Summer Fun - Week 6

To see the rest of our summer fun, just click HERE.

Wow, six weeks of summer already gone?  It's kinda crazy!  I will admit that this past week, well, I dropped the ball.  It was a total "recovery" week from the heat, from the holiday, from the unplanned get away. 

Monday - I totally just worked on putting everything back together.  The temps were perfect - I worked in the kitchen for about 2-3 hours and never broke a sweat (and our kitchen is the hottest room in the house!!) On this day, the boys just enjoyed being home, playing with their toys while I cleaned, did laundry, prepped food for the week and just tried to pick up all of the stray things that had been left about during the horrible heat - when it was just too hot to clean anything.  My floors were thanking me as I vacuumed them ;-) 

Tuesday - Today I filled up the pool thinking the kids would want to play in it . . .but, again, with temps in the 70's and no humidity, they enjoyed filling cups of water and watering plants (i.e. weeds in the yard) but otherwise never got it in.  I worked on more stuff - like the basement and organizing things. 

Wednesday - I'll be honest - there wasn't a lot of "fun" in this day.  We got up to discover that thanks to the wonderful execs. at Direct TV, we have no Nick Jr.  Before you think my kids are TV junkys (which I'll admit, they watch a lot, especially when it is really hot outside . . .and inside!) but they have their morning routine - toons, poptarts, and chocolate milk.  You try to explain to a 2 and 3 year old why their favorite tunes are gone.  Not to mention the stuff on the Disney channels we still get, well, I'm not a fan of at this point.  Then, I called to make reservations for our dog at our kennel only to learn that they are closing as of August 1st (which is after I need them but still!)  I'm so sad :-(  We've taken our dog there for 8 years - they are fabulous and, well, well priced.  Finally, Josh got stung.  I was inside when I heard him start screaming (which, for a three year old, is pretty normal HA) but he came in and told me he got stung - then he showed me his eye.  Yep, sure thing, right about his eyebrow.  The good thing is that he is not allergic at all - it swells up for a bit but within about an hour, it's all gone.  Here's a photo - he wanted me to take it :-)

Thursday - I spent today catching up on paperwork.  By mid-afternoon I knew I had spent too much time "working" this week and not enough time with the kids - their attitudes and behavior where showing it.  So I wrapped things up and headed outside - they were happy with me just sitting out there watching them play :-) (Yes, they are wearing winter hats . . .they found them, put them on and said "We are wishing for snow" then headed outside.  Yes, they are truly my children. 

Friday - Today, I made up for the week!  We played puzzles, then built a fort (or has Josh calls it - his house!), had popcorn for snack, cleaned - the boys love to vacuum and yes, they do a good job AND put the vacuum away - that's all the cleaning we did . . the floors needed it, made pizza for lunch, filled the pool and swam for the afternoon and then played trains until Darryl got home.  He brought home dinner for the boys so I could leave and go scrapbooking. 

Because of the crazy week, I wanted to plan some fun things this weekend too.  Darryl originally was going to work all weekend but he needed a break so he unexpectedly took Saturday off which was great.  On Saturday the first thing we did was take bags of clothes to a friend who just adopted a baby boy.  Then, we took the boys to a "new" park - well, new to us.  It has an interactive fountain which I thought the boys would really like - they were not thrilled with it and only Josh ran through it a couple of times - Nate was ready to come home after being there just about 15 minutes. 

On Sunday, we skipped church . .. our church that we are attending right now does not have A/C . . .sorry, no A/C on a hot summer day = no Jackie in church.  I live without A/C at home but I wouldn't wear to church what I wear at home ;-) LOL  We hung at home for the morning but then went on an adventure.  I took the boys to get a treat (they have discovered a love for shakes), then we drove out to a Farm Stand, back to the bank and finally to the store.  I let the boys each push a small cart and we wondered through the store looking at toys and the fish for about an hour before picking up the few things we needed.   Today and Tomorrow will be pushing 100 degrees again so we don't plan on doing much.  Like my boys indicated earlier in the week - I'm reading for winter . . .or at least a very cool fall!

The Things My Kids Say

Joshua - His car play mat was in the dining room when he went to bed; I noticed later in the evening that it was "missing".  When he got up the next morning he informed me, "I had to get my car mat because I couldn't go to sleep without in my room".  I looked in his room and not only was it in there, it was spread out perfectly flat with the fan sitting in the middle of it.  He did a lot of work after he went to bed LOL 

Joshua - for the first time ever this past week he said, "Mom, I need something to do" which really means "Mom, I'm bored" HA!  Seriously?  Already?

Joshua - He hates it when I cut (ok, bite) his fingernails so the other day I went to grab his hand for something and he pulled it back and said "No, mom, don't bite my nicklenails" ;-)

Joshua - Any time he stubs a toe or bumps a shin he says "Mom, I have a whipty do".  I also noticed that anytime he bumped anything (his head, his hand . . whatever) He's said "Ow, I hurt my oboe"  I thought he was calling things "elbow" but then figured out he meant . .. Boo boo HA!

Joshua - One day, he put on his flip flops and came to me and said "Look Mom, I have on "little mom" shoes" (I ALWAYS wear flip flops)  Then we went outside, we went and got the pooper scooper and told me he would pick up dog poop because he had on his little mom shoes.  Trust me, I did not stop him ;-)

Nathan - He hasn't said  any doosey's lately but I so love hearing his little voice say things like "Mom, please help me" and then once I'm done, he says "Thank you Mom".  I also love that, even if I leave the house to just get the mail, when I walk back in he gets all excited because "Mom, your home!  I missed you!!" :-)

Joshua - One morning, he got up and went out to sit on the porch.  I heard him start talking then . . . "Mom, look, the sun is waking up too" and . . "Oh wow, the flowers are starting to wake up!!"  It was so neat to hear him notice the morning!

