Homemade Hot Chocolate

I'm a total sucker for a piping hot mug of rich hot chocolate on a chilly evening. And homemade hot chocolate?!? Seriously, there are few things better!

If I'm being toooootally honest with you, I'm a bit of a Hot Chocolate snob. Ok, maybe not a snob, but I know what I like and I know what I don't like. And what I don't like, is hot chocolate from a packet that is made with water. Now, I've got nothing against the packets!! They are great for when I want some hot chocolate and I want it NOW! I just do not like the taste or consistency when they are made with water. Some like it that way, and that's ok. But I am not one of them. 

What I do like, no, what I absolutely love is homemade hot chocolate. You control the ingredients and the flavor. Yes yes yessss!

And really, homemade hot chocolate isn't hard to make. Like, at all! It's pretty simple and once you've done it a few times, it goes almost as quickly as using a packet. 

There's a whole bunch of recipes for homemade hot chocolate out there, and I'll bet most are fantastic! This is the one that I stick with tho. It's my favorite!

This makes about 8 cups. It doubles, or even triples, nicely. Which is great for get togethers. 

• 7 cups milk (I use whole milk, you use what you like) 
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 0.5 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 0.25 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon into a large pot. Whisk everything together to combine. Turn heat onto medium. 
2. Slowly whisk in the milk and heavy whipping cream. Whisk it really well. You might think it's never going to combine, but I promise you, it will! Keep whisking it frequently. 
3. Heat till very warm but NOT boiling! Add in your chocolate chips and whisk till fully melted and mixed in. (Did I mention that this is also a great arm workout?)
4. Whisk in the vanilla. 
5. Serve it up!

I enjoy mine the most with some whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top. Cuz why not, right? But I also sometimes enjoy marshmallows in there, too. Especially the little crunchy ones like you find in cereal. Mmmmm!!!

I hope you enjoy my homemade hot chocolate!! What's your favorite hot chocolate add in? Marshmallows? Whipped cream? Peppermint? Tell me below!

Keto Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Today was a beautifully chilly day. I don't even want to talk about the fact that it is supposed to be 81° on Monday.. Let's just pretend that's not going to happen.

I am a sucker for soup on a chilly day. Especially homemade soup that's been cooking away in the crock pot, filling my home with delicious smells. 

One of my faaavorite soups is Chicken Tortilla Soup. Which is, as I'm sure you've figured out, NOT keto friendly. 

Well, it is now! And I think I might just like this version even better. 

I wasn't sure if it was going to work out in real life the way it did in my head, but it totally did! 

Don't you just love when that happens?! I know I sure do!

And it came together like a dream. So so soooo easy. The end result is perfectly creamy, not gritty or grainy, which I'm guessing is from adding the cream cheese and cream in towards the end. It's cheesy without being overwhelming or salty. Did I mention it's super filling, too? Yessssssss.

You need:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 8 oz low carb salsa (I used Paul Newman's)
• 6 oz Cream Cheese, cubed
• 3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 cup shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican Blend cheese

1. Throw your chicken into the crockpot. Season with all of the seasonings and add the chicken broth and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. 
2. After 4 hours, shred the chicken and put it back into the crockpot. Add the cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and cheeses. Stir well, cover and put crockpot on low for one more hour. 
3. Serve it up and savor every bite!

That's it! I topped mine with (low carb)  tortilla strips that I baked up in the oven and a little extra pepper Jack cheese on top. 

This is a perfect hearty meal for any chilly evening. I already can't wait to enjoy the leftovers tomorrow! 

I hope you love this as much as my family and I did tonight. What's your favorite chilly weather keto soup? 

Low Carb Enchiladas

I've been hard at work in the kitchen. 

Ok, maybe not hard at work, cuz really, I love working in the kitchen. There is nothing like watching people enjoy a meal that I've put together with my own two hands.. Seriously, it brings so much joy to my heart!

I've been experimenting a lot in the kitchen lately, trying to make more of my family's favorite comfort meals into low carb/ keto comfort meals. That's not always the easiest thing to do. The other day, I managed to perfect my Cheesy White Enchilada Sauce, which I was so excited about. But how would it all taste together?

So I set to work and got my hands dirty, working on my Easy Cheesy White Chicken Enchiladas. 

And it was so so SO worth it. They came out absolutely delicious and so very filling. My family absolutely raved over them. And that is a major win in my book!

It is so super simple, and so ridiculously yummy. 

