It's Like Christmas!! or could also be titled What I Found Under the Couch This Morning....

Today I vacuumed under the couch and it has been a while!!!......I don't want to sound like a complete slob but I will admit to about 2 -3 weeks since I have moved the couch to vacuum.  And when you have hardwood floors like we do it is amazing what you can find under there when you finally do move it!  Seriously, it was like the kids suddenly got new toys...lost match box cars, a ball, a missing part to a construction set all of this amidst some serious dust bunnies, a couple raisins and a few chocolate cheerios.  My take a way for the day.....don't move the couch every time you vacuum and in a few weeks your kids will love you for it when they have "brand new" toys to play with!  Have a great Friday!

An Epiphany!

Today I woke up with a load off my shoulders...you see, last night (o.k. early morning) I had a conversation with God. I am one of those people (and there are a lot of us) that has a very hard time going back to sleep once awake No MATTER WHAT TIME THEY ARE AWOKEN.   5am is doable....2am not as much.  Early morning tends to be my time to feel any anxiety if I am worried about something.  I have had a few of these conversations with God over the years.  In fact,  I can count 5 of them right off the top of my head.  Sometimes before I feel the peace I am seeking there are great, gulping tears and lots of hair pulling (ok maybe I am exaggerating a little here....maybe!) and I ask big questions like "Why me?" or "What now?"  and I usually end up exhausted and just whisper "Please help."   And sometimes I have felt this instant clarity and the knowledge re: what to do is just there.   Every time I have had one  of these conversations with God and the resulting epiphany, things have turned out ok. In fact they have turned out better than ok.  I have learned over the years to trust these feelings because they are real and I am so grateful that I have been able to experience them in my times of self-doubt or anger or_____(insert negative emotion here). I have had worries resolved (like last night's conversation), I have had feelings of anger released with forgiveness taking it's place, I have suddenly just known that I was going to have a baby (after years of struggling, with the resulting anguish, to have one.).  I know everyone has their struggles and a lot, if not most, of the time no one but the person struggling is aware of their private dilemma.  I am curious as to what other people have felt. What journey have you taken to get to the place in your heart where you are at peace with a situation that has been causing you heartfelt stress?  If you feel comfortable with doing so please share.  I love hearing about other people's journeys and their growth experiences.  They are a source of inspiration to myself and others.

Fun With Food---Take One

 

Here is my first attempt at making fun faces with food...I won't be winning awards any time soon for my food art buuuuuut I made my kids smile!  I will keep at this because the food art out there is so amazing and I want to get better......hope my kids are up to my experiments :) 

Save Time and Money With Monthly Meal Planning

Our monthly meal plan...it's not pretty but it works!

I will start out by saying that monthly meal planning does take some work but it will save you TIME and MONEY.  The saving money part is because the less time you physically spend in a grocery store each month equals less money you will spend at said grocery store.  Following your plan will also cut down on the food you end up throwing away and wasting. The time part is because after you complete your monthly meal plan you will no longer face the "What's for breakfast, lunch, dinner?" dilemma!  We have been planning our meals using a monthly system for several years now and I have streamlined our planning to fit our family. Here are some ideas that you can use to start creating a plan for your own family.

My favorite tips:

Designate a night each week for a certain dish that you will enjoy each week.  For example, every Tuesday is pasta night, every Wednesday is soup night and every Friday is pizza night.  This may sound kind of ho hum for meal planning but think of all of the different pastas, soups and pizzas that you can create....plus your family will come to expect certain dishes on certain nights and there can be comfort in the routine.

The crock pot is your friend.  Cook a whole chicken in it for a delicious meal one night and use left overs for tacquitos the next night.  Cook a pot roast one night and wa-laa with left overs you have the beginning of shephard's pie the next night.  Nothing makes coming home after a busy day away than the welcoming smell of a meal prepared in a crock pot.  This makes for easy clean up too!!!

