Kale Salad

One of my favorite things about summertime is all the fresh fruits and veggies that are in season. This past spring we tried our hand at growing a few and the only thing that survived was our basil. (#maybenextyear) So until my thumb turns green, I love going to the farmer's market. We were thoroughly spoiled for weeks by friends with dinner practically every single night after Parker was born, so it was kind of a shock to be responsible for cooking and grocery shopping again :)

I love to make new meals, and guess whether or not they'll turn our like the recipes describe them. As just about everyone with access to the internet knows, kale is the new(ish) superfood. So when I saw it super cheap at the farmer's market I got some. I've tried kale chips before and they were pretty good, but I generally try to steer clear of the oven in the summer (except of course for the deliciousness that is zucchini bread. or cookies. or brownies. you know, the important things #priorities). We added some to our morning smoothies (we usually just use spinach) and it was a little too strong for my sweet tooth family's taste. So when I came across a recipe for melt in your mouth kale salad, I decided to give it a shot.

Surprisingly, it turned out delicious. This was seriously the perfect salad for summer. It was light and refreshing, and honestly I couldn't tell it was kale. A couple things to note though: I only used half a lemon, and it was still border line too lemony. I'd recommend adding the lemon last, and tasting as you go until you get it how you like it. Fresh parm is pricey. So i used the pre-grated. Definitely lost health points, but cest la vie. Lastly pine nuts are also pricey. However, they totally make the salad. Don't skip out on those, just try not to eat them all before you're done making the salad.

Bon Appetit!

Source

Melt in Your Mouth Kale Salad (adapted from Food Babe)

You'll Need:

• 1 bunch of kale rinsed and patted dry
• 1/3 C currants or chopped raisins (I used raisins)
• juice of one lemon (see note above)
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 t local honey
• 1/2 C pine nuts toasted
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 T freshly grated parm cheese (see note above)

Directions:

1. In a food processor, chop up kale
2. Make Dressing: stir honey, olive oil, s & p, and lemon juice in a bowl
3. Add kale, currants/raisins, pine nuts, and parm to the bowl with dressing
4. Toss and Serve

One month with Parker

Well technically it's past the one month mark, but better late than never right?

Bringing home baby number 3 was much easier than bringing home baby number 1 or 2. She adds minimal chaos compared to two older sisters that are like tornadoes running through the house. I'm trying to soak in as much summer as I can because once winter hits and there's no playing outside to burn off excess energy we might be in trouble.

So far my darling Parker has been just as sweet as she can be. Eats well, and sleeps well (for the most part). We're usually up only twice at night, and I'm thankful for that. If there's one thing you'll learn dear girl it's that your Mama can be a real grouch if she doesn't get enough sleep (just ask your Dad I'm sure he'd be more than happy to fill you in). Girlfriend loves to be held - usually by her Mama. And that's just fine with me. I'm relishing this stage as all Mama's know you blink and it's over.

This time around I've been a total hermit. I really don't like going anywhere. I'm perfectly content staying in my pajamas all day and watching an entire season of GG. Thank goodness for Netflix. (What you don't do that?) Once school starts here in a couple weeks and I'm at work before you know it it's going to be Christmas. So I'll take a lazy summer as long as I can stretch it out.

Miss P -
You have brought so much joy to our little family. You're a third little clone of me, and your dark locks are already turning blonde like your sisters. You hate tummy time, and usually end up falling asleep (if only that worked for adults too). You love to eat, and have transitioned to bottles with Dad while I work very well, and he's especially glad for that. Your older sisters adore you (piece of advice - milk that for all it's worth while you still can!). I'm pretty sure I've taken way too many photos of you snuggling, but it's the closest I can get to freezing time. I want to remember the way you hold my finger with your little fist, they way fit perfectly in my arms, and of course that sweet baby smell. You're incredibly stubborn (wonder where you get that from?) and I secretly love that little fact. I can't wait to watch your personality develop and watch you give your sisters a run for their money. The older I get, the quicker time passes. So I'm determined to make every day matter, even it seems rather ordinary.

Love always,
Your Mama


Sorry there hasn't been many pics in these posts - but if you want to see some picture overload look at FB or Instagram (@ejt625).

Introducing Parker Mae Thibault

Well you know what they say, you make plans and God just laughs. Our sweet baby #3 made her debut on her own terms, and threw us all for a loop - but we couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Parker Mae into our family! It might be over a month later, but here's the story of her grand entrance into the world (before I forget :)




I was originally scheduled for a C-section on July 1, but my darling girl had other plans. Wednesday June 25th was my birthday and for the last couple weeks I had not been feeling well. I had a gut instinct that told me she was going to come early, but I just chalked it up to wishful thinking - I was definitely ready to be done being pregnant. But, I am not one to let my birthday go by without celebrating, so my sisters, Matt, Gabe and the girls all took me out to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate. I may not have been able to have the margarita I desperately wanted, but if I couldn't I sure as hell was going to indulge in dessert. We got home and everyone went to bed.