You need:

• 1 to 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs (depends on how many people you are trying to feed. I used about a pound and half, which made enough enchiladas to feed 4 of us with some left AND some chicken leftover to use in another new recipe that's coming soon!) 
• 1/2 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack
• Low carb tortillas of your choice
• My low carb White enchilada sauce

1. Throw your chicken into a crock pot with the seasonings and the 1/2 cup of water. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. (All crock pots cook differently. Yours may take more or less time) 
2. Whip up your sauce using recipe linked above. You can make this sauce a day or two in advance if you need to! Just heat it up and stir it well when you're ready to use it!
3. When chicken is done, preheat your oven to 375° and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread a liiiittle bit of your enchilada sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Not a lot, just enough to help keep the bottoms from getting too crispy. 
4. Place the chicken into a large bowl and shred it. Add 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese to the chicken and mix it up. 
5. Take some Chicken/ cheese mixture and place it on top of a tortilla. Roll it up nice and tight and place it, seam side down, into the baking dish. Repeat till you've used all your tortillas 
6. Pour your Enchilada sauce on top of the rolled up tortillas and top with remaining cup of Monterey Jack Cheese. 
7. Pop into the oven for 15 minutes, til cheese is all melted and bubbly. 
8. Serve it up and enjoy!!!

So incredibly simple and tasty, right?! This will most definitely be going into regular rotation at my house. 

You simply must try this! Don't forget to come on back and let me know what you think! I love comments. 😉😘

Low Carb White Enchilada Sauce

A while back, I posted a recipe for my Easy Cheesy White Chicken Enchiladas. They were delicious. (Tho the pictures from back then were terrible. Please don't judge me! 😂)

Then I started keto and realized I couldn't really have those anymore. So I set to work on making a low carb bake version, minus the tortillas. It turned out delicious and was filling, but it still wasn't quite the same without the tortillas!

Then one day I got a notification through Instagram that happy_lowcarb_mom had remade them using cutdacarb flatbread. How freaking genius is that?!? I had never even thought about using low carb wraps or tortillas. DUH! Hers seriously looked AHMAZING. 

So I decided to use some low carb tortillas in place of the carb heavy ones and whipped up a batch using my low carb bake recipe. Turned out great. Even my nineteen year old carb obsessed son loved them. (Have I mentioned that I got him on board with keto?? Yup! Score!!)

Anyways, the other night I was thinking about how I wanted to try and simplify the sauce. I was a bit hesitant to attempt it cuz it was already so good and I didn't want to waste ingredients cuz, hello, we are broke more often than not! But the little voice inside my stomach urged me to try anyways. 

Why are you looking at me that way? Doesn't everyone have a little voice inside their stomach?

Folks, I am SO happy that I listened to that voice cuz HO...LY... YUM!!! It takes more simple ingredients, it cooks up quicker, and... I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but it tastes even better!

Ok, enough story telling. Let's get to the whole reason you came here, shall we?

You need:

• 1/2 stick of butter (so 4 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 small can diced green chilies

1. In a medium to large saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat. Add your cream cheese and whisk like crazy till it is fully mixed in. It looks a little weird, but don't worry!
2. Slowly whisk in your chicken broth and then slowly whisk in your heavy cream. 
3. Add in your salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Whisk well. 
4. Add your parmesan and Monterey jack and whisk again. 
5. Let it simmer for just a couple minutes to thicken it up. Whisk it again, turn off the heat, and stir in your diced green chilies.

That's it. How easy was that?! Use it however you want it. I'm definitely going to be throwing it over some Chicken enchiladas using low carb tortillas. I cannot wait! 

This recipe doubles beautifully, too, in case you want to make a bigger batch. I would double everything except the chilies.. tho that's just me. I suppose you totally could double those, too..

If you try this, please come on back and comment. I'd love to know what you think!

What I Ate Wednesday: Keto

I swear, this has been the longest week ever! And it's only Wednesday. Say whaaaat?! 

Luckily, I ran into some pretty great sales again last week, so we ate pretty well this week. Does anyone else get SUPER excited over finding great grocery sales? Please tell me it's not just me.. 

Welcome to another edition of What I Ate Wednesday: Keto Edition. Some of our favorite foods from this week were:

Bacon Cheeseburgers (and dogs) on top of salad and topped with pico. 

Wings. Alllll the wiiiiings! That "breading"? It's seriously just parmesan cheese and seasoning/ spices. So freaking yummy!

I still had a third of a pork loin from the killer pork sale I caught last week, so I cut it into chops and topped them with parmesan and seasonings and a squirt of fresh lemon and baked them. They were AHHHH-MAZING! So moist and delicious. 

I also threw together a quick deconstructed lasagna.. which is basically a lasagna minus the noodles. And ya know what? I didn't even miss the noodles. (The Italian in me is shaking her head in disbelief. Lol)

Still not sure what I'm going to put on the menu for this week yet.. Payday is on Thursday and no two checks are ever the same, so there's no telling what we have to work with until that day. Thursday is also grocery shopping day, so it's a day of looking through the sale ads of my favorite stores to figure out where I'm going to score the best deals, and then getting all the shopping done. 

