Baby #2 !

My Mother's Day started off with a positive pregnancy test!  I came downstairs to find my husband to tell him the good news.  He was very excited - he said that I trumped him and it should be Father's Day instead.

My husband got me 3 bouquets of flowers from him and Jadon and a beautiful card.  We went to River Stone Church.  Every time I go there I like it more and more.  My favorite part of the service was when the children in the church prayed for all the adults that work in the children's ministry program.  I love that the church promotes prayer so much, even with the young children! After church we ate lunch at my favorite restaurant, Bahama Breeze.  I love Bahama Breeze because the food is always good and consistent, service is great, and I love the atmosphere.  When we got home, my son slept for 2.5 hours!  That was a huge gift itself! All in all it was a simple, yet wonderful day!

What Am I?

Today I was looking through my Volleyball USA magazine and read "You can't force-feed passion"  by Mike Sealy.  Reading the following quote struck me hard as a teacher, parent, and coach.  I have needed to hear this for a long time, maybe it was said to me before, but I finally heard the message.


What am I?
I am a Teacher. 
What can I do?
I can expose you to ideas, but I cannot tell you what to think.
I can guide you, but you must discover the limits of your own potential.
I can encourage you, but your greatest fulfillment must come from within.  
I can listen to you, but I will not tell you what to say.
I can look with you, but I cannot tell you what you will see.
I can move with you, but I cannot tell you what to feel.
I can speak with you, but I cannot tell you what to hear.
I can do some things with you, but you can do more with yourself.
I can guide you on the path of discovery, but I cannot tell you the answer.


For so many years I took it personally when a student or player didn't get it (why they needed to do their homework, not picking up the tip when you have practiced it over and over, etc.)  What was I doing wrong?  I tried all approaches, being super encouraging, punishments, rewards, stepping back - nothing was working.  After reading the quote, I realized that it is a two way street and the phrase "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink" is so true (unless you are a teacher - No Child Left Behind).  Not only is this quote good for parents, teachers, and coaches, but for all young people.  They have to know their part and their part is the most important.


Now that I am a parent, I will teach my son my Christian faith and when he is old enough I hope he will call it his own.  I have to remember that I can show him the way but I can't force him into the faith.  I have to trust Jesus with him.  


I have to let him fall so he will know how to pick himself up.
I have to let him struggle so he will know Jesus' peace, learn perseverance, and feel accomplishment.
I have to let him make mistakes so he learns about consequences. 
I have to let him hurt so he knows how Jesus can heal.
I have to let him sin so he knows he is forgiven and how to ask for forgiveness.
I have to let him get his heart broken so he will know true love.
I have to let him go so he can find himself.


Through all of it I (and my husband) will be there to love and encourage him.  The worst thing I can do as a parent is to shield and protect him from all the hard things life throws his way.  If I do then he will be crippled and never know the good parts of life.  I will shed many tears, my heart will hurt for him, but in the end I know he will be man God created him to be and strong in faith.

Avocado and Mango Chicken Salad

Feeding a 12 month old solids has been an adventure!  I have introduced Jadon to a lot of different fruits and vegetables.  He has liked everything but definitely has his favorites.  The hardest part has been trying to guess what he wants to eat when.  He will kill daddy's eggs on Sunday but when I try to give him eggs again on Wednesday, he won't even take a bite!

I had been feeding him whatever we have been eating and it has worked well for dinner, but breakfast and lunch has been difficult.  I typically drink a smoothie for breakfast and eat some type of salad for lunch.  He will have a few sips of my smoothie, but not enough for a meal and he isn't ready for salads yet.  So, I went  searching on the internet for fruit and veggie combinations.  I have been making chunky mixtures and freezing them in my Baby Bullet containers.  After they freeze I put them in a labeled freezer bag; I take out what I need the day before and defrost in fridge or on the counter.

I have found some interesting combinations that have led me to creating this recipe (well, I haven't seen it before so for me it is new).  I had planed on making chicken salad for lunch and I had a ripe mango and avocado that I needed to use.  I figured the avocado will give me the same creamy consistency as mayonnaise would but with more beneficial nutrients.

Servings : 1


Ingredients:

• 1 Ripe Avocado 
• 1/2 Mango
• 1 - 2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro 
• Ground Cayenne Pepper to Taste
• 1 Chicken Breast or 3 Chicken Tenderloins
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• Your Choice Leafy Greens (Romaine, Spring Mix, or Baby Spinach)

Directions:

1. Cut avocado in half, remove seed, score each half, turn skins inside out, put pieces in a medium glass bowl, and mash with fork or potato masher.
2. Peel and remove seed from a mango.  Cut up half the mango into small pieces and stir into avocado mash.
3. Add cilantro and ground cayenne pepper to avocado and mango mixture.  (Add small amount of cayenne and taste, add more if not spicy enough.)
4. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill.
5. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in oven, grill, or toaster oven.
6. Remove chicken and let cool for 10 minutes.
7. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.
8. Add chicken to avocado/mango mixture.  (You can put mixture back in the fridge to chill some more or use it as is.)
9. On a large plate, put salad greens of your choice and top with chicken salad. Garnish with more cilantro.   Enjoy!

