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Breakfast of Champions

Am I seriously blogging about breakfast? Why, yes. Yes I am.

You see, people on Facebook seem to care about what I'm eating. I'm not really sure why. But they do. Whenever I post a picture of what we're eating, someone inevitably asks for the recipe. While I'm no culinary expert, I do prepare somewhere in the realm of 1000 meals per year, so I guess you could say I've got a little bit of cooking under my belt.

Anyway, I thought instead of just posting a recipe, I would also post pictures since I know how much I appreciate pictures when I'm preparing a meal. And we all know how well this works for our Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman). People LOVE her. I LOVE her. And I also LOVE her kitchen.

*swoon*

My kitchen isn't nearly as pretty to look at (or as clean, mind you), but here we go anyway...

This is my Breakfast of Champions. Or something like that.

Start out with 3 eggs, a handful of spinach, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 brat (err...your choice of meat), garlic, avocado, cheese, and of course...butter. I don't cook anything without butter.



Mmm, I love butter.

Throw a few tablespoons in a non-stick pan (I like my wok-like pan. Say "wok-like" 5x fast.) and turn the burner to medium. Then grate up your carrot and chop your spinach, onion, and meat.



(A brat just happens to be what I had in my fridge. Don't judge.)

Your butter should be all melted now so swirl it around and throw in your chopped goodies.



Let 'em saute in there for about 5 minutes until they are lovely and mushy and then throw in some garlic. (I'm lazy and I buy the minced garlic, but feel free to chop your own if you're so inclined.)



As you're getting ready to put in your eggs, notice that two small humans have suddenly awakened and are hungry. Get out 6 more eggs and add all 9 to the pan. Swirl those around and consider how much less yummy meat you're now going to be eating thanks to the arrival of those small hungry humans.



Scramble up that yummy goodness and top it with shredded cheese. I prefer colby jack, but if you're more a cheddar person or a swiss person, I imagine that'd be good too.



Now here comes the really fun part. Pull your eggs off the burner and cover with a lid. And if you're using a wok-like (wok-like, wok-like, wok-like, wok-like, wok-like) pan that doesn't have a lid, grab the largest lid you have and plan to just hang out there for a few minutes.



Or get really creative and use a spatula to prop the lid precariously on your wok-like pan.



You know, whatever suits your fancy.

Then chop up some avocado....



remove the lid....



and feast on the breakfast of champions (which you are now sharing with those small hungry humans)!

Cherish

As I swayed and bounced and bounced and shooshed, I considered how much he has grown already. My sweet baby boy is nearly 11 months old and I am in awe of the beauty of God's ultimate creation: babies.

Even though it was 5am, he had been awake for over an hour. I was trying to get some work done in my office, but his fussing had started to become more frequent and so I swooped in and rescued him from whatever the trouble was (teeth? earache? insomnia?) and just held him. He was so big in my arms, yet so tiny when compared to his four older siblings. As I held him, I thought of my friend Amy. Amy and I have never actually met, but she is a fellow photographer. She and her husband have two children who have been diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy, a progressive degenerative brain disorder with no known cure. I have spoken of their family in the past and even held a fundraising event for them once. Because they are expecting the worst at some point, yet hopeful for the best, they seem to have a clearer grasp than many on what is truly important in life. She always signs her blog posts with three simple words:

Hug your babies.

So often I forget what matters. I forget to stop and smell the roses with my kids. I forget that they are my priority. Their dreams are important. They need to hear "I love you" over and over again. They need attention, affection and a listening ear. So often I am too busy, too tired, too....whatever. And I miss those moments.

Don't miss those moments with your kids. Our children are the greatest tangible blessing the Lord will ever give us. Cherish them. Love them. Take time for them. Listen to them. And hug your babies tightly.

A Big Catch-Up Post: Newborn

I think this is the last "big catch-up post", since I've mostly been working with maternity and newborn clients this spring! Here are a few of the sweet babies I've seen lately.....

A Big Catch-Up Post: Maternity

I've been working on a big giant secret project (that I am SUPER stoked about!) since last fall and it's finally in the final stages and alllllmost ready to reveal, BUT...in the meantime...here are some of the images that are being used for this project. These are from two different ladies throughout the course of their pregnancies! :)

A Big Catch-Up Post: Janie & Jack

I was feeling kind of overwhelmed with all the blogging I've gotten behind on. (See this post.) And so instead of blogging each family individually as I usually do, I'm just throwing them all into a few posts and then I can breathe and start afresh! Soo....here goes...

