Meal Idea: Garlic Chicken

My sis-in-law (Nicole) saved me this week! Do you ever have thawed out meat but no plan? She gave me this idea at 4:30 and I had enough time to pull together a nice meal for my family. Thank you, Nicole!

This is the perfect recipe for that situation because chances are you have most of the ingredients in your house. The only addition I made was I cut the chicken into little bundles and used cultured butter and Celtic sea salt. The whole family really enjoyed it.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.

3. In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt.

4. Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.

5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Carly, a friend of mine, has come up with a very fun product that I must share with everyone. Carly is such kind, motivated, hard-working mom. Please check out her site and support a wonderful local mama! This product would be a great baby shower gift. Here is some information about her product:

"Taking pictures of your gorgeous baby is nothing new. People have been documenting their child's monthly growth since the days of Polaroids and painted portraits. But with advanced technology you now have the opportunity to SHARE your photos, with friends and family all around the world, as often as you like. People can literally watch your child grow up in front of their very eyes......on Facebook, in e-mails, and on photo sharing websites. And those old-fashioned photos with your camera's date stamp in the corner just won't cut it. You need a creative, stylish and EASY way to document your child's monthly growth..... You need Sticky Bellies."

http://www.stickybellies.com/default.htm

Homemade Versus Store Bought

Which would you prefer?

1. Yellow #5&6, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Polysorbate 80, etc., etc.

or

2. 1/3 cup of cultured organic butter or raw butter, 1/4 t. Celtic sea salt, 1 t. of vanilla extract, 3 1/2 cups of sifted confectioners sugar, 3-4 T. of organic partially raw milk or light cream.

This weekend we made a giant cup cake for our sitter's 20th birthday and made homemade vanilla frosting. It takes two minutes to make and chances are you have most of the ingredients in your house. It tastes exactly the same as the unhealthy store bought frosting. Also, check out India Tree sprinkles and food coloring from Whole Foods. The sprinkles don't look exactly the same as the traditional naughty sprinkles but kids don't care...they just love playing with yummy, fun food.

Homemade Butter Cream Frosting Directions:

Cream butter, salt, and vanilla, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Add 3 tablespoons milk or light cream, beating until smooth. Beat in more milk until desired spreading consistency is reached and frosting is spreadable. Makes about 2 1/3 cups of frosting.

Green Carpet Cleaning

If you are in need of carpet or upholstery cleaning and want to go the green route, please check out the company below. Barret Zeff is the owner and was recommend to me by my friend Corey a few years ago. The service is wonderful. Barret takes so much pride in his work and I am 100% comfortable leaving him home alone to do his work. He is friendly with the kids and is very accommodating and flexible. I like to have him come in once a year and do the carpets and furniture. There are a few tough stains that do not come out with his product but he does not use harsh chemicals that could make the kids sick or ruin the materials. I am not sure if chemicals would get them out at this point anyway. Ninety percent of the stains do come out and the carpet/furniture looks great when he is done. I highly recommend this company. :)


http://www.cleangreencarpet.net/carpet_ cleaners_farmington_hills_mi_ carpet_cleaning_west_bloomfield_mi.htm

"Clean Green Carpet Cleaning offers the most comprehensive carpet cleaning service utilizing one of the best cleaning processes offered today. Hundreds of residential, commercial, and industrial clients throughout Southeast Michigan have benefited from our knowledgeable, friendly, and professional service. Clean Green Carpet Cleaning does business differently. We know your time is valuable so we are committed to making the process as simple, cost-effective, and stress-free as possible. At Clean Green, we're available to help you and answer questions or concerns. Our team of cleaning and restoration professionals will respond quickly and provide superior workmanship, but most importantly, we offer care and concern for every one of our clients. What is clean? You've worked with other professional carpet cleaners or have maybe attempted the task yourself. And at the end of the process your carpet is clean. But is it truly clean and is it really safe? Clean Green Carpet Cleaning believes in a complete, total clean for you home office, commercial, or industrial setting. This includes your carpets, rugs, indoor air quality, and most importantly, the environment. Using the proprietary HOST® Dry Carpet Cleaning System, we can leave your carpets and rugs clean and your home or workplace a fresher, cleaner environment. At Clean Green Carpet Cleaning, we focus on cleaning your carpets, not carpet cleaning." Compared to standard dry, steam/wet carpet cleaning, only Clean Green Carpet Cleaning can provide these benefits:

Deep cleans and lifts matted piles No over wetting Spots don't wick back No sticky residue Dramatically reduces dust mites, mold and other allergens No wet carpet Immediate carpet/room use No elevated humidity from cleaning No need for furniture leg protectors No damage from shrinking or split carpet seams No mold or mildew damage Safe for all carpets and rugs Natural and safe for people and pets Environmentally friendly HOST® Dry Carpet Cleaning System is green and clean! Green Seal Certified® Conserves water LEED® Points HMIS Ratings of Zero CRI Seal of Approval USDA Biobased Recycled Content EPA-Registered Facility Conserves Energy WoolSafe Approved

Balancing Oil: Geranium & Pomegranate for all skin types

Overview

"Our Balancing Oil works hard to penetrate the skin, preserve intrinsic moisture and combine with your natural oils to bring your skin into harmony."

