Saturday Shenanigans

  After waking up early, we ate a good breakfast and then decided to run a few errands. Mackynzie was ready to go! I am loving that it's getting cold enough for hats! She discovered pretend driving a couple of weeks ago and is hooked.

One of our stops was at the fall market, it was a giant farmers market, with bouncy houses and lots of cool vendors. Our favorite being the awesomely decorated sugar cookies. We got Mackynzie this animal pack- there is a cow, a horse and two pigs.

  piggy photobom!

We also stopped at the library to pick up a giant stack of books as usual; plenty of them being about fall and thanksgiving for this week's lessons! So fun!

I hope you are all having a great weekend!!

Such a Big Girl

Our little girl is going to be two years old in just over a week! Part of me can't believe it, and then the other part thought she was turning three for some reason... Way to go Rainbow. *clap clap clap. I guess it's because she is technically still one, and it just seems crazy to be having pretty full conversations with someone who isn't even two. None the less, she is turning two and we are pretty darn excited.

 I feel so extremely fortunate to be this sweet little person's mama. She has taught me so much in these two years, and I'm thankful for it every day! I really didn't expect parenting to be so... liberating. I have more confidence in myself then ever before, I am able to be who I am, I have more drive to push myself (I had never had as much exercise drive before haha), parenthood has brought our marriage and relationship closer then ever too. There is so incredibly much that I am thankful for. It would take me all day to list it all.

 Mackynzie's personality is bright and shining more with every day. She is a chatter box like her mommy, so we spend our days talking about everything we are doing (she has started asking lots of questions) and near future plans. The words we don't quite understand are starting to fade away... I can't believe what a big girl she has become! 

I mean LOOK at the difference!

Day she was born:

First birthday:

Late August(now):

She went from a baby to a big girl so fast!

Every day is an adventure and we have so much fun learning everything she has to teach us. We can't wait to celebrate her! Only one week left! 

One week, 4 birthday celebrations between two people within 3 days. SO.Much.Fun.

Easy Pasta Sauce

I have always loved pasta. not for the noodles, but for the sauce. This recipe is super easy and I promise it's delicious!

• 1 can pasta sauce of your choice (I use an organic herb one of some sort.)
• 1 can tomato paste 
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 to 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• approx 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning 
• approx 1/2 tsp salt
• approx 1tsp black/fresh pepper
• I also usually add some fresh herbs (sticking to things like oregano, parsley, etc)
• 1 pound ground beef OR 1 cup cooked lentils for a meat free option

Directions:

Brown ground beef in pan. 

Saute garlic and onion together in either butter or oil (coconut works great)

pour pasta sauce, tomato paste, and tomatoes into large pot.

Add cooked beef or lentils to pot, along with sauteed garlic and onion, and seasonings.

Turn heat to medium high (around an 8) and let come to a bubble, stirring often. When it starts bubbling, reduce heat to low and simmer for at LEAST one hour. The longer it simmers the better it will taste.

Add more seasoning as needed while simmering.

That's why I love this so much. If I'm in a hurry, I cook it an hour, if I have time, I let it go for about 4 hours.

pour over pasta, rice, quinoa or do what I did as a kid- eat sauce with bread!

From my kitchen to yours,

Enjoy! 

Morning Bits and Pieces

 I love mornings. So still and peaceful. Everyone wakes up fresh and new and everything about the morning is beautiful.

It's a simple, routine morning for me; Woke up early,showered, and nursed my sweet girl back to sleep-

Did a good 30 minute yoga session with nature music and Clair de lune clearing the sleep fuzzies out of my head. And now I am sitting and relaxing with a big glass of lemon water, my computer,

And this really weird frozen cookie thing, that I made a batch of the other night because i had a sweet tooth. Turns out they are really healthy and (besides the bit of confectioners sugar I had to add due to running out of honey and maple syrup) great for breakfast! Love when that happens.

 Happy morning to you! Or evening or night or mid day or whatever time it may be where you are!

Gift and Sleep Contemplating

Mackynzie turned 23 months the other day, so there is now less then a month until she's two! Normally, I would be all over party planning and have all the details hammered out by now. But this year, we are keeping things very simple and I guess my mind has been so busy elsewhere, that I haven't been able to focus on party planning yet.

 I think I'm more stumped on what to get her for her birthday. I have ideas, but I don't know how solid they are... We will be doing two parties, well, actually three. One for a couple of her friends, their parents, and our family, one for Cody, and then one very small one on their actual birthday. On their birthday, I have loose plans to take Mackynzie out for some sort of activity (like the science center, zoo, children's museum etc) bake a cake or treat with her, and then do either a small dinner or dessert with family in the evening. We will also do presents on only that day, and most likely with just the three of us. Plans will most likely shift a bit, because their birthday falls on thanksgiving weekend each year, and we don't know if Cody will be on holidays yet.

I'm really excited (I think more so than them!) and I think I will start actually planning this weekend.

In the meantime, we are trying to figure out and adjust our bedtime routine, so I think being a little more tired then usual is in our immediate future.

