Jim's Birthday

Yesterday, the 6th, was my dads birthday.  He would have been 58.  My Uncle Jerry, Jim's brother, wrote this wonderful email that I wanted to share. 

Dear family and friends,

Today is brother Jim's BD.

After wanting him to come down for 30 years, He is finally here, and on his birthday, too.

I am going to bring Jim's ashes back to Oregon. I was planning to take his ashes to Big Sur, but that didn't feel right, "I felt a tremor in the force".

While driving to a my mens' group meeting last Monday night, a picture flashed in my mind. It was one of the pictures playing on the video loop during Jim's remembrance.

It was of a woodland place with a waterfall. Jim appeared to be happy there.  When I brought that image to mind, I had a feeling of peace. There is where I think Jim would be content.

I am back at work at Disney for about a month. I'll be up in Oregon sometime in July, or early August. Alice {one of Jim's great friends from work at KTVL} will have to show me where that waterfall is. I'll do my fair well to Jim there.

For the time being, he'll just have to be patient.

I toasted Jim with a swig of Rock Star, his drink of choice. Yuck. I don't see how the guy could take that stuff.

I wish him, and all of us, peace and happiness.

Thanks,
Jerry

Last Day of School

Carson is now a 1st grader!  Hold on one minute while I get my tissues!  Oh my.  I can't believe it.  :(  This heart of mine is S.A.D.!  So so sad. 

Watching the slideshow

Carson {and Gabe} giving the teachers and helpers their cards

Carson with his classroom behind him

Onto 1st grade which will bring all of us a new challenge!  :) 

Our 9 Month Finners

Finn is 9 months!  AH!  We had a visit to the doctor today.  He waved to her, which she loved.  :)  He just started that in the last couple of days.  He also has started to throw tantrums when we take things away from him.  "Yes, it is the worst thing ever to have a sticker taken away that I put in my mouth and is going to make me puke!  The worst!!!"  The doctor said it was a bit early for that, but he has two older brothers for examples.  Wowzers.

I was comparing weights and events of all 3 boys.  Gabe was doing the exact same teething stuff Finn is doing at this age.  The sleeping thing, or lack there of.  Sleep through the night randomly.  And Carson was just starting to sit up from being on his belly.  And just starting to crawl!  Finn has been crawling since the 1st week of April.  Since he was 7 months old!  So crazy how younger siblings do things faster!  Goodness.  Doesn't Finn know he is my baby???

At 9 months
Carson weighed 22# 6 oz, and was 29.5" long.
Gabe weighed 21# 6 oz, and was 28" long.
Finn weighed 21 # 6 oz, and was 29.5" long.

Pretty close!!!

Teething Fun!

Gabe is now 9 months old.  We have been having lots of fun with the new tooth Finn has been working on these last several weeks. 

A couple of weeks ago, he was up for some time during the night.  Mad.  Not crying, just plain mad!  Kinda growling and yelling type stuff.  Doesn't make it easy for us to sleep.  Or himself.  I know he is in pain, and it makes me so sad and feel for him, but we gotta all get sleep.  After several nights in a row of him doing his yelling stuff, I called the doctor.  She gave me instructions on giving him Advil.  That helped some.

These last couple of night we have had a bit of a hard time with Finn going to sleep.  He is uncomfortable and has a hard time relaxing so he can go to sleep.  But, he is sleeping through the night.  Usually.  Tonight I skipped medicines because I don't want to do every single night, so we will see how it goes?!

On a side note, I have made it to the Y twice so far this week!  YA!  So exciting.  It feels so great.  I have a hard time getting out of bed at 5am, to be home by 6 so Trever can get ready and go to work, but it is worth it.  I feel so much better when I get exercise in!  It is wonderful! 


Carson's last day of Kindergarten is Friday.  Looking forward to having him home and working on relationships!  Oh, we have been doing a lot of garage saleing lately and got the Chronicles of Narnia series.  I haven't read it, so Carson and I are reading it together!  I love reading it to him, and he is loving it.  Such a special time to be able to read chapter books to Carson and have him satisfied and entertained.  We also picked up the Young Indiana Jones series.  We will read that next.    

Gabe has been practicing his bike with training wheels.  He is getting a lot better and feeling a bit more secure on it, not so tipsy, so that is good!  :)

Trades of Hope Giveaway!!!

As a mom of three young boys there isn’t anything that could make my heart heavier than not being able to provide for my little guys.

Unfortunately, there are many moms in extreme poverty all around the world that aren’t able to. Some moms are left with the choice of giving their children away, selling them to try and earn money, or stay together and starve. Being part of sex slavery, sweat shops, or raising kids with disabilities alone. For example, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world with a 42% unemployment rate. Every year, approximately 10,000 girls from the ages of 9 to 16 are stolen, sold, or forced into brothels.

I am blessed to be part of a business called Trades of Hope. Trades of Hope offers these women a chance. With the help of Cooperatives, Organizations and Missionaries, women are getting out of sex slavery and supporting their families! They are given a chance to not only survive, but live a life filled with meaning and hope. They are able to work and make lovely items that are being sold, at their asking price, in the United States. They are able to provide food for their families, shelter, schooling, and medical care. Things that I have taken for granted many times.

Being a full time mom and being a Compassion Entrepreneur for Trades of Hope and work as I choose is amazing! I love helping my family and helping a mom across the world at the same time! What other careers give you that option?

