As quickly as the nice weather came, it went! This AM we welcomed slushy frost - brrr!

My poor little girl. Somewhere in all this crazy weather she has acquired an ear infection! Though ear infections are popular among children, they say if your child is breast fed for at least 6 months, their risk of developing one is a lot lower. Well, Tatum was definitely breast fed, but somehow the little chick pea got one. *sigh* With a fever pushing 104, I took her to the doctor's office (one half hour before they closed!). At least they were able to give me a perscription for amoxicillin.

Also, just for you moms out there, there IS a fever suppository that is sold at Walmart. It is called "FeverAll" and each little suppository is 80mg (My little Tatum is 18 pounds and 7 months old). My kid for whatever reason, cannot take oral liquid tylenol. She throws it up every time, so when we found the suppository, it was definitely a God send!  Of course to get the oral Amoxicillin down I have to lay Tatum on her back with her head between my knees and slowly push it down the inside of her cheek. Thank God she has been getting it all down!

I absolutely cannot tolorate having a sick baby! It breaks my heart. We've been lenient with her sleeping schedule - trying to put her down every few hours.

She is recovering well :) Praise the Lord!

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They put a new tea store in the local mall here. Loose leaf tea. The husband and I absolutely love loose leaf tea. My husband and I just purchased some jasmine tea and it's pretty great. Tea in general is pretty great, and jasmine is no exception. It has a green tea or oolong base, and it has anti-carcinogenic properties, as well as relaxation properties. Jasmine tea also has a naturally sweet flavor (a little like drinking a honey suckle, if you've ever experienced that).

The husband and I took babers because we enjoy walking around without having to be outside in the cold. I also just happened to find a dress to wear to a friend's wedding this May. The fact of the matter is, this is a friend from school, and a lot of people I haven't seen for years will be there. I just want to look nice - you know how it is :) This dress is going to show off ample leg while still being tasteful. It's cream colored, and I found the perfect pair of Ivanka Trump Pumps to pair with it! I guess you could say that I'm "pumped." heehee.

More on that later. Stay healthy!

Take a Walk

Today the bunners (also known as Tatum, my 7 month old beautiful and lively daughter) and I took a 2 mile walk outside. This has been the warmest day of the year thus far, and with Spring ready to show it's face in two days, it was the perfect time to get a jump on our outdoor activity! The husband and I had also recently purchased a new all terrain stroller for just this occasion. It was a great walk. Here are some reasons for you to get off your duff this season and take a walk -

As a health care professional, I would not be doing my job if I didn't remind everybody of the benefits of a nice, brisk, daily walk outdoors. Medicine.net has a nice article about the benefits of walking, including a decrease in cases of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, symptoms of depression and promotes cognitive brain function as well as providing you with some vitamin D (helps absorption of calcium and phosphorus, also helps your immune system!).

It's also just plain nice to walk outside. I don't know if you're inner city, suburbs or country, but the benefits are all the same!

Soy Chorizo

I am Austrian/American and I married a Hispanic man. Meat is big in both cultures (is there any culture that meat is NOT big in? Certainly none of the forerunners in my mind!).  A lot of the vegan cooking I have been attempting has been to cater to the husband, who of course, loves the Mexican food with all the spices. 

I do not routinely shop at Walmart, especially for groceries, but what I found astounded me - soy chorizo! I didn't know that there was such a thing, and if there was, it wouldn't be at Walmart! That's what whole food stores are for, after all! Anyway, the chorizo was found with the salad items (just in case anybody is wondering where it can be found).

A lot of my vegan cooking thus far can best be described as a pinch of this, a slice of that, cook till it looks/smells good, and consume! With this chorizo I decided it would be best to eat with tortillas and tofu (you know, like a chorizo and egg breakfast burrito). So....I put about a TBSP of Olive Oil into a pan over medium heat, crumbled a 12-16 ounce package of extra firm tofu into the pan and let that simmer for a few minutes. Then I put in one link of the soy chorizo. I am an onion person, so I chopped up half a small yellow onion and tossed that in, cooking until the onion was translucent. After that I added whatever else sounded good! about 1/3-2/3 cup of black beans, 1/2 small tomato, about 2 TBSP of nutritional yeast flakes, a couple shakes of paprika and even a little garlic powder... 

Use a good flour or rice tortilla of choice, add some vegan cheese and avocado to the mix and you have a yummy breakfast. 

My husband absolutely loved it and told me to make it for his parents next time we get to see them (they are in Texas, we're in Pennsylvania!).

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On top of that wonderful discovery, I made another great discovery (non food related). I just purchased/watched the movie Rab ne bana di jodi and was totally blown away! I loved it! This is a Bollywood movie, but good luck finding it in your local blockbuster video. The only way I get my hands on a good indian DVD are if I go into an Indian shop or find one online.

Anyway, it was a movie my husband enjoyed as well. It's definitely a love movie, but it's not a "chick flick." It's clean, with all the music and dance one would expect from Bollywood

Rab ne bana di jodi trailer

Good times for the family! (and wonderful music)!

Thursday

Today I made a simple and yummy pasta dish I got off of Vegweb.com. Well, actually, it wasn't a PASTA dish, but a recipe for baked eggplant. A couple cups of pasta sauce, some nutritional yeast flakes, oregano, parsley, and basil over sliced eggplant (baked in over for 10 minutes) then spread over top of spaghetti tasted very yummy indeed! I also added some vegan cheese to it which created a great flavor....and what's best of all, I fed it to a non-vegan friend who enjoyed it :)

On a "cute" note, my 6 month old has figured out how to blow raspberries on skin. She is very smart. It's definitely interesting - learning how to be a parent. I love watching her figure things out. I suppose all proud parents believe that their child is the smartest or cutest, and the husband and myself are no different! My little girl is so adorable, and has a smile that will brighten anyone's day - and she really IS smart. Problem solving is one of her strong points, and I hope that she continues in that strength (even if it means a little more work on my part)!

Once I become more familiar with Blogger, I will have to post more pictures and become more interactive with the CSS and HTML.

Have a wonderful night everyone