Linking up over at: 

Weekly Menu!

We had a much nicer week this week!  The weather was really nice - not humid and fairly cool until the end of the week when the temps went up.  I made one mistake last week - I planned my menu based on the food from the week before that we didn't eat except I forgot that the chicken I had taken out had to be thrown away because it sat in the fridge so long - which then put me off one meal this week but I got creative and come up with something else.

Here's what is on the plan for this coming week:

Saturday:  Chili Dogs, Chips and Dip and Lego Jello (If this idea works - I promise to share!)

Sunday:  In keeping with my plan to have burgers once a week - we are having Hamburgers, Chips and Dip and Corn on the Cob

Monday: Pulled Chicken and Slaw Sliders, Salpicon and Devil Egg Spread with crackers (something new I want to try!)

Tuesday: Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry with rice and Layered Jell-O Salad

Wednesday: Pork Chops on the grill, Mac and Cheese, Corn and Muffins

Thursday: Tacos with savory rice and chips and salsa

Friday:  Hot Dogs, Chips, and salads (we'll be roasting over a campfire!!)

Happy cooking!

Food Friday - S'more Cookies

S'more Cookies
adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

This past week, I was looking for a simple cookie and this fit the bill because it uses premade cookie dough.  I had never heard of Kraft StackerMallows Marshmallows and highly doubted that my local store would carry them but I was surprised to find them.  They are marshmallows but cut into squares and they are thin - I guess to be able to make s'mores at home easier.  Regular large marshmallows would work, you would just have to squish them more :-)  The chocolate and marshmallows stayed sticky - I could not stack them even with wax paper so I just stored them on a plate in the microwave and we ate them all :-)  These would be so great to take to a BBQ or a picnic :-)


Easy S’mores Cookies

• 1 (16 oz.) pkg. of Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies Chocolate Chip with Hershey’s Chocolate Chips
• 24 Kraft StackerMallows Marshmallows
• 2 (1.55 oz) Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars (each broken into the 12 rectangles)

1. Bake cookies according to instructions on the package.
2. Place 1 StackerMallow on top of each cookie and return to the oven for 2 minutes.
3. Remove cookies from oven and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on a cooling rack.
4. Once on the cooling rack, place one rectangle from the Hershey bars on top of each cookie. Eat while warm or allow to cool. If you are taking the cookies some where, allow the cookies to cool completely and store place in a container placing wax paper between each layer so the cookies don’t stick together. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Some Pinterest Fun

I haven't posted any Pinterest posts in quite awhile mostly because, ideas I find from there, I'm posting elsewhere such as our summer fun or weekly recipes.  I thought I would share this here though because the two things I tried were not great but were not awful and you may want to try them (or be glad that I did so you don't have to!)

First up are the Crescent Sloppy Joe Triangles from Tricks Chef's.  (If you click the link, you will find the recipe!).  As I was making these I realized that they were very similar to my BBQ Cups and, I will admit, we liked the originally BBQ Cups better.  Now with that said, each of my boys ate three triangles - they loved them.  As a matter of fact, I'm adding this to our lunch menu - I plan on cooking up some of the BBQ meant and freezing it in small containers.  Then I can make up the triangles as an easy lunch.  They would also make a simple appetizer and a great finger food. 

Second, is  the Copy Cat Hash brown Casserole from Cracker Barrel from Budget Savvy Diva.  Now, here's the deal.  I'm not a huge Cracker Barrel Fan - sure I like the atmosphere and enjoy some of their food but normally, it would not be my place to stop to eat BUT I DO love their Hash brown Casserole and order it as my side no matter what I get to eat.  I was so excited when I cam across this recipe.  Well, let me just say, I'd rather have my traditional Cheesy Potatoes over this recipe any day.  It had very little flavor and was kind of dry.  It is not something I plan on making again.

You'll have to let me know if you try either of these recipes and if your opinion is the same or different than what I shared.

Tidbit Trays

A few days ago Janelle at Comfy In the Kitchen shared a great idea called "Tidbit Trays".  It was one of those no-brainer ideas that I have never thought of until seeing someone else share the idea. 

I'm not sure what happens in your house but at about 4:00 every afternoon I hear this - "Mom, my tummy is so hungry!"  We always then scrounge for food - cereal, crackers, whatever.  I end up with kids under foot while I try to get dinner made and on the table.  So, when I read the Tidbit Tray post I knew I wanted to try it.  So, yesterday, I heard those words and decided to see what I could throw together.  The point of this tray is to just use what is in your fridge and make a fun little snack.  My goal is to keep it healthy so that if the kids fill up on it and don't eat a lot of dinner, it is ok.  On Tuesday, I pulled out Strawberries, Grapes, Animal Crackers and sliced cheese.  Everything was eaten except all of the grapes.  I love it too because I'm usually hungry and this is an easy way for all of us to snack. 

Yep - they loved it ;-)  See how fast that hand is moving!!  The boys munched over the next hour, then went out side and played - leaving me to get dinner on the table.  What a great solution!

I plan on keeping this as something in our plan - some days we eat dinner between 4:30-5:00 so it isn't something we will use every day but my goal is to keep things on hand to use like animal crackers, pretzels, gold fish crackers, all kinds of fruit, cheese.  My kids aren't veggie eaters so I'm going to try and get creative with that too and also some dried fruit.  I also want to find a tray to use that become our "Tidbit Tray" so when the kids see it on the table they know what it is!

Too Cute Not To Toot

Just wanted you to know that I'm taking a blogging break today. . .

Why?

Simply because I haven't had a chance to really search for ideas, it's getting late on Monday night and I'm ready to relax!

I plan to be back with lots of ideas next Tuesday!