The Weekend is Here...almost

Happy Friday to one and all!

We have made it through another week and the weekend is almost upon us.

To say I am excited about this is an understatement.

This weekend I am running in a fun event

I am doing my third 5k in a months time and this one is...wait for it...

AT THE BEACH!

You really can't beat having a weekend vacation to the beach and pairing it with a fun event like this.

At the finish line you get boas and a tiara to "diva" up your running attire:

I am pretty certain my daughter Caroline is going to want my swag...but I am a sucker for that girl so I will probably give it to her.

I mean after all could you say no to this face?  Yeah  me neither.

I am going to take a page out of Laura's book and pack as much of our food as possible.  That way I know we will be eating healthy and won't have to resort to eating at restaurants that might not be on the "approved" list.

I got some of my prep work done last night be making a loaf of banana bread and sandwich bread (it all just tastes better homemade).  I need to pick out snacks and pack the suitcases and then we should be ready.

What sort of fun do you have planned this weekend?

Does it involve any exercise?  If you are looking for a fun exercise challenge I am participating in a squat challenge without about 100 of my co-workers.

Here is the chart if you would like to give it a try:

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What I Love

I am totally stealing this from Shauna (I hope she doesn't mind) and sharing with you something that I love.

What I love....the library.

Since slowly adapting my family to a "consume less" lifestyle we have found a large love of the library.

I have read more books in the last month then I have in the last 5 years (that's a little embarrassing to admit).

Now part of that is I have found more time for reading and have found ways to work it into my schedule.

My kids have enjoyed playing together more and have needed me less.

Now while that was a little disheartening it also has been a pleasure.  I can let them play outside and I can enjoy some sunshine on the deck while being immersed in Alice Steinbach's travels around Europe.

My daughter has really shown a love for our weekend jaunts to the library.  She looks at it almost like shopping.  I allow her to pick out whatever she wants (and as many as she wants for that matter).

Who knew there could be such unbridled passion for picking out books?  She then picks out a new book each night for the next two weeks to read before bed.

I love that my kids enjoy reading more and that they get upset if we can't go to the library (I don't like to make them upset but you get the point).

Anywho the library we go to is beautiful.  It is set in a park and there are walking trails (which we haven't explored yet) and a butterfly meadow.

The entry has a beautifully painted ceiling

The beauty of it really brings the whole package together.  So how about you?  Do you enjoy the library?  Marie, if you read this I know the answer is a resounding "YES" as you had Christmas pictures taken at the library (they were SUPER cute by the way).

Well I hope if you don't visit your local library that maybe this will spur you into visiting.  I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.

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Weekend Send Off

Well it's Friday...WOOHOO!

You can't tell me that you aren't just jumping with joy for the weekend to be here already (I really would hate to think I am alone in the jumping).

This weekend holds lots of outdoor activities for my family.

Slowly we have been making more and more vegetable/fruit/flower beds around our yard.  One day we will cease to have grass and no longer have to worry about it being mowed.

Because what we don't have covered in dirt, we hope to have covered in clover.

Yes you read that right clover.

Did you know that clover, yes that little weed so many try to kill, is beneficial for your yard?

                                              Source: browse.deviantart.com via Jessie on Pinterest

Here are 6 of top benefits:

• Nitrogen fixating--it takes nitrogen from the air and deposits it in the ground as absorbable fertilizer
• Drought tolerant
• Resists pet urine (won't turn brown like grass does)
• Grows in bad soil--since it brings nitrogen to the ground it can heal the ground it grows in
• Grows year round--a perpetual green lawn, how nice
• Fertilizes surrounding plants

I thought this was just some food for thought as you go into your weekend.  Think twice before killing those weeds.  I am pretty sure the chemicals in the weed killer is way more harmful than the weeds themselves.

Hopefully wherever you are there will be beautiful weather.  Here in Carolina the temps have been anywhere from 90 to 72, just the way I like it nice and warm.

So what will you do with your weekend?

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Emmy's Macaroons

I was lucky enough to be allowed to sample Emmy's Organics delicious/raw/vegan macaroons.

The most difficult part of this assignment?

Deciding which flavor to try first.

I was given six delicious flavors:

Coconut Vanilla, Choco Chili, Dark Cacao

Lemon Ginger, Mint Chip, and Choco Orange

I surprised myself and started with Coconut Vanilla (I thought for sure I would tear into the chocolate).

