Two Minute Mom Tips

Two Minute Mom Tips

Hi, I’m Regan Barnes from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to YUMMIFY your mothering experience.

That’s right — today’s tip is yummy! It’s one of my favorite smoothie recipes called Cuppa Reese’s…

It doesn’t actually have any Reese’s in it, so maybe I’m breaking some kind of trademark laws… But it does have chocolate and peanut butter in it, so really I am honoring the genius of the Reese’s people by naming this concoction after their incredible delectable combination of ingredients.

Two things separate my recipe from the Reese’s product:

First of all: It’s drinkable!

Secondly: It’s good for me! And for You!

The first ingredient in all my smoothies is spinach… I hide it in my food to help myself get more of this superfood goodness and (cross my heart) I do not notice the flavor when mixed with all the other yummies… 

So, stuff a handful or two of fresh spinach (so we’re strong to the finish!)  down into the bottom of the blender. Here’s a hint: you can buy fresh spinach and, after washing it, throw it in the freezer since you’re just going to blend it up into a nice cold smoothie anyway!

Next throw in some frozen Banana Chunks —  about 1 and 1/2 banana’s-worth

Add 1/4 cup each of cocoa powder and peanut butter 

1 tsp vanilla extract

Now add your favorite milk (I like almond or coconut) — maybe half a cup? Just enough to blend all these ingredients into creamy yummyness. 

Gather the kids around for Cuppa Reese’s and they’ll much prefer this method of getting their spinach in their system!

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe? Share it on our Momivate facebook page! If you’re new to the world of smoothies, add spinach to your grocery list and try it out sometime this week, then share if this practice elevates your mothering!

Photo by American Heritage Chocolate on Unsplash

What You Hear is What You Get

What You Hear is What You Get

Every six months or so, for reasons so far unexplained, my vocal cords go on strike. Maybe it’s something to do with the change of seasons or an unidentified allergy… Whatever it is, I’m left without one of my main mothering weapons… ahem, uh, I mean, tools.

I used to be a yeller and have worked hard over the past 15 or so years to tone down so my kids won’t tune out. The occasional temporary loss of my voice has taught me an important lesson in this sense: volume matters, and lower is better.

During one of these vocal cord vacations, I needed to get my children’s attention and ask a question, but whispering was all I could do. I decided to clap first, then ask the question once I had eye contact with them.

*CLAP* (their eyes look up) 

Me, whispering: “We don’t have any leftovers. What would you like for lunch instead?”

Much to my surprise, the child who responded used a whisper, too! Then another child wanted to give their input, and (although this malady of mine is not contagious, I swear) their two cents were given with the same reduced-volume breathiness.

We all looked at each other and started giggling, realizing that the kiddos unnecessary raspiness was simply a matter of “monkey see, monkey do” or more appropo to this situation: monkey hear, monkey speak.

While this particular story is with regards to the volume of my voice, I’ve found its lesson to hold true with regards to a wide range of hearing the echoes of myself as a mother. If I yell too much, so do my kids. If I sing silly songs, so do my kids. If I make excuses too often, so do my kids. If I give compliments, so do my kids. If I take a deep breath and try to stay calm, so do my kids. You’re understanding, right, Mama?

It’s like our maternal voice — again, not just the loud or soft but the content as well — is a hoe digging ruts in the brains of our babies. When their voices start to flow, the forces of gravity dictate that they’ll fall into those ruts and follow our example. Since the whispering incident brought this to my awareness, now I can conscientiously hoe a row that help their voices flow along adding harmony to our home.

Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash