J and I love to imitate our favorite restaurant meals at home. Wait, I love to recreate them. He loves to EAT them. :) It's something I had never thought of doing until my cyber-friend, KV, suggested it.
When you're working hard to stay out of the restaurants, making yummy restaurant-style food is a MUST!
This past Valentine's Day, we had a P.F. Chang's inspired dinner.
As much as I'd like to take credit for coming up with all the recipes, I can't. I'm a great researcher and just borrow others' ideas. :) Hey, why re-create the wheel? I'm busy enough just trying to keep our greased enough to keep them from squeaking.
So, for our fabulous four-course dinner we had (links to recipes I used are the title unless I type out the recipe):
Soup Course:
Egg Drop Soup I liked it better with half chicken broth, half beef broth. I also add a tiny bit of soy sauce (La Choy is Gluten Free), and some ginger.
Appetizer:
Lettuce Wraps I found this recipe via Pinterest. :) I like this recipe, but it's not exactly like P.F. Chang's. I'm still looking for a copycat that I'm in love with. If I were to do this one again, I'd do all the chopping ahead of time (while kids are sleeping) and then cook it up right before dinner. It tastes better hot and is pretty quick if you have everything chopped.
Main course: Choice of
Sesame Chicken Honestly, I only pay attention to the Sauce portion of the recipe. The rest, to me, is too much work. :) I just grill my chicken and then drop it into the sauce. I normally only cut it into bite-size pieces for the toddlers. J and I get full tenderloins. Yup, I'm that lazy.
Fried Rice:
This is entirely my recipe. I *never* make it the same way twice...so these are general guidelines.
1 lb breakfast sausage (Tennessee Pride is reliably Gluten Free) (or you can substitute chicken or beef, but will need more spices)
1 Tbs Olive or other cooking oil
4 cups rice, cooked (I generally make an entire pound of rice in our huge rice cooker and use leftovers.)
Soy Sauce, to taste (once again, we use La Choy)
Ginger (I use powder)
variety of vegetables. We typically use frozen peas and carrots. You could also use onions (I'm not a big onion eater)
1 egg, beaten well
Steps:
1. Brown sausage (or other meat), drain.
2. Add Oil to hot pan
3. I add my seasonings now, so that it's easier to incorporate into the entire mixture later
4. Slowly add rice, stirring well but not too much. If you stir too much, it makes mushy rice.
5. Let rice cook until hot...about 2-3 minutes
6. Add sausage, stirring well
7. While stirring, add beaten egg by slowly drizzling over rice mixture.
8. Add frozen veggies (if adding fresh, add before or after sausage depending on how crisp you like them)
Allow to cook just long enough to get the egg thoroughly incorporated and done.
Dessert Course:
Flourless Chocolate Cake I didn't have the right tools to make it, so it didn't turn out well. I'm not sure it was worth the time, effort, and expense to try again. I got the recipe out of a Gluten Free Cookbook (but I can't seem to find it right now. )
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Goodbye
A few weeks ago, M&M was moved to a different home. To be honest, my emotions have been really raw and it's one of the reasons I stopped blogging.
Part of the pain comes from the fact that nearly nothing about his leaving was the way we had prayed would turn out. We have one blessing we cling to: our choice to do what was best for him has blessed another infertile couple with the opportunity to adopt.
In the past few weeks since we announced our decision not to adopt him and his subsequent leaving, I've noticed a pattern of sorts with my friends and acquaintances. People's responses tend to fall into the following categories:
The person who has never dealt with a loss this profound and has no idea how to deal with us and our grief so they ignore us or still spend time with us but avoid the topic like the plague.
The person who feels that because we made the decision, it didn't hurt to lose him. These people made thoughtless, hurtful comments as we were preparing ourselves for the loss and continue to make comments when we are overcome with grief.
The person who secretly feels we didn't do the right thing. These people are pretty easy to spot because they would ask us all the time "how can you not want him?" or "how can you not love him?" or "he's so precious! I just don't see how you can give him away."
