Happy Green Smoothie Challenge - Update and Tips

We are chugging along at this over here (pun intended). I LOVE these green smoothies. I have more energy than before and my skin seems to be looking great lately. I have missed a couple of days in the last few weeks and I can tell a difference in how my body feels on the days that I don't have one. Ella still downs these with me and Spencer will once school is out (I make them after he leaves for school). I'm pretty sure we will be doing this long past the end of the challenge - they are just THAT good. So I thought I'd share some tips if any of you are contemplating doing this.

If you missed my original post on the subject, you can read about it here.

Tip #1 (Spinach) -

Buy spinach at Costco. You get a monster bag for around $5. I use about 2-3 cups of spinach per smoothie so it can get expensive fast. I bought the Costco bag about a week ago and I'm not even halfway through it yet.

Tip #2 (Favorite Smoothie) -

We make this one almost every day: 2-3 cups spinach, 2 handfuls blueberries, 1 handful blackberries, 1 banana, 1 celery stalk, 8-10 ice cubes, water to taste.

This one is so yummy! However, it's not green. The blackberries turn it purple. Celery has a very strong taste so if you don't like celery, leave it out.

A variation on this is to leave the blackberries out and add pineapple. Super yummy and it's green!

Tip #3 (Blender/Food Processor) -

My old blender died about 2 days into the challenge. So I am now using this:



I LOVE it!! Costco has these for $59 right now which is a steal. I can't believe how quickly it does everything and clean up is super easy (which makes or breaks an appliance for me). I do spinach, celery, apples, carrots in the food processor and everything else in the blender.

Is anyone else trying these? I would love to hear your results, recipes, etc.

WFMW - Curling Ribbon

See this cute gift with the matching ribbon . . . I have a secret . . . it's not ribbon - it's the wrapping paper. My mom completely surprised me when she wrapped a gift like this last week. I had to quickly take pictures before she left with it. Maybe ya'll are light years ahead of me but I never thought of curling the actual paper. I don't think outside the box that way.

This is so incredibly easy. You do it the same way you curl ribbon, just go a little slower and more cautiously since paper breaks so much easier.

Saving money on gift wrap is what works for me this week, for more wonderful ideas visit Works for me Wednesday hosted by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing

Mouse House Preschool

Preschool ended for the year a couple of weeks ago and we are all so sad!
We had an end of the year picnic to celebrate. Miss Carrie made them each the cutest scrapbook of the year and gave them some bubbles. Ella still has me "read" her scrapbook to her daily.

Left to right: Sara, Ella, Eliza, Ben, and Miss Carrie - Mason refused to be in the picture.

I snapped some pictures of Eliza and Ella in the tunnel at the park - they are just too cute for words:

Ella and I made these miniature cupcakes for the party. We needed a trial run before we make the real things for her birthday party. They were a big hit:

When Spencer was in preschool, his class recorded some of their thoughts at the end of the year. It has been fun for Spencer to go back and read those. I interviewed Ella tonight about her experience in preschool. My thoughts about her answers are in itallic.

Me: "What was your favorite part of preschool this year?"

Ella: "Sharing with friends." This is HUGE with Ella. Whenever something seems unfair in her world, she whips this statement out. It seems to right all the wrongs. She has done really well with sharing.

Me: What did you like to do at preschool?

Ella: "Play at park, learn letters, umm slide, see my favorite teacher."

Me: What did you learn this year?

Ella: "Teddy Bear song" (she then preceeded to sing the song somehow inserting her cousin Maddi into the lyrics.)" Ella sings almost everywhere we go. She constantly changes the lyrics and has us howling with laughter. She is such a riot.

Me: Do you want to go to preschool next year?

Ella: I'll drive to preschool, not walk. I'll see peoples. Preschool is a good 10 miles away. Driving seems like a far better choice to me also.

Me: What do you want to learn about next year?

Ella: "Ummmm, use my paints." This is not a suprise, Ella LOVES to draw, paint, practice letters any chance she gets. I often will surprise her by buying her a new drawing pad, notebook, address book, etc. and she thinks it is the greatest gift in the world. She usually has her books completely filled within days.

It seems unbelievable to me that Ella only has one more year before kindergarten. She is still my baby in so many ways. This fall she will got to preschool 3 days a week and on the other two days we are doing a Joy school with some friends from church.

She does not quite understand the concept of summer vacation. She keeps asking to go to preschool almost every day and looks so sad when I try and explain. I'm hoping once Spencer is out of school she will understand better. Any ideas on how to explain summer vacation to a 3 year old?

Catching up with technology

I started using Google Reader and I LOVE it! If you don't know what it is, the video on this site breaks it down. Basically, instead of clicking on all the blogs in your blogroll to see who has updated, the updates are sent to Google Reader. You just check that one site instead of having to click on a million different blogs. Clear as mud, right? The video is cute, short, and is worth watching - check it out.

