Top 10 Reasons We Still Love Green Bean Delivery

We are still getting our produce delivered weekly from the Green Bean Delivery service.  We started this last March and after almost a year of "trying it out"...I'm hooked! 

And here is why:

1. It comes straight to my door once a week.

2. Although there are recommendations, I get to customize my order every week.

3. My kids get excited to see the green bin on the front porch.

4. It's helped me easily try new Pinterest recipes such as the "Best Broccoli of Your Life" shown below. 

Source: amateurgourmet.com via Tricia on Pinterest

5. Did I mention it arrives on my door step??

6. My kids eat way more fresh fruit than ever before.  Almost to a detriment since they are now "fruit-cup-snobs" and will not touch one while at home.

7. It's made us try new things I wouldn't normally pick out at the grocery store: mango, papaya, different oranges and apples.

8. We are cooking with way more garlic, onions, and mushrooms than ever before and things are just tastier!

9. I am happy to be supporting local and non-local farmers.

10.  IT COMES TO THE DOOR!!

Click HERE for the Twice-Baked Potato recipe and HERE for the Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower recipe.

Real Women of Pinterest on Not to Brag

#1 Reason to be on Twitter Monday Nights...Bachelor Tweets

I have watched the Bachelor in the past, but I am a non-loyal fan.  I've watched a few seasons, but not all of them.  I generally watch it on the DVR the next morning on the treadmill.  And let's just say the treadmill has been used more for collecting dust lately then for exercise.  Hence, no Bachelor this season.  I do have the entire season on the DVR just waiting to be watched.  But now I'm so far behind I'm not sure I'll even start it. 

 

What I am doing Monday nights, however, is reading Jennifer Weiner's tweets about the show.  She.Is.Hysterical.  Yes, like THE New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer.  Her.  She live-tweets every Monday night the play-by-play of the Bachelor with added commentary.  And her comments should make you laugh out loud (almost as much as the answers on her FAQ page).

 

So now the show itself really isn't necessary.  I get complete fulfillment from checking her tweets while reading a GOOD book IN BED.  (Catch that?  No?  She wrote Good in Bed.  Come on, keep up!)

 

So check out @JenniferWeiner on Twitter Monday nights whether you like or hate the show.  Either way, it's a good laugh.  Last week she held a drinking game for all of the dialogue that sounded like porn.  I'd hate to have seen her Tuesday morning!

 

In other family news:

 

This little guy has to see an ENT Friday

to discuss whether or not he needs tubes.

Yuck.

 

Our neighbors returned to us the papasan chair they borrowed.

This crazy girl has been snuggling with her babies in it.

"They sick and I take care of them."

She is "weigh" over the weight limit.

And I am copying an idea from June and Bear.

Later this week you'll see my interview with Stella.

The answers definitely tell her age.

  



Fighting the Nature-Deficit Disorder

Did you know that there is apparently something called Nature-Deficit Disorder?  Seriously, it's right HERE on wikipedia defined as the trend that kids are spending less time outside.  I even received a free book on it once at a parenting conference, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.  I haven't read the book or I'd let you know more about it. 

Point is...I do believe in getting my kids outside as much as possible.  Ok, so really as much as convenient.  I love to be outside and think it does them so much good to get some fresh air.  Even when it's cold.  And I've tried to focus on this more this year. 

I think I personally use the "cold" excuse when it's just not convenient.  Since the kids are little and still need serious outdoor supervision, it's easier to get outside in the summer when I can do some yard work as well.  But the winter?  It's just too "cold".  Heck, we send our kids out in the snow to play all day, right?  But when it's 40 and sunny, it's too "cold"?  I know I've thought that a time or two.

So we've bundled up on a couple of cold days lately (when it's stopped raining...where is the SNOW??) and headed out.  Even if it's only been for 30-45 minutes.  Today we headed over to Sharon Woods late in the afternoon.  Unfortunately the sun disappeared and the wind kicked up and it was really cold!  However, it just kept us moving.  We played on the playground, took a nature walk, and hit the swings before heading back to the car.  The kids smiled the whole time.

The highlight of the trip was seeing the ducks in the creek.  I so wish I had my video camera or my big Nikon with me.  Henry was priceless.  Pointing and screaming "Duck!  Duck!  Duck!" a thousand times.  And his facial expressions really should have been caught on camera.  Andy was lucky to get the one shot above on his Blackberry.

What else did we notice?  The parking lot was crowded though only saw one other family outside.  However, I bet the indoor playground was packed.

