Oh CRAP! And Other News...

Yeah..that's right!  I walked around all afternoon yesterday with this on my shirt!!!  I even stood outside in my neighbors yard chatting away, never realizing that I had a big blob of bird doo on my shirt!!!  I work in the yard all the time.  And I don't think I have EVER been hit by a fly by dropping.   Nice...huh!
Today I made something delicious and satisfying, even for a gal trying to shed her winter coat.  This is from a blog that my daughter Erika at Flip Flops & Sippy Cups
reads.  I have been been getting so many great ideas from this gal.  Mind you, I am old enough to be her mother, and won't be doing all of the crazy fitness things she does.  But she has some really great ideas on filling and healthy snacks and meals.  Her name is Gina, and her blog is called The Fitnessista
Go say hi and see some of her yummy healthy food ideas.  Anyway, back to the yummy treat I made.  These are called Protein Balls.  I think she also refers to them as Dough Balls, and AmazeBalls.  They are amazing!  I kid you not.  Let's make some.  Here is what you will need.

In food processor, pulse 2 T almond butter, 2 T of chocolate protein powder, 2 T UNsweetened shredded coconut, dash of salt, dash of Stevia til crumbly.  Add 1 T PURE maple syrup, and mixture will form dough.  Then add 1 square of dark chocolate.  Pulse until broken up and incorporated.  Remove dough from processor and form into 4 balls.

This would be a great pre or post workout snack.  Or just a snack to satisfy a sweet tooth.  SO good.  Hard not to eat all of them!!!  HIGHLY recommend trying these.  Gina has the health info on her list.  But they are 130 calories a piece.  Worth every bite!!  I promise.
A long time ago, I bought this gumball machine at an antique store.  I couldn't get it to work.  Today I was bound and determined to fix it, and I did.  So Noah and I went to get some new M&M's to fill er up.  Here he is giving it a whirl.  Putting his penny in.

 And reaching in for the colorful surprise.

When my kids were little, my folks had a gumball machine on a stand and a jar of pennies right there for the kids to have M&M's.  They loved this.  I am so glad I got this working. 
Toda was such a lovely day, we had our lunch outside on the patio.

Then we had a visit from the Hass Family.  Noah couldn't wait to show them the M&M machine.

Hands, pennies, and M&M's were flying all over the place!  And then...... the unthinkable happened.  I ran out of pennies!!!  Uh oh!  I hope Geeps has some!   When the pennies disappeared, Noah went inside to bring out snacks for everyone. " FRUIT SNACKS!!!"

I think Hannah was upset that there were no more Princess fruit snacks, and only Spongebob Squarepants left.  She turned tail and left, and Noah says..."What did I do?"  But Claire wasn't too picky, she reached right in there for as many as she could get!

Noah seemed to think he was in charge of handing them out. 

And putting them on his tractor to haul around with him too.
Here is little Claire with her cheeks choc full of fruit snacks.  What a little doll!! 

Ending today with a picture of Jake and his girls.  A couple of Daddy's girls for sure.   While sitting out here in the afternoon sunshine, my girls and I were talking about how excited we are to go to Blog Sugar.  Eri was asking what to expect.  Gennifer was saying how we really didn't know, but we were talking about how much blogging has enriched our lives.  Things we have learned, shared, and celebrated through our photo journals online.  Finding other similar kindred spirits.  Documenting our daily lives, however ordinary they may be.  Seeing the extraordinary in others who are living their lives, just like us.....one day at a time, through our families, our interests, our loves, our triumphs, our losses.   Yes, blogging has certainly become a part of us.  And we are so thankful for it.  We can't wait to meet so many of you at Blog Sugar!!!!
That's a wrap for me on this beautiful Spring like Hump day.  Got to get some grub together for Mr. G, and then settle in to watch Idol.
Toodles!!