I sat up for awhile going over the weekend. I had elaborate plans in my head of how to spend our last weekend as a family of 4, to spoil the girls before their world was turned upside down. I finally drifted off to sleep around midnight. I woke up around 1am, to go to the bathroom, which was no surprise. However I was feeling really uncomfortable but again, brushed it off as Braxton hicks contractions. They slowly were getting worse, closer together and were no longer uncomfortable but downright painful. About a half an hour later I finally woke up the Mr. and told him I thought it was time. Since it was the middle of the night we tried to wait a little bit in case it was a false alarm we didn't want to freak anyone out. By 2 am I knew it was go time. The Mr. was attempting to time contractions, but there was basically no pause between any of them it was like one long contraction that just wouldn't end.




Luckily I am a planner, and have had my hospital bag packed since about 34 weeks - and I just knew she was coming early. We finally got ourselves ready to go, and called my sister. We're incredibly thankful that she not only answered, but could take off work that day to watch the girls. After that we woke up Gracen and Hadley and let them know they were about to have a baby sister! I couldn't wait any longer, so the Mr. drove me to the hospital first and then dropped off the girls.




As soon as I got to the hospital, the nurse knew it was go time before I could really even speak. She got my a wheelchair and brought me straight up to the prep room. I was already at a 4, and just waiting for the anesthesiologist and the on call doc. The Mr. finally arrived, and this was about when I started to panic. I was in lots of pain and super uncomfortable but was so wired up for monitoring they wouldn't let me get up and move around. Panic ensued and I couldn't breath. They put me on oxygen and the nurse finally gave me something to stop the contractions. My surgical team finally arrived and wheeled me into the OR. Before I knew it she was here! Pink, screaming and perfectly healthy. At 4:25 am 8 lbs 4 oz, she was my smallest baby. They placed her on my chest as they sewed me up and finally brought us back to the recovery room.




As for a name we couldn't decide. We had been debating for months, and the Mr. definitely had his favs and I was dead set on one name - that unfortunately he hated. He pulled out our name list from back when we were deciding on Gracen's name, and we finally landed on Parker Mae.




Fortunately this was my easiest recovery! I spent a wonderful 4 days in the hospital with the most amazing nurses and snuggled with my sweet babe. My wonderful sisters spoiled the girls and took care of everything on the home front and brought them to visit everyday.




I can't believe how quickly the time has already gone by. We've been incredibly blessed with a sweet babe that eats well, sleeps well, and completes our family. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for our friends that have spoiled us with meals, and yummy desserts.




Welcome home my darling girl! I can't wait to see what the world has in store for you - or what you have in store for it!

A must read for every prego (or even if you're not)

Since becoming a Mom, the importance of nutrition just keeps climbing higher and higher on my list of parental priorities. It's kind of funny, because most Mom's become more laid back with each additional kid they have, but I am the total opposite. With each kid I get more and more uptight. It doesn't really help that the older I get the more of a control freak I get, but we can just save that topic for another day :)

When I was pregnant with Gracen I really did not pay attention at all to my eating. I was more focused on surviving the pregnancy (yes I know I'm dramatic). Granted I had a very difficult pregnancy with her including low fluids, a breach baby and bed rest, but still I thought as long as I took my vitamins everyday I was good to go. With Hadley I had started cooking from scratch more, and since I was feeding a toddler, meal time in our house had drastically changed - for the better. However I still didn't place as much emphasis on nutrition as I probably should have.

Fast forward 4 and half years (holy cow how has it been 4 and a half years?!) And this time around with a million mommy blogs, food blogs, and Google in general at my fingertips, I feel like I'm much more informed than I ever was. I would call myself half a hippie. With so much information on the ol interwebs, I feel like I'm making better decisions every day - like growing my own food in a garden not only to save money, but so I'm 100% sure what goes on it. Not to mention my obsession with coconut oil (especially while prego - amazing moisturizer for my ever expanding bump, naturally helping protect against stretch marks!). Seriously it's a miracle. It's my windex! (My Big Fat Greek Wedding anyone?) Got a problem? Get the coconut oil. My other recent obsessions include apple cider vinegar (with the Mother) and organic gelatin. Amazing. Let me know if you're interested I would love to bombard you with information :)

 

 

Organic ACV found here



Organic Gelatin found here

But anyways, on to the must read! I found this book through one of the blogs I read, and immediately put it on the top of my list in my Kindle. It TOTALLY BLEW MY MIND. Basically you can forget everything you ever thought you knew about food. The science behind food is FASCINATING. I seriously read this in one sitting. I have just about every other page bookmarked, it has that much incredible information. This book totally changed a lot of my views on food. Not just because it's "bad for you" or it's the latest "food fad" but because it proves exactly how your body uses food, how we're educated about food, and the saddest part - how backwards the US is regarding food and nutrition.

 

Read a preview on Amazon here

It's geared towards pregnant women, but there is a TON of info that's beneficial just in general for women. Let me know if you read it - I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

20 Week Update and a PSA

Officially hit the half way mark today! While I do feel like this first half has gone by really quickly, really only the last 6 have gone by fast. The first 14 were awful with morning (all day) sickness. The next 20 weeks seems like an eternity, so I’m hoping they go by just as quickly. The girls ask at least once a day if it’s time for the baby to come out yet J  Oh, and everyone who told me i looked small at 16 weeks, go ahead and tell me again, because I have definitely "popped". Mama is starting to feel like a whale.

