{ on my mind + menu }

1. Will + I signed up to do this fun race together next month.
2. Love these kids printable summer treat coupons.
3. Love this post at Sparkle Power. *Decide that your kids come first. This is something that it is good to have a reminder about sometimes.
4. This strawberry shortcake recipe. Yum. That's what we had at our wedding in lieu of cake. So that's what we always have on our anniversary (coming right up!)
5. My hubby will love this recipe so I will make it for him this week.
6. I'm back on the fitness bandwagon - had some great workouts last week and plan to step it up this week. I've come to the conclusion that it must happen at 5:00AM or it doesn't happen at all.
7. I'm also back on the spending hiatus bandwagon, except for date night coming up (our 8th anniversary). sushi + green tea icecream + popcorn and eclipse (he's a good sport with my obsession) = fun fun!
8. Wondering just how insane (and possibly lame) I would be if I went to the movie theater by myself on Tuesday night and watched the Twilight triple header? Twilight at 7:00; New Moon at 9:30 and Eclipse at Midnight. Will was speechless when I asked if he wanted to come with me. And no one else will go with me? (I KNOW Jana, Jamie, Lisa & Maureen would go w/ me if y'all lived closer!)
9. This haunting oil spill video...
10. Thanks Mothercraft for the lovely momME planner writeup. Subscribe to their newsletter for loads of good information, including a great 6 minute meditation practice for moms.
11. I just calculated that to have our mortgage paid off WAY early (as in 5 years from now) we have to pay an extra $31,200 per year. I don't have words to express what I am feeling about this right now.
12. I like this idea of using a household ledger for a month to track ALL spending. I'm going to use this chart on the front of the fridge for the month of July.
13. Love this new healthy family food website, Haven.

Have a great week! Be fit, get organized, stay sane. GO!

love print above via etsy

{ happy letters }

Karen of the lovely Karina Ink. fame makes these adorable (and affordable) name banners.... The alphabet banner would be great for a classroom or children's playroom too!

I'm thinking one that says "Sweet Dreams" would look darling on Samme's antique white iron bed....don't you? What name or saying would you pick?

Off to the races this weekend, hope yours is adventurous too! Check back on Monday for my weekly meal plan, fun downloadable kids coupons, yummy muffin recipe, 4th of July fun + more!

{ on my mind + menu }

1. Good to know we aren't the only ones that struggle with to "grow, not to grow" small business owner anxiety.
2. This blogger makes me want to fall in love with running (and gets me excited about our upcoming road trip through New England). We are going to stay more inland and hit some of my fav childhood memory places (Lake George, White Mountains, Rutland, Woodstock, etc.) before hitting Will's huge family reunion in Maine. Which by the way requires a mandatory participation in a talent show? w%&t? Heck no, peeps. I'll be happy to provide the cocktails for the event however but there will be no tap dancing. ;)
3. I've been kind of a workout slacker lately...can't motivate. MUST motivate. Starting today. Whose with ME?
4. Feed ME weekly meal plan. Only home 3 nights (its one of those insane weeks) but we'll be making this, this with grilled salmon and this.
5. Love when I discover new blogs that are written by people I'm sure I'd be friends with in real life! Here, here and here.
6. The vitamix makes some amazing green smoothies and margs (my secret margarita ingredient - apple juice). ;)
7. Had a fun father's day yesterday - lazy breakfast with the NY Times & bagels; kayaking and a picnic lunch; and a BBQ for dinner.
8. Wishing I could spend a few days here this summer (and bring my mom).
9. I laughed out loud the other day when I saw my blog on a bunch of simple living + personal finance blogrolls. ;) But you'll be happy to note I'm back on the no-spending on stuff we don't need bandwagon. No more browsing on Lululemon or looking at Anthropologie catalogs. I need a tattoo on my body that says LESS IS MORE. Whose with ME on the spending hiatus still? (And in case any of you need some further inspiration on this topic visit here for one families journey.)
10. Ten days until Eclipse. Woot!

Have a great week! GO!

image via here.

