A Night Out.

Saturday night something special happen. Andrew's band was playing in town for a Relay For Life benefit event and I was able to attend. I haven't gone out to a show, without children, in close to three years. It was so nice to be able to have a couple hours with only adults. I was able to relax, regroup, and clear my mind. This was all made possible because my in-laws offered to watch Amar'e, and Damien was at another birthday party that was a sleepover too! Win-win. I am so thankful! It was unusually warm for this time of year. When I left the show my car said it was 57 degrees outside, and it was 10 at night. I couldn't believe it! It was really nice to see Andrew play as well. I think he is great guitarist and miss being able to see him play at shows. Most of his shows are in Maine. This is what my night out looked like...

 Cute little wedding area we frolicked around. He looks mad, but he is just tired. He is so handsome.

 Band shot.

I had a great time!

What's Cook'n-Homemade Vegan Ramen Noodles

I don't know anyone who doesn't like Ramen noodles. Nutritionally they are probably the worst food on the planet. Essentially, it's noodles in a chemical bath, but for some reason they are loved by all. Well, being vegan, Ramen Noodles is not an option for us. I am not bummed by this at all because I came up with a much more nutritional, possibly healthier vegan version. One day I was nursing Amar'e to sleep and the recipe just came to me. I tried it and everyone loved it. Now its a weekly occurrence for this family. Here it is:

Homemade Vegan Ramen Noodles
Ingredients:
1 Onion
2 Cups of broccoli
1 Cup of baby carrots
2 tablespoons of olive oil (to saute in)
5-6 Cloves of garlic
3 Green onions
3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Package of china noodles
2 Container of vegetable stock or broth

Chop all the veggies, dice the garlic and the green onions.

Saute carrots first for one minute.

Add onions(and broccoli) and saute for about six minutes. This time I made it, I did not include broccoli because I didn't have it.

Add garlic and stir.

Once you can smell the garlic a bit (10-30 seconds take care not to burn the garlic), then you can add your veggie stock or broth. I use both depending on which store I am able to get to for shopping.

Bring soup to a boil and add the broken up china noodles. Boil for three minutes. (This is what it looks like with broccoli)

Add chopped up green onions and stir. Remove from heat.

Serve.

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I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Fryeburg Fair 2012

I cannot explain how much I look forward to the Fryeburg Fair every year. I live for this fair. This year's trip was the first trip to the fair for Amar'e. Damien has been a handful of times so this is nothing new for him, although he enjoys it just as much as me. This year there was an extra special treat because we got to see Jo-Dee Messina in concert. For those of you who don't know, we are big country music fans. This concert was included in the admission we paid to get into the fair. This was just plain awesome through and through....

Horse pull. These horses are amazingly strong. You would have to be strong to pull this:





Waiting for Damien's pizza. Damien is not vegan, although when he is home he does eat vegan.

Jo-Dee Messina. Great show. Its been a while since I've seen a live show and I really enjoyed it. Amar'e and I danced the entire time.



The fair took a lot out of these two for sure. Sleep tight my sweets.

Looking forward to the 2013 Fryeburg fair!



The Universe Delivered

Last weekend my family attended a wonderful little girl's fifth birthday party. It was awesome for both Damien and Amar'e. Damien got to shoot some hoops because the party was held at a recreation center. Amar'e got to interact with other children, which is a rare occurrence for her. We don't know many people that have children her age and are able to get plan a play date. It is one of my goals to change this and either rekindle an old connection or make a new one for the sake of my sanity, and for Amare's social skills. But this party brought more than just a afternoon of fun. Recently, Andrew and I came to the conclusion that Amar'e was ready for a toddler bed. Now, don't let this fool you, she has been co-sleeping since birth but the thought is if she had her own little bed she might rather sleep there. So the search was on. I cruised Craigs List, I looked on Facebook's free-cycle, and I put it out there via word of mouth as well. I knew I wanted it to be wood and not plastic, and I also knew that if I could help it, I didn't want pink, and second hand would be the ideal. A few weeks went by and nothing really happened. I shot out a few emails on CL and no answer. Does anyone ever respond to their email on CL? I have never recived a response from any email I have ever sent out on CL. Hhhhmmmm.....Anyway, I knew that the toddler bed would happen soon but I would have never guessed it would have arrived at the birthday party. The conversation went something like this:

Gifter: "I was scanning the room and saw that you have the youngest child here. Do you need a toddler bed?"
Me: "Are you kidding?! We are looking for one!"
Gifter: "Ya, our little boy isnt using it anymore and we would love to give it to you for your little one. Someone gave it to us and maybe when you are done with it you can pass it on too."
Me: "Yes for sure. I will absolutely take it! Wait, is it wood?"
Gifter: "Yes, its a beautiful dark finish"
Me: "YES! YES!YES!" Should I pick it up after the party?"
Gifter: "Where do you live, we have to go out anyways and we can drop it off to you. I will be so happy to just get it off my porch. This is exciting for me to because I get my porch back!"
Me: "Thank you so much, I live......."

The universe delivered and I am extremely grateful for this. I plan on passing it on when Amar'e is done with it to keep this good karma going (unless there is another little one that comes along to use it after she is too big for it).

To the gifters: I want you to know that we are extremely greatful for this wonderful gift you gave us! We couldn't be more thankful! xoxo

Thank you universe!

♥ Desiree

Amar'e, birthday girl Kennah daughter of Kliff, and a little bit of Damien. All the picture of Damien came out blurry because he wouldn't stop moving.

Party!

Finding a quiet place to nurse.

All of the happenings above resulted in this (toddler bed). Amar'e is so excited!
♥

 Wild hair on a wild child.

 

Carving Pumpkins for Riverfire

Riverfire is a fun event where the boom piers on the Androscoggin River are lit on fire. It is truly a sight to see. They also give away free pumpkins so the community can carve them and bring them back for the event. All the jack-o-laterns are lit and put on display along the walking bridge. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. It can not be described in words. You can see how much fun we had preparing our pumpkins for Riverfire and making pumpkin seeds.....

Unfortunately, Damien missed this because he had a birthday party to attend. But, we have two more pumpkins that need to be carved this year and he will surely be around for that!

Library Time

I have to be honest, I have been slacking a bit with our library routine. The last set of books we got we had for over a month. I didn't let them become overdue, instead I called when they were due and had them renewed. I plan on staying on track as much as I can, because it is extremely exciting getting new books to read to Amar'e. I probably look forward to it more then she does. I am still reading "Bring Up Bebe", and plan on finishing it in the next week or so. Take a look at our choices:

 Halloween books for Amar'e

 Great choices by Andrew

Mama's picks

Happy reading everyone.

Lately.

Moments that have moved me lately.

This tree blew me away.

Using my shirt as a scarf.

Being silly.

Bringing the outside in. I love these two.