This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~Amanda Soule

Little crafters

This is what the kids do when I sew or work on a project. They take my scraps and their little kid scissors and cut away and then recently, they added in the pretend sewing on my old machine. It is so cute to see what they make! I like that I can influence them on their future(?) hobbies. Even Colton says he want to learn how to sew when he gets bigger.

The Green Smoothie Challenge is going very well. I have had at least one big glass of a green concoction every day, starting last Monday. I feel like I might have more energy, but it is hard to tell with the ups and downs of 7 week old (can you believe he is 7 weeks old?!) and sleep! I usually have the smoothies for breakfast, lunch, or a pre-bedtime snack... yummy! usually. I made one with collard greens, not sure why, but it tasted HORRIBLE! I choked it down but YUCK! Not recommended!

triple shot

Cute quote of the day: "This rootbeer is TOO yummy." "Maybe you should save some for lunch?" " I can't; it's TOO yummy!"

What are those?!

THESE are my new shoes. Aren't they cool? They are called Vibram FiveFingers Sprint. And I absolutely love them! I have been wearing them hiking up Lonepine trail, and they have been so great for my feet. They have kind of a thin sole, so it is like you are barefoot (that is the point of them), and your feet grip really well on all kinds of surfaces. The website says:

Some have called FiveFingers Sprint the most versatile footwear they own. Adjustable hook-and-loop closures cross over the instep and surround the heel for a personalized, secure fit. A thin abrasion-resistant stretch polyamide fabric follows the contour of the foot for comfort. And a flexible, non-marking TC1 performance rubber sole is razor siped to enhance grip over a variety of terrain.

SPRINT IS BEST FOR: Light Trekking, Climbing, Canyoneering, Running, Fitness Training, Martial Arts, Yoga, Pilates, Sailing, Boating, Kayaking, Canoeing, Surfing, Flats Fishing, Travel

I get paid nothing to support this company, but really feel like these shoes deserve some credit! They are quickly becoming my favorite. And they look pretty nifty too. I have bunions on both my feet, so they get kind of sore wearing tennis shoes. That is when I stumbled on these. I have always loved being barefoot, but it is not really the norm here in the US. What are your favorite "active" shoes?

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~Amanda Soule
Go check out the Earth Day giveaways at these blogs for organic fabric. Some really REALLY beautiful stuff!

Happy Happy Earth Day!

Imagine Childhood, one of my favorite shops is having a giveaway on their blog today! Some amazing stuff... go check it out! they are also offering 10% off until April 26th, and they have some great items.

Happy Earth day everyone! I am continuing the Green Smoothie Challenge, and today's was actually DELICIOUS! Yesterdays was NOT very delicious, so I was a little disheartened (TIP:: do not use too much cilantro, no matter how much you think you like it!). But today, we started anew::

1/2 bunch leafy green lettuce
handful of baby spinach
1/2 pineapple
1 banana
1/2 small bag of frozen peaches

This was yummy!

some of our days...

We have been thoroughly enjoying a great weather spurt... in the 70's! So needless to say, we have been outside alot; at the parks, in the backyard. I have been hiking up Lonepine alot lately, which does wonders for my sanity, not to mention my back!
How cute is Kellen in his bright blue shirt with a smirk on his face! We weighed him yesterday, and he was 12.8 lbs. with clothes on.... getting big!

Green Smoothie Challenge

Here is something I started today. The Green Smoothie Challenge #3 hosted by the Enchanted Chameleon! I thought "what a great way to eat my greens!" And you know what? Even the kids joined me on this one! It is a two week challenge to drink a green smoothie every day. There are many different recipes, and I am excited to try some more.

Our smoothie today was more brown than green; and was pretty darn good!:

2-3 cups spinach
2 cups water
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1 banana

yumm! My hope is that it will help me lose some weight... right now I weigh... gasp... 192. I have lost about 20-25 since Kellen has arrived; not too bad for 6 weeks postpartum. My goal is 145 by October (Mexico trip) we will see!

Here is for the people wanting baby pictures!