{ on my mind + menu }

1. Our lives are busy, businesses are growing (along with associated to do lists) and it’s time to sort out everything and set clear goals on how we can work together as a family to accomplish them this summer (all while having fun and without going insane).
2. My garden needs some serious attention + love. It is hard to garden with an almost 2 year old little boy. That's all I'm going to say about that.
3. I've been really enjoying this book. Here's a snippet of wisdom from it: "Like any work of art, families need inspiration, fresh infusions of hope, and imagination." Good stuff, no?
4. Have I mentioned my new found love of Friday Night Lights? Tim Riggins may be worth having kept the television afterall. ;)
5. Feed ME meal plan: Whole what pasta & broccoli; chicken speedies & roasted veggies; veggie quesadillas & black beans; aussie burgers for Will for Father's Day (his favorite from his romping around Australia days); oh and this cake. And of course loads of smoothies & green juices.
6. Going to list some more stuff on ebay soon. Still trying to purge the closet of things that I don't wear, don't fit right, etc. I'm thinking gray & black are my main colors and I'm not going to deviate from that with any new purchases. I'm thinking a simple wardrobe with a few loved, core pieces...kind of ala Reese style. Picked up a few new pieces for summer...{don't ask about the spending hiatus, I've been bad}... this dress, this sweater, this top and this scarf.
7. Gearing up for our next race, a river trip and a big road trip back east this summer.
8. Loving all of the little vases of flowers Samme keeps leaving on my desk. I just adore her.
9. This top. Perfect for summer, no?
10. Life is full. We are blessed. So it goes.

image via going home to roost

{ on my mind + menu }

1. very. very, very glad to have my husband home after he has been traveling for work for the past 2 weeks. i. do. not. know. how single parents or military families do it alone. so much respect for people who do it on their own. because it isn't for me people. ;)
2. friday night lights. just discovered it and love it. have watched EVERY episode. ;)
3. meal planning. this and this will be on the menu next week at our house via sheena of the little red house blog. ps. that's sheena's feed ME notepad featured above.
4. sam & henry both started their little summer camp programs last week 2x a week. will appreciate the time to get work done and hope they have fun!
5. did i mention i'm very glad to have my husband home?
6. pool time. everyday. i have the bag packed all the time by the front door. swimsuits, swim diapers, snacks, water bottles, towels. GO!
7. love this idea of a summer bucket list. want your own bucket list to fill out? go here.
8. i think this tshirt that says "master of disaster" has henry's name written all over it.
9. loved watching this.
10. thinking that my spice drawer needs an overhaul like this one. is it weird that i think about my spice drawer organization? ;)
11. came across this post from summer of 2007...it's so funny to see how different my momME weekly planner looks now (w/ 2 kids) than it did then. i can tell you for a fact that i am riding my bike a lot less. ;)
12. working on redoing the kids rooms (making henry's more of a toddler room and making samme's room more big girl-ish. all w/ furniture + artwork we have). i've got will's grandmother's vintage quilt that i can't wait to use in sam's room and henry's room we are doing a robot theme.
13. trying to get into a good rhythm round these parts for the summer...that obviously includes lots of pool time, but also down time and learning time. some great ideas here and here.
14. will post smoothie + juice recipes soon (many requests for these so i promise to get on it asap).
15. planning on putting the kids to bed early tonight and making margaritas and sitting out on the deck with my guy and catching up.

what's on your mind or menu these days? have a great weekend my friends!

image via in the little red house.

{ mindful consumption }

That is what I am calling the spending hiatus when I drop the ball on the hiatus part of it {oops}. Many of you have been asking if I'm still doing it and seeking some inspiration for your own...

So, I confess - I've spent some money lately friends. And I'm feeling kind of guilty about it - especially since I had been being so good about saving $ and putting it towards our travel fund, our retirement fund, our pay off the house early fund. But the goods news it has been intentional (and it hasn't been on clothes). So what have I been buying? I spent $ on garden supplies (grasses, veggie plants, flowers, etc.). I bought a new Vitamix. Which I am in love with. I seriously would grab it (right after the children, the photo albums, my laptop and then the vitamix) if my house were ever on fire. I bought a new juicer. With the amount of green juice I am desiring (and the amount my family keeps drinking) I needed one more powerful than my $6 thrift store juicer. I scoured the internet and read a million reviews and finally settled on this one. Oh, and I bought this print from Ink+Wit which I will love looking at everyday. Such a simple, yet potent reminder to focus my day on what's important. I've been spending more money on food lately - healthy, organic goodness. So basically, all of these purchases fall into the home & self improvement/maintenance arena, right? I think I'm feeling the pain of all of it a bit as it comes right on the tail of summer camp payments, house repair stuff, horseback riding lesson fees (yikes), plane tickets, etc. Anyway, I'm done. I've got my kitchen goods and garden stuff and now onwards & upwards of a summer of less consumption period.

