The spirited child

Pink sharpie + Sophie + mommy on important phone call = hallway and bathroom makeover.

I have "that" kid. Yes... "That" kid.

I was a pretty well behaved child, obviously I had my moments and I was far from perfect but for the most part I was respectful and did what I was told. When I became a mom, I had a pretty good idea how I expected my kids to be and how I wanted to be as a parent. My first daughter was so easy. She slept through the night almost immediately, had no health problems and is just a happy little girl. She's six now and is starting to somewhat venture away from mom a bit but for the most part she wants to be attached to my hip and just be apart of my every moment. She is sensitive and is emotionally wounded pretty easily but its because she has a huge heart. She is my flower child.

Everyone told me... Your first one is so easy, your second will be a little rebel.
Har har.

The day I found out about my little spirit child, she tried to kill me. Ok ok, SHE didn't try to kill me, but I was admitted to the hospital with a ruptured cyst that had caused some internal bleeding... But don't worry "the baby is ok." ... What baby!?

So that should have been an indicator right there that this was going to be a fun ride.
And it has. I used to feel bad for the moms in the stores who's kids were throwing a fit. Come on lady, get a grip on your kid.
Yea, well now I'm that mom. And don't think I don't see the looks. I do. I REALLY do. The other day at target Sophie had attempted to throw herself out of the cart, so I put her down to walk, so she  threw herself on the floor... Snot on her face, screaming, tears, kicking.... The whole nine. I saw the looks. I wanted to join her on the floor. I wanted to cuss you out for the looks, I wanted to cry, I wanted to simply walk away from the crazy child on the floor and say where is her mother. I was embarrassed and heart broken. Being a mom isn't easy. My husband is deployed and while I wanted to call him and cry and say "your kid is nuts, please give me a break for an hour." It wasn't an option. So I swooped my screaming child up, got kicked in the face & took the looks.

Today I was on a really important phone call and she got ahold of a sharpie. A hot pink sharpie. ;) Obviously you can play  out in your head how that went. Hallway and bathroom were exquisitely pink. She did quite a number. My first born got ahold of a marker once. Just once. This is Sophie's 3rd or 4th time... I've lost track. Some say this is terrible 2's but really, she's always been a rebel or as I like to say, fully spirited.

But do you want to know the CRAZIEST part?

As I walked down the hall, mixed with firery anger and wanting to cry because I knew this would add at least an hour to my to do list today, I was laughing inside and thinking, this is the stuff we remember. She saw a blank canvass, made it pretty and was so proud to share it with me. I knew I would write this down in her "me book," and I know we will laugh about later.

And with as wild as she is, I know she will put her all into everything she does in life.

Its hard being a parent to a wild child, but be careful how you direct their path. You don't want to stifle that kind of spirit.

Boho dream catcher idea

Hi all. Growing up, I often had bad dreams. I was given a dream catcher as a gift from one of my moms friend and I've  always had dream catchers in my room since. Now my kids also have them above as well.

Recently I decided to make something pretty. Doesn't really classify as a dream catcher in the native sense but its pretty. My grandma has lung cancer and I wanted to do something nice for her and remind her to never stop dreaming. So this is what I came up with.

I hope you like it.

Bulletproof coffee!!

Ok this is weird.
I saw an article on fb from pioneer woman about this coffee and well... I like weird things and I love coffee so I though what the hell. Plus side, I had all the ingredients and had just made a fresh pot of coffee.

Supposedly there's an ongoing argument about it. Some claiming its healthy other claiming it is not. I personally don't see any health benefits other than the use of coconut oil which is of course one of my favorite things in the world right now. ;)

After reposting her article I had a friend mention that its supposed to prolong the effects of the caffeine. We shall see.

If you like coffee, try this out. Yum!

Ingredients:
12oz fresh hot coffee
1 Tbs coconut oil
1 Tbs butter

Blend it up and drink while still warm.

It creates this froth on top that is divine and its quite delicious!
Coconut oil is great for our bodies so that is a benefit.  And who wouldn't want prolonged energy? 

Enjoy and tell me what you think in the comments below!

- I do it for the smiles <3

Soothing nighttime lotion

So my 2 year old has decided she no longer wants ANYTHING to do with sleep. Period. Its bloody murder screaming when nap time and bedtime roll around.
I wanted to find something natural that would potentially stop all that screaming. She was born with a slight heart murmur and when she gets really riled up it causes the murmur to be more pronounced and messes with her breathing.
I normally have a routine at night for her where she gets a shower/bath and then I put lotion on her, give her a short full body message, get her in PJs and then brush out her hair, read a story and she gets milk. Recently I've been using coconut oil because she has eczema and she had another flare up, at which point her Dr gave me another round or oral and topical steroids. I'm not a fan. Anyway, the coconut oil seems to work pretty well and hasn't caused any issues. Well tonight I decided to add some lavender essential oils and see what happens.

I saw a recipe on pinterest for a coconut/lavender soothing lotion that calls for beeswax. I don't have any on hand so I just scratched that from mine.

I got about 1/2 cup of coconut oil. Put it in a jar and put that jar in a pan with some water. I heated it up over a low heat and just enough to get it nice and soft. I removed it from the heat and mixed in 10 drops of lavender essential oils. I let it cool and went along with our normal routine.

She still screamed but seemed to fall asleep faster. I guess we will see if she stays asleep. It smells and feels great. I used some and I'm going to bed now. :)

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
10 drops lavender essential oil

Heat over low heat until soft
Add oil
Mix well
Cool
Enjoy

Cauliflower crust

1 head Cauliflower

4 eggs

2 cups of mozzarella cheese

3 tsp oregano

4 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 more cups mozzarella cheese (for topping)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.

Prepare 2 pizza dishes or a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Break down cauliflower and put pieces in food processor to chop down until its the size of rice pieces.

Place the cauliflower in a microwavable container and cover with lid. Microwave for 10 minutes. It will be hot.. Be careful.

Place the microwaved cauliflower in a large bowl and add the 4 eggs, 2 cups of mozzarella,oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix it all together.

Separate the mixture in half. You can either make 2 pizzas or pizza and breadsticks. Spread into a rectangular shape for the breadsticks. And onto the pizza sheet(s).

Bake just the crust for about 25 minutes or until golden.  Now add temaining mozzarella cheese and whatever toppings you want. I used chicken & pineapple. Put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Slice and serve.