Easter Food 2014

April 21, 2014 Arielle

This Easter is more different than any Easter I've ever experienced...

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Besides being a year older, living in a different state, and making Easter dinner by myself for our small family...This Easter I've grown up. Or, I've become more of a grown up. I wouldn't go too far into saying I'm an adult.

I still call my mom 1..2..3 times a day.

It seems like with every day, month, year comes new challenges, big or small, tragic or simple. With each challenge, we grow. Eventually. Sometimes those challenges send us back farther than we've ever been. Sometimes challenges push us to try harder and move forward. Either way. We all experience them.

I spent last weekend in the beautiful state of Virginia. Seriously, there was so much grass I didn't know how to handle it. (You know..living in a desert and all.) I was there visiting one of my best friends who recently lost her 4 month old baby. A long with me on the trip came two other friends of mine. It was an emotional weekend, but filled with so much love.

A few days after returning home from my trip (which convinced me I'll never fly again after being stuck in Denver for 10 hours...), my husband and I found out that a family member had just lost their 20 month old baby. My heart sunk, and seriously...I don't think It's going to feel back to normal ever again.

Ever since then, I've just wanted to sit and hold my babies. I've been letting the little things go that are insignificant, and honestly have taken up wasted time. I wanted to share this with you guys because I know that many of you, if not every one of us, is struggling with some type of challenge in our life. I know that it's hard to move forward when times are difficult. I know that it's a struggle to grow from these challenges.

But I also feel that eventually we will move forward and we will grow.

I've become even more grateful for my knowledge that families are forever, and that we will see our loved ones again. I am overwhelmed with the knowledge that my Savior and Heavenly Father love us, and feel our pain. I am grateful for the knowledge of prayer, and I know that it works. And each prayer said on behalf of others truly brings comfort.

This Easter I am going to try my best to really Love One Another. I'm going to Choose Happiness. And I'm going to be grateful for what I have now, and not focus on what I wish life could be like if this or that was happening.

Hug you loved ones for me! And Happy Monday, and I'm so grateful for each one of you!!

All About The Diva Dish (Video)

November 11, 2013 Arielle

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I'm so excited to finally share this video with all of you, it's been a long work in progress! For a while, I've been wanting to have a video to briefly let others know what this blog, The Diva Dish, is all about. After a lot of help from my incredibly talented brothers, we were able to finish it!

Thanks again friends for sharing along this journey with my family to a healthy & happier life! Much love to you all xoxo!!

Diva Adventures: Las Vegas House of Blues Gospel Brunch

September 2, 2013 Arielle

This past Sunday our little family was invited to The House of Blues for the Kirk Franklin's Gospel Brunch!

We've never done something like this, so I knew immediately that this would be a fun opportunity and experience. Vegas has proven to not be the most kid friendly place, but this was definitely something that both the girls enjoyed.

We were treated to an amazing Southern Buffet of biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles, eggs, fruit, salads, shrimp, fresh juice...Oh and did I mention biscuits?? I think my husband had 8. I will not divulge on how many I had...

I must also add that the staff was amazing! They were the nicest to my crazy kids, which doesn't happen often at restaurants and shows :).

After the buffet brunch we listened to an incredibly talented gospel choir! Honestly, I've heard gospel music before, but never seen a choir perform in person! Holy amazing voices! Half the time I kept looking at my husband and saying, "Ok..she's good!" On the way home I kept practicing my gospel choir voice and kept trying to prove to my husband I could do it. :)

Overall it was such a fun and exciting experience, especially since it was so family friendly. I took a quick video of Boo dancing, because I've honestly NEVER seen her move that way! So many people kept coming up to me talking about how much they loved her. I guess she really was moved by the music!

I'm so glad my family had the opportunity to attend this event! If you are near a House of Blues, check out the Gospel Brunch! It's such a fun experience, especially if you have little kids that love music and dance :)!

*I was not paid to write this post, but was given complimentary tickets to attend this event. All opinions are my own.

Three

August 8, 2013 Arielle

I couldn't be more blessed to have this little THREE year old princess in my life! We spent the first part of the day with a house full of balloons & streamers. Followed by a walk to the donut shop for, you guess it...PINK donuts! Then we took a trip to every Princess' dream store...The Disney Store! Stories were read, dresses were admired, and birthday songs were sung. Of coarse a new princess dress came home with us! Next we rode the train and all the quarter machine rides!

Once we got home, the little princess decorated her Pink cake with all of her favorite things, Spirnkles & Chocolate Candies. Followed by singing Happy Birthday, blowing out candles, and making wishes.

