Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Goat Cheese

In all of my 27 years of life…I don't think I've ever tasted goat cheese.

It is fabulous!

It's creamy, and mild, and amazing.

One of my best friends made this delicious salad with goat cheese, candied nuts, beets, and balsamic dressing….I died.

I had to try it.

To Costco I went (cause cheese is like 1/4 of the price there) to purchase goat cheese.

Then I made this.



I died, it was so good. (not literally of course…)


Basil from my garden, fresh strawberries, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar on toasted french bread made this the perfect appetizer!


I added about 1 TBS of sugar to 1 cup of strawberries and let them "juice" for about 20 min.


Spread the cheese, toss on the strawberries, basil, dabble olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a dash a pepper. YUM!

Then I made this for dinner.



Goat Cheese and Shrimp Pasta

12 oz whole wheat pasta
1/3 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup goat cheese
3 cups shrimp
1 TBS chopped garlic
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS Chicken Bouillon



Cook your pasta until al dente (it's always better a bit chewy).
Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add shrimp, garlic, and oil to the pan until shrimp are completely cooked through.
Next add the goat cheese, basil, and bouillon.
Stir just until creamy then toss with pasta.

This was super yummy, and a really light way to enjoy a creamy pasta!

Who knew I was going to become a goat cheese addict.
But I totally am!


Home is where the heart is. - Link it up! - Wednesdays - HomesteadSimple.com

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Children's Hospital….Again

Look at this face.



He's so stinking cute!

But he doesn't have good lungs!
Back in March he was Children's for an asthma attack {you can read about that here}.

And 2 days ago I found myself driving 90 mph on the interstate, rushing him to the hospital again. (Don't judge…I was freaking out!)

He started coughing around 9am on Monday morning. I was out running errands all morning with Josiah, while Micah stayed home and lounged with Daddy. When I got home around 2:30 we decided it was time to give him his inhaler, and put him down for a nap.
I went into his room and noticed he was really struggling to breath. Ribs retracting and really quick, shallow breaths.

In a panic I yelled for James to come grab Micah and get him in the car, I was rushing around looking for my shoes (of course!). Threw his clean blanket and the kindle in my bag and rushed (literally rushed) to Urgent Care.

On the way down he was SO lethargic. I asked him if he could talk to me, he could barely even respond "no" to me. Then he threw up, all over his clean blanket.

I was freaking out! I carried him into the ER, covered in throw up, looking like he was about to pass out. And they rushed him to the back before I could even finish signing my name.
They got him on a nebulizer immediately and I was so relieved when Micah didn't even fight the face mask.
His oxygen level was at 86% when we first arrived (which is much higher than the last time). After two  treatments he was able to stay off of oxygen keeping his level up to around 94% on his own.

We were bummed to hear we needed to stay the entire night again for observation. We didn't sleep much (him much more than I did).

He was amazing the entire stay! Took his treatments without a fight, he said thank you to all the people treating him and didn't complain once!

We need to move forward from here with a better plan from the doctors on how to prevent this.
It's leaning more and more toward getting his adenoids and tonsils removed. BOO!

But I can't tell you how grateful I am to live in a place where I can rush my child to the hospital whenever they are sick!

Still totally blessed beyond measure!

Monday, July 23, 2012

DIY Beach Spray

Isn't James so lucky?

Yikes!



He gets to wake up to this every morning.


Only…

I don't smile like this.
Ever.
I am not a morning person, and it takes me at least an hour a cup of coffee to get going.

And I never have the desire to get ready. I'm usually always in a hurry and my hair is long, stick straight, and takes forever to do anything with.

So when my hairstylist told me I should look into getting beach spray, because it's quick and easy, I was all over it!

It's really expensive to buy…but pretty inexpensive to make yourself!

Of course I hopped on Pinterest (of course) and found some!

Beach Spray:

1 TBS coconut oil (you could use conditioner too, works the same way)
1 TBS sea salt (must be sea salt!)
1 TBS vodka
1 TBS hair gel
Warm Water

Mix all ingredients in an 8 oz spray bottle.



It works best if your hair is already wet. But it still works on dry hair.
Just spray generously over your hair and scrunch it!
It really give it a "just got back from the beach" look.

I love it! It's quick, easy, and perfect for summer!


My entry into the Share It Link Party at The Winthrop Chronicles is sponsored by Appliances Online and their best Range Cookers.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Our Happily Ever After

Be prepared for picture overload. 
But these make my heart happy!





























 Trying to get a serious pose is so hard!



I had to incorporate the sage into our outfits!
What better way than toenail polish!








This was our first paid for professional photo shoot.
So I was a little on edge about the while thing.
I was so nervous about making sure our clothes coordinated but didn't match!
I based our entire shoot off of Ella's dress (Baby Gap - gift from my baby shower)
And I made her headband.
Find it here!
I then purchased a sage shirt from Ross for James ($12)
Then I got Josiah shirt from Khols ($4) and his tie off of Ebay ($4)
Micah's shirt was from Ebay too ($12 -pricy…but I was desperate)
I found my dress and belt at F21 ($24 for both).

I had so much fun prepping, and even more fun at the shoot!
Thank you to the amazing Corrie Kraft!
Now you are stuck with us!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Boat Day

My Aunt and Uncle own a boat and they invited us to join them for a day on the water.
We jumped on board!


Here in CO we don't really see too many beaches.
This beach is straight mud. Not fun to play with and it took the kids a while to get used to sinking so deep into mud while walking to the water.




Whoever invented these apple sauce containers is a genius!
It's one of those "Why didn't I think of that" products!
Right?


We were so proud of our boys for going on the tube!
Not bad for 4 and 3 years old!
So brave!!



James was playing in the water with all the kids and my Aunt said to me
"He was made to play with kids."
It's true.
I couldn't' ask for a better father for my kids. He's truly one of a kind.



Micah looks pouty in this pic…but he really was having fun…I promise!


Look at this cheese ball smile from Jo. I can't get him to give a genuine smile since that tooth was pulled. He just loves to show off the hole.


They conked out on the ride back to the camp site.
Drool and all!


How cute is Ella in her vest?


It was a really fun day.
So excited to do it again in the future!