Shrimp!!! YESSSSS! Seafood is loved by my family and even the kids. From salmon to crab legs, from fried catfish or cod to delicious, succulent shrimp - seafood is always in our house and we have it often. My husband had his birthday last week and he really wanted shrimp and steak for dinner. I wanted to make shrimp scampi but didn't have all of the ingredients except for the white wine, garlic and butter.
I decided to make my own super delicious, super garlicky and buttery shrimp using this seasoning packet! This just shows that this seasoning is not only for wings! They turned out perfect! He loved them! The kids tried a few and loved them so much I had to make it again. It is just a few ingredients and super easy to make! My kids love helping me cook and since I love to cook they grow up to be amazing cooks as well!
What do you need:
First put your shrimp in a bowl or your ziploc bag and add your package of Garlic Parmesan seasoning.
Next heat your skillet between low-medium heat. Add your butter and your garlic. You don't want the butter to burn so make sure it's at a good low-medium heat, a nice simmer. Add your white cooking wine - give it a good little stir!
Now add your shrimp, one at a time either side down. Don't over crowd your skillet. You want them to cook evenly and not overcook them because no one wants a tough- rubbery tasting shrimp. As soon it's pink on one side, I flip it with a fork or a pair of tongs. Entire shrimp turns pink - time to take off the heat.
Remove your shrimp and devour the garlicky, buttery goodness! I also put more of the white wine garlic sauce over the shrimp when serving. I hope you love it as much as my family did! It's now a favorite!
You read that right. This is something that even us as adults can forget to do on the daily basis so it is our responsibility to teach our kids. There are days I am having a rough day and I finally take a moment to breathe. Realize that how I'm responding in that specific moment needs to be calmer and it's time to be grateful for what I do have. For example, I had a doctor's appointment today that ended up being cancelled. I was frustrated at first because I drove all the way there to receive the news that I wouldn't be able to be seen after all. Then I quickly realized, you know what it's okay. I will reschedule it and I have the medication that I need so no biggie. It's okay. I drove home and started school work with the kids. I seriously could have let that ONE tiny thing from this morning ruin my entire day. Instead I let it turn into a lesson of gratitude.
Now my sons who range from ages 3 to 13 - teaching them gratitude can be over the head at times or through one ear and out the other. Especially for my 7 year old, Weston. He complains a lot, wants everything to go his way, if he doesn't get it he pouts and gets teary eyed and he just wants, wants more, and wants MORE. It's at the point where I've just about had it and it's mentally draining right? To constantly have to repeat yourself. To tell your child that they need to be grateful and appreciate what they have or what they have just received. Parenting is constant repetition. Sometimes we are at our wits end but I know for a fact Weston will learn how to be grateful and appreciate what he has in his life and stop focusing on the things he wants and doesn't have. They all will. Why? It's important for our children to know good manners, to show they appreciate what was done for them and to be thankful for what they have because a lot of people wish they had it.
I feel like recently, especially in the past year a lot of people have shown their true colors of not having gratitude, compassion, lack of manners, lack of empathy... the list goes on and it is truly sad to see self entitled adults who lack these skills and makes you wonder, are they even teaching their kids if they don't hold these characteristics in their heart? If not, at least I am teaching my children and hopefully they can teach others and it can spread.
I am going to tell you some ways my husband and I teach our sons gratitude and if you need some tips maybe it can help!
Gratitude is something that I want to put at the forefront of our family dynamic and show our kids how important and special it is to practice this. It is so simple and easy to do and with daily practice they will understand making it a priority because it will encourage happiness for them and just make them overall better, caring people.
It's Monday! Monday Motivation that is. There are so many people that dread when the new week begins and trust me - I used to be one of those people. I would wish another day of the weekend could be added because the days go by so quickly. Especially when I worked full-time out of the house and had to think of all I had to do at work, but then at home and also with the kids. Now that I'm a SAHMama there are some weeks where I would be in that same thought process. Nervous and overwhelmed about the week before it even started! However, I started to think differently and you can change your mindset to a positive, motivating attitude to get the blood pumping and creative juices flowing so that you can accomplish what you need to do as well as set any new goals you may have in mind.
