healthy gingerbread smoothie

This is my new fav breakfast.
Super easy and crazy healthy, it's a go-to on a busy weekday morning.
The only trick to it is to keep a frozen, peeled banana (whole is just fine) in the freezer at all times. That way you won't be without one on busy mornings. As soon as I use one for my smoothie, I keep the same ziplock and replace it with a ripe banana. Easy peasy!
I added my favorite mix of holiday spices (or you could totally use pumpkin pie spice and add extra ginger!) and a bit of molasses and voila! A wonderful, seasonal treat!

Healthy Gingerbread Smoothie
Makes one large.
1 frozen and peeled, very ripe banana, whole is fine...just break it with your hands as you add to the blender
1 cup cold coffee (optional, but I love my smoothies with a kick of caffeine!)
1 cup milk (any kind you like...and if you aren't using coffee, double the milk)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon molasses (or 2 if you like yours extra sweet!)
Blend together in blender until creamy and frothy and enjoy with extra of your favorite spice on top!

homeschool wrap-up: November!

we had another great month in homeschool!

we did a few units...plants, Vikings, and Autumn!

enjoy our pictures!

plant unit!

cutting out examples of the kingdoms of living things for cc class

practicing cursive and letters, respectively

look at my big boy!

Vikings unit!

have you ever seen such fearsome vikings?!

late-night viking ship construction...

and the big finale! furs! mustaches! helmets! oh my!

they loved it.

and a viking lunch for good measure...

more letter review...

and number review for jack...the dino puzzle had #s to help you build it...

autumn unit!

we collected our leaves for our turkey!

autumn sensory bin

more counting review

autumn tree painting...they did it all themselves! mama added the "bark" details...

autumn tea.

our cc class did another nature walk

this time, we collected plantae specimens

the whole group!

and for our final day of the fall semester, the kids brought their magazine cut-outs and we charted the kingdoms of living things!

turned out beautifully!

and, as an added bonus, michael did his first tin whistle solo! so proud!

another great month!

happy thanksgiving!

we hope that you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!
we actually celebrated three times!
once, at our cc community group...we cooked and served all the staff at the wonderful church where our co-op is hosted once a week!
second, we had a family dinner with all our family favs :)
and finally, we volunteered at our church's annual outreach which serves over 1200 people every year!
can't wait till next year!

the boys' adorable turkey aprons we crafted in school

when you have to bring a Thanksgiving potluck for 40 people, how do you know if they prefer a praline topping or toasty marshmallows?! so...both.

sweet nadia helping jack put his apron on at the cc feast

daniel and michael

the whole cc group serving!

enjoying the cc feast!

pecan pie is always on our personal Thanksgiving table! and always made the night before to save time and stress!

much needed hot tea before getting started on the huge meal!

the boys made "thankful leaves" and we hung them on our tree to decorate our table!

happy thanksgiving!

a new creation: marbled sweet and regular mashed potatoes with crispy onions on top!

volunteering at trinity's thanksgiving day outreach

we fed over 1200 people!

nothing like volunteering all day at church and then coming home and painting all the cabinets in your house ;)

hope you all had a great one too!