Do NOT Flush.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Wait! I have that! I can make it now!
First up, sloppy joes. I usually make my mother-in-law's recipe which is awesome and tasty but realized too late that I didn't have a required ingredient (dijon mustard). Enter pinterest. I entered "sloppy joes" into their search engjne and this is what appeared:
A lovely and tasty sloppy joe recipe that did not require mustard. The best part is that I had all the things that it did require! Win! Click on the picture for the recipe.
Next up, cookies. On Sunday, Miss M and family were invited to a picnic and there was to be a cake walk. In order to participate you were asked to bring a baked good. I had some yellow cake mix and some chocolate chips. Pinterest yet again saved the day and Cake Batter Cookies were found:
Click on picture for recipe. They were so tasty that the extras that I laid out for the community potluck were gone in a matter of minutes! The best part? One lady almost accosted me for the recipe!
Success in the kitchen times two with the help of my secret weapon, Pinterest.
Feel free to email me if you would like an invite to join Pinterest.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Summer RoundUp: Top Ten Favs
Well, tomorrow it is back to the ole grind of school. It will be a bit different this year since Miss M will now go to school all day. She is super excited to be able to eat lunch at school. When I told her that she will be getting milk at school you would have thought she had won the lottery.
So with school comes the end of summer as we know it. Here is a top ten list of our favorite things we did this summer:
10. Summer Reading Program at our local library-- free and with prizes!
9. Math Club through the school district -- again, free and with prizes!
8. Visiting Museums and Historical Societies through the KDRMA Passport to Adventure with a prize if you visit seven of them.
7. Playing on the iPad (this is mostly Miss M)
6. Miss M spending the week at her MaGa's with her cousin.
5. Visiting Mumie and other family members and friends on our South Carolina driving adventure.
4. Concerts in the park with Miss M's maternal grandparents
3. Going to hotels and swimming in their hotels and hot tubs (again Miss M)
2. Swimming at our local waterpark, Cypress Cove
1. Target! (I know not something you just do in the summer but Miss M insisted and I thought it was pretty funny).
So with school comes the end of summer as we know it. Here is a top ten list of our favorite things we did this summer:
10. Summer Reading Program at our local library-- free and with prizes!
9. Math Club through the school district -- again, free and with prizes!
8. Visiting Museums and Historical Societies through the KDRMA Passport to Adventure with a prize if you visit seven of them.
7. Playing on the iPad (this is mostly Miss M)
6. Miss M spending the week at her MaGa's with her cousin.
5. Visiting Mumie and other family members and friends on our South Carolina driving adventure.
4. Concerts in the park with Miss M's maternal grandparents
3. Going to hotels and swimming in their hotels and hot tubs (again Miss M)
2. Swimming at our local waterpark, Cypress Cove
1. Target! (I know not something you just do in the summer but Miss M insisted and I thought it was pretty funny).
Monday, August 22, 2011
School Days, School Days: FREE Printables
Miss M officially starts her school year as a first grader on Wednesday! In honor of this occasion, I checked out my pinterest for some back to school printables for you all to enjoy!
Click on the images to check out these great crafts, notecards and generally cute items.
Click on the images to check out these great crafts, notecards and generally cute items.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Weddings Past
My Grandparents. Married 75
years ago yesterday.
My Parents. Married 48
years ago today.
Both marriages have since ended due to either the death of both spouses or in the case of my parents, the death of one. Today we remember the love that they had for each other and are thankful for their union!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Miss Fickle
"I don't like it" has become C's latest catchphrase. Once she was able to put these four little words together in a sentence, she has been using them something fierce. She uses it when we play music in the car, she uses it when we serve her food she doesn't want to eat and the one that really makes me crazy is...
when we change her diaper. If we start to put on a cloth diaper that is not to her liking she squirms and will try her darndest to not let you put that diaper on her. This is annoying to say the least.