I swear, by the time I'm done doing all that, dropping my daughter off at practice, and putting all the groceries away, it's always tempting to just order a pizza for dinner. LOL Tho luckily (and also unluckily) after grocery shopping, we usually have little to no wiggle room in the budget for the rest of the week. Which means no pizza. 😂

See you all next week!

9/11 Tribute.. Never Forget.

I still can't see pics from that time without vividly remembering it like it was yesterday and crying every bit as hard.. 

(I did not create this video or song. Found on YouTube.)

At 20 years old, it was the first time that my eyes were fully opened to what a dark place the world could be. But I also got to see how unified our country could be, in the days that followed. I still get goosebumps thinking about that part.. My, how far we've fallen since then. How far this country has divided and drifted apart. And it's not because of politics. We've turned our backs on what is most important in this world, in LIFE, to focus on things that don't matter. 

When I was a kid, I could never understand how adults could remember where they were and exactly what they were doing on significant days in history.. Until that day. I can still tell you exactly where I was, what I was doing, what my daddy was doing, even what my sweet then 2 year old Michael and I were wearing. I'll never forget... I don't think any of us will..

Every year on this day, I click a link like this one and I wonder if this will be the year that I can look at the pictures in them and not sob. And every year thus far, I haven't been able to. I honestly don't think I ever will be able to.

I remember waking up and rolling over next to my sleeping Michael, who was 2 years old at the time and snuggled up on me. I glanced at the TV and was overcome with fear and doubt. I remember looking at his sweet innocent little face and wondering what the hell kind of cruel world I had brought him into. I ran my hand over his hair, kissed his forehead, slowly pulled my arm from under his head and went into the living room to see my dad. He was already up and at the kitchen table prepping a sure to be delicious breakfast.

I asked if he knew what was going on and he told me a plane had accidentally hit one of the towers. Suddenly I saw the second plane hit and I shouted for him. He told me they were just replaying the footage. I told him "No! LOOK!"

As he realized what had actually happened, and as we watched the towers fall.. the look on his face... I will NEVER forget that look for as long as I live. I can still see it now, as if he were right in front of me. I knew it was baaaad because my daddy was shaken and my Superman didn't shake easily. We sat and watched all morning in silence and disbelief.. I remember saying something about stuff falling from the tower windows and my dad telling me "those are people jumping, hun".. you can't ever unsee something like that. It's etched in your brain forever.

I was one of the lucky ones that didn't lose a loved one that day. But still I mourn(ed) deeply. I stopped on my way to work the next morning and bought every red, white, and blue carnation I could find. As I left the store, the gas station, and even outside of my work, I stood and handed them out to strangers. Some smiled. Some cried. Some hugged me. Some prayed with me. I'll NEVER forget those moments.

The rest of that day (and the days that followed), I remember the fear, the disbelief, the sadness.. I had never seen so many people shaken. No one was immune to it. A whole Nation torn..

But what rose from that was one of the most AMAZING things I've felt in all my years. Love. Hope. Strength. Unity. Pride. We, as a Nation, were truly ONE. You could FEEL all of those things in the air just buzzing around you. So real, I was convinced I could reach out and touch that feeling.

Strangers were helping each other. Strangers were smiling at each other. Can you imagine that? THAT is what this country needs to get back to! Screw color, screw gender, screw sexual orientation. We need to get back to LOVE... To UNITY... To ONE NATION, UNDER GOD. Because you know what? If we just get back to love, then color, gender, sexual orientation, etc, means nothing. Because where there is love, there is light. And when there is light, the darkness doesn't stand a chance...

Today, I pray for everyone who's life was affected in any way. For those that lost loved ones, for those brave men and women who ran in to help and will have those images forever ingrained in their memories, and for those like me that lost no one but still deeply mourn the day..

Let's get back to our TRUE greatness, America. 

Smile at one another, even strangers, FOR NO REASON AT ALL other than to share and spread joy and love. Our country, our WORLD needs more of that. 

Compliment each other. 

Be there for each other. 

Look out for one another. 

Help those that need help. You never know when the shoe will be on the other foot and it will be you needing help. 

Love one another. 

Quit worrying about money, possessions, and status.. Those things mean NOTHING. 

Focus on love and living your best soulful life. 

That's the only way to truly make America great again.. It lies within each and every one of us. Let's make it happen.

I'm off to go snuggle my babies a little extra tight.

Love and light! 💗💗💗

What I Ate Wednesday

Another quick and easy week which was also another kick ass week of keto.

Welcome to another What I Ate Wednesday: keto edition. 

Ahhhhhh.. It's that time of year that I dread the most. Back to school time. I know so many people love back to school time but I despise it. Seriously, I am NOT a schedule kind of person. Never have been, probably never will be. I enjoy coming and going as I please, and not having any time constraints.