Create a master grocery list.  Put items that you always buy on it and leave a little room for misc. items that are special to that months meals.  Print one out at the beginning of each month and start circling or highlighting items that you will need to purchase at your next big grocery visit.  This is the beginning of your monthly grocery list.

Each weekend look ahead at your meal plan and see what perishables (fruits, vegetables, dairy) that you will need for that week's meals.  This will make your trip to the grocery a dash in and dash out kind of  trip and sometimes you may not need to go at all...you may be able to rely on canned or frozen produce depending on what meals you have planned and how stocked your pantry is. 

I happen to love magazines and I subscribe to a few foodie ones....they give me ideas for meals that are fun and new to try.  This keeps my recipe rotation exciting for my family to enjoy.  My favorite magazines are Taste of Home and Taste of Home Simple and Delicious.  I also love going to different websites and checking out recipes when I have time.  I really enjoy The Pioneer Woman's website at  www.thepioneerwoman.com and All Recipes at www.allrecipes.com   

Include your kids in your meal planning when you can.  I usually ask my kids what their favorite breakfast is (pancakes!) and always include what they say somewhere in the month's meals.  They enjoy having input and I figure it is step one in teaching them how to plan for their own families someday.

Five Fun, Inexpensive (or FREE) Things to do on the Central Oregon Coast!

Fish Food!..Alsea River Fish Hatchery

Oregon Coast Hatchery and Research Center at Fall Creek-28 miles E on Hwy 34 Turn left (if you are heading E on 34) on Fall Cr. Rd. This is a beautiful place to visit anytime of year but especially pretty during the fall months.  You can purchase a handful of fish food for 25 cents and feed the fish.  I love watching the feeding frenzy when you throw a handful of food in!  There is also a small visitor center which is fun to wander through.

 Big Spruce Trail at Cape Perpetua

Alsea River Fish Hatchery----This hatchery is located 43 miles E on How 34.   Turn left (if you are heading E on 34) on Fish Hatchery Rd.  This is a fun place to visit.  The hatchery raises trout that will be used to stock local lakes.  You can purchase a handful of fish food for 25cents and feed the fish....again it is fun to watch all the flipping and tail slapping that occurs as the fish rush to eat the food at the surface!  There is a tank which holds sturgeon and an enclosure that houses different varieties of pheasant. 

Cape Perpetua--Fee area $5.00 per day. Cape Perpetua is a beautiful recreation area just a few short miles South of Yachats.  There are a lot of trail heads that begin at the Visitor Center.  You can take a 2 mile trek and go visit a 400 year old Spruce tree, a 1 mile hike down to the tide pools (paved and stroller accessible the whole way) and others.  Make sure to go during low tide for tide pool accessibility.  Otherwise at high tide you can observe water spouts and splashing waves!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse--Fee area $5.00 per day.  This is a beautiful place to visit.  There is a wonderful interpretive center.  There are games for the kids to play, coloring for them to do and it is fun to tour around looking at all of the lighthouse history.  The drive out to the light house offers an incredible view and the tide pools are wonderful (make sure to go during low tide for best accessibility).  There is an area that is accessible for wheel chairs so all can enjoy being close to the ocean and tide pools.  One caveat is that the non-handicap accessible walk down to the tidepools is a bit of a hike.  There are many stairs and then when you reach the bottom you will be walking among small round rocks that are difficult to walk on.  Be careful!   The lighthouse can be toured during summer months.  This is also a great place to whale watch!

Agate Beach Recreation Site--beach access and a trail head for the Ocean to Bay Trail.  The trail head is located on the East side of the parking lot.  This trail is a beautiful one filled with lots of greenery, wooden bridges and is protected from the wind.  Bike accessible....but inexperienced bicyclists may need assistance in loose gravel.

