Shout out for The Rubied Apple

So I got an email from a gal named Kati.  She wanted to get permission to use on of my aprons on her site.  I of course was honor, that someone way back east even took notice of my little shop on Etsy, but she did.  In exchange for he kindness of introducing me to her readers I told her I would make a button for my blog that y'all could click to check her out.  Here it is....and when you done there come on over to my store and check out what I have and maybe buy something too.

http://www.aroundtheplate.com/

Dinnertime and talk: What are your suggestions for our topic jar?

I must say that one of things I think I have gotten right is mealtime. This is a "requirement" at our house.  We must sit down at least 3 time a week together and have a meal.

Growing up I didn't have a dinnertime.  I remember we always did what I currently institute in our house as "Fin for ya-self Friday."  But in my earlier years we were "finnin'" everyday.  I am pretty sure that was because my mom didn't know how to cook (OK Ma, you can make a mean queso) and plus she worked all the time.  So I know that when I decided that I wanted to be married and have a family, that was one of the many things I wanted to have as part of my family lifestyle.

I had to teach myself how to cook, thank goodness, it came easy and I followed my instincts, but nowadays, many young women and men, don't know how to do some of the basics and in my opinion that is scary.  But I digress.  When I met David, one of the things I noticed was that his family did have family dinners.....

EVERY NIGHT!! 

They gathered, set the table, they sat down, prayed and ate together.  I would listen to every one's conversation and just have a internal smile, because that is what I wanted for my family.  Wendell, would tell his jokes, some of them we have heard hundreds of times, but I actually love to hear him tell them, you can see the joy in his eyes when he's trying you make you laugh.  Debbie, trying to make sure everyone has what they need and enough and the kids, well, everything was being talked about all at once.  I was so warm and I for one felt of the love in the chaos of ritual.

Now David and I have our own family and we love to eat together.  There is plenty of laughter at our dinner table.  I hope that the boys learn that dinnertime is not just for food, but a time that we all can share together, feel the love of family and that it a place to talk about anything and everything. 

The one thing, I think I want to start with my family is a topic jar.  I think that would be a great way to have even more interesting conversations at the table.

"What are some of your suggestions to have in a topic jar?" -please leave your comment here so everyone can see it and not repeat it

(I'll post the gist of the conversations for y'all.  I am sure this could be pretty funny, given the spectrum of opinions we have in this house.)

No we don't do it every night, but I hope that as the boys get older and schedules go this way and that, hopefully we can always find one another at the dinner table.

To Salt or Not to Salt? or is it more than just that?

In managing Alex's health, we have to frequently visit with his oncologist and a team of brain tumor coordinators.  They are a Godsend, no doubt.

Yesterday, we did our "day @ the doc's" thing and learned quite a bit.

Did you know, that people with saga's (medical term for tumor) typically have elevated blood pressures?

I didn't!!!

That little tidbit brought me to the conclusion, that diet is SUPER important not to mention exercise.

We are pretty health conscious here in the Armstrong household.  We eat a lot of veggies and fruit, I cook with little to no added salt, etc.  But I often do cook with canned ingredients, and we all know that they do have a BUTT LOAD of sodium and if you use like, cream of anything, you are getting another butt load of saturated fats.

So how do I combat this with Alex and still have delicious, healthy meals that we all will love and that don't cost so much?  I just can't do the Wholefoods grocery bill.  I just can't.

I know one thing I will be doing is try to incorporate the DASH diet, I learned about from WedMD, into our new lifestyle change.  It is pretty common sense stuff, but I am really going to have to focus. Here's another link about DASH that I really like.  And you are probably thinking, what in the world is DASH...Well it stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

So that is step 1 in our efforts to get Alex to understand how to take care of his health.

Step 2...exercise.

I love exercising in the morning.  It is hard and I don't necessarily like it when I am doing it, but the feeling at the end, WOW!!!  I get so much energy and my mental state goes from, "I don't think I can do this" to "I can do so much more."  Alex is really good about getting in some type of exercise, be it basketball, soccer, etc, but I think we are going to notch it up a bit.  He's agreed to join me in my running effort. 

I think this is awesome.  I would love for him to run with me in the Turkey Trot this year.  He is such and inspirational kid.  And I am so glad that Heavenly Father, thought of David and me and felt that we deserved such a wonderful person to be in our lives.  I love that kid so much.

I am excited about this new change coming our way.  I know that we will all benefit in so many different ways health-wise and spiritual.

...it must be them.

So this week the boys were away and I was left alone with Aiden.  Is it normal that I get a little bit anxious at the thought of being alone with my 5-year old for an entire week? 

I've done this what 3-4 times now and I still can't shake the whole nervous Nelly feeling I get.  It all boils down to, when they (Alex and David) are home Aiden goes into complete meltdown nearly, EVERYDAY!!!  And I turn into this screaming banshee, he gets to call Mama.

It is all so ridiculous, I know, but that is what happens here.

Well, when they, the "big" boys go on camps or what not, Aiden becomes a total "emotionally balanced" child.  I don't get it.  I can't quite figure it out.  I think that is why I am taking psychology.  Looking forward to abnormal child psychology.  I am sure I will discover I am the abnormal one and everyone else is just fine.

So what does the anxiety I feel mean?  I have even notice a change in my personality with Aiden when they are gone.  I become so....tempered and not so "on the wire".  Nothing erks me to the level of "flying off the handle" like when David and Alex are home. 

Aiden is just your typical, play loving, jokester little boy.  And I see his love of life better when the "big ones" are not here.  How do I keep that about me?  How do I constantly see the joyful screaming and playing just for what it is and not some attack on "MY" personal peace.