First, remember to give yourself grace. Be kind to yourself. We can be so hard on ourselves with our busy lives and there are times we think we can do it all and then some. We can't. You must not pour from an empty cup sis, so wait until you refuel yourself. Take it one day at a time and if that is too tough take it a moment at a time. Instead of focusing on what do I have to do this week focus on TODAY. Don't even worry about tomorrow because it is not even here yet so why stress it. It's Monday so enjoy the day for what it is. Accomplish what you need to do for today and whatever you can't finish, push it till tomorrow.
If you start the day negative or in a bad mood then trust me, your entire day will just be bad. Everything will feel like it's going wrong and you will find anything to nitpick and stress about. Start the day on a positive note and you will find yourself trying to end it that way as well. Don't consume the day with what happened yesterday or what you have to do tomorrow.
Each week is a new beginning, a fresh start to start the week off on the right foot and to inspire you. Here are a few tips to start and end your Monday so that the week ends on a beautiful, positive note and you find that motivation each week.
I know getting out the bed on Monday can seem daunting and you really don't want to do it. You want to hit snooze and pause the world but just know you got this and you can easily motivate and inspire yourself to have a great week! All you have to do is try to succeed in motivating yourself each week. After all we do have 52 new beginnings each year.
It is gorgeous weather here in WA state and the kids are loving the time outdoors, especially with it being SPRING BREAK!! YAAAASSSSS!!! We recently just moved to a new city here in Washington and had a beautiful house built. We moved on January 7th this year. We had our patio expanded and a retaining wall put up to plant some gorgeous flowers to bloom each year and also plan on starting some vegetables as well - stay tuned for that in future blog posts!ÂÂ
With more time to spend outdoors lately, the kids are big on nature like me which I am so happy about because I can teach them so much about the basics of gardening and we can learn together as well. Gardening is so fun, rewarding, challenging because you are always learning something new and also therapeutic for me.ÂÂ
A few weeks ago the kids painted some planters my husband found at Target. They were super cute triceratops dinosaur planters that were ceramic. I bought a few pansies and violas for the kids to pick and choose from to plant inside their planters and watch them grow.
They had a blast! They have their own little gardening gloves and got to take turns watering their plant. I told them the importance of the compost we were using and showed them the roots burrowed deep and around the soil in the container the plant was enclosed in.
Children have such wonder and curiosity of the world it is so important for them to explore nature. Let them play in the dirt, learn about the components of a flower, the different types of flowers. I can’t wait to plant some vegetables this year for them to watch grow in the garden and move to the kitchen to be prepped for an ingredient to a meal or for a quick tasty snack.
Teaching my kids gardening is educational and also teaches them responsibility, working together as a team. They learn that plants need sunlight and water to grow. Too much water can kill it and too little water can as well. Seeing the confidence on their faces seeing their plant inside their little dinosaur planter is enough to make my heart melt and be proud.
As they see their plant grow and thrive they are happy and confident within themselves that they did something great, so I look forward to what they think about the vegetables we plant next and how big their smiles get. It will be a fun project to do this spring/summer together in our beautiful backyard oasis.
Do your children enjoy gardening and what ideas do you have for your next garden project?
We all dream. We all have hope that those dreams come true. We all have faith that if we work hard to achieve something, anything, that it can be done. Well it can if you put in the work but also if you speak it into existence. Manifest what you want and have it come to you. What is the manifestation you ask? It is the law of attraction. You’ve heard of if you put negative vibes out, negativity will come to you? Karma? Well the same thing can happen with positive energy. If you put positive energy out it will bounce back to you.ÂÂ
Only YOU can control your thoughts. That’s how much power we have. We can put those thoughts into action. Speaking as if you have already obtained your dream or your goal. Feeling and experiencing it as if it were already a reality. YOU have the power to manifest anything. It could be to find the love of your life, to have financial stability or wealth, or to become so successful at your next career or business venture. Know what you want, what you dream about and take ownership of that.
