Genius Smoothie Moment

I absolutely hate cleaning my blender, getting it out and using it all together. But with this Juice Plus+ Complete Smoothie kick I have been on it has been a necessary evil...well until now! I found something that works a little bit quicker for me in the morning and is also very easy to clean. 

TADA!!!

I grabbed the glass from my french press thru all my ingredients in (today was raspberries, JP+ vanilla protein, and my two orchard and two garden JP+ pills with coconut milk) and used my immersion blender to whip it all together. Quick and easy! Clean us was the even easier since I run the dishwasher everyday (product of three kids) I put the glass in the wash rinse the blender in the sink or put water the glass and blend that up with soap and every thing is clean no washer needed!  

It felt very AHA! for me this morning :) don't know if this would work with the green smoothie though since they need to be chopped up pretty finely but perfect for today's smoothie.  Quick update on the smoothie train: delicious and filling (even with just milk and protein)!! Maybe I will even weigh myself this week? 

No More Noise! Genius

Do your kids toys make phantom noises? The hubs and me find sometimes we can just be walking threw the house and if you step too hard a toy will go off in the other room. It can be very creepy. Actually Guys With Kids did a whole episode about it.

Some toys are nice enough to come with an off button, very nice. But some sneaky toys have that little pull tab that once pulled you can never turn the darn thing off again! Mister has this lovely Sassy suction toy that is great for popping him into the high chair and keeping him entertained. It spins, it rattles, it sings to him; he loves it. Mommy though does not always love the constant sound of the music coming from it. I tolerate it at home, but I wanted to take this toy on the road with us for our dinner date. The other guest at the restaurant may not tolerate the noise as well as I do...so I fixed it! Genius moment!

I cut off a piece of a plastic bag (paper does not work) inserted it into the little hole and then taped it down tight. Now no noise! He doesn't seem to mind too much and I can always take it back out for him to play with at home.

Another toy Genius moment.

Silence is golden :)

How I Portion Control: Genius

Along with all this real food eating. I am trying my best to eat less. After just having Mister where I was able to eat like a horse and the weight seemed to still melt of with nursing. But I have plateaued and now need to make sure I am eating not just healthy food but healthy amounts. I portion control with this handy little 1 cup.
This little cup allows me to visually see what a cup of food looks like. I can quickly portion out 1 cup of chicken, 1 cup of quinoa for a healthy lunch. They also have smaller versions so I can see a 1/4 cup of almonds.

To keep my water in balance I drink at least 4 of these at work. It is a 12 ounce cup so I am getting about 6 of my 8, 8oz glasses of water today. The water has really been the key to helping me keep full all day. Before I eat I chug as much water as I can, little Bob Harper tip (you will know this reference if you watch Biggest Loser). 

Bit of Bumbo Genius

We are the proud owners of the original Bumbo chair, not the newer one with the silly seat belt. Sorry I feel like that seat belt is a total cop out. The original seat was clearly made for children to sit in on the floor and if you did choose to sit your child on a raised surface it was your responsibility as a parent to watch them. I do feel quite bad that there were some bad parenting moments where some children were injured in these seats. But I do not feel that adding the unnecessary seat belt (the seat is already snug enough) really is saving these children from inattentive parents. If they fall now the chair is just going to fall with/on them. 

But let me step down from my soap box and give you my quick GENIUS moment. Mister loves his Bumbo seat, with or without the tray, but he is constantly dropping his toys on the ground (still working on using those little hands properly). But just add one of these clips to any toy and viola, instant toy catcher/holder!

What are your thoughts on the Bumbo?