Nacho Day Follow Up

So as promised, here is the follow up to my National Nacho Day post.

I did end up cooking Venison Nachos, and boy did they turn out amazing.

Two out of my three minions devoured it. Amusingly enough, it was the boys. My daughter did taste some of the venison but said that she did not like it. 

 

Now the "I do not like it." answer in my house does not fly. I can understand not liking something, but I require my minions to analyze why they do not like a food. I usually prompt them to answer about the texture, what tastes they are experiencing, the smell, and the color. This helps them to realize why they do not like certain foods, and it helps me to feed them balanced meals. For example my minions will eat broccoli. The oldest minion will only eat it raw because he does not like the texture of cooked broccoli. My middle minion will eat broccoli but only if it is seasoned a specific way. She has an issue with certain aspects of the taste of cooked broccoli. 

 

As for the venison, my middle minion said that it was a combination of the texture and the taste. I suspect it was still just a tab bit too gamey for her. My oldest minion just hummed and said that it tasted like steak to him. Wait until they try the venison burgers I have planned for later this week.

 

As always, feedback, questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome. Don't forget to follow the blog, and register your email address at the top of the page to have updates sent directly to your inbox so you never miss a post!  

Working Out Working Out Apps Edition

We all know why we need to work out. Working out, in addition to helping with weight loss, exercising releases endorphins  which help regulate sleep as well as help manage stress along with a bevy of other benefits.

As you can see from the image above there are so many reasons to exercise, and yet I still often times, lack the motivation to get moving. Or if I do start an exercising regiment, the lack of commitment to stick to it. I have often wondered why. I used to go running. I almost had myself down to an 11 minute mile, and I remember enjoying it. But as I have expanded my brood, my ability to reverse my inertia has dwindled.

Reine, a blogger and mother of two, I think explains me better than I ever could. In her article from 2013 she hits the nail on the head of why trying to fit a workout in when you have multiple children is so very hard. She points out and emphasizes the huge energy and time sink children can be. I love my minions but they are exhausting both physically and mentally. So even when I do have 'time' I usually just don't have the energy.

You can read Reine's full article here.

Looking into when to find time for a workout, the general consensus is for working moms to just schedule set workout times.

For me, my schedule (outside of work because that part is non-negotiable) is very fluid. It is constantly changing so scheduling specific times for working out just doesn't work for me.

Probably the best advice that I have found so far is to do short workouts (approximately 10 minutes). Keeping the kids distracted for 10 minutes at a time is much easier than trying to get a full hour work out at once.

Now down to business. For working out I have three main applications that I use on my phone to help keep me in line with staying fit. The first one is MyFitnessPal.

I was introduced to this app by my mother-in-law. I like using this app for calculating net calories on each day. It is compatible with FitBit, so if you have one MyFitnessPal will import your exercise data and keep track of it as well. MyFitnessPal will also share your food intake log with the FitBit app. This app is the best for tracking your food. Out of all the ones I have tried in the past, MyFitnessPal has the largest food library. That means 99% of the time, all I have to do to log my food is to just scan the bar code.

MyFitnessPal can also be accessed online by going to their website. It is also available on both the Apple App store as well as the Google Play store. This is a free app.














Another mobile app that I like for working out is the 30 day fitness challenge app by Jozic Productions.

This app breaks down the challenges muscle muscle groups and expertise level (mine is always beginner 1). After selecting your muscle group and expertise level it pulls up a calendar of 30 days.

Tap on the day you are on and your exercise list comes up. As you progress through the days of the challenge the number of reps and/or durations increase. The only thing I don't like about it is you can't skip a head to see what is scheduled on an advanced day. All days have to be done in order before the next is unlocked. Another reason I like this app, is because each set of exercise doesn't take too long to do and if they take longer than the 10 minutes I can get away with, I can always come back to finish the day's scheduled exercises when I can find another lull.

The full 30 day challenge app is available for download (for free) from the Google Play Store. For Apple users, you have to download each muscle group challenge individually. No worries they are also free.



