Raw Chocolate Almond Butter Balls

Fancy title, eh?  I see things like this in recipe books and online and decided to create a "raw" version.  And then I came up with a fabulous name for them.
I'm sure there is a much better version out there but honestly, these aren't too shabby.

1 c. organic oats, soaked several hours (not too much water!)
1/2 c. raw almond butter
2/3 c. shredded coconut
1/4 c. flax seed, grind it (that will be almost 1/2 c. once you grind)
1/3 c. raw honey (I used honey from my own bees!)
1/2 c. raw cocoa powder
1 t. vanilla

Stir this all together and then roll into balls.  Chill and enjoy.  Or just eat a couple spoonfuls as you are making it.  Either way, enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Ice Cream

Dump the following in the BlendTec:

1 cup raw milk (don't shake the milk jar so you get the good cream too! :))
3/4 c. raw cocoa powder
1/4 c. organic hot chocolate mix*

Hit Pulse a couple times and then add:

1 t. vanilla
3 cups ice cubes

Select the Ice Cream cycle.

If you like it soft serve, eat it right away.  If not, freeze it for several hours.  I ate it soft serve last night and frozen for breakfast  today.


*this is not raw but every recipe I looked at called for sugar so I decided to add a tad bit of this.  It was delicious!

Sir Cumference

Reading aloud is one of the greatest things you can do for your kids.  I didn't make that up, my mom told me.  And she knows everything.  Truth be told, my parents read to us all the time growing up and I do the same for my kids.  We just finished a biography on Corrie Ten Boom and my kiddos were literally begging me each day to continue reading!

I was reading this book to my boys this morning and it reminded me what a huge fan I am of the series. Set in the times of King Arthur you get to know Sir Cumference, his wife, Lady Di of Ameter and their son Radius.

Each book focuses on a different math concept and is certain to inspire your young mathematician!  Plus, it keeps them sitting still for a few minutes.  ;)

(thanks Amazon for letting me borrow your picture.  I was too lazy to take my own!)

7th Annual Sun Party!

When I was growing up, my mom's best friend Connie used to throw a "sun party" to celebrate the end of the school year.  I adopted the tradition when Madeline started school and my kiddos look forward to it each year.

We always ice sugar cookies with yellow (sun!) icing and drink lemonade.  This year we spent the afternoon swimming and lunching at TCC.

Welcome Summer '13.  We have been waiting for you forever.

OH. MY. WORD.

This picture is frightening.  Especially given the fact that he was almost in tears after I served him a glass of freshly squeezed carrot juice at breakfast instead of his normal green smoothie.  He insisted on having some of "Mommy's."

He's Not Even 4!

Funny story.  I saw the KaZAM balance bike on Shark Tank last week and since Lincoln has been begging me to teach him to ride without his training wheels, I ordered it.  It had nothing to do with the fact that Amazon's 1-click shopping makes it so easy.

It came (exactly 1 day later!) and he's been spinning around the house on it.  This afternoon, I hear Lauren giving him tips on how to ride a "real" bike and next thing you know we are outside and he's racing around the cul-de-sac like he's competing in Tour de France.

A Green Smoothie a Day.....

I recently had someone ask if we were still doing green smoothies..."because you never post them on your blog!"

The answer is: Yes. Every single day.  No. Matter. What.
Even when we are traveling, we pack the BlendTec up along with the toothpaste (flouride-free of course! ;)) and hit the road!

This morning, we used our CSA greens which were picked fresh yesterday morning.  Does it get any better?!

Here's what we threw in this morning:

purified water
1 organic lemon, with the peel cut off
handful of organic raspberries
large handful of kale
tons of tons of mixed greens (I mean, TONS!)

We grind it down several times and continue adding more greens until it looks perfect.  I drink the jar you see above (a quart) in the morning and then 8 oz before lunch and dinner.  The kids drink about 12 oz a day and Ron is all over the map, drinking anywhere from 12 oz. to 60+ per day, depending on how crazy he's feeling.  Or better yet, how gooooooood he wants to feel!