The kids and I flew into Anchorage last night. My 5 year old was pretty sure we were going to crash into the depths of the silty, glacial Turnagain Arm. Landing in Anchorage has never been my favorite landing strip.  I have the same sense that the pilot may mess it up and plunge us into the gray ocean just as easily as actually going a tad bit further and sliding onto a solid land mass.

We started the day out with a scrumptious breakfast at the Sourdough Cafe in Girdwood. Their sourdough starter is 100 years old! They served up their delectable pancakes with Michigan maple syrup, fresh homemade marmalade, strawberry rhubarb and cherry rhubarb jam (rhubarb is a top grower in AK. It loves the climate and all of the light). I was stuffed for hours!

We took a tram up the side of the famous ski resort, Alyeska, saw some beautiful blue glaciers, let the kiddos tromp around like Dahl sheep on the mountain peaks and headed down when the fog rolled in socked us in.

We then went to a fabulous wild animal sanctuary near Portage glacier. It was filled with caribou, musk ox, bison, black bear, elk, two great horned owls, a bald eagle and this ridiculous brown bear lolling outside on his deck under the cover of his sod roofed cabin. Made me just want to go up and give him a cuddle! I would have felt very differently had the electric fence not been present!

It drizzled most of the day but the sun poked out its head once we hit the Kenai Peninsula and we got to see the gorgeous mount Redoubt in all of its splendor…well most, the tip seemed to be smoking. No, not cigarette smoking, volcano smoking silly!

It’s Aug. 17th and it’s still dusk at 11pm in AK!

Sorry about the picture quality. The paparazzi (My photographer/

husband) stayed home so you get my iPhone pics. Better than nothing though!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to send out a big “THANK YOU” to all of you who checked out my Oprah Audition video and voted for me. The results aren’t in yet but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything. As a reward my snarky husband, who’s too technical for his own good, put this little ditty together. Enjoy!!!

Come September both of my kids will be going to school and instead of struggling with the question of “What’s Next?” I’m trying not to fret and worry about what my life might look like without a child at my hip constantly. Instead, I’m focusing on sitting in that uncomfortable place, being open to what’s next and staying true to what I do know and want for my children and my family.

A couple of weeks ago I had a very strong feeling that I was supposed to send in an audition to Oprah’s new “OWN Network” where she and Mark Burnett are working together to cast a reality show to find the next talk show host (with one of the categories being Health and Well being). I didn’t feel like I was supposed to send in the audition tape so I would “win” but because I needed to go through the exercise of actually doing it. I took the plunge and asked my Naturopath if she’d let me interview her and she graciously accepted. (She isn’t in the interview much (we only had 3 minutes) but you can look forward to the full interview just as soon as we get it edited! ).

I’ve had an amazing response to the audition tape and it’s slowly becoming clear why I needed to do this. I’ll be sure to let you know as Life’s Plan unfolds itself….

This morning I was fortunate enough to be able to speak for another MOPS group on the topic of added sugars in our pre-packaged food items. I had so many questions afterward about chocolate milk and Ovaltine that I thought I’d talk about it here a bit.

Ovaltine

First of all, in answer to many of your questions,  yes, I do recommend Ovaltine.  Although it does contain some preservatives and food coloring/dye it is definitely a healthy alternative to pre-packaged chocolate milk, Nesquik, or Hershey’s type syrup. It does not contain any hydrogenated fats or high fructose corn syrup and it does offer some extra vitamins such as B6, B12, E and Zinc to name a few. One of the things I like most about it though is that I get to control the amount that I put into my child’s milk. If I add the suggested 4 Tbs to 8oz. of milk then it’s still a whopping 30 grams of sugar (12 of which are from the lactose in milk- but still sugar). However, if I only put 2 Tbs. in then I’ve just cut the amount of added sugars in half and my child and I are both happy! I like to be in control!

Cocoa Powder

Another choice, and the healthiest choice, is to simply use cocoa powder and the sweetener of your choice. This works best for hot chocolate because the cocoa powder doesn’t dissolve quite as easily in the cold milk. I like to add a little brown sugar or, if hot, honey. For those of you who like stevia, this can be used in place of the sugar/honey. Again, this is such a great choice because YOU get to control the amount of sugar. You also know that there are no dyes, preservatives or artificial flavors added.

Be sure to check out my recipe for Homemade Hot Chocolate!

Today I was lucky enough to get to speak at another MOPS group! What a privilege to have the attention of seventy something mother’s who rarely get to actually sit down to a hot meal and concentrate on anything other than the demands of their children. We talked about added sugars in pre-packaged foods. We converted grams to tsps  (4 grams = 1 tsp) and looked at how much sugar some pre-packaged foods contain.

I left my 4 year old daughter at her Aunt’s house. They had a big time together but I had to laugh when I walked in the door. What was in my child’s hand but a Horizon Organic Vanilla milk? One of the exact items that I had used as an example (at my talk) of beverages to steer clear of because of its abundant sugar (29 grams to be exact- 7 tsps)! Along with this came the announcement “And I got to have 3 cookies!”

As we were about to depart, my sister-in-law (who I dearly love) called out to me “Call me and tell me what you talked about today.” Now, it isn’t everyday that a door gets opened up like that. My sister-in-law is open to much of my healthy advice but I don’t want to come across as preachy or a know-it-all or people quit listening. But, since she asked…… I quickly told her that we had talked about added sugars and how to convert grams to teaspoons, and even admitted, that the vanilla milk my daughter had in her hot little hands was one of the offending items I had brought up. She apologized profusely and said she had no idea how much sugar was in that little drink. I said “That’s okay. It’s a once in a while thing. She doesn’t get something like that very often. It’s when kids have it everyday that it adds up.”

It was a stark reminder that getting the message out matters. Knowledge is power. We are bright, determined, hard-working, loving mothers and we want nothing more than our children to be safe and healthy. All we need are the tools.