So, I am now FeedBurning so my site can be added to your feed reader. I have no idea what I just said or if it even makes sense. Just humor me and pretend it does. You can click on the bright orange box on the top right of the screen and subscribe to my blog. You know you want to!

Why I LOVE the Grocery Game

A picture is worth a thousand words so let's begin there:



Harris Teeter Breakdown:

12 boxes of Hamburger Helper
2 boxes of South Beach Living Bars
1 container of salt
1 can of refried beans
1 bag of snack-pack raisins
1 bag of grapes
Bananas
2 loaves of Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain cinnamon swirl bread
12 yogurts
4 containers of sour cream (FREE!)
2 Spray N Wash (FREE!)
Old English Furniture Spray

Are you ready for the total I paid:

$28.43!!!!

Before VIC card and coupons my total was $81.68 - that's a savings of $53.25. I saved 66%!

Here is what I got free:



The 4 sour creams and 2 spray n wash would have cost me $12.34.

I know it is kind of an odd assortment of items. There were pages more of items I could have bought on sale but didn't need. That's because I have been doing the grocery game since January so I have a HUGE stockpile of food at home (My own mini grocery store). I will take a pic of our stockpile and post sometime this week. The concept of the grocery game is to stock up when the item is at rock bottom price. Coupons are on a 12 week cycle so you buy what you need for 12 weeks at one time. They explain it much better than I do, here is the link.

Because I am a big fat geek, I feel the need to point out that we do NOT consume this much Hamburger Helper. It is a special treat for Spencer (the boy LOVES it) and he has it maybe once every 2 weeks.

HOW IT HAS WORKED FOR OUR FAMILY:

- Until a couple of weeks ago, my brother was living with us. So for a family of 4 adults and 2 kids, we were spending approx. $50 week once we got our stockpile. We try and buy our milk and meat at Costco (and a few other items I get suckered into) and we spend approx $100 there - so we were spending approx. $300/month total.

- Now that Aaron has moved out, we are spending approx. $30/week at the grocery store and I'm going to guess less than $50 at Coscto. Which for 3 adults, 2 kids will put us at around $170/month. Not bad, huh?

- I get most of my toiletries and cleaners DIRT CHEAP or FREE. Around the beginning of the year I got 240 rolls (12 packs of 20 rolls each) of Cottonelle Double Soft Toilet Paper for approx $20. Can't beat that. Most of my toothpaste and toothbrushes have been under a dollar or free. We aren't talking generic brands either, these are the latest greatest products that have the great coupons out for them.

Anyway, the point of all of this is that I fought trying the Grocery Game forever. I figured I didn't have the time or the space. Turns out I have both. I spend an hour on Sunday cutting coupons and that's it. So if you are debating trying it, just do it. I wish I had a year ago when I first heard about it. You can try it for four weeks for $1.00. Not bad, huh?

WFMW - Letterboxing

"Mom, I'm Bored" Summer Edition - SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!

One of the things I have on my calendar for summer this year is weekly letterboxing excursions. If you haven't heard of letterboxing before, hold on to your hats - this is way cool.

Letterboxing is like going on a real live treasure hunt. There are letter boxes hidden all over the country (and all over the world). I just looked up my area and we have 266 boxes to try and find (obviously not all in one summer). This site explains letterboxing well and is the place you go to get clues, find boxes, etc. Here are some very basic directions on how to join in the fun:

How to go on a letterbox excursion:

1. Print up the clues and head to the basic location.
2. Based on clues try and find the hidden box.
3. Once you locate the box, very carefully pick up the box so that non-letterboxers don't know what you are doing (kids love the secretive aspect to this).
4. Take the stamp in the box and stamp your logbook.
5. Take your stamp and stamp the logbook in the box to prove you were there.
6. Rehide the box.

Materials needed:

1. Family stamp that you can make yourself or buy from a craft store. Any stamp that you think represents your family.
2. Ink pad.
3. Logbook (any notebook will work well for this).

Why I LOVE letterboxing:

1. IT'S FREE!! (Besides the minimal cost of a logbook and stamp).
2. It is a fun adventure where the kids get to use their brains outdoors.
3. You go to so many different places you might normally not go (different parks, hiking trails, city monuments, etc.).
4. Did I mention it's free!

In a moment of sheer panic a couple months ago when I realized summer was looming over us, I came up with a whole calendar of activities to fill our days. I will be posting some more free (or really cheap) ideas to help keep summer fun over the next few weeks, so check back for some more soon!

