It's Been a Week (Or Three), I Tell Ya!

Nothing that doesn't warrant a 'First World Problems' hashtag#, mind you, so I will spare you any kvetching I may feel like doing. 
In the midst of what has been just a crazy few weeks, I have needed to reminded myself  (over and over... and over)  how important it is to stop and notice all the little things in life.. And that yes, even in the midst of exhaustion and chaos, there is a bit of beauty and hilariousness to be found, even if we may not feel that way at the moment.

That said, in lieu of my annual unsolicited Oscar’s red carpet review (I didn’t even watch this year) I will be celebrating BESTS of this month!

BEST Day: Mike finally had an ENTIRE day off  last week (this hasn’t happened in I don’t even know how long) so we got to spend the whole day together as a family, relaxing, playing, cooking, laughing. As annoying as our opposing schedules can be during the winter, the family time we do get together is worth it.

BEST Excuse: Viv, on why she should not have to wear undies… apparently they are “too kooky.”

BEST Down-time Distraction: ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Gypsy Sisters’. Could the two shows be more opposite? I have decided that having watched the Downton season finale twice, makes up for the hot mess that is ‘Gypsy Sisters.’ Don’t judge me! Actually, feel free to judge me, I will simply respond like to Dowager Countess.

BEST Work-related Happening: Finally filming for our long-awaited PSA, to be premiered this spring! SO PROUD of the folks that took part!

BEST Things to Look Forward to: Spring, winter sports ending, going to FL soon, Teenie’s wedding, iced tea weather.

BEST Feeling: Laughing deliciously. 

So folks, what bests are you celebrating today?

It may be freezing and snow-covered still, but there was something about this sky that reminded me that spring isn't too far off  (and that's a nice thing to look forward to, eh?)

Low-Cost Valentine's Day

Or would that be LO-cost Valentine's Day? Hahahahahah..hahha..ha...mmm. Yes, I'm often a lot less funny out loud than i am in my head. ;-)
We're not huge into celebrating Valentine's day, although it's certainly fun to do crafts with Viv and all that! Here are the two little things Vivi and I made for Mike:
Photo Collage: This actually only took a few minutes to do each part! About 10 minutes to take the pictures, 10 minutes to edit them and add the text (we used Picasa), and about 3 minutes to print. Total cost: $3

Message in a Bottle:
I saw this idea on Pinterest, and when I came across the bottle at the dollar store, I decided it might be fun! I opted to remove the gaudy faux rose petals (Mike doesn't really dooo faux petals, and the pre-written (well what's the fun in that?) note. We replaced them with some M&Ms, a "Daddy and Me" picture Vivi drew, and large amount of stickers that all preschool-aged projects require. Total cost: $4

Happy Valentine's Day!

Fighting Cabin Fever

Totally needed, especially after all the chilly weather and being stuck inside sick all week! So I decide that before anyone went  all Jack Nicholson, it would be good for all of us to get outside for some Vitamin D. Mike got called into work early (I am dreaming of Spring when his schedule won't be so brutal and he can spend more time at home!) so Viv and I bundled up and headed out.
What a stunning day! We are so fortunate to live where we do! Today's weather reminded me that winter in Vermont isn't really all that bad :)

Action shot!

About 40 seconds later she bowled me over, which resulted in snow.down.my.pants. Boy was she amused by that!

More snow down my pants, but oh well ;-)

My Funny Valentine

Mike had to work, and it was pretty chilly out (um, we got almost no snow), so Viv and I opted to stay inside today and work on valentines for her class :)

Screw the Flu & Banana/Strawberry 'Green Thicky'

If you haven't been graced with the nasty plague... er, icky flu that seems to go non-stop all winter, than I envy you! I thought I could skip by this year without a flu shot and have been kicking myself all week for not having gotten one.
It also became painfully apparent to me this year that I do not have to capacity to handle being ill like a rational adult. I just don't. I hate it! Being under the weather (for me at least) also brings about an enormous amount of internal struggle between the need to take care of myself and the need to fulfill my obligations to other people. Am I the only one who  struggles with this? I go to work to get stuff done and feel miserable all day; I leave early or stay home and feel immediate guilt, like I am shirking my responsibilities (for the record, my work is more than understanding about sick days, this is all me!). 
I feel like as a mom (a work-out-of-home-mom that is, I can't speak for anyone else), I find myself in a perpetual state of feeling like there isn't enough time for everyone and everything as it is. Adding in the actual physical need to [try to] put myself first so that I can get well is akin to poking a stick through my bycicle spokes. But I digress...
My real reason for writing is that I continued with my Green Smoothie (thickie) Experiment despit being sick. I made several mixed berry/spinach smoothies this week, but was didn't have the time to write about the recipes. I found this guide very helpful in creating my recipes:

Img Credit: Whole Earth Wellness

This morning I created a banana strawberry "thicky" that is definitely worth a share if you're thinking of replacing a meal with a smoothie! Yeah, it's a Magic Hat glass, don't judge me!

Oatmeal (28g)- 100cal

Organic Spinach (pureed at home and frozen, 30oz)- 20cal

Strawberries (1/2 cup)- 25cal

Cottage cheese- fat free, small curd (1/4 cup)- 40cal

1 medium banana- 105cal

1 cup water

(This recipe isn't from the website, but you can read all about green thickies here).

Kiddo Craft: "Magic" Message Painting

Is it spring yet? We spent this chilly afternoon doing some arts and crafts!

Using the clear crayon leftover from Easter egg dying (white crayons would work too, but our paper was slightly gray so I went with this) I created some pictures and messages for Viv to water color and discover what each one was. Easy-peasy and really fun for little ones! Viv  painted about 12 in all, but would have gone on all afternoon if I hadn't started running low on crayon :)

Green Thickies? Smoothie Meal, My Way

So I had been hearing  about these smoothies called "green thickies," which you can read all about here: http://www.greenthickies.com/guide/.  Basically, it's a smoothie you can "make a meal out of." I decided yesterday to try one... I heart smoothies, and really do find that I have so much more energy when I drink them, so why not, ya know?
I wouldn't call yesterday's creation an epic fail... it tasted pretty good! It looked disgusting though. I won't even compare it to anything, it looked that bad. It was my fault entirely... I decided to add frozen carrots (which I had pureed and frozen several weeks before for smoothies) and that just didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to.
BUT... drumroll please (because I know you're all on the endge of your seats ;-)... I made a different variation today, and it was AWESOME, and really did keep me full until dinner. So, despite the name being a little funky, I do highly suggest trying the "Green Thickies" (don't pretend you didn't already pin them on Pinterest).
Here's the recipe I did today:

• 1 cup of organic pureed spinach (frozen, prepared at home) 20cal
• 1 fresh kiwi (no skin) 49cal
• 1/2 cup strawberries (frozen) 24cal
• 1 regular (no flavor, salt-free) pack of instant oatmeal 100cal
• 1 cup green tea (cold) 0cal
• 1/2 a container of Voskos fat-free Honey Vanilla Bean 2x Protein Greek yogurt (roughly 2.6 oz... I would have put the whole container in, but a certain kiddo wanted the other half ;-)   65cal

Total= 258 calories

I do recommend mixing the oatmeal and green tea in the blender for just a few pulses before adding the rest of the ingredients- it will make it far less grainy!