It's Not to Early to Plan for Christmas Gifts Series..a Couple of Ideas

Family Conversation Night---how about a twist on the movie basket idea (you know the basket where you put popcorn, candy, pop, and a movie in a basket for a family to enjoy) and instead of a movie replace with a conversation game.  Here is a link to Amazon.com with some examples  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=family+conversation+games

Gift of the Month Club---You gift someone with a gift that comes monthly. These usually go for periods of 3, 6, 9, or 12 months.  There are candle of the month, dinner of the month, beer of the month, etc. clubs that you can purchase.  Here is a link with some gift of the month club ideas  www.flyingnoodle.com  orrrrrr you can do your own gift of the month club.  You could make a dozen cookies or muffins and deliver them each month to your giftee.  Who doesn't like to receive a gift every month??!!?  I have purchased gifts of the month from Flying Noodle and I have gifted homemade gifts of the month as well.  I have enjoyed doing both!

Big Grins, Bouncing on Beds and A Little Guy Reminding His Mama to Slooooow Down

Today I was changing RJ's diaper on the bed right before we had to leave to go to the post office.  There was a package there waiting to be picked up.  We had a half hour before the post office closed for the day and a ten minute drive to get there.  I was feeling a bit rushed so I hurried thru the diaper change while talking to my little guy.  After I finished his changing he stood up.  I was holding his hands and needed him to let go of my fingers so I could help him pull up his pants.  He held tight to my fingers and started to laugh.  Then he started to bounce on the bed.  He has figured out that if he holds onto my hands and bounces on the bed he can go really high.  I sighed to myself and was just about to tell him to stop bouncing because we needed to GO when I looked at his little face.  His eyes were sparkling and his grin was so wide that it seemed to be stretched from ear  to ear.  He was bouncing really high and kept laughing and saying "more".   He is a little guy who loves to jump!!  So what did I do....I let him bounce and I started to laugh too.   What did it matter if we got to the post office 5 minutes later than I planned.  What did it matter if I didn't pick up the package today at all and ended up picking it up tomorrow.  What did matter was that Rj was feeling the joy that only a child can feel...a kind of joy that says he has entered fully into the moment and that he is enjoying doing what he is doing right now with no other thoughts or worries pressing at him.  I needed to enter that moment with him.  I needed to feel the joy he was feeling and laugh with him.  He will never remember that moment on the bed when he was bouncing as high as his little legs could carry him and laughing with two year old abandon, but I will.  I will remember his happiness much longer than I would remember what was in the package I was in such a hurry to pick up.  So he jumped and I laughed until he stopped saying "More!".  And guess what we still ended up getting to the post office and picked up my package. But I would have been completely content for my little guy to keep bouncing and laughing and for us to pick up the package tomorrow!

My Go To Breakfasts

I find that having breakfast be a no brainer is a great timesaver in the morning.  Here are my top 10 items that are ready to slide onto a plate or pour into a bowl right away. 

1.  Muffins---so many good recipes out there.  They can be baked the night before, they are portable and kids love them.  Check out www.allrecipes.com for some amazing recipes.

2.  Breakfast Burritos---make your scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage and fried potatos or hashbrowns the night before.  The next morning pour your ingredients (I usually do scrambled eggs, fried potatos, cheese and bacon) into a microwave safe bowl and reheat.  Then add a dollop of your egg mixture onto a warmed tortilla, fold one end up, then roll and they are ready to eat! 

3.  Fruit, Granola and Yogurt Parfaits---Preslice your choice of fruit the night before. We like strawberries and blueberries.   Keep yogurt and granola on hand.  Here is a link to my easy granola recipe.  http://happymommy-happymommy.blogspot.com/2012/07/granola-for-breakfast-easy-recipe.html  The next morning let your kids make yogurt parfaits out of the available ingredients.  Serve in fun bowls for extra smiles!

4.   Bullseyes--Make toast using your toasters light setting then cut out the middle with a fun shaped cookie cutter (I usually use a heart unless there is a holiday then I use a seasonal cookie cutter), butter your toast on both sides, then place in a pan that is heated.  Break an egg  and pour into the cutout center of your toast.  Cook until firm enough to flip over and then turn the toast/egg over and cook the other side until done. 