Just a couple pics.... he is growing so fast! I want to say he is 12+ lbs... at least! He is six weeks old this Tuesday! Six weeks! Can you believe it?! Such a wonderful baby... the only thing "bad" is he spits up alot, especially when I eat dairy! So I try to be dairy free, but it is SO hard! I love having milk for breakfast and dinner; cheese is a great snack; pizza is delicious; and how about some ice cream?! And soy just doesn't taste even close to the same! But, supposedly, it gets better around 4 months of age?

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~ Amanda Soule

A couple things I have been working on

Amazingly, I have started sewing a couple things around here! We decided to have an open house last weekend, so Friday, I decided to "whip" up some pillow covers. I used this tutorial, (I really wanted to use this one) and some sheets that I had found at the thrift store. I think they turned out pretty nice, and they seem to fit in the living room decently. The kids fight over the blue one... I am not sure why!?
Also, my little niece, Natalie is turning one this next weekend. And I decided to give her a little homemade love... just a little. And it turned out so well, that the kids begged me for one of their own... and I obliged! They are just fantastic, and if they through them at each other, no damage is done! Natalie's I stuffed with cotton balls and a kitty toy (to give it a rattle), and since I ran out of those, I went to Joann's (with all 3 kids, I might add!) and got some Bamboo stuffing. I got the idea here. The kids are using them with Tyler in there games of MONSTER.


And here's just a cute picture... he isn't too happy, but look how big he is! That is a 3-6 month outfit! hahahah! I am so in love with him... and so is the rest of the family!

Checking out the big machines

A new bypass is being built right outside our place... which has it's plus and minus'! This is one of the positive things... Colton absolutely loves it!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~ Amanda Soule

Easter pictures

Here in our house, we don't really celebrate Easter in the traditional sense.... we just do a little celebration with the Easter bunny bringing a little bit of this and a little bit of that. An egg hunt, and a good hearty breakfast. This year we didn't even dye eggs! But we had fun. I tried to keep the candy to a minimum... but my kids really like their chocolate. Also, we decided to not be candy police, and kind of let them decide what they would eat and when (for the most part!).

I love the books I got them...The Sun Egg, Children of the Forest, and Peter in Blueberry Land, all by Elsa Beskow. And The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle Von Olfers. Our Easter selection was expanded with The Easter Egg by Jan Brett. I know, it seems like a lot of books, but we are book hounds around here, and good books are worth it!
Oh, and we did a shared easter basket... we can get away with that still!

the "shared" basket

meeting the chocolate (and books)

Look!

chocolate for breakfast! Yumm!

getting creative

looking in the moss garden

my fav. pic of Easter... something about it!

How cute are they? This is their loot.

Finally; Putting the sign out

We finally put the sign out... so it is now official. We are selling our house. I am excited, scared and nervous all at the same time! Next May is when we will be leaving this beautiful area, but we really wanted time to sell our place on our own. With today's market, it is hard to say what a place like ours will sell for; and we wanted to make it as affordable as possible. Hence, the for sale by owner route.

So the sign is up, the website made, and the hope is alive.

Wish us luck.

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~Amanda Soule

April One Small Change

I had a hard time trying to decide what to do for our April One Small Change (brought by Hip Mountain Mama). So I chose two different things:

#1: Hang out the laundry on the line when the weather permits. And I only add that because it could still snow here realistically (we still have the studs on our car!) I can't wait to do this every year, but this year seems so hectic, so I feel like having this as our Change, I will be more apt to follow through.... wish me luck!

#2: Take a plastic bag to pick up trash on my walks. Every time I go on a walk, I am saddened by the amount of trash that is just littering the roadway. I always think about picking it up, but often forget a bag... so I am going to work on that. Besides, my walking has increased with the better weather, and the need to get out of the house after dinner :)

March One Small Change

Our March One Small Change was so simple... we turned down the thermostat every night to 60-62 F. Simple enough, and SO effective! Especially if you have a programmable one (which we don't).
Looking at our February (that is when we started this change) and March energy bills, we have cut our usage almost in half compared to last year!! Granted, it probably wasn't as cold this year as it was last... still - what a result! Who knew something so easy could make such an impact!

Stay tuned for our April change ... I will post about it later today!