Get them to school by this time, pick them up at that time, followed by running to and from practices, trying to get dinner done by a reasonable time... Which in itself isn't easy with a hubster that works crazy hours.. I try to have dinner ready or done shortly after he gets home from work cuz we usually wait to eat with him, but some nights he's home at 6:45, other nights it's 7:30, 8:00, even 9:00 pm!! Those nights suck, man! 

Anyways, yeah, quick and easy is most necessary most nights! 

Jumping right in, this week we enjoyed:

Grilled steak (hello, buy one pack get one free! My belly and wallet appreciates the shit out of you!) With asparagus. 

Eye of Round Roast (also for a pretty good price of $1.99 a lb!) with broccoli.. and yes, we eat it super rare..

We thoroughly enjoyed this shrimp alfredo with asparagus and spinach.. I had been using classico alfredo sauce till I found a killer keto recipe for one. TOTAL. GAME. CHANGER! This is the real deal, folks!

And finally, garlic lemon butter shrimp and asparagus. (Shrimp was buy one get one free, too, which explains shrimp twice in one week.)

With all this delicious keto food, I was down another 4.6 lbs this week. WOOOO HOOOO! After a week and a half of being "stuck", I will gladly take that! 

See you all next week, with more yummy keto-ness!

Helpful Keto Tips

If you haven't watched any keto videos from Dr Berg or Dr Barry, you are seriously missing out.

They have so many wonderful tips and truly helpful info! 

Here are just a few of my favorites!

THREE FIRST STEPS TO GOING KETO:

TOP 7 KETO TIPS YOU NEED:

WEIGHT LOSS "STALL" ON KETO:

KETO AND INTERMITTENT FASTING FOR BEGINNERS:

KETO Q & A:

WHAT'S MISSING IN THE "CALORIE THEORY":

Seriously, I highly recommend subscribing to these guys. They have a wealth of keto info!!

What I Ate Wednesday

Back to school week is usually hectic over here, (isn't it for everyone?) so I wanted to keep meals as simple as possible this week. Less stressing out over meals makes a busy mama very very happy. 

Also, I found a killer sale on pork roasts this week, so you will notice that we ate A LOT of pork. Full bellies all week with a little extra cash in my pocket? Ummm... yes please!

One of my favorites from this week was slow cooked shredded pork that I fried up in a pan with butter and eaten on top of some cheddar crisps that I baked up. Easy peasy lemon squeezy! 

Another favorite was actually from last week (I didn't post, sorry!) and it was pork on pork action in the form of bacon wrapped Pork tenderloin. Ohhhh yes! So good! 

Also the leftover shredded Pork that I used for the carnitas, was a big time favorite. Slow cooked on low for 9 hours, shredded, and topped with a little cheese was absolutely devine. Everyone raved about how delicious it turned out. 

And finally, last but definitely not least was this butter beef concoction. So soooo so yummy, ridiculously simple, and oh so filling. I actually meal prepped another batch of this for my mama and I for the week. I'll be posting the recipe for this bad boy next week. 

That's it for this week! See you all again next week!

Getting Started On Keto

I often get asked about how I got started on Keto. So I thought I would shed some light on what I did. 

Obviously, the very first thing I did was research the hell out of it. I had always been told, and preached myself, that carbs were a necessary way of life. And 'all things in moderation'. After completing a whole 30 round, I still felt like crap. I had taken a quiz that led me to thinking that carbs were an issue for my body. I wrote about that HERE.

I started researching Keto and the more I looked into it, the more convinced I was that this was going to be a Godsend for me. I'm not even going lie, I was terrified to start. I was a total carb junkie. I ate carbs, and lots of them, with every single meal. And probably between each meal, too. I told my mama about my plans to start keto and explained it to her. She looked at me like I was crazy and said "good luck". Just a few hours later she came to me and said "I'm in. Let's give it a try." I started the next day and she started the day after I did. We did so incredibly well on it and while I had to temporarily put keto on hold after 8 months after getting pregnant with our newest peanut, (Morning sickness and food aversions threw me WAY off) my mom continued to rock it. She's now half the size she was before and i'm SO proud of her! My brother also started about a month before Easter and when he came over for Easter dinner, HE was half the size he had been, too!! It was so crazy to see him like that! My oldest son is currently doing it too, to prepare for college wrestling season, and so is his friend. YES!!

I jumped in head first and cut my carbs, most often only eating between 5 and 15 NET carbs a day. I also drank chicken broth with a bit of Kerry gold butter melted in it once a day for the first week or so to help keep the carb flu at bay. And it worked cuz both my mom and I never got the carb flu. *whew!*

What I *didn't* do: I didn't stress myself out about it. It is such a drastic change for most people, so if you need to start out with baby steps, then do that! Start one day by removing all the crap carbs and sugary stuff from your house. Get rid of your bad oils (canola, corn, veggie, soy... etc these are HORRIBLE!). The next day, make it your goal to eat 50 net carbs or less. A day (or two or three) after that, bump it down to 20 or less net carbs.