I read a quote from an interview that Sister Spafford, RS General President said back in 1974,

"The mother has the great and wonderful opportunity of creating a spiritual atmosphere in her home.

By her teachings and, even more important, by her attitude, she teaches children what it means to love the Lord, to sustain the priesthood, and to live a rich, fulfilling life—a peaceful, orderly life that is reflected in the home itself.

Can you imagine what a home would be like where the mother had the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost?"

NO, I can't imagine that!  I think all of my screaming has scared the Holy Ghost and my children.

How do I get that serene feeling, I have right now to stay with me every single day?

Where there is joy...there is peace

This year with the 4th being on a Sunday, it was weird feeling kind of day.

David and Alex slept most of it away and Aiden and I wanted to do something.

I thought a drive would be great, but ended up on the beach at Daybreak.

The day could not have been more perfect.

Aiden loves the water.

 The sun was perfect and the there were lots of kids at the playground.

It was just joyful to watch Aiden play.  I only wished David and Alex had joined us.

I wasn't surprised that he would get his feet wet, but for him to go deeper and deeper was a little funny.

As he threw his hands up to the sky:

"Mom, this is living."

I thought how peaceful it was.  It was beautiful and light.  I needed that little time to be...

and to see Aiden at peace with joy.  It was a break from the yelling he constantly does.

While he played I listened to a meditation track on Mp3.

I highly recommend it.

It is great when we both get what we need and want.

What's for Dinner: My all AMERICAN burger

You just gotta love a country where everyone is everyone

and we are all mixed up.

So I wanted to do something to honor that.

I created a new All AMERICAN burger.

In order for this to work, I need to have the perfect mix of meat.

As you already know, I am not a big salter.  I don't add it to any of my dishes, as I would rather the person who is eating, season it to their liking. 

I like my food

Naked.

Allowing the items I put together to be present and "accounted" for by my tasty buds :-).

So here I mixed Super Extra Lean Ground beef with Sweet Italian Sausage.

(in my humble opinion, all the seasoning you need for this burger in there with the sausage, trust me on this.)

I have a burger maker, that I LOVE!!  With that little note, I also measure how many oz. I want to make each patty. My burger balls measured about 4 oz. raw. 

(just a little note:  I remove the casing the sausage is in and discard it, just slice it down the middle and pull the casing off, should be easy)

After making the rest, off they went to the grill and top with a Chipotle Cheddar cheese.

Earlier in the day I wanted even more AMERICAN mix up on our burgers.

So instead of just lettuce and tomato.

I thought how's about a slaw.

It had to be easy and fast though...

Red cabbage slaw made with Garlic Balsamic Marinade, Agave Nectar and a noted Asian flare Sesame seeds.

With the slight bite of the red cabbage, the sweetness of the agave nectar, the nutty flavor of the sesame seeds and the slight tang of the marinade, I knew I was getting close to home.

But the thing that brought this all together was an unexpected find at the Farmer's Market at Pioneer Park today.

Minty Limeade

 YUM!  YUM! YUM!

I am not a mint lover by any stretch of the imagination.  I have mint growing in my front yard that I try to kill every year, but it has won for the last 10+ years.

Today I snipped 4-5 sprigs of my nemesis to make my own version of the minty limeade.

I used lemon juice instead of lime juice....I like to use what I have on hand.

Well, minty friends, I have a new found respect for you and will learn to love you.

My favorite part of the whole experience was watching how earthy the process was. 

Sugar, Juice, Ice, Water, Mint all to the bottom of a mason jar and....

SHAKE IT BABY!!!!

Best lemonade I have ever had!!!

That's it.  All AMERICAN burger with a nice ice cold minty lemonade.

A lot of different peoples  are represented in this meal, afterall, that is what America is. 

Happy 4th!

What's cooking: Roasted Garlic Balsamic Grilled Chicken and Veggies

I like easy and I like fast.  And this was both!

If you are looking for a very tasty 4th of July meal, may I suggest something like this.

I marinated the chicken and veggies in separate baggies of course, in grocery store  brand marinade.  I did this for about 8 hours or so, basically, I threw everything together in a Ziploc in the morning and went about my day until it was time to get dinner ready for the crew.

I grilled my chicken and sauteed the veggies.  The marinade gave the meal a tangy, but more sweet flavor.  We followed that with cold watermelon for dessert.

Happy 4th everyone and eat well!!

What kind of mother am I?

What kind of mother am I?

Hard....too hard?
Value motivated?
Strong & Strict or Over-bearing & frightening?
Love disher vs. Love restrictor

I don't really know.

I watch mothers all around me and I see each of their parenting styles and I wonder often if I am cold.

I know that my personality is fun loving, but I am also ordered and I have requirements of my children. I can't tolerate disrespectful children....I just was not raised that way.  I couldn't say anything remotely close to what I hear kids say to their parents...even the little ones, especially the little ones, and I will not put up with my children being disrespectful to me or others.

If that is being over bearing, I accept it.

I will do all that I can to give to this planet good, respectful , upstanding human beings. And I know that it starts with respect for others and self.

I watched the following video and cried, because I really appreciate my partnership with God. I would like my children to choose the right paths in life, although I know I can't make them, but I can give them the tools they need to make the decision for themselves.



My values can't be compromised and I stand at the battlefront for my kids. I am their armor at this point and time, so when my choices seem strict and overbearing, know I am protecting my heart and soul.

Being the parent to my children can be challenging, probably to the surprise to many. I have many days a tears, yelling and run away impulses.... and I am not talking about the kids, that's me.

Being 'Momma' is hard and I only wish that there are more immediate thank yous and less immediate I hate you.