Air Fryer: Brussels Sprouts

Eric & I were gifted our air fryer (I want to say) last year for Christmas - and honestly, it sat in our basement for probably 6 months before we even tried it because we just didn't want to fuss yet with figuring out how to use it, clean it, etc - and before you knew it - 6 months went by! Once we started using it, we haven't stopped - we love it!! We typically do wings in the air fryer (so easy and so delicious - I'll post a recipe soon that we follow, and we also make our own wing sauce).

This year - I really want to try out new foods in the air fryer because I've seen so many people post pictures of something they've tried and it looks delicious! Our first non-wing dish was brussels sprouts, and they were so good (and so easy).

Here's what we did:

Ingredients:

- 1 lb of brussels sprouts
- Olive oil (When doing any veggies - I love to use my Tuscan Herb oil because it gives it so much more flavor. And side note - if any local friends want a bottle, I have a case just sitting here - just let me know! It lasts so long for as often as we use it. My aunt carries it in her farm market) :)
- Seasoning of choice - Salt & Pepper works just fine! (We love Costco's Organic No-Salt Seasoning. It's a blend of 21 spices, and it's so good. We use this too whenever we're roasting veggies or baking chicken)
- Hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees.

Wash and cut your brussels sprouts. I cut mine in half, but when doing it next time, i'll quarter them so that they're a little more crispy. You decide :) Or do some in half, some quartered - and you can decide for yourself once they're done!

Toss your brussels sprouts with oil and your seasoning of choice.

Once your air fryer is preheated, dump in your brussels sprouts and cook for 15 minutes, shaking the basket half way through to mix them up.

Here is our final product! (We ate them for dinner that night and lunches for the next couple of days -- we topped them with hot sauce for our lunches and they were so good! Next time I want to try a blend where we add the hot sauce in from the beginning!)

Send me some of your favorite air fryer recipes!

"Welcome to Holland"

Eric & I attended a Parent Workshop last week at our little guy's PEP class at school.

I'm going to try to explain PEP in the most non-complicated way (haha if there's even a way to do that - so try to stay with me). For those unfamiliar with PEP - in our county, PEP (Pre Education Program) is an early childhood development program offered in some local elementary schools that are geared toward children with an identified learning delay, disability (and/or disabilities). The idea behind PEP is that early intervention proves to be effective in addressing learning deficits and offsets the impact of educational disabilities in young children. Skills/deficits obviously vary depending on the student - they could surround communication, exploration, movement, behavior, play and/or socialization. The goal behind PEP's specialized intervention is to help students gain the skills necessary for kindergarten, that other children their age may have already begun to develop and master.

Our little guy was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) a little over a year and a half ago at the age of two, and it's definitely been a whirlwind of jumping right in and trying to become an expert in the ever-confusing and complex subject matter, so that we can be the best advocates possible for our little man. I think just like any other parent, I want to ensure that he has every resource possible that will help him continue to learn and grow so that he can continue to be the successful, smart and bright little man that he is. I'll share more about our journey thus far with ASD and how we got there, at a later time! Since opening up about our journey, it's been amazing how many connections we've made with current friends that were going through the same experience (that we just didn't know about), and the connections we've made and developed with new friends that we'd for sure be lost without.

So -- bringing it back to the Parent Workshop! This was the first Parent Workshop of the school year, and in the past these have been held in other schools as a way to help parents (that share similarities, like having a child in PEP) build a community of support, to offer the opportunity to connect, share information and to just overall provide guidance to one another. It's the first that our school is hosting something like this since we started PEP last year, so we were looking forward to learning more!

My intent for this blog post was to share the awesome poem that was read to us at the very beginning of the parent workshop. It's titled "Welcome to Holland" by Emily Kingsley:

WELCOME TO HOLLAND!

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo ‘David’. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.

IT’S ALL VERY EXCITING.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!” you say. “What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around … and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills … and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy … and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away … because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.

- Emily Kingsley

When our coordinator started reading this poem, I first felt kind of agitated because I was jumping to the conclusion that the author was setting up her story by portraying raising a child with a delay or disability, in a sort of negative light (which I obviously don't agree/can't personally relate with). As she continued reading, it hit me hard in the feelings, and by the end of the poem, every parent present had tears in their eyes. To me - this poem really was highlighting the simple fact that having a child with a delay or a learning disability is just a simply different experience, and that it's really okay to admit/feel that this may not have exactly been what we were prepared for or expecting per se when two people start planning for a family.

