homemade granola.

I've been scouring the internet, trying to find easy healthy recipes for all kinds of snacks and meals. Some to make before Henry is born, and some that will just be easy to make with two little ones pulling on the legs of my pants. I had been wanting to try homemade granola bars for quite awhile, store bought bars all either have soy, or are way too expensive. Last night I was feeling adventurous, so I attempted to make granola bars for the first time! Unfortunately, it ended up not sticking together as well as I had hoped, because I used a lot less sweetener than the recipe had called for. Instead of granola bars, I was left with some tasty granola. It was really quick, easy, and delicious. I thought I would share my recipe here for others to try, I'll also link the recipe I based my granola off of. The original recipe sounded great, but I didn't have all of the ingredients, and my food processor recently broke, so I adapted my own version from this one:multiply delicous' homemade granola.  The great thing about granola is that it is extremely versatile, so feel free to add anything you want to the recipe. This was just stuff I had on hand, but you can add or omit anything you want!


















Ingredients:
2 cups of rolled oats.
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw sliced almonds
1/4 cup bittersweet dairy/soy free cacao chips
1/3 cup raw almond butter
1ripe banana chopped  into small pieces (for added sweetness)
1/4 cup raw local honey
1/2 cup melted virgin coconut oil


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line an 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper with edges coming over sides.  Set aside.


In a large mixing bowl (I used my kitchen aid) add all dry ingredients, then stir. Once all the dry ingredients are mixed together, add all of the wet ingredients and stir until its all evenly mixed together.

Once everything is all mixed together, dump into the baking pan, and press down mixture evenly. Bake for around 25 minutes for a chewy granola, and if you like it crunchy, I would bake for another 10 minutes. When the mixture comes out, it will be soft, but as it cools it will set and become harder. If you try the recipe, even if you change it quite a bit, let me know. I would love feed back and tips :)

22 weeks.

-How far along? 22 weeks
-Total weight gain/loss: I've gained around 5lbs.
-Maternity clothes? Still in regular clothes, doing the rubber band trick with my jeans... It's becoming very uncomfortable though!
-Stretch marks? Nope. (Not from this pregnancy, anyways.)
-Movement: he has started moving a lot!
-Food cravings: lemonade, and anything sweet!
 -Anything making you queasy or sick: the smell of eggs, and anything perfume-y.
-Have you started to show yet? Yes, but
you can't really tell if I'm wearing a sweatshirt.
 -Gender: Boy!
-Labor Signs: nope :)
-Belly Button in or out? It's almost completely flat.
-Wedding rings on or off? On.
-Mood swings?: yes, sorry Matt!
-Looking forward to: to buy some teeny tiny cloth diapers. :)

Half way there!

-How far along? 20 weeks
-Total weight gain/loss: I've gained around 3lbs.
-Maternity clothes? Still in regular clothes, doing the rubber band trick with my jeans... It's becoming very uncomfortable though!
-Stretch marks? Nope. (Not from this pregnancy, anyways.)
-Movement: Lots of little movements. Matt felt him move for the first time!
-Food cravings: lemonade, clementines, spicy chicken sandwiches and grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
-Anything making you queasy or sick: the smell of eggs, and anything perfume-y.
-Have you started to show yet? Yes, but
you can't really tell if I'm wearing a sweatshirt :)
-Gender: Boy!
-Labor Signs: I have started getting Braxton Hicks almost daily, but I'm far from labor!
-Belly Button in or out? It's almost completely flat.
-Wedding rings on or off? On.
-Mood swings?: yes, sorry Matt!
-Looking forward to: getting to meet this sweet little guy!

2013 goals.

My goals for the upcoming year:
-Survive being a mother to a toddler and newborn.
-Have a waterbirth.
-Get into a nursing program, or lactation consulting program.
-Switch all of our pots and pans over from calphalon to stainless steel.
-Start our raised garden beds.
-Get a backyard chicken coop.
-Use my real camera more often (not just my iphone).
-Enjoy each day with all three of my boys!

2012 has been an eventful year. We moved twice, bought our first house, celebrated Jacks first birthday, Matt got out of the military, and we got pregnant with our second child! It has been somewhat of a difficult year, but it was full of blessings. I'm very much looking forward 2013 and all it has to offer. Happy New Years everyone!

Jack.

You guys. I can't believe Jack is already a year and a half old. Where did the time go? It definitely slipped by too quickly. He is becoming a very fun little boy! He loves music, Donald duck (actually mickey mouse in general), bananas, cookie monster, the beavers (thanks to Matt, haha), cars/trucks/anything that has an engine, babies, green smoothies (he LOVES kale smoothies!), and animals! I could go on and on about the things he loves, he is a very happy sweet boy. I love this little guy, and I can't wait to see him interact with his little brother come May!

Baby #2!

I can't believe I'm already 13 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy is going by FAST!

Some things to note about this pregnancy so far:

• my total weight gain so far is between 0-3 lbs.
• I've been endlessly sick (migraines, nausea, vomiting).
• I've been craving fruits and sweet foods. Mostly berries.
• last week my energy started coming back, but I'm ready for bed by about 5:30!
• I've been breaking out like crazy, it's awful!
•being pregnant with a toddler is exhausting!

Overall, this pregnancy has been pretty rough so far. Hearing the heartbeat at my OB appointment the other day made it pretty worth it though. There really is a sweet little baby growing in there!

A new year, a new blog.

2011 brought a lot of change into my life, some bad, but mostly, it has all been good.

First, we moved from Washington, down to Oregon. Then, just two weeks later, my husband Matt left for Cuba, where he was supposed to be stationed for 18 months. Did I mention I found out I was pregnant just two weeks before we found out the news of him leaving? When he left, I was just entering my third trimester. So, we had some time to digest the news at least.

On June 19th (two days before my due date), he came back to the US, for 3 weeks of leave, hoping to be there when the baby was born. Just 5 hours after I picked him up from the airport, we got into bed for the night, and about 3 minutes later, my contractions started. We are SO lucky! The timing couldn't have been any more perfect. Our son, Jack Handewith Miller, was born on June 20th, 2011 at 5:06pm, less than 24 hours since I had picked up Matt.

Unfortunately three short weeks later, it was time for Matt to head back to Cuba.

So began my journey of single-ish motherhood. Becoming a mother has brought more change to my life than I could have ever imagined.

One of the biggest changes, is a desire to live an all natural lifestyle. In other words, to be green.

Everyday living has so many harmful chemicals that over time, cause a lot of damage to our bodies.

I've created this blog because I want to share this passion I have with others. With my family, my friends, and even strangers. I want to help educate others and let them know that it is possible to be "green" and frugal. It's not all expensive. In fact, some things can even be LESS expensive!


I said at the beginning of this post, 2011 brought a lot of change, and I want to share with you in the upcoming months, the kind of change it has brought to me and my family, and how you can implement some of these changes into yours.