This is the one problem I have encountered in my now two years of cloth diapering. Since I use a wide assortment of diapers of all different brands this opens the door for a particular toddler to be, well, particular. She especially doesn't like the ones with snaps. I think this is because once or probably twice, I pinched her every so slightly (by accident, of course).
Then a couple of weeks ago we went on vacation. When we travel far we use disposable diapers. It is just easier when you are not going to be near laundry facilities for a while. C got quite used to these diapers. So much so that she didn't want to go back to cloth diapers when we returned home. Arrgh!
So what do I do with such a fickle girl? Well, sometimes she gets her way but more times than not she doesn't. As for her diapers, I keep telling her that if she would just go on the POTTY then we wouldn't have this problem....
This is the one problem I have encountered in my now two years of cloth diapering. Since I use a wide assortment of diapers of all different brands this opens the door for a particular toddler to be, well, particular. She especially doesn't like the ones with snaps. I think this is because once or probably twice, I pinched her every so slightly (by accident, of course).
Then a couple of weeks ago we went on vacation. When we travel far we use disposable diapers. It is just easier when you are not going to be near laundry facilities for a while. C got quite used to these diapers. So much so that she didn't want to go back to cloth diapers when we returned home. Arrgh!
So what do I do with such a fickle girl? Well, sometimes she gets her way but more times than not she doesn't. As for her diapers, I keep telling her that if she would just go on the POTTY then we wouldn't have this problem....
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Poor Gal's S'more
In case you didn't know it, yesterday was National S'mores Day! (What is the purpose of these silly days, anyway?) Since I absolutely love s'mores I thought I would make my version that doesn't require a fire and uses ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
Introducing the Poor Gal's Smore.
Ingredients:
-graham crackers
-mini marshmallows (or regular size if you have them, I didn't)
-semisweet chocolate chips (or a chocolate bar if you are lucky enough to keep those stocked)
Do I really need to tell you how to make a S'more? I didn't think so. To melt it all together I placed it in my microwave for first 10 seconds and then checked it and continued for another 10 seconds. After that it is all good and gooey!
Here's what it looked like (pre-microwave):
I even put a couple scoops of ice cream on top to make it extra delish and heart attack friendly.
So next time you have a hankering for a s'more, try this out for size. It's the bee's knees ... or something.
Introducing the Poor Gal's Smore.
Ingredients:
-graham crackers
-mini marshmallows (or regular size if you have them, I didn't)
-semisweet chocolate chips (or a chocolate bar if you are lucky enough to keep those stocked)
Do I really need to tell you how to make a S'more? I didn't think so. To melt it all together I placed it in my microwave for first 10 seconds and then checked it and continued for another 10 seconds. After that it is all good and gooey!
Here's what it looked like (pre-microwave):
So next time you have a hankering for a s'more, try this out for size. It's the bee's knees ... or something.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Destination: Family
 |
| We sat in these a lot... |
 |
| Saw a lot of this... |
 |
| Went through quite a few of these.. |
 |
| All to get to this... |
 |
| And especially to see her. My grandmother (in law) and me. |
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Time Island Virtual World: A review
Miss M and I were recently given the opportunity to explore the virtual game Time Island. In not so many words, Miss M loved it! What is Time Island? It is a Survivor type game that tests your skills to outwit, outlast and out maneuver the creepy creatures show above, the Goggs.
There are so many things to explore and do in this virtual world. Time literally flies when you are on it and that can be a good thing and a not so good thing! One thing that Miss M love to do was the Fashion Passion area where she could dress a character any way she wanted in a wide array of choices. From hair style to clothes to accessories, the decisions to be made were seemingly endless and right up a six year olds alley.
I think Miss M would get even more out of this game as she gets older. You can form tribes and really use strategy to beat those Goggs. This is a skill that she really doesn't have yet but perhaps when she is 8 or 10 will really get into.
Time Island is still in the beta form so it is working out all the kinks, etc. Still, I encourage you to check it out with your kids. It is not mindless internet entertainment and is a fun thing to explore as a family.
Disclaimer: I was given the opportunity to review this website via Mom Select and BSM Media. I was not compensated in any shape or form for my honest opinion.
The best week ever by Miss M
Last week was the best week ever! Because I got to drink soda, go in a hot tub with bubbles, and I got to jump in the pool, which was fun. I went to a Children's Museum in Indianapolis that had Barbie and Dora and it also had where you could visit like a world and you could like also see dinosaurs. I also got to eat pizza with chocolate milk. And I got to go to another children's museum in Louisville. I like the dancing thing that played a song "I like Julia" and you had to do the steps along with it. And I went to South Carolina State Museum that had an old school house and you got to go on a choo choo train. They also talked about slavery, which means you had to work for people very hard and you didn't get paid or anything. They also had a fun part where you could climb a treehouse and see stuffed animals there.
That's it.
[Dictated to AEK by Miss M- age 6 1/2]
Monday, August 8, 2011
A need a vacation from my vacation
This past week we traveled (by car) from the suburbs of Chicago to the great state of South Carolina to visit my husband's 93 year young grandmother.
I thought I would share with you some things I learned along the way:
---whatever you do, get a suite. Hotels with suite rooms were our friend. We took 3 days to get to South Carolina and at every stop we stayed at a place that had a room to sleep (with a door!) and a "living" room. This way we could put the 2 year old (in her pack n play) to bed earlier than the rest of us.
---when you don't have a suite, be prepared for a lonnnnnng night. Our last night was in Indianapolis. We opted to just get a regular room with two double beds and no suite. Let's just say we all went to bed around 8:30pm and the 6 y.o. was not too happy with this idea. I will say it again, suites are your friend.
---if you are ever in Indianapolis and you have young children in tow, you must visit the Indianapolis Children's Museum. It is world class. And this comes from someone who has been to A LOT of children's museums. Not once did I want to bite someone. That says it all.
---two year olds tend to have a shelf life of about 5 hours in a car. Drove 6+ hours to Indiana on Saturday and at about the 5 hour mark, meltdowns started to ensue. Thankfully we had the ...
---iPad. Get one. They are well worth it. We don't have a DVD player in our car so this was a true Godsend. Yes, we had to watch one two many Dora episodes, but it truly did help calm the 2 y.o. and it pretty much eliminated the "Are we there yet?" comment from the older one.
---Illinois and Northern Indiana sure are flat and boring to drive in. If you live by mountains, consider yourself blessed.
---if you have a older person in your life and you don't see them very often, make the effort. They will appreciate it and your future self will be glad you did.
I thought I would share with you some things I learned along the way:
---whatever you do, get a suite. Hotels with suite rooms were our friend. We took 3 days to get to South Carolina and at every stop we stayed at a place that had a room to sleep (with a door!) and a "living" room. This way we could put the 2 year old (in her pack n play) to bed earlier than the rest of us.
---when you don't have a suite, be prepared for a lonnnnnng night. Our last night was in Indianapolis. We opted to just get a regular room with two double beds and no suite. Let's just say we all went to bed around 8:30pm and the 6 y.o. was not too happy with this idea. I will say it again, suites are your friend.
---if you are ever in Indianapolis and you have young children in tow, you must visit the Indianapolis Children's Museum. It is world class. And this comes from someone who has been to A LOT of children's museums. Not once did I want to bite someone. That says it all.
---two year olds tend to have a shelf life of about 5 hours in a car. Drove 6+ hours to Indiana on Saturday and at about the 5 hour mark, meltdowns started to ensue. Thankfully we had the ...
---iPad. Get one. They are well worth it. We don't have a DVD player in our car so this was a true Godsend. Yes, we had to watch one two many Dora episodes, but it truly did help calm the 2 y.o. and it pretty much eliminated the "Are we there yet?" comment from the older one.
---Illinois and Northern Indiana sure are flat and boring to drive in. If you live by mountains, consider yourself blessed.
---if you have a older person in your life and you don't see them very often, make the effort. They will appreciate it and your future self will be glad you did.
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