Happy World Breastfeeding Week! [Tandem Nursing Pictures]

In honor of world breastfeeding week I decided I would write a blog, so exciting, I know.  Breastfeeding for me has been a long and winding journey, when I gave birth to Lily over eight years ago I had no clue that formula wasn't "just as good" as breast milk and that coupled with excruciating pain from a bad latch or tongue tie our breastfeeding relationship was short and full of grief.

With Jonas I tried again, this time breastfeeding wasn't as painful and I was beginning to know more as a Mother and less willing to listen to good-intentioned advice from people that knew even less than me. But again, breastfeeding just wasn't easy and at that time in my life, attempting to sell a home and moving two young children off of an island and back to California, breastfeeding wasn't the priority I wish it would have been.

Fast forward a few more years and along comes Oliver Crash, my breastfeeding champion!  After Oliver's birth which was incredibly hard both physically and emotionally I began to question my choices as a Mother a little bit more which led me to the great big world of "crunchy" mamas.  Breastfeeding is truly a community effort at times and the love, care and understanding I got from other Mothers is what made me love breastfeeding.  I breastfed Oliver through my pregnancy with Tulip and when she was born I tandem nursed them for over a year.  I decided to wean Oliver at the age of 3, a hard decision but one that I felt right about.  I will forever be grateful for the nourishment and bond I was able to give him.

Little Miss Tulip Bea was born to nurse and our journey has been smooth and primarily easy so far!  For those of you that wonder or didn't know; breastfeeding is like most things in life, lots of good and some bad.  There will be tears, sleepless nights, bite marks on your nipples and a small hand down your shirt most of the time.  But, there will also be sleepy-milky smiles, endless snuggles, the ability to comfort and calm, the power to nourish.

I have been a formula-feeding Mom and I have been a breastfeeding Mom, neither of those define you as a Mother but I can guarantee that one of those will change you. <3

These pictures are courtesy of Lisa Hoang at Simply Baby Photography in Kailua, Hawaii.
I took these last year when Tulip was maybe 9 months and Oliver was 2 1/2.  The Hawaii government was looking for pictures of local looking Moms to use in a new pamphlet for breast pumps.  While I didn't get picked, maybe the green hair? It was still such an honor to be considered and I will forever have these beautiful pictures to remember such an amazing time.

Amber necklace from Half Moon Mothering. :) 

Lilyʻs "Deliciously Donut" 8th Birthday Sleepover [w/ Corn, Edamame & Black Bean Salad]

In our family we donʻt have birthdays.  No, weʻre more birthday week kind of people.  In a family of six I really enjoy being able to focus on one person and remember why they in particular are so special to our family unit.  Last week our oldest child turned eight.  I still canʻt believe it, I feel like Iʻm still in a little bit of shock.  Like I gave birth 8 years ago and forget everything up until today and how do I already have an eight year old? Breathe.

For Lilyʻs birthday she really wanted to have a sleepover with her best girl friends.  They had a blast playing dress-up, shrieking and running in circles and watching movies into all hours of the night.  Literally, all hours, I got the last one to sleep around 2am.  Mom life is hardcore sometimes.

The theme for her sleepover was Deliciously Donut!

Cake by Mom!  I used this awesome Wilton cake pan that can do any number or letter.

Happy Birthday to Me shirt from Childrenʻs Place via Noni of course! 

Chocolate Milk and Sprinkles for breakfast, what else could a little girl ask for?

Lilyʻs birthday "cake"! 

Happy Birthday Lily Pax!  You are loved. 

Teaching Daddy how to make a bracelet, her new favorite hobby. 

Pre-sleepover spaghetti dinner with friends!  

In addition to her birthday sleepover we had; cupcakes at the beach with friends (twice!), went to see the new Planes: Fire & Rescue movie and went to the annual Midsummerʻs Night Gleam at Fosterʻs Botanical garden.  All in all a great week to celebrate a rad little girl.

On the night we saw Planes we had dinner at a friendʻs house in Waikiki and since I had a random bunch of corn I decided to make this salad.  Super light, fresh, and fast it was great on a hot day.  I took the pictures before I added the cilantro but I really like the flavor with it included. 