My last app for exercising is a pedometer app. For me just about any pedometer app will do as long as it is fairly accurate with counting your steps. I had mentioned FitBit's app earlier in this post, and that is great for tracking steps and sleep cycles if you don't mind shelling out for the wrist bands. I have also tried the preloaded pedometer app on Samsung and it works really well also.

Right now, I am using a free app called Accupedo.

It is a simple app that records your height, weight, age, gender and steps to help calculate how many calories you have burned. It also calculates your speed and total distance.













There are a lot of neat features with this app, and since it is free, it is work checking out. Please note: I am not hyping this app up. I really like it, although there are many who report that the app will drain your battery. I have not experienced this as I have adjusted the setting for battery conservation, even though doing this can lower the accuracy of the step count.

This app is available for both Apple and Android devices on their respective app stores.

Wow, this post is getting a little lengthier than I first expected it to be. I will hold off on physical equipment and accessories I use for working out until later. Writing about exercising definitely has me feeling a little more motivated. Lets keep this up! I want to one day be able to successfully juggle everything in my life.

To Be Continued!

As always feedback, comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.
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National Nacho Day

Well this was news to me. I don't know how this snuck up on me.

I guess that does solve my question of what to cook tonight for dinner.

Instead of traditional beef or chicken nachos, I think I an going to try something a little more gamy.

How does Venison Nachos sound?

They are super easy. The venison will need to cook down a little longer in the taco seasonings to help break down the tough connective tissue that is pervasive in game meat.


Here is a recipe that I plan to start cooking from.

This recipe is courtesy of Cabin Cleaver.

In this recipe Cabin Cleaver cooked down pulled venison in BBQ sauce. I will keep this as the meat base and then add some taco seasonings to it. (ie: Cumin, Chili Powder, Paprika, Oregano, Sage, Onion powder, and garlic powder)

In Cabin Cleaver's recipe, he tops his nachos with green olives. To each their own, at one time, I would have done the same thing. Now after three pregnancies  with really bad morning sickness, I cannot stand them. So for my version I will have to omit them.

For the bell peppers, I have miniature sweet peppers. To bring out even more of their sweet flavor I will sauté them slightly until they get a little soft before adding them to the top of my nacho mound.

For the cheeses, I will be keeping the Monterey Jack Cabin Cleaver suggested, but I also added some shredded cheddar to the mix. Add Jalapeños to your heat preference.

Top everything off with some sour cream and  you have the best deer south of the border.


I will post a follow-up with pictures as well as whether or not I was successful in getting my minions to eat it.

Baby Blues and Mental Dues

We are going to break stride from light and funny here for a moment.

I want to spend a little time talking about a serious issue that is somehow still taboo. Mental illness and more specifically depression and postpartum depression.

I wonder why mental illness is something we have to keep locked away in the dark like some secret.
There is nothing wrong with mental illness. It is not something that we choose.
It is however something that we survive or live with. In many ways I think of it more like a physical illness, like cancer. And if cancer can be talked about in the open then why can't mental illnesses.

Carrie Fisher (aka: Princess Leia) has been speaking out against this stigma for years. She states "I am mentally ill. I can say that. I am not ashamed of that. I survived that, I'm still surviving it, but bring it on."

 Read the full article here.

I have struggled with depression for a really long time. I remember struggling with it back in the early 2000s while I was still in high school. Back then to be diagnosed with clinical depression one had to experience depressive symptoms 14 consecutive days. I never felt depressed for that long back then. For me my depression was always frequent but short depressive episodes. And so by that definition, I was just merely moody and not "depressed".

I suffered my first major depressive episode within the first year after Number 1 was born. Another after the loss of one of my brothers. Grief was a huge trigger for me. And the latest one around the first birthday of Number 3. Please note that with each major episode of depression especially those triggered by postpartum depression, I never wanted to hurt the baby. During those instances, the baby was the only bright spot in my life.

At the time of that first major depressive episode, it never occurred to me that I was depressed or even that it could be linked with postpartum depression. All I knew was that I was miserable, and as a result several of my personal relationships suffered. It is only now, almost 10 years later, that I am able to look back and realize that I survived a major depressive episode back then and I did so undiagnosed and untreated.
And yes while I may have survived it, at what cost? (Here is the "what if" part of my brain kicking in.) How much happier would I be now? How much faster would I have sought treatment for subsequent episodes had I been able to identify those episodes for what they were. This is where I personally would have benefited had mental illness not been so taboo. 