I Weep for Our Future Due to Helicopter Parents

 

I TOTALLY understand that this just might be me in the future.  But I am writing this now so that I can come back to it and realize how someday I'll just need to LET GO as a mother and let my kids take some responsibility of their own when they become legal adults.  My little brother is in college right now and I probably am too much of a helicopter sister already.  Eek! 

True Story.  From today.  (If you are my FB friend, sorry for the retelling of said true story.)

I went to lunch today with my mentee from Xavier.  She's a great gal.  We were near campus and happened to be sitting at a table right next to another XU student and her mentor or professor.  I could not help but overhear the conversation next to us due to the proximity of the tables.

Every question she started with "My mom wanted me to ask..." or "My mom would like to know..."  or "Should I tell my mom..."  Every question.  Seriously?  Seriously.

And these were questions about her degree and the classes she was taking, etc.  Like "My mom wants to know what if I'd like to take Sign Language?"  "My mom wants to know what if I decide later that I want that minor after all."  True questions.  WTH?  THINK FOR YOURSELF.  Don't put "mommy" in the questions.

Please don't let me be a helicopter mom...I hope my kids can stand on their own someday.  Or at least reword the questions I've sent them with!!  Ha.

Feeddler...My New Favorite Thing

 

In the middle of last year I wrote a post about followers.  And the many ways that people follow blogs...via Facebook pages, Twitter, Google Reader, email updates, etc.  And I was using all of those in order to follow the blogs I personally follow.  Plus I had a list of them in my blog roll on my personal/family blog.  Such an unorganized mess.  I was missing good posts, not using my reading time efficiently, etc.

However, last week I was working in Louisville and my favorite buddy down there clued me into Feeddler.  So I downloaded the free version of the app on my iPad and gave it a try.  In love.  Almost immediately.  I used it so much the first few days that I spent the $5 and upgraded to the Pro version which basically gets rid of the ads.  Well worth it for me.

A few things about Feeddler:

It requires you to have a Google Reader account (also free).  If you are already on Google Reader it will automatically carry those feeds over to Feeddler.

It syncs whenever you are connected, but also saves your stuff for when you are offline.

It does take some time at first to input all of your preferred subscriptions and get them categorized into any folders you'd like to create.

Did I just mention folders?  I LOVE being able to organize the blogs I follow - crafty blogs, food blogs, mommy blogs, people-I-know-blogs, etc. 

Downside?  There are not good definitions for all of the icons, etc.  Still not completely sure about the full purpose of "starred items", "shared items" and "notes" on the main page.  Just who am I sharing with?  And when you open an actual post, there is a star, circle, and heart at the bottom - again, with no definition and little help on the web.  The circle does allow you to mark something "unread"...difference between star and heart?  Not sure what the difference is between starring and liking something.  Enlighten me users!  But you can easily share items via FB, Twitter, email etc. and quickly click to open fully in Safari (on iPad).

Last night Andy asked me if I still liked it.  Yes!  Then he asked what I had subscribed to other than blogs.  HA!  There is life other than blogs?  I honestly didn't even consider adding anything else.  But I went ahead and added a Comics folder and included Dilbert, Zits, and my all-time favorite Baby Blues.

Still haven't added any "news" - at least not anything that isn't linked to bloggyland.

And if any of you noticed that I've quit subscribing to your blog email updates...it's just because I put you in Feeddler.  I'm still reading.  And even more efficiently now!

Anyone else using Feeddler??  Thoughts?

If you try it out and have a question, let me know!

Dear Target {love letter #2}

Dear Target,

Well, it's been awhile.  And I'm holding strong.  Coming up on 3 weeks, but who's counting?  Me.  I am.  I've actually posted the date of my first Target-free day on a white board in my cubicle at work.  As a visual reminder that I can do this.  I can break up with you.  I will not rebound.  At least not anytime soon.

The first few days were tough.  Everywhere I went, you were there.  I didn't mean to run into you, I just did.  Isn't that how it always happens with break-ups?  Even Charlotte saw your large red sign and said "We go to Target, momma?"  Sigh.  "No baby."  She read you like she reads the golden arches.  Her response as we pulled into Costco instead for some necessities, "What this place?"  Exactly.

And as it is with break-ups...the friends are taking sides.

