Green Smoothies

Everyday I get emails from Fit Yummy Mummy with exercise tips and such. Well, this month I got one that I think has forever changed the way I get my vegetables. We're talking about Green Smoothies! My sister-in-law Nancy had a green smoothie made up some time ago when she was trying out things from the book "Eat to Live", so that was my first introduction. I remember I tried her green shake, can't remember it being terrible or incredible. So already having had the seed planted in my brain, this email from FYM caught my attention. I printed up her "How to" on making smoothies and gave it a go for the first time on Monday night. It was fun seeing my kids pretty grossed out at my green concoction. But I set a good example "I made this, I don't know how it will taste, but I will eat it even if it's disgusting cause it's healthy for me and cause we don't waste food in our family." I made that shake out of a lot of fresh spinach, a cup of frozen berries, a little bit of Vanilla Protein Powder and some xylitol for sweetening. So, it wasn't incredible, but I did feel very full and satisfied after I finally got it all down. Tuesday I thought I'd experiment with Chocolate Green Smoothies. Pretty good my on my first try, and on my second try, I perfected my formula and have found my perfect delicious food that tastes to me like chocolate ice cream. Give it a go, if you dare!! I love it, and am stocked up to enjoy one of these delicious Green Smoothies everyday for 3 weeks. Simply blend (use a KTEC blender for ideal consistency, I love my KTEC):

2 + c. spinach
1/2 c. water
6 ice cubes
1 tsp. xylitol
5 drops vanilla stevia
1/2 banana, sliced and frozen
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use EAS whey protein from Sam's Club)

Yummy yummy! Oh, and then after it's all mixed toss in a little bit of Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal to be the cone in your chocolate ice cream shake. Pulse that for just a second, and you'll be enjoying your ice cream and getting your greens too! Let me know if you try it, or come by my house and I'll whip one up for us to share.

Here's a youtube video on making green smoothies that shares more reasons why they are great.

Lily's Got My Back

Nice to know I have a friend in Lily.


Actually, laying on the floor is the main way I can multi-task. She is happy crawling back and forth across my back for hours, and I can actually DO something. I can read. And that's about it. Lily is spoiled rotten and makes anyone who has a list of to-do's to do feel absolutely worthless. That's one of my pet names for her. Worthless.

But she's cute. And I love her. As I type this she has found me and has got my legs and is requesting to be assisted to a higher level of viewing. Gotta go.

The Food Nanny

In April, the Food Nanny came and spoke at a Relief Society Meeting in our Stake, and my life has not been the same since. I've now organized my dinners, menus, and shopping around her how-tos. Here is her website, and her two week menu planner. I've also organized all my used to be loose recipies neatly in a binder with pocket tabs that are labeled like her book is organized.


I bought her book that night, and highly recommend it if you struggle with dinner. At the meeting, she spoke some things that I needed to hear, saying "Whether we want to believe it or not, we (women/mothers) own dinner." I've known that but not wanted to believe it for a long time. It's been Corey's consistent request that we have sit down meals an that I make dinner. So, I'm doing it now and have been pretty consistent for the past 2 months, and that feels good! I'm learning how to cook! Here we are on a Saturday morning enjoying some pancakes with the Food Nanny's recommended accessories. The kids had fun, and I loved it too.

Show offs

Joe likes to impress his younger siblings, friends, and family by doing something he finds really tough - going bare in the snow. It's cold, he tells us, but it is a matter of mind over body. I think the kids started doing this after I did it - when I was training for a half marathon during January and February in 2008. I had found something online that said the best way to help your muscles recover after a long run was to get them cold. I thought I'd try it, so I'd usually sit in a tub of cold water. Not very enjoyable. It was easier for me to sit in the snow for a few minutes if there was snow, which there was on occasion. The kids thought I was crazy tough, and now like to show how tough they are. Here are Joe and Hyrum rolling in the snow.
I had put up the trampoline in March, so the kids also like to go jump on the snow covered trampoline barefoot. They're nuts!

Shoot Me Thursday - 1 of 52

I got this idea from my friend Kristen's blog -

Post a picture of YOU (yes YOU) with a child, spouse, friend or even by yourself every Thursday. You'll be glad you did! See you on Thursdays!


So here's my picture - top of the head is gone, but not bad for a 7 year old. This was when we took Lily to get her 6 month immunizations. Things went better this time than they did when she got her 3 month, at which time Abigail also got her 2 year immunizations. Then she passed out while I was paying the bill. Had to get her some juice and after 10 minutes one of the nurses helped me and my girls out to the car.

**Shoot Me is a year long challenge to get in the picture since mommy's are usually the ones behind the camera, if you want to jump in her is the link to Carin's blog where the party started.**

St. Patrick's Day

So this is over a month late, but here's some pictures of our St. Patrick's Day happenings...

Joseph is learning how to cook


and made some Green Puffy Pancakes for the kids



Wesley in his green clothes - aka Peter Pan.


Wes and Mel enjoying their Pancakes out side in the back.

One funny thing about the morning of St. Patrick's Day - See those tights above that Wes is wearing? When Hyrum came up for breakfast in the clothes he was going to wear to school, I had to try not to laugh... he wanted to wear the green Peter Pan tight pants to school, which were funny because a) they are tights b) they are really tight tights on him vs. how they look on the small kids that are supposed to wear them c) they were floods

It took a good ten minutes to convince him that it was not a good idea, that ALL of your clothes don't have to be green on St. Partick's Day, and if he wore them to school kids would probably laugh at him so if he wouldn't like that to happen, it would be best to ditch the Peter Pan Pants. I love my kids.

Sons of Sandy Boy Band

We rented Sons of Provo from the Library, and I think that is what inspired my sons to form their own boy band...
Doesn't Ethan look H-O-T? Oh yeah, He's Bad! He's Bad, He knows it.

Wesley, he was playing along, not sure the Batman ensemble really fits the look that the group's going for. But I guess if your band members play the clarinet and maraca, what's wrong with a Batman mask.
The kids singing the Bad/Tough Guy version of "How Firm a Foundation" - Hey, I guess ya have to go with the songs ya know...

Rub a Dub-dub...

...7 kids in the tub!

(I have a tub picture for each number of kids we've had except for when there were 5. Sad, I could have had a complete set! Oh well)

Hyrum Made Lunch for Dad

Pretty Creative, I thought...

Looks like a Muppet Sandwich.

I is for Immunizations

These pictures that Ethan took of Lily getting her 6 month immunizations are in the running for Lily's ABC book entry under the letter I - I is for Immunizations

Or C is for Cry?


More like S is for Scream.

Narnia Legos

Melodie made these legos on her own, I was very impressed. Corey was reading the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to her and I thought she did an amazing job making these legos so she could play along.

we have the Wardrobe


The white witch and her sled



She also made the witch's Ice Castle, but I couldn't get it to upload. I'll try again later. She made the White Witch's hair out of a kneaded eraser.