The people who think that because he lives with another family, our loss is minimal. Obviously these people don't understand how deeply we loved him and how much we miss him. When I talk about our loss, I've been told by well-meaning people, "at least he's not dead."
Let me tell all of you that we feel his loss. He is living with another family, but we've been denied contact by the very people who are supposed to be protecting our interests in this matter. We get mail for him and appointment reminder phone calls for him nearly daily, and each time my heart breaks a little more. We don't have the luxury of forgetting that we used to have our children's brother in our home.
Add to all of this the fact that we have to guide our other three children through the grieving process. Silly asks several times a day about his "bubby". Tutu has named her dolly her baby brother's name and has a panic attack when the doll is out of her sight. Creative still doesn't fully understand and has a hard time accessing the emotions he feels, so he acts out and withdraws in turns.
To the person who has never experienced this loss: I don't want, need or expect grand gestures. A simple hug and "I'm sorry" will suffice. Making a play date to help us have fun is perfect.
To the person who feels that since it was our choice, it doesn't hurt: you're wrong. We made the choice that was best for everyone, but it was a painful choice and I've second-guessed myself a LOT during this ordeal. There are moments when I can see the benefits, but there are plenty of moments I wonder if I did the right thing.
To the person who feels we didn't do the right thing: shame on you! You could have supported us better when we begged you for help. You could have believed us when we told you how hard it was . YOU could have been the one who made the difference that allowed us to keep him. Instead you stand in judgment. I'm tired of your hurtful comments. If you want to judge, go ahead. But know that God is the ultimate judge and will judge you for your judging attitude.
And, to the person who feels that because he's alive, it doesn't hurt: you explain to my one year old that his brother is just gone forever, but not dead. You explain to my body in the middle of the night that the baby is gone and it's ok to sleep. You explain to my arms that ache to hold him that he's still alive somewhere and they shouldn't ache. You explain to my tears that they shouldn't fall when I open the mailbox and see his name. You explain to this gnawing, aching hole in my heart that even though we may never see this child again, it's really "better" that he's not dead.
Giving up this baby is one of the most difficult and painful decisions I've ever made. For the few dear people who've been checking in, thank you. Our family needs friends and family like you.
To everyone else: before you speak, try to put yourself in a similar situation. If you can't fathom giving up a child, try to imagine something incredibly gut-wrenching. Maybe imagine that to save your child's life, you had to let him/her be adopted by strangers.
We may look like we're back to normal, but we're not. We're figuring out a new normal. We aren't in constant heartbreak, but we are still heartbroken. Deep down, we know this was the right decision, but in the day-to-day dealings of life and telling people/offices over and over it's often easy to forget that. There are still many a night I cry myself to sleep aching for my baby.
Then there are the moments I hear the phantom cries and have to remind myself he's gone. Forever. And we have no guarantee we'll ever see him again.
Goodbye my baby. I love and miss you more than you'll ever know, but my role in your life was to be a bridge between your birth family and your forever family. I just never expected your path would be made out of pieces of my broken heart.
Part of the pain comes from the fact that nearly nothing about his leaving was the way we had prayed would turn out. We have one blessing we cling to: our choice to do what was best for him has blessed another infertile couple with the opportunity to adopt.
In the past few weeks since we announced our decision not to adopt him and his subsequent leaving, I've noticed a pattern of sorts with my friends and acquaintances. People's responses tend to fall into the following categories:
The person who has never dealt with a loss this profound and has no idea how to deal with us and our grief so they ignore us or still spend time with us but avoid the topic like the plague.
The person who feels that because we made the decision, it didn't hurt to lose him. These people made thoughtless, hurtful comments as we were preparing ourselves for the loss and continue to make comments when we are overcome with grief.
The person who secretly feels we didn't do the right thing. These people are pretty easy to spot because they would ask us all the time "how can you not want him?" or "how can you not love him?" or "he's so precious! I just don't see how you can give him away."
The people who think that because he lives with another family, our loss is minimal. Obviously these people don't understand how deeply we loved him and how much we miss him. When I talk about our loss, I've been told by well-meaning people, "at least he's not dead."