5.  Scrambles---The night before break eggs and place in a bowl along with your families fave ingredients. (We like cheese, bacon, fried potatos, diced tomatos and diced green onion).  The next morning pour into a heated pan, cook and stir and you have a yummy scramble for your family to eat!

6.  Hot Cereal----my kids love Malt o Meal and really love adding different toppings to it.  Their favorites are brown sugar and seasonal sprinkles.  Oat meal is fun to add different toppings to as well.

7.  Cold Cereal---they don't get this to often so it is a special treat when it is served and they LOVE it!  If we have to get into the car right away in the morning I add diced dried fruit to their cereal and serve in baggies or disposable cups.  Finger food!

8.  Whipped Cream--kids love to dip their pancakes, waffles, french toast sticks, etc. into a dollop of whipped cream.  Make it a really fun breakfast and sprinkle some colored sugar or sprinkles (you can use seasonal sprinkles or if they are into sports you can use sprinkles that are their favorite teams colors) onto the whipping cream!

9.  Smoothies--cut up your favorite fruit the night before (strawberries here please!).  The next morning combine your cut up fruit, yogurt and a splash of milk (I like a bit of crushed ice too) into a blender and serve!  Kids love these for two reasons 1.  Kids just naturally love smoothies! and 2.  they like choosing what ingredients go into their smoothies.  I find that the more they help me make meals and the more input I allow them to give me the more interested my kids are in eating their meals!

10.  Buttered Cinnamon and Sugar Toast---what could be easier than toasting your bread, slathering it with butter and sprinkling it with cinnamon and sugar.  If you want to be creative you can cut the toast into strips or use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes.  Yum!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins are easy to make and quite good.  I make these several times a year as they are a favorite of my kids and quick to bake!

Here is what you need:                                          Photo Credit Kimber Miner

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or you can substitute apple sauce)
2 eggs
3/4 cups canned pumpkin (or you can substitute 1 mashed banana)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners

Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water.  In a separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Add wet mixture and stir to combine then fold in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. To fill your muffin cups neatly without those pesky drips onto your muffin tin....use an ice cream scoop!   Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes.
 

Tub Fun Tuesdays-Do it Yourself Foam Shapes

Today's idea involves a package of craft foam, some scissors and a little creativity.  My tub fun idea today is all about making foam shapes that your child can wet and then hang on the bath/shower wall.  My favorite things to make are clothing outfits (pants and shirts, skirts and blouses, dresses) and flowers/landscape scenes.  However, the possibilities are endless...abc's, numbers, shapes, rainbows......  Your kids can hang the shapes on the tub wall and then use bath tub crayons to complete their wall art.   You don't have to be an artist to create these fun shapes either.  Kids have fun regardless of your Picasso quotient.  Older children enjoy creating their own shapes as well.  It is also fun to hang your foam shapes on windows.  I can see this being a fun activity for my 2 year old when it is nasty outside!

Granola for Breakfast--Easy Recipe

I have been making granola for a while now and it is so easy to do you will wonder why you ever bought it at the store.  Granola is a perfect breakfast food.  It is healthy, convenient and kids love it!  Here is my recipe:

Granola:

You need:  3 cups dry oatmeal
                   1/2 cup butter
                   1/2 cup honey
                   a dash of salt
                   a splash of vanilla
                   several shakes of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
                   1/2---3/4 cup sliced almonds


Start out by melting the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the honey, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Stir together.  Turn off the heat and take pan off the burner.  Add your oatmeal and almonds then toss all together to coat.  Spread mixture evenly onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for ten minutes.  Stir so untoasted oatmeal is on top and then bake for 5 more minutes. 
Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container. 
Enjoy with yogurt, fruit or pour it in a bowl and add milk.  Feel free to experiment and add the ingredients and flavors that are tasty to your family.  Yum!

