Another Project Done!

Hi!
Yesterday I shared this picture on Facebook...

I've made a bit of progress...
drumroll, please.......                                        
ta da!

It's the perfect table for our covered porch and I am so excited to have it!
I finished it yesterday afternoon and we've already used it three times!
Now, mind you, I still have some work to do to finish it...
As you can see...

 the table sits a bit high!
The first step to finishing it is to cut down the legs so the kids can actually use it.

Not gonna lie... 

this picture cracks me up!

I still need to fill, sand, stain, and seal the top and then paint the legs but for a days worth of work
I AM THRILLED!

More info coming soon on how I did it. In case you were wondering. 

OH! And a side note about the one beautiful hanging basket and the one pathetically sad dead one...
We have a guest!

 

Individual Fruit Pizza

We had a baby shower for a beautiful friend this weekend who may very well be the cutest pregnant woman I've ever seen!

I was asked to make something to eat at the shower and of course I jumped at the chance to try out some new recipes I've found on Pinterest!

There has been a really fun fruit salad idea going around from The Entertaining Elf that's perfect for baby showers but it's a bit popular and I like off-beat so I opted for the fruit pizza idea I found at Joy Is At Home which I spun off of and used the Amazing Fruit Salsa recipe I love so much. 

So here's how it goes... 

What You'll Need: 

sugar cookies {baked and cooled}

1 container cool whip

8 oz cream cheese

1 batch of fruit salsa 

What To Do:

Mix cool whip and cream cheese together with a fork or hand mixer. {If you taste this mixture you'll notice that it's light on flavor but I promise you, that's just how you want it.}

Get your cookies handy...{I opted to save my time and use the Pillsbury cut and bake.

 They hold up well if the salsa gets juicy. I don't recommend using a soft sugar cookie recipe with this.}

   and then...

 and...

Finally, you send me a "thank you" card for finding and sharing this yummy-ness! 

Happy Day To You!!

Amazing Fruit Salsa

I had this fruit salsa recipe for the first time about a year ago and loved it from the first bite.

My mother-in-law, the baker, brought up some up with her and I believe the recipe came to her from a woman in her home church in SouthWestern PA. 

It's pretty basic in it's ingredients and the results are, as I said, AMAZING! 

2 kiwi, peeled and diced

2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 lb strawberries, diced

1 8 oz can pineapple chunks, undrained and cut into smaller pieces {or 1 c fresh pineapple}

3 Tbsp peach preserves

2 Tbsp white sugar {next time I make this I'm skipping the sugar to see how it goes}

1 Tbsp brown sugar {same here}

 

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 15 min.

C'est fini!  

This stuff is great with yogurt, granola, cinnamon chips, as fruit pizza, all on it's own...

MMM... SO GOOD! 

Curiosity Bottles

With some of this...
You can make some of these...

{1. oil, water, glitter 2. yarn, pom poms, beads, glitter, water 3 & 6. oil, water, food coloring, 4. pom poms, beaded necklace, beads, water 5& 7 beads, pom poms, oil}  

Now, "why would you?", you ask?

Because they're fun!
The kids shake 'em around and watch things settle.

I used dollar store super glue to seal the lids on in order to keep curious hands from making ridiculous messes

Happy First Birthday, Bean!

Yesterday was a super special day!
Yesterday was Mothers' Day.
Yesterday was also Bean's first birthday!

This means it was time for our family's first birthday tradition...
you're very own personal birthday cake! {i.e. funfetti layer cake with whipped cream frosting}

Sigh.
I currently have a 1 year old, a two year old, and a three year old.
It's no wonder I'm so tired!

All the same,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAN!

Question...

Why are you and I not sitting together, right now, with a cup of coffee and a plateful of these?...

 {Samoa Bark}

or these...

 {The Best Ever Blueberry Muffins}

or these...

 

{Creamy Lime Bars}

 Excellent question, is it not?!

Well...
even if we can't be together today, we can still bake, right!
Or maybe I'll just take a nap...

Either way... HAPPY WEEKEND, friend!

Whipped Cream for the Baby!

I have been feeling bad for Bean lately. Her personality has bloomed and she's so much fun! For whatever reason, she's still not walking or crawling, which is a story all on its own, but I have had a difficult time coming up with fun, hands on things for her to do.
And then it hit me!

I don't know if I saw the idea somewhere or just reworked something I learned from my substituting days but either way... I'm so glad we did!

 {I'm still looking for more ideas, pass them on if you have any, but in the meantime, this'll do!}

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

So yesterday was the DIY mocha frappe {with caramel, of course!} and I mentioned that you can make your own chocolate syrup using milk and cocoa. I must correct myself... the recipe I had in mind was for hot fudge for an ice cream topping which is so delicious! This recipe calls for water, sugar,and cocoa... you can also add vanilla extract and salt.

So here it is... adapted from diy Natural

What You'll Need:
1 c water
1 c sugar (you can use organic cane sugar but I used plain white)
1/2 c cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

1/4 t vanilla extract (optional)
1/8 t sea salt (optional)

What To Do:

In a 2 quart pan (yes, 2 quart... I used a 1 quart and it nearly boiled over a couple of times) mix water, sugar, and cocoa over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, turn down to medium heat and stir continuously for 8-10 minutes. (Seriously, stir continuously because it will boil over!)

See?!
The syrup thickens as it cooks and eight minutes was good for me.

If  you're like me and you like things pretty basic, stop here. You're done.

If you'd like it to taste more like the Hershey's syrup you know and love, add the vanilla and salt after removing the pan from the heat and stir in well. (I don't particularly love the alcohol flavor of the extract so I skip them both.)

