I'd be a liar...

 

Good Morning according to my new mug.

  I'd be a liar if I told you everything went according to plan today. Oh and there were plans. For that mountain of laundry. For the rolls of ribbon I have been hoarding since last Valentine's Day. For all the "things" that needed to be done.   I'd be a liar if I said they were all done with ease. If they were all done with enjoyment. If they were done at all.   I'd be a liar if I told you today was a good mothering day. It wasn't. And it was. Sometimes the act of just being mom is hard enough. Then to try and be a good one...   So today, I'd be a liar if I told you that I could make hair bows. I can't, I get too frustrated, my fingers cramp, they just aren't worth it. I'm hanging up my bow maker hat.   I'd be a liar if I told you I folded all the kiddos laundry. Folding clothes is the worst, but the kiddos clothes are an entirely different hell. I told my BF today that if there was a book "So you think you want to be a MOM", and it had a chapter on Your Children's Laundry, the first sentence would be, IT SUCKS. Why doesn't anyone talk about that?   I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't enjoy today. Because I did. Another day at home with my kiddos. A brief reprieve from work. An extra day for pjs and dirty hair. Extra time reading over breakfast.   The days are long, motherhood is hard, and sometimes crafting sucks.   But I'd be a liar if I said I didn't love it.  

Lazy Breakfast and some Paleo Goodness {Resolutions in Motion} SundayFunday

  This post was supposed to be up this morning.  By like 2:30 am PST. Oh well. Yesterday was quite a day. Started out lazy, yielded into a sick kiddo with a fever, then into a last minute Target trip for a afternoon birthday party, and finally ended with one kid at Grandma's, one at home, and mom and dad sneaking in a movie. So yeah, no blogging happened.   Good thing for Sunday night.   Even better are Sunday mornings. When the family is together and gets to sleep in (hopefully). It's a time for everyone to eat breakfast at a normal pace. Maybe with the Sunday paper. Maybe with an extra cup of coffee or tea. Possibly even if you are mommy.   This weeks recipe is kind of a cheat. I made a breakfast dish instead of a dinner dish. I wouldn't have even thought to post it except when I posted a picture on Instagram,  it got a lot of inquiries.  So did the Paleo recipe I'm going to share. Both are totally appropriate for breakfast or brunch. Or if you're like me, a mid morning or late night snack.   Let's start with Baked Oatmeal.  

  From Pinterest of course.  You can find the original recipe here (or the pin here).  I followed the basics.  I did switch out raspberries for frozen strawberries, because it's what I had.  I'm convinced that fresh is probably better.  I say this, but I myself didn't try it because I can't have oatmeal (wink).  I also didn't use the entire amount of chocolate chips that the recipe called for because we were almost out of chocolate chips ( I know!).  I did, as the original recipe stated use GLUTEN FREE oatmeal, and no one noticed.  Except for my mother in law who said it looked like raw hamburger and made a face.  I can't really address that entire situation here, because there are not enough hours in a day.  Let's just say, I will never please her tastes.  On the upside, my cousin Kim, her boyfriend, and my hubby all agreed that it was delish!  The kids thought it was weird, but I made them try it anyway.  When chilled and cut into bars, I'm sure they would have like it better... Also according to Anthony (my cousin's boyfriend), the bananas are what made it heavenly.  I'll just say it must have been the extra brown sugar sprinkled over the top before baking!   Now on to Paleo German Pancakes Yes, Paleo.   If you have been reading this blog for the last year, then you may know that I'm 100% grain free.  It hasn't been as hard as I thought, and since I'm doing it for health reasons, I stick to it pretty consistently.  But every once in a while I want something cake or cookie like.  Pinterest has been a great resource for paleo and paleo food blogs.  I've found tons of recipes, including a chocolate cake that I'm thinking has to happen next month for my birthday.  But back to the pancakes!  

   Find the original recipe here (or the pin here).  I'm not going to lie to you.  These are "involved".  Not hard or impossible, just involved.  I did everything according to the recipe with the exception of the coconut oil.  In place of the coconut oil I used Earth Balance Coconut Spread.  I've also used it in paleo cookies too, it's great.  I cooked these in jumbo muffin pans, and those I greased with real coconut oil.  They were delish.  And the hold up well for a couple of days.  When they were cooled I wrapped them in wax paper and put them in a zip lock bag in my fridge.  The apples get a little soggy, but to me, who hasn't eaten a "muffin" over a year... Heaven sent!  Side note:  Earth Balance did not sponsor this post.  I'm just sharing info.  Side note two: mine pancakes look nothing like the pinned pancakes.    Now I'm on to my next Resolution in Motion recipe, Baked Tacos.  Sounds interesting right?   Meet me back here next Sunday. Or quite possibly Monday morning if Sunday's a little lazy.     Linking up with Kristine! It's her Bday!  Stop by and Link up!     Part of the Resolutions In Motion Series

Friday Funnies {My Funny Valentine}

  It's been awhile since I've posted some Friday Funnies. And since it's almost the day for love and devotion, I thought it best to celebrate with some funny valentines. My hope is that these bring a smile to your face. And if you are at work, I hope you spit out your coffee! Also this is rated R for language and suggestive situations. You've been warned!   