Tub Fun Tuesday-Glow Sticks in the Bathtub

 It is Tub Fun Tuesday time again

and here is an idea which, although simple, is guaranteed to put a smile on your child's face.  Simply plop a few glow sticks into the bathtub with your kiddos, turn off the lights and watch the magic begin. Curve a glow stick and hold it by your mouth to imitate a smile or a frown...grow horns from your head....drip a small puddle onto the side of your tub and place a glow stick in it to see the way the water turns color...or simply wave a couple of glow sticks really fast and watch how the color blurs in the darkness.  The options are endless and kids will really have fun being creative. 

A word of warning:  Do not take an overtired two year old into the tub on glow stick night.  He/she will not want to get out, will insist on sleeping in the tub with his/her glow sticks, and upon finding out sleeping in the tub is not an option will splash enough water around the bathroom that you will think about having a drain installed in the floor.   The upside is that your bathroom floor will get a thorough mopping!

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Muffins

Today, because for the last two weeks I have been rushing around enjoying every last minute of summer fun. And since I feel like I have hardly been home, I decided to take a breath and do a little baking.  I was perusing the Pioneer Woman's website www.thepioneerwoman.com when I spotted just the thing to satisfy my urge to bake......Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Muffins!  I mean, come on, grahm crackers!  chocolate chips! all baked together in a warm, gooey muffin!  So I dusted off my KitchenAid mixer (which I just got this year, is cherry red and I LOVE ...thanks hon!) and set to work.  45 minutes later these little beauties were cooling off on the counter.  They have been kid-tested, mom-tested and thoroughly approved of.  Soooo if you are feeling the urge to come in from all the glorious summer fun and indulge in a little domesticity, I highly recommend making and baking this recipe.  Enjoy!!!!  And thank you Michelle of the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen blog for sharing this recipe  :)                http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breads/graham-cracker-chocolate-chip-muffins/ 

Fun in the Car

I have developed a few tricks to keep the kids entertained and me sane on drives.  We do have a dvd player and they enjoy watching movies while on longer trips but I don't want that to be the only thing they do when in the car.  I have found that the best conversations can happen while driving.  My kids are young now so the focus is more on play but I want them to be in the habit of talking to ME while riding in the car instead of plugged into their mp3 player, handheld gaming device, phone etc. when they are older.  Here is a sample of games that we play while I am driving.  There are some old tried and true stand-bys and some that we have come up with over the years.

1.  I Spy: you all know this one.."I spy with my little eye....and then give a clue as to what you spy and everyone has to guess what you are looking at.

2.  Counting Cars:   (we all pick a color of vehicle and count that color of car/truck as our color drives by--this can get surprisingly competitive and makes a 15-20 minute trip go pretty quickly..also good for kids to practice using their memory (who am I kidding it is good for my memory too).  It can be hard to keep track of 3 or 4 people and their vehicle counts.

3.  Creating a Rainbow:   We look for objects that are the colors of the rainbow in the order that the rainbow is in. ( Remember ROY G BIV).  For example we might use a stop sign for red, a construction cone for orange etc.  This helped my 7 year old learn the rainbow colors and the order they are in at a young age and my two year old is on his way to learning them too.

4.  Back and Forth Story: we take turns telling a story by going back and forth between everyone in the car.  One of us will start it and then the next person adds their part to it and then the next and so on until the story is complete.

5.  Character Story:  we tell stories about familiar characters we have made up.  We have two that we constantly tell.  One is about a mummy named oh so originally, Mummy.  And one is about a character named Sea Monster Mommy.  Over time, we have developed histories and elaborate details about both sets of stories and we tell new stories about them fairly often.  Ex:  Mummy Has a Christmas Party or Sea Monster Mommy is Scared by a Passing Boat.

6.  Math Drills:  This is a relatively new game that we play and it is sometimes rejected by my daughter as to school like!  However, there are times she really likes to play it.  We will try to trip each other up by giving each other math questions (addition and subtraction at this point).  She will ask me to add or subtract numbers that are up to two  3 digits long (she finds it pretty funny when I make a mistake!) and I will ask her to add or subtract  numbers that are up to two digits long.

