Now that’s what I call a “Messiful Mama”!

Rewind to a week ago today. It’s Mother’s Day, I have the perfect little post coming down the pipeline then BOOM; Life.Gets.Messy!

A trip to Urgent Care turns into a trip the the ED, turns into 4 days in the hospital with my oldest daughter. Needless to say, it left me physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted.

Cortisol. Levels. Rise

There’s some more follow up to be done but for the moment we’re home, and she’s fine; I on the other hand, not so much. I am awesome in a crisis, the go to gal when ish gets real BUT… Afterwards all those flight or fight hormones wear off and my “bad-assness” starts to fade, I have trouble processing said crisis that I just rocked.

So, today’s mission is Operation Reboot/Self Love; no time for crashing, I have a messy life to get back to! I start with my go-to’s for mindful relaxation, soak up a little sunshine, reconnect with some meditation, dig my barefeet in the Earth for a bit; determined to balance my energy. Unwinding still not going all that well though so I figured I’d go in more indulgent direction (the mindfulness stuff works great when I’m ready for it but sometimes I just need more of a in the moment pacifier) I decided on gourmet mac and cheese topped with fresh tomato and basil… Mmmmmmmmmm

Then I figured, “why not throw a cocktail in the mix?!” I decided to get creative. I got a little naughty with my bullet (not as dirty as is sounds) then this deliciousness happened…

“What do I call it?”, you ask. Why, “The Messiful Mama”, of course!

I promptly forgot about the mac. (Who needs dinner anyway?)

Now for the goodness inside, cause by this time I am sure you have your shoes on, keys in hand, ready for a grocery run right?

All you need to create yourself a “Mama” is.

3/4 cup Simple Syrup
1 1/2 cup of cherries
4 lemons
5 cups of water
Ice
Amaretto

For the simple syrup just bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil, mix until dissolved and let cool. You could whip up a batch just for this recipe 3/4 to 3/4 or you could make a little extra to store and keep on hand. It holds great in the refrigerator and comes in handy for cocktails in general.

Now for the cherries and the lemons, I use real fruit but don’t let the party stop if you’ve only got juice on hand. Essentially, we’re just making cherry lemonade and mixing it with amaretto. (Simple but oh so sweet!) Take all the flesh, minus seeds, of the lemon (we’re going for more than just the juice here) the cherries (I used frozen because it was what I hand) and the simple syrup and throw it in your blender. (I prefer to use my NutriBullet because, well because I love it). Add your water, mix it up and you’ve got your cherry lemonade.

Rather than add the amaretto right in at this point, I mix it into each drink. I also like to chill the lemonade for about a half hour, let the flavors get acquainted, but if you’re really looking to “Mess” things up in a hurry by all means get right to it. I like a half and half ratio but there’s no science here, messy measurements make for my kind of mixing! Add some ice to a glass and go to town. Play around a bit and let me know,

“How do you take your Messiful Mama?”

Don’t you worry, I came back to that mac a little later 😉