Some of my friends understand our parting.  They are supportive of the decision for us to separate for awhile.  Some say nothing about you at all.  Some tread lightly at your mention.  One even asked if it was still ok for her to remain friends with you.  I said, "Sure".  She visited you and gave me the highlights.  Then hesitated and asked if it was really ok to talk about you.  Could she hear the sadness over the phone?  "Sure."  Another sigh.

A few other friends are bad influences.  Constantly talking about you, how often they see you, what I'm missing, etc.  They prod and ask if I've even started a similar relationship with others or if I'm really fixing my issues.  If I've displaced my habits elsewhere?  All fair questions. 

And then the announcement that you are going to be getting some "self-help".  How people are going to love you even more with your improvements and updates.  As if your addictive features weren't enough already.

And then that darn newspaper.  It delivers a piece of you every Sunday morning…your beautiful ad.  I did see something on sale and mentioned to Andy that I might send him with a list.  Because it's me that can't avoid the dollar bin, not him.  However, he didn't want to get in the middle of us. I assume he didn't want me to resent him.  Good choice on his part.  Because if the two of you started seeing each other regularly...oy!

But I'm happy to report I'm slowly not missing you so much.  I only choked up a little bit when the kids were watching "Barbie Diamond Castle" the other day and the song "Two Voices, One Song" starting playing.  (The lyrics are just so annoying touching.)  And I've definitely saved some money in the process.  I'm too depressed to shop.  Too many reminders of you.  So I send Andy to the grocery with a list when necessary.  And he sticks to it. 

Although, I did rebound once last week.  I was in Michael's with Charlotte and let her have a $1 Valentine wand to shut her up.  However, then I kept moving and only got the item I was there to purchase.  Baby steps.  (And, of course, she forgot about the wand the minute we got home and didn't even take it out of the car.  So I hid it and she hasn't asked for it since.  Signs my kids have too much crap and these dollar bin extras are truly a WASTE.)

Now I'm contemplating my relationship with sweets.  Watch out cookies, brownies, pie and cake…you're next.

XXXOOO

Friday Funnies

A few funnies for you today...including the pictures above.  Yes, she is ALWAYS dressed like that at home.  And yes, Henry is always looking at me like "You are not going to save me?  You're just going to take a photo?  HELP!"

Charlotte last night: I've got the hick-bugs.

Followed by lots of hiccuping and laughing and repeating of HICK-BUGS really loud.

Stella (very serious): Yep, I'm pretty smart.  I'm just like Simon in the Chipmunks.  And we both wear glasses.

Andy: Really?

Stella (even more serious, contemplating the question): Well, actually, I'm more like Jeanette.

Me: Oh, Etta James died?

Co-worker: Yep.

Me: At last?

(Come on, that made giggle, right?  Or did we only laugh because it's 4:00 on a Friday?)

Best FB update today from a friend (SO TRUE): The song "It's Five O'Clock in the Morning" was obviously written about people in their 20s.  How about we write a song for the 30-somethings.  "It's five o'clock in the morning; my kid just came in my bedroom; here I thought she was sleepin' and then she came creepin'!" 

Interesting Pinterest find = Cute Baby Shower Cake?  I think not.   Creepy?  I think YES.

Source: cakecentral.com via Carabee on Pinterest

Have a great weekend!

Valentine's Decor Part 2: The Foyer Bathroom

A couple of days ago I shared with you the Valentine's decor I added to our family room hutch HERE.  And I warned you of more decor involving a toilet.  Well, only because you can see the foyer bathroom toilet in the photos.  I like to add a little decor in there depending on the season. 

I think I also mentioned that I'm slightly obsessed with printables.  Eighteen25 has some FABULOUS free printables and they are even kind enough to tell you exactly how to print them at Costco.  So that's where the framing idea came from:

 And then I happened to be on Crafting and Creativity and noticed she made a heart out of buttons (and she used the same printable!).  I have tons of buttons.  And this looked simple.  HA!  This was one of the most difficult things for a perfectionist to accomplish.  A heart shape is not as easy at it looks.  The more I messed with it, the more it looked like an amoeba and less like a heart.  I am so, so, so glad I took her suggestion of using fabric instead of paper.  Pulling off and re-gluing wasn't so bad.  I'm guessing it might have been easier had I not decided to do this project around 12:30 AM.  But I was on a roll.  At least I might not have glued my fingers together so much.

 

So there it is, the Foyer Bathroom holiday decor.  Andy never said a word.  I finally asked if he noticed.  He said, "Yes, but I was afraid we had that stuff last year.  I wasn't sure if it was new or not."  You may be thinking, MEN!  I'm thinking...I'm so glad you don't even know if I bring new stuff into the house!  Exactly why my Target problem was never an Andy problem.  ha.