7.  Scary Story:  My daughter LOVES to play this.  We pretend that we are driving two different vehicles and that we are calling each other back and forth as we see "scary" things.  I have come up with anything from a giant hamburger pursuing her because IT was hungry to a large mob of angry Tic Tacs trying to overtake her car.  What can I say other than I have a weird imagination!

8.  ABC:  We try to find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet in order.  This can be hard as we drive along and can definitely occupy some time!

9.  Milkshakes:  You can always stop and get a smoothy or milkshake...those are always fun.  It is nice to watch their smiles when I pull into a drive-thru and they aren't expecting it.  They know a treat is in store!

10.  Name That Tune:  You take turns humming different songs and see if the other person can guess what tune you are performing.

Those are some games that we play often as we drive to do errands or go on trips.  I would love to hear any games that you all play with your kids as you drive. 

Crepe Paper Fun

It is a misty day here on the Oregon Coast, where I live, so I thought I would post about a fun rainy day activity.  I keep a stock pile of crepe paper and it is amazing how it comes in handy!  One thing we do with it is to tape it across all the doorways in our home and the kids take turns running through the streamers and breaking them.  It is amazing how much fun they have doing this!  We also create obstacle courses with the streamers by taping them across chairs at various lengths so they have to either crawl over or under the paper.  They love this.  They also really enjoy creating the doorways and obstacle courses.  It is fun to see how creative they can be.  Soooo if your kids are going crazy being cooped up inside give them some crepe paper and some tape and watch the fun begin. 

Tub-Fun Tuesday---Melting Dinosaur Ice Cubes!!!

 

For the next few weeks I am going to dole out some fun ideas for bath time in my Tub-Fun Tuesdays series.  The first idea I thought I would share is Dinosaur Ice Cubes.  Here is how it works...you take a small, sturdy, plastic dinosaur (or any character) figurine and place it in a freezer safe container.  Fill the container with water and freeze!  At bath time, take your frozen character cube out and plop it in the tub with your kiddo.  They will have fun playing with the ice cube and will enjoy watching it thaw out so they can get to their figurine.  If two kids take baths at the same time they can have ice cube melting contests.  Remember the smaller the ice cube the faster it will melt so feel free to freeze your characters in some large containers to stretch the fun out.   Enjoy the smiles on your kids' faces when you break out this bath time activity!

Frog Release Day

A couple of days ago was a big day for our family....it was our annual Frog Release Day.  It was the day we released Lunker the frog to a nearby lake.  Around here, every spring tadpoles start popping up in ponds, streams, puddles, etc.  This year, the third that we have started doing this, we caught several tadpoles in a 5 gallon bucket and brought them home.  Once home, we placed them in an aquarium set up in my daughter's room and frog watch began.  Every day we fed them either small aquatic animal food bought from a local pet store or we boil lettuce and serve that to them (cooled).  We keep the tank reasonably clean and make sure to use either rain water that we collect or water that we gathered from the water source where we caught the tadpoles.  We have learned the hard way not to use tap water!  It is fun and educational to watch your tadpole for the back legs to pop out, then for the front legs and finally for the tail to start to disappear.  It is gratifying to care for a tadpole and then release it back to the wild as a frog. 

A Couple of Ideas to Think About as You Care for Your Tadpole/Frog:

Try to gather extra water in a bucket from the water source where you caught your tadpole.  You can use your water to clean the tank as needed.  Tadpoles don't do well in tap water...the chlorine doesn't agree with them

Try to release your frog in the same place that you caught your tadpole---not always possible if you caught your tadpole in a seasonal puddle that drys up.

Not all of your tadpoles will make it to frogs.  This year we had a tadpole that was cannibalistic...something we had never seen before.  No matter how much food we put in the tank Lunker would be caught eating other tadpoles.  He was a large tadpole when we caught him so we will avoid catching extra large tadpoles in the future.

Have fun!