And the day ended the best way possible for this little princess, which was a trip to Grandmothers house...In California! Now she's sitting on the grass, playing Tea Party, and getting ready for her Princess Party this weekend!

I Love you Boo! Thanks for making these past THREE years the greatest that I could have ever experienced!

To My 3 Year Old Princess

July 24, 2013 Arielle

Follow my blog with Bloglovin(Boo will be turning 3 in just a few short weeks and I can't believe it! I thought I would write a little letter to her, and let her know how much I love her!)

To my 3 year old Princess...

Sometimes I feel like there isn't enough time in the day to tell you how much that I love you.

To tell you how grateful I am for you sass and your drama.

To say thank you for making me laugh and smile on a constant basis.

I love to hear you tell me stories, take care of your baby sister, and watch you play with your princess toys.

I could sit and watch you all day as you dance and sing at the top of your lungs. Sometimes I think you are imagining yourself on stage in front of millions, performing and entertaining.

And even though it's hard, I admire your determination and stubborn-ness. At times those tears of yours can have a whole entire store watching your broadway performance...

But you know what, I love it. You are a strong and sensitive young woman and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I hope you know that I'll always love you Boo. That I'll be there for you whenever you need me. Even when your 16 and that stupid boy breaks your heart. I'll kill him for you without question... :)

Promise me that you will do your best to remain pure and wholesome in world surrounded with pain, suffering, selfishness, and unkind things. I have no doubt that you will be the diamond in rough.

Also, promise me you won't hate me when you turn 12. I know that you are probably going to want to wear short shorts, say things like WTF, and want to kiss all the boys...But stick with barbies and princesses for well...a long time. I'll do my best not to embarrass you on a daily basis, and I'll even try to wear regular pants instead of yoga pants when I pick you up from school!

Thank you for being the best 3 year old in my life my little princess! I wouldn't have you any other way!

Love,

Mommy!

Hawaii Part 2

June 25, 2013 Arielle

Oahu Island Matsumoto Shaved Ice

Laie Hawaiin LDS Temple

Polynesian Cultural Center

Dessert Buffet

Ted's Bakery

The Best Shrimp my husband has ever had:

Somewhere along the North Shore.

Kauia Island,

Grand Hyatt Resort & Spa

Dinner Buffet at the Resort

Sweet Pea's First Steps

Resort Pictures

Living Foods Market

Poipu Beach

Na Pali Coast

Sorry for the picture overload my friends, but the beautiful islands and landmarks of Hawaii are just too good not to share! Sadly we are back home now, and I haven't stopped dreaming of fresh pineapple and shaved ice...It's a problem.

Much Love!

Hawaii Part 1

June 17, 2013 Arielle

I've been counting down the days for this Hawaii trip and it has finally arrived! I debated whether or not to share this trip with you guys, but I decided it would be fun to share the places we see, visit, and eat in hopes that it might help you on a future trip! And if you don't have any Hawaii vacations planned in your future, then make yourself a pina colada at home and come on a virtual tour with me :)! Day 1:

LAX-HONOLULU

ARRIVING AT THE RESORT:

Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club

First Family Photo in Hawaii...Fail

Day 2:

Resort Swimming

Resort Beach Exploration

Baby Makapuu Local's Beach (This wasn't my favorite beach, a little too rocky, but it's definitely a place all the locals go to BBQ and hang out. We met some loacl friends there, and had a great time though!)

We will be in Hawaii all week and have lot's planned! The first few days were just getting settled and relaxing from travel since the kids were kind of iffy on the time change. Then on Tuesday we head to Kauai! I promise some foodie pics are soon to come :). Have a great Monday!

Birthday's & Mother's Day 2013

May 14, 2013 Arielle

Everything about this past weekend makes me happy! First celebrating the hub's birthday with sugar and terrifying jumps off of buildings, followed by cuddles with my two baby girls. I couldn't ask for a greater blessing than to be the mother of my daughters. Sometimes life isn't the way we always expect it, but when I remind myself how truly blessed I am to share my life with my beautiful healthy family I can't help smile and be grateful for what my Heavenly Father has blessed me with!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Be Consistent with Living a Healthy Lifestyle

January 3, 2013 Arielle

Here's the truth about New Years Resolutions... I loathe them.

I think every New Years since I was a 12 I've always said I wanted to loose weight. Then come February and those cute pink and red chocolate candies some how find their way into every isle and corner of shopping stores, and then mysteriously end up in my shopping cart.