5 Minute Friday ~ Together

From the Gypsy Mama

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write because we love words and the relief it is to just write them without worrying if they’re just right or not. So we take five minutes on Friday and write like we used to run when we were kids.

On Fridays we write with gusto, unselfconscious and flat out.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

Together…

I hear the song You and Me by Dave Matthews.  I gave my husband a framed picture of the lyrics to this song for Christmas one year.  There have been many Christmas's where we didn't have much for presents, so I struggled to find something meaningful yet thrifty to give him.  He loved it.  Here are the lyrics.

want to pack your bags something small
take what you need & we disappear
without a trace, we'll be gone, gone
The moon & the stars follow the car
& then when we get to the ocean,
we're going to take a boat to the end of the world...
all the way to the end of the world
oh and when the kids are old enough
we gonna teach them to flyyyyyyy

you & me together we can do anything, baby
you & me together yes, yes
you & me together we can do anything, baby
You & me together yes, yes

You & I we're not tied to the ground,
not falling but rising like, rolling around
eyes closed above the roof tops
eyes closed we're gonna spin through the stars
our arms wide as the sky, we gonna ride the blue
all the way to the end of the world,
to the end of the world

oh and when the kids are old enough
we gonna teach them to flyyyyyyy

(chorus)
you & me together could do anything, baby
you & me together yes, yes
you & me together we can do anything baby
You & me toghter yes, yes

we can always look back at what we did
always remembering you & me baby
But right now it's you and me forever girl
you know we could do better than anything that we did
you know that you and me we could do anything

you & me together c' do anything, baby
you & me together yeah, yeah

two of us together we c' do anything, baby
you and me together, yeah yeah
the two of us together yeah, yeah
the two of us together, we can do anything baby

something small, told her at least, the end of the world,

Copied from MetroLyrics.com 

I love the sense of freedom, faith, hope, and strength this song has.  No fear.  And best of all, to teach the children to live like that as well.  That part struck me the most since at the time, Josh and I were struggling with getting pregnant.  This song was almost like a promise we held on to ~  

Link Up Here

Thankful Thursday #7

1) Pre-ordered 1 of 5 available Boba 3G SSC in Dusk from Heavenly Hold.  Apparently they have been super popular and the demand has been hard to keep up with.

2) My fabric for my Custom Cutie Cover and Strap Wraps for my Boba came in.  Can't wait to send it to PAXbaby! (2D Zoo in Pool; Indian Summer Mini Dot in Green - not pictured; Remix Candy Stripe in Royal; Remix Stripe in Royal; 2D Teeny Tiny Zoo in Pool)

From Fabric Shoppe on Esty

3) My garden is FINALLY planted! All my seedlings died from the recent cold snap - I had been hardening them off and thought they would be fine since there wasn't supposed to be a frost.  All the money I saved growing plants from seeds was lost and ended up costing me more money - had to buy plants to replace my seedlings.  Note to self - just buy plants!

4) There have been male and female cardinals visiting our yard.  I just bought a bird feeder to keep them coming back!

5) As I am typing this, my husband just came home with Little Caesar's Pizza and bread sticks!

6) Hot coffee on this cool, damp day!

7) Finding a pair of shoes to go with my bridesmaid dress.

8) Spending time with my husband this week on his days off.

9) Jadon is starting to take a few steps on his own.

10) Freedoms others don't have.  Hungarian Midwife Jailed for Attending Homebirth

What are you thankful for?  Link up with Curious Georgi!

Baby Sign Language

I have been wanting to do baby sign language with Jadon for awhile now.  I have heard great things about it and my pediatrician recommended it.  Jadon loves to watch TV and play on his own, so I wanted something to do with him to counter act all the TV watching.  Yes I know, he really shouldn't be watching tv, but when that is  the only way you can get something accomplished you do it.  (I also purchased a Boba 3G from PAXbaby - totally into babywearing!)

Boba 3G in Dusk

While looking online for some information, I found BabySignLanguage.com. Great resources and information.  I also purchased Baby Sign and Learn for my iPhone for $1.99.  Jadon loves my phone and it has a flashcard option.  You can even add your own picture of dad for the dad flashcard

I decided to start with 12 signs: Mama, Dada, ball, book, car, cat, diaper, eat, finished, milk, more, and truck.  All of which he encounters on a daily basis.  I don't think it matters how many you start off with, just pick things that your baby encounters on a daily basis.  You are not going to sit down and have a lesson - just sign the words as he interacts with things.  Like when I am nursing I will say milk and do the milk sign.

My only concern is that I will forget to do the signs!  Oh, and teaching them to Josh, but I am sure he will be a good sport about it.  Especially the Dada sign!

5 Minute Friday: Good Bye

Click Here to Link Up

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We set a timer, throw caution to the winds and try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

Want to play Five Minute Friday? It’s easy peasy!

1. Write for 5 minutes flat on the prompt- no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Meet & encourage someone who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give us your best five minutes on: Good Bye

Go....

Good bye is a closing, an ending,  It can be bitter sweet, or just bitter. Good bye has a finality to it. 

When I think of good bye, I can't help but think of hello.  An end leading up to a beginning. How many endings and beginnings have I had during my life?  

Which is harder?  Good bye or hello? Leaving the familiar behind can difficult, but starting something new can be just as difficult or even more so. 

Stop.