Bad Mommy Moments

I have come to realize that nothing will make me feel like a crappy mama faster than a recalcitrant toddler on a weekday morning when I'm trying to get everyone out of the house and to daycare and work on time. Most of the time I adore parenting my toddler and spending time watching him grow, learn, and discover the world. Monday morning when I'm already behind because I'm struggling to get back in the work day routine and Dude-y is too tried and cranky to be cooperative as far as just getting dressed and out the door makes my blood boil. I try pleading, begging, bargaining, bribery, and eventually resort to screaming, shoving clothes on him, and usually dragging him out of the house kicking and screaming with no shoes on. It's not a pretty sight and I feel terrible watching him melt down, scream, and cry. I try so hard to model calm. Most days I can do it even when he's not willing to work with me, but some days are just too much for both of us.

Cheesy Apple Scrambled Eggs

This morning I was attempting to make eggs in a basket with a leftover Kaiser roll.  Unfortunately, the circles fell apart long before eggs got into them.  Fortunately, this problem led to some yummy inspiration.  Below is the recipe.  This is mostly an eyeball recipe since I was just using what I had lying around.

You'll need the following:

• 1 Kaiser roll cut in half and then into cubes
• 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• about 1/2 cup of chopped apples (I used granny and gala)
• 4 eggs
• pinch of sea salt
• about 2 tablespoons of milk
• about a 1/3 of a bag of shredded cheese.

Start by melting half of the coconut oil on a skillet or in a pan.  Put the roll chunks on to start browning them.  Once they start to get crispy, add the apples and the rest of the coconut oil.

Bread and apples browning.

As the bread and apples continue to brown, crack the eggs into a large bowl.  Add pinch of salt and milk.

Eggs, milk, and salt.

Whisk eggs, salt, and milk until well mixed.

Whisked eggs.

Now add cheese.

Adding cheese to eggs.

Mix cheese until well blended.

Egg and cheese mixture.

Pour mixture over apples and bread.  Stir around to make sure all bread is well coated.

Adding eggs to skillet with apples and bread.

Continue to scramble until eggs are well cooked.

Fully cooked eggs, cheese, apples, and bread.

Serve warm and enjoy!  It was a hit with my husband, son, and mother-in-law.

Meanings in Names

I want to spend a little time talking about the meaning behind the name of my blog. I ended up deciding that I wanted something that describes me and a little bit about what my blog would be about but not lock me in too much. Something that I could be flexible with and didn't have to write about only one part of my life. With all that in mind Green Mama Katie was born.

I'll break down each part of the name and explain the meaning behind it.

The easiest part to start with is the Katie part of the blog. It is simply my nickname. It is not my legal name but it is the name my mother gave me. It has always been my name since she decided that that was what my nickname would be. If you know me, you call me Katie.

The next easiest part to explain is Mama. I chose it because I am now a mother. It is what I often refer to myself as to my son. It was his first name for me. I also like the sound of it.

The last part I'm going to explain is probably the most complicated, the most detailed, and tells the most about me. If you were to guess that it had something to do with being Earth friendly you would be correct, but that is only part of it. I do care about the environment and I do care about making a difference. However, Green is also my favorite color. The color means a lot to me. Some of my favorite things are also green. Vegetables, frogs, snakes, emeralds, and many other things. Green means a lot of things to me as well. I'm part Irish. My husband's birthstone is the emerald. Green also represents new life and growth for me. It represents nature and a sense of peace.

Emerald earring in my ear.

All combined, these names represent who I am and what I want this blog to be about. I hope you enjoyed finding out a little more about me. If you have any questions, let me know. I'll be happy to answer them.

Katie's Chicken Stroganoff (from scratch)

The original inspiration for this dish comes from my mom. I have no idea where she got it from, but it was always one of my favorites. Over the years, I've experimented with making it from scratch without the canned cream of whatever soups as I've worked to get back to basics and green up my life. Recently I made a Danish meatball dish (found here) that helped me come up with a better way to make the base sauce. So here is my recipe with yummy pictures below:

Cream Sauce Base Ingredients:
1/2 lb of butter
1/4 arrowroot powder or flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
11/4 cups milk
1tsp paprika (feel free to add more)
Salt to taste

Stroganoff Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 medium to large onion (I usually just use what I have)
6-8 large white mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
Cream base from above
8 oz or so chicken (I used canned since I don't have a lot of time with an 18 month old)
16 oz sour cream
1 bag of egg noodles
Paprika

First, start boiling your water for the noodles. You will cook and drain according to packaging.

Combine milk and broth in a liquid measuring cup. Start melting the butter for cream base in small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Once butter is melted for sauce, whisk in arrowroot powder till smooth. Begin slowly adding milk and broth mixture to the small sauce pan and keep whisking until thickened (this takes a long time, but I promise it will thicken). Once thickened stir in salt to taste and paprika, then set aside.

Roughly cut the onions and slice the mushrooms into slightly thick but not too thick slices. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Throw onions into large skillet and begin sautéing, I like to add more paprika to the veggies while they sauté. Once the onions are mostly clear, add in mushroom slices and sauté until mushrooms are well cooked. Add the chicken and the cream sauce. Stir together and heat for a few minutes. Then add your sour cream, stir until blended, and heat for a few more minutes.  At this point I throw the sauce and noodle into the big stock pot I cooked the noodles in and stir everything until combined. Dish out and garnish with paprika and enjoy!

Thickened cream sauce base before adding paprika

Mushrooms and onions sautéing

Mushrooms and onions cooked down and ready for the next step

Adding the cream sauce to mushrooms and onions

All mixed together

Plated and garnished on little dude-y's plate

I hope you all enjoy this recipe.  It's not low fat, low cal, or anything like that but it i mostly made from scratch and uses REAL food.  My little one seems to like it as much as his momma does. ;-)

Summer Blog Challenge Day 14 - June 14-- Give your followers 15 tipstoget through life.

Today I'm supposed to give you 15 things to get through life.  I'm no expert, but here are some things that have worked for me:

1. Breathe!  No matter what, stopping to breathe always helps. Yoga is great for helping to concentrate your mind on your breath.
2. Take time for yourself. Recharging helps you help others.
3. Do your homework. It really pays to research things beforehand so you can make better decisions in the moment. This includes everything from becoming a parent, to buying cars and houses, and almost everything else.
4. Go with your gut. So, do your research, but listen to your instincts. They usually won't steer you wrong.
5. Change your oil in your car regularly.  It will save you a lot of headache.  I know, I've been there!
6. Don't care about what others think.  This is a hard one for me, but I've been improving.
7. Moderation is a good thing, but don't forget to let loose every now and again.
8. Follow the 80/20 rule for food.  80% of the time eat well and balanced meals, enjoy the other 20%.  Oh, and remember that we are NOT designed to eat 24/7.  The media and food companies have convinced us that we must eat every 2-3 hours, 6 times a day or our metabolisms will come to a screeching halt!  This is so not true.  Frequent eating is for babies, children, and (perhaps) pregnant and nursing women.  Our parents and grandparents ate 2-3 meals a day with maybe a light snack and they were far less overweight than we are.
9. No one is perfect.  Yes, even me and you! Give ourselves a break and watch how everyone flourishes.  (I swear I try George!)
10.  Don't judge.  You never know what the other person can handle, where they've been, what their values are, and exactly who they are on the inside. I try and try and try on this one.  Some days I'm better at this than other days.
11. Loose the guilt.  If you did something you didn't like, take note and work to do differently the next time.  Guilt won't help you move ahead and will only keep you stuck.  And no self punishing!
12. Love your body.  Love it exactly as it is.  Love what it can do and what it's done.  Stop looking for the flaws and admire the beauty and strength.  And move that body!  It was meant to MOVE!!! It will do wonders for you, your children, and your relationships if you can be comfortable in your own skin and love your body.
13. Don't compare yourself to others.  Do improve yourself, but only compare yourself to yourself.  You are not your spouse/partner, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, neighbor, coworker, enemy, etc.  You are you and if we were all the same it would be one boring place.
14. Expand your horizons and push your limits.  Read a different kind of book, try a new food, travel to a new place, try a new exercise or activity, or anything else new and/or challenging.  You might just surprise yourself. ;-)
15. Finally, laugh, play, and enjoy the little things!

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 13 - June 13-- How you see yourself by theend of the year.

I don't know quite how to answer this one. I do tend to plan ahead and have vague dreams for the future, but the older I get, the more I find it beneficial to take everything one day at a time. I'm trying to live in the now and not worry so much about what ifs and where I should or shouldn't be in 6 months, a year, ten years, etc.

I'm much less anxious this way and I find myself catching the magic of each day more. I'm not saying I want to blow all my money and not care about the security of my future. I just find that if I think too much about all the details, I miss the now. I do want to have started graduate school by the end of the year, but otherwise I'm enjoying the ups and downs of the journey too much to plan too much.

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 11 - June 11-- Best day of your life.

Hmmmm.... Best day of my life? I don't think I could pick just one. Honestly it's probably 3 or 4 best days of my life.

The first would have to be the day my husband asked me to go "steady" with him. No, we are not 60 years old. It was June 29th, 2000 and I was between my sophomore and junior years at college. We were supposed to go to the shore, but my husband had a terrible sinus infection. I went over to his place to take care of him. He was so touched, he asked me to "go steady" with him. Yes, he really did say that.

The next would have to be our wedding day. It was a gorgeous day in early May. I made him cry with my vows. It was so sweet. We had a splendid time celebrating with friends and family. We spent the night in a hotel far from our guests and talked about our dreams as newlyweds.

The third, by far, was the day I found out I was pregnant. We had tried for so long with no luck. We were both adamant about not wanting to pursue IVF, but had just started to consult with a fertility doctor for testing and minimal assistance. Turned out we didn't need any. I got pregnant while we were being evaluated. I found out on a Thursday. It was Veterans Day and we were off from work. My husband took the car to the dealer and I slept in. I only tested because I was off and I had realized the day before that blue cheese tasted rotten (I LOVE blue cheeses!) and I had NO symptoms unlike every other cycle. I took the test and walked away as I just expected it to be negative. Imagine my shock when I walked back in and saw a very faint pink line!!! I immediately grabbed the test, drove to Target to get something that said daddy (it was some baby towels), wrapping stuff, and headed to the car dealer. My husband was definitely confused when I showed up there. When he finally came out to the car and opened the present, all he could say was, "Are you sure?" After buying and taking three more kinds of tests, including a digital one, it finally sunk in for him and he was just as thrilled!

The fourth day for me was the day I finally met my son. It was such an awesome feeling to see his tiny little face and hold him in my arms after the many months of him growing inside me. He really did look so much like his ultrasound pictures from about 20 weeks before. Hearing him cry for the first time was just amazing. Holding him and inspecting his tiny fingers and toes was just so very awesome. Realizing that he was our son was the best feeling in the world.

I look forward to many more best days with both my husband, son, and any future children (most likely just one more even though my husband jokes about twins!).

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.