A Walk In The Hood

Today we went for a walk around our neighborhood and in the wetlands by our home. It was a good time to relax and process everything that has happened with Grandma and to just be with each other and nature, its been really hard, sad and stressful but mainly just sad. The walk was great, hot sun, beautiful flowers, bees buzzing and a ton of yard sales. Here is some of the pictures from our walk.

Sad Goodbyes

We have had a difficult week, Sam's dear grandma Jonita passed away on Friday from complications from double pneumonia, she has been sick for sometime. Jonita was a huge part of Sam's childhood and helped mold him into the man I fell in love with. We will miss her so much. I feel really blessed she got to spend some time with both of our boys just months ago when we visited California but none the less it still breaks my heart. We are heading to California tomorrow morning to attend the funeral and say "goodbye" I like to think its more of  "See you in Heaven."

Two Pregos and a Sara

Yesterday we defied the overcast damp weather and went to play at Lawrence Lake with my two pregnant friends and all six of our kids.  Surprisingly the kids didn't mind the 68 degree weather jumped right in the semi-chilly water and played for a while before running up to us shivering and asking for towels.  

We decided to play at the park by the lake and let them get the rest of their energy out before nap time. Ethan was really good so on the way home we stopped into Starbucks and I got him a chocolate milk with my "treat receipt" from earlier that morning. 

After naps Ethan and I decided to make some Sugar-free Vanilla Ice cream, it was so easy and delicious. I made it as low carb as I could and Ethan still really enjoyed it, I hope you do too! 

Sugar Free Low Carb Vanilla Ice Cream:

2 tbl splenda

1 cup heavy cream 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup rock salt or table salt

gallon-sized Ziploc bag

quart-sized Ziploc bag

Ice cubes 

Mix the Splenda, Cream and vanilla extract together. Pour into a quart-sized Ziploc bag, make sure its closed tightly.

Take the gallon-sized Ziploc bag and fill it up halfway with ice and pour the salt over the ice. Place the cream filled bag into the ice filled bag and close.

Shake for about 5-10 minutes .Check to see if the ice cream is hard, if not keep shaking. 

Once the ice cream is finished, Run the quart-sized bag under cold water to clean the salt off the baggie. 

ENJOY!

Great Day But Not For Flying A Kite

Can you believe it, two whole days of sunshine!!! I am so in love with good weather. I love the hot sun burning my skin and the red faces my kids get playing outdoors, even the smell of sweat has its own appeal because I know the rain will surely come again soon.

Today we decided to take Ethan and Luke to the park in Tenino to try and fly a massive kite Sam's dad brought over for Ethan. We grabbed some stuff from Walmart and some energy drinks and we were off.

On the way to the park we passed a garage sale and saw a little boy's bike for sale so we decided to stop in and see what they wanted for it. I only had $2 cash and some change so we figured we would have to go to the bank and come back if we wanted it, amazingly she was asking $3 for it!! We scrounged up some change and Ethan now has a "new" bike! It was in great condition, it needs some training wheels but other than that it was a steal.

So once at the part, Sam and Ethan got the kite ready and Luke and I plopped down on the grass to watch. Luke is always amazed by grass he is never quite sure what to make of it. Well back to the kite, this kite was huge and the breeze was not. Sam was able to get it up in the air a few times but he was running like the roadrunner. Ethan would try but alas, his short little legs (inherited from me) couldn't go fast enough so the kite would fly up and then nose dive quickly. I figured at least Ethan now knows how to fly a kite so it wasn't a total fail. 

We decided to play at the park for a bit and walk to check out the quarry. The quarry is kinda neat, in the summers they open it up for swimming so today it was packed. We decided to go get some food and ice cream and call it a day. I am exhausted but I had another great day with my guys.

My Review of "Momentary" Canvas

Originally submitted at Cost Plus World Market

The kaleidoscope of vibrant colors and compelling patterns begs you to take a moment to admire "Momentary." Its unique size helps draw the eye to its edges, delivering a feeling of drama when placed over a sofa or console table, while its radiant array of textures brings movement to any s...

"Momentary" Canvas

My Favorite Picture in my home

By Sara Anne from Olympia, Wa on 7/24/2011

 

5out of 5

Pros: Easy To Clean, Durable, Easy To Install, Attractive Design

Best Uses: Large Rooms, Bedroom, Small Rooms

Describe Yourself: Midrange Shopper

Primary use: Personal

Was this a gift?: Yes

My favorite part of my living room now, there are so many beautiful colors it matches almost everything. LOVE IT!

(legalese)

Starbucks, Walk, Ring, Eat

What a beautiful day it was in Washington today, this summer has been awful in terms of weather so it was great to see blue skies and the sun. We decided  to go for a walk today on a trail and get some sun on our skin. We stopped in at Starbucks, I wrote down my usual so Sam wouldn't get anxiety trying to order it correctly.

We then went to Chehalis Western Trail but once there we discovered that every bicycle rider in the area was there and we nearly were ran over with in a few minutes of being there. Also, I lost the ball to my nose ring on the way there so it  was a tough start to the peaceful relaxing day we had planned.