Let me tell all of you that we feel his loss. He is living with another family, but we've been denied contact by the very people who are supposed to be protecting our interests in this matter. We get mail for him and appointment reminder phone calls for him nearly daily, and each time my heart breaks a little more. We don't have the luxury of forgetting that we used to have our children's brother in our home.
Add to all of this the fact that we have to guide our other three children through the grieving process. Silly asks several times a day about his "bubby". Tutu has named her dolly her baby brother's name and has a panic attack when the doll is out of her sight. Creative still doesn't fully understand and has a hard time accessing the emotions he feels, so he acts out and withdraws in turns.
To the person who has never experienced this loss: I don't want, need or expect grand gestures. A simple hug and "I'm sorry" will suffice. Making a play date to help us have fun is perfect.
To the person who feels that since it was our choice, it doesn't hurt: you're wrong. We made the choice that was best for everyone, but it was a painful choice and I've second-guessed myself a LOT during this ordeal. There are moments when I can see the benefits, but there are plenty of moments I wonder if I did the right thing.
To the person who feels we didn't do the right thing: shame on you! You could have supported us better when we begged you for help. You could have believed us when we told you how hard it was . YOU could have been the one who made the difference that allowed us to keep him. Instead you stand in judgment. I'm tired of your hurtful comments. If you want to judge, go ahead. But know that God is the ultimate judge and will judge you for your judging attitude.
And, to the person who feels that because he's alive, it doesn't hurt: you explain to my one year old that his brother is just gone forever, but not dead. You explain to my body in the middle of the night that the baby is gone and it's ok to sleep. You explain to my arms that ache to hold him that he's still alive somewhere and they shouldn't ache. You explain to my tears that they shouldn't fall when I open the mailbox and see his name. You explain to this gnawing, aching hole in my heart that even though we may never see this child again, it's really "better" that he's not dead.
Giving up this baby is one of the most difficult and painful decisions I've ever made. For the few dear people who've been checking in, thank you. Our family needs friends and family like you.
To everyone else: before you speak, try to put yourself in a similar situation. If you can't fathom giving up a child, try to imagine something incredibly gut-wrenching. Maybe imagine that to save your child's life, you had to let him/her be adopted by strangers.
We may look like we're back to normal, but we're not. We're figuring out a new normal. We aren't in constant heartbreak, but we are still heartbroken. Deep down, we know this was the right decision, but in the day-to-day dealings of life and telling people/offices over and over it's often easy to forget that. There are still many a night I cry myself to sleep aching for my baby.
Then there are the moments I hear the phantom cries and have to remind myself he's gone. Forever. And we have no guarantee we'll ever see him again.
Goodbye my baby. I love and miss you more than you'll ever know, but my role in your life was to be a bridge between your birth family and your forever family. I just never expected your path would be made out of pieces of my broken heart.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Skipping Santa
Disclaimer: Not safe for Santa-believers to read (including kids)
We're skipping Santa. I know it's a highly debatable topic. I'm OK with that. :) It seems nearly un-American to not have the jolly red fellow as part of the Christmas festivities. However, we feel for our family this is best.
Would you like to know why? Then keep reading! You don't? OK, go back to whatever you were doing. :)
Jesus/God
Santa
I won't even get into the theological implications of what happens as a child grows up believing in this naughty and nice list and one can work their way from one to the other. Jesus said that everlasting life works completely differently.
We have come to the point where we, as a society, worship Santa much more than we worship the Christ Child. The Monkey Family kids don't hear much about Santa, so our kids talk about Jesus a lot because Christmas is His birthday.
Our second big reason for not pushing Santa on our kids has to do with the fact that Tutu and Silly are adopted. We need them to always be able to believe that we are telling them the truth about their birth parents. If Mom and Dad can lie about Santa, what are they not telling me about my birth family? We want to avoid a conversation like that at all costs.
