From time to time when I start to reach the end of my rope with the kids, the housework and everything else I start thinking about my life in general and what being a mom means to me.  Of course being a mom means giving love, care and attention to the little ones.  It also means feeding, playing, mending, healing and cuddling them. 

But aside from what I do as a mom, I realized that being a mom just makes me a better person.  It has taught me to love big, be flexible, more open and definitely more patient.  For these precious gifts I thank my beautiful daughters who are always a breath of fesh air and fill every moment with love and laughter.  They light up my darkest hours and make life worth living no matter what comes my way. 

You’ve given me more than I can ever hope to return.  You make me want to do and me my best every day!  Thank you my angels ♥

Happy Mother’s Day beautiful Mammas, enjoy your special day !

Technorati Tags: daughters, love, mom, Mother's day, motherhood, patience

Last week-end my daughter had a stomach upset and I spent the night with her while she worshiped the porcelain bowl.  This week-end my toddler was badly constipated and I spent my time trying to figure out how to move things along for her.

These fun events got me thinking about how we used to spend our Saturday nights a few years ago (never mind how many!) and how we spend them now.  My husband and I had a good laugh about it.

• Then:  Getting excited to go out and paint the town red
• Now:  Getting excited to get back home and put the kids to bed
• Then:  Getting dressed up and made up
• Now:  Getting dressed down and washing up
• Then:  Going to a party
• Now: Going to the couch
• Then:  Staying up all night with friends
• Now:  Staying up all night with a sick child
• Then: Waiting for my date to come
• Now:  Waiting for my constipated toddler to poop

We definitely did not see this coming and don’t even know how we got here but let me tell you that one smile, hug or kiss from either one of those girls makes the whole journey worth every vomit, poop, virus or booboo worth it.  

I do miss the freedom sometimes and do long for a carefree night out; but judging from how fast the last decade flew by, I know that one day soon we will be at home watching our kids go through this while we rejoice in our new found freedom and plan a night out with friends and a date with a dance floor again!

Technorati Tags: constipated child, date night, looking back, now, Paretnhood, reminiscing, saturday night, then

I cannot believe that in a day and an age where we consider ourselves enlightened and living in so called advanced countries we are being unnecessarily poisoned daily for the profit of the few!!  We look down on what we call “3rd world countries”?  How are our governments better?  They are allowing this travesty.  What regulation?

I still cannot get over how much unlabelled crap goes into our food because of technicalities.  How could people do this to one another??  How could they put these poisons in the food and sell it to other human beings, to their friends and families?  How can they sleep at night knowing these poisons are being fed to our children?  The children!!  They justify it to us and to themselves on a technicality?  And we stand for it?!

There are so many ingredients to be outraged about, but right now the three top culprits for me are:

Canola oil:  It is a man made oil.  There are NO CANOLA SEEDS!!   It is poison to the body.  The list of the side effects of this oil is scary.  You don’t have to believe me just Google it and do your own research.  We wonder why there is such a meteoric rise in so many debilitating diseases in recent years but we don’t educate ourselves!  This stuff is in everything, even health food stores so please, please educate yourselves.

Corn Syrup: Apparently corn is man made!!  It was originally a small grass in South America and over thousands of years of domestication and genetic manipulation we now have corn and all of its by products.   Corn Syrup has a host of damaging effects on the body.  I could maybe say in moderation it wouldn’t be so bad but it is in everything!! And I mean everything, from yogurt to crackers to drinks and snacks!  Too much of anything is bad for you and in this case we are overdosing on the stuff!

Pink slime:  The latest one is the pink slime they use in our meats!  It is in 70% of all the meat we buy.  What?!? When did this happen? How could they do this? There is ammonia involved, what?  What are they saying, this is RIDICULOUS! Do they think we’re cattle?!? Look up the health effects online, I’m too upset to even list them!

Just feed us whatever to save some money and turn a profit?  Becoming vegetarian or even vegan is not enough, the poisons they use is in products and ingredients across the board!  We have to be vigilant and demand the right not to be poisoned and treated like worthless beings for their profit.  As long as we remain quiet, we do not have the right to complain and wonder why we are getting sicker by the day! we are basically complying!

I am not in any way saying I have all the answers but I have become extremely vigilant when buying groceries for my family and am making every effort to prepare as much of our food at home from scratch using the healthiest ingredients. I am at home now and can do it, what will happen when I go back to work?  what are working parents supposed to do? 

We need to speak up and make it understood we will not stand for hormones, antibiotics, fillers and chemicals in our foods.  We demand that these companies become responsible! 

It is so sad that to live on a budget these days means you have to buy foods that have been manipulated and poisoned beyond belief and if you want to be healthy and eat right, it costs and arm and a leg.  Is there a hidden message here? 

