Tiramisu Overnight Oats Is So Good It's Like Dessert For Breakfast

On my birthday my daughter surprised me with Tiramisu Overnight Oats! Since then I think about asking her to do it again. Today she surprised me again. It really is delicious and so chocolately it feels like a treat. 

It's really easy to make and is a great source of protein,

1 cup of oats

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons of brewed coffee. She mason jars whatever is left in the pot from the day before so we always have coffee ready.

1 1/4 cups of almond milk

3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1.5 tablespoons of chia

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 cup of yogurt. We use Greek but any vanilla will do. 

She makes the oatmeal the day before by mixing together oats, cocoa powder, chia seeds and salt in a bowl with coffee, milk (we use almond), 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then she covers and lets it sit in the fridge for 8 hours. 

The top she makes the next day a few hours before serving but you can make it right before eating. It's yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla extract and stir until combined. Then she sprinkles cinnamon all over the top! 

It is delicious.

 

My Goddess Has Her Driving License

Goddess is now 20 and has a driving license. WOW time flies. When I started this blog Goddess and Handsome were babies. They are now 20 and 22, in college and very much my favorite people. I adore them and I am so proud of them.

Goddess took about a year to finally take her driving test. She wasn't ready and we weren't pushing knowing we would get there when we got there. I kept telling her "as long as it takes, is as long as it takes" and I bet she hates that saying. 

When Goddess does anything she really throws herself into it 100%.  Allowing a child to drive you may be easy for some but for me it is hard. It isn't just that I see her as my baby. I am the worst passenger because I like to be in control of my life and prefer to drive. I was always the designated driver when I went out with my friends or a guy because I could trust myself. Sooo when she would constantly see me applying my imaginary break she thought she was doing something wrong and when we finally got home would ask "on a scale of 1-10 how scare were you doing that drive?" I often reminded her that I did that whenever I wasn't the driver and it was not her.

Yesterday Teach cleaned out the car for her, detailing every part of it. He came over to me when he was done and asked if I was ready to go to Goddess so we could GIVE HER THE CAR. 

I love and appreciated how he needed me to be there when he finally handed her the key. He had a whole speech for her about making the car her own and that by January/February he expects she would be paying for her own insurance after getting a job. He told her the story of how his dad had done it for him and I just know he was feeling all the feels of his own independence as a young man. 

Goddess is NOT ready to drive alone. She knows the car is hers and she can take it whenever she wants but is nervous. I told her she just needs to take that first maiden voyage and she will be fine. 

I pray for her safety as she deals with the millions of obvious bad drivers on the road. I see it every day. People seem to not know the rules of the road. 

Heavenly Father I place my child in your hands and ask for care and protection as she travels. Surround her with angels and guard her from danger bringing her to safety to her destinations. Grant her wisdom to stay alert and make safe decisions and guide her path with grace. AMEN

God is Good, All The Time,

All The Time, God Is Good!

Adorable Baby Northern Red-Bellied Snake!

 Omgosh this is the cutest snake I have ever seen. Found under a tarp covering garden dirt it laid all curled up. We had to take photos! Put it right back but love how small it was.

Road Trippin With My Daughter

This weekend I took a mini vacation just me and my daughter to spend two nights at my sister-in-laws house in Delaware. It was a long ride about 4 hours and 23 minutes a drive I haven’t done since I was in my 20s. 

My sister-in-law wanting to be the best host asked us what we like to do. I told her she was getting two very unspoiled girls and we would be happy to do anything or nothing. We don’t do much and just getting away was fun for us. When she insisted I told her we like gardens, parks, museums, cemeteries and antiquing. She is a high achiever and gave us all of it.

We started at a cemetery at St. Peter’s Church in Lewes Delaware. There is so much history here. Delaware is the first of the original 13 states to ratify the constitution. This church has been serving the community since 1681. It was very interesting to see how Lewes grew around this cemetery and church. 