For some more tips to beat the summer blues, check out Works for Me Wednesday hosted by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

A day in the life

Motherhood perfected in 10 easy steps:

1. Tell kids if they hurry and get ready you can stop by the library before soccer.
Watch said kids get ready and have them stand by the door.
2. Run up two flights of stairs approximately 6 times to get everything you forgot on your first 5 trips.
3. While trying to catch your breath, wrangle said kids to the car only to discover both booster seats are in grandma's car which is at work.
4. Tell children that there will be no soccer practice or scout fieldtrip due to lack of carseat. Spend approximately 10 minutes trying to coach your 3 year old in the house while she stops to examine every rock/bug/wrapper while you get more and more frustrated.
5. Remember an extra carseat which will cost you another trip up the 2 flights of stairs.
6. Repeat long walk with 3 year old (actually only about 10 ft) back to car and get everyone in. Let them know that there is now no time for library.
7. Go to soccer practice and realize the cute 20 year old teaching the class looks at you like you are a middle aged mom (which you really are) even though you still feel 16.
8. Leave soccer practice and realize that you will get your son to his scout field trip early. Revel in the fact that this will make you look so organized and put together.
9. Get lost on the way to the field trip. Show up 10 minutes late. Notice that your son is not wearing his scout shirt - in fact he is the only boy without it. So much for organized and put together mom.
10. Spend an hour in the library with the kids, picking out books and reading some books to 3 year old. Come home and make kids favorite dinner. Allow them to eat it while watching a movie.

Pretty typical day in our life, would love to hear yours!

Laying it all out there

You might wonder why I am posting at 1:32 AM or you might not, but I'm going to tell you anyway. I have spent the last hour rummaging through all the crap stuff I have piled in my bedroom trying to find a form that I need to return to Spencer's school tomorrow. I give up. I think the room ate it. Do you think the teacher will take that excuse?? We don't have a dog to blame it on.

Please, please, please tell me ya'll have moments like these.

So I had a brilliant idea. I need to clean my room. Duh, right? Bear with me, it's way past my bedtime. I always put off cleaning my room. The rest of the house is focused on and clean every day but my room is neglected, we pile everything in here, especially since I've been sick the past year. I'd like to blame it all on the illness, but who am I kidding - I just hate to clean my room.

So are you ready for the idea . . . I'm blackmailing myself. I'm giving myself a week to clear out this mess. If it's not done, I will post a picture on my blog so I can die of humiliation. After you point and laugh, you will all be so ashamed for me. One of you might feel so bad for me you might send my pic to Oprah for a room makeover - actually this idea is sounding better and better, we could use a visit from Nate. But I digress, that will not be happening because nobody, and I mean nobody (especially all of America) will see this room. I save that pleasure for immediate family members only (and Irene - but she has been sworn to secrecy).

If I don't post for a few days, send help - I could be trapped in my room under all my junk cherished posessions.

*I reserve the right to remove this post and back out of this if I wake up in the morning and realize what I have committed myself to.*

Produce stickers - who knew?

*UPDATE* - This article gives a little more info on this if you are interested.

This is such a great tip - I read about it here. Basically, the first number on the produce sticker tells you a lot about the fruit you are buying.

So . . .

- If it starts with a 9 - it's organic.
- If it starts with a 4 - it's not.

But this is the big one that I will be watching out for:

- If it starts with an 8 - it is genetically modified.

Cool tip, huh?

Sunday Summary

Highlights of this week:

1. My sister Brittany welcomed a new little one to her home. Bruce Charles Gomez was born on Wednesday at 1:12 AM. I have never seen a baby look so much like his dad. Kinda crazy. I'll add pics when I get them. Happy babymoon Britt!

On a side note, that makes 4 nephews born in a little over a year that all have a name that starts with the letter "B." Braxten, Brecken, Berkeley, and Bruce. Is there some trend that I'm unaware of????

2. Ella's future husband had his fourth birthday party Saturday. It was so fun! Irene did such a great job with her train themed cake and games. I was way impressed. Check out this pin-the-caboose on the train game:



Notice that Josh's train is the closest by far. He felt for the wheels while he was blindfolded. So incredibly smart.

3. Dr. Mario was finally released on the Wii!!! Big, big news over here. I'm tempted to stop everything and just play all day. Such joy.

4. Season finale of Lost?? Did you see this???? Unbelievable. So many questions answered and so many questions left: (SPOILERS AHEAD)

*Last season Desmond told Charlie he had to die in order to get Claire on the helicopter. But Claire wasn't on the helicopter. What gives??? Is she dead? I think she died when the barracks were bombed and when Sawyer found her she was already dead. What do you think? Why did Desmond say that?

*Wasn't Sun amazing! Do you thing Jin is really dead? Sun said 2 people are responsible for Jin's death - we know her father is one of them, who is the other - Jack, Widmore?? My bets are on Jack. Is she teaming up with Widmore?

*What bad things happened on the Island after the 6 left? I think next season is going to be amazing.