Corn, Black Bean and Edamame Salad

2 ears of corn, cooked, with kernels cut off

1 can of black beans, rinsed

1 jalapeño, diced 

1 cup shelled edamame, cooked

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

For the vinaigrette:

2 limes, zest & juice

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

salt & pepper

• Combine corn, black beans, jalapeño and edamame in a large bowl.
• In a separate jar combine all ingredients for vinaigrette adding salt & pepper to taste,  mix dressing well and pour over salad ingredients. 
• Add fresh cilantro and toss to combine.
• Cover dish and refrigerate at least one hour.  

You say Aweo, I say Weo! [Basic quiche recipe]

A couple of days ago we joined a few friends for a relaxing brunch on the beach.  Aweoweo Beach Park is one of those places we love we just donʻt make it there very often.  The beach park has clean bathrooms, a dilapidated playground & of course a beautiful view!

 To say Iʻve been a bit scatterbrained lately is probably an understatement.  As I was planning this brunch with friends I had grand ideas of all the delicious things I would make. in the end I had an hour and luckily a refrigerated pie crust and some eggs.  Which means, ta da! Quiche!  Quiche is one of the first foods I learned to make without a recipe and rarely fails me.  You can add whatever you have in the fridge and get a full meal with little prep or actual cooking. 

 A beautiful view of Aweoweo Beach. this is the view from our picnic table so the beach is pretty close to where you can set -up.  My favorite thing since eating food with sand in it is just not fun for anybody, except for maybe my 20 month old that eats sand by the handful. 

 For some reasons there were tons of sea turtles out that day!  I even got to put on the snorkel mask and swim around with them and creepily watch them as they eat limu off the coral reef. 

 Overall another beautiful morning in Hawaii, all of which I am very thankful for!  

Zucchini Bacon Quiche with Goat Cheese and Fresh Basil

1/2 package bacon, any kind works

1 small-medium zucchini, diced

5 large eggs

1 pre-made pie crust, I like Immaculate Bakery

3/4 cup heavy cream, or Whole Milk

Salt & Pepper

6 leaves fresh basil 

Goat Cheese, to taste

• Cook bacon until crisp, crumble and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees 
• Lightly saute zucchini in a little olive oil, just a few minutes, it will continue cooking in oven.
• In a pie dish, unroll pie crust and press firmly into dish so there are no air bubbles.  Crimp edge fancy if you want. 
• Sprinkle cooled bacon and zucchini on top of pie crust.
• In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, cream and salt & pepper.  Pour mixture on top of bacon and zucchini. 
• Cut basil into thin ribbons and sprinkle over egg mixture. 
• Crumble goat cheese on top of edge mixture, use as much or as little as you would like.  
• Bake quiche at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until itʻs no longer jiggly.
• Serve warm or at room temp! 

I think a change will do you good.

At what point did my life change? How did I go from being the geeky punk girl to the Mom with four kids that enjoys a nice evening in pinning things for daughterʻs eighth donut party sleepover?  I feel like after the point of thirty itʻs kind of mandatory to have your shit together, or at least to understand your own self a little bit more.

But I donʻt even know.  Iʻm on my first "real" Summer break before school starts again in August, only real in the sense that I took two full-load semesters last year and beginning with the semester coming up I will be taking five classes a semester until I graduate.  While I thought Summer vacation would be some fantasy world full of free Starbucks and yoga on the beach- it feels almost worse then being in school.  I still canʻt catch up with the house, I still get frustrated with my kids, stress and real life are still the same I just donʻt have the excuse of homework anymore.  Ahh, where I made the mistake was believing that not going to school would reduce my anxiety level really it just adds on to my normal anxiety level which can never be lowered.  Ha.  Right.

So yeah, Iʻm working on it.  I thought that since I allegedly do have all this free time I no longer have the excuse not to blog either.  I love blogging, I just havenʻt figured out my "thing" yet.  Sounds about right.  I guess Iʻm willing to keep trying to figure it out.

I have done a lot more cooking and baking since being on break but I've been a bit lazy and weary to continue using social media to post my pictures first and then copy and paste them on to here.  Which is Iʻm sure the most rudimentary way to do that but like I said before, I really suck at anything computer related.  I just need to get back into writing and posting and etc. but for just this time instead Iʻll just give you a link for some awesome Apple Crumb muffins I made for my book club last week.  They were moist and everyone loved them even my fruit-hating son.