The whole thing just breaks my heart!  Please be careful, read labels, do your research and ask questions.  Complain and speak up when you have doubts. 

I don’t know what more I can do at this point but at least if we talk about it, spread the word and are more aware these companies will no longer take us for granted.   

Technorati Tags: canola oil, corn syrop, eating, food companies, genetic manipulation, healthy eating, Healthy living, pink slime, side effects, vegan, vegetarian

 If you have a daughter 7 or older you know about friendship bracelets.  I vaguely remember weaving them when I was a little girl.  We used to make them out of cotton threads, plastic threads and colorful wires.  You made as many as you could and gave them out to your friends.

My daughter is now at that age and there seems to be a weaving frenzy among the girls these days.  I had forgotten about these until she brought me some threads and asked me to help her out.   All sorts of memories came flooding back.  I remembered sitting on the white stone floor in the school yard with my girlfriends, laughing and making bracelets out of multicolored wires.  It was a warm and fun memory   My God, time zooms right by!!

Then my cousin sent us a bracelet making kit and we both caught the weaving bug.  I started making them for my daughters, myself and even my husband sported a couple at one point.  The surprise is, I found out how therapeutic weaving these bracelets was.  I have a hard time with meditation and can’t seem to be able to achieve that peaceful state.  The rhythmic movements helped clear my thoughts and settle my mind.  I was able to work through several ideas floating around in my head and relax at a time when I felt really high strung.

Because they’re quick to make, I found that they provide a nice meditative session but also a bit of instant gratitification when the bracelet is finished.

Who would have thought that something as simple as weaving a friendship bracelet could have had such an impact on my day!

Technorati Tags: childhood, friendship bracelets, meditation aid, memories, weaving

I left my job about 3 years ago and have been at home taking care of my family ever since.  I recently realized that more and more, I have been making as many things as possible at home.  It’s not just because we lost an income but also because I am very discouraged about what’s available out there.  It feels like the more options and variety we have the less interesting and healthy the offering is.

I try to make as much of our food at home as possible.  This includes all sorts of breads, sauces and desserts.  I refuse to buy any processed foods given all the news you hear every day.  In spring I plant a little garden with some veggies and herbs.  I am even thinking of trying to make my own butter given that most butter these days have cream added to them to give them the right consistency!  Corn syrup is hidden in almost everything we eat (in places you least expect it, read the labels and find out).  Canola oil is used everywhere from restaurants to frozen foods.  This stuff is man made poison (There is No Canola Seed!)  and most restaurants still feel they are offering us a healthy alternative by cooking with it!

I am becoming more and more traumatized by what is going into our food supply like pesticides, chemicals, wax, bleach, antibiotics, fillers, hormones and most recently pink goop!  This is in the fruits, vegetables, herbs, baked foods, snacks, sweets, meat, poultry and who know what else!

I am now thinking of living on a farm with a garden full of the basics, a couple of fruit trees, a few hens, a rooster and a cow!  It seems like the only way to eat healthy without having to remortgage the house!  If you know me you know how desperate I must feel to even consider such an option.

With every passing day is seems like the best way is to go back to a simpler and healthier lifestyle.  Having all this technology is deceiving, we are not liberated but enslaved by it all and it is making us sick!!

Simply put, the way I see it:  Homemade is the way to go!  At least I’ve been blessed to be able to it and hope to continue as long as I am able to. 

Technorati Tags: baking, canola oil, canola seed, cooking, corn syrup, fruits, garden, Healthy living, herbs, homemade, planting, simpler life, vergetables

Recently, I realized that I had never tried key lime pie before and thought it was about time I did.  I couldn’t find a place around me that served it or at least served one that looked appetizing so I decided to make it myself.

I tweaked this Weight Watcher’s recipe and made my first pie.  The first time round the crust was tasty but too thick and a bit hard but the pie was delicious.  Now I understood what all the fuss is about!

I reworked the crust and tweaked the filling and made the pie again for a family dinner.  I am happy to say it was a big hit!

The recipe is for a 9 inch pie.

Pie Crust:

• 2 Cups finely ground graham crackers
• 2Tbsp honey (you may need just a bit more if you find it’s not
• 1 Tbsp oil (I used corn oil)
• 1 Tbsp Low fat milk

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Spray 9″ glass pie plate with non-stick spray
3. Add honey, oil and milk to the crackers (you can use machine on pulse or mix by hand) until crusts get crumbly.
4. Pour the mixture into pie pan and press evenly to cover the bottom and up the sides.
5. Bake in oven for 9 minutes until the crust is firm
6. Let cool completely before adding the filling

Filling:

• 2 tsps grated lime zest
• 1/2 Cup freshly squeezed lime juice (I used regular green limes but it is recommended to use genuine Key limes if you can find them near you)
• 2 tsps unflavored gelatin
• 1 can (10 ounces) low fat sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Cups of whipped cream (if you can find any low fat alternatives near you go for it)

1. Pour the lime juice in small bowl and  sprinkle with the gelatin (let stand for 5 minutes)
2. Transfer into a saucepan and heat over low heat until the gelatin dissolves (take a couple of minutes), stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the condensed milk, stir occasionally until heated through (about 5 minutes on medium heat)
4. Remove pan from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes
5. transfer mixture to a large bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes until the filling starts to set
6. Then you whisk the thickened filling until it’s creamy and smooth
7. Stir in the lime zest
8. Gently fold in the whipped cream (better with rubber spatula)
9. Pour filling into the prepared pie crust and refrigerate until firm (at least 3 hours or overnight)
10. Garnish with thinly sliced lime or zest before serving.

I love this pie, it has such a fresh, light and zesty flavor!  Will definitely be making it again and again!

Technorati Tags: condensed milk, graham crackers, key lime, Key lime pie, lime, low fat, pie, whipped cream, zest

No too long ago I was contacted by a good bloggy friend Pippa from Story Of Mum.  She asked me if I was interested in writing a guest post about motherhood and creativity.   Was I interested?!  to write about creativity! Aaaaaannnd Motherhood!  I was very excited to do it.  It was a fun post to write. 

So here it is my  First guest post:  http://www.storyofmum.com/content/creative-mommy-871

Thank you Pippa

Technorati Tags: creativity, creativity on a budget, guest post, motherhood, story of mum

I’ve been working out my heart all year!  You can’t come to Valentine’s Day unprepared you know.  You can’t just love on February 14 (and I hope it’s not the only time you share your feelings with loved ones!).  I’ve been on a strict regimen of love workouts.  I worked on feeling love as many times a day as possible.  I tried to take some time every day to tell those around me how I felt about them (I would say that the majority of the time it was positive) .  So now my heart is ready for the annual love fest.

I would like to take a moment to tell my family how much I love and appreciate them, you have always been there for me and I am lucky and blessed to be part of our tribe.  My friends, I love you and am thankful to have you in my life.  You have listened, encouraged and supported me as only great friends can.  

My beautiful daughters, I am so utterly in love with you it’s impossible to put into words.  You have turned my world upside down and filled it with love, light and laughter.  I am grateful for you every day.

Last but definitely not least, my Valentine, we’ve been together longer than I care to mention. You have always made me feel safe, protected and loved.  Through our ups and downs, we’ve always managed to be a team and get through life’s surprises hand in hand.  We’ve always been able to laugh together and I hope we always will.  I love you ♥

Love makes every day a joy, every moment a memory!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Technorati Tags: family, friends, love, love fest, love workouts, Valentine, Valentine's day

Ultimately all we need to have a great life is happiness and positivity. We all try to achieve this in different ways but that is what I believe we are trying to achieve. We try to find happiness by accumulating money, materials and achievements, to name a few.  One thing we often forget to do to achieve those goals, however, is to simply smile.  Smile from your heart no matter what is happening around you.

 I am talking about a genuine and happy smile; don’t just bare your teeth!!  Take a few minutes to conjure up a happy memory or a happy place.  Have a clear image of that in your head.  Now smile and let that happy thought fill you right up and spread joy throughout your whole body.  That is the smile you need to put on first thing in the morning to have a great day.  That is the smile you put on when you’re not having a good day. 

 It is that truly joyful smile that will trigger you to change your state of mind.  Once you change that everything else around you will change.  The day or situation won’t seem so bad.  That overwhelming project will shrink down to size.  I am still learning about the power of positive energy and projecting positive thinking but let me tell you the power of your happy smile can move mountains.

 Try it (really try) for a week and I would love to hear your feedback!

Technorati Tags: change your mood, change your state of mind, positive energy, positive thinking, project happiness, smile

My Little Nugget turned Ten!  I still can’t believe it.  She requested a chocolate cake like the Dora one I made for her sister a couple of months ago.  Of course she wants a more mature theme.  I looked around found my inspiration and came up with this:

I used the batter from my chocolate cupcake recipe http://www.mommynuggets.com/?p=76, iced it and refrigirated it overnight.  This morning I rolled out some white fondant and covered the cake to prepare it for the decorations.

For the flowers, I used three colors of marzipan (almond paste) and came up with my own design combinations.  I touched the back of each one with a bit of water and secured them on the cake.

The smile on my daughter’s face said it all!  I could not be happier

Happy Birthday my little Angel Girl.  You are truly a blessing for all of us. ♥

Technorati Tags: almond paste, birthday cake, cake, Chocolate cake, flower cake, fondant, icing, marzipan, vanilla