Monday Mustache Milkshake ...mmm!

happy Monday, peeps!

we had a SUPER fun, SUPER packed weekend:

successfully ran about a bazillion errands after Daniel came home on Friday,

did a pig roast all day Saturday, which, including travel and prep time was a 14+ hour day

went for a delicious lunch with family + did at least four loads of laundry on Sunday

it was probably the busiest weekend we've had since the girls were born

and you know what?

they were SUCH super stars about it!

despite missed naps and random mealtimes

they were really great about not melting down

we were impressed

way to go, girlies!

anyway, between all the time spent outdoors,

the sunshine,

the mosquitos (booooo...),

and all the sweet, juicy fruit we were munching on

(pretty sure i ate my weight in watermelon between the pig roast and dinner yesterday,

plus the girlies discovered they love grapes)

...it just felt like summer suddenly kicked into gear

and it's only gonna get better

because on Thursday we head off for our annual camping weekend

we look forward to this trip all year

there's not much better than 

getting to enjoy the outdoors,

with some of our best friends,

grilling all our meals,

soaking up the sunshine,

chatting by the fire,

cooking and eating together,

passing on our love of camping to our kids,

etc, etc, etc

so, with a great weekend behind us

and a great weekend before us

i thought it would be fitting to celebrate Monday

by sharing a delicious milkshake with you

it's superbly chocolatey, relatively healthy and cold...perfect for celebrating summer!
oh, and it's nice and thick, so expect a great milk mustache!

Chocolate Banana Mustache Milkshake

1 cup organic brown rice milk

(or whatever milk you prefer)

1 frozen banana

1 tbsp cocoa

1 tbsp almond butter

1/2 cup ice

- blend ingredients together until smooth

- drink up!

trust me, this one's worth the mustache!

Booked!

the past couple of weeks have been booked solid for us

which i'm sure you've noticed if you are a regular follower of this blog
(read:  i've totally fallen off the radar, sorry!)
but rest assured, we are well, just living in fast forward:

we had a lovely visit with Daniel's mom
who came up from NC for a couple of weeks

Daniel went away for his annual "man weekend / fishing trip"

we made a couple trips to Trader Joes to stock up on our favorites
(yes, that is an event around here:
wrangling twin toddlers in a double stroller PLUS a shopping cart
through a super busy not-so-wide-aisled store
...you'll feel like you can do anything afterwards!)

my sister and uber cute nephew stayed with us for a week,
which meant entertaining three toddlers
(hectic, fun and a great opportunity to practice sharing / playing nice!)

i could keep listing things,
but i don't want to bore you
i have lots to share from our busy time though
so expect a few catch up posts

you know what else is booked?
our family trip to the beach!

i am beyond excited for this

if you know me at all, you know i would happily set up camp at the beach
and never leave
doesn't matter which beach
doesn't matter if i'm in a tent or a van or a house
just give me the salty air
the sand
the seashells
the fun little critters
the water
...i'm set

but this isn't just any trip to any beach
this is the girls' first trip
to the beach
we're staying at Daniel's parents' beach house
where he stayed countless times growing up,
where we spent part of our honeymon
and where we went for our first couple of anniversaries

i love this place
it holds so many great memories
including kayaking with wild dolphins
(possibly the craziest / coolest experience of my life!)
and talking about when we want to start a family
and now here we are, bringing our kids down
to make their own memories
which is special in its own right
but to me, it's more than just special
because both Daniel and i spent much of our childhood at the beach
him in Florida, me on the Persian Gulf
and i've always wanted to do the same with our kids
and now here we are, doing just that:
living out our dreams, together
this girl's heart is happy

Green Monster

kind of a funny name, huh?

apparently, it's a pretty common name for a green smoothie

and to be honest, the name doesn't sound very appealing (to me anyway)

but i've always liked the color green

and i like the idea of a smoothie packed full of healthy ingredients

('cause any mom will agree that you sometimes get so caught up in feeding them well, 

that you forget all about feeding yourself well...)

so i figured i'd give it a shot

the nice thing about these "green monsters" 

is that there's no recipe

which means you get to customize it

using whatever you have on hand

or whatever your favorite ingredients are

and it can be as easy or as complicated as you want

...and i like the sound of that!

so here's my take:

super fresh,

somewhat tart,

a bit of a tropical twist, 

ridiculously quick / simple

and of course, bright green.

Green Monster Smoothie

- 2 handfuls spinach

- 1 lime: juiced and 1/2 zested

- 3/4 cup coconut milk

- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple

- 1/2 cup greek yogurt

1) throw all ingredients into food processor or blender and blend until well mixed

2) pour into a tall glass or mason jar and enjoy

it's that simple.  

happy birthday...

