Rants, Raves & Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies.

Holy crap, I don't know how it happens but I swear every time someone posts an article from Huffington Post its always some asshole that talks about how they're not going to tell people what to do, but then there they go and tell you what to do. 

The last article I read, I also blogged about when I was a fledgling blogger, oh....about 4 months ago.  It was a woman ranting why marriage under the age of 25 is stupid, she got a divorce, we're all basically the same, blah blah blah.   So I already thought "Yippee!" [in my most sarcastic tone], when I see this article going around lately.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicola-kraus/detachment-parenting-sears_b_1852579.html

It's another woman talking about how AWESOME she is a parent and how easy it is for her daughter to go to sleep.  All the awesome sleeping & screwing she does and once again, why her way is the best.

I honestly don't know why I let these things get to me.  

First off, I am not an attachment parent.  I won't label myself in anyway cause if I do, I'll fall short.  I already know it.  I REALLY don't like being told what to do, whether by some random blogger on the internet or Dr. Sears, I'm sorry but each family works differently.  I personally don't feel like some random guidelines are going to work well for each child and unlike the writer of this article I have 3, soon to be 4, not 1 that magically did everything I wished. 

[I couldn't think of any clever things to put with this blog so I'll just entertain you with my awesome Instagram pictures.  Here's one of a double rainbow I took the other day!]

I guess in any article of this nature the thing that bothers me is her righteous attitude about what fools attachment parents are.  Like I said, I am not an attachment parent, but please, if I have the choice lump me in with the lovers cause detachment parenting just sounds cruel.  Being proud of how you teach your child to self-soothe from the day their born to poking fun at Mayim Byalik breastfeeding until the age of 4 doesn't make you seem better.  It makes you seem rude.  It makes me think your children will grow up with the same attitude of superiority complex that you have. 

Yes, I breastfeed my children until one of us is ready to stop.

At almost 39 weeks pregnant with a 20 month old that time might come sooner rather than later. 

But guess what?  My marriage doesn't suffer from that.

Yes, I wear my children.  But surprise!  I put them in strollers and other dangerous contraptions too.

To say you know my marriage because you might have some idea of how I raise my children is wrong.

My husband and I put each other first FOR our children. 

That doesn't mean we don't get kicked in the back when one of the kids decides to get into our bed at night, or that we're not sometimes sleep deprived, I've been sleep deprived since I was 17 so really that's just a joke.  I've just traded in Halo marathon playing sessions with trying to get toddlers with night terrors back to sleep.  Same, same right? 

[Me at my maternity photo shoot last weekend at 38 weeks pregnant. 

 See?  I do love my self more than my kids. ;)] 

I'm not saying she's wrong.  For her family she might be right. 

But I would love to see if her own advice works for her 5 years & 2 more children from now. 

Any who!  On to food!

My midwife told me to drink more water & eat more protein to get ready for this impending, 

seriously could be anyway [ahh!] birth.  I wasn't digging the meat and I made Andy some quinoa salad and had been wanting to try this recipe.  These came out pretty decently although I have gotten tips to use a little more Peanut Butter or Maple Syrup which I definitely recommend.  These could be vegan too if you get vegan chocolate chips and peanut butter?  Is peanut butter already vegan?  Hmm.

Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

2 cups cooked Quinoa

1/2 cup Peanut Butter [I used smooth]

3 tbs. Pure Maple Syrup

3/4 cup rolled Oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips

[1] In a bowl mix together all ingredients until throughly combined.

[2] Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

[3] If you want chocolate-y looking cookies mix chocolate chips in while quinoa is warm,

mine are more studded with chocolate chips cause I used cold quinoa.  Either way is fine and tasty.

[4] Using a tablespoon pack the tablespoon tightly and drop cookies onto parchment paper. 

You can put these cookies as close as you want to each other, they won't spread at all. 

[5] Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy! We ate a whole pan of these in one day. Oops. 

The Hectic Homeschooler!

This morning while I'm going to the bathroom Lily comes in with the iPad.

Me: Hey!  I don't want you to take a picture of me while I'm going to the bathroom!

Lily: It's not a picture, it's a video.

Fail. 

As we enter into our second year of homeschooling I have come to learn, that I still have a lot to learn!

Right now we kind of un-school, we don't have a set curriculum and the kid's are still young enough where I think it's beneficial to just learn by doing, trying new things, learning character and how to be as people just as much as book smarts.

We try our best tho and as Lily enters the 1st grade and Jonas goes into Preschool I'd really like to get into a more set schedule of things, I'm sure adding a new baby to the mix in a few months will really help.  Sarcasm for those who can't tell. 

The past few weeks I've really been struggling with the choice to homeschool, I've just been feeling overwhelmed and it feels like something I'm failing at.  I think these are just normal feelings and when I stop to think about it enough I realize how much I love having my kids home with me and how good it feels to be the one to teach them what I feel is important.  

That being said, I do need to catch up!  My goal is to have Lily be a solid reader by the end of this year and I've been trying to think of some things to help with that.  I saw these Speak & Say balls on Pinterest to use at slumber parties with like Truth or Dare questions and I thought it would work well for other things.  So I made one with Kindergarten sight words & one with easy addition problems.  

This was a really cheap & easy project!  I found the balls at Wal-Mart for $1.68, even here in Hawaii and permanent markers are one of my many obsessions.  

With homeschooling comes more hectic-ness that already comes with having young children.

Especially one named Oliver Crash, that child has been testing my patience everyday!  

I now feel bad for telling people Jonas is my "hard" child, it seems Oliver came along to prove his Mother wrong.  

So yes, off course, but coffee!  One of my loves along with my family, sleep, and organization.

Recently figured out how to make my own coffee creamer and I am in love!  I always have the ingredients on hand and it has so much less junk than the bottled stuff, not to mention cheaper since a small bottle can cost $5 here and I go through it like water, literally.

So far I've made up these two recipes and can't wait to try more!  

You can really do whatever sounds good to you but this is what I had on hand for my first two batches.

Homemade Creamer

For the creamer base you will need:

A mason jar

Heavy Cream

Whole Milk [or skim if you want it a little lighter]

Depending on your size jar use equal parts heavy cream & milk, make sure you leave a good enough space for about 1/2 cup more liquid for add-ins.

Vanilla Honey:

2 tsps. Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup Honey

Add to creamer base & shake well!  I like my coffee sweet so feel free to add a little more honey or sugar after you add creamer to coffee.

Maple Brown Sugar:

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup pure Maple Syrup

Add to base & again shake well!

The possibilities are endless really....can't wait to try some more!