Of coarse after chocolate candy February comes chocolate covered bunny Easter, and before you know it BAM it's June and everybody and their mom is wearing bathing suits and your still pounding that huge box of vibrant colored marshmallow peeps because they are your favorite.

(Note Picture above: Peep eater in a little coat...)

Like I LOATHE New Years Resolutions.

After many battles with myself and trying to change to a healthier lifestyle, I've learned that a new date and a new year does nothing but give me a little bit of hope, followed by a lot a bit of pressure, then eventually total failure.

I'm going to give a series of scenarios, and I want you to think in your head if you have ever done any of the following.

-You decide you are going to start eating healthy at the beginning of the New Year! Come that morning on the 1st of the year, you have NO idea what to eat and everything healthy sounds repulsive. You do the best you can though, and continue to make somewhat healthy choices through out the week. Come day 7 you are pretty cranky because healthy eating is becoming difficult, overwhelming, and it's too hard to eat healthy every single meal and snack. Eventually you give in to that Ben & Jerry's because you just can't accomplish the goal you set out to do.

How about this one?

-At the new year, you decide you are going to exercise at least 5-6 times a week. Your goal is to wake up at 5 a.m. every day and run on that treadmill or go to the gym for at least 60-75 minutes. Come the 1st, you pull yourself out of bed and get your butt to the gym. It's hard but you continue to do it for a couple of days. Then your husband is on call for the weekend, all of your kids get sick, and your just too tired to get up at 5 and go so instead you just give up. It's to hard to fit in that amount of time with your busy schedule.

Ok, so I know those scenarios sound extreme, but in all honesty I've been there. I've been the girl who tried so desperately to change my eating at the first of the year and the pressure, my laziness, lack of knowledge, etc. made me give up. I've also been a mom, and more so a single mom due to my husbands schedule, and unable to have even an hour for a solid workout. Many a times I've given up on exercise because my family and it's priorities were put first.

SO...What do you do?

Over the past month, many of you know our family is moving out of state. Besides the end of the year being super crazy with holidays and work schedules, we've been packing up our lives, living out of boxes, and staying at different family members homes until we can move into our rental. All of this has made me crazy, and quite frankly it's been REALLY easy to get off track on living a healthy lifestyle.

Yet this past month I changed my way of thinking, and put it to the test. I wanted to see if this ONE phrase/ONE word could change the way I viewed staying on track with living a healthy lifestyle. You know what? It really did!

All you have to do is think of that simple phrase/word in order to stay on track with your goals of living a healthy lifestyle. Let me explain:

What this Does NOT mean-This does not mean you make a goal to be consistent with running 45 minutes on the treadmill each day. This does not mean be consistent by making sure every single meal is healthy, every single day.

What this DOES mean-This means that as long as you are consist every day with doing SOMETHING that goes a long with your goals, you are doing the best you can!

For example, one of my goals this year is to become better at exercising. With everything that has been going on, it's been really hard to have even 20 minutes to myself to workout. So on days where it's too crazy, instead of giving up and not exercising because it won't be a great workout, I take 10 minutes to do some floor exercises. (Something simple like sit ups and lunges.) Or I do a ten minute You Tube video. It may not be the greatest workout where I burned 400 calories, but I did something. And on the days where I have more time, I'll definitely do something more intense. But the main point I am trying to make here is that:

Eventually exercising, eating healthy, and living a healthy lifestyle will become a habit, and apart of your everyday lifestyle!

Here's a look at some random days exercises that I've partaken in over the past few weeks:

Some of those workouts may have been small, but none were insignificant. Despite having a crazy schedule (and now two sick kids!), i've consistently done some sort of workout every day. (Except on rest days/Sundays.)

And if eating healthier is one of your goals, consistency will definitely benefit you too! For example, all of my favorite kitchen appliances, like my other child named vitamix, are all packed up. We've been staying at a family members houses and not everbody eats lots of freaky green food like we do and that's ok! So eating healthy has been somewhat of a challenge. So I've done my best to balance and moderate the unhealthier foods, followed by consistently eating a few healthy things each day. I do the best I can with what I've been given! Here is an example:

So my goal for you this year is to :

Every Sunday I will keep you updated with ideas for you to be consistent with healthy living along with links for quick/effective workouts that you can do on your own! On top of that, Sundays will also be the day I will post a sample menu of healthy foods that you can make for your families through out the week! I'm really excited about this new series, and I truly hope all of YOU, my blog friends, will get involved and make an effort to be consistent everyday with making small and simple healthy choices!

