Power of Moms Retreat

This weekend, I was priveledged to attend a mother's retreat with the Power of Moms. It was my Mother's Day gift from Miguel and the girls. All I can say was that it was AMAZING!!! I feel so renewed and refreshed. I think my self confidence was given a boost. I met about 33 other amazing moms from around the country who all aspire to be the best moms they can be. These were women with passion and amazing talents. Every mom I know should attend one of these.

Our's was held at the beautiful Red Mountain Resort and Spa in St. George, Utah. There was a mornng walk at 7:00 in the morning and only five of us were up early enough to do this, but the morning sun was beautiful on the red rock. So glad I did it. I had actually been up since five in the morning and had already been swimming and had showered by then, thanks to my roomie and good friend Amy.

During the retreat, I was able to sit and chat with some of my heros. Here is Linda and Shawni Eyre. You have to read their book, A Mother's Book of Secrets, it changed my whole perspective on being a mother. I love, love, love these women and I would never had imagined that I would be talking about family traditions and service projects with them over dinner. It was so fun to get to know them personally.

And here is my dear friend, Amy, who was so willing to accompany me on this little getaway. She's such a sweet girl and it was fun spending some good quality time with her as well.

I also was certified as a Power of Moms trainer while at the retreat and will soon be starting up a Learning Circle here in my community. It will consist of a group of moms motivated to be the best they can be. We'll learn and share, along side each other, as we discuss how to take care of ourselves, as well as discuss better ways to raise our children. If you are at all interested, leave me a comment, and I'll get to you know when it is up and running. It is sort of like a book group, where we will have material to read through and study (3-6 pages max) and then come prepared to share and discuss different ideas. Like I said before, let me know if you are interested. It will be an amazing experience I can guarantee.

Cinco de Mayo (better late than never)

So, Cinco de Mayo has turned into a big deal around our house. This was our second year celebrating it and you would have thought it was Christmas. The kids were so excited! They all got showers and then dressed themselves up like little Mexicans. They even wore those clothes to dance class and excitedly told everyone they say, "Happy Cinco de Mayo!" I had a whole bunch of fun activities to do that day, but we couldn't get through them all. So here's how the day progressed:



After dance we had burritos for lunch and then we tried making our own pinatas. They were thrilled with ripping up the newspaper, but when the goopy flour/water mixture was brought to the table, Gabriela quickly quit smiling. I should have known better. She wouldn't stick her hands in the pumpkin last year either. But the other two, oh no, no problem at all. In fact Julianne thought is was like a mud bath. Instead of smearing it on the balloon, she was coating her body in it. I couldn't help but laugh and just let her go for it. In the end, Sophia was the only one who came out with a completed pinata. However we hung it outside to dry and then it got rained on.







While the girls were taking a nap, Gabriela and I decided to do a cleaner craft, more to her liking. She loved it. We made "papel punchada." It's a Mexican folk art of making paper streamers. We were both pretty proud of our work and in fact, it's still hanging in our kitchen. It is very festive and fun.



Then came the thing we had been waiting for all day. THE FOOD!!! We made taquitos, refried beans, mexican rice, pico de gallo and had Jarritos (Mexican orange soda.) We invited Miguel's parents over for the dinner and they seemed to love it as well. After dinner we had a little dance to some marriachi music and then made sugar cookie sombreros. Mom had to go to a meeting, but the girls stayed with Papi and did some Mexican bark paintings as well. (sorry no picture of those). It was so fun and we can't wait till next year!

Her 1st Audition!

Well I think I've got it working on my other computer, so I'll post a little at a time. Over the weekend we had team auditions at Gabriela's dance school. This is an eye opening experience for both her and I. They completely covered the windows so noone could watch the girls learn their material for the auditions. They had two days of workshops and then on Saturday they auditioned. That first night at the workshop I realized that my kids wear my heart on their shoulders. Gabriela looked so innocent to me and was smiling and so happy that I was there to watch her dance with about twenty five other girls her age. I have never been so proud of her. I know what an audition is like and I felt like I was the one auditioning. Knowing my little baby was being sized up among these other girls, it still makes me teary eyed. It's heart wrenching...and she's only FIVE!!! It's only going to get worse as she gets older and realizes what is really going on. on Saturday she was happy as pie and went and did her audition and acted like it was piece of cake. I am really proud of her for doing such a brave thing all by herself.


On the second night of workshops, she made a new friend whose name is Alex. And on Sat. morning she found her and they were inseperable. And they got to audition together. That's pretty lucky if you ask me. Hopefully they will make the same team, that would make it all the more fun. I really love this dance school, so if you are interested please check them out at www.thedanceclub.com . They are very professional and disciplined, with a great feeling in the studio and good role models.