The second major depressive episode was a little easier to identify especially with what triggered it. I was lucky this time as my step-mom after receiving grief counseling herself was able to see some of the signs of depression in me and she encouraged me to seek out treatment. Grief counseling, quickly over the course of just a few sessions was able to help me gain closure and helps pull me out of that episode. The only reason I feel like I sought treatment at all was because I had those around me who were also going through the same grieving process.

The most recent episode I have experienced (still experiencing) was another one triggered by postpartum depression. With me, postpartum depression is not acute and does not manifest within the first two months following the birth of the baby. I have what I have came to call delayed onset of postpartum depression. For me, since I breastfed my children the significant drop in hormones that is thought to trigger the postpartum depression is delayed until I wean the baby (usually around 10-12 months). After the baby was 8 weeks old, I returned to work and that only added stress. About one month before Number 3's first birthday and one month after he had been fully weaned, I was called in by my lead (direct supervisor) at work. They had noticed that my performance while it wasn't particularly bad was less than my standard. It was then that I did a mood check and I realized that I had not been happy in quite a while. Not only had I not been happy for a while, in looking back over the month previous, I came to the realization that I had not had one completely happy day, and days where I could remember having instances of being happy were fewer than four.

While that number in and of itself is pretty sad, I came across another realization on my home from work that evening. On my drive home Dr. Drew's Love Line was being syndicated on the radio station that I usually listen to and one of the callers on that show was talking about depression. It was at that time that Dr. Drew introduced me to the concept of passive suicidal ideation.

We all know that one of the glaring symptoms of depression is active suicidal thoughts or ideation. Passive suicidal ideation is the desire of the individual to die but without having to take action (ie: dying in one's sleep, or a car wreck).

This one episode of Dr. Drew with this introduction of passive suicidal ideation was what pushed me to take a leave of absence from work and seek active treatment.

According to an article on Current Psychiatry: "Passive ideation is active".

The article continues:
Suicidal ideation, active or passive, contains a dynamic mix of ambivalent thoughts and feelings along a continuum of severity.


The Scale for Suicide Ideation, and the later version, Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation,rates passive suicidal ideation on a 3-point Likerttype scale as:
0 “would take precautions to save life”
1 “would leave life/death to chance (eg, carelessly crossing a busy street)”
2 “would avoid steps necessary to save or maintain life (eg, diabetic ceasing to take insulin).”

(You can read the fascinating article in its entirety here.)

At the time I learned about passive suicidal ideation, I would have ranked in between the 1 and the 2. I would not have actively pursued death but neither would I have fought it. There were many nights on my drive home from work where my mind would run through "what if" scenarios involving car accidents. The concept of passive suicidal ideation being included as a sign of major depression was a real wake up call for me.

Since I have "came out" about my depression I have received a lot of backlash. I have been told that it was just "Baby Blues" and now everything is all in my head (which it is, but they insinuate that I am making it all up). I have also been met with skepticism where for me the postpartum depression occurred almost a year after the birth of the baby.

MedicalTerms.info  has summed this up in a neat little infographic.

According to the infographic, it was definitely postpartum depression.

I have also been told that I am just selfish. Below is an excerpt from as post that showed up on my Facebook Wall.


"It absolutely blows my mind how selfish, stubborn, & inconsiderate some people can be all in the name of their self-induced depression. YOU'RE NOT DEPRESSED. YOU'RE SELFISH! Depression is something that exists in people’s minds."

Granted, I will spare you the entire lengthy post but there are a few more examples that I will pull from it.

"Doctors see depression as a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes negative thoughts, but that's not actually the case. There are chemical imbalances, yes, but there caused by negative thoughts, not the other way around. Doctors will prescribe you medication to correct the chemical imbalances, thinking it will therefore correct your thoughts. What you actually need is to correct your thoughts, and you will in turn correct your chemical imbalances. Think positive and you will feel positive.
If you’re depressed my advice to you is to stop thinking about what YOU want, what YOU don’t have or what others have. Focus on something greater than yourself, be happy for what you have and what you are and cherish it. Remove the word ‘I’ from your vocabulary and you will find a happiness that you haven’t felt since you were a child"

Lastly they ended their long rant with the following:

"Your depression was all in your head. It wasn’t real. You were never actually depressed. You were just being selfish. And if you refuse to admit that you were simply being selfish, then you still are."