Anyways... There is an overwhelming amount of information out there about keto. Lots of it is garbage. There's a ton of MISinformation out there about it, too. There are so many doctors and nutritionists out there that simply haven't been properly educated on keto so they look down their noses at it. They shake their heads and talk about how necessary carbs are... yeah yeah yeah.

Pinterest is your friend... and also not your friend. There is an abundance of keto recipes on pinterest. However, NOT all of them are actually keto! Some are created by people that want the blog traffic keto recipes will bring, but aren't very knowledgable about what keto actually is. So be sure to check out the ingredients in each recipe before getting all excited. 

With the crazy amount of info out there, I give you two important things: 1) different people keto in different ways. Some of us eat "dirty keto", which is basically allowing foods that have iffy ingredients but still fit within your macros. Some eat "clean keto", which is NOT allowing foods with those ingredients. Some allow certain artificial sugars, (I do) some don't. Do what YOU feel comfortable with.

The second thing is a website I found during my months of research while doing keto. Ruled me is hands down THE BEST site out there, in my opinion. And they have a truly fantastic guide on starting keto. You can scroll and scroll and scroll some more and it just tells you EVERYTHING you need to know. I can't recommend it enough! You can find that guide HERE. They even have a keto calculator (there are so many out there and this is the only one I truly trust. I've had the best results using theirs.)

The most important thing to keep in mind while doing keto is to think of it this way: your carbs are your LIMIT. Your protein in your GOAL. And your fat is your LEVER. 

What does this mean? It means that each day, be sure to stay at or below your carb allowance, try to hit your protein goal without going over it, and if you are still hungry, eat some more fats. If you are stalling after a while, cut back on your fats.

 If you have a lot of excess fat in your body, I recommend NOT eating all of your fats each day. Why? Because you want your body to target the fat stores inside of your body. If you are eating too much fat, your body will burn that fat first, before moving onto burning your stored fats. 

Another thing that I feel VERY strongly about: you do NOT need to buy ketone supplements. Once Keto started gaining popularity, the vultures started coming out of the woodwork. "Hey! I have this coffee/preworkout/tea that has ketones in it. You can get into ketosis in hours instead of weeks!!" HELL NO. Why would I buy something that my body makes FOR FREE?!? Don't let them talk you into that crap. Seriously, you don't need it. Your body knows what to do. It's in our DNA!

Keto has been the best thing I've done for myself and I have no doubt that my mom and brother (and so many countless others out there) would say the same thing. If you need meal inspiration, scroll through my blog here and keep an eye on my What I Ate Wednesday posts. Also, if you're on Instagram, you can find me there as @keto_glam. There are so many wonderful people in the Instagram Keto Community!

Also, I highly recommend checking out both Dr Berg and Dr Barry on YouTube. They really know their keto shit and have so many helpful videos! (Also check out Nurse Cindy's keto "whoosh" video.)

I hope that this post has helped you in some way. Don't forget, if nothing else, please be sure to check out the ruled me keto guide I linked above. It's seriously amazing and tells you everything you need to know. And remember, take it easy on yourself! There is a bit of a learning curve with keto, but once you are a few days into it, you'll find your groove!

Love and light!
💗💗💗

How Doing Nothing All Week Opened My Eyes As A Mom

Well, I wouldn't say I did nothing at all.. because taking care of a baby and 3 other kids (granted two are much older and pretty self sufficient) isn't exactly doing nothing. Lol

But housework? Yeah, I haven't done a lick of it. Dishes have piled up, laundry desperately needs to be done.. etc

This was me, basically all week. 

I have been sidelined with a horrible dental abscess and let me just say, I hope you never have to experience one yourself. Seriously, the pain is like nothing else. Dare I say it hurts worse than having my last baby without any drugs. I've had them abscesses in the past, (Pretty sure I inherited my daddy's bad teeth) and i'm usually able to take care of them on my own until I can get into a dentist. This time? This time has been ridiculous. Definitely the worst one I've ever had. 

By day 4 I had finally had enough and called the dentist. That speaks volumes cuz I have a legit dentist phobia. I would've probably gotten in sooner had the abscess been on the bottom portion of my mouth but it's on the top. What's the big deal you ask? 

Well, when you get work done on the top, you get that shot in the roof of your mouth which makes it feel like it's super swollen and you feel like you can't swallow. Some may be thinking "yeah, and so what? We all get that feeling. Suck it up, buttercup.." And that may be true, but my throat is permanently swollen from being sick so much as a kid. There isn't much room back there to begin with. So when it feels like the roof of my mouth is swollen, I really REALLY feel like I can't swallow and my anxiety kicks in and I start to have a panic attack.  It is NOT good times. 

There are other reasons I tend to avoid going to the dentist, too, but I'll save that for another post cuz I have a lot to say.