We then headed to Unique Find an antique store where we saw quite a lot of beautiful pieces. We stopped at the Mercantile at Milton, had an Italian lunch then an evening stroll. 

The next morning we went to breakfast. The botanical gardens, Lavender Fields and more Antique stores. She knows how to make two girls happy. 

Dinner was at a local pizzeria and then another evening stroll.

Spending time with my sister-in-law is important to me. Not only for me but because I want my daughter to know her aunt. I hope to go back soon maybe in the fall. It was definitely time well spent.

My Day With Toddlers

6:30 – 7:00 a.m. • Wakes up, diaper change, sippy with milk (warmed 40 seconds in the microwave) and vitamin, take pacifier. He will usually hand it over when you offer the sippy. The pacifier needs to go away until nap so he doesn’t see it.
• Channel 13 – SESAME STREET
8:00 – 9:00 a.m • Breakfast can be: cheerios, banana or eggs with cheese and bread or anything else you want to make. I usually have a sippy with water out for him at all times.
• Brush his teeth. His tooth brush and paste are in the blue bin on the counter. He doesn’t love his teeth brushed. Let him do it himself and then take over.
9:00 a.m. • Channel 31 – THE WIGGLES – This will give you a half hour of peace. Believe me!
9:30 a.m. • Jesse’s clothes are hanging in his closet.
• His socks are in the bottom drawer of his crib dresser.
• Shoes are not needed unless he is going out.
• Offer a snack, it can be cheese sticks or ham, cheese crackers, Finger Foods in the pantry on the 4th shelf in the pantry
10:30 or 11:00 a.m. • Lunch can be – Ham, mac and cheese (try to put some mixed veggies in it from the freezer), bread, chicken fingers, fries, or anything else you feel like making.
• Jesse will probably bring his sippy to you for milk.
11:45 - 1:00 pm • Nap time – Jesse needs his pacifier and his blue blanket.
• He will lie on the couch with a pillow and you can keep the TV on. He is not used to sleeping with quiet.
• If you lie down with him he will fall asleep faster. If you leave the couch just put a pillow next to him so he doesn’t roll off.
• If you want you can move him to his crib but he sleeps longer on the couch.
2:00 – 3:30 • Don’t let him sleep longer than 2 hours or bed time will be difficult.
• He will sleep anywhere from 1- 2.5 hours if left to his own devices
When he wakes from his nap • Offer a sippy with milk. TAKE PACIFER. He will usually hand it to you when you hand him the sippy.
• You can again offer some kind of small snack.
4:30 – 5:30 • Sometime around this time is a good time for dinner. Dinner can be anything you make but what he mostly likes is, mac and cheese, chicken cutlets, fries, chicken fingers, meatloaf, ham, and try if possible to get some veggies in there.
7:00 – 7:30 • Around this time is a good time for PJ’s it lets him know that bedtime is around the corner. PJ’s are in the third drawer of his crib. Face wash, hand wash and brush teeth if possible. Jesse gets a bath every fourth day because of his eczema. If giving a bath he needs to be moisturized big time The TV and the kitchen light can be on. This lets him know that bedtime is fast approaching
8:00 –8:30 pm • There are no toys taken from the toy chest after 8:00 pm
• BEDTIME
• Jesse listens to music when going to sleep. The CD player in his room just needs to be turned on. He might do this himself for you.
• The lamp on the bookshelf should be on and the overhead light off.
• He will of course need his blanket and pacifier.
• When you leave the room just flip the switch of the camera towards the wall to turn it on. It is all set to go.
• The monitor for the camera is in the dining room on the table. You can put it on the half wall or floor so that you can go about your business while keeping an eye on Jesse. PARTY!

Handsome: Goddess goes to bed too late. It makes no sense.
Me: Nope
Handsome: Did you just gulp?