Mackynzie was so sleepy yesterday afternoon, and fell asleep while nursing, so I let her sleep and put her in bed so I could do some much needed cleaning. Turns out that was a bad idea, because like always she did not go to sleep at bedtime. She napped for probably an hour and a half, and until 3:45 (Which was not smart of me, but I wasn't fighting it.).

She just sat on the couch and read books and spun around in circles until we finally took her back upstairs. At 10pm, I gave up and just got ready for bed myself and we fell asleep together with my night time music.

I am hoping we can figure this out. I don't like not letting her nap, but maybe she is just one of those people who doesn't need a whole lot of sleep... Sometimes I wish I could just hand my boobs off to Cody for the night (you know, the one who apparently only needs 5 hours of sleep to run perfectly. He stays up late.) haha... That's really weird imagery!

Anyway, I am going to go make a tea and figure out what to get my soon to be two year old, and come up with some bedtime trial solutions.

-Sunny days!-even if your skies aren't

The Last Kisses of Summer and People we hold dear

Summer is coming to a close, so we are soaking up these last days of warm weather with trips to the park, long walks, and bike rides. As much as i love fall and everything that comes with it, I like to try and enjoy everything to the fullest, so I'm not letting myself shove summer out the door just yet. I'm going to miss sun hats and cute dresses and the smell of sunscreen... On this sweet little one.

 I love moments like the one in these photos. As Mackynzie is getting older, she is developing her relationships with friends and family and it's beautiful to watch. Though sometimes I have to step back and remind myself not to fall into 'manner habits' (like making her give hugs goodbye or hello, or kisses, or even words etc.), I have absolutely loved watching her develop her relationships and feelings towards others on her own. It has taught me so much about my own relationships!

And there is one really fun way to develop friendships... Play dates! I quickly snapped this while Mackynzie was waiting for some of her friends to arrive for the play group we host. She gets really excited when toys start to migrate to the living room.

 I hope we keep meeting more wonderful people, and hold the relationships we have already made close. You don't need a community around you, but it sure does make a positive difference.

xoxo

-Rainbow

Full Mind, Full Camera = Time to Get Things Moving Again!

 Sorry I have been pretty non-existent around here lately! I have a lot on my mind and I can't blog when I'm like that. Sometimes I wish I shared every detail of my life so I could just get it off my chest, but I'm really glad I don't. It's good to have privacy and it's good to learn to manage your thoughts, feelings, and things going on in your life on your own. But I promise I will share all the big stuff as it comes. :)

 Things have been decently quiet around here, and my phone has zero storage left on it to take pictures, so that's my project to tackle tonight. I have to organize all the photos on both my lap top and phone. Yikes... If you take a million pictures and videos, than you must know this dreaded task too.

 We have been keeping ourselves busy by going out with friends and just getting out of the house. I am a serious over-thinker, so when I am in the house too much I tend to stay quiet and just get myself worked up. No fun for Mackynzie, no fun for mama. I'm starting a serious routine for myself again, which I can't wait for. It will be so nice to be more disciplined in my personal life again. I'm going to start doing My yoga every afternoon/evening again, and meditation in the morning. Makes a world of a difference in my life! Also, throwing some good cardio and slight strength in there won't hurt. We are also in the middle of cutting some big things out of our diet, so we will see how that goes. It's so hard!

  I am hoping this week will be a bit more exciting, and having a working camera again will be fun for me!

I will leave you with a video of Mackynzie and Fynn being cute right before my camera cut off on me. :)

Our Corny weekend with rocks and dogs

It can be hard to jump back into the week right after a long weekend, but before I do that (I am not even done my tea.) I will take a little look at what our weekend full of sick people held. 

  Mackynzie's 2 year old molars are coming in and, like always, she gets extremely congested and drooly when she teethes. Poor girl was a blubbery mess the whole weekend!

 Of course teething is no match for a fun-loving almost two year old, so she still ran around and played as per usual. Her and Fynn even enjoyed a good giraffe destuffing on Friday afternoon.

 Saturday was very laid back. Cody caught himself a wicked (but quick)  cold, so we didn't do a whole lot this weekend.

We ended up going over to Mackynzie's Papa's house to help him spread some rocks.

Mackynzie crashed hard when we got home, and since she wasn't feeling well, I let her sleep. Something I regret now because she did not go to bed...

 Sunday was Fynn's third birthday! Happy Birthday to our little furry man.

Monday was extremely relaxed again, with everyone on the mend. We went to the corn maze and had some fun with meme and papa.

After that, we came home and Cody and I caught up on some big brother while Mackynzie nursed, ate homemade honey-lemon popsicles and played.

A very quiet long weekend, but needed for sure!

Chocolate Almond Freezer Bites

 This is one of Mackynzie and I's favorite treats. The bonus is that they are loaded with healthy fats and take almost no time to make. They are creamy, delicious, and you could replace the chocolate almond with anything, really. This is especially good for you pregnant mamas out there! 

Put almonds  in an ice cube tray.

Melt about 2 tablespoons (actual spoon) of coconut oil on the stove. (just until its melted!) and use spoon to pour oil over almonds. about half way up the almond.

Throw in freezer and they are ready in as little as 40 minutes.

Pop out of ice cube mold and put into bag or jar and put back into freezer.

 Snack on a couple a day and be prepared to always have these in your freezer.