When you manifest you have to be specific as possible. There are many ways to manifest that I will tell you about and you can choose whichever method you find most comfortable and see what works best for you. Try to eliminate the self doubt. I know a lot of us tend to do this. We feel we aren’t good enough, not worthy of what we want when in fact we are. Think positive thoughts because you deserve the dream you want to pursue in your heart.
Manifestation methods:
Once you have manifested what you desire, work towards that dream or goal of yours. You can’t expect any results if you don’t put in the effort. Don’t expect what you want to happen right away or in a timely order. Just make sure you are thankful and show gratitude for what you receive. Show appreciation, write it down how grateful and appreciative you are of what you have received.
Trust the process. Believe in yourself and most importantly don’t lose hope. Surround yourself around like minded people and people who will hype you up, keep you motivated to succeed. Keep those positive thoughts with that positive energy and you will be amazed at what happens.ÂÂ
What in your life do you want to manifest?
With Spring in the air I love to make spring themed foods because it's fun and colorful! Plus I have boys who love to eat, just like their mama. This Spring party mix is easy to make, kid friendly - it includes no nuts because my kids don't like nuts, it's flavorful and also nice to look at and delicious to eat. So if you're looking for a fun snack to have this weekend with Easter approaching then try this recipe with your kids! They loved helping me put it all together!
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees, grab your roasting pan and let us start seasoning this cereal for some FLAVOR!
Melt the butter in your roasting pan in the oven. Then add the worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Mix well. Then pour in your cereal and mix until the cereal is coated. Bake for an hour, mixing it every 10-15 min while baking in roasting pan. I just used my 13x9 ceramic baking pan.
Once finished I lined a cooking sheet with paper towels and pour my cereal on top, spread it out and let it cool.
Then pour it into your serving dish and add your candies, raisins, mini marshmallows and tiny twist pretzels! VIOLA - you are done and now it's time to stuff your face. If your kids have other things they enjoy to snack on and you feel it will pair well with this - add it in there! Make sure to store your leftovers in an airtight container to keep it fresh and from going stale.
This is so quick to make and so tasty to enjoy. Perfect to add to your spread for your egg hunt or a delicious snack to pair with a fun spring activity or craft. I hope you enjoy! Take care and Happy Spring!
It’s Spring! Spring is finally here and the trees here in beautiful Washington state are starting to bud, flowers are beginning to bloom and the weather is bringing rain yet a few gorgeous days of sunshine. It makes me excited for the warmer weather that is approaching and I know the kids are excited too!
We’ve been doing virtual schooling since the end of last school year March-June 2020 and since the beginning of this new school year. They are doing great in it and when the weather is warm they want to go outdoors and on an adventure.
We know that during this pandemic we have to be cautious and also keep the kids safe, yet have fun wherever we may be.
So depending on where you live some places may be open, some closed and some people regardless if the places are open they are a little hesitant to take the kids places. Which is okay - you have to do what is best for your family. Here in Washington we do a lot of outdoor activities where we will not be surrounded by a lot of people. The beaches here aren’t packed. There are very few people watching the water or just walking along the shore exploring and seeing what seashell spots their eye. The kids love it. We find all kinds of shells, interesting rocks and even beautiful pieces of driftwood.
Another fun thing we like to do is go hiking. There are mountains here and waterfalls that we like to see. If you can’t go hiking you can always go for a nice walk on a trail or take a bike ride if weather permits. Go on a picnic while you’re at it - who doesn’t love food?!
We also do just some fun activities in the backyard from gardening to blowing bubbles to bean bag toss and playing with chalk.
Here is a list of some other fun things you can do indoors and outdoors during this beautiful, rainy Spring season!
The list can go on and on and I hope that there are a few fun things that you can add to your list of fun things to do for your kids and family.
Embrace the season and look forward to the warmer weather that’s to come. Happy Spring!