So we decided to go to Olympia to Capital Lake by Sam's work and go for a nice walk. On the way we stopped at a tattoo and piercing shop in Yelm to see if I could buy a new nose ring. A very nice tattoo artist named "Stripe" informed me their piercer wasn't in until Tuesday and to come back then. So off we went on our walk, it was so beautiful and fun. The boys seemed to really enjoy the scenery and the weather, Ethan kept up great.

Then we went by Metro in Down-town Oly and I picked up a new, slightly smaller nose ring.

We met up with our besties at our favorite Mexican restaurant and had a wonderful time. I put some cute flowers in my hair and put a dress on, lovin this weather! We in the Morris family are all about Mexican food. Luke ate a ton of beans and rice, Ethan ate way too much as well and complained about a stomach ache for about an hour afterward..as did I and Sam drank a Negra Modelo and didn't over eat like the rest of us :) We had a really nice day today and I think I may have gotten a sunburn, who knew a sunburn could feel so great.

boho baby bump: Summer Braid: Free People

LOVE THESE BRAIDS!!!!

boho baby bump: Summer Braid: Free People: "Free People is my all time favorite. Here is a fun tutorial to change up your typical braid. :) Enjoy! "

Baking With Ethan

My oldest son, Ethan loves to cook with me and its become one of my favorite things to do with him as well. Its so fun watching him crack an egg or stir really thick ingredients, his future wife will thank me one day I am sure of it. Today we decided to go to the store and get some fresh blueberries and make some sugar free scones. I based the recipe on one by Ginger Lemon Girl. I changed it up a bit to make it better suit my diet.

Sweet Vanilla Blueberry Scones

Originally created by: Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl

(I changed her original a bit)

Dry Ingredients
3 cups almond flour (Bobs Red Mill)
¾ cup cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup Splenda
1/3 cup Coconut Oil

Wet Ingredients
1 egg, slightly whisked
2/3 cup almond milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper and spritz with non-stick cooking spray. Set parchment lined pan aside. 

In a large bowl whisk together almond flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and Splenda. Using a fork and knife or a pastry cutter, cut coconut oil evenly into the flour mixture until it resembles small peas. Set aside.

 In a small bowl mix together the whisked egg, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients until thoroughly incorporated. 

Lastly add blueberries and mix. Batter will be thick. Pour batter into the parchment lined cake pan and smooth with a spatula. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until edges of the round scone are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean with few crumbs .When scone is done, remove from oven and set aside to cool for several minutes. Cut into triangular scones. Serve :)

Ginger Lemon Girls' recipe was great but not as low carb or sugar free as I wanted so I just altered it a bit. They turned out so good, Ethan even liked them and he is a tough critic, I didn't do a glaze on top but they would be so amazing with a vanilla one or even a lemon glaze..YUM! 

Strawberry Pie in July

We had a bunch of strawberries left in our fridge from my Mom visiting; she always buys a ton of berries. I needed to use them before they went bad and for some reason Ethan was berried out, so I figured a pie was the way to go. Being that I eat low carb I immediately turned to Google to find a decent recipe for sugar-free cream cheese strawberry pie, with really limited results. I decided to just give it a go, I have made standard strawberry pies before so I just kinda converted it to suit my lifestyle. It wasn't the most beautiful pie when it was finished (my presentation skills need work) but it was actually really amazing and best of all guilt free.  

Sugar-Free Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie!

For the Crust:
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup pecans
4 packets splenda
4 Tbsp butter, melted

For the Cream Cheese Filling:
1-8oz Cream Cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

4-5 packets of splenda (tastes vary)

For the Fruit Filling:

fresh strawberries (1.5- 2 lbs)
1 cup Splenda
1 packet of plain sugar free gelatine
juice of 1/2 lemon

Start with making the crust, combine all the nuts in a food processor or blender and grind until very fine. The natural oils of the nuts should make them start to clump up. Then add in your Splenda and melted butter, blend again. The crust should be fairly mushy so pour it in a pie pan and put in the fridge to harden until ready to use.

Next, wash strawberries and hull (removing the green tops and core). Chop 1/2 of the berries with into small pieces them mush with a fork or process in food processor. 

Place mushed berries into a sauce pan and begin to cook over medium heat. Mix Splenda and gelatine in a small bowl; add to pan with mushed berries. Add lemon juice and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Cut remaining strawberries into halves or quarters (depending on size) and mix with the cooked mixture. Just get them nice and coated in the mixture then remove from heat.

Now for the cream cheese, in a separate mixing bowl  add the softened cream cheese, vanilla and splenda. Use a hand mixer and mix thoroughly. If the cream cheese is very soft you can just mix it by hand. Then pour and spread the mixture over your pie crust.  

Pour strawberry mixture over the cream cheese and pie crust. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until pie is set. Serve topped with frozen cool whip a yummy low carb "ice cream" option ;)