Green Smoothies

Healthy and fun for St. Patrick's Day...and any other day! I first saw this recipe on my friend, Heidi's blog, the original comes from PrairieMama...but Heidi adds raspberry yogurt, so I decided to try her version...
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What you will need…

• A ripe banana
• 3-4 oz spinach
  
• hot water
• a generous Tablespoon of ground flax seed
• 8 oz of yogurt
• two cups or more of frozen fruit
• juice or water to top it off

Have your blender ready.

First add one ripe banana, fresh or frozen.

Then add 3-4 ounces of frozen spinach.

Next, pour HOT water over the bananas and spinach almost to covering them. Your smoothie will still be cold, but the hot water just helps the blending along.

This next step is very important. If you don’t follow these instructions carefully then your smoothie will result in disaster. Are you ready? Here goes… Put the lid securely on the blender. You can see how this step would be important. If you didn’t, there would be bits of spinach and banana flying all over your kitchen if you didn’t. And that would be a disaster to waste all of that lovely spinach.

Now we blend. We blend a lot. We will blend until the spinach is broken up and the texture is a smooth green.

Keep blending.

Now you can stop blending.

Look at that beautiful green color!

We’re not done, yet. Next you add a generous Tablespoon of ground Flax Seed. (You can find it at Super Wal-Mart for under $2 in the baking aisle)

The next step is where we stray from the original recipe. Yogurt. My friend does not add yogurt, but our family loves this addition. Our favorite is raspberry flavored yogurt.

I like to buy the quart size and I have only been able to find two brands that make raspberry in that size. Western Family and Mountain High. We tried Mountain High Raspberry flavored and it was NO GOOD. Too tart. We prefer the sweeter flavor that Western Family offers. (In the pictures I am using vanilla yogurt. Find out what flavor your family likes.)

Now it is time to add the frozen fruit. I buy the six pound bag of Dole Mixed Fruit (strawberry, pinapple, peach and mango) from Sam’s Club. Fresh fruit would work as well, but I love the slushiness that the frozen fruit adds. I cut up some peaches and strawberries to freeze and they worked nicely as well. Frozen blueberries are also nice to add along with the other fruit.

And finally we add the liquid. I used juice when I first started making these smoothies, but now I just use water. Sometimes hot water, sometimes cold water.

Now get ready to blend one more time.

And that’s it! Now pour yourself a glass and enjoy!

What doesn’t look appetizing about that? Just because it is green? Sissy.

Don’t forget the baby.

Kid’s love green smoothies, too! So don’t forget to share.

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This recipe really was delicious! Little Miss drank it faster than I've seen her drink anything before. (Maybe that's because I usually water down her juice...this has flavor!)

And my picky Mr. Man even tried it! Thanks Heidi for passing it on!

I'll definitely be making it again.

DIY: Water Barrel Storage Cover

We are currently living in a small apartment and I've had to get very creative with hiding things. Our 72 hour kits for emergency preparedness are under the couch, no problem. Then there was this...

...an eyesore that was far too large to fit underneath anything or behind anything. But we need water storage! So I got a little creative and made a quick slip cover...

...now I have a lovely corner accent table in my kitchen!

I found the fabric on clearance at JoAnn's - I went with something neutral & heavy enough to cover the blue. For a 55 gallon water barrel you'll need 2 3/4 yds (56" wide) cut.

I cut a simple circle for the top, 25" in diameter. Then a 75" long piece to go around the barrel with a 1/2" seam to make a cylinder. First I did an inch seam and then I had to unpick the whole thing...I hate unpicking. So don't make that mistake!

Once the cylinder was done and fit nicely (check before moving on). I just pinned on the circle for the top and did a quick stitch around.

In the summertime we get horribly large hobo spiders & I did not want to lift the cover off to find a colony under there...so I added a hem at the bottom with 1 yard of elastic in a casing. Now it is snug on the bottom, very tight, no spiders will be crawling up underneath to surprise me!

Are you living in a small space and have a trick for hiding the unsightly essentials? Please share!

Spring Break Staycation

I cannot believe Spring Break is almost here! Especially since where I live it is still ridiculously cold and prone to snowing. Not planning on going anywhere? Don't have the time or money? I've put together a quick list of 10 great Spring Break Staycation ideas...kid friendly of course!