I would love to offer a Giveaway of one Nepali Aqua Scarf to one lucky winner!
To enter, please leave a comment on this blog (with your name, even if you leave the comment as "anonymous"), and if you have a Facebook account, please go to my business page and “like” it www.facebook.com/simonecostertradesofhope.  Thanks!

The last day to enter is June 18th at 8pm. The winner will be chosen at random and announced by June 19th at 12pm.

For more information about hosting a home or online party, on becoming a Compassion Entrepreneur and joining my team, please visit www.mytradesofhope.com/simonecoster

 Please feel free to pass this on to any one who would love a chance at a free scarf!  If you have a friend who comments to enter make sure they let me know who referred them, so that you can get an extra entry! 

AloHa!

Trades of Hope New Spring Special!!!

I love these Trades of Hope colors for this spring special! 

AND, if you earn $350 in party sales (can be a home party, catalog party or a online party!!!) you get a free bracelet.  Not only a bracelet, but the Haiti Signature Bracelet!  And remember that every single item purchased helps a mom feed her sweet kids!  Such an awesome chain of events! 

To shop, head on over to MY TRADES OF HOPE page!  And please let me know if you have any questions!  

Thank you!!!

Broccoli Cheese Bites

Broccoli Cheese Bites (adapted from My Tasty Treasures & WholeSomeBabyFood.com):

16 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained of liquid (I used fresh steamed broccoli)
1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs
salt & pepper
1 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

With your hands, form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.


Bake at 375F for 25 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

Instead of using breadcrumbs, I added a little almond flour.  They turned out pretty good.  They got really flat, which might be from using the stoneware cookie sheet.  

Egg Muffins

My plan for today was to make some Pinterest recipes that I have pinned.

The first one up was Egg Muffins

I don't like using muffin tins, so I decided to make it in a Pampered Chef round stoneware dish.  I used chard, green onion, cheese, mushrooms, and broccoli and sea salt.  Oh!  I also added some milk. 

(Makes about 12 muffins)

Ingredients12 eggs
1-2 tsp. Season Salt
1-2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Optional: chopped veggies such as chopped broccoli, red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, spinach, etc.
Optional: diced Canadian bacon, lean ham, or crumbled cooked turkey sausage

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray.

In the bottom of the muffin cups layer diced meat, if using, vegetables, if using, and cheese. You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Break eggs into large measuring bowl with pour spout, add Season Salt, and beat well. Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is 3/4 full. I like to stir slightly with a fork. Bake 25-35 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned and set.

Muffins will keep at least a week in the refrigerator without freezing. Egg muffins can be frozen and reheated. For best results, thaw in refrigerator before reheating. Microwave on high about 2 minutes to reheat.

 

Here is the outcome of my egg "muffins."

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

I want to try these out! 

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe by Clark, The Trainer:


3 ¼ cup almond meal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
½ cup honey (maple syrup or agave nectar works too)
½ cup coconut oil, melted
1 ½ cups cacao nibs (pure chocolate chips and vegan chocolate chips work too)

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, Grab a cookie sheet and some parchment paper or aluminum foil.  I’ve found it easier to use something like that rather than baking directly on the cookie sheet (plus I can get the next sheet in the oven quicker and I want my cookies NOW!)
2. Combine 3 and 1/4 cups of almond flour (Trader Joes almond meal is by far the best, and it’s cheaper than Red Mill or whatever) with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda.
3. In a large bowl, combine 2 eggs, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of coconut oil and 1/2 cup of either honey, pure maple syrup, or agave nectar (I like honey).
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients then add 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips.  The darker the chips the more paleo friendly they are, but the dairy free ones from Trader Joes taste pretty good.  Haha! (The dough will look pretty wet, I placed my dough in the fridge to firm up a bit before rolling them into balls, but you can just pop them into the oven as is)
5. Spoon them onto your parchment and pop them in the oven.  This recipe makes about 24 cookies, and i usually do 2 rounds of 12.  Bake ‘em for about 8-10 minutes (the tops will start to get golden brown).  If they go longer than that the bottoms burn because of the sugar in the honey.  No good at all.
6. When I pull them out I let them cool long enough to get them off the parchment and put them in something sealed to go into the fridge.  I like them better out of the fridge because there’s no flour and they tend to be a little sticky at room temp.
7. Now it gets a little crazy…  Done like this, sometimes they can seem a little under cooked.  Just the nature of the recipe.  I’ve experimented a little with adding 2 tablespoons of coconut flour and it really changes the texture.  Makes them more “cakey” if you will.

May 31, 1995

18 years ago today, my Grandpa came home from one of his hospital places he had been in and out of.  At that stage of his illness he was pretty out of it.  A lot out of it this particular day.  I remember watching the ambulance drive up onto the grass to get as close as possible to the front door, so that they could bring him in on his gurney.  Once they got him out of the ambulance, my Grandma was right by his side saying "You're home, you're home..." in between giving him kisses and washing his cheeks with her tears.

As out of it he was that day, he knew where we was.  He knew he was home.  And within 5 minutes of him being home, he really did go home.  He went to his eternal home.  He left us to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus.

As my boys continue to grow, I find myself often thinking about how much he would love them and how much they would love him!  I wish he was here to teach them cribbage like he taught me, or to make a multiplication table like he to used to do for me.  He would write it all out and then tape it up to make it sturdier.  I miss him dearly.  And now I need to stop so I don't have a melt down.

I love you Grandpa and can't wait to see you again!