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 Who wants to toast?  

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Poems are hard....  

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I think y'all are Hotsky! These oppressive Valentines are the best!  

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I feel this is a completely appropriate Valentine for your husband...  

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Epic love note. One day this gals gonna be eating friend chicken with her cats!  

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I feel this way about the Hubbs. Daily.   It's my hope that this post has inspired your inner romantic. Who I'm hoping has a sense of humor!     PS:  Tuesday was Buddy Picture day at Caitlin's school. Of course she wanted her picture with William.  I sent her to school with the money.  When John came home on Tuesday night, he asked Caitlin how her day was.  She told her dad it was buddy picture day.  He asked her if she took a buddy picture.  Her response: "Yes, with William.  I paid".  To which I responded:  "Sounds about right, get used to it".  Lets just say I got the death ray eyes from the Hubbs.  It was fine, I was too busy laughing at my own joke.

Almost Friday Letters {InstaFriday}

  Dear Working Moms everywhere, You have my up most respect and love. Seriously I don't know how you do it. I'm hoping I get better at both working and being a working mom.  

First day back to work.  Mac crashed at 6:40pm, Caitlin shortly after.
I can do this, right?

  Dear early Furlow, Thank you. Working has kicked my ass. Thanks for letting me have a couple of days to regroup!    

 

Dear Saturday Mornings,

I'm going to have to enjoy you more.

These faces to wake me up, help a lot!

 

Dear Super Bowl (that wasn't so super!),

Thanks for bringing my family together in one spot.

Thanks for all the food and goodies that were made.

Thanks for one fierce Beyonce, and one hell of a half time show.

Thanks for almost granting a miracle in the 4th quarter.

Most of all, thanks for reminding us Niner fans that really NOBODY,

has it better than us!

Even if we fell a little short!



Kaep cookies by Aunt Marilyn



 



Who wouldn't want to take a bit outta Kaep???



 



Rally Toms/Almost7layerDip/Go Niners Shirt/
Hot ham and swiss sammies/bacon cheddar bread bowl
Super FOOD!



  Dear San Francisco 49ers, I still got nothing but love for you. Because hearing my Dad cheer for you once again has been the highlight of my days. Because watching my Hubbs nervously pace around has been my favorite. He hasn't done that since the World Series (GO GIANTS!) Because watching the game with my Aunt Marilyn and my family has been priceless. Thank you for giving us something to cheer about. Thank you for giving us something to cry about. And thank you for giving us something to look forward too. The #questforsix is not over!    

 

  Dear Mac, Don't ever stop being you. Keep making imaginary smoothies. Keep rocking princess dresses. You make my world go round.    

  Dear co-room Mom, Thank you for sending me this picture! I was sure missing this girl while I was at work. Then I got this via text! She got a warm fuzzy award, and I didn't have to miss a thing.    

  Dear Self, Dirty hair and no make up. Not one single eff given. You are having a hard time adjusting to 5 am. You can do this. Take a few days to get yourself together. You can do this working mom gig. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day. Either was motherhood.         Linking up tomorrow with: for Friday Letters   and

For InstaFriday

It's the little things... {Life Lately}

  It's the little things that can change your week. Sometimes for the good. Sometimes for the bad. But always for the lesson.   Sometimes the little things make a big impact. Make you change your course. Make you change your mind. Or just make you appreciate what you've got.  

 

 Some of my favorite moments are grocery shopping early in the morning with this girl.

I'm gonna miss that as I return to work this week.

Sometimes what seems like chore is actually a blessing.

This stuff is delicious.  Blissfully so.

Perhaps it's the fact that I've been sworn off anything sinful for a year.

Or maybe it's just that good.

PS:  I bought it at Whole Foods.

If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter then you know that I've been obsessing about this blogging conference for almost a month.  Add to that that two of my favorite bloggers are going to be speakers.  Add to that that a handful of my favorite bloggers are hosting.  There are like SIX tickets left.  That's why I set 2 alarms, 2 reminders, and had 2 post its up in my house. 

Elevate is gonna rock!

Last week I hung out with some old friends.

Friends that don't really jive when you are shuttling kids around.

I got a small moment alone to revisit old memories.

Music makes my world go round.

Paleo pancakes save breakfast for me.

Because you get tired of the same old eggs and fruit day in and day out.

Not pictured... The pumpkin that makes these pancakes delish!

 

 

So I've been talking the talk for close to two years.

Last week I finally put pen to paper (er, fingers to the keys) and started my book.

I started with Chapter Three, because Chapter One seemed scary.

It might be crap, it may never be published.

But at least I wrote something.

 

 

Sometimes the best thing about Twitter is that you can connect with your literary heroes.

Kyra Davis is one of those heroes. 

Take a moment and meet Sophie Katz.

You won't regret it.

As a side note, how freaking awesome is this re-tweet????

 

  In appreciating the little things this happened. I took this picture to originally highlight her fabulous outfit. In the end, I found my new favorite picture of her. I reedited in Instagram to really capture her face. When did my baby girl get this big?   What's new in your life lately? Are you enjoying the small things?         Linking up with Alli and Haley