Life Lately: McGlothin Family Updates

Life can be a little crazy sometimes.

I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

Between a 20-hour work week, 15 school credits, and family responsibilities,
I sometimes barely rememeber what I did 20 minutes ago, let alone one day ago.

When people ask me how my weekend was, I usually say something like,
"That's a really good question..." or "What did I do?!"

I guess what I am saying is that I am exhausted!
But it is SO worth it because I graduate in April. Yay!

Recently, Joshua and I have been pretty busy with school and work.
Most of the time we get to spend together is in the evenings
after Joshua gets home from school.

Dishes pile up in the sink for a couple days because we are so busy
and Kaiya's toys end up everywhere...
the shower, trashcan, bookshelf, drawers, dryer, and other random places
throughout the house.

Joshua and I celebrated my birthday at the beginning of the month with some dinner
at a Thai restaurant in Provo that was delicious! We love Thai food and have
set a goal to visit every Thai restaurant in Provo before we leave next year!
(We'll see how that goes...) :)
We also got some ice cream from Coldstone!
Seriously, every time I go there, I tell myself I will try a new Creation flavor...
but I always end up getting the Founder's Favorite ice cream.
It's filled with addicting sweet cream ice cream, brownie chunks,
pecans, chocolate syrup and caramel syrup.
Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is...

 Now is your mouth watering?!

For date night last Friday, Joshua and I went to the Provo temple
and just enjoyed sitting outside of it, reading together,
and enjoying the peaceful evening.
We even got to cuddle a bit because it was chilly. ;)

Anyways, Kaiya is showing interest in helping me "clean,"
meaning she will hold on to the broom as I try to sweep the floor
and pushes the vacuum with me. She's such a great little helper!

Not too long ago, Kaiya reached into the refrigerator and pulled down a bowl
of beans that spilled all over the floor.
She immediately looked over at me to see what I would do.
I just smiled at her and said, "Whoops! Let's clean it up!"
She smiled and picked up each bean, individually, and placed it
on the bottom shelf of the fridge. 

That didn't last long...because then she started grabbing handfuls of the
beans she had already put away and threw them back on the ground!
Close Kaiya...but not quite. :)

And for those not keeping track, Kaiya is now 14 months old!
Unbelievable, right?

Kaiya 14-month update:

• Favorite foods: everything...except cranberry sauce (can't blame her, right?)
• Favorite words: baby (most things are "baby"), bye-bye, duck, dad
• Favorite activities: looking at things upside down (with her head between her legs), playing tag, making friends, playing in dirt and rocks, playing with daddy, going to the duck pond
• Favorite person/people: Mommy and Daddy of course! ;) And anyone else who plays with her...
• Favorite book: Back in My Arms

Playing with rocks...one of her favorite things!

Well, I hope you have a wonderful day! :)

Two Words

It is not going to take very many words for anyone
to know exactly what this post is going to be about.
In fact, it will only take two:

Miley Cyrus.

That's it.

In two words, all the gossip on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
about Miley's recent "adventures" race through your mind.

Her recent VMA adventure is burned into my brain from
all the pictures on Facebook I have seen of her.
I won't go into details on the photos, but,
 in short, they are vulgar, disturbing, and disappointing.
(And you have probably already seen them.)

I just wonder, why?
Why does she feel she has to do such raunchy things to get attention?
If it's attention she wants, she's definitely getting it,
but is it the kind of attention she really wants?

I don't know the answer. I'm just thinking out loud.

And I can't help but think about the kind of celebrities Kaiya will
see as she grows up in a media-saturated world.

I hope her role models are not the women she sees in
movies, magazines, television shows, etc.
who try to sell the message that to be happy you must
dress, behave, and look a certain way.

I hope her role models are women who show respect for themselves
and for others by treating their bodies as gifts from God, and not
objects of "pleasure".

Is there really any true happiness from treating bodies as objects?
I can't imagine there is.

Because people are so much more than their bodies.

Miley is more than her body.
I just hope she realizes that soon.

Mostly for her sake,
but also for the sake of those who miss the "Hannah Montana" Miley.

Let me know what your thoughts are. 

Why do you think she has made such a drastic change?

Is it Miley's (or any celebrity for that matter) responsibility to be a good role model?

Blog Under Construction

Okay, so my blog is going to be under construction for the

next couple of days!

I'm trying to customize it to make it look exactly how I want it to look.

So, if things look a little strange around here, that's why.

Hopefully, when I am done it will look much better! :)

Wish me luck!

~Mikaila

Banana Nut Muffin Pancakes + Streusel

Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day,

and sometimes my favorite part of the day as well

(because I get a little time to myself).

One of my favorite breakfasts is pancakes!

I love, love, LOVE pancakes.

They are so versatile.

Really, you can create so many combinations of

fruits, nuts, sweeteners, spices, etc.

and make a delicious batch of pancakes.

They are quick, easy, delicious.

My kind of breakfast.

Plus, you can make the batter the night before 

and then cook them up real quick in the morning.

Anyways, the recipe I am going to share with you is

one I found recently from Minimalist Baker.

I love her recipes because they are delicious and healthy,

which is definitely my thing. 

Seriously, I went through ALL of her recipes (and pinned them) because

they all looked so good and they were all healthy.

This recipe was no exception to that delicious and healthy

thing she has going. 

Plus, it uses bananas!

It seems that lately I have been incorporating bananas

into a lot of the pancakes I make, and I love

using bananas because they add a natural sweetness so I

only have to add a little extra sweetener

(or I don't need any extra, processed sweetener at all!) 

AND it makes them nice and moist!

(One more "and"...)

AND I love the flavor.

Okay, I'm done now.

Here is my spin on her recipe for Banana Nut Muffin Pancakes.

(Really, it tastes as good as it sounds! Trust me.)

Banana Nut Muffin Pancakes

Time: 25 minutes         Servings: 2

You'll Need:

Pancakes

• 1 medium, very ripe banana, mashed
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp. flax meal + 2 Tbsp. water) - you can also use a regular egg
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted - you could also use applesauce 
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%) 
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur's)
• agave nectar or maple syrup for topping
• walnuts for topping (optional)

Streusel

• 2 Tbsp. almond flour (just raw almonds ground up in a food processor until a fine powder) - you could use any kind of regular flour, but I love using almond flour because it adds a wonderful crunch to the streusel)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 scant Tbsp. coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare the streusel by combining the almond flour, brown sugar and coconut oil. I like to use my hands to combine everything. Pour the streusel mixture onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 5-6 minutes, until the streusel has turned a golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Preheat an electric griddle or stovetop skillet to a medium heat (about 350 degrees F). You don't want it to be too hot or the outside of the pancakes will cook too quickly, leaving the middle of the pancakes mushy.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the mashed banana, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flax meal and water (or regular egg). Let set for a couple minutes.
4. Stir in the the melted coconut oil (or applesauce) and the milk.
5. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Add more flour if the mixture is too runny or more milk if it is too thick.
6. Let the batter set for about 5 minutes.
7. Pour scant 1/4 cup of batter onto lightly greased griddle or skillet and sprinkle a bit of streusel on the top. Let it cook until bubbles appear in middle of pancakes and the edges are dry.
8. Flip pancakes and let cook on other side for a couple minutes.
9. Serve with extra streusel and walnuts sprinkled on top and a drizzle of agave or syrup. You could also top with some banana slices.

You have got to try these pancakes! 

Seriously, they are SO good, SO healthy and SO filling. 

So...

Make them tomorrow! 

You won't be sorry. ;)

What are some of your favorite pancake recipes?