Ponytails & The In Between

Behold, the first ponytail:

Ponytail shot

Mia's cute blonde hair has grown in quite a bit in the back, and after a nap or a car ride it's like Raggedy Ann Version 2.0, so lately we've been trying to pull it back into a little ponytail.  It doesn't always stay in long, but long enough to work out the tangly kinks!

Glamour Shot

Action Shot

We were invited to a family friend's house last night for a Fall Festival.  As fall arrives a bit late in Tampa, the timing was perfect because we were able to play outside in the late afternoon, eat as the sun set, and then roast smores later in the night over a fire pit.  All the kiddies had a great time...but Mia was not down with the group shot later on.

Group Shot / Night of Terror

Where's Elmo??

For now, we're just in the "in between".  Mommo was here this past week and came at a perfect time as Mia got sick Tuesday night and Wednesday and it was super helpful to have the day shift relief.
I tried something new this time when it came to Mia's cold.  As soon as Mia was showing signs of sickness in the middle of the night, I began administering 1 tablet of Aconite an hour throughout the rest of the day (up to 12/day).  By the end of the day Wednesday she was feeling better, and slept through the night and Thursday was like normal again! Aconite is a homeopathic tablet (super small) that you dissolve underneath the tongue.  I will be trying this myself if I start to feel sick soon.  I couldn't believe the turnaround, but from what I understand, as soon as you begin experiencing symptoms, you can start taking Aconite and it will work faster.  
Aside from that, Mia had a super fun time with Mommo bouncing balls, going on walks, taking care of her babies, and playing with her new purse.  As Mommo's reward, Mia can now say her name, "Mommo"!

Next up: The Cloth Diaper Demo & Thanksgiving prep.  In a quick turn of events, I'm hosting this year at our house.  I'm excited but want to be realistic about the expectations.  It is fun to have another event / project to work towards and it'll keep us busy!

The Floridian LIFE

First of all, I have to just share that it's actually "cold" in Florida!  My Minnesotan heritage will never let me vanquish the fact that all references to the cold in Florida must be tempered (no pun intended) with knowing what true coldness feels like and we're talking like sub-zero temperatures.  Anyway--it was actually 45°F this morning--chilly for us!

Secondly, I have to say that since I posted a meal-plan for this past week, wouldn't you know that some of our meals were total busts?  Nothing like butchering your so-called standby week!  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Thankfully the turkey burgers & sweet potato fries pulled through.  As Greg would say, "Clutch!"  

But alas, I'm really here to share a slathering of pictures from this past week.  Mia had a bit of a fussy week (teething, sleep problems, just your typical baby/toddler predicaments) but hopefully we're back on the up-and-up.  Nothing super special about these pictures, just Mia being sweet!

loving the car-cart at Publix

a preppy fall outfit

snacking on a carrot with her "beebee"

In other news, Mia & her cousin had a good time playing tonight and iChatting with the grandparents.  This stuff was too cute not to share!

Braden & Mia Pal Around from Megan Ciampa on Vimeo.

For now, we're looking forward to a visit from Mommo this coming week!  Playtime, free babysitting and family bonding.  Ooooh yeah!

PS: Don't forget Daylight Savings Time!  FALL BACK, y'all.

Shalom in the Home

I've been having ongoing conversations with multiple kindred spirits of late, the most recent, LH, about "owning the home."  It's taken me about 2 years to finally grasp just a part of this concept, and making it work for me.
The first place where I've started trying to "own the home" is by actually making it a place where we want to hang out--thus, making it aesthetically pleasing.  Seriously, with as much HGTV as we watch, we should have this down to a science by now, but of course, we're slow learners.  And naturally, sometimes the budgets get in the way--we have to remind ourselves we aren't doing $50,000 kitchen makeovers or quickly staging our house for $2k.  In due time, I say, in due time...

And then secondly in "owning the home" is having a well-run, efficient kitchen.  This is a monster of a challenge to figure out as meal-planning can get sketchy at times.  Some weeks it's a breeze. I look at the weekly ads for our grocery stores and see what I already have in stock at home and we're golden.  Other weeks, it's more a matter of what can I scrounge up that won't seem too random and mismatched?  So...here's what we're eating this week.  It's basically a combo of what I already have on hand tripled with what I want to buy at the store and what's not overly complicated to make.  Without further adieu...