Before you hang me up to dry, let me assure you that we will not be pushing our beliefs on others...that includes your children. We aren't going to villianize Santa. He isn't some demon (though I've heard a few sermons that tried to make me think otherwise). We will, as is age-appropriate, teach our children about the real man behind the myth. They are welcome to go sit on Santa's lap at the mall. They can write him a letter, but better give a copy to Mom or Dad...cuz Santa won't be climbing down our chimney. Santa will choose to go to other children's homes, but not ours. Mom and Dad like buying gifts, so Santa doesn't need to bring any gifts to our house.
I've yet to mention the point at which we tell our kids that Santa isn't real. You see...I'm not going to tell my kids Santa isn't real. Then my kids can't tell your kids. :) Isn't that nice of me? You can blame my friend, K. I stole a bunch of her ideas and added some of my own.
We are in quite a dilemma this year because Creative does still believe in Santa. His mom really pushes Santa at her house. We've side-stepped that issue with the truth: Santa will take gifts to your Mom's house, but he isn't going to leave any at our house for you this year. I'm hoping that middle school will help him not believe next year. I don't want to ruin anyone's holiday fun.
So, please don't ask my kids what Santa is bringing. It confuses them. Their gifts are on the piano, under our table-top tree, where they have been for a week. Feel free to ask about Jesus, though. They have about three around the house. :)
We're skipping Santa. I know it's a highly debatable topic. I'm OK with that. :) It seems nearly un-American to not have the jolly red fellow as part of the Christmas festivities. However, we feel for our family this is best.
Would you like to know why? Then keep reading! You don't? OK, go back to whatever you were doing. :)
- Our first reason has to do with our religious beliefs and our relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't worry, I'm not going to preach. However, if I could make a chart for you, you might see how many attributes of God we've given over to Kris Kringle.
Jesus/God
- Omniscient (all knowing)
- Omnipresent (everywhere at once)
- Has a list (Lamb's Book of Life)
- Give us a wonderful gift (Himself as our Savior)
Santa
- Knows if you've been bad or good (all knowing)
- Can deliver all gifts to all children in one night. Sounds an awful lot like being everywhere at once
- Has a list of naughty vs. nice
- Gives us tons of cool stuff
I won't even get into the theological implications of what happens as a child grows up believing in this naughty and nice list and one can work their way from one to the other. Jesus said that everlasting life works completely differently.
We have come to the point where we, as a society, worship Santa much more than we worship the Christ Child. The Monkey Family kids don't hear much about Santa, so our kids talk about Jesus a lot because Christmas is His birthday.
Our second big reason for not pushing Santa on our kids has to do with the fact that Tutu and Silly are adopted. We need them to always be able to believe that we are telling them the truth about their birth parents. If Mom and Dad can lie about Santa, what are they not telling me about my birth family? We want to avoid a conversation like that at all costs.
Before you hang me up to dry, let me assure you that we will not be pushing our beliefs on others...that includes your children. We aren't going to villianize Santa. He isn't some demon (though I've heard a few sermons that tried to make me think otherwise). We will, as is age-appropriate, teach our children about the real man behind the myth. They are welcome to go sit on Santa's lap at the mall. They can write him a letter, but better give a copy to Mom or Dad...cuz Santa won't be climbing down our chimney. Santa will choose to go to other children's homes, but not ours. Mom and Dad like buying gifts, so Santa doesn't need to bring any gifts to our house.
I've yet to mention the point at which we tell our kids that Santa isn't real. You see...I'm not going to tell my kids Santa isn't real. Then my kids can't tell your kids. :) Isn't that nice of me? You can blame my friend, K. I stole a bunch of her ideas and added some of my own.
We are in quite a dilemma this year because Creative does still believe in Santa. His mom really pushes Santa at her house. We've side-stepped that issue with the truth: Santa will take gifts to your Mom's house, but he isn't going to leave any at our house for you this year. I'm hoping that middle school will help him not believe next year. I don't want to ruin anyone's holiday fun.