Here are ways to get involved:

-Send me links/pictures/tweets about ways your were consistent with either eating healthy/working out/ making a healthy decision! Use the Hashtag #BeConsistent

Have a great start to the New Year everyone! Can't wait to see all that this New Year brings!

Healthy Eating According to a 2 Year Old!!

November 14, 2012 Arielle

I guess you could say it's Part two of Healthy Eating according to a 1 year old. I thought I would see if Boo had improved, or had better answers but...

Well, you'll see...

Happy Wednesday Everybody!

4 Year Wedding Anniversary Video for My Hubby!

October 25, 2012 Arielle

Today is the 4 year wedding anniversary for the hubby and I!

(I don't have the professional pics on me, but here are a few from that day!)

I would give anything to inhale that cake right about now...

It's crazy to think that in 4 years, out little family has grown and accomplished so much!! Between 2 baby girls, graduate school, a residency, and moving a bajillion times...!! We have been SOO extremely blessed!

And in honor of our anniversary I made a video for the hubby! :)

I promise you are going to want to see it! hhaha There are pretty some hilarious old home videos in there...of the hubby...and a few moments where I shed a tear! :)

Dear Hubby:

Happy Anniversary! I love you more than words can express, thank you for putting up with my crazy tendencies!! And thank you for being EXTREMELY hard working for our little family!

I love you!

Sweet Pea

August 16, 2012 Arielle

Never in my life would I imagine feeling the overwhelming love that I feel now.

I've been blessed in such a tremendous way to be the mother to now TWO precious Daughters of God.

After waiting for what seemed like forever, 40 weeks and 5 days to be exact, the day finally arrived where Sweet Pea came into this world.

After thinking the day would never come, we decided to take a weekend trip up to my parents house and relax. And of coarse when one finally let's go and realizes it's probably not going to happen when wanted....It happens.

So at 6:50 A.M. when my water broke we knew that our plans were going out the window and we were going to have this baby...Even if it wasn't in the place we had originally planned.

It was a fairly difficult labor, but luckily it only lasted 10 hours with about 15 minutes of pushing. (Boo was 20 hours of labor and 1 1/2 hours pushing...)

After a few hours of my labor not progressing, they decided to put my on pitocin to see if that would get things moving along. After a few doses of pitocin, we soon realized my body, and Sweet Pea, wanted nothing to do with the medicine. My blood pressure was dropping all the time, and my heart rate was fluctuating uncontrollably. Nothing about me was stabilizing. Then Sweet Pea's heart rate started to drop, so we decided it was best to turn off the medicine to see what happened.

Within minutes my body kicked in, everything stabilized, and I began to progress perfectly.

Only thing was now the epidural wasn't working.

I applaud any mom willing to do the birth the natural way. As for me, I would prefer no pain whatsoever.

But my body had a different plan for me, and rejected practically every form of medicine. So with each contraction becoming closer together, I would try and breath my way through it...Only instead I would cry through each one. I'll never forget that pain...

And if I do remind me before I think of having more kids...

Then the time came to push, which went rather quick. When she came out the umbilical cord was wrapped around her and her neck several times and she was blue. They took her away quickly, and for a few minutes I was freaking out. But soon enough she was in my arms, nice and pink! :)

I'll never forget seeing Boo 's face when she came into see Sweet Pea. Having our little family together felt so complete and wonderful. I truly am the luckiest wife and mama out there!

Over the past few days our little family's life has changed dramatically. We all have lost sleep and are going stir crazy, but never before in my life have I felt this happy. The spirit in our home is so strong and happy I truly feel blessed.

Boo is adjusting as expected. She loves her baby sister so much, but I can tell it's difficult for her. We've been told to leave her alone and go away, followed by a door slam, for the past couple of days. I know it will get better, and I look forward to the day when I can hear them laughing together.

For now I am perfectly fine watching Boo give Sweet Pea multiples love hugs and kisses!

Dear Sweet Pea,

I am so glad to finally be holding you in my arms! You are precious in every way, and I can tell you will have a very sweet and loving personality. Thanks for making our family complete and bringing lots of love into our little family.

I Love You! xoxo-

Mommy

Thank You for all your sweet comments, tweets, etc. on Sweet Pea! I have the greatest and most supporting readers!

( Also a special thanks to certain readers out there who helped me pick the name Sweet Pea for our little gals blog name!)

Be back soon with some food!! :-)

Walk N' Da Park: Family Video

August 2, 2012 Arielle

I'm 100% sure that I'm trying to be taught some sort of lesson right now.

I'm 78% sure that it has to do with patience...

