Smoothies!!

My new favorite healthy food is smoothies. I drink one just about everyday because I can just pack it full of good stuff and get all my fruits in one shot. This is what I put in one a while back and it was THE.BEST.SMOOTHIE.EVER.

It was a LOT of smoothie. So I got two days worth. YUM!!

If you haven't tried that yogurt from Trader Joe's yet, DO IT! It's great for kids because it's full fat and it tastes oh so creamy. It comes in a six pack, 3 vanilla with 3 blueberry or 3 banana with 3 strawberry. I bought it for Josey, and since I made these to also share with him, so it's okay I stole it from him. :-)

Home made egg mac muffins

Does anyone remember Beakman's World? That was my favorite show when I was a kid. Way better than Bill Nye. Hands down. I learned so much from that show. I don't remember much of it, but one thing that ALWAYS stuck with me was their segment on how to make egg sandwiches much like the ones you'd find at a major fast food restaurant. I made them once and never forgot them.

Now, I'm not a big consumer of these, so I never made them for myself, but the skill proved
 useful when I got married. During our whirlwind courtship, I learned that
Sam ate these every morning with a glass of oj.

As I took over the shopping when we got married, I learned that those were spendy! I could make these for so much cheaper, so I did. Here's how you do it:

Sam likes his english muffins toasted, so that's where I start. Otherwise, he says, they are a little soggy by the time he gets to them.

• As that's toasting, I scramble one egg in this glass, that just so happens to be the right circumference as the muffin. I microwave it for 40 seconds. This took some trial and error to find the right time that cooked the egg enough without exploding it. I was bummed when my trusty microwave almost caught fire (not because of doing this! It was like ten years old.) I had to find that sweet spot all over again.

• I put shredded cheese (Sam prefers the hot pepper kind) on the hot muffin when it pops, top it with the egg (that I gently loosen with a fork around the edges to get it out of the glass) a frozen sausage patty, and the other half of the muffin. I wrap it up in a paper towel and stick it in the fridge for the morning.

Sam just has to heat it up for 55 seconds on high and it's ready to rock!

A promise kept!

I said I’d share this, and it’ll be worth the wait!

A recap: I love yummy snacks. I am frugal. I love making things from scratch. So when my friend told me about these bars, I was so excited to try them out myself! She linked me to this website, and from there I did a little searching and found this one to be my inspiration. If you search around her site, you can find all sorts of variations that are SO YUMMY!!

I made them as my friend did first.

I got 1 pound of bulk, dry roasted, unsalted cashews and 2 pounds of pitted dates, also in the bulk section. The first time I put all the dates in my food processor and the cashews in my mini chopper and hand mixed everything together in a big bowl. It was really messy. The next time I just threw everything in together and it mixed it all up quite nicely. I pressed it into this glass container that has a lid and I keep it in the fridge. Now for the fun part...

I'm a sucker for anything chocolate mint. So of course I added a little: 

I added 3 TBSP of the cocoa and maybe a TSP or two of the peppermint extract.

Josey and the boys love them, too, so the chocolate ones only come out when no one else is around!    

Where'd the time go?

You know how I said I was going to post about this fabulous recipe I found, but I couldn’t because I had to get to bed? Yeah, then the rest of life happened. I’ve really got to plan my time better. I’m thinking one of those written out schedules that Supernanny always brings in and has the parents write up on bright colored poster board and post up in the main area of the house so everyone can see it and abide by it.

I’m also thinking this would be beneficial for the Saturdays when Sam has nothing going on but to take over parenting duties completely, allowing me to sleep in, get my chores done, have some really good quiet time to get my bible study homework done. That was today. In my best efforts not to be a micro manager, lots of things didn’t get done, but Josey was happy and alive, no diapers leaked, so it was a success. Daddy is really good at playing and making sure Mommy is undisturbed. Eventually I missed him so much that I stole him away to the fabric store to figure out something as far as a Halloween costume.

I have a terrible time being consistent. I am the last person you want making a schedule and sticking to it. Well, I’m pretty good at keeping one that’s already established, but if I don’t have to have one, I’m probably not going to start one. I’m pretty sure I have to have one, now. As a nanny, I know our days at work go best if we stick to the schedule. I’m all over that at work. I don’t mess with the schedule. I’m not militant about it, but I’m not stretching them to go to storytime just because I think it’s cute to watch them dance and sing with the other kids. Nope, not doing it. It’s a disaster come naptime when it’s pushed an hour back. Now that Josey is a little older, he’s getting to be a little less flexible as well.  

Kids thrive on structure. I’m a very go-with-the-flow type.  Getting these things on paper would really help remind me what to do when on the days we are at home. Playtime here. Snack time there. Potty time after this… My poor kid doesn’t know what’s coming next, and really, neither do I. It’s fine now, but I can just see how this is going to become a problem soon.

All that to say, maybe if my day was more structured, I’d be able to fit more into it, including time to blog on a regular basis about yummy things and cute stuff my kid does. Benefits all around.