Leave the saucepan off the heat to cool and store in a container of your choosing. I use a pint sized mason jar with a screw on lid.

So yummy and makes great chocolate milk!

Homemade Mocha Frappe

Yesterday I fussed a bit about my crazy life and my desperation to wind down...
Today, I share one delicious, though not the healthiest, did I mention DELICIOUS!? solution!
Homemade mocha frappe.
ohmygoodness!
I found this recipe late last week and have made four of them in the past few days.

The good news: they're inexpensive, simple, amazing, and don't require you to hop in the car (though if you chose to enjoy this while locked alone inside your minivan, who could blame you?)
The bad news: they're addictive and maybe a little to easy and thus may adversely affect your waistline if you're not careful. Consider yourself warned.

The original recipe is from Women Living Well Ministries but, as usual, I made a few modifications based on my personal taste and health preferences. Let me explain... I skip the granulated sugar all together because the syrup and caramel have plenty. I don't use low fat milk because I believe that low-fat and no-fat foods just aren't good for you. No fat products often have chemical replacements for the sake of flavor and consistency. This is the same reason I skip the "no sugar" chocolate syrup. It sounds like a good idea but, once again, it's replaced with unnatural substitutes to make up for flavor. If you're really up for some amazing flavor, make your own homemade chocolate syrup with cream and cocoa.
Okay... enough of that! On to the goods...

Mocha Frappuccino
3/4 cup double-strength coffee
  1 tablespoons granulated sugar (optional)
1 cup full-fat milk
2 cups ice
3 Tbls. Hershey’s Chocolate syrup

 Optional:
3 Tbs whipped cream

Blend first five ingredients in a blender until smooth. Top with whipped cream if desired. 

Mocha Version:

For this version, add 3 tablespoons Hershey’s chocolate syrup to the original recipe and prepare as described. Top each glass with whipped cream, if desired.

Caramel Version:

For this version, add 3 tablespoons of caramel topping to the original recipe and prepare as described. Top each glass with whipped cream and drizzle additional caramel over the whipped cream.

I warn you... though this recipe may be good for your wallet, it is dangerously easy! Enjoy at your own risk!

btw... pix credit goes to

If You've Got The Time...

Time is something I just don't have these days.
It's amazing how quickly the most wide-open, unscheduled days fill up and are gone like a vapor.
And in those moments, the ones that seem to slip away, the important often gets pushed aside and the inane gets accomplished.
Why is that?
Our business for this season is winding down. Just one more month of school for CJ. Just one more week of bible study leadership meetings and lessons. Just a couple of months until Hub's schedule winds down and we get to hang out again.
But... then come the weddings...baby showers... play dates... vacations... and the time that once seemed open and vast is quickly crammed full of "stuff" (good and bad) and I find the kids and I desperate for our daily nap/rest time.
'Tis the season, I guess.

So I'm asking YOU, seasoned veterans...

How do you do it?!

How do you cope with the constant tired of lots of little people and the general busyness of life?
How do you decide what stays and what goes?
How does your ideal week look?

Scrubbing Hard to Reach Places

I can only assume that at one point in time or another you have been faced with an oddly shaped bottle as I often am. Homemade yogurt and kefir have fat/cream in them and that means that lots of goodies stick to the sides of my jars.
Until now I have been shoving steel wool down into the jars and with the very tips of my fingers done the best that I could. I often pulled the not so perfectly clean jars out of the dishwasher, looked over the film left inside, shrugged, and put it away in the cabinet figuring there wasn't much I can do.

BUT NOW...
thanks to a handful of rice, some water, and some amazing biceps...

 

 

 Problem solved!

It's Earth Day Weekend

Don't forget... Earth day is Sunday.
Need some ideas?

 10 Earth Day Activites with Kids at East Cost Mommy

Celebrating Earth Day with Kids by SheKnows Parents

10 Earth Day Ideas for Children by Crafting a Green World

or this idea, Pista Shells Mosiac by Putti Prapancha

9 Hands on Ways to be Earth Friendly by Hands On: As We Grow

Have a WONDERFUL Weekend!!

Waffle Iron Cinnamon Rolls

I am in no uncertain terms claiming that these are healthy, just that they are quick and dee-licious!

{P.S. I've read that you can do this with cookie dough too! I'll keep you posted.}

What You'll Need:
refrigerated cinnamon roll dough
waffle iron

 

What To Do:
Plug in waffle iron. Once heated, place individual rolls around the iron. Close. Wait until light brown all around. Frost... or don't. Let cool... or don't. Enjoy! 

Liquid Glue Ideas

I stumbled upon this post just the other day and thought it totally share-worthy!
It's a bunch of fun things to do with school glue like goop, batiking, and sun catchers... 

Hope you enjoy!
I found this at Having Fun at Home

img here

Sensory Bins for Spring

Ever heard of a sensory bin?
I first heard of them a few months ago but couldn't quite figure out the purpose...
The main purpose is for hands on learning. There's lots to see, touch, and even hear.
This post from Purpose Driven Home offers several more great reasons but, to be honest, my favorite thing about them is that they're a great way to keep the kids busy during tough times of the day (like when I'm cooking dinner) other than TV.  

For the bug bin I used a bin I already had with short sides so the kids can reach in. I bought a 10 lb bag of black beans for the local international food store and raided the Target dollar section for all the buggy goodness.

For Easter, I grabbed some things from the Dollar Tree and Target. The kids liked filling the eggs with the little bunnies and hiding them around the house.

One last perk... I love that I now have a great excuse to buy some of the cute stuff in the dollar section at Target that I always liked but had no purpose for. Yay!