So, please don't ask my kids what Santa is bringing. It confuses them. Their gifts are on the piano, under our table-top tree, where they have been for a week. Feel free to ask about Jesus, though. They have about three around the house. :)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Difficult Decisions
Let's face it. Being a parent is NEVER easy. Being a foster parent is even less easy. Parenting three children aged 2.5 years and under is next to impossible...especially when adding in the difficulties of fostering.
This past week, Jay and I made one of the most difficult decisions we've ever made. We alerted our agency on Monday and I feel that before the Christmas holiday all legal entities will also know.
(deep breath) We have chosen not to adopt M&M should he become available for adoption.
Please don't judge. There are a LOT of reasons. Some of them I can talk about in a public setting, some I cannot. Some are too private to tell even our closest friends.
We have agonized over this decision for three months. The moment I spoke it aloud, I knew that it was the right decision for us to continue fostering him, but not adopt him.
We love him and will miss him greatly when he leaves us. Emotions are pretty raw, please understand.
Please join with us in praying for M&M as "the system" decides his fate.
Thanks,
The Monkey Family
This past week, Jay and I made one of the most difficult decisions we've ever made. We alerted our agency on Monday and I feel that before the Christmas holiday all legal entities will also know.
(deep breath) We have chosen not to adopt M&M should he become available for adoption.
Please don't judge. There are a LOT of reasons. Some of them I can talk about in a public setting, some I cannot. Some are too private to tell even our closest friends.
We have agonized over this decision for three months. The moment I spoke it aloud, I knew that it was the right decision for us to continue fostering him, but not adopt him.
We love him and will miss him greatly when he leaves us. Emotions are pretty raw, please understand.
Please join with us in praying for M&M as "the system" decides his fate.
Thanks,
The Monkey Family
Invisible Guest
Through Adoption Day and Thanksgiving there was one person constantly on my mind. After talking with other adoptive parents, I find that this is often the case. It's almost as if there is an invisible guest present for every major life event. How we deal with this invisible guest can set our children up to fail or succeed.
Our invisible guest has a name. She has a face. She has a story. She has a huge bearing on what we do and how we do it.
She is my children's birth mom.
I knew I would think of her. I had no idea how much I would want to tell her or how often she would be on my mind. When I think of her, I say a prayer for her..that she will make good choices. That she will find Jesus Christ. That she will know how much we love her children.
I'm sad that circumstances caused her to be unable to raise these amazing children. But I will be forever thankful that she made the tough decision to do what was best for them. She, through various agents, asked me to adopt her children.
Thank you, Birth Mom. I am honored.
Our invisible guest has a name. She has a face. She has a story. She has a huge bearing on what we do and how we do it.
She is my children's birth mom.
I knew I would think of her. I had no idea how much I would want to tell her or how often she would be on my mind. When I think of her, I say a prayer for her..that she will make good choices. That she will find Jesus Christ. That she will know how much we love her children.
I'm sad that circumstances caused her to be unable to raise these amazing children. But I will be forever thankful that she made the tough decision to do what was best for them. She, through various agents, asked me to adopt her children.
Thank you, Birth Mom. I am honored.
Monday, December 5, 2011
"Magic" Eat-Eat Juice
A discussion on Facebook made me decide to post our smoothie recipe as well as various benefits we see from drinking smoothies.
First, my kids call all drinks "juice". We have juice, water juice, eat-eat juice (smoothies), bubble juice (anything that fizzes), tummy juice (peppermint tea), and tater juice (potato soup). The MonkeyMobile even gets "go juice" (gasoline).
Two of my kiddos have a diagnosis that lands on the autism spectrum. Most children of trauma (foster care, adoption, divorce, NICU, the list is very long!) have issues with sensory integration and need help to process what is happening around them.
Because of this, we try to be a very sensory-aware family. We use sensory-processing language and teach the children about their sensory needs and how to meet them.
