This is Thirty Something

Hold my beer, I got this.

Enter Sandman

 I wondered one night after rocking Clark to sleep, where the sandman came from.
So I Googled it.
I wasn’t surprised to find that it was some old folk lore from our European Ancestors.
“The Sandman is a mythical character in central and northern European folklore who brings good dreams. Traditionally, he is a character in many children’s stories. He is said to sprinkle sand or dust on or into the eyes of the child at night to bring on dreams and sleep. The grit or “sleep” in one’s eyes upon waking is supposed to be the result of the Sandman’s work the previous evening.”
Cleaver what they did with the “sleep” in the eyes thing, huh?
However, I was a little creeped out by the Disney cartoon and lyrics that followed my search.
It’s so interesting to watch or read things from decades centuries ago and see how nothing was sugar coated when it came to teaching a lesson. 
You know what I mean if you have read any of  the Mother Goose stories or Grimm’s Fairy Tales
 (Both amazingly from the 17th century and still relevant)
They include tales  that now days would be inappropriate and not safe for children.
Enter 
The 1933 Walt Disney Silly Symphonies cartoon Lullaby Land ends with the Sandman putting the baby to sleep.
This ain’t your modern day Barney Cartoon.
 A few Lyrics tid bits I found funny :
“No, no! A-a-ah! Baby mustn’t break. No, no! Burny-burn! Baby mustn’t touch. No, no! Burny-burn! They’ll hurt you very much. A-a-a-a-ah! Oh, no, no! Baby, throw it away! Oh, now the boogieman will get you, ’cause you didn’t obey. We are the boogie boogie boogiemen, We will get you, Get you if we can, When we come out into the night, Babies always waking with a fright”

Furthermore in my research I found some interesting facts about old time Nursery Rhymes and childhood songs. Check out an explanation of popular rhymes you grew up singing HERE. You will be shocked what some of them really mean!

My back door is a Jerk

This damn door has been a pain since we moved in.

I always said i wanted to replace it and it just got worse and worse with each change of the season.
Sometimes it would stick, sometimes it wouldn’t.
Sometimes you had to slam it , some times you didn’t.
Since it was the point of entry into the house every time, i found that it set me up for a bad mood.
The frustration I had with that door…..
I don’t think Steve was able to relate.
He isn’t bothered by nearly as many things as me in general.
But specifically this door, I don’t think it ever impacted him the same as it did me.
He is a guy, he is stronger than me, he opens and closes it with more force, naturally.
There wasn’t as much struggle for him to shut it tight.
He also tends to have his hands free when he is going out and locking the door.
As opposed to my exiting of the house……. I have a struggling to break free toddler , (used to be a just as awkward baby car seat carrier) a huge diaper bag, a beverage of some type,

as well as another bag usually, filled with Clark’s things or toys or groceries or stuff on its way to my destination.So all this resulted in me usually having to make two trips.

One to put everything in the car and come back and shut and lock the door.
 Or either set everything down on the porch after just gathering it all up to go out the door, meanwhile grabbing for Clark so he doesn’t make his way down the steps alone, pulling the door to hold it shut with one hand and lock it with the other .
You had to pull this door WHILE you locked it.
Not only that, the lock wasn’t smooth, so you were also jiggling your key trying to get it to spin in there or to try and pull it our after you locked the dead bolt.
 It was a PAIN i tell you.
So finally we replaced the door and it took a lot of work.
The problem with old houses is that nothing is straight.
So you can’t remove something and replace it so easily.
Everything must be trimmed and skimmed and shored up and shimmed and filled and puttied and sanded and on and on.
So we spent the entire afternoon ( We, being Steve and my Dad) pulling the old door out and putting the new door in.
 Even after getting it in, it still didn’t work as nicely as it should have.
So Steve spent another couple hours making it perfect.
Which I am grateful for multiple times a day when I go in and out through this door.
He has no idea.
It’s just a nicer door to him, that’s all.
To me, it sets the tone of how my day is going to go.
Fighting with that door is one less thing I have to deal with and I am pretty happy about that.
But why didn’t we do this 3 years ago?

 Just wanted to torture myself I guess.

 

Coconut cream chocolate Mousse

I made a great chocolate mousse without any dairy!
How you ask?
Coconut milk.
Use this one. 
I have tried making this before with other canned coconut milks and this one definitely yields the best results. 

The recipe is so easy too!
Check it out HERE
I put the can of milk in my freezer for 10 minutes before hand too.
It is only 5 ingredients:
Coconut milk
Honey 
Cocoa powder
Vanilla
Almond extract
Clark liked it too

I put a few servings in the fridge and the rest divided up in the freezer for later!

What’s in your basket?


First of all, I hope everyone had a nice 420 Easter and nobody ran short on munchies.
And by munchies, I mean Easter ham and deviled eggs.
What were you thinkin’?!

Yes, this is an actual magnet off my fridge. I live on the wild side.

Last year the Easter Bunny thew together a little basket for Clark. 

It’s a family tradition.
I have gotten an Easter basket my whole life (and still do.) 
Yes, I’m a bit spoiled when it comes to holidays.
Hey, I’m the baby. Gotta love me.
I really don’t remember what was in last years basket.
The Easter bunny didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it.
Hopefully it got written down in the baby book.
 Clark wasn’t even walking yet, like he would know any different if it was a crappy Easter or not.

