Going Green

Things have been looking up around here. I was sinking into the February Blues, which for me have a certain look. It starts with a dash of emotional eating, eliminating all exercise, and for fun, adding a teething 18 month old who doesn't want to sleep. A recipe for the February Blues! My goal for the month of January was to not spend, look at what we have, and purge what we don't need. Warning...lots of emotions come up during this process. The whole family went for a month not buying anything new other than groceries and a tire for the car when a piece of glass found it's way into the old one.

I have made van fulls of runs to donation sites, yet there is still more. Upon clearing out the playroom of almost all toys, my kids have never played better. We are making systems for ourselves to stay on track. I'll show our family meal board in the next post. The kids and I are putting together our chore/responsibility chart which has become a fun search for clip art online.

In some of the clearing, that green and white tablecloth appeared in a box of forgotten linens. I had been visualizing a new tablecloth, it may not be the one, but Chloe is loving it's presence on the table. For now, it's bright and green, teaching me a lesson in patience and using what you have.

Pairing down our toys to the essentials, there will always be blocks and rocks of all shapes, colors and sizes. Endless villages are being built for me in the scant 20 minute naps the baby is taking. You cannot safely build a village with a giant baby running around!

The best part of going green is daily green smoothies! I make them using what we may have on hand for frozen fruit, but the kale is the star of this green goodness.

Green Goodness Smoothie

2 giant handfuls of chopped kale 2 TB parsley 1 1/2 cups of frozen pineapple or cherries (if using cherries the green will be a bit more on the brown side, with pineapple a nice bright green will appear) 2 TB hemp seeds 2 TB coconut butter (you could use the oil or almond butter) 1 cup almond milk (fresh or store bought) 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water, depending on the thickness desired

Blend away and enjoy the burst of natural energy that comes from going green.