 

I’ve been feeling much better nausea wise, but I still get terrible headaches and am just overall exhausted. Every morning is a battle to get out of bed. Honestly I’m not entirely sure how I’ve already had 2 babies (and technically this is my 5^th pregnancy). Insomnia has also hit, but only in spurts. I usually head to bed around 9 at the latest, but it takes me good hour or two to actually fall asleep. The past few weeks I’ve been waking up around 2 am, and am up until about 5. Guess I’ll be fully prepared for those sleepless nights ahead! Although it’s a lot more bearable with an actual baby!

And just in case you’re a hermit and didn’t see on FB or Insta we’ll be welcoming one more princess into the world! A lot of people asked if we were disappointed, and while I understand where they’re coming from, all we wanted was a healthy baby! And really I think the Mr. is glad I won’t go crazy buying all new boy stuff ;)

I will tell you however it’s incredibly difficult to name a 3^rd girl. We’ve barely begun the name discussion, but already it’s proving to be hard. The Mr. and I have very different taste in names, and it was hard enough to name 2 already. So any suggestions please send them my way, otherwise this baby could be born and still not have a name. I guess it’s a good thing I still have 5 months to go!

One more last little tidbit, and PSA on behalf of all prego women really (or most of them). DO NOT TOUCH A PREGNANT WOMAN’S STOMACH. I know that some women are ok with it, but I am definitely NOT. It is not ok. And honestly my gut reflex is to punch you in the nose, and no I won’t apologize. If you’d like to ask permission, go ahead, but the answer will always be no. And most of the mommy to be’s I have asked all say the same thing – DO NOT TOUCH THE BUMP. Thanks J

Valentine's Day Special!

We just added some adorable new onesies and pink headbands to our etsy shop, perfect for Valentine's Day!! We're also running a special on our shipping, so head on over and check it out :)
www.etsy.com/shop/plaidandpaisleyshop

I'm not going to lie, the pink glitter one is my fav!! But they're all perfect for a little princess!

I love monograms, and I also love glitter if you couldn't tell! And the paint splatter onesie is definitely one of my new favs! www.etsy.com/shop/plaidandpaisleyshop

16 Weeks

Yesterday I officially hit the 16 week mark, and of course posted our announcement via FB. If it was up to me, I would have just waited until the peanut was born, and kept it all to myself. After 2 misscariages you don't want to jump the gun to early, and I kept saying after my next appt. I'll tell everyone.

Because of my history, I had a sonogram at my first appt. which was 5 weeks and 5 days. It was kind of a shock to hear the doctor say, ok so this is your 5th pregnancy. Still kind of crazy to think about. I read a lot about women struggling with infertility and the heartbreking journey that it is, but it's very rare you hear about anyone struggling after having 2 healthy babies. Who am I to be so heartbroken? I should be thankful to have my 2 healthy babies - which of course I am! But it still doesn't make the sting of a misscarriage any less. So at that first appt, she let me know that since you can't hear the heartbeat that early we would do a sono, and even with a sono we might not be able to see the heartbeat either.

But we've got an overachiever on our hands, and at 5 weeks, 5 days I saw that little heartbeat. And for just a moment, time stopped. And I soaked it all in. It seems like so long ago, and yesterday at the same time.

If you know me at all, you also know that I am not one of those women who I enjoy being pregnant. In fact I hate it. I was literally sick as a dog for the first 14 weeks, which made it incredibly difficult to hide, at least to me. I kept blaming it on the cold weather. See winter is good for something! My dear husband deserves a freaking medal, because besides going to work everyday I pretty much was useless. I would go straight to bed after getting home, because everything made me want to throw up. The worst part? I was taking my finance management class that whole time. I am really amazed that I survived, because let me tell you I cried. a lot. It was by far the hardest class I've ever taken, and had to do so while basically having the flu the.entire.time. The holidays? they were no help. At Thanksgiving I was only 8 weeks, and hadn't told anyone. The smells were indescribable. The car ride? Pure torture. I pretty much slept the whole time. Christmas was a little better, only because I had my 12 week appt. on the 23rd, and so after hearing that sweet heartbeat for the first time, I finally agreed to at least tell our family. I was so sick, and was a real grinch pretty much the whole month of December - again somebody give my husband a medal!

By week 14 I was at least getting my appetite back, but traded in horrible morning sickness for pure exhaustion and massive headaches. I told you I'm not one of those women who like being pregnant :)

After my 16 week appt on Monday and hearing that heartbeat one more time, I finally decided to let everyone know, that there's no need for a double take, I didn't eat too much over the holidays, just eating for two!

And while a few people commented I looked tiny (thank you!), that's only due to horrid morning sickness for 14 weeks. But don't worry I'll make up for it soon, both my girls were 9 lbs when they were born!

So for now, I'm literally counting down the days until July, and soaking up the few perks that come along the way!