Whatcha Might Not Know...Christmas Pageant

<Whatcha Might Not Know are Wednesday posts that are just that...something quick that you may or may not know about me, my family, my neighborhood, my city, my world, etc.> 

So those of you who have been here awhile know from my long-time-ago post about 9 Truths and a Lie that I got to had to sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in a grade school production once.  I even posted a picture HERE.

 

Well, this morning as I was looking at the Nativity Scene I've yet to put away from the holidays, a thought crossed my mind.  I saw the angel and thought, hmmm, it's Wednesday and I haven't posted a Whatcha Might Not Know in awhile and I think I just came across that old angel photo.  So I looked and here it is. 

 

In another grade school production I was chosen to be an angel.  And not just any angel...but the top angel...the Angel of the Lord.  Which basically meant I was the only angel who got to speak.

 

 

Valentine's Decor Part 1: The LOVE Hutch

I wish I had a good "before" picture of our family room hutch, but I'm at work.  Earlier this week I've talked about taking down Christmas decorations, causing Stella and Charlotte to hate our "normal" home and therefore, doing some Valentine's Day crafts.  I'd link back to those posts, but as stated in the first sentence I'm at work...having a quick lunch.  And soon headed to Louisville to lead an early evening session on Developmental Proactive Coaching with a bunch of engineers.  So this is going to be quick, but I wanted to complete it since it will most likely be the highlight of my day (see previous sentence).  Actually, I love facilitating these sorts of discussions and I get to see one of my favorite co-workers in person...it's the 2 hour drive in tornado-like weather and late return that I'm not thrilled about.  I'd only do this for her!  Wow, hello digression...

So anyway...back to the hutch.  Here it is all decked-out in LOVE thanks a few different Pinterest ideas on my Valentine's board:

I am suddenly slightly completely obsessed with free printables.  I downloaded two for this project, printed them at Costco and framed them.  This photo collage of the girls from a few years ago is an absolute favorite of mine.  I loved taking these pictures of them in their Valentine dresses.

I decided to gather up some of our "couples" photos and display them on one shelf with the other printable.  Stella commented, "That's when you were a princess and got married and kissed daddy on the LIPS."  Yeppers.

And I took the ornaments out of these and added candles and candy hearts - two separate sizes of candy.  The candles are actually the same size.  I put one on top of an upside-down small 1-cup tupperware container to give it some extra height in the larger glass.  In the smaller glass, I actually had to scrape a bit a huge chunk of the candle off around the bottom to make it narrow enough to fit the candy down there.

On the top shelf I put a collage from when Stella was a baby.  I found that cute little owl over the weekend at Kohl's for less than $5.  Andy asked, "What's an owl got to do with V-Day?  Isn't that Halloween?"  And I replied, "But WHOOOOOOOOOOO loves you baby?"  And he eye-rolled.  But then I had a large gaping hole at the top.  I had an extra 8 x 10 frame available and the crafting began.  Lots of red paint and wasted baby wipes later...and voila!  Handprint hearts from my three little loves.

Do you decorate for Valentine's Day? 

June & Bear says she doesn't, but I've got to let her know that her seasonal mantels have been my inspiration for adding some new things to our house decor this year.  And this Valentine's LOVE hutch was the first project!  Now to work on my indoor photography...

I've got one more Valentine's Day craft project almost ready for reveal...it involves another printable, buttons, and a toilet.

 



How Do You Do It...Dinner

I prefer to cook at home most evenings.  We rarely go out to dinner on a weeknight...unless it's Kids Eat Free at Skyline.  You will find us there on an occasional Wednesday when I'm just too tired to come up with a meal.

I post my weekly menu on the blog for me.  To force me to come up with different stuff to feed Andy and the kids.  And I still rarely make the kids a separate meal.  However, I always make sure there's one thing on their plate that they like.  And some nights they only eat that yogurt cup.  But there are definitely nights when the preplanned menu meal is tossed out the window and we are all having a bowl of cereal.  For real.

And one thing I love about Pinterest is I'm not losing great recipes I'm finding on the internet anymore.  And people are posting comments on them - on Pinterest, on blogs, on Facebook.  And if someone I know (in person or in blogland) has had success with something, I'm more apt to try it out. 