One of our best tools to calm the while family down during sensory overload times is Eat-Eat Juice. It works for several reasons: working to suck thick liquids through a straw causes both sides of the brain to communicate and organize the neurons, causing a calming effect; cold is an amazing sensory awakening experience and it awakes all the receptors in the mouth, causing a calming reaction for sensory-seeking kids (especially for children who bite, scream, or chew on things...might also help with breaking the pacifier habit. I haven't tried that, but the thought just came to me.); cold and sweet together typically is better received for sensory-avoiders (don't like to get dirty, don't like touch, don't have to be touched and still say "ow") and helps them tolerate new sensory experiences a little better; finally smoothies are a great way to get fruits and some veggies in your little ones who avoid them.
Because of the calming effects, we often make smoothies right before walking out the door for a long car ride. The kids don't get their Eat-Eat juice until in their car seat/booster with their belt on. It's hard to scream and fight with your siblings if your hands are occupied with the cup, your mouth is busy slurping it, and your tummy is full sweet, nutritious yummies. :-)
We choose to use local, raw honey in our smoothies to help with our seasonal allergies. It needs to be local. The closer to your home, the better. The rationale is that bees collect pollen (which causes the allergic reaction) from local flora and it's then incorporated into the honey. Raw honey isn't pasteurized, so the allergens are still present in the honey. Consuming small amounts daily causes the body to slowly build immunities and then when the allergy season hits, the body isn't sent into panic mode.
I know that last year, my entire family was miserable all fall. This year, after several months if smoothies, we still had allergy issues but they were very manageable. We gave the toddlers only about four doses of allergy medication all season as opposed to four doses a day last year.
A few tricks I've learned:
Peel, slice and freeze the bananas before using in a smoothie.
Using frozen fruit means skipping ice, so no watered-down nutrients.
Thicker is better if using for sensory issues.
Wash out cups immediately.
Blueberries/blackberries tend to stain things easily.
Raspberries/blackberries tend to have tiny seeds that stick to teeth or get stuck in spill-proof cup regulators.
Cherries tend to need more honey to have the same "sweetness".
We use vanilla yogurt because it hides the yogurt flavor for my sensory kids.
We DON'T use Greek yogurt. We can make it plenty thick with regular and find regular on sale more often. (when you go through as much ad we do...cost starts to really add up)
Recipe (in the order I toss it in my blender):
Yields about 3 16oz servings plus 2 6oz servings....enough for all non-infants in the family.
1 cup (8oz) milk
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen berries (strawberries, typically)
1 frozen sliced banana, breaking apart slices if needed
4-5 (to start) spinach leaves
3 Tablespoons raw, local honey
Our blender has an "ice breaker" setting which I pulse to break up frozen fruit, then I set it to "smoothie" until it's all well-blended. If the blender motor is getting hot and struggling, add a little more milk.
Pour into cups with straws and enjoy!
What do YOU put in your green smoothies?
First, my kids call all drinks "juice". We have juice, water juice, eat-eat juice (smoothies), bubble juice (anything that fizzes), tummy juice (peppermint tea), and tater juice (potato soup). The MonkeyMobile even gets "go juice" (gasoline).
Two of my kiddos have a diagnosis that lands on the autism spectrum. Most children of trauma (foster care, adoption, divorce, NICU, the list is very long!) have issues with sensory integration and need help to process what is happening around them.
Because of this, we try to be a very sensory-aware family. We use sensory-processing language and teach the children about their sensory needs and how to meet them.
One of our best tools to calm the while family down during sensory overload times is Eat-Eat Juice. It works for several reasons: working to suck thick liquids through a straw causes both sides of the brain to communicate and organize the neurons, causing a calming effect; cold is an amazing sensory awakening experience and it awakes all the receptors in the mouth, causing a calming reaction for sensory-seeking kids (especially for children who bite, scream, or chew on things...might also help with breaking the pacifier habit. I haven't tried that, but the thought just came to me.); cold and sweet together typically is better received for sensory-avoiders (don't like to get dirty, don't like touch, don't have to be touched and still say "ow") and helps them tolerate new sensory experiences a little better; finally smoothies are a great way to get fruits and some veggies in your little ones who avoid them.