1. Around the World Day. Pick a country and embrace their culture for a day. Dress up. Eat their food. Listen to their music. Play their games. If your kids are old enough you could let them pick the location. I'm thinking a fiesta.This would be a good time to pull out a map and talk about countries - any opportunity to learn is great!
   


2. Backyard camping. Or livingroom camping if it's too cold. I loved making forts when I was little. Little Miss would love this! A fort in the living room with mommy and daddy. S'mores would be a must.
   


3. Throw a Luau. Can you tell I'm ready for spring/summer? Your local dollar store should have some awesome and cheap decorations. On the menu: pork, pineapple, pina coladas. You could learn the hula and where grass skirts!


4. Visit your local zoo or aquarium. Most zoos have programs running year-round despite the cold weather. Bundle up and go on a safari.
   


5. Or, if you're really cheap (there's no shame in that)...go to your local PetSmart. Little Miss and I are known to do this on occasion during a cold winter day. She loves animals, and we both need to get out of the house. And PetSmart is free! You can't beat free. If you go on a Saturday you can see all the cute dogs and cats up for adoption too.


6. Visit your local museum - or better yet your local Children's Museum. This way you don't have to worry when your little one gets a little loud or wants to touch the exhibits since they're all hands on!


7. Check out the books, story-time, and the aquarium at your public library. All free!
   


8. Family Game Night - everyone choose a game and spend the night with the TV off. We have a toddler and she loves to play games. Mostly that consists of rolling dice, seeing who can stack random objects the highest, or pretending to be kitties - but it is still fun!
   


9. Enjoy a picnic at the park. Or if it's too cold - a picnic in the car at a special location. We like to go on drives, park, and climb in the back of our SUV with Little Miss to have picnics. And to help ease the winter blues - listen to the Beach Boys while you eat. It'll feel like summer.
   


10. Have a movie day. Either at home or at the theater depending on the age of your child(ren). Since Little Miss is still so young I don't let her watch a lot of TV. So one movie would be good for us. Mmm...popcorn. For families with older children - you could make it a movie marathon and let each child pick a different movie for a different night during Spring Break.
    

Have a great Staycation idea you'd like to share for spring break? Please comment!

Pear Tarts

These are so good & pretty "healthy" for a dessert! You could also use apples instead of pears and it would be just as good.

• Ready-made puff pie dough
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter, plus extra for brushing
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 3 pears, peeled, cored, halved
• Ice cream or cream to serve

1. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Stamp out 6 circles about 4 inches wide.
2. Place circles on a large cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Cream brown sugar and butter together in a small bowl, then stir in crystallized ginger.
4. Prick dough with a fork, then spread with ginger mixture.
5. Slice pear halves lengthwise, keeping them intact at the tip. Fan out the slices slightly.
6. Place a fanned out pear on top of each dough circle. Make small flutes around the edges of the circles. Brush the pears with butter (I sprinkled on a little cinnamon and sugar on top).
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min. Serve warm with ice cream.

Umm...delicious. And it satisfied my sweet tooth - which usually doesn't happen unless there is rich chocolate involved. I'll definitely be making this one again. Little Miss loved it too!

Giveaway Winners!

Sorry this post is up late - I had company. Thanks to random.org, the two lucky winners of the Pee-pee Tee-pee's are...

Jana who said..."You're linked to my blog, I'm a follower, and a fan of face book! I love the idea of these and am way impressed your sewing them. Adorable fabric too!"

And Marie who said..."Oh--pick me, pick me! I'm about to have my first boy, and I need all the help I can get with that little unit!"

Congrats ladies!! Sorry I never posted pictures of the finished product. The past couple days have been a little hectic. But, you'll receive them in the mail shortly! Also, if you have a preference on fabric, let me know via email. I know not everyone is a fan of the skull and cross bones...barb.themomblog(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks for playing!

Infertility: Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome

For our last installment on infertility we have an awesome guest blogger! Kim is a young mom to a beautiful little girl. She also has a degree in Early Childhood Education and loves learning.

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I feel grateful to Barb for giving me the opportunity to share with all of you a piece of my heart. My husband and I went through a difficult journey to get our sweet baby girl here, and I hope and pray that the people who are struggling with something of this nature can feel uplifted and more hopeful by reading this.

I always thought I had some type of infertility issue, even before I was married. My periods have never been regular, and on top of that, I had a feeling, an instinct, if you will, that something was not quite right.

