under the weather + under the boardwalk

well, as you can guess from the title of this post

(or at least from part of it)

we've been under the weather this week,

battling a pretty nasty stomach bug

it started with Daniel on saturday

then by monday i fell victim to it

and today, the girlies seem like they're fighting something 

(hoping it's not the same thing we had, cause that was bad - we'd appreciate any prayers on that front!)

in the midst of all this sickie-chaos / whine-fest / mama-just-wants-her-coffee madness this morning, 

i looked up and thought to myself, 

"how is this week not over yet?!  i don't even think i can make it through today"

then i picked up my 50 promises stack and flipped to the next verse

as i reached out, i half heartedly thought to myself, 

"wouldn't it be ironic if the next verse was just what i needed to read?"

and of course, what do you think happened?

"do not be afraid; for i am with you.  

do not be dismayed; for i am your god.

i will strengthen you, i will help you, i will uphold you 

with the right hand of my righteousness."

my Jesus never fails

i'm so grateful for His help, the reminder of which i needed so badly this morning

and let's be honest, the morning didn't miraculously get better

the kids are still whining,

my head is still pounding,

my coffee is still barely sipped

BUT

i'm leaning on Him for strength to apologize to my kids when i'm short with them

or better yet, before i hit breaking point i am able to stop and say a little prayer

to ask for His help, His strength, His patience, His love, His kindness

***

on a {mostly} unrelated note,

sitting in bed while i was sick

gave me time to finish sorting through my phone pictures from our most recent day at the beach

this batch is mostly from under the boardwalk

there's just something magical about a space that's not always accessible

and just look at the crazy designs from the water's reflection on the wood planks...so cool!

i love it when the tide's out...and i love sharing these beautiful things with my munchkins (and you!)

beach days are the best days

happy friday, friends!

how was your week?

ours was great:

lots of playtime outside

(thanks to the {mostly} gorgeous weather we've been having)

a bit of baking 

(one of the girlies' favorite activities lately)

not that much sleeping

(story of my life - hah!)

and not one, but two beach days

(gotta take advantage of 'em while the weather's agreeable!)

and, as always, i had my handy-dandy phone in hand

to document my little explorers running wild and free...just the way it should be

honestly, guys, the world around us is so beautiful, i can hardly stand it

but i'll quit rambling and let the pictures do the talking

coconut cranberry orange muffins {paleo}

i've made these muffins a couple times in the past

and they've always been a hit

so it was no surprise that i decided to whip up a batch (or two!)

in an attempt to have something healthy to just "grab n go" 

while getting over our jetlag / battling hangry attacks earlier this week

i was a bit surprised, however, at how many people asked for the recipe

after i posted a picture of the finished product on my instagram and facebook

(plus a few who tasted them and really liked them!)

so this is for you, folks...and so that i don't have to google the recipe every time i want to make them too ;)

coconut cranberry orange muffins

grain / gluten / dairy / refined sugar free

wet ingredients:

6 tbsp coconut oil

4 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp pure vanilla

zest of 2 oranges 

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

(i used pink naval oranges)

dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups almond meal

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

"final" ingredients:
1 cup frozen unsweetened cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

unsweetened shredded coconut (optional - for topping)

instructions:

- place coconut oil in a small saucepan and melt over medium / medium low heat (remove from heat once melted through).  meanwhile, whisk your eggs in a large bowl and combine with the rest of your wet ingredients; don't forget to add your oil once it's melted!

- in a smaller bowl, measure out and mix your dry ingredients together*

- add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until well combined then fold in your final ingredients

- preheat your oven to 350* F (325* F if using a convection oven)

- while your oven is preheating, line a muffin tin with some baking cups (i like to make or use store-bought parchment paper cups...it kills me when i lose half my muffin to the wrapper!)

- fill each cup about 3/4 of the way up; you should use up about half your batter (the recipe makes 2 dozen muffins)

- sprinkle some unsweetened shredded coconut on top if desired (optional)

- pop in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes (about 20 for a convection oven), or until your muffin tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. after taking them out of the oven, leave them in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack

- enjoy!

p.s.  this is one of those rare cases where i stick fairly close to the original recipe,

so this is our version, but if you follow the link to the original, i'm sure they'll taste just as good

also, i'm thinking of making another batch (they went quick!), but ran out of cranberries

i do, however, have frozen raspberries and lemons...may just have to try that tweak and see which we like better!

*p.p.s. i got the girlies to dump and mix the measured out dry ingredients in a bowl - makes for a fun toddler activity, plus they get really excited to try foods that they "helped" make...as you can probably tell from the pictures.  just a tip for you other mamas out there!

vacation catch-up

hey guys!

our vacation is officially over today:

daniel is back to work, the house is littered with toys

and there are half unpacked bags in every corner

out time on st. george island was full of fun, sand, waves, seafood, late nights, laugher, etc.

oh and perhaps the most exciting part was when my sister in law got engaged!!!

it was such a sweet proposal 

her fiance is a total keeper

he was up half the night collecting shells to write "marry me kate" in the sand

so she could see it on their sunrise walk

plus he passed the twin test...like i said, he's a keeper

we got home halfway through saturday and spent the rest of the day battling jetlag...and napping

sunday wasn't much different

the girlies told me "happy you, mama" (translation:  happy mothers day),

we set up blankets in the living room to cuddle and watch frozen

(it scared one of them, and the other didn't have the attention span for the whole movie

....soooo we're probably shelving that one for a while)

then we napped some more,

skyped with daniel's parents 

(had to wish his mama "happy you" too! ;) )

and did a quick costco run to grab some essentials

(we were down to 2 diapers and almost out of coconut oil...crisis averted!)

after all that, we ran out to the backyard for some playtime before the sun went down

it was a beautiful end to our vacation

and now, on to "real life"

little moments

if you follow me on instagram, 

you'll know that i've been using the hashtag #almostfloridagram over the past couple of days

in order to document the moments leading up to our family vacation in florida

there's a small (ok, maybe not so small) part of me 

that is super sad that i take most of my pictures are on my phone these days, 

because with two toddlers, my "fancy" camera just doesn't come out as often as i'd like it to

on the other hand, 

i'm so thankful for my phone's picture-taking capabilities

because fancy or not, i've forever captured these moments that are so dear to me

like the fact that my girlies LOVE banana / plantain chips right now, 

(so we packed some for a travel snack)

the flip-flops they picked out all by themselves just for our trip,

a snippet from our last breakfast at home - a sweet, surprisingly calm time with my girlies

the last BC sunset before we took off:

it stopped me for a minute in the middle of the packing chaos

and reminded me to reflect on and be thankful for the beautiful place we get to call home, 

the chaos, our family that we get to go visit and the beach house we get to enjoy with said family

the good coffee i shared with my love as we kicked off our 17+ hour trek,

my girlies, being their goofy selves during our layover in Charlotte

these are the moments, the everyday, "boring" moments, that i want to remember
they are the reason i take photos
fancy camera or otherwise,
so that one day, i can look back at my photos and relive details of my life
and enjoy the big picture as well as the little moments that helped build it.

p.s. i've already started posting pictures of our time here in florida (#floridagram2014) 
if i have time, i'll try and share some of those on here, 
but if you want to make sure you see 'em,
hop on over and follow me on instagram!