Be Their Safe Space

This weekend I had a conversation with a friend. She is going through some things and was saying that she wished that her current boyfriend who she is having a great time with would buy her a house so she could escape her family's home. She just wants to get out from her parents' house. I tried to tell her that she should want to make her own way. When we count on people to be there for us, we are often times disappointed, find ourselves in situations we have a hard time getting out of or just feel stuck. I reminded her that she is in a new relationship and that life has a way of making us think we are on a certain path and then detouring. She is smart, beautiful and has her life in front of her. 

Why do we all allow ourselves to feel we have found our forever? I believe it is because we are all looking for that safe place to fall. We all just want someone to tell us we are special enough for them. That we are their person because deep down we feel like we are not enough. I have tried to let me son and daughter know that they are special without making them think they are better than anyone else. 

I do daily affirmations with my class and one of them is "I am not better than anyone else." also "No one is better than me." It is an important message. 

Maybe if we raised our sons and daughters to know they can do anything they want. There is nothing they are not capable of. Give them a safe place to fall where they know their mistakes are things that happen but don't define them as well as letting them know that we want them to fly and live their lives in a safe space but will always be there if they ever feel themselves falling, they will not be in a rush to get love, adoration or even escape the safe place they have right now. 

My Life In Pictures July 22 - July 30

July 22 - We rescued a frog from the filter today. My girl was so worried about it.

July 23 - The Circle of Life

July 24 - Dog sitters extraordinaire

July 25 - She is the cutest and the only photo of the day.

July 26 - Journaling has gotten easier. If I stick with it, it becomes something I want to do rather than a chore. I love doing it but was putting too much pressure on myself.

July 27 - The orange sun filtered through the curtain. There were wildfires in the West and Canada so our skies were orange. 

July 28 - Sometimes when you pick a stuffed animal, you need to make sure you don't miss anything. 

July 29 - The only photo of the day was this blue paper towel? HUH? 

July 30 - It was a gorgeous night. 

My Life In Pictures - July 15 -

 July 15 - Sometimes you just have to stop and take a photo

July 16 - We are duck and Koi sitting at one house and dog sitting overnight at another house. Busy busy

July 17 - one of the three dogs we were sitting is obviously a circus dog.

July 18 - Added another dog sitting job to the mix. Busy month for people going away.

July 19 - I take no credit for this photo. My daughter took it after picking the Queen Anne's Lace. I love it!

July 20 - WOW that orange sun.

July 21 - We made ice cream cone volcanos and since I had so many left over, served them their snacks in the cones. It was weird how many kids didn't understand they could eat the cone too. 

My Life In Pictures July 1 - July 7

July 1 - it started raining while my class was outside. We stayed out for as long as we could as my class tried to catch raindrops. 

July 2 - I bought my daughter a bike on the tagsale site on Facebook. It is a bit big for her and she is scared to get on it. I think we both just need to grab huffy bikes with big seats and head to the track. 

July 3 - These plant needles were in a jar on the table. It rained overnight making them look like an apocalyptic landscape. 

July 4 - Goddess and her dad making a new planter out of concrete.

July 5 - No words necessary

July 6 - Our blackberry bush is doing very well. This makes me so happy.

July 7 - My baby book filled out by my mama. I am so happy I have this.

My Life In Pictures - June 1 - June 14

 June 1 - This happy Jumping Spider's face says it all!

June 2 - Nothing but class photos which I cannot share.

June 3 - Driving and listening to music with my girl. One of my favorite things to do. 

June 4 - A huge moth spotted at work. I needed to take a photo.

June 5 - Burying my dad with my mom. 

June 6 - My kids have their Father's Day frames all ready for their photos to be put in and wrapped up.

May 9 - They are so cute!

June 10 - Just watching our ducks cool off in the creek after eating.

June 11 - Lunch and sangria. SOOOOO good.

June 12 - My daughter's dress design going down the runway on her model. 

June 13 - I have wanted to make one for so long. This is a Dollar Tree Pizza Pan with a placemat. All items from Dollar Tree.

June 14 - Getting some juice after the gym. It was amazing