My wonderful husband and I were married in August of 2005—so in love, and looking forward to one day starting our family. We waited a year before we tried to get pregnant, and probably would have waited a little longer, seeing as how my husband was still a student. But we both felt for some reason it would not be easy to conceive a child, and decided to get the process started.

Well, the next year came and went. My pregnancy tests were all negative. I was beginning to feel somewhat discouraged, but still hopeful that everything would work out somehow. I made an appointment with an OB/GYN and discovered that I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, which is quite common, unfortunately, and means that your body has a hard time ovulating.

Instead of eggs dropping each month to be fertilized, they become cysts on your ovaries, due to hormonal imbalances, thus making conception nearly impossible without treatment.

At that time, I knew very little about PCOS and was extremely overwhelmed at the thought that we could possibly be spending countless amounts of time and money on trying to have a baby. Being a mother is the strongest desire of my heart. I felt so frustrated and discouraged.

My doctor was very positive, however, and gave me words of encouragement. He told me that there are many things we could try that he has seen work with other women who have PCOS, the first, and cheapest, being a medication called Clomid.

He also ran some blood work at this point to check my hormone levels to see if he could treat me that way, but they all came back normal.

Thus, the many rounds of Clomid began. Clomid is a widely used infertility drug designed to trigger ovulation. I would first take Provera, which is a medication that makes your period start if you have an irregular period like I do, then five days of taking Clomid.

Then I would use a thermometer to track my basal body temperature, or BBT, and hopefully be able to pinpoint whether or not I was ovulating on the Clomid, and if so, when, to make conception easier.

My doctor liked to see my chart that kept track of my temperature after each round to see if the Clomid dosage was working. If not, that meant a stronger dosage the next time.

Then we would start all over again, one negative pregnancy test after another. I went through this several times, I could not even tell you how many times, over the next two years. It definitely took its toll on me.

It was extremely exhausting. It was emotionally devastating. I felt like I was less of a woman, like I was inadequate. I felt heartbroken. I felt anxious about our future. I felt like I was all alone. I felt extreme sadness that seemed like it would never end.

I have never gone through something more difficult than this. We tried again and again, though. We kept trying. Each time I took that Clomid and wondered, “Could this be the time it actually works?” only to come out a month later with a negative pregnancy test, time after time after time.

I remember once, my sweet mother, who never had to go through infertility but was still so sympathetic towards my issue, was talking with me and I was explaining my pain and sadness to her. I remember saying to her, “How many times can I fall down and get back up again? What if I don’t have enough strength to get back up next time?”

It was all becoming more than I could bear. Everywhere I looked, everywhere I turned, happy couples were announcing pregnancies, women were easily having babies… what was wrong with me? Why could I not have that, too? That which I so intensely longed for, to be a mother? I am sure this was as close to being depressed as I could ever get.

I am by nature a very optimistic person, but I could no longer feel optimistic. I didn’t have it in me at that time. I was in a very dark hour of my life.

Mother’s Day and Christmas were particularly difficult for me. Mother’s Day is always on a Sunday, and I belong to a very family oriented Church. I could not even bring myself to attend Church on Mother’s Day. I know it sounds strange, but it was just more than I could bear.

Christmas was so difficult, as well. I was supposed to be so happy on Christmas and enjoy my time spent with loved ones, but instead I found myself watching others with small children, and feeling the empty place in my heart, that yearned for that same happiness and joy, just ache with sadness and frustration.

Well, I got to the end of my rope. It finally happened. I could not handle the pain any longer. I didn’t feel like myself anymore. I was too sad to be myself. It was December of 2008, and going on two years of taking Clomid on and off.

I thought to myself, ‘This is it.’ No more Clomid after this. I needed a break from feeling like this because I didn’t know how to continue trying and not feel this way.

My doctor was becoming skeptical, as well. He wanted to try some additional testing, first a hysterosalpingogram, where they inject dye into you to determine whether or not your fallopian tubes are open and ideal for conception, then some testing of my husband, and then we would try intrauterine insemination.

This is a less costly approach than in vitro fertilization, which costs thousands of dollars we simply could not come up with. Most OB/GYN’s will do intrauterine insemination in their office. This is where they take sperm and clean it, and inject the healthy sperm when a woman is ovulating.

Well, that last round of Clomid in December of 2008 did not work. I did not let myself feel sad this time, though. I simply would not allow it. I felt hopeful that the intrauterine insemination would work, after we took a six month break from it all. I was so glad that for six months I could spend my days becoming refreshed and rejuvenated before continuing on.