My dentist was awesome enough to call me in some antibiotics and made an appointment for me to come in next week. The antibiotics took a couple days to kick in and give me any relief. So that was over a week of excruciating pain that truly takes everything out of you..

Ok, I'm going on and on about my abscess and getting a bit off track from my point.. What have I learned from my week of doing nothing but snuggling my youngest peanut? 

Well, two main things. 

One, is that nothing bad really happens if you choose some extra snuggle time with your little ones over doing some housework. Seriously, the dishes and laundry will still be there waiting for you when you're ready. Trust me on this. 

Which brings me to two: the dishes, laundry, and most everything else was indeed still there. Cuz no one else did them. And I realized that this was my fault. Growing up, I did almost everything for them. If they were asked to do something and they didn't do it, I just sucked it up and did it myself. They loved helping me around the house when they were little, but the older they got, the less willing they were to help. And the more lax I got in enlisting their help..

I've always been so torn, because I believe that as the mom and wife, I should be serving my family. No, not waiting on their every beck and call, but doing the housework and helping them as much as I can. But I also want them to be fully self sufficient for when they leave the nest. So really, have I been doing them a disservice all these years by not making them do things around the house? Have I been doing more harm than good?! 

It really has opened my eyes to the fact that sometimes I just need help. And that it's ok to ask them for that help. Or tell them rather than ask them, if need be. Enlisting their help around the house will still be serving my family because it's preparing them for life as an adult. I want my daughters to know how to keep house and cook, should they decide they want to be a mama and homemaker in the future. I also want my son to know how to keep house and cook so that he can be a helping hand for his spouse in the future. 

With all this in mind, going forward, there will be changes made around here. Everyone will be pitching in more. There may be some grumbling along the way, but this mama is putting her foot down. It's time!

Now, does anyone want to go to the dentist for me later today?!? Anyone? Anyone? 😂

Another Newest Addition To Our Family

So, we love our bearded dragon, Drago Malfoy, so much that we decided to give him/her a brother or sister. Lol

Without further ado, let me introduce to you, Ron Beardsley. (If it turns out to be a girl, we'll call her Ginny Beardsley.)

Look how precious! This little guy is SO chill. He just sat in my hand and went to sleep.. About a minute after the pic was taken, he rested his little head on my finger. Awwwww!

The kids just love watching the dragons. My six year old especially loves watching them chase down their crickets at meal times. I have to admit, I do, too. 😂

Pretty sure we're done adding to our zoo, err, home. We're plenty full now between us, 4 kiddies, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 beardies. But then again, who knows what the future will bring. Lol

What I Ate Wednesday

This week was chock full of yummy keto-ness. 

Not gonna lie, keeping myself back on track this time around has been a bit rough. Maybe it's because I'm nursing my little one and it's making me want all the freaking carbs... Maybe it's that I'm so busy with the kids and housework that I don't want to stop and make myself food, so I opt for a quick (carb heavy) grab. I don't know. 

I'd go a couple days, then have an off day. Then back on track for a few days, then have another off day. Granted, my off days weren't all that bad, but I want to be all the way on track. I want to get back to where I was this time last year. 

And I think that the answer to both possible reasons why I keep going off track is pretty clear: I need to start meal prepping again. 

So Monday morning I made a Sausage Egg Bake, cut it into servings, packed them up, and threw them into the fridge. 

Then Tuesday night, I made BLT sammies for the family. My mom and I ate ours on low carb wraps with cheese and ranch (Cuz yum). So I cooked up a little extra bacon and packed that up for eating throughout the week, too.

It's not much, but it's a start. I go grocery shopping tomorrow, (yaaaaaay!!) so I plan on coming up with a few keto meals to pack up for myself, too. 

Long post cut kinda short, here are a couple of my other favorite meals from the week.

Chili (yes, again.) With homemade keto dinner rolls. (Recipe can be found HERE ) I wasn't super fond of the rolls while they were still warm out of the oven, but after they cooled off? YUM! I will definitely be making these bad boys again. Maybe adding some herbs and cheese to them this time. 

Also, cracklin chicken with lemon feta roasted green beans. Super yummy!

That's it for now. See you next Wednesday!

What I Ate Wednesday

It's time for another Keto: What I Ate Wednesday.

This week I didn't feel much like cooking much. So most of what I ate was in salad or wrap form. 

Hey, it got the job done. 😂

I DID cook a nice big batch of no bean Chili using diced smoked sausage as a bean substitute. Super yummy!

That's it for this week! Super simple and yummy. 

The Newest Addition to Our Family

We decided to add another member to our family. 

He's cute and sweet and oh so entertaining. 

And we're already head over heels in love with him. 

Are you ready to meet him?

Ladies and Gents, I introduce you to:

Drago.

Isn't he adorable?!

 Looking like a scene straight out of the Lion King. 😂

Drago says "Come forth... and bring it. "

Seriously, the whole family has been just chilling and watching this little guy. He's such a riot.

We can't wait to learn all about him and watch him grow. 💗

Earning Money On The Side

This is me. Snuggling with my youngest peanut. AND earning money from my phone. And no, I'm not selling anything. Say whaaaat?! 😂

Who doesn't want to earn a little extra money on the side? Especially while sitting and snuggling a sleeping baby? Does it get any better than that?! I think not!

My hubster and I are currently working on building up our Emergency Fund and then moving onto getting out of debt. (Dude, I can't wait for that day!) One thing that I've noticed is that we really don't have much money leftover after most paychecks to make any kind of dent in anything. So they say to sell belongings or cut spending in other areas, which makes total sense. Except that we truly don't own much of anything to sell and we don't have extras to cut. Literally.

We share a house with my mom and we pay half of everything (including the mortgage) every month, but bills are all in her name. So cutting cable? That's not my call. We can only cut the grocery bill so much when feeding a 19 year old who's home from college for the summer (and sometimes his friends), a growing 14 year old, a 6 year old, a manual labor working hubster, myself, and sometimes my mama. We also try to eat healthy, and the price of food just keeps going up up up. So then the option is to bring in more income. I will not let my hubster take a second job, as he already works 12 to 14 hour days. He works his fingers to the bone to provide for us. So that's off the table. I stay home with the kids because we couldn't even BEGIN to afford the cost of daycare if I was to work (and I'd make peanuts since I'm not really schooled or skilled in much.)

So what's a mama to do?! Whatever I can, that's what!

The first thing I did was signup at Ibotta. I grocery shop every week anyways, so why not earn a little money back on it, right? Between grocery shopping offers and a welcome bonus, in my first week and a half, I've made an extra $25.50. That's pretty freaking awesome for just grocery shopping like I always do!

Next, I signed up at Ebates. I don't do a ton of online shopping, but I've earned $10.47 through that in the past week and a half. Not bad!

But the BEST thing I've found has been Swagbucks. Now, I had tried Swagbucks in the past and didn't like it. I'm so glad I decided to give it another try tho, because that's where I've made the most money by far! Just from sitting and taking surveys (a lot of surveys) while the baby is sleeping and in any extra free time I have, I have made $58. In a week and a half.

Through Swagbucks, I ALSO qualified to take a special survey about radio stations where I had to listen to 503 clips of songs and rate them. Yes, that is A LOT of songs. It took me 3 hours total, thankfully I was able to complete it in chunks at MY convenience. For completing that I earned $40 (not credited for that yet- it will be paid out when the study is over in a couple weeks.) So through Swagbucks, I've actually made $98. Not too shabby for a week and a half of taking surveys!!!

That's a grand total of $133.97. That's over $100 that we didn't have before. That's free money that we get to add to our Emergency Fund and to help us reach our goals. Which makes me super happy!

If you are thinking about giving any of these a try, I can't recommend them enough! Heck, if you use any of my referral codes, you'll earn money and I'll get a little bonus. Win win for both of us!

Sign up at Swagbucks and start taking surveys, playing games, watching videos, etc and earn some side cash!

Earn cash back on grocery purchases at Ibotta. Join now and earn a $10 welcome bonus after completing your first $10 in cash back. (It adds up quick!) You do NOT have to link a debit card or anything. Which is great cuz I really don't like having to do that.

If you want to earn money while shopping online, sign up at Ebates. And they have a special deal going on. Right now, if you use my referral link, and spend $25, I get a referral bonus and YOU get $10! How freaking awesome is that?!

It may seem silly, but it's been so exciting for me to be able to contribute to our household, financially. I can't wait to see what I can earn in a month to put towards our goals. Bring it on!!!

Happy earning, everyone!!

How To Get Stuff Done With A Baby In The House

Maybe you're expecting your first baby and are wondering how you're going to manage your household when your bundle of joy arrives. Or maybe you're expecting your sixth baby but it's been a while since you last had a baby in the house and you're just looking for some tips on getting things done. Either way, look no further, I'm here to help!

I had my fourth baby back in April and it had been 6 years since I had a baby in the house. I'm older now (not to mention much more tired!) and I'll be honest, with the daily demands of a baby, plus my other kiddies, I struggled to find the time to get everything done! I focused on recovering first (that's the most important part!) and then started finding ways to do what needed to be done. 

I'm no expert and my house isn't always super clean (sorry, not sorry. We're busy making memories over here!) but I'm doing what I can while I'm in this particular season of my life. These are my (hopefully) helpful tips for you. 

I have to start out by stating the obvious: keeping a spotless house is not your first priority anymore. Your #1 priority right now (whether this is your first baby or your tenth) should be to relax (as much as possible, at least), recover, and spend time taking care of/getting to know your newest addition. Especially while they are in the newborn stage.. Seriously, take time to recover and spend time soaking up your precious new baby. They are only newborns for such a short time, but the housework will still be there later, I promise.