*Yeah that will work* 

My husband after seeing me upset by this post on my Facebook wall and reading it himself equated to another scenario.

He said,
"That's stupid. That's like telling someone with a broken leg to just walk it off."

I guess the main reason that post bothered me is because it made me feel like I chose this. 

Like I would willingly choose to be miserable without any particular reason. Like I don't want to be happy. And for me that could not be further from the truth. I do feel as though it is small-minded views such as that, that is the reason why mental illness is still stigmatized the way it is.

I know this post is a lot longer than my others, but it is also one that means a lot to me.

Basically, my goal is to do my part to bring mental illness out of the dark and to let others who suffered as I did know that they are not alone and to encourage them to seek treatment.

Since starting my treatment, I have found a new enjoyment in my family. I have basically gotten a new lease on my life. 

Find out more about depression including the different types, causes and treatments here.

www.nimh.nih.gov

If you are having any suicidal thoughts either active or passive, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1 (800) 273-8255

or

visit their website at

www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

As always feedback, comments and suggestions are always welcome.
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The Battle of the Rings

I know I have already suggested Silicone wedding rings as a gift idea for dad, but as we get closer to the holidays I am finding more and more brands rings to try out. There are dozens upon dozens.

I find this interesting as I don't remember seeing much if anything posted about them last year. What I find even more perplexing is the lack of information about  where they come from. (No not the companies that sell them, but more where the idea came from.)

You can find the brands I have previously looked at and analyzed as well as my phobia that spurred me to consider them here.

As a recap up until now, my favorite brand of silicone rings was Stoni.

I liked these rings for their soft flexibility, rounded edges, and durable thickness.  Because all of these features really resonate with me and what I was looking for in a silicone ring, the Stoni has become the benchmark against which I compare all other silicone rings.

Since my last post, I have had the pleasure of trying Status Sport silicone ring. 

Status Sport silicone rings are available in two colors: black and grey and are sold in two packs. Each pack contains two consecutive ring sizes (ie: 9& 10). While the picture above makes the ring look about the same as the Stoni ring, I have found that the Status Sport ring is not quite as thick, which makes it feel slightly less durable than the Stoni. The edges are slightly beveled and the ring is light and comfortable to wear. It is still a great ring and the color variety gives it one over the Stoni ring, however the differences in the thickness and the perceived durability has the Stoni winning out in this round.

The second to go up against the Stoni today is the FitRing by Arthletic.

FitRing had different versions of the ring for men and women. I have only tried the women's version of the ring and will be basing the comparison off that one. Both the men's and women's rings are available in multiple colors. The men's rings are available in blue, red, grey, bright green (like the picture above), and black. The women's rings are available in a light blue, the bright green from the picture above, black, and a lilac purple (which looks like hot pink to me). The men's FitRings are of course available in larger sizes than the womens and look to have a greater width.

The women's FitRings are by far the thinnest width-wise ring that I have yet tried.

Here is how it looks while I am wearing it.

Here is the green women's FitRing side-by-side with the Stoni. You will notice that the Stoni has a thicker width and the FitRing has a lower profile to the finger. The color was spot-on and matched the picture exactly. It is also very flexible, light-weight, and the beveled edges makes it very comfortable to wear. 

It goes toe-to-toe on all the features I like about the Stoni but fits better on my fingers as it is designed specifically for women. The fact that it also comes in a variety of colors has won me over from the Stoni. This little size 7 bright green FitRing how now become my new favorite.

As always, items mentioned in this blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Comment, feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Please remember to follow the blog and register your email address at the top to have each new post delivered directly to your inbox so you never miss an update!