More doing and less buying.

{ today is it }

image via here

{ healthy ME }

So, I've gotten a lot of questions about the BluePrint Cleanse. You have 2 options: 1) do it yourself - you'll need a juicer, a blender, their book and TIME or 2) buy a package from BluePrint Cleanse and they'll ship the juices (6 per day) to you in a cooler for ~$95/day. Pricey but a NO Brainer.

I opted for the semi-do it yourself version. They have a book with a lot of tips and recipes and you can check out their 3 day cleanse recipes in one of Vital Juice's recent daily newsletters. I used recipes from their book and newsletter and bought 1-2 green juices a day from a local organic food store juice bar (apple, kale, spinach, cucumber, parsley, lemon, ginger) on days I was super busy. I have a $6 juicer from the thrift store that works but is a b*%ch to clean if you know what I mean. So I dealt with cleaning it 3x a day but 6 seemed a bit too much. I've been eyeing this juicer. I also splurged after my current blender kicked the bucket last week and FINALLY bought a Vitamix (I bought one off of overstock (w/ a coupon code) for a GREAT price)! Since I use a blender more than our stove I figured I should stop talking about it and just buy it. Score!

Anyway, I started with a 3 day juice only cleanse (following BluePrint's guidelines) and have been doing a raw cleanse for the past week and plan to continue through this coming week - Juices, Smoothies, Salads and lots of water. After a crazy busy spring of too much gross food on the road and hospital food and way too many diet cokes, my body needed a cleanse and a jump-start to healthier eating. I feel really good, my skin is clear and I have great energy. For 2 weeks I am also doing this supplement cleanse program called ColoVada which I have done before and had great results with. There is more info about it here but it essentially is supplements and a powder detox drink combined with 10 days of clean eating and 4 days of fasting/juices only (in conjunction with colonics).

I also added in 2 colon cleansing sessions, a sauna session, a detox bath (epsom salt & apple cider vinegar), and a hot yoga class to help with ridding my body of toxins.

The first few days you may notice that you have a headache or your skin breaks out - this is normal - this is your body detoxing. I would also highly recommend not having food in your house that sounds good or appealing to you during your cleanse time-frame. If you crave icecream and its in the freezer you will have a hard time resisting - and may even try to rationalize that if you let it soften it is almost liquid. ;) (just saying). So I planned the families meals with things that I don't really like (halibut, pesto pasta, etc.).

For those of you who think there is no way I can do this or green juice looks gross, I beg you to go to your local Whole Foods or health food store and order up a green juice with the following - you will love it (my kids even gulp it down) - Apple, Spinach, Kale, Cucumber, Parsley, Lemon, Ginger. YUM. You'll want in. Trust ME.

image above via healthy, happy life.

{ family fun - circus }

So, the circus (which I dislike very much in general, but which kids adore) and the fair are in town, so this week's family fun theme is THE CIRCUS.
Here's our plan this week:
We are of course going to the circus (after of course a long talk about the inhumane treatment of most circus animals)
Ride the teacups & ferris wheel at the fair.
Take funny photobooth pictures with clown wigs, red noses & silly glasses.
Read circus themed and animal books from the library
Watch Dumbo for family movie night while eating popcorn in cirus bags
Sing this song
Make clown paper plate faces
Make snowcones (with organic fruit juice as the topping)
Water balloon fight
Homemade ring toss (beer bottles & swimming rings)
Whipcream pie in the face (Will has graciously volunteered to be on the receiving end of this)
Raffle tickets passed out all week for little treats
Taped line on floor to pretend to walk the tightrope
Healthy snacks (veggie clown faces, animal crackers, etc.) in cute circus treat bags
Circus coloring pages
Icecream clown sundaes for a special treat at the end of the week!

For even more ideas visit here.

image via here.