Enjoy and Aloha!

Glazed Apple Crumb Muffins

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/06/10/glazed-apple-crumb-muffins/

Whirlwind Woman [Happy Birthday Oreo Cake Batter Blondies!]

So, lately life has been a whirlwind.  I'm sure most people understand that.  Not enough time for anything, or just a little time for everything and nothing finished.  Kind of like how I clean the house, as I walk from room to room I stop and fold some laundry here, pick up some trash there, throw some toys in a bin over here.....the end result is nothing really being done.

But for now, I'm okay with that.  We recently decided as a family that I will be continuing my college education for oh, 6 more years or so.  The decision was daunting and it required a lot for me to realize that I will not, cannot be the Mom that does everything.  Taking a full college load, being a mother of 4 young children, working part-time in addition to being a wife, friend, and very sporadic blogger means I cannot do it all.  And on the worst days I can't do any of it.

I'm trying my best for now, to relax about it.  I have come to understand that my anxieties are not just my own but a burden on my family and also in direct relation to my trust in God.  If He has set me on this path I must trust that each day will take care of itself.  My laundry may never be completely done, my kid's might have unbrushed hair and unorganized rooms but ours hearts will be full.

So for now, while school takes priority over mopped floors and alphabetized blu-rays [yes, I do that.] I will do what I can.  And what I can do is make this awesome dessert in under 5 minutes.  Super easy. not healthy in the slightest, and my kid's loved them.  Hopefully when I've finished my Masters I'll look back at this time in our lives and be joyful about the things I let go.

Happy Birthday Oreo Cake Batter Blondies

• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
• 15 Golden Happy Birthday Oreos, chopped. 
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sprinkles
• 1/3 cup milk 
• 1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 11x7 pan.
2. Combine cake mix, coconut oil, egg and sprinkles.
3. Slowly add milk and stir together, batter will be thick!  This is good. :)
4. Once combined fold in 3/4 of your chopped Oreos and 3/4 of your sprinkles.
5. Pour into the greased pan and sprinkle reserved Oreos and sprinkles on top.
6. Bake for 28 minutes until edges are slightly brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely so blondies can set.
8. Enjoy! 

The Vegan Challenge [Vegan Bluberry Muffins]

[Aloha home!  Until we meet again. <3]

Ok, I admit it.
 I feel a little bit better.  

We're on day three of our experimental vegan cleanse and I feel slightly better.

A little healthier maybe but my face is breaking out more?  Unrelated maybe, but still.

I read somewhere that a vegan diet for two weeks is a good cleanse for your body and after almost three weeks in California and eating a lot more Mexican food than usual I felt all gross and thought coming back home would be a good time to try it.  

We had no food at home because we got rid of almost everything before we left for California.  

We had ketchup and chocolate almond milk in the fridge pretty much.

So the day we got back from California, yes the same day, like after a 6 hour long flight with 4 young kids, I went grocery shopping.  Not a cool move, I felt like dying when we got home but anyways I got all the stuff we needed to start our Vegan diet thing and we began!  I know some Vegans, I know lots of people who have been Vegan at some point in their life and I am amazed by you.  I can't handle it, it makes me want to cry everyday thinking of all the eggs and cheese and crispy prosciutto I could have eaten.  But we're doing ok.  We're on day three and it has been hard everyday!  Haha.  I have no idea what to cook and beans are not in my repertoire.

 [A stop in Santa Cruz, the swings are just so pretty!]

My cousin texted me that she was going to go Vegan for a week too so we could text each other about how hard it is.  She's already a vegetarian so I think it's a head start, but still.  So here we go!  Looking forward to seeing how I feel on day 7.  We decided to go just one week instead of two because we're lazy and miss good food.  For me it's also a test of willpower.  I don't have any.  If I want something I figure out a way to get it but I wanted to test myself to see if I would actually do what I said I'm going to do.  I say random things I'm going to do all the time like: I'm going to join a roller derby team!  I'll take the bus.  I'm just going to Target for a couple things!  But then I never do those things, so I'm kind of forcing myself to do something I say I'm going to do.

[Sunflowers in Avila Beach!]

So here they are, Vegan Blueberry Muffins.  They taste good I'm just kind of weirded out about the avocado in them, hot or cold I couldn't really taste it so.....yum!  Try them out!