Because of the calming effects, we often make smoothies right before walking out the door for a long car ride. The kids don't get their Eat-Eat juice until in their car seat/booster with their belt on. It's hard to scream and fight with your siblings if your hands are occupied with the cup, your mouth is busy slurping it, and your tummy is full sweet, nutritious yummies. :-)
We choose to use local, raw honey in our smoothies to help with our seasonal allergies. It needs to be local. The closer to your home, the better. The rationale is that bees collect pollen (which causes the allergic reaction) from local flora and it's then incorporated into the honey. Raw honey isn't pasteurized, so the allergens are still present in the honey. Consuming small amounts daily causes the body to slowly build immunities and then when the allergy season hits, the body isn't sent into panic mode.
I know that last year, my entire family was miserable all fall. This year, after several months if smoothies, we still had allergy issues but they were very manageable. We gave the toddlers only about four doses of allergy medication all season as opposed to four doses a day last year.
A few tricks I've learned:
Peel, slice and freeze the bananas before using in a smoothie.
Using frozen fruit means skipping ice, so no watered-down nutrients.
Thicker is better if using for sensory issues.
Wash out cups immediately.
Blueberries/blackberries tend to stain things easily.
Raspberries/blackberries tend to have tiny seeds that stick to teeth or get stuck in spill-proof cup regulators.
Cherries tend to need more honey to have the same "sweetness".
We use vanilla yogurt because it hides the yogurt flavor for my sensory kids.
We DON'T use Greek yogurt. We can make it plenty thick with regular and find regular on sale more often. (when you go through as much ad we do...cost starts to really add up)
Recipe (in the order I toss it in my blender):
Yields about 3 16oz servings plus 2 6oz servings....enough for all non-infants in the family.
1 cup (8oz) milk
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen berries (strawberries, typically)
1 frozen sliced banana, breaking apart slices if needed
4-5 (to start) spinach leaves
3 Tablespoons raw, local honey
Our blender has an "ice breaker" setting which I pulse to break up frozen fruit, then I set it to "smoothie" until it's all well-blended. If the blender motor is getting hot and struggling, add a little more milk.
Pour into cups with straws and enjoy!
What do YOU put in your green smoothies?
Friday, November 4, 2011
Is it real yet?
For some reason, I don't think it's hit me that the adoption is final. We did the whole ceremony and everything today. Because it was the county's celebration of National Adoption Day, there was a carnival after the legal stuff was finished.
Honestly, I haven't slowed down in about 7 hours. Maybe that's why it hasn't hit yet?
Jay and M&M are snuggling asleep on the couch. Tutu and Silly are playing quietly in their beds. Creative is in his room doing the tween thing. I'm exhausted but don't feel I can sleep until the toddlers are at least closer to laying down.
And I'm just thinking about my feelings. We've waited so long for this day and now it's all over. It was as amazing as I thought it would be, but I think I'm still pretty numb.
I'm wondering when it will hit. Will it be the first time we visit a doctor and the nurse calls out their new names? When we turn in that last bit of paperwork? Or after M&M is adopted and CPS isn't as much of a household word any longer?
Whenever it hits, I'm pretty sure I'll be very tearful. So, if it happens to be in a public place, just hug me. :-)
It's official. I have two children. Forever.
Honestly, I haven't slowed down in about 7 hours. Maybe that's why it hasn't hit yet?
Jay and M&M are snuggling asleep on the couch. Tutu and Silly are playing quietly in their beds. Creative is in his room doing the tween thing. I'm exhausted but don't feel I can sleep until the toddlers are at least closer to laying down.
And I'm just thinking about my feelings. We've waited so long for this day and now it's all over. It was as amazing as I thought it would be, but I think I'm still pretty numb.
I'm wondering when it will hit. Will it be the first time we visit a doctor and the nurse calls out their new names? When we turn in that last bit of paperwork? Or after M&M is adopted and CPS isn't as much of a household word any longer?
Whenever it hits, I'm pretty sure I'll be very tearful. So, if it happens to be in a public place, just hug me. :-)
It's official. I have two children. Forever.
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