Smooth. E.

Loving our mommy bodies, our lady bodies, means taking care of them the best we can.  Right now we are really into smoothies.  Well, the three Reid ladies are; Daddy not so much.  

I thought I would share some of the recipes I thought sounded yummy.  My aim is to try them because most of the time I just throw a bunch of stuff in the blender and if it doesn't taste good I add PB or Nutella to disguise the taste.  Eh, whatever works.  

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe? Kind of your "go to"? I would love to hear it! 

Here are a two of the ones I found on Pinterest that sounded amazing and easy to try! 

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie (super easy)

Beet (yes, beet) Strawberry Lemon Smoothie

*we would love your vote-we are moving on up in the ranks thanks to you!*

Lemon Blueberry Loaf recipe.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, tried it and the mix barely made it out of the bowl into the pan because I almost devoured it.
I'll put the original recipe below.  I baked the recipe the original way the first time I made it but this time I decided to try and make muffins.  And much to my surprise it worked!! I kept the temperature the same but decreased the time from 55 minutes to no more than 15 minutes.   I also did not use the syrup on the muffins but I used the icing.  It turned out great and was nowhere near as messy.

Original Recipe: 

LEMON BLUEBERRY BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

for the bread

1-1/2 cups + 1 tbsp all purpose flour, divided

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

for the lemon syrup

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

for the lemon glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5" loaf pan, dust with flour, and tap out excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. In a separate bowl mix the blueberries with the 1 tbsp of flour and then gently fold them into the mixed batter.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake 50-55 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

Let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the loaf is cooling, combine the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until sugar is dissolved, and then continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf and brush with the lemon syrup. Continue to brush the loaf until all of the syrup is added.

To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and pour over the top of the loaf. Let the lemon glaze harden before serving.

It literally fell from a tree.

I've talked about this craft project before but I thought it deserved it's own blog post.  I didn't do a step by step tutorial because it's pretty self-explanitory. 

The perfect tree limb/branch fell into our yard off our birch tree and I knew I HAD to do something with it in the house.  I was originally going to spray paint it white but I'm glad I didn't now. 

I let the tree branch dry out in the garage for a day or two and made sure I didn't bring in any critters with it.  I trimmed it up with a hand saw and then went to work.  I'm still a novice with the sewing machine (basically I can barely sew in a straight line or at a steady speed) so I used my handy-dandy hot glue gun. 
I picked up some pretty fabric at the local fabric store and got a yard of each.  That was beyond plenty.  You can make the pennants as wide or as narrow as you like.  Mine are about 10-11inches across.  I hot glued two sides together to make them a little sturdier and then hot glued them onto the branch.  Wah-La! Instant craft project.  I figured out just where I wanted it while it was drying in the garage and Josh hung it up for me.  Right above our laundry "room".  It looks super cute!

Pinterest inspired.

I've been struggling with Kyra's room a little bit.  Josh is making shelving and her bedding is adorable but I don't want just anything in there.  With Teagan I have slowly added pieces as her personality has shown through.  I want to do the same with Kyra.  But it the plainness of her room started to annoy me and I started searching.  I was looking through Pinterest a few weeks ago on my Mommy's Day in and found it.  I knew I had to do this to Kyra's room.  So, we did.  I have to say, I love it so much it probably won't be the last time this idea makes its way into our home!

It was actually very easy.  I just bought wooden letters at Hobby Lobby and painted them the same color as Kyra's walls, well the top half, and Josh nailed them to the wall above Kyra's crib.  I need to do a little touch up where the nail holes are but that is it! I did the painting in a day, they dried and Josh hung them the following evening. 

Steppin' out Saturday

I got to "Step Out" on Saturday and I actually got to take a picture of what I wore....Kind of. 

shoes: thrifted-pants: New York & Co-tank:target-cardigan:target-necklace:thrifted

Josh gave me the day to myself on Saturday.  He even told me I shouldn't clean or anything, he knows me too well.  Not knowing what to do without a husband or at least one of my girls I decided to get crafty.  I recreated an idea I saw on Pinterest and then one that fell out of a tree. Literally. 

1st project: Painting letters to match Kyra's wall.  An idea I found on Pinterest. 

2nd project: Making a pennant sign for above our laundry area. We don't have a laundry room. It's more like a laundry closet. I still wanted something pretty above it any way!

This idea literally fell from a tree in our yard.  We came home one day and this particular branch was just laying there in the front yard.  I knew I had to do something with it so I decided to make a pennant banner and put it above our laundry room area.  All I did was hot glue (I can't sew. yet.) pieces of fabric together and then hot glue them on to the branch! How cute does it look?!
 

Tears.

I finally jumped on the Pinterest wagon today.  I am in LOVE with it although I will have to ration my time spent on the site due to "I need to have it, why can't I have it" issues.
The only thing I didn't like was no fault of the websites.  It was when I clicked on the "fitness" link.  Thinking I could find some good little tips on how to get rid of the rest of the baby weight. The healthy way.  I was instantly taken back to my days on my first real blog.  My first real blog was a journey through my anorexia and depression.  It was a blog full of darkness and self-hatred.  Phrases like "do it for the gap between your thighs" or "Do it because you'd rather love yourself later then hate yourself when the full feeling sets in" popped out from the screen at me.  I began to cry.  Not big blubbering sobs but the kind of tears that just roll down your face in a constant stream.  It took me back to those days of self-hatred and darkness.  It reminded me of just how sick I was.  It reminded me that just because I stopped blogging like that doesn't mean it went away.  There are a ton of women and girls who continue to blog on "pro-ana" sites, there were even ladies who died from anorexia or suicide when I was blogging back then. 
It just made me take a step back.  It's everywhere.  The constant messages of perfection and not being good enough.  These messages have even made their way to a website like Pinterest.  If these messages can make it there then they have the ability to creep into every aspect of our lives.  That sounds kind of paranoid but I'm not being paranoid.  I am being realistic.  I have TWO daughters now.  Two beautiful girls who are going to face what I had to face in regards to the messages they will be getting.  I can only pray that Josh & I are able to combat those messages with those of love and self-appreciation.