I felt hopeful that I could remain happy once I continued trying, as well. It just had to be possible. I could be happy for others who became pregnant, too. I knew I could at that point. I had gone too long feeling otherwise and hated it, so I was determined to be happy—no matter what. But best of all, I had faith and just knew, in my head and in my heart, that it would all work out. Everything would be okay.

I remember that day I found out the Clomid did not work, yet again, and went home and exercised. I exercised a lot. It helped me get out so much anger and frustration and helped me feel more like myself again. It was on that day, or in the short days after, that we conceived a baby naturally.

Tears of joy instantly rushed down my cheeks when I looked at my positive pregnancy test for the first time, in somewhat of shock and disbelief. I felt indescribable happiness.

Even though deep down I knew we would be able to have children, part of me thought the day would never come that I would be able to see that plus sign appear, telling me that I was pregnant. I had seen too many negative tests to actually envision a positive one. But there it was, right in front of me. I was actually pregnant. What an amazing miracle!

I think every woman who goes through this experience feels sympathy and understanding towards others in the same situation. During the most difficult time for me, I met someone through work who had gone through ten years of trying to have her second child because of her struggle with endometriosis, and never was able to conceive that second child.

She was more than a support in my life. I met her when I needed her most. Looking back, I don’t know what I would have done without her. She knew exactly how I felt, and she knew exactly what I needed to hear. She was an answer to my prayers.

Having her there to talk to and support me as I went through this difficult time in my life was an incredible blessing to me. To this day, we remain the best of friends and I love her dearly. Having this support from someone who went through the same thing meant the world to me.

Perhaps the most damaging thing I did to myself during this experience was putting time limits on me getting pregnant. This was not healthy, and only hurt me in the end.

I often thought to myself, “If I am not pregnant by Christmas, I will just lose it. I can’t go through another Christmas this way. It’s way too hard.” Our wedding anniversary was another date I would use as a time limit. Once that day came and went, however, I was left feeling even more sad, more depressed and more frustrated that I was still not pregnant.

I wish I would have noticed how damaging my thoughts were earlier on in my struggle, and not made it worse for myself.

After more than four years of marriage, and more than two years of struggling with the infertility process, we had our baby in October of 2009. Now we have our sweet baby girl, and we could not feel more blessed. She is our miracle. We love her more than words can say.

She joined our family exactly at the right time, exactly when she was supposed to. Although it was not easy to get her here, I learned so much along the way—so much about myself and so much about life.

I learned that although we may not choose our trials in this life, we can choose how we react to them. We can choose to be happy. And there is always hope for us, no matter what our situation may be. There is always hope.

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Thanks for sharing your story with us Kim! I really appreciate your realness and also the hope you've passed on.

I think the most important thing to remember from this mini-series: you are not alone! Many women struggle with infertility. If you are right now, find someone to talk to and please go see a doctor. They can only help!

Other posts in this series:

• Infertility: the longest 9+9 months of my life
• Infertility: The Research
• Infertility: Climbing Mt. Everest
  

Giveaway: Pee-Pee Tee-pees (closed)

Yep, they're just what they sound like...little tee-pees to cover the little pee-pees. =) These things are awesome!! Use them on your little boys, especially great for newborns who like to squirt unexpectedly, and avoid getting all messy during a diaper change.

Made of 100% cotton flannel. Two lucky winners will receive a set of 5, made from these cute fabrics...

I'm making them today during Little Miss's nap - so I'll post pictures in a bit of the actually prizes. Just too tired last night to sew after a long day at the in-laws. So...you'll just have to enter this drawing with faith in my finished product! Free is free, right!?

So here's what you need to do to enter to win...leave a comment. That's it. But, if you want to increase your chances of winning, for each of the following that you do (let me know in your comment) - your name will be entered again!

1 - Grab the button on the right sidebar and link my site up to yours

2 - Post about this giveaway on your blog

3 - Become a follower (see right sidebar)

4 - Post about this giveaway on your facebook status

5 - Become a fan of The Mom Blog on facebook

DO ALL 5, and let me know in your comment and your name will be automatically entered in 5 more times --> you'll be 5 times more likely to win!!

The giveaway will close Wednesday the 10th at 2pm - so start spreading the word!

{ Have a great business you'd like to promote through a giveaway on our site? Please contact me - barb.themomblog(at)gmail(dot)com }