Now, with that said...

PICK AND CHOOSE: Once you have healed enough to be able to get around and do things more easily, and you feel like you have a bit of energy to spare, then absolutely start doing what you can, when you can. Start small. Make a list of the top three (or one if that's all you can manage, or even five if you're feeling ambitious) things you feel absolutely NEED to get done each day. Then focus on only doing those things. It's better than nothing!!! When you get that routine down and feel like you are ready to add more tasks, add just a couple at a time!

NAP TIME: An obvious tip is to get done what you can while baby is napping. Now this might not be possible if you have a newborn. You may be extremely tired (not to mention the fact that you are still recovering!) and if that is the case, go ahead and nap while baby naps. You need your rest, too, not only to help your body heal, but for your sanity's sake, as well! Work in 15 minute increments if needed. 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there adds up!

BABY CARRIERS: These things are a total Godsend! If you have one, and your baby tolerates it, for Heaven's sake, USE IT! Some babies really enjoy the closeness and movement while you go about your day to day routine while wearing them. If yours is one of those babies, send up a "thank you" and enjoy the snuggles while. you. work. It's an amazing thing.

BOUNCEY SEAT/ ROCKER: If you have one of these, drag it into the room you need to work in. As you clean or cook, talk to your baby. Or sing songs. Babies don't care if you have an amazing voice or not. Just hearing mamas voice will offer comfort while hopefully buying you a bit of time to get some stuff done.

DELEGATE CHORES!!! If you have a spouse or other children, there is NOTHING wrong with asking (or telling them!) to pitch in. I use to feel awful asking my husband to do things. He works manual labor for anywhere from 12 to 14 hours a day, 5 (used to be 6) days a week! I was the stay at home mama. It was MY job to handle all the household stuff while he worked, wasn't it?! But then one day a realization hit me like a ton of bricks. My job as mama is 24/7 and 365 days a year. I don't get a break. But when he needs help with something, I help him. WHY should I not expect the same?? Most days I would at least try to let him relax a bit first, after he came home from work. To give him some time to unwind after a long hard day. Or I'd wait till it was his day off. But there were absolutely days where I handed him the baby just a few minutes after he walked in the door. Cuz sometimes it just had to be that way and this is a partnership, after all, right?

NOTE: If you do decide to delegate, please don't nag when it's not done YOUR way. Just because it's not done your way doesn't mean it's done wrong. As long as it's getting done, consider it a total blessing and remember, these times are only temporary.

FORGET PERFECTIONISM: Some days you'll find more time to be able to get things done. Other days, you may only be able to find 15 minutes out of the entire day. When that happens, do what you can for those 15 minutes and don't sweat the rest! There's always tomorrow!

GROCERY DELIVERY: I know this isn't available in all areas, but if it is available in your area, it can be a super helpful thing. Peapod is one I've used and liked. My local Jewel/Osco and Berkots also deliver. Sometimes it's more than worth the small extra fee to have them do the shopping for you and deliver it. Then all you have to do is put it all away! Score, right?!

STOW AWAY: Keep a pretty basket in your main living areas. As the day goes on, you can simply drop things into the basket (which also puts it out of sight! Winner winner, chicken dinner!) as you get a chance, then bring the basket with you towards the end of the day (or during one of baby's longer naps) to put the items where they belong. (Better yet, delegate the putting away part to someone else. 😉)

One thing that I've heard over the years is NOT to let your baby get used to being in your arms. That unless they are crying or fussing or eating, there really is no need to be holding them. I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this. A baby NEEDS time in your arms, fussing or not. And there is nothing wrong with holding them for no other reason than to just be holding them. Especially in the first couple months. You CANNOT spoil a baby that young. It's just not possible. I'm not saying that you have to or should hold them all day every day, but certainly, when YOU want to hold your baby, hold your baby!

I hope some of these tips help you as much as they have helped me. 

What tips do YOU have for getting things done when you have a baby in the house? I'd love to hear them!

Happy 4th of July!!

What I Ate Wednesday

It feels so good to be back on track with Keto! Seriously, I feel my best when I eat this way. 

I'm not going to bore you with random ramblings, so here are favorite meals from the week. 

Three words: Keto. Freaking. McGriddle. So so so delicious! I found this recipe on Instagram!

Next up, we have chicken taco cauliflower bake. I really just cooked up some riced cauliflower and seasoned it with homemade taco seasoning. Then I added leftover shredded chicken (from chicken tacos the night before) and diced tomatoes and topped it with cheese and green onions. Baked till cheese was browned and bubbly. Super yum! 

Also, Loaded Broccoli Bake. This broccoli was loaded with triple cheddar cheese, feta cheese, and crumbled bacon. And it was soooo freaking good!

Tune in next week for more What I Ate Wednesday to see what other yummy keto stuff I shove into my piehole. 😂