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!

4th Birthday Made for a Princess

We had a small princess tea party for Viv's birthday. Unfortunately i didn't get photos of everything I wanted to, but c'est la vie! Viv loved it!
We found this handmade princess dress at a local shop and thought it was perfect for the occasion! It was a bit long for running around in, so we had a quick costume change (a la Elizabeth Taylor) halfway through the party.

I wanted to use a real tea set, but wasn't quite ready to part with my grandmother's china. I found GREAT (read: pretty and cheap) tea ware a the Christmas Tree Shops!

Bracelets as napkin rings- great idea Pinterest!

I feel it only fair to warn you, once you have eaten cheddar shaped like a glass slipper, plain old cheddar will never do! We had some other food, but I didn't snap pics in time.

I wanted an activity that would be fun for different ages of kiddos, but that also wasn't overly messy! I found cute jewelry boxes (and one pirate treasure chest)  at AC Moore, painted them (with Viv's help!) and fount a TON of self-adhesive decor to decorate them with. No glue needed, and a really easy clean up! On a separate note,  have 049754358365 self-adhesive foam glitter shapes if anyone is in the market for some. ;-)

 

 
Viv wanted to decorate the cupcakes herself :)

Sweet girl

Advent Project Days 15-24

Yes, I'm extremely late in posting these, but with good reason. a. I'm exhausted. Pooped. Worn out. Je suis très fatigué! and b. my laptop cord broke and I have yet to get another one (please refer back to reason "a." for why. 

Anywho, better late than never, right? 

Day 15:
So... Day 15 was supposed to be the Magic on Main celebration in town... we went, she decorated an ornament (pictured) but she was scared to death of the reindeer :( when Santa came booming in on a fire engine (avec sirens) she screamed and ran the other way. When I got her calmed down, the crowd around Santa was just too overwhelming (not to mention 15 degrees out) for her. Poor peanut! Soooo... we decided shopping for a party dress was more our speed ;-)

Day 16: This was supposed to be a trip to an actual reindeer farm... however, due to her reaction t the reindeer yesterday, we thought it would be a good idea to forgo that idea, and instead went to the library party :)

Day 17: Cookies and Christmas books by the tree with Daddy ♥ After this book she said "I'm having such a happy holiday!" Love her so!

Day 18: She and Mike wanted colored lights on the tree, but the white lights won out... so we thought this was a cute way for her to get the lights she wanted (Mike declined to wear a matching necklace)

 




















Day 19: Snowman pizza!

Day 20: Making Magic Reindeer Food

Day 21: 

Day 22: This was supposed to a going to Grammy's Christmas party, but the roads were bad and we weren't up for the 2 hour drive, so we improvised!

Day 23: Another improvised day, since she was supposed to spend the night at Grammy's and do something special, so she got to pick out small gifts for everyone!