How to build a Haystack/Taco Salad

As a mom of two kids one of the struggles that I have is getting them to eat a balanced diet. One of my favorite meals growing up was haystacks. I am sure most of the universe knows them as taco salads but for this I am going to keep with what I know and call them haystacks. I am finding that many times, if my kids don’t want to eat what I fix it is because they feel like they don’t have any control. Having haystacks for a meal gives them a ton of choices and the ability to make the meal they want too!

Living with Depression

It has been the kind of week where, you wake up on Sunday and just know that this week is going to be long, frustrating and exhausting. In all honesty I haven’t felt this way for a really long time. My depression hasn’t been as bad. It seems to get better during the summer. You would think with all the vitamin d, fresh air, and exercise that I am getting depression wouldn’t even be an option. That’s the thing, you can’t choose when depression shows up. you can be perfectly fine one day and the next you are at the bottom of that deep dark hole and can’t find your way out. It isn’t always an event or something someone says, it just happens. I know that is a frustrating answer but unless you have dealt with or are dealing with depression there is just no other way to describe it.

 

Mud pies and Jesus

While I was filling up the pool today for my kids I had no idea that they would give me the perfect object lesson. The decided that as I was putting water in the pool it would be even more fun to take buckets of water out of the pool and make some mud pies. Now, they weren’t your normal mud pies. They made smoothies that consisted of grapes, coffee, chocolate, strawberries, and the wayward stick. They had fun mixing the mud and pouring it into different containers.

Taking a break

In January I decided that I was going to do something new every month. I decided that I didn’t want to do just a list of resolutions. I, like many others, don’t stick with them. This year I decided to do this. Well, it is July now and I figured I should probably check back in. If you would like to read more about why I made this decision and what January entailed for me check it out here.

In February I gave up coffee. I honestly didn’t think that would be hard. I honestly didn’t think I was addicted. Then I didn’t have any for 24 hrs and I thought I was going to die. My head was throbbing and I could hardly stay awake. It took about 3 days for the head ache to go away. I drank lots of water and after the initial week I felt a lot better. I also found that I slept better at night.

4th of July Bin

As a military wife I look forward to 4th of July like most people look forward to Christmas.  4th of July can mean many things to many people. To me, it is a day to celebrate the fact that my husband has fought for our freedeom, eat really yummy food, blow things up, and celebrate the fact that we have freedom to do these things because of the brave men and women that have fought for us to have this freedom. This year I decided that I would put together a bin/box/shelf that would have things in it that had to do with the 4th of July. The cool thing is I got it all at the $1 store or used things I had at home. This is what I came up with.