(I WOULD be at least 95% sure if I didn't think I was partly being taught to just enjoy what little time I have being a mama of one child...)

Either way, I'm going crazy.

(I'm also obsessed with Instagram. Things just look better with filters...Included my face.)

I'm at the point where I would rather be tired and worn out because I'm taking care of two kids, rather than feeling full/ bloated/ in pain/ slow/ hungry/ not hungry/ and grumpy being pregnant.

I know, my complaining is annoying...So much I'm annoyed by myself.

At this point I've decided to stop focusing on the walking, dancing, and jumping and just forget about it all. I figure when I'm not expecting it to happen, it will.

So for now, I'm enjoying lots of play time with Boo. I know that this new baby thing is going to be quite the shocker for her. According to her, Baby Sister's name is either Cows or Elephants, and she is coming 'so long' from now...

Another person I find fearful of what's to come in the future is the hubby. I can tell when he's getting stressed out when he starts doing odd and unexplainable things...

For one, he took the trash out today.

And a few days ago for dinner he put cheez-its on his salad...

He also drank plain coconut water. Seriously, he's loosing it.

Either way I can't wait for out coo-koo family to become four, living off of 4 hours a sleep and little to rare showers.

(Wait? Isn't that my life right now?)

Anyways, I've thought a lot about this blog and what's going to happen to it when the new baby arrives. I want to say that my post will continue as normal as possible, and that's the goal. But I also know what it's like to have a new baby, and sometimes I'm not going to be able to make a glorious meal.

I've got a few things I'm planning on doing at that time, food included, but one of them is more videos. Maybe you guys hate them, and I'm sorry, but my goal is to really get you guys familiar with our little family. I've debated on doing this for a while because honestly I find myself embarrassing...But it is going to happen! :)

Hopefully once a week I'll post a video of some sort, rather it's cooking, exercise, family life, being silly, etc. I want you to get to know our little family and our personalities...Not just that I like Trash TV, Boo is a drama queen, and the hubs likes to buy white shoes... :)

On top of it, I've got a post workout series coming along for you guys to follow a long on my journey to a healthy and fit after baby body. I'm excited for it all to come together, and I can't wait to share!

I figured what better way to start off with is a family video...of us being us. We are new at this, and kind of look like losers haha! But you get to see my whole glorious pregnant self, and well...That's just hot!

(Embarrassed face...)

Hopefully next time I post I'll be holding my sweet baby girl!! Send some good vibes! Have a great week!!

Minnie Mouse 2nd Birthday!!

July 23, 2012 Arielle

In a few weeks my sweet baby girl turns TWO and I cannot believe it! She has grown up faster than I can imagine, and has turned into one sweet and sassy little princess!

We figured it was best to celebrate her birthday early, since we don't know when Baby #2 will decide to show up, and oddly enough, my two sweet chickpeas may end up sharing the same birthday!! That being said, we wanted to make this birthday extra special, and all about Boo. That means tons of sweets, lots of Minnie Mouse, a bounce house, friends, family, and...did I mention tons of sweets? :-)

Take a look at the amazing fun filled day we had in celebrating out precious little girl!

(Food not pictured: Build you own sandwich bar, pasta salad, chips, hummus, and dip.)

Everything was practically hand made at this party, and took WEEKS to prepare for! (This includes the Pinata, which took the LONGEST time of all! Next time...I'm buying one lol!) I spent a lot of nap time hours hot glueing, taping, and cutting to make everything polka dot/Minnie Mouse approved! :)

It was such an amazing experience, and I loved spoiling and showering my little angel with lots of love! Even though by the end of it she was a little tired and cranky, it was such a fun filled day!

(Binky in mouth+tired eyes=Boo needs a nap)

Happy Birthday Baby Boo!! Thank you for making the past two years of my life the best I've ever experienced! You are truly a blessing, and keep me smiling every single day! I LOVE you!

Healthy Eating According to a One Year Old: VIDEO

May 8, 2012 Arielle

I have many nicknames for those in my family.

And by family, I mean Boo, Baby, and Hubby.

I have a feeling other family members reading this were thinking, "Great...what's MY nickname!"

No need to worry fam bam. The only other person outside of my immediate family that has a nickname is my grandma.

It starts with L and ends with OCA.

Jk jk jk.

Oye.

Baby Boo is the one with the most names. I feel like everyday I come up with a new nickname for her because her personality is blossoming.

By blossoming I mean booming..

Right now I call her Sassy Pants and Spicy Mimosa. I'm not sure what Mimosa has to do with Baby Boo, but I think it's because I feel I need one after an afternoon of pure Diva-ness from her.

The biggest thing right now are her conversations...and her demands.

Before she would just say one word and point to what she wanted. Now I hear a whole song about it, a screaming demand, and then a grand finale of fireworks. She's a walking broadway show.

But I wouldn't have my life any other way, and I love her more than life itself.

Plus between the two of us, my husband is a season ticket holder to some sort of dramatic extravaganza each and every day...Add one more little girly chickpea to that mix, and I'm pretty sure he is going to hate the theater sooner than later.

Now, without further ado, I would like to introduce Princess #1 in her very first interview all about healthy eating.

Be warned...She's quite the Spicy Mimosa.

See...I told you.

Take Time to Smile

February 27, 2012 Arielle

I never knew that a little child could teach me so much.

Such as cherishing the small things, and the moments that matter.

That a smile so big and bright can change the way we all feel about ourselves, our day, and our lives.

Also, a little bit of patience, and a lot more laughter is more important than any amount of stress and anxiety.

And if there so happens to be a moment of sadness or disappointment, that the best feeling in the world is knowing that a quick cuddle session followed by a hug and kiss can make it all go away.

Thank you Baby Boo for teaching me the important things in life, and cherishing the moments that matter.

XOXOX

Have a great start to your week friends! Take time to smile! :-)

Is it a Boy? Girl?

February 20, 2012 Arielle

From the second I laid eyes on my dear Baby Boo, I imagined the fun times that us girls would do.

At just an early age she was covered with bows...

Poofy tutu's and hair flowers that reached to her nose.

Lots of pictures, playing dress up, and even tea parties.

Tons of laughter, hugs, and kisses and singing songs-What a smarty!

Although it's quite fancy that her life is surrounded in pink,

She still finds the time to make our hearts sink.

With cuddles an snuggles up to daddy each night,

He's wrapped around her little finger oh so very tight.

And now, almost two years later we are adding one more.

A sibling for Boo, and more snuggles galore.

We couldn't be happier, whether it's a boy or a girl...

Just as long as it's healthy and falls asleep in a whirl.

Now the day has arrived where we reveal the little one's gender,

And we wanted to announce in a way with much splendor!

I made cupcakes, of coarse, with a secret message inside...

The color in the middle will release joyful cries!

IT'S A GIRL!! IT'S A GIRL!!

Do you know what this means?

More pink bows, more dresses, matching outfits, and ballet...

(Or as the hubby sees it...)

Two weddings, two proms, meeting boyfriends..He better start to pray.

Either way that you see it, it's the greatest blessing non the less.

Are we happy, are we grateful, are we healthy...And the answer is YES!!

Thank you everybody for your sweet e-mails, comments, notes, support, etc!! We appreciate each and everyone of you, and are so glad to share this monumental time in our lives with you!

We can't wait for you to meet Baby Loo!! :-)

Homemade Diva {Ding} Dongs

January 17, 2012 Arielle

So I've got this thing called a butt.

I mean, everyone has them, unless your like my husband, than you have to look real hard for his.

But mine, my butt, is very easy to find. In high school I had nicknames like J-Lo, the white Beyonce, and booty-booty. It's true.

I had this art class, and every time I would walk in front of a boy, all he would say was, "booty-booty-booty-booty." And you can bet your bottom dollar that when, "I Like Big Butts" came on at school dances, my friends would all look at me and say, "Giiiirl, this is your sooooonng!"

And trust me, I hate pant shopping. With every clothing geared toward the skinny jean look, you can bet that I run far far away to the sweats section. Because big baggy sweats are SO much sexier than tight skinny jeans on my big booty...

Ok, so maybe I need a personal stylist...and some help...

You see, with pregnancy, things on your body get bigger...and wider, because a baby needs room to grow. Some days I feel like I need to strap a "wide load" sign on my back side, and other days I feel like eating ding dongs. Either way I see it, watch out...

"Beeeeep...Beeeep...Beeeep."

Let's be honest, whether you eat healthy or not, at some point in mostly everyone's life, they have had a ding dong. I'm brought back to school lunches, where unwrapping a piece of tin foil was never so exciting just knowing there was circle of chocolate covered cream filled cake inside...

Yummm..

But now I'm a little for cautious and know that besides a delicious cake I also get nasty preservatives, unhealthy amounts of fat and sugar, additives, and yucky yucky stuff. This is a problem my friends...because I have been craving ding dongs like my butt depended on it.

Well, it was a problem, but not any more...

Homemade Diva (Ding) Dongs

*Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Delicious*

Ingredients: (For the Cake) (Cake recipe adapted from here!)