This week's 5-night meal plan:

• Chipotle-inspired burrito bowls (Greg's version based on The Simple Dollar)
• Chipotle Rice recipe
• 1-2 cans black beans (or make your own from dried beans) 
• Guacamole (this is our favorite part!)
• Sour Cream / Greek yogurt
• Salsa (either homemade or store-bought)
• Cilantro
• Black Olives
• Shredded cheese of your choice 
• Tortilla chips on side
• Homemade Pizza
• Since we are going gluten-free for approximately 3 months, and pizza is one of my all-time favorite foods, we've found ways to get around it!  I've seen recipes online for how to make your own dough from almond flour, which I have yet to tackle, so in the meantime, I've used Bob's Red Mill GF pizza crust mix, then added our own tomato sauce, and I make a cheeseless pizza for me with whatever fixings I like, and a cheese pizza for Greg & Mia with whatever fixings they like.  Might I suggest black olives, red and green bell peppers, Italian seasonings, plus some kind of meat?
• Marmalade Curry Chicken
• I found this website (crockpot365.com) a few weeks ago, which felt like a godsend after weeks of finding really bizarre gluten-free recipes that had become quite discouraging to try to make.  This woman cooked with her crockpot for an entire year! and all recipes are gluten-free because her daughter has celiac's disease.  I made a few adaptations to the recipe for our liking--I used apricot preserves instead of orange and our own homemade chicken broth.  We served it over rice with some salad or veggies on the side and it was delish!  I tried it the last time my MIL was in town and it was a crowd-pleaser.  
• Turkey burgers w/ sweet potato fries
• There are so many recipes for this kind of meal on the interwebs.  I usually take 1lb thawed ground turkey, mix in some chopped onion, and season away with garlic salt, garlic powder, S&P, onion powder, and maybe some type of dried green herbs and make about 4 patties.  Heat on a skillet or the grill.  If you want to follow a specific recipe, try here or here (for us, minus the breadcrumbs).  These look pretty similar to what I've tried before.  And as I'm gf for now, I eat it sans bun!  Mia loves the taste of these burgers.
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Chicken Tacos
• This has become one of my newest obsessions lately, but I can't go too overboard with it otherwise I know I'll make us all sick of it. I saw this idea on a friend's Facebook page. Take 4 large frozen chicken breasts or thighs, one can of Rotel, one can full of water and some salt and onion powder. I made an adaptation by using one can of homemade chicken broth instead of water the first time and it was super tasty!  I've been serving it up with hard or soft taco shells, some leafy greens, greek yogurt, guacamole or avocado, and then splashing a few of the Rotel tomatoes on top.  In German, ser gut.

And that's that! Salud!

Mia's Talking Adventures & a Mishmash of Halloween Photos

Mia's Talking Adventures from Megan Ciampa on Vimeo.

Nevermind the fact that most of the family member names are completely out of order! I believe I was going in order of what seemed easiest to hardest for Mia.


Little Red Riding Hood 2010 (click on the picture and it will take you to the Picasa album)

Obsessed much? You could call it "passion"

I mentioned in some previous entries that I've felt very inspired lately and like I'm ready to tackle several projects.  [Mind you, whenever I start posting about my own ideas, I feel I'm venturing away from the main focus of this blog (Mia), but other events going on in the family have their place here too, right??]

One of those ideas was to host a cloth diaper demo at my house for some of the expectant mamas at my church or in my greater circle of friends.  I recognize to the rest of the world, this may not sound very exciting, but I've gotten to that stage in life where things thought to be previously weird are no longer.  (What was once also in this category included things like cookie sheets & KitchenAid mixers.  I believe I scoffed at a certain "spiritual comrade" when she received such items at a bridal shower.  Never again.  Lesson learned.)

Moving on...I've put my feelers out, gotten a semi-rousing response, and am moving forward.  Later in November on a Saturday afternoon, Lord Willing, I shall have this cloth diaper demo!  I've invited someone who actually runs her own business to really help in this and her name is Angela.  On Facebook, a friend jokingly asked if I could webcast this demo for her.  Oh, if only...I mean, I'm sure I actually have some of the technology to get that going, but we're still very grass-roots over here.

Milk Pail

And in terms of another project, we begin tonight: painting!  The prep and priming will start tonight, and hopefully the painting tomorrow.  First room will be the front room.  Can't wait to see the finished product!