Easy Bird Feeder Idea

Here is a fun, easy way to make a bird feeder.

You Need:  toilet paper tubes or paper towel tubes cut in half, spoon, peanut butter, bird seed

Take a few spoonfuls of peanut butter and put it in a bowl. Pour some bird seed into another bowl.  Have your child use the spoon to smear peanut butter from the bowl all over the paper tube.  Then roll the paper tube that has been smeared with peanut butter into the bird seed until completely covered with the seed.  Slip your bird feeder onto a branch and enjoy watching all the birds that arrive to sample their treat.  We had a blue jay feeding frenzy at our house!  After the birds have finished all of the seed off of their feeder make sure to recycle your paper tubes.   Have fun!

Easy Dinner Idea

My husband works 12 hour shifts so on his work days it is just the kids and I at dinner time.  Here is one of my go to meals for those evenings.  For the kids:  Crisp Cheesy Roll Ups and fresh fruit and for me: Easy Stacked Enchiladas.

Cheesy Roll Ups How To:

You need: white corn tortillas and shredded cheese and sour cream for dipping (optional)  

        

  Warm a white corn tortilla for 10 seconds in the microwave (this makes it pliable so it won't tear)

   Put some shredded cheese on the warmed tortilla (more or less depending on what your kids like)   Roll up tightly and place seam side down on a lightly greased cookie sheet.                                   

4. Bake for 10 minutes at 350

Easy Stacked Enchiladas How To:

You need: white corn tortillas, one small can diced green chiles, 1/2 can of diced tomatos and shredded cheese, sour cream (optional)

  Combine and warm up one small can of diced green chiles with 1/2 can of diced tomatos

 Lay a  corn tortilla on lightly greased baking sheet and cover tortilla lightly with shredded cheese, then add a spoonful of warmed green chile/tomato mixture

  Lay the next tortilla down on top of mixture and cover that tortilla with shredded cheese and a spoonful of warm green chile/tomato mixture

  Lay the next tortilla down on the stack and cover with shredded cheese and a spoonful of green chile/tomato mixture

I stop at two or three tortilla layers but by all means keep stacking as your apptetite dictates!

Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes until heated through and cheese has melted

ENJOY!

Check out this link to The Pioneer Woman's website.  I found the inspiration for my Easy Stacked Enchiladas there.  Her site is a great one and if you haven't checked it out before here is your chance.  It is a great resource for easy, step by step recipes.  Have fun browsing!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/05/easy-green-chile-enchiladas/

Chore Calendars Can Be Really Helpful

This year I decided to try something new chore wise.  I am not ashamed to admit that when it is nice outside I tend to let things slide a little inside housekeeping wise.....piles of laundry to fold anyone??  The Motivated Mom Chore Calendar has been a life saver for me. Every day it shows a list of chores to accomplish.  There are your usual daily chores as well as special chores that need to be accomplished each day.   I am a list person and I tend to function best when I have my to do list in front of me and I LOVE crossing things off my list once I have completed the task.  Here is the link you can use to purchase and download your very own chore calendar.  There are different versions to choose from and it is 1/2 off now (priced at $4.00) as we are half way thru the year.   http://www.motivatedmoms.com/products.html 

I am not being paid for this endorsement.  I just really like this product!

We Are Going On A Scavenger Hunt.....

We have a lot of fun walking around our neighborhood and take at least one walk a day (as long as the weather cooperates).  One of my kids' favorite things to do is to have a visual scavenger hunt.  Here is how it works....I draw pictures of all the objects they are to find on our walk.  You can make your list as short or as long as you like. For my youngest (age 2) I draw pictures of cats, dogs, trees, flowers, grass etc.  He needs help finding the objects and marking them off his list but boy is he happy when the list is finished.  For my oldest (age 7) I still draw pictures of the above objects (she and I have been playing this game for years and she isn't quite ready to give up pictures yet!) but I also give her words and 1-3 digit numbers to find.  This is a fun way to spice up a neighborhood walk and our kids enjoy it.  It encourages them to really look around and notice things about the area they live in!