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

[adapted from www.averiecooks.com]

Flesh from 1 very ripe medium Hass Avocado, mashed well.  About 3/4 cup.

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed.

1/3 cup Coconut Oil

1/3 cup Blueberry Coconut Yogurt

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

3/4 tsp. Cinnamon

3/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1 cup AP Flour

1 tsb. Baking Powder

1 cup fresh Blueberries, tossed in 2 tsb. Flour.

1.  Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F and line 16 muffin tins with liners.

2.  In a large bowl mash the avocado, the softer the better.  

3.  Stir in the oil, sugars, yogurt, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg until all combined.

4.  Fold in flour and baking powder until just mixed.  Do not overmix.

5.  Fold in berries tossed in fruit and divide batter evenly in lined pan.

6.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, lower to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Veg on. 

My 10 Happy Things. [Zucchini & Quinoa Stuffed Portabellos]

My 10 Things.

I love......[in no particular order.]

1.  My new home, for how much of a pain in the ass this move has become, no matter how much I bitch and complain about the process, what we still have to do, etc. I am SO excited to be in a bigger house and looking forward to all the memories we will be making here.

2.  Babywearing.  Something about it just makes me feel like a skilled parent, even tho I'm not the best at it.  The wraps are so pretty, Tulip loves it and I can get shit done.  Enough said.

3.  My husband.  Obviously this guy has to make the list, he is such an amazing Father and loving husband.  God knew what he was doing when I met this crazy kid.

4.  Workaholics.  It's just a good show.  I mean come on, have you seen the Ninja Turtles episode?!

5.  Leggings.  They're so comfy.  I know you're not supposed to wear them like pants but sometimes I do.  I mean a longer t-shirt, but still.  I know. 

6.  My kids.  My sweet flower girls.  My crazy boys.  These four little people have helped me grow so much, I am forever grateful for their love and patience with me everyday. 

7.  My church.  Be it small but mighty.  It's easy to be discouraged about the things you're not doing, but I'm hoping to remember the things we are.  

8.  Tattoos.  They're just so pretty. 

9.  The beach.  I love the beach so much more now, the smell of the ocean, the color of the water, sand in my toes and usually happy kids all around.  A day at the beach is always a good day.  Unless you get rained out with a newborn and than a homeless guy starts a fire in the rocks and runs away and fire men come and think it was your husband that started the fire.  Than it's just an ok day. 

10.  My new blog designer, Miss Tobie!  Be on the look out!  This space will be looking rad someday soon-ish.  But for now I'll keep working on my writing and getting yummy recipes out!  

Zucchini & Quinoa Stuffed Portabellos

1 lb. grass-fed ground beef

2 tbs. olive oil

5 Portabello Mushrooms

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 cup cooked quinoa

4 slices good cheese, optional

Salt

Pepper

1.  In a large skillet brown the ground beef with the olive oil. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

2.  Once meat is browned add the diced zucchini.

3.  Cook for 5 minutes and than stir in the quinoa, season again with salt & pepper.

4.  Scrape out the gills, the brown inside, of the mushrooms with a spoon.  

5.  Arrange cleaned mushrooms on a baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil inside each cap, season with salt & pepper.

6. Fill each cap with a scoop of the beef mixture, dividing it equally between the 5 caps.

7.  Bake at 400 degreed for 10 minutes, top with cheese or panko crumbs if desired and bake an additional 5 minutes.

To make vegetarian/vegan:  Replace the ground beed with tofu or more veggies.

I'm also trying to figure out how to work Blogger a little better, especially in the aspect of adding pictures and the stories they tell.  I LOVE taking pictures, all the time, anytime, of anything and I really want to be able to go back through my blog one day and see the pictures and remember this time in our lives just because I know it moves so fast.  I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to do it but for now, they're here.  Pictures top to bottom: 

1.  Lily reading her new Junie B. Jones book under a slide at the park the other day.  She got the book from the tooth fairy the other day and is starting to love reading.  That makes me incredibly happy!

2.  A typical day for me.  I was on my second Nutella iced coffee of the day, taking a break from baking a Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake with a little munchkin tugging on me.  I'm pretty happy. 

3.  Oliver the Grouch.  Just look at it, you know.