eat anything once!!

I decided to try making stuffed chicken and some mashed cauliflower (instead of mashed potatoes)

I gathered all my ingredients and got ready...

Sliced spinach

Shredded Goat Cheese

Sliced Mushrooms

Nitrate-Free Bacon

Chicken Breast

Rice Flour

Dried Basil

Garlic Salt

I started by cooking the bacon in a frying pan on my stove-top. While it was cooking I cleaned the chicken and pounded it flat (I put it inside a large plastic bag and pounded it with a frying pan), then cleaned and sliced the veggies. 

After the bacon was done cooking I drained the grease off and put the bacon on a paper towel (to absorb more of the grease). I filled each chicken breast with the foods I had prepared (some with mushrooms and some without). 

Next I mixed the rice flour, basil and garlic salt  together in a shallow bowl. After the chicken was topped with veggies and meat, I folded it in half, fastened it closed with a toothpick or two, and then floured each side before setting it onto a cooling rack. 

I covered a cookie sheet with foil and then placed the cooling rack with the chicken on top and cooked it at 400 F for 55 minutes (until it was cooked thoroughly). 

While the chicken cooked I cleaned and boiled a whole head of cauliflower. Once it was fully cooked I drained off the water and mashed it up with a potato masher. I added a bit of goat milk, some garlic and salt. 

Yummmy!! A delicious dinner. It is fully gluten-free, dairy-free and loaded with veggies and nutrients!!

So easy and the kids loved it!