...to me!

yep, today i turn 28 

this past year has been unlike any other

(i suppose that's technically true for all years, but you know what i mean...)

it was nothing like what i had imagined or expected,

but it was still good

i've gotten older, 

and hopefully a bit wiser

i've learned a lot about myself

and the people closest to me

i've watched our babies grow and change so much
i've watched myself change as i mother two little people
who i love so much, but who still drive me so crazy sometimes

i've started a business

i've been over-the-moon happy, 

unbelievably frustrated and angry, 

deeply hurt and saddened

i've faced things i didn't want to face

i've learned that i'm braver than i thought

i've realized that i don't need to be as strong as i would like

that i can and should lean more on the Lord and those who He's placed in my life

i've built new habits,

i've fallen off some bandwagons
i've surprised myself

...a lot can happen over a year!

all of these things are pretty typical to experience over such a span of time

(i think...or maybe it's just me?)

but i've realized something, 

being a stay at home mom (of twins, at that!)
has caused me to reflect and process this kind stuff much more

because i'm more often than not "stuck" at home

instead of out and about, distracting myself with business

and it's a good thing, I think

it helps me to be thankful for my experiences, even the not so good ones

so today, i am thankful for this past year

and i look forward to the experiences my next year will hold

i pray that i not only continue to reflect on my life and experiences, 

but that i would live them intentionally

that i would savor the important things

let go of the not-so-important things

allow every moment i'm given to be redeemed

and hold "my plan" loosely

so that i can embrace and enjoy whatever unfolds

as things continue to turn out completely different than what i expected

as a perfectionist and an idealist, these are some difficult resolutions to make

but i think they'll be good for me

29, bring it on!

(p.s. this was my "recap" for my 26th birthday - what i didn't mention was that i took a pregnancy test when we got home from our date on my actual birthday and it came back positive.  i still call that the best birthday gift i've ever gotten, and i can't help but relive it in my head every birthday since - so much happy packed into this day!)

friday favorites

it's friday - hooray!

our family had a bad sleeping week

but hopefully the kidsies will remember how nice it is to sleep through the night soon

and get back to it

at least with the weekend coming up, us tired parents can split up baby-duty so it's a little easier to manage

plus, we each usually get a sleep-in day, while the other takes the girlies downstairs

so in celebration of friday, i thought i'd share some recent favorites around here:

- we've been enjoying (and occasionally even dancing to) this playlist lately:

- melty goat brie and pepper jelly sandwiches

(don't knock it till ya try it - it's soooooo good!)

- the bunny we spotted in the backyard yesterday morning...a HUGE hit with the girls

- lots of extra time spent with my sister this week

(including one day when she watched the kiddos and straightened my hair while i got some work done...yes, i am blessed)

- discovering a new coffee shop in town with the most AMAZING drinks

- working through more pictures from my newborn session last weekend...so many favorites from this session!

- my wonderful husband, who went to the grocery store at 9:30 last night so that i could stay home and work out then reward myself with the watermelon he brought home for me

- my instagram friends, even the ones i've never met...it may be superficial, but it's really nice to flip through pretty pictures, read about others' ups and downs, be inspired, encourage and be encouraged

- introducing the girlies to french toast...easy enough to whip up on a weekday, "fancy" enough to get the girls excited for breakfast.  cut it into strips and it makes a great finger food!

easiest french toast

2 slices whole grain bread

1 egg

a couple dashes cinnamon

a squirt (1 tsp?) agave nectar

a smidge coconut oil (to grease pan)

- heat coconut oil in pan on medium / medium high heat

- beat egg and add cinnamon and agave nectar

(these can also be added as toppings at the end, once the french toast is done - i just decided to throw them in the batter so they'd cook on and make the meal a little less messy)

- dip both sides of your first bread slice into egg batter

- place bread on frying pan.  once first side cooks up, flip it and cook the other side.  this doesn't take long, but it depends on how much egg your bread soaked up.

- remove from pan and repeat with next slice

- cut french toast into strips and serve with fruit and yogurt for dipping (optional, but a big hit with the littles)

and that's a wrap - happy weekend, everybody! 

busy bee + a baby

hello friends!

sorry i haven't been around as much lately

like i mentioned in my last post, life has been busy

we enjoyed lots of family time over the long weekend

including a day of fishng (for the guys) / the beach (for the mamas and babies)

the sun never came out to play, but it didn't rain and we got to catch up with good friends, 

so i'd call it a success!

i also got to take pictures of a super sweet newborn yesterday

i met this little guy's parents about twelve years ago

when we all went to the same high school

and now, here we are all married and with kids!

it was so nice to meet their little bundle, 

have some "mom talk" 

and just catch up

anyway, here are a few of my favorites

(i figure the cuteness factor should earn me some forgiveness points

for the lack of posts around here!)

a post mother's day post

yesterday was mother's day

and i missed the "get online tell your mother how much you love her" boat

not because i have anything against doing that

or against my mother 

(i love you, mom...and i've totally done the online declaration of love before here and here!)

i just missed the boat this year, that's all

you know what else i missed doing?  

taking a picture with my kids

maybe i was too caught up in the day itself

maybe because it's hard to remember to step in front of the camera from time to time

maybe i was still recovering from this past week which had way too much going on

but what i do have is a recent picture with me and one of my girlies

from the weekend before mother's day weekend, actually

that i meant to share with you last week, 

but didn't get a chance to in the middle of all the "busy"

it was a super hot day (especially for May!)

but we didn't have enough time to head out to the beach

so we slipped the girls into their swimsuits

and introduced them to the sprinkler

try it with your own littles!

you're guaranteed to have a blast 

AND getting them down for a nap afterwards will be a breeze (double bonus!!)