This year, the Easter Bunny has been collecting things for a few weeks though.
Mom of the year award right here.
Behold

Easter morning spread
Adorable felt fox basket, mini shovel, Too Cool for School Cat book – Target 
Paper Sesame Street Easter ” grass” & K.T. Cat ( Both Brand new in Package)-Goodwill
Chicken Dance singing Key chain – Han’s Delicatessen
Large Glitter Bouncy Ball- QFC
From Grandma Bunny

Black Lab Book End & socks – Fred Meyer
Ritter Sport & German Bier – Hans Delicatessen
Dark Chocolate PB Cups- Trader Joes

And Mine

(Don’t feel bad, I know for a minute you thought my husband did this and you were all ” Awww man, my husband needs to get his sh*t together.” But Relax,it was from my Mom. 

A few pictures from our Easter Sunday

Clark collecting hidden eggs

Aunty & Clark

Hey, where’s the candy?!

Yes, my parents happen to have a Merry-Go-Round in their yard

Clark’s favorite toy, the hose nozzle 

Adults love it too

My cousins

Clark & Grandma
Ready

Set

Pull!

POP!

Happy Easter!
Hope the ringing in your ears stops soon, dear.

The Traveling Jesus

The son of Christ, that guy is everywhere.
Well, I didn’t want my well spent money to go to waste. 
You may remember I found this treasure at the West Seattle Garage Sales last Spring. 
Remember HERE
He has lived a reclusive life in my basement for the last year and I decided what better time to bring him out than Easter weekend.
I made sure he had ample appearances all day.
Your own Personal, Jesus.
Now, if I could just find the appropriate place to hang this thing year round…..

Paleo Granola

I have been making this for the last year and it’s delicious.
I am not Paleo but I love cereal. 
While I was pregnant the cravings became more intense and after having my son, I had created a very bad habit.
When I started looking at what my diet consisted of, it was 50% a HUGE bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.
After doing the HCG Diet and basically ridding my system of grains and sugars.
I needed something else that would fill that cereal void when I was able to slowly bring those things back into my life.
This is a good healthy alternative to store bought cereal and oily granola. 
I eat it alone, on milk or Greek yogurt.
Recipe from Paleo Cupboard
HERE
**I still eat hot Oatmeal too. 
See my post on that HERE.
Try making it and let me know what you think!

Don’t leave those leftovers in the dust

Remember that Bang Bang Shrimp I posted the other day?
Well, after all my shrimps were tossed in the delicious sauce, I still had quite a bit left over. 
So I put it in the fridge to save for later.
 The following day I used it with veggies as a side dish!
 It was super easy and tasty!
I steamed a head of cauliflower and then ran it through my food processor ( a ricer works too) and turned it into mashed “potatoes”. 
Then I mixed in my leftover sauce and BOOM. 
Spicy Cauliflower mash!
Good flavors, good for you, and filling! 
Mashed cauliflower is a great starch substitute if you are looking for one and the spicy sauce is a bit healthier than the cheesy Velveeta mess that people like to dump on their veggies. 
This would be great mixed in with other goodies inside some stuffed peppers too!
Try it!

Ready or Nautical

I love Nautical. It’s basically my favorite thing.
I have been wearing it since 2004.
I was before the trend.

Okay maybe not before the trend…since it was popular in pretty much every decade. 
But I mean, before the current trend in THIS decade.
Unfortunately it might be sidestepping outta my closet because it’s becoming a little too mainstream for me.
I was at Old Navy the other day and was overwhelmed with the Nautical stuff they had.
Once a trend hits Old Navy, it’s all down hill from there in my opinion.

And these darn bracelets you can see everywhere!

How do you feel about it?
Still Love it?
Never liked it anyway?
Or has it gone the way of the Aztec drape sweater and over stayed it’s welcome?

You’ll thank me later

May I present to you:
Westfield Southcenter Mall
 Family Lounge Area
If you didn’t know this  little piece of Heaven existed,
You are missing out.
This amazing sanctuary is located behind the food court on the 2nd floor.
Every time I have gone in there I have been surprised at how empty it is. 
It’s the “Family Lounge”
Mom’s, Dad’s and kids are welcome.
Hopefully no creepers that come and sit to watch kids or sneak a peak of a breast feeding mother though.
Sick.
However, it is Southcenter, so I’m sure that does happen.
Okay, maybe I am changing my mind about this whole thing.
Anyway, on with my original post.
In a perfect happy world point of view here is the lounge.

Which features private rooms with comfy chairs for breastfeeding

A play area and TV for older kids & chairs for the Dads

A row of changing tables, each complete with their own sinks, mirrors and trash.
 As well as a community microwave for snacks and bottles.
Not pictured is the ” Family Bathroom” which is like a Handicap Bathroom but it has more than one toilet in it. 
So you can do your business simultaneously with your kid!
Weird, but great, I am sure. 
Haven’t used that amenity yet, myself. 
Check it out if you dare!
It’s pretty cool.
If my paranoia scared you off, then head for the Nordstrom Lounge.
I don’t think Dad’s are welcome, but who am I kidding, Dad’s don’t change diapers!
It is just as nice and cushy( minus the play area)  but  has it’s own sitting area and breastfeeding  area separate from the regular restrooms.
You can find it behind the Kids Section on the 3rd floor!
Consider yourself told.
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