Dance Picture

Well I haven't written in a while becuase I can't load pictures. We have been SUPER Busy this last couple of weeks. We had a mega Cinco de Mayo celebration, we've been at the gymnastics school trying that out and Gabriela has been busy with dance team auditions, all of which I have pictures, but can't get them onto the computer because the device I use is broken. So stay tuned. Until then you will just have to live with this picuture. This was their official picture taken by the school.

Hawaiian Pulled Pork Sandwiches

O.k. people, have I got one for you! This stuff is awesome, makes a TON, and it's done in the CROCKPOT! Just add the sauce to the sandwiches and then you have a ton of pork leftover to do maybe hawaiian pizza, tacos, pork salads, quessadillas, you name it. With the teriyaki marinade, it's hard to find. Look where the spaghetti and gravy packets are. I couldn't find it, so I used the Hawaiian one.

Ing.
1 packet teriyaki marinade (recommended: McCormick Grill Mates)
1 tbl. paprika
1 tsp. ground pepper
3 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder (any pork roast will do)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup chili sauce
1 (6oz.) can pineapple juice
1 med. onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
8 hamburger rolls

Directions
Hawaiian Sauce:

2 tbl. canola oil
1 tbl. ginger, chopped (I just used ground ginger from my spice rack)
2 tsp. garlic, chopped (I used my minced garlic)

In small bowl, combine teriyaki mix, paprika and pepper

Coat the pork with rub mixture, pattin until all rub is used. Set aside.

In a bowl whisk together the chicken broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, chili sauce and pineapple juice. Set aside.

Put the chopped onions and carrots in a 5-quart slow cooker. Place the pork on top of carrots and onions and pour half of the pineapple juice mixture over pork. Reserve remainder for Hawaiian sauce. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. The meat should fall apart easily. Remove the roast from the slow cooker to a cutting board. Using 2 forks carefully pull the meat into shreds. Serve the pork on rolls drizzled with the Hawaiian sauce or on the side for dipping. Reserve the remaining pulled pork for other recipes.

Hawaiian sauce:

In a medium pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining pineapple juice mixture, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 19 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Enjoy!!!

Raising Girls

So I’ve been thinking, and the other day I had an epiphany. You see, I’m raising three girls in a very tough world. My goals and aspirations for them are much like any other mom out there. I think the greatest thing they could do when they “grow up” is to be a mom.

I had a conversation the other day with my five year old. It went something like this:
“Hey Gabriela, what do you want to be when you grow up?” and she said, “MOM, don’t you remember…I’m going to be a dentist!” Oh yeah, I thought, then I said, “Well do you want to be a Mommy when you grow up?” She just sort of looked at me and said “Yeah.” That’s when it hit me…like a rock over the head. We have been trained since we are tiny little people that we need to pick some fabulous career when we are little tikes. Our society puts so much emphasis on careers and success and that all our education is to help us reach said career or status. I never in all my life heard someone say, “Wow Lindsay, all that college will sure help you be a good stay at home mom! Motherhood is an awesome career, way to go!” And somehow when we do decide to stay at home, do we sometimes feel a little disappointed, like we never really achieved our goal or got that great job we had been planning our whole lives around?

I decided right then and there, that I was not going to raise my girls that way. I want them to know that motherhood is the greatest thing they could do with their lives, and all the education they receive will give them experience and knowledge, and if they have the opportunity to work before having children, that is awesome, but really emphasize and stress that the greatest success and accomplishment will be within their own home.

So instead of asking, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” it might go something like, “what do you want to learn about when you grow up?” Emphasis on learning not on a job or title. Maybe then, my girls will really feel the success and joy of reaching their goal when they become mothers.

My Kryptonite

Wow, remember how Super Man would loose all of his strength when he came into contact with kryptonite. Well, I've found my own sort of kryptonite and unfortunately for me, I can't run from it. It's everywhere. It's TREES and GRASS!!!
I can't sleep, exercise, or much of anything else because I'm too busy stratching my eyes and face off or blowing my nose. I went in to the doctor last week and was told to be on antihistemines everyday forever. Great. I am having a little pity party or so you might think,

but OH NO, not this girl. Yesterday I woke up early, I'm talking 5:30, with Miguel to exercise, but soon realized that exercising straight out of the bed is just not my thing. I decided to go read instead. I picked up my question book again and came across something I found interesting. It asks, "when you tell your story are usually cast as the victim, the survivor, or the hero. Hmmm, well I usually tell it like the victim, feel like the survivor and rarely am I the hero. It tells you to start being the hero of your life. So no longer will I be the girl who is defeated by nature...nope, I'm going to be the girl who despite being surrounded by kryptonite manages to do ___________. It also tells you to write down your future next too weeks with you cast as the hero. Try it! I'm going too.

This is all baby steps to try to be a better me and enjoy life a little more.