Tiffany DID have an epiphany!

     I am an easily distracted person and it has happened with my blog too. I lost focus of what my original idea and goal was for my blog. My goal was to share ideas that have helped me survive being a mom to a bunch of kids and hopefully help or inspire someone along the way. My kids told me I need more pictures and to show more of our fun ideas. So, I will honor their requests as I share our summer fun and my path to "self re-discovery".  

                                              family picture taken November 2013

     I think there's always room for improvement in every area of our lives. In this "season of self RE discovery" I have recommitted to being a better full time mom to my sweet kiddos and a better wife. This was on my mind while I was grocery shopping this week and I  had an epiphany of sorts while in the freezer section at Kroger.  

      As I was making my grocery list this week I'd asked the kids what they wanted for lunches. They're suggestions included some frozen tv dinner type meals,  spaghettios and fruit salads. As I was loading my cart with these simple, cheap frozen entrees I looked at the ones I had chosen to buy and (here's my epiphany) I thought I can make ALL of this at home. It's healthier, still inexpensive, and it can be another opportunity for me to teach them how to cook. So, I tossed them back in the freezer.  I will be swapping quick frozen entrees with extra sugar and preservatives for  fettucini noodles with milk, butter, flour, spices and Parmesan cheese to make creamy garlic parmessan cheese sauce and will add broccoli or spinach for an added veggie punch. I will be making fresh vegetable snacks with the use of one of my favorite veggie websites VeggieVenture This site has some of my favorite dishes ever! The kids wanted to order pizza and...you got it! we are making fresh homemade pizza instead. It takes a bit of time to prep meals like this but it's still not more than 30 minutes. I can handle that!  

     I also started the T25 workout today with the kids. I need to be a better example of being active and taking good care of the body God gave me. After we did the workout this afternoon, I was famished and  realized I hadn't eaten anything yet today. With the T25 dvd set came a little nutrition booklet with healthy, appropriate sized recipes. As I was reading through this I found several that sounded quite yummy. I mentioned a few out loud, the kids even got excited about them. Natalie, my 13 yr old, said, "mom you go get in the shower and I'll make the Chicken Waldorf salad for you." She did and it was delicious!! I love the traditional Waldorf salad that has mayonnaise and whipped cream but this one is just as good and so much healthier!  Below is the recipe. It was so filling and satisfying I wasn't the least bit hungry for several hours.

Chicken Waldorf Salad 

(this makes one serving)

 5 oz cooked, cubed chicken breast

1/4 medium Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced (I prefer bite sized pieces)

1 TBS chopped raw walnuts

1/4 C red grapes, halved

1 TBS citrus vinaigrette

Citrus Vinaigrette

(this makes several servings and so very delicious!)

3 TBS fresh orange juice 

2 TBS fresh lemon juice 

1/2 tsp raw honey

2 tsp dijon mustard (or to taste, I prefer less mustard)

3 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

In medium bowl combine juices, add honey, whisk together. Add mustard, mix well. Store remainder in fridge for a week. 

     Getting my blood pumping with my kids and providing healthy meals makes me happy. The fact that my 13 year old knows how to read and follow a recipe and that the other kids are developing good habits makes me even happier!  Find what makes you happy and enjoy every minute! 

     

What's your passion?

A few things have made me think about where I am with my life, my goals...my "passion." My brother and I talked recently and caught up with each others' lives from the past few months since we've seen each other. My brother is doing what he loves and always wanted to do. It's come after years or hard work, trial and error and finally having the time to do it. Our conversation was scattered, as it often is, we start chatting and then something reminds one of us something else and so it goes. The topic that has stayed with me is what are our passions and how we hope that our kids get how important it is to follow our hearts and do what we really want to do. And most importantly to be brave and put yourself out there.

One of the passages in the book I'm reading has stayed with me for a few days. "Whether cautionary or exemplary, there has not yet been a life lived that we cannot learn from. It is up to us to decide which ours will be." After being a stay at home mom for nearly 21 years, I'm now in a new season where I have a bit of time to find my "passion" and to decide again what kind of life I want to lead. This sounds funny coming from a mom of six kids who's in her early 40's but just as the year goes on with new seasons, so does life. My youngest child will be going in 2nd grade and teacher need/parent involvement diminishes a bit this year. I am enjoying summer with the kiddos but look forward to the fall and the new "season" I'll get to enter. I've named the season, Self RE-Discovery.

 The hobbies I had when my older kids were younger are still interests to me, but no longer my passion, so to speak. Kid crafts are fun but no longer something I need to do every day. I love cooking fun, interesting and healthy foods for my family. That passion has diminished some as I get in the "what's for dinner" rut. But I'm emerging from that rut, finally. And with the help of the internet and fun recipes. My favorite sites to go to are www.VeggieVenture.com    and www.allrecipes.com. Every recipe I've tried from these have been hits with the whole family,  even the brussel sprouts!

I think my biggest passion, outside of my family, is learning. I love to learn new things...about anything. I'd love be more artsy. I was always discouraged taking art classes in jr high school because my still life drawings looked like something a three year old could draw and probably better. It took me several years after jr high school to realize that being "artsy" doesn't mean just drawing. I am artsy in ways but these talents are as developed as I'd like for them to be. While at an art museum with my brother I'd said something wanting to be more right brained. Every test I've ever taken or looked at shows my results to be almost 50/50. My brother is a lot more right brained that I am &  I told him how I wished I was more right brained. He said he believed the right side can be more developed it worked at it. "I'll never balance my checkbook better than I do today, but you can learn to draw or whatever you want."  He's absolutely right! I just had never thought of it that way. We all know how brilliant Albert Einstein was. He spoke like eight different languages, solved math equations no one else has been able to, etc. I read once where he said, the average person only uses 10% of their brain. Can you imagine what we could do it we used even half of our brain? Yes, I can develop my right sided "talents" more. I just need to follow what I teach my kids and put myself out there and try new things.

 I've always wanted to learn to use a pottery wheel. So, this fall, part of my self Re-discovery will be trying new things, like pottery wheels and tap dancing. I love to dance and really do love to get my heart pumping but I hate going to a gym to get exercise. I like to ride bikes if I have a destination. I don't like riding just to go ride around the block with no place as a goal to get to. I love to dance and I've taught my kids to dance, just like my mom did.Now is the time to learn more.

I think this fall you will find me in some art studio learning how to use clay and a pottery wheel and maybe even in a dance studio.  I think this new season is going to be a fun journey of self REdiscovery. I'm sure it will make me happy...maybe not as happy as those around me though. They'll get to seeing my lopsided clay creations or at my comic relief as I try to tap dance for the first time in my life.