Travel Tips pt 1

Travel for the Holidays

 Back in 2006, my husband and I welcomed Number1 into our lives. We were young and having a baby was unbelievably scary but everything was worth it to see the smile on his whenever the would walk in the room or hear is baby giggles as we played "Peek-a-boo" with him. He was born in early October and before he had even turned a month old the questions began.

"When are you going to bring the baby by so I can see him?"

This line of questioning is one that is familiar to all new parents. And while normally it is no big deal to just pack up the baby and take a drive to the relatives' to show off the new addition, however, my family is spread out all over the Eastern US coast from New Hampshire all the way down to Alabama, Louisiana and even Florida. I can get in the car and start driving in either direction and by the time I reach the furthest family member I would have driven 20+ hours.

20+ hours as just two young adults is a breeze. Challenge Accepted! Road Warrior badge earned! 20+ hours in the car with a baby (or now with 3 children) is more like a quest to insanity. Needless to say, I have traveled a lot with my kids to visit family.listed below are some of my favorite travel items that have helped to maintain peace in the car and yes, even some of my sanity.

Car:
My top must- have item for the car is the SeMe CarBaby Mirror.

Thsi is a little mirror that clips easily on to a back seat head rest to provide your still-backwards facing toddler a much better of you in the front seat as well as the world passing by around them. I was at my wits end when my state passed a new seat belt regulation  that would require Number 3 to stay in a backwards facing car seat until his second birthday. Facing backwards was very frustrating for him and short trips to even the grocery store would be long enough to spark tantrums from my generally laid back child.

Since I have added the SeMe CarBaby Mirror, every time I glance in the rear view mirror at his reflection in his little mirror all I see are my good-natured baby's smiles. Now this is not a panacea or "magic bullet" for pleasant car rides. Number 3 can still be afflicted with sleepiness or hunger and that can cause a stressful ride, but it does eliminate a good bit of the back seat crying. Now if I can only get the older two to stop crying/whining.



Airplane:
Must have item: CarSeat travel Cover

Once the long drives got to be too much me and my family, we did try using air travel. It was more expensive but promised to be much  faster and quite a bit less stressful. While it was less stressful than traveling by car, it is still very stressful. One of the main sources of stress for me was making sure that I had all the baby gear needed for the trip; mainly the stroller, the pack and play portable crib and the car seat. Let me tell you, bringing a car seat on a flight is a huge pain in the rear end. The item is bulky without any good hand holds on it and there is no telling what will get on it after you check it at the plane itself.

It got to the point where I would just have family members ask around to borrow a car seat during our visit just to avoid having to take one with us on the plane. This car seat cover is an item I wish I'd had from that very first flight. It completely covers the car seat, which is no small feat as I have Britax Boulevard 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat Seat (one of the biggest on the market but definitely my favorite that I have ever used). The car seat travel bag is made out of polyester, this makes it durable as well as water resistant. I am confident that the travel bag will protect the car seat from most mishaps that can happen in transit. The travel bag has a little tag window, where you can put your contact information should it get separated from your flight. I personally have never had any luggage not make it to my destination, but knowing my luck if anything were to not make it, it would be the car seat. The bag does have a handle sewn on to it and it also comes with a shoulder strap to make lugging the car seat around the airport a little easier. For me the best feature that the fact that it can fold in on itself into a little pouch with a zipper! This makes for easy and convenient storage especially while traveling.

I have yet to take the family on a cruise or a train trip. These are things that I would like to do over the next few years. But since I have not tried them yet, I am not sure of what unique challenges they present to traveling as a family.

Now that I have shared with you some of my must have items for traveling, what are yours? Share your advice and suggestions in the comments section below.

As always comments, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome. Please follow the blog and subscribe your email address at the top to receive new posts in your inbox and never miss an update.

Please note that in accordance with FTC regulations, any items mentioned in my blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Gift Ideas for Mommy

I have already made a post for gift ideas for men, so let's handle the other side of the equation in what I will affectionately call:

Mommy's Time Out

After a particularly long day at work and/or a difficult day with my minions, I can find my energy reserves depleted. For me, having a bit of quiet time is essential. I need that time to decompress, and I find that without having my "time outs", I easily become over-stressed, irritable, and even depressed. Once I started taking "me" time more seriously, my emotional and mental well-being improved tremendously. 