Back in March (*gulp*) I worked an event at the Janie & Jack store at the Keystone Mall. It was a whirlwind 2 days of shooting and 2 days of proofing sessions! I enjoyed working outside my normal naturally lit studio or outdoors; everything was shot on white vinyl in a tiny 8x8 space with 2 studio lights squeezed in.

But enough chatter. Here are a few of the cuties I worked with!

Math Works

This morning my son came upstairs carrying the Children's Museum magazine and asking if the Hot Wheels exhibit was there yet. So we looked through the magazine and, using addition, subtraction, and multiplication, figured the following facts about when the Hot Wheels exhibit will arrive:

I noted that the exhibit will arrive on May 26th, so being lazy, at first we estimated that the exhibit would be there is approximately 3 weeks (or 21 days). But then, by using the date at the bottom of my computer screen, we discovered that it will be exactly 18 days, thereby learning that the exhibit will be there in less than three weeks. Then I drew a number line and we learned that the exhibit will arrive in 3 fewer days than 3 weeks. And that, if 2 weeks equals 14 days and 3 weeks equals 21 days, that 18 days is approximately 2 1/2 weeks. Then we talked about how 7 plus 7 plus 7 could also be written 7 times 3 with both problems equaling 21.

(Have I mentioned how much I love homeschooling?)

And then I took this picture of my 7 year old sporting a lovely edition of bedhead and wearing his size 5T pajama shirt, which he insists still fits him just fine.

I Wore Shorts

Several months ago I was out shopping when I happened upon a clearance pair of jean shorts. I have a love/hate relationship with shorts - mostly hate - and so, from time to time, I do glance upon them in the store but rarely to I buy them and never do I wear them.

. . . I used to wear shorts, actually. Back in the day. You know, before I carried five babies and gained an excessive (seemingly permanent) 35 lbs. And also before shorts were quite so short. Or maybe I just didn't care as much when I was younger. And then there's the added bonus that my legs are as white as a ghost. I used to get teased for that in high school and while I have sustained a few pretty bad sunburns over the course of my years, now I'm pretty glad that I never bothered to try to keep them looking tan (not that it would have worked anyway) with all the skin cancer being linked to tanning research that I've read . . .

But anyway, this pair of shorts was pretty cute. They were made of a suitable amount of fabric. And they were on clearance. And they were in my size. There were simply too many convenient coincidences to just pass it up. So I bought the shorts. And then promptly forgot about them until I found them in my closet a few weeks ago. I transferred them to my dresser drawer and figured they would just be another pair of shorts that I'd never wear.

But then yesterday happened. It was gorgeous outside. Sunny. Breezy. Perfect. And as I ran errands all over town with my munchkins, I spent the day in....jeans. It sounds stupid, doesn't it? Jeans are hot. And I don't mean sexy. They are literally HOT to wear when it's warm outside. But I wear them anyway, mostly because I have issues with my legs. When we returned home in the late afternoon, I decided to run through a Pilates video from Netflix. (I do this occasionally and I'm trying to make it more of a habit.) After I turned into a sweatbomb, I figured it would be best to shower. And after my shower, something weird happened.

I put on those shorts.

And after I put them on, I thought a tank top would be appropriate. And once I put on my tank top, I thought my outfit needed some earrings. And by the time I had fully dressed myself....

I felt good in my shorts.

What?! Crazy things are happening! And then something even more phenomenal happened....

I went to the store. In my shorts!

I know. Sit back and catch your breath if you must. Not only did I go to one store, but I went to three stores. IN. MY. SHORTS!

If this has all just gotten too out-of-control crazy for you, let me explain something about this day-I-wore-shorts story and why it's so significant to me. Remember that (seemingly permanent) 35 lbs. that I mentioned up there? Well, I've lost 9 of those (seemingly permanent) 35 lbs. in the past month. And while 9 lbs. isn't all that significant to some, I am currently at a weight which I have not weighed in the past THREE YEARS, at least. Probably five, but I don't have a record of my weight back that far. I have hesitated to blog about my weight thus far because I don't want to fall into poor habits and gain it back after having made a big deal out of it. But I decided to go ahead and mention it anyway. Perhaps because I think it will keep me on track if I have announced it the world. Or perhaps just because I am so excited about wearing shorts. But either way, here it is.

I am trying to make healthier choices in my life and I am excited to tell you that the first major boost to my self-esteem has been made in the department of.....wearing shorts. I'm not one to push self-esteem, but I do think it's healthy to view myself as a child of God, beautifully created in His image. And because I am the only mother my children have and the only wife my husband has, I better take care of myself. So I'm starting here.