Interactive Chalk Art

Ahhhh the joys of sidewalk chalk.  My family and I have spent plenty of time filling our driveway canvas with pictures of flowers and sunshine (me), cute bugs (my daughter), squiggly lines (my son) and boats, boats and more boats (my husband).  Earlier this summer I spotted a facebook post by Proverbs 31 Ministries which showed a new way (at least to us) to draw your art and a fun way to take pictures of your kids!  Check out this link to see the picture that inspired me.   http://coopetphotography.blogspot.com/search/label/side%20walk%20chalk}  Have fun drawing your own interactive art and be creative!  I would love to see pictures of any creations that you all come up with!

Surprise!!!

My daughter is a big fan of throwing parties.  Kimber often hosts Tea parties for her brother and various stuffed animals. She has thrown a Horse Party which included some fun games and pony rides on her large horse stuffed animals and recently she threw a Tadpole Day Party for tadpoles we were caring for until they became frogs.  The other evening she came to me and asked if she could throw a surprise breakfast party the next morning for her little brother.  Of course, I said yes and she ran with the idea.  She created a menu of Rj's favorite breakfast foods, Rice Crispies and chocolate chips, (and just to clarify...he doesn't get chocolate chips for breakfast on a regular basis)  :) and his favorite breakfast drink, juice.  She also created a place mat that she drew and colored on a regular piece of copy paper which I laminated.  She was very excited to gift this to Rj in the morning.  The big morning arrived and Kimber hid in the kitchen while I collected her little brother from his crib.  "Surprise" she yelled when we walked out.  She had already prepared his cereal and juice and she handed him his placemat which had a drawing of an excavator on it.  It was incredible to watch how his little face lit up as he took everything in.  It was a beautiful moment for Rj because he felt loved and cared for, a beautiful moment for Kimber because she experienced the special joy that giving to another brings. AND it was a beautiful moment for me because two hopes I have for my kids is that they have a close, loving relationship that they cherish into adulthood and that they truly understand the gift of giving to others.  Kimber just may be surprised one day soon with a surprise that RJ has made her!  How do you help foster a close relationship between your kids and what ways do you encourage giving of themselves to others?

See It Jiggle, See It Wiggle...............

I have recently become a fan of jello molds....something about them makes plain, old jello FUN.  Don't get me wrong, my kids love jello in any form that it comes in....but something about jello in the shape of an egg, flag, or star really makes them smile.  Top their jello with a dab of whipped cream to really make them grin!

We live on the beautiful Oregon Coast so here is a fun idea for anyone who lives near a beach.....  SAND VOLCANOES.  The kids and I had the best time building two volcanoes out of sand and burying two red, plastic cups to the brim.  We then added 1 Tbsp. of baking soda and a few drops of red food coloring to the cups.  When we were ready for the "lava" we poured in 1/4 cup of vinegar.  The mixture fizzes up and will spew out of the cup and down the sides of your sand volcanoes.  Next time we do this (and it will be soon as my kids really enjoyed this) I am going to bury small, plastic pop bottles instead of plastic cups. Make sure you take your cups/bottles with you and leave your section of the beach cleaner than you found it!

The other day a friend unexpectedly brought me flowers as a thank you which absolutely made my day.  However, the vases I own that are big enough to hold said flowers are being used as rock and shell collectors in my daughter's bedroom.  Soooooo I had to get creative in how I displayed my beautiful bouquet.  I spotted a child's sand bucket and inspiration struck.  I ripped open the envelope of flower food, filled the bucket with water, cut my flowers to fit and voila a summery, beach-themed bouquet was born.  I have also been known to use little glass Coca-Cola bottles as bud vases and the cans vegetables come in (with paper removed) as fun ways to display cut flowers from our backyard or flowers that my kids gift me with on our walks.  I have found that using what we already have in our homes is a fun, frugal and creative way to display flowers or other treasures!