Sweet Potato and Apple Side Dish

So over the past 2 years I found I have a love for health. I dropped 75lbs and kept it off. I lift weights, run half marathons and can keep up with my kids. Over this journey I have found that I not only love baking but I also do cooking. I thought I hated it but that's because I wasn't cooking good food. All of it would taste good but it wasn't good for me food, so I felt like crap eating it. Since cooking actual food, I realized I really enjoy it. I enjoy trying new dishes, healthy and non healthy, but I like the healthy a little more....only so I don't feel so guilty for taking seconds, or polishing off the dish :)

I have learned to love coming up with new recipes, some my own, others that I change a few things to make my own. I saw a sweet potato and carrot recipe and no offense but gag, that sounds bad. It was a sweeter dish using honey and cinnamon. I thought why not apples instead? Apples with honey and cinnamon are great, sweet potatoes are filling so lets try it all together.

Lucky for all of us it's an easy sugar free, clean side dish. Something quick and easy. Add some grilled chicken with this and its a perfect meal in my book.

Recipe:

1 whole sweet potato. (peeled and cubed)

1 apple (cubed)

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Put the sweet potato and apple in a pan with a little cooking spray. Let them cook for about 20 minutes together or until the sweet potato was soft. Put the honey in the microwave for 10 seconds to make it runny. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the honey and mix it all together then drizzle onto the apples and sweet potato mix. Let them all cook together for about 5 minutes. Then you are ready to enjoy!

Husband didn't try it but said "garf" after seeing the picture but all of my kids approved. Hubby is my picky eater. 

Easy Valentine's Garland

If your anything like me your not crafty but you dream of it. Your head is full of amazing beautiful ideas but when you go to to them they are nothing but a pinterest fail. For me crafts need to be simple, cute, cheap and quick from start to finish. I have 3 kids running around, glue guns become something my boys want to use, glitter is something my daughter wants in her hair and on her nails and within an hour. I. GIVE.UP. My kids are awesome with their desire to help, it just comes at all the wrong times.

 I came across this easy little Valentine's Garland on pinterest. It looks easy, kid friendly, the needle worries me only because my 2 year old still has a habit of putting random things in her mouth. Luckily, I'm already needing to go to Walmart tonight, so I can grab some cute paint cards in pinks, reds and white and hopefully tackle this one tomorrow after chuch while everyone is napping. I am not crafty, but this one I think I can totally do. I also think it would be easy to change the shape and use this easy tutorial by Julie Ann Art to create other simple garlands. I will share the finished product here in a few days (hoping I can actually finish it before Valentines gets here). Over the next 2 weeks I will be sharing other Valentine's crafts that I am brave enough to tackle along with Valentines treats. Baking is my real passion so those will be easy.

Oh and I'm totally coming back to this whole blogging world. Its been a few years but now that I don't have a little baby, my oldest is in kindergarten, middle is in preschool and the youngest is the easiest terror I have home all day, I finally get some free time. (Thank you library for having all the fun movies my daughter wants)

5 parenting mistakes you may be making right now

I was impatient with my five-year-old the other day. All day long, it seemed, he dawdled, whined and did everything in his power to annoy me. I finally reached a breaking point trying to get out the door. I barked at him to "hurry up and put on his coat." Not missing a beat, my precocious little kid barked back at me, "Mom! Don't you know kids have bad days too?" 

No, I hadn't stopped to consider that my son was having a bad day. I rarely stop to consider that my kids have bad days, pet peeves and annoyances — just like me. Later that night, I put myself in my kids' shoes and realized I was making all sorts of mistakes even though I consider myself a pretty good mom. After dwelling on this for a while, I came up with these five things I'm sure kids wish parents understood. 

 1. Kids have bad days too. The statement that started it all. It doesn't take much to get me out of sorts: not enough sleep, not enough food, not enough respect. The same goes for my kids. I expect my family to offer me grace when I'm having a bad day, so I need to extend the same courtesy to my children. Maybe, with a little more love and a lot less impatience, the bad days will become fewer and fewer. 

Read the rest here, at the Deseret News.

Scarves by TiffanyW

So winter is pounding on the door (luckily utah isnt answering) and I know I have already started looking for a nice scarf to wear during those bitter cold months. Lucky me to have seen a friend post that his wife makes scarfs. I love finding unique fun things that arent always from target, although we love them. I want something that not everyone is wearing.
Tiffany has cute simple affordable hand made scarves I love the simplicity,  they will go with anything and everything and not break the bank. Im personally in love with the cream for when 3 pairs of dirty fingers arent around and the black and white for when the kids are around. For my bold funky mood I'm thinking green. Getting a scarf through her is on my before winter to do list. It should definitely be on yours too :) 

So go look at what she has and treat yourself to something nice. Moms deserve a treat too ♡♡♡

Is my Child Depressed?

When winter sets in and the days turn to nights much earlier, it's easy to feel down in the dumps. For parents, it can be worrisome when a normally energetic kid starts to lack energy, act moody or behave in a way that lends itself to a parent wondering, "Could my child be depressed?"

It's a question worth asking, notes Nathan Bexfield a pediatrician at University of Utah Health Care's South Jordan Health Center.

Read the rest here.