Here are some of the items that I use to pamper myself, decompress, and de-stress. 

I try to take mini breaks each day whenever I can fit them in. However, at least once a week, I try to actually take some scheduled time to myself. For me, the best way to spend this time is soaking in a hot bath. But not just any bath, oh no. I like to soak in a bath that smells nice to really add to the relaxation factor.

Bath Salt - for use in the actual bath and nothing else. (I don't want any zombie incidents.)
For the past several years I have really enjoyed Village Natural's Bath Salts for Aches and Pains.

The Aches and Pains Relief is made with Eucalyptus and Menthol and does have a very sharp smell, but it is a smell that I find really relaxing. This scent is also great for if you have a cold; the smell is similar to Vicks VapoRub. Village Natural bath salts dissolve fairly quickly, and I find it takes maybe up to 3-5 minutes, but then it is good to go.

Up until about a week ago, this was the only variety of Village Naturals bath salts I was aware of, but I recently discovered that there are a few other scents.
The bath salts also come in Juniper and Menthol for Stress and Tension Relief, and Lavender, Passion Flower, and Chamomile for Restless Nights. I have not tried these two scents yet, but if they are anything like the Aches and Pains Relief I am sure they are amazing.

Bath Foam

Village Naturals also makes the bath salt in a foaming bath soak. It comes in the same fragrance as the Aches and Pains Relief, but this will foam a little bit like a bubble bath populated of tiny bubbles and it won't color your bath water green like the salts will.

Mini Bluetooth Speaker

These little Bluetooth speakers by Krazilla are convenient for when I want to listen to music to help me unwind. Their small size and ability to wirelessly connect to many different devices makes them extremely portable and versatile. So, whether I want some music to help drown out the whining in the next room while I am cooking dinner (I said it will be ready when it is done!), or while I unwind in my bubble bath, this little speaker is essential to my "me" time.

Travel Pillow (Mommy time out in the car)

Most mommies have been there before. You are out running errands in the morning and you rush to get home before your little one's nap time. You pull into your driveway, glance at the clock, and breath a sign of relief. You have approximately 30 minutes before the little one's usual nap time. You turn off the engine, and instead of being greeted by silence or the shuffling sounds of impatient waiting to be released from the bonds of their car seat, you hear the almost imperceptible sounds of little snores.

During my first child, I would be foolhardy and try to gently remove them from their seat without waking them to get them in the house and bedded down. (Just so you know, that never works.) Instead, minion rouses, and is fully recharged even if their nap were only a few minutes long.

What I do now, if it is not too hot outside, is roll down a window and pull out the travel pillow I leave stored in the car for occasions like this one or for long road trips.

The Daydreamer Neck Pillow is one such pillow that I keep in the car.

This awesome travel pillow is an air pillow with a "90s Reebok Pump-style" button pump built in. This saves me from almost passing out while trying to manually inflate the thing. It comes with a little storage pouch to protect it while it is not in use from spills and getting dirty, and even if it does get dirty, the soft fuzzy covering comes off and can be washed. It is designed to cradle the base of your head making shared car nap time an enjoyable piece of "me" time.



Last, if not least, if you can just make it until your minions lay down for the night there are always adult beverages to aid relaxation, if you are not staunchly opposed.

I find that theKitchn has the perfect citrus beverages to be enjoyed any time of the year.

No matter which poison you pick (Screwdrivers, Greyhound, Rum and Orange) they always taste better with freshly squeezed juice. My essential tool for this task is the Premium Double Squeezer Bundle w/ Zester. It has different size hollows to hold on to any size citrus and the zester that it comes with is perfect for adding citrus zest for flavoring as well as garnish. Both tools are of all-metal construction and can withstand quite a beating in the dishwasher as well as being dropped.

This rounds out my collection of items for Mommy's Time Out for now. Keep an eye out, I will be opening a new page to collect these and future suggested items on the new Mommy's Time Out page.

As always, comments, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome.
Please remember to follow the blog and sign up for posts to be delivered directly to your email inbox at the top of the page so that you never miss an update!

Disclaimer: Any items mentioned in my blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review.