• GERANIUM
  • harmonizing
  • cell repairing
• POMEGRANATE
  • antioxidant
  • collagen supporting

Pangea Organics Award Winning

My mother-in-law got me this wonderful product for Christmas and it is AMAZING! I have tried many organic skin care products and this one blows all of them away. It really works. I can't believe an oil can actually help with acne...but it does! It is costly ($50.00) but worth every penny. In my opinion, there are two things you should never cut costs on: Healthy Food and Skin Care Products. Check it out when you get a chance. The eye cream is on my birthday wish list! :)

Defeated

When baby four came, I really felt like I knew what I was doing. I felt like Lana had the best chance in the world due to all of my "experienced" knowledge. As I mentioned before, my twins were bathed in chemicals and drank from bottles riddled with BPA. Very sad!! But by the time baby four came, I was the green queen! :) HA! Not really...but I made significant improvements in my prenatal care. From my green smoothies, Cod Liver Oil, breastfeeding, green personal care products, homemade baby food, etc...I thought this kid has the best chance in the world! For the first 17 months of her life she has been a vibrant, happy, chubby, healthy baby. The sentence "I never worry about Luke and Lana's health" has come out of my mouth so many times. They have been so healthy from day one.

Most of my energy and worry was always focused on my twins, who were ten weeks premature. Kevin and I spent years worrying about their health and trying to protect them from illness. Just in the last few years we really started to let go of that worry and enjoy our healthy kids.

That all came to a screeching halt on February 1, 2011 when I found my little girl seizing in her bed. It was by the grace of God that I found my baby when I did. The part that frightens me is that she was perfectly fine when I put her to bed, with the exception of a runny nose.

That night, I gave her some homeopathic remedies and laid her down. She was smiling and happy. Kissed her good night and then one hour later saw a vision that I would hope most people would go their whole life without seeing. The seizure lasted an hour until she was sedated and started having difficulty breathing. At this point she had to be put on a ventilator. Watching the docs work on here was a horrific sight. My husband and I just clung to her little pjs and prayed, prayed, and prayed some more. It truly was an out of body experience and we thought our life was about to change forever. Awful thoughts were going through my head...like how do we tell her brothers, who love her so much, that we lost her. I know..I know...just awful thoughts.

Once she was stable, we were concerned about brain damage. The doctors told us it was a waiting game at this point. Around 4 am, she opened her eyes, looked at me and said mommy. It was such a beautiful sound. We knew then that she was going to be ok.

Her recovery was slow but she is back to her playful, happy self. We are completly amazed at how resilient the human body is. We feel like we have been truly blessed to witness yet another miracle in our life.

Lana is doing very well, now. We are doing our research and trying to figure out the best plan moving forward. She was diagnosed with a complex febrile seizure caused by a high fever/virus. Her seizure is rare for two reasons: 1) It lasted more than 15 minutes and 2) her eyes rolled to the left side which indicated an atypical seizure. However, since they ruled out every thing else and our house was hit with a virus, it indicated it was indeed a febrile seizure. Why complex....we are not sure.

Unfortunately, my baby is on an anti-seizure medication as a result of her complex seizure. This makes me sad but also gives me comfort right now. I am very fearful of this happening again. Once your brain goes down a certain path, it has a comfort level of going down that path again. So I am back to feeling nervous about germs and illness again. I'd love to put her in a bubble for the next few years but I know that is a foolish thought.

So why defeated?? I have dedicated so much time to trying to keep my family healthy and when I saw Lana going through what she did, I felt like I did something wrong? I doubted my parenting decisions. I couldn't believe it was happening to my healthiest child. I have learned that febrile seizures happen to healthy children all the time but the question WHY can't stop going through my mind. I could choose to stop trying and dwell on the "what if's" or I could move on and continue to fight for my daughter and her optimal health. It is very hard to move past the fear and anxiety but I am trying very hard to use all of that energy and make it positive. I will say that I am 100 times more cautious about homeopathy and herbal supplements. I am going to postpone my use of them with Lana until I have a better understanding of what happened.

Defeat is slowly turning into motivation. I am praying that education and time will heal the anxiety. Thank you so much to my friends and family...for your patience and love. Life is certainly different now. Different because we have a new challenge on our plate. A challenge of setting aside our fear and using our energy to make a difference. At the end of the day, we are feeling so much gratitude for our four healthy, active, vibrant children. Every day is truly a gift.

Happy 3rd Birthday Luke!

Luke had a great birthday celebration this weekend. We celebrated with our immediate family and had a Western/Cow Boy themed party. It worked out nicely because we just wore our Halloween costumes from this past year. The menu was sloppy joes, baked beans, potato salad and bottles of root beer. The favors were cowboy hats, bandannas and a sheriff's star. Luke's favorite gifts were his new bike and his super hero dress-up clothes. :) All in all, it was a wonderful success.

A tribute to my brave little girl!

After a few days in the ICU and a BIG scare, I am so happy to report that Lana is home with her crazy family. All of us are fighting over who gets to hug and kiss her next. Her joyful laugh and spunky personality are slowly returning. We feel so blessed! :)