But new recipes take time.  Heck, cooking takes time, period.  And for me, the witching hour is an absolute nightmare that I think every mom experiences but no one ever tells us about beforehand.  The time between when I get home and when Andy walks in the door is a ZOO.  I truly believe I pick up animals at daycare.  They are tired.  They've behaved all day.  The are hungry.  And now they are in full blown meltdown mode.  So the last thing I need is a meal that takes 2 hours to prepare.  I need it fast and on the table ASAP.  All while being the lone witch-hour-whisperer.

So I try to pick simple recipes...with ingredients I'm familiar with.  And I often look for steps I can do ahead of time.  For instance, tonight's meal: Cheesy Ham Pie and Blueberry Breakfast Cake.  We big.fat.heart breakfast for dinner. 

Some of the prep I completed yesterday.  The Cheesy Ham Pie required slight prep - cut up broccoli and cook it.  So I went ahead and got the broccoli cut and portioned.  It also requires 1 cup cooked and diced ham.  Well, after the Christmas dinner I cut and diced all of the leftover ham into 1 cup freezer bags specifically for this...so, bam...that only required pulling one baggie out of the freezer.  Then I pulled out the pie pan and the non-refrigerated ingredients this morning and placed them on the counter with the measuring cups and spoons necessary.  So as soon as I got home there wasn't any hunting for anything...it was all there just as if I was a true chef walking into a tv kitchen studio with everything just waiting for me to put it together.

The Blueberry Breakfast Cake was even easier.  (And the BFF said it was fabulous...she even gave me her leftover buttermilk and unsalted butter, so I was SOLD.)  You can actually make the batter ahead of time.  No joke.  Many had tried it with success (I saw this thanks to all of the recipe comments).  Even 24 hours ahead of time.  So I made that at 9 PM last night.  Right before I headed up to bed.  And it was so great to pull out the pan and get it straight into the oven today.  Well, it was good to have my mom do it since she was there watching Charlotte and could get it into the oven even earlier!

And that's how I do it...as easy as possible and as much ahead of time as possible!

Come back tomorrow to see my Valentine Day decor attempt!

Valentine Handprint Hearts

I normally don't decorate for Valentine's Day.  But this year the girls were so bummed when the holiday stuff was put away.  The house looked too "normal" they said.  So I decided to put a few things together for a little LOVE theme on my family room hutch.  I mean, I had pinned all those ideas anyway, right? 

Today we worked on part of the project with some handprint hearts made by all three of the kids.  After Stella was finished but before her hands were washed she asked if she could make a few special cards for some special people.  So there's a preview above.  More on the entire decorating project to come.

The Holiday Card

Holiday cards can be a tricky thing.

There are so many choices to make...

Photo or not?

Which pictures to use?

What card company to utilize to create that photo card?

Should you include a letter or personal note?

Handwrite or print labels?

Even the stamps have to be selected...Mary & Jesus? Ornaments?

Our photo card has switched to a New Year's card over the past few years.  It happened by accident.  I think it was the year Charlotte was born...I just couldn't get the darn card out in time.  So I included pictures of the kids with Santa and their Christmas presents and changed the message to "Hope your holidays were magical!" and sent it the first week of January.

That year I got more responses about my card than ever.  So the decision was made...bye-bye Christmas cards and hello New Year's cards from then on.  One less thing to worry about during the holidays.

We receive a lot of cards each year.  Due to many layers of friends for both of us...high school, college, grad school, Nashville, Birmingham, neighborhood, church, working at different companies, etc. and a large extended family...there are many to send out as well.  I've narrowed it down to 100 cards.  And each year the decision is made...who to add?  And, therefore, who to cut? 

While I was working on our cards, I came upon a great post at My 3 Little Birds called Silent Night.  She has such a great point about her mind wandering to the unwritten.  What people don't put in cards.  Or the ones that never arrive.

And so when I went through our list of addresses this year, I also thought long and hard about the people on the list.  Those who won't return a phone call or email, but keep sending the obligatory card.  Those who live far away but remind us of great times had together.  Those who are more like family than friends.  Those who are family yet I know so little about.  Those whose card arrived and everyone looked so happy, but the realization of life right now is so sad.  Of new friends and old.  Cards we received from people for the first year (we were an addition to their list) and cards we looked for, but never came (we were cut). 

Usually it's just a task to complete, but this year I really enjoyed it.  And for those of you who didn't see our card in your mailbox...here it is:

Sparkling Snowflakes Christmas

Send Christmas cards personalized with your family photos.

View the entire collection of cards.