1 c. Bob's gluten free flour (or whole wheat pastry for non GF)

1/4 c. cocoa powder

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

dash of salt

1 1/2 TB. cornstarch

1/4 c. melted coconut oil

1/4 c. applesauce (room temperature)

1/2 c. non dairy milk(room temperature)

1/4 c. maple syrup(room temperature)

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. dates + 1/4 c. water pureed together to form a paste. (you can do this with a blender or food processor)

Ingredients: (For the Filling)

One can full fat coconut milk, top open and covered with plastic wrap, that has been sitting in the fridge over night

sweetener of choice-maple syrup, stevia, honey, agave, powdered sugar

Ingredients: (For the Coating) (Double amount for thicker coating)

1 -85% cocoa chocolate bar (you can do sweeter if you prefer, but I love dark chocolate) (3.5 ounces) (about 1/2 c. chocolate)

1/8 c. coconut oil

1 TB. sweetener of choice (I used agave) (optional)

Directions: (for the cake)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl, and wet ingredients together in another. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until incorporated. Don't overmix.

2. Spray a cake pan/square pan(8x8) etc. with non stick spray and pour batter into cake pan. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until center comes out clean. *Note: These aren't going to rise super high, so for a higher cake, you can use a smaller pan or use a cupcake muffin pan.)

3. Once cake is done and cooled and released from pan and placed on cookie sheet, use a glass/circle cookie cuter and cut out circles.

What you do with the leftover cake is up to you...Whether you eat it, or...eat it...or eat...It's up to you...

I promise...I won't judge. That would be hypocrytical.

4. Set aside and make filling.

Directions: For the Filling

1. After can of coconut has been sitting in the fridge overnight, remove it. With a spoon, scoop out the full fat cream that thickened overnight and put it in a bowl. Add a few TB. of your sweetener of choice and whisk together. Put back in the fridge while you make the chocolate coating.

Directions: For the Coating:

1. Add your chocolate, oil, and sweetener in a bowl that is sitting over a pot of simmering water. (double broiler.) Continue to stir until melted. Set aside. (You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave.)

Directions: For the assembly:

1. Take your cream filling and put it in a pastry bag fitted with any tip that has a smaller hole. I use this long skinny one that has gotten in a few fights with the garbage disposal.

You can also cut out a center of the ding dong if you would like, if you don't have a tip.

2. With your pastry bag, poke a hole in the cake a squeeze a bunch of cream into the cupcake. Squeeze hard...

I like a lot of cream in the center of my Diva Dong.

You can also poke more than one hole in the cake so filling get's through out the middle.

Be Patient...We are almost done...

Once all the cupcakes are filled, it's time to coat them.

Make sure your chocolate is sitting in a deep bowl so it will be easy to dip them. Simply hold the bottom of the cake with two fingers and dip into the chocolate. Set down and let the chocolate drip down to coat the sides.

It's really messy, and not very pretty. You may have to lick your fingers a few times...darn.

If you feel it isn't coated enough around the bottom, take a spoon or cooking brush and brush some more chocolate coating around the cake.

Set in the fridge for about 10 minutes to let the chocolate set, and then they are ready to eat.

The chocolate will stay hardened after and you won't have to leave it in the refrigerator.

Look at all that creamy yummy goodness....

If I were making these for friends, I might have done a prettier job...But these were for me, my butt, and I...So I didn't care how they looked, just how they tasted...

And I can assure you...They tasted amazing.

And if you have leftover cream filling, well don't be shy...use it up!

A Typical Morning w/ Baby Boo-VIDEO

January 11, 2012 Arielle

Some of our mornings start out...rough.

Since Baby Boo has never really learned the meaning of the word "sleep," we tend to get an earlier-than-i'd-prefer start to the day.

I often find myself trying to hold my eyes open as I scramble through old recorded episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, just so I can pull myself together...(Because there is nothing more awakening than hearing Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck having a conversation about choo choo trains and mouskadoodles.)

I used to wonder if our mornings "fit" into that typical every day schedule like other stay-at-home moms, and I often asked myself if I'm the norm...

or well...far from it.

But there is something that I have learned through out this whole mommy journey, and it's that no one is ever of the norm...

No one.

Sometimes we go to the mall and there are mommy's there who have taken showers and their clothes actually fit and match. My first thought it, "Oh Brother, look at me...I took a shower today. Nener nener nener. I'm the best mom ever!"

But as I have grown older, and the showers happened way less, I realize some things aren't just that important. (Ok...Although showers ARE important.)

