Month: January 2017

Pancakes and Halles

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You know that time the best breakfast spot in town decided to build a barn-inspired reception hall next door? Ya, me either. Until today. I stumbled upon my future front door at the most adorable, and likely newest, event Halle in San Antonio!

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If you live in or around San Antonio you should be very familiar with the infamous Magnolia Pancake Haus. Just two short months ago, they opened up the Magnolia Halle right next to their Huebner location.

With its warm, Texas, rustic-inspired theme, you might have thought you landed in a surrounding city like Hondo or Castroville. The large windows around the venue, floor-to-ceiling white rock gas fireplace, iron accents and barn-style bathroom doors make you want to kick up your cowboy boots and get ready to party at a country-chic wedding reception.

Kudos to the local pancake masters for making this bold and smart business move. I foresee the venue booking up very fast! And if you haven’t done so already, try out their jambalaya omelet … it’s a household favorite!

Why? Because I love you.

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If you’ve ever been a mom of a toddler, you might recall the Why? stage. Yep. I see you baby boomers grinning. And millennials cringing. With every adult question or statement, a high-pitched Why? follows.

My ever-so-sweet three year old girl, who happens to be the middle child, started down the Why? path several months back. This is our second time around, though. And with age, comes experience, right?

It recently dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, there is a better answer to the Why? questions beyond truth and logic. Because, let’s just be real, no matter how simply and factually you try to answer their sweet, innocent, wide-eyed selves, they ALWAYS follow up with, yet another, Why?

I swear, I don’t want to be one of those because I said so parents. But after the 17th Why? I no longer have the desire to create an educational moment, my blood pressure has sky rocketed, shoulders are tense and I’ve completely forgot the original topic of discussion.

M – our middle child neck-deep into the Why? phase would be the toughest of our three children to test my new response mechanism on – so I went for it.

Mommy, can I have another cake?*

No.

Why?

Here it goes …. eyes locked in on her, huge grin on my face ….

Because, I love you.

Confused look. Silence.

IT WORKED!

I mean, what can a child say to that? They know at a young age that we as parents love them to pieces. So they simply can’t ask you why you love them – well they could, but don’t tell them that. We’ll see how long this lasts …

*I cannot promote good nutritional habits without explaining why my three-year old is asking for another cake. I use mini silicon cupcake holders to host bite-size chocolate peanut butter cups from the 100 Days of Real Food cook book. Ingredients include 100% pure maple syrup, 100% cocoa baking bar, natural peanut butter or almond butter and almond milk – no refined sugars!

Lunch line to stove top

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As a kid, I always brought my lunch to school. In fact, we were an in-home-cooking type of family. Nothing ever really fancy, but pretty healthy. I remember the high school cafeteria lunch menus consisting of milk cartons, pizza and corn dogs. Yuck.

It appears healthy is back trending. Thank goodness.

We’re paying close attention to what we are fueling our bodies with these days, but with a busy schedule I need meal preps and cook times to be quick and easy. So, last night, I threw together a meal inspired by a build-your-own-pasta line in my employer’s cafeteria.

While recently doing a 10-day detox with my fellow Juice Plus health nuts, I would grab some chicken and veggies sautéed in garlic, olive oil and pesto and leave out the pasta [wheat + gluten is not allowed during the detox]. It was delicious.

I took the lunch-line recipe to the stove top with a twist. Slice and dice whatever veggies Brown_Rice_Vegetable_Pastayou have [ours included spinach, cauliflower, bell peppers, mushrooms and zucchini squash], while you saute some olive oil, pesto, onions and garlic over medium heat. Throw in the veggies and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, boil some brown-rice gluten-free pasta and drain. Mix it all together with a splash of tomato basil sauce and top with feta or goat cheese.Voila! 

A fast, easy meal with 100 percent clean foods – just the way your body likes it!

An inner voice

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It’s back to bloggin I go. For a several years, I stayed faithful to writing about our growing family’s adventures, inner thoughts and observations. After taking a 25-month hiatus, I’ve decided to return to online journaling, 2.0.

During my blogging sabbatical, God blessed us with a third child. As full-time working parents with three young children, it’s safe to assume life is busy. We aren’t one for making New Year’s resolutions, but in the New Year, my husband mentioned wanting to dedicate more time to reading. And I agreed. So, I did the unthinkable – I deactivated my Facebook account. Gasp!

After less thanmagnolia_story_book two weeks of going off the [Facebook] grid, I’ve finished my first book of the New Year. And it was the perfect way to kick off 2017. Chip and Joanna Gaines remind each of us to listen to that inner voice – the Holy Spirit – and go after your dreams.

During my time reading The Magnolia Story I heard, saw and encountered God. And He very kindly showed me, what I believe are, some of his desires for our family.

Not to mention, one of my favorite blog sites – Coffee and Crumbs – shared a little inspiration on Instagram encouraging mamas to make time for what you love to do, every day. So … here we go again!

What are you aspiring to do this year?