And in saying that, I honestly don't believe I'd give up all that we've experienced or change it if I actually had the opportunity to do so. (Maybe we could just make it a little easier, and help make this world a little nicer of a place to be? -- Baby steps). Is it hard as hell sometimes? Absolutely. Do I wish life could be easier sometimes when the moments are trying and tough? Absolutely. Do I wish I had more answers and more support/guidance when we progress through our journey? Absolutely. But gosh has this journey made us love our little guy even more (which Eric & I never thought was possible), and has really pushed us to be better versions of ourselves and especially as parents. I wouldn't change our little man or all the hard work he's been doing for really anything. And in sharing this poem, it just further resonated with me that others share similar feelings that we have and experience, and that it's okay to have different feelings throughout our journeys - there is no competing, there is no race. As parents, I think we all have the same end goal - we're simply trying to raise the best humans possible who are loving, responsible, care for others and help make this world a better place to live in.

I'm sure other parents can make a connection with this poem like we did, and if not - that's okay too!  Maybe it'll help you when you're trying to relate to a situation that is simply a little different than one you're familiar with.

Until next time! :)

Back! (After Some Time Off) :)

Wow! It's been over a year since my last blog post!

To those new to this page - welcome! I started this blog in 2014, and as you can see by my post history, the # of posts I've published has drastically dropped since adding not just one little but two littles to our family! (Because you know, busy mom life!)

Blogging was always something that I enjoyed, but I really started loving it because it provided me with a way to document the recipes, house projects, crafts, etc. that I liked, and that I could easily search for and access again when needed. (I actually do this a lot and use my search function - especially to track down recipes that I've previously shared).

So a little more/a quick refresher on me now that it's Fall of 2019:

I'm Brooke! I'm a mom to two littles who keep me extremely busy - a 3 year old little man and a 1 year old little lady. There's nothing else like mom life, and nothing that I love doing more. We also have a 6 year old Labradoodle. I've been married for 6 years, and my husband and I enjoy doing home projects to an older home we bought a few years ago in an area that we enjoy (of course when time and funds permit us to do so) :) I work full time as a human resources professional in DC, and enjoy the work that I do. I'm hoping to pick up blogging again and to be able to dedicate more time to things that I enjoy, in addition to picking up things that have kind of fallen off the radar when life got busy! Having an outlet that makes you feel like you can be somewhat creative (where this blog comes into play!) can definitely help you feel sane when you have such a busy lifestyle and so much going on!

It's also fun to see how things change over the years as we enter new stages of our life.  As mentioned, when I started this blog in 2014 - a lot of my posts were about recipes and DIY crafts. After we started adding babies in to the mix in late 2015 and again in early 2018, it's funny to see how those kinds of posts became less and less, and more kid-focused crafts, along with home projects, started to appear :) I'm sure more of my posts in the future will mirror this trend, with additional mom related topics too!

So welcome! My hope is that I'm able to share content that other mommas/parents/friends can relate to and enjoy reading about. And that I reclaim some of the joy of blogging that I liked when I spent more time dedicated to doing posts! I promise to keep it real - as always, and look forward to hopefully being able to share things that will be beneficial to others that may also be experiencing similar things!

DIY Magnetic Chalkboard Wall

We had been going back and forth on creating a chalkboard wall somewhere in our house for quite some time. Originally, I had wanted to make one in the play room, then we were contemplating putting it in Bennett's room so that we didn't take up so much space of the playroom. We were also going back and forth with whether or not to DIY or to just purchase a nicer chalkboard, or even a white board. We had actually purchased a magnetic white board last week and upon arrival it was damaged - so we sent it back. Ordered another - a completely different brand - same issue, and I didn't like the way it looked (I was expecting a much higher quality). Before looking into new ones (for the third time), I started looking more into DIY chalkboards.

I always strayed away from the idea, because I really wanted a board that was magnetic. I wanted Bennett to have a board that he could not only use for fun, but that we could use while doing exercises with him, or while one of his therapists were at the house for one of his developmental sessions (a magnetic board would be perfect for what we were looking for).

After doing research online (there's not much free time I can spend doing anything these days - so honestly, it was max of 5 minutes while in the car - don't worry, as a passenger). I read a few reviews, compared products and found what I needed on Home Depot's website. We were already heading there for something else, so I bit the bullet, hoped for the best and purchased my supplies :)

I'm beyond thankful I did, because it really did turn out to be amazing!

Where we decided to "make" the chalkboard? We recently had our kitchen cabinets re-painted white, and not only did it transform the entire space (it looks like a brand new kitchen!), but it also created the perfect space for a DIY chalkboard. There was a big white wall on the side of our microwave/oven combo and it was the perfect spot, as it was completely un-usable, and is right before the entry way to the playroom. 

Here is our before picture :)

Supply List

- Painters Tape

- Chalkboard Paint

- Magnetic Chalkboard Primer (if you're opting to make yours magnetic as well!)

- Sand Paper Block (this isn't the exact brand I used, but it's similar!)

- Roller (I chose to use a smaller size)

- Paper Plate (I used this instead of using our last paint tray cover)

- Paint Stirring Stick (do these things have official names?!)

- Plastic glove for your painting hand (you don't want to end up with little black dots all over your hand/arm)

- Some kind of covering for your floor under your area

Directions

1 - Cover the floor that you'll be working on. I used an unfolded Cheerios box that was in our recycling bin!

2 - Lightly sand the wall with the sand paper block.

2 - Take a damp paper towel to run over the entire surface of the wall to clear off any residue that your sanding left. Make sure you allow a few minutes for the wall to dry so that it doesn't effect your painters tape sticking, or your paint.

3 - Use the painters tape around the border of your wall, to your desired size of your chalkboard.

4 - You're ready to start using the Magnetic Primer! A few takeaways that I'm happy I read about prior to starting this project:

• Stir the can EXTREMELY well. The primer is oil based, so when you first open the can - you'll panic a little as the top is oil and the bottom is a solid hunk of paint/goop. You should continue stirring until it is completely mixed and smooth (it took me a good 5-7 minutes). 
• The more layers of magnetic primer you use, the better your magnets will stick. I used half the can which ended up being 6 coats of magnetic primer.
• In between each coat, you need to wait 30 minutes before applying the next coat of primer.
• When you're done all of your primer coats, you'll need to wait 2 hours before applying the regular chalkboard paint.

5 - Applying the Chalkboard Paint!

• Again, stir extremely well. 
• It is recommended that you do a maximum of 2 coats of chalkboard paint, on top of a magnetic primer (the more you do, the less magnetic your board will become). So that's exactly what I did - just 2 coats!
• In between each coat of chalkboard paint, you should wait 2 hours. 

6 - Clean up your mess! 

Once you're done applying both coats of the Chalkboard paint, it'll be completely dry (according to the can) in 2-4 hours. I felt that mine was completely dry after about 30 minutes, but I was still paranoid so no one touched it until the next day :) It's also important to note that you should wait 4 days before using chalk on the board. The paint company recommends rubbing chalk all over the board prior to writing on the board (this is so that your first writing on the board doesn't leave a permanent trace). It's also recommended to wait 10 days after painting to use water for the first time to clean it. 

To give you an idea of how much paint you'll need, the two sizes that I linked above were perfect. After this project was complete, I had 1/2 can of the Magnetic Primer left, and 3/4 can of the Chalkboard Paint left. They're going to a momma friend for her to do the same in her kitchen! :)

Overall, I'm extremely happy with how the chalkboard wall turned out. Not only was it a much cheaper option than purchasing a quality grade chalkboard or white board, but it also is in the perfect location, and adds more character to that side of our kitchen. It's always a win/win when you find something that checks so many things off your wish list! 

Here are a few after pictures - and one of my little man with some of his favorite magnets :)

I hope these instructions will help you transform a great space in your home!

$1 Paint Sample Matching Activity

You read that correctly! This activity cost me $1 to make! We've been looking for different activities for Bennett that are great to use either in the car or on a rainy day when we're stuck inside. I saw this activity on Pinterest, and it was extremely easy to make.

The only items I needed to grab that I didn't already have were the paint sample sheets and the clothespins. We picked up the paint sample sheets when we were already at Home Depot. (Funny story - Kennedy chewed through the first orange sample we had while we were picking out our new stove top and I didn't even notice [I swear I do pay attention to my children, lol], so I had to swing back around after we checked out to pick up another!) The clothespins I picked up from the dollar store one afternoon while Bennett and I were running errands.


Materials Needed:
- Paint Sample Sheets
- Clothes Pins
- Hot Glue Gun + Glue (You can use other glue, Bennett is tough on his things, so hot glue for us is the most durable to use!)
- Scissors (and I used a paper cutter too)


First, start by cutting one long end of the paint sample sheet off, as shown here.

Next, you'll want to cut the smaller section that you just cut off, into smaller pieces so that each individual shade has it's own rectangle (this is the piece we'll be gluing on the clothes pins).

Once all have been cut, you're ready to hot glue the pieces on each of the clothespins! Place a small dab of glue on the end of the clothespin, and place your colored rectangle.

And..... you're done! It's literally that easy. Both kids took long naps today, and I was able to finally sit down to make these - it took about 10 minutes (the longest part was the cutting).

This activity is great for all ages - it's still too early for Bennett to match each of the shades well, so for now, we're having him put the clothespins on the correct color sheet in general, like shown below.