I was kind enough to share these with my kids.  My daughter thought they tasted like vanilla ice cream...just not cold.

I have to agree with her the vanilla had a nice light and pleasing flavor.  A completely fantastic way to end a meal.

The only flavor I did not try was the Choco Chili...I don't like the two mixed together.  So I gifted them to a friend of mine, and he thought they were wonderful.

So I mentioned that they are delicious but they are also made with a short list of ingredients (always a plus sign in my book).

The coconut vanilla are made up of seven things (all of which I can pronounce and more than likely probably have in my pantry):

• organic raw shredded coconut
• organic raw agave nectar
• non-gmo almond flour
• organic raw coconut oil
• fair trade vanilla flavor (alcohol-free)
• raw vanilla bean
• himalayan crystal salt.

Not only does Emmy's make a delicious and well thought out product but they carry that through to their packaging.  The macaroon packages can be composted.  How cool is that?

I love getting behind companies that subscribe to the same types of ideals that I do.

I am happy to say I would recommend these to everyone...you just need to like coconut!

You can find Emmy's on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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Nuk Fresh Foods Cook N Blend

I was given the opportunity as a Mom Ambassador at Green Mom's Meet (through Kiwi Magazine) to review Nuk's Fresh Foods Cook N' Blend Baby Food Maker.

The product title may be a mouthful, but it will provide a VERY healthy mouthful for your child.

Nuk always a leader in the baby product market has come out with a baby food maker that steams AND blends the food for you.

No longer will you need to steam your fruit and vegetables in one vessel and then move them to another (such as a blender or baby food mill).

Now there is an all in one product to handle this.

While not just a pretty face the Nuk Cook N Blend has the following features:

• Dual action function steams and blends food
• Healthy steaming preserves vitamin and mineral content
• With 32 oz bowl it can make up to 4 meals at a time
• Double steamer basket separates food
• Beeps and stops automatically
• Two texture (smooth and chunky) options so that the product can grow with your child
• Dishwasher safe
• Bonus smoothie blade so the whole family can get in on the action
• Free recipe book with  meal ideas from Annabel Karmel
• There is a $20 off coupon available here as well

As a mother of three I loved making food for my kids.  For me it was my way to do all that I could to ensure they would grow up as healthy as possible.

Maybe it was the budding homesteader in me, but it was oh so satisfying to do it...plus it was so much cheaper than store bought food.

Now I used a hand powered baby food mill, like this one, but Nuk has been forward thinking enough to make a product that is useful past the toddler stage.

With that being said I think this would make for a great baby shower gift to a new mom.  It is one that I would recommend to my friends and co-workers.

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinions on my blog.  My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

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Weekend Wrap Up

This post is a day late, I apologize...I like to get the Wrap Up's up on Monday.

Anyway this past weekend was a long one (I love a 3 day weekend) and it included some fun activities.

On Saturday I ran in the Color Me Rad 5k.



There were about 8000 runners, which I thought was a lot of people, taking part in this fun run (it was not timed).

It was so much fun to run through the cornstarch paint and to come home looking like a tye-dyed shirt.

My oldest didn't mind giving me a hug

But my daughter didn't even want me to give her a kiss.

In fact this was as close as she was willing to get to me:

They have already announced that the race is coming back to town next year...so I will be ready when it is time to sign up.  Hopefully I can convince some friends to join me.

Sunday was Easter.  

We have started to not give gifts to the kids.

By that I mean they have no need of toys (we have way more than 3 children can play with). 

So they woke up on Sunday to no Easter baskets but they did have some cards from family members and they each got a small bag of jelly beans.

You know what?  

They were perfectly happy.

People get caught up in consume, consume, consume, and in the end you don't need everything your purchased.

Now I don't mean to go far off track here, but the reason we don't want them to be gifted with tons of stuff is so they realize they can enjoy what they have and we can make sure quality items are purchased (quite often you end up with chintzy plastic stuff that breaks so quickly).

I'll get off my soap box and show you what I did make for the kids:

These are chocolate Easter eggs filled with vegan buttercream.

My paternal grandmother made these every year and they were the highlight of the holiday (now mind you she also put a little bit of money wrapped in plastic in the middle) but they were oh so delicious.

I have such fond memories of these that I wanted to pass this love on to my kids.

Hopefully they will appreciate them.

So that was my weekend in a nutshell, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend what sort of things did you get into?

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