*Who really is eyeliner man? I would love to see one of the episodes dedicated to his history.

*And the biggest question of all . . . what the heck was baby Aaron eating after being separated from Claire??

More Green Smoothie Info

One of my favorite message boards was talking about green smoothies today. There are some tips for making them cheaper, great recipes, and good advice. Click here if you're interested.

We are loving our smoothies over here!

Happy Green Smoothie Challenge - Day 1

Holy moly these things are good! I might have actually found a way to get more vegetables in me. We experimented with our first green smoothie today and I was pleasantly surprised.

Here are the raw ingredients:



I used -

1 banana
Handful of blueberries
Handful of pineapple chunks
4 mint leaves from my garden
Approx. 2.5 handfuls of lettuce mix (romaine, iceburg, red cabbage, carrots)
1 handful of fresh spinach

If you decide to try this, you can add anything you want - you just want to keep it about 60% fruit and 40% leafy greens.



Once it was in the blender, I added 4 ice cubes and about 1.5 cups of water. Out came these:



It was nice that they were actually green, I read that most "green smoothies" are really brown. It tasted just like a banana pineapple smoothie. Couldn't taste the vegetables at all. I think the greens actually sweetened the smoothie. Most fruit smoothies I make have honey in them because they are too tart for me. This was really sweet without anything added to it.

KID TEST: Ella loved it. This was no surprise coming from the girl who eats bell peppers and cucumbers for breakfast. Spencer tried it (which is a miracle in itself). He said he didn't hate it but he didn't love it either. He said he'd drink it if he had to. He loves apples so the smoothie tomorrow will probably be something with apples, kale, and celery. I think he'd enjoy that more.

DOWNSIDE: Money!! To do this for a month will be expensive! I have got to find some ways around the cost. I think I'm going to get frozen unsweetened strawberries from Costco instead of using fresh ones. I used a package mix for some of the greens today but I couldn't resist the 10/$10 deal that Safeway had going on. Iceberg isn't the best choice for lettuce but it was mixed with Romaine, carrots, and red cabbage. If you have any other money saving ideas for fruits and veggies, pass them on!

On my radar . . .

1. Happy Green Smoothie Challenge. We are taking on the challenge for a month. I'll report back and let you know how it goes. I know at least Ella will do it with me, not so sure about the boy who will not even eat a regular smoothie.

2. Saw this at Shannon's blog and in the Pottery Barn catalog. I'm planning on making the flower ones this weekend for Ella's room.

3. End of the year teacher gifts. Anyone have a great idea?? I've been following this thread.

4. Since Miley Cyrus's unfortunate magazine cover and the subsequent shopping trip with Ella where I discovered hardly any suitable tops for her, I've had modesty on my mind. Without going into my inner tirade right now, I've been delighted to find that several blogs feature Modesty Monday. It has been so refreshing to read intelligent, modern thoughts about modesty (including dress, appearance, language, intentions, etc.) I'm too tired to list links right now but if you are interested google Modesty Monday and read on!

5. On the subject of clothing, check out this fun blog. A personal stylist answers questions and gives advice, so fun!

Budding Poet

Spencer's latest project at school was to compile 20 of his poems and turn them into a book. Here are some of the poems from his book, along with what type of poem it is:

Limerick:

There was a man with a big mustache
So he never could go for a dash
For he would trip
And his sleeve would rip
And he would have a very big gash

Diamante:
Kart
Swift, strong
Racing, crossing, jumping
Always made for bumping
Bumping, spinning, crashing
Agile, capable
Car

Acrostics

My favorite sport

Bases
America’s pastime
Sliding
Exciting
Ball
Awesome
Line drive
Likeable


My favorite (and only) sister

Ecstatic
Loveable
Loony
Acrobatic

Cinquain:

Airplane
Fast, capable
Flying, soaring, landing
Sometimes made from paper
Flying machine

WFMW - Library Bags

We are a family of readers. One of our favorite activities is to visit the library. Between the four of us, we usually have 35-40 books checked out at a time. We are really good at getting the books, not so good at returning them on time (even though we literally live a couple of steps from the library). I realized that half the battle was rounding up the library books to return. About a year ago, I took a large canvas bag and put it in our living room next to one of our bookshelves. ALL library books are kept there. As soon as we finish a book, it goes back in the bag. This has made it much more easier to find books when we need to return them. We are hardly ever late now. This week though, I took it a step further. I noticed that most of our fines (when we get them) were on the kids books. So I bought two reusable bags from Trader Joe's and put a bag in each of their rooms for library books. It is much easier for them when they finish reading, to put the book back in the bag in their room than to bring it all the way downstairs. Such a simple easy idea, I wish I would have done it years ago.

For more tips from some amazing women, visit Works for me Wednesday hosted by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer