Try it Out Tuesday - Banana "Ice Cream"

Since we are preparing for our Independence Day BBQ, I went with something simple this week: a recipe.

For ice cream.

That uses two ingredients (neither of them is or cream),

And... it's healthy.

You can find the original pin on my "In the Kitchen" board HERE. And you can find the original post HERE.

So, what are the two ingredients?
1) frozen bananas
2) peanut butter (optional)

In a Nutshell:
You peel and cut a banana into smallish pieces; put it in the freezer for about an hour; put it in your blender & pulse until it turns crumby (literally); continue to blend until it turns creamy. Enjoy.

Modifications I Made:

• I didn't peel & cut up the bananas before I froze them. My solution for bananas that are slightly past their prime but still okay to eat is to put them in the freezer. Peel and all. (Because I'm very lazy efficient like that.)

• I had to add a little milk because I originally tried it in my Magic Bullet, but it dislikes certain textures. Even after the milk, I had to transfer it to my actual blender. By this time, the bananas had defrosted a bit, and the final consistency was more pudding-ish. My boys still absolutely loved it.

For the Win:

• My dudes loved this stuff!
• This is a tasty-but-healthy recipe that is actually both tasty and healthy.
• My kids decided that I am (or was, at least for an hour or so) completely cool. Since it is completely healthy, I made this for the boys to go with their breakfast, which made it even better because, seriously, what UN-cool mom would serve pudding for breakfast?
• Now that I know the Magic Bullet will give me attitude dislikes this particular recipe, it will be really simple & quick to make.
• I absolutely hate - and I mean HATE bananas - the smell, texture, feel on my fingers, taste - ugh. The thought makes me shudder & gag. This recipe is a WIN because frozen bananas do not feel or smell like bananas.

#FailFactors:

• I absolutely hate - and I mean HATE bananas. I can't even swallow them because they come right back up. So I didn't get to enjoy this particular treat.
• My kids are going to want this all the time, so I'm going to have to stockpile nearly-spoiled bananas in the freezer.

Would I Do This Again?
Yes. In fact, I'm pretty sure the boys are going to request it for breakfast or snack tomorrow!

Do you have any tasty-but-healthy treats that you enjoy?

Don't forget to check out my Try it Out Tuesday counterpart, Becca. You'll find her over at A Long and Winding Road.

Miscarriage, or, How I got My First Broken Heart

This is a post four months in the making. Actually, I think it's going to have to be a series of posts because there is a lot of stuff bouncing around in my brain. My hope is that, in sharing my story and some of my thoughts and feelings, I might somehow help someone out there who is going or has gone through a miscarriage.

Because, y'all, it is not something to go through without a little help. I was blessed to have a lot of support, and I don't mind telling you that some of that support came from people and places I did not expect. I appreciated every little well-wish, prayer, note, text and bit of advice and wisdom I received. I especially appreciated the women who shared with me the stories of their own loss through miscarriage. I'm part of that club now; the club that nobody wants to be a part of. I found the others here to be incredibly supportive.

Most of the people who read my blog already know the story (since I am either related to or married to most of my small readership). But, just in case you have stumbled across this purple brick road from somewhere other than my family tree, I will share the story of how I came to experience my first real broken heart.

Matt and I already have two fantastic sons, and we talked about maybe having another baby eventually. But it had always been a decision to be made later. Then, in October (while Matt was out of town for a five day bike trip) I discovered that the good Lord had taken the decision out of our hands. I was pregnant! I was excited. I was scared. I was a little frustrated at having to wait FOUR MORE DAYS to tell my husband. I had been faithfully taking The Pill. (By the way, that statement on the little insert that talks about oral contraceptives being 99.8% effective? They are not kidding.) But there they were. Two very clear, pink lines.

When Matt came home, I told him. We told the boys. We told our families. We went to the doctor and got the first ultrasound. The picture of what our four year old called, "a splotch" went up on the fridge.

And time marched on.

We got a second ultrasound, saw the heart beat and even saw a little wiggle. We told our bosses and coworkers. We started to throw around some names. We nicknamed the baby "iBaby version 3.0." (actually, the baby's godmother to be came up with that one!)

And time marched on.

I went in for a third ultrasound because there was some question about the due date. Matt went to work that day, I went to the doctor's office. It was routine. My biggest concern that morning was whether I could finally get an abdominal ultrasound, or if I would have to "drop trou" again. Ahem. I walked in, joking and laughing. We tried the belly, but couldn't get a good picture. I changed out of my pants and into a large napkin, and the doctor started the ultrasound. Size looked good; we were narrowing down the due date!

And then time stopped.

There was no wiggle. No flutter. No heartbeat. iBaby was gone. The doctor was very kind, although he used words like "blighted ovum" and "25% chance" and "chromosomal abnormality." I think. I'm not sure. It was hard to hear him over the very loud voice in my brain that kept yelling, "THIS IS NOT HAPPENING. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING." I made the very long walk to the other end of the medical complex to get a better ultrasound. A tech and another doctor were very kind as they delivered the same verdict using many of the same words. They gave me a picture and sent me on my way.

I was numb. I barely cried during that hour. My brain had a hard time accepting this information. The whole time, I had a text-versation going with my husband and my best friend. Both offered to meet me at the office, but what could they do? I was holding it together, mostly out of shock. I kept thinking that someone would catch me in the hall or call me and say that they were sorry because it had all been a mistake, and what were the odds of two different ultrasound machines in two different offices breaking on the very same day... 

Matt met me at home and we talked. We hugged. We prayed. I cried. A lot. We planned. We had to figure out how to fit this into our life, our family. We had to tell everyone. We had to tell our boys. I had to schedule a DNC because it seemed that my body was as unwilling to accept this news and let go as my brain had been.

And time marched on.

Three days later, I had the DNC. My doctor was kind enough to forgo describing exactly what the procedure entailed. I didn't want to know. I still don't. That morning was hard. I woke up with a baby in me, and I went to bet empty. In more ways than one.

And time has marched on.

I'm okay with it now. Four months and a lot of reading, crying and praying later, I can honestly say, "I am okay with my miscarriage." This does not mean that I'm not still sad. Or that my heart isn't broken anymore. Or that I don't sometimes turn my face to God and ask "why did you give me this?" I still cry. I still think about it every day. My heart still hurts.

They say time heals all wounds. They are mistaken. Some wounds never heal. This is one of them. For the rest of my days on this earth, I will have this break in my heart. It is not healing with time.

But, with time and prayer, I am learning to live with it. I might even be learning to be thankful for it. But that's a post for another day...

A Rainbow of Blessings!

The month of March has inspired us to think about rainbows! Winter is receding and color is returning to our world. 

Our Family Faith theme this month is

"A Rainbow of Blessings."

This is along the same lines as 1,000 Gifts, but we are listing blessings as a family. And we are using the rainbow to learn that blessings come in all different shades. I am encouraging the boys to find blessings in unexpected places, and in unexpected shapes and colors.

Every day we each name a blessing we noticed during our day. I write each on a piece of paper, the boys choose a ribbon, and then post it on the pantry door. The photos below we're taken last week, so we've added several blessings since then.

This has also provided a great opportunity to review the story of Noah, and to talk about why God set His rainbow in the sky. 

This is along the same lines as 1,000 Gifts, but we are listing blessings as a family. And we are using the rainbow to learn that blessings come in all different shades. I am encouraging the boys to find blessings in unexpected places, and in unexpected shapes and colors.

 Every day we each name a blessing we noticed during our day. I write each on a piece of paper, the boys choose a ribbon, and then post it on the pantry door. The photos below we're taken last week, so we've added several blessings since then.

This has also provided a great opportunity to review the story of Noah, and to talk about why God set His rainbow in the sky.

February "Love One Another" Recap

Well, February did not go quite as I had hoped it would. The goal was for each of us to do one act of love each day.

I'm sorry to say that we didn't make that goal. We should have had 112 hearts posted by the end of the month, but we only had about 67 up there.

Acts of Love included things like:

• I let someone go in front of me at an intersection.
• I helped a blind peer walk to the restroom.
• I stood up for a friend who was being teased.
• I was extra nice to someone who doesn't like me.
• I made a car package for a woman who started chemo.
• I left an anonymous note of encouragement on someone's desk.

I called this an epic fail because we fell so short of our goal, but my husband thought we should call this a "pretty good first try." We haven't done anything like this before, and I guess he's right.

Plus, we'll have a couple more opportunities to do acts of kindness throughout the year. My plans have us rotating between finding blessings, giving thanks, finding beauty, and doing acts of kindness.

Kids Say, part 2

At breakfast this morning, Matt & I were discussing Instagram. (I'm keowdie, by the way.) We both love to share photos there, and were talking about some of the people we follow. The word "follow" was said quite a lot during this conversation (e.g. "Do you follow her? You should follow her," "I also follow him on Twitter. He's funny," and "who is that? Did they follow you back?")

All at once, Riley (my three year old preschooler) jumps into the conversation and says,"We learned about that at school."

We stopped and looked at him, and I said, "You learned about what at school? Instagram? Taking pictures?"

"No," he said. "We learned about following. We learned to follow God."

Good Heavens, I love talking with my kids!