My daughter's smile on her face brings more joy to me than anything.

Moral of the story: If you see me at the mall, run far far away...I'm stinky.

So for those mama's out there that want to feel a little bit more normal, and realize that some mornings our hair isn't going to be brushed, our clothes aren't going to be perfect, and we might just have to listen to Justin Bieber more than once to make it though the day...

It's all good! As long as you and your kiddos are smiling that's all that matters!

A Typical Morning w/ Baby Boo!

Hopefully you all feel a bit more normal now! :-)

Baby #2!

January 9, 2012 Arielle

Ok so there are a few things that I haven't been discussing on the blog, and I was waiting for the right time to where I felt that I should share...

But I really have no patience, and figured I should let you in on a few things that have really been going on in our little family, since it has taken up a lot of time and energy. :-)

So here we go...

A few months(Beginning of November) back I was having some problems...I guess we could call them "female" problems. (this is the point where every male reading this is probably thinking they shouldn't...it's ok, I won't go into TOO much detail...I promise.) LOL.

I went to the doctor because I was a little concerned and the doctor immediately told me she believed I was...Pregnant.

Now, before I go on, you must know that I haven't been on birth control since Baby Boo was born. This was because I HATE birth control...My mood would switch from Satan to an Angel with in a matter of minutes. SECONDLY, I got pregnant with Baby Boo on birth control, so I figured I should probably try other methods.

Also, the hubby and I wanted to try for a baby starting at the END of November...So, when she told me she thought I was prego, well I knew she had to be wrong.

Well, I ended up taking a test right at the doctors office and turns out, it was negative.

I figured that would be the answer, but then I got kind of sad, which made me realize that I really did want to try for a baby. When I got home, I told the hubby that I thought the doctor was coo coo, and that even if I had been pregnant it was way to early to tell. The hubby kind of rolled his eyes, because every month I think I am pregnant...like every month. Am I the only one like this? Just me?

(Ok, we are almost there...Promise!)

So fast forward to three weeks later, it was like 8 at night. I was sitting on the couch, just focusing on my body, and I just felt that I needed to take a pregnancy test. The hubby had been doing something in the garage all night, so I decided to run to the grocery store, (I told the hubby I was going to get milk), and grabbed a test. When I got home I secretly ran upstairs to take it, making sure the hubby didn't notice. I knew that if he found out, he would think I was crazy...but I am not...I swear....

I patiently awaited the test results, and decided to find out what the hubby had been doing. When I opened the garage door, I found this:

He had got me a treadmill, and was setting it up! If you know me, then you know that for Months...years...decades...I have been begging the hubby for a treadmill. I think he finally gave into my nagging (or you could say, bitching) and lovingly got me one.

I was so happy...and then I realized I still had the test results waiting for me in my pocket, so when I reached down to check it, I saw this:

:-)

The hubby thought I was joking...I most certainly was not:

So there you have it...Our little family of three:

Will soon become FOUR!

Our little bundle of joy is due:

August 7th, 2012

I am currently:

10 weeks pregnant

!!!!

I know that it is kind of soon to tell everyone, but this has really been a difficult pregnancy for me, and I was worried something would happen if I posted to soon...But this blog is my life, and I want to share this journey with everyone.

How am I feeling?

Yucky. When I was pregnant with Baby Boo, I didn't even feel pregnant. I was running, working out, eating pretty much anything, and I rarely had nausea.

With this pregnancy, I have been extremely weak, tired, nauseous, and sick. EVERY type of food sounds disgusting...this is no joke. That's why I haven't posted a lot of food recipes, because well, I haven't been cooking. On top of everything, I found out my blood pressure has been really low, 85/43, which explains my weakness. For a few weeks I couldn't even go on a walk without feeling like I was going to pass out. I have had to really increase my water, and even salt intake. But I have also noticed the little exercise I do may be hard at first, but I feel so much better afterwards.

It's been a difficult journey, especially trying to raise my beautiful/most energetic child in the world! :-)

But a journey full of blessings.

I appreciate your patience through out this time, and I am so grateful that many of you continued to support me even when I didn't post for like a month!! :-)

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I can now post my eats...my life...and well, somedays my view from the couch! With any pregnancy, it's truly a blessing, and I pray every day that I continue to be strong and healthy so I can grow a healthy and happy baby!

Have a wonderful start to your week! I am going to try and rummage through the fridge to find SOMETHING appealing...

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Hey There!

Welcome to The Diva Dish! My name is Ari and I love Kale Salads and Chocolate Cake. I also love to blog about it...