Final!

Our Rigby, Idaho house is finally, officially SOLD!!! (I try to avoid excessive exclaimation points, but I think that statement well deserves the excess.)

We are so happy and feel that it is nothing short of a miracle that it sold in the time frame it did and in the market it did. We feel truly blessed. I can't even complain that it took nearly three months to close. We are just so elated to be free of the double housing payment.

We now have several months to save, look, and plan to buy our next home. Wish us luck! Our rental contract here expires in June, so it won't be long until we pack up again. I'm aching to feel a little more permanent.

Valentines and Love

Last year for Valentine's I made these cute gum ball necklaces.

Lots and lots and lots of them. Until my hands were bleeding, quite literally. It was a nightmare project. I don't recommend making as many as I did, but the girls loved them. I vowed to never do that again, but I just can't seem to learn from my mistakes.

I found this darling valentine idea on Pinterest. Unfortunately, so did lots and lots of other people. (One of the downfalls of Pinterest.) But I decided to make them anyway. The kids had already seen them and had their hearts set on them. They are not nearly as cute as the originals, but we're going with it...

HERE is the link to the original project.

And here are how ours turned out:

The girls "helped" with the cutting and gluing, so they aren't perfect, but who wants perfect? Not me.

I found the bugs at Dollar Tree 6 for $1. Bargain! They were glittery, and some glow in the dark. I sort of cleaned them all out, so if some of my neighbors were hoping to do the same project... my apologies.

My mother-in-law happened to have the jar stamp from Stampin' Up! just sitting in her craft room. It's really similar to the jar used on the website. Perfect. It was way too small for the bugs though, so I went to the copy center and enlarged them.

I was too cheap to buy colored cardstock when I have reams and reams of scrapbooking paper at home, so that equaled hours and hours of cutting and pasting.

Noted.

Next time I will splurge on the colored card stock copies. I had flashbacks of the bubble gum necklaces as I cut out paper for three hours while watching Project Runway reruns on the internets. Not the best use of my time, to be sure.

But I think the end result was worth it. All the kids are super excited to pass out their Valentines. Even Mason was thrilled that they weren't too girly. He's not one for frills. Come to think of it, neither are my girls. Bugs are right up their alley.

These were really fun, but next year.... I'm totally going with the pre-made box-o-valentines.

Paintin', Paintin', Paintin'

Warning: This post contains an improper amount of mommy bragging. Please proceed with caution if that sort of thing offends you...

My kids love to paint. No, you don't understand- my kids LOOOOOVE to paint. They were completely out of watercolors the other day, so I picked some up at the store. I also picked up another ream of paper. We are always out of paper. They were so excited to paint again. One of the paint sets I got was "metallic". Apparently that was the way to go. Now we have stacks and stacks of metallic dragons and lizards sitting on every surface of the house. No exaggeration.

As a side note: Next year for Christmas, I think I'll just get them painting supplies and completely forego the toys. They would probably never notice.

My kids paint and draw so often that they are much more advanced artists than I ever was at their ages. (Especially Ellorie.) I should really take some pictures of some of my artwork from this age. Pretty funny. Most of them at age 8 were extremely elongated horses with very bumpy legs. Ellorie can draw pretty much anything accurately if she has a reference, and many things without. Their talent shocks me.

Yes, Ellorie is sitting on the table. No, I don't know why. I tried to get her to sit on the bench, but she was in "the zone", and there is no communicating with her when she is in that "right" brain of hers. I can relate. I can't hear people speaking to me when I'm painting either. Funny how our brains work.

Friday, the girls painted chameleons. I could not believe how good their paintings were. While I was helping Ellorie's friend with her drawing, Averie and Ellorie just whipped these babies out without any help whatsoever.

And then last night, when the girls were supposed to be getting ready for bed, they were painting- yet again. I hurried them off to bed, and then came back a bit later to look at their paintings:

Averie's Dragon-

And Ellorie's-

She didn't look at anything to draw this. Just totally out of her imagination. Holy striped-rainbow dragon, Batman! This could totally be an illustration out of a children's book.

The boys really like to paint too, though it's not quite as much of an obsession. This morning Mason was painting "Epic Mickey" paintings, using his toy Mickey from Disney World as a reference. Pretty cute:

Averie's "Mickey" , not bad for a 4 year old-

And Ellorie's-

And Rylan? He's a fan too:

His favorite thing to draw is "bubbles".

Love my little artists!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

You are not in the wrong place. This is still Brittany. Blog is currently under construction.

I had a teeny tiny, itty bitty freak out when I looked at my Google profile and realized that every photograph from the last 5 years of our lives is publicly available on the internets. In my five years of blogging I've never had a single problem, no spamming, no creepy stalkers, no unknown followers posting strange comments. I'm okay with everything I put out there, and I've taken as many precautions as I can as a semi-public blogger, but the sheer quantity of information... anyway... I'm not scared of blogging per se, I just started thinking about how much information about our family is really out there.

In Love with the Little Things still exists. It is currently private and at a new URL. I will continue to blog HERE under the same name and at the same address. (and hopefully more often than I have been lately.)

The only difference you will notice as a reader, is that my archives are no longer available to peruse. If you would like access to them, please send me a facebook message or an email to brittanylane@hotmail.com and I'll add you to the private list. (If I know who you are.) I will also post regularly there, but more pictures of kids, personal thoughts, family events, and things of a more private nature.

This is not one of those "I'm going private/AKA I'm really just quitting blogging altogether". I think I have a folder of dozens of blogs that I check occasionally labeled "private" blogs. Only a couple of them ever post anything. I don't want to stop blogging because I love it! It is a wonderful format for recording the day to day happenings in my life and for staying in touch with family, friends, and loved ones spread throughout the world. I would go private if I thought there was a chance that anyone would still read my blog, but as a blog reader, I know what a pain it is to follow a blog without a RSS feed. So here we are.

The good news is, I am making things simpler. I will post everything else here. All my "other" blogs will go away for now. My arts and crafts, soap making, cooking, hobbies, funny stories, photography, major events, minor events, etc. will all be in one place. (My art blog will still remain the same. If I ever start painting again. I mean, WHEN I start painting again. *sigh*. It's been a busy year.)

If all of this confuses you, simply disregard this post and continue reading (and commenting) as usual. I love blog visitors, readers, commenters, lurkers, blog stalkers, and YOU out there reading my musings. Please feel free to continue reading...

Questions? Comments? Rude Remarks?

Be back soon!

New Pet

Yes, it's true. We have a new pet.

Now wait! Before you alert the landlord, let me tell you... it's not that kind of pet.

The girls lovingly named him "Cuteness".

He lives in the kitchen, and makes breakfast for us every morning. He drinks milk. Or juice. Or even sugar water, but for now he is still a baby and just sticks to milk. He grows very quickly and must be fed every day or two.

He has lots of talents and skills, and even a few vices (as with all pets).

He was given to us by a kind neighbor. Are you dying to know what he is? (Probably not.)

Cuteness is a Kefir granule:

Isn't he sweet? What, no? Well, my girls seem to have a slightly different aesthetic than most children as exemplified by their love of bugs, reptiles, and other creepy crawlies. They think "Cuteness the Kefir" is the cutest little thing ever.

I used to buy kefir milk at the grocery store to add into my smoothies. I had no idea where it came from. I just thought it was like yogurt or something. It is not the same thing as a living kefir granule. That stuff you buy at the store is just what the kefir MAKES. A kefir granule is a living probiotic organism. (is organism the right word?) Well... let me tell you, this stuff is cool.

Kefir is a super powerful probiotic - many many times stronger than the cultures in yogurt or probiotic pills. It has been used since ancient times and is just amazing. You take a living kefir granule like Cuteness and place him in a jar, add some milk (or juice, or coconut milk, or sugar water), and 24 hours later you have perfect kefir milk (or water or juice, depending). Kefir even digests the lactose in milk making it easy to digest for those that have lactose intolerance. You strain out the living granule and place Cuteness back in a clean jar for the next day, and then enjoy the kefir he made you in a smoothie or other recipe. Kefir can even be used to make cheese, sourdough bread starts, cream cheese or sour cream substitutes for baking, etc. There are tons of culinary uses I am excited to explore.

And another cool thing about kefir, is that it grows and can be shared with friends. Mine is still a baby, but in a while it will grow and multiply and I will be happy to share him with anyone that wants to try. The kefir milk tastes a lot like sourish butter or maybe sour cream. It has the consistency of thin yogurt. It's pretty tart alone, so I add some sweetener to the smoothies until the kids get used to it. It has a slightly yeasty smell, but doesn't taste the way it smells. It's a fascinating product.

Here is a "recipe" for a smoothie we made with it this morning. The children all loved it and proclaimed it delicious:

Brittany's Kefir Breakfast Smoothie

1 quart strained kefir milk

1/4 cup uncooked oatmeal (whole oats)

2 Tb. flax seed

1 large carrot

1 peeled cutie (mandarin orange)

1 banana (not over-ripe!)

8 frozen strawberries

1 cup spinach leaves

dash cinnamon

sweetener to taste (stevia, honey, agave, sugar, whatever floats your boat.)

I'll be making this one again.

We have also tried kefir with only frozen berries and a little sweetener to make a sort of ice cream. Yummy!

Now as to kefir's "vices"... I guess he can effect other yeast processes, such as bread rising. So if I make bread I should have Cuteness sit on the opposite side of the kitchen from where my bread is rising. Isn't that funny? My kids thought it was hilarious. They thought that cuteness would climb out of his jar and attack the bread dough so it wouldn't rise. Such active imaginations they have. Another "vice" is that you have to take care of it every day or two or the culture will actually die. It must be kept between 65 and 85 degrees(depends upon who you ask), and must be put to rest in hibernation mode in the fridge if you go on vacation. It is a bit of a commitment, but I'll take it over cleaning up doggie doo, dealing with barking, digging, fur, and destruction that comes with other pets. For now, Cuteness will make us a perfect pet. Just don't tell the landlord.

Here are some links if you are interested in reading more about kefir:

Wikipedia: kefir

a place to buy a start (if you don't live near enough for me to share with you...)

kefir source website (lists health benefits of kefir)

kefir FAQs

a you tube video

{and many, many, more... isn't the internet awesome?}

Washington Winter

Weather is amazing. Not any type in particular, just the fact that it is so quick to change and that it varies so dramatically from one location to another. When I think about the variety of climates on the earth and even the changing of the seasons I am totally amazed. Mason has decided he might like to be a meteorologist when he grows up. For today at least.

Everywhere we have lived I have marveled at the unique weather. In Idaho, the winters were cold, bitter, and harsh, but unimaginably beautiful. I had a hard time hating the cold because of the gorgeous scenery it created. (Okay, I'm not going to lie, I hated the constant wind, but still..) I never went anywhere in the winter without my camera because it was so gorgeous where we lived. The hoar frost was new for me, and I couldn't get enough of it. And the sunrises and sunsets were nigh to spiritual experiences. Wide, open, beautiful skies and crisp, clean air.

(photos taken last winter in Idaho.)

And now we are in a new place. The beauty is different. The weather is different. It's warmer. A lot warmer. The wind still blows, but only occasionally. The plants are different. Even the snow is different.

But we still have an beautiful skies from time to time

And in December, we even had a couple of foggy days that produced some fantastic hoar frost. For a couple of hours it looked like a winter wonderland.

This week we had our first serious snow of the winter. (At least by Idaho standards.) The kids were delighted to have 2 1/2 snow days due to the weather.

We got around 8 inches of snow, which seems like no big deal, but the snow here is different. It's dense and wet. And then after it snowed, the weather turned into what they call "freezing rain" I thought freezing rain was something different. Like sleet, or hail. ish.

I have never seen anything like this. It "rained" for a full day. Tiny frozen clear droplets of water pelting the ground. It was sort of noisy. They stuck like snow and then formed a solid layer of ice on everything. The windows of my vehicle looked like they had a rhino-lining of ice.

It was dark, but you can sort of see the layer of ice on the snow. Kooky.

It wasn't even very cold. Mid-30's.

And now it's in the 40's and the snow is melting as quickly as it came.

Maybe winter is over. Ha!

Everyone complains about the terrible roads. They really aren't that bad. I kind of enjoy winter. I think I would really miss it if I lived in a place where it never snowed.

On Green Smoothies and Calories

I am totally addicted to green smoothies. We bought a super-duper blender for our anniversary a year and a half ago, and I have used it every. single. day. Sometimes we make fruit ice cream or soup or nut butter or pancake batter, etc.. but mostly I use it for smoothies. I make a gigantic green smoothie every morning. I love them. I crave them. I notice a difference in my energy and even my mood if I miss a day.

So I have noticed lately that a lot of people are really into smoothies. I think it's so awesome. I find myself in conversations about smoothies rather often. People often ask for my recipes. I'm less of a recipe person and more of a toss-it-in-and-see-what-happens person.

I've discovered that food and cooking, eating and nutrition are very personal things. No two people are alike, and everyone seems to have pretty strong opinions on the subject.

But in these conversations I have noticed that not all smoothies are created equal. My somewhat "health nut" mom has greener than green smoothies that most people couldn't choke down. No fun and games, but optimum nutrition.

In contrast, I attended a smoothie demonstration the other night where the lady added an entire bag of frozen fruit, sweetened fruit juice, fruit-flavored yogurt, two bananas and an orange. I was mentally calculating the calories and had to bite my tongue. That little dixie cup of smoothie had more calories than my whole quart of breakfast smoothie. And a fraction of the nutrition.

Calories can be difficult to guess about. I researched yogurt nutrition and calorie counts. Wow. A person could write a rather lengthy book on the subject. 6 ounces of lowfat/nonfat yogurt can range from 70 to a whopping 260 calories. There are other factors to consider such as active cultures/probiotics, fat, artificial sweeteners, additives, etc. Many of the lower calorie sweetened yogurts are loaded with all kinds of nasty chemical sweeteners.

Yogurt is one product I always read the label before buying. I really should just make my own, but, you know...lazy... someday, maybe. I buy the "Nancy's" brand. Plain or vanilla sweetened with agave. It's not too expensive and tastes really good. It has slightly more calories than those with artificial sweeteners, but I think it's well worth it.

Another consideration is adding fruit juice to your smoothies. Juice contains as many or MORE calories than soda pop. Juice has so much sugar, even if it is labeled "unsweetened". Adding 2 cups of grape juice just added over 300 calories to your smoothie! You have some benefit from the grapes, but not nearly as much as if you just tossed in a small handful of fresh ones.

So then the wheels in my head started turning and I googled calorie charts of the foods that go into my smoothies. I'm super curious about the comparisons. I am not a calorie counter. I probably should care a lot more, but I'm of the mindset that if I avoid nasty processed foods and eat as much nutrient dense living foods as possible, I'll probably be just fine. Anyway, I was surprised by the calorie charts so I thought I would share my comparisons.

Here is my typical morning smoothie:

spinach and kale

lemon

orange or apple

celery

carrots

flax seeds

frozen berries

yogurt

water

sometimes I substitute other frozen fruit for the berries or other fruit for the apple/orange, but this is the usual "recipe".

Now here are the amounts and calories for three different smoothies (note: I fill up my 2 quart blender to the top and drink 1 quart of the mixture. I add water to desired consistency. I also add liquid minerals which contain no calories.)

Smoothie #1

optimum nutrition and minimal calories

not super sweet, but palatable

3 cups spinach 30

2 cups packed raw kale 68

1/2 apple 40

1 stock celery 15

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt 35

1 lemon 20

1 peeled orange 60

1 cup mixed berries 60

2 Tbsp. flax seeds 74

1 large carrot 30

Calorie total 432/2 = 216 per quart

Smoothie #2

still quite low in calories

sweeter and more kid friendly, but without added sugar

high nutrition

5 cup spinach 50

1 apple 80

1/2 lowfat vanilla yogurt (Nancy's) 110

1 lemon 20

1 peeled orange 60

1 cup strawberries 40

1/2 cup blueberries 40

1 large carrot 30

1/2 banana 55

2 Tb. Flax seed 75

water 0

Calorie total 560/2 = 280 calories per quart

Smoothie #3

high in calories and sugar

fewer nutritional benefits (though still contains some great ingredients)

Way too sweet for my personal taste

2 cups frozen blueberries 160

2 cups frozen strawberries 80

1 apple 80

1 container sweetened yogurt 200

2 cups grape juice 300

1 cup spinach 10

1 Tbsp Honey 64

1 banana 110

Calorie total: 1004/2 = 502 calorie per quart

(over 500 calories! As many as a McDonalds Quarter Pounder with Cheese.)

Now I know there is WAY more to nutrition than just counting calories. All of these ingredients have nutritious benefits. There are other factors and debatable topics to consider such as and not limited to:

sugar intake/ glycemic index

weight gain/loss/maintenance

anti-oxidants

protein, added protein, vegetable protein (there is a whole debate on the subject)

fat. Healthy fats, bad fats, Omega 3 -6-9's (again, you could dedicate your life to the subject)

organic vs. non organic

allergies and allergens

dairy (a dirty word to some)

cultured probiotics such as kefir

sprouting

live enzymes

specific vitamins and minerals

negative effects of chemical additives like artificial sweeteners

the "raw" revolution

I could go on and on.... but I won't

Like I said earlier, diet and nutrition are a very personal thing. The science on much of it is iffy at best. Everyone has an opinion and I think we are all trying to figure it out in one way or another.

So what do you put in your smoothies?