Summer Activities Schedule

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin
School is out for the summer. Because my kids are so young school is basically still just a huge party. In fact, the day school ended, my son said, “I really want to go to school tomorrow.” I should have recorded that to play back for him when he is 15. The point is, I have my work cut out for me to make summer an exciting time. I don’t want my kids siting around watching movies all day (though I’m a firm believer in having a movie break every now and again to keep everyone from turning on each other).
summer schedule
Because I work best by a schedule (that’s my polite way of saying I’m a control freak), I decided to make a summer schedule. Now don’t think I’m a crazy dictator. I promise I’ll be flexible with my schedule and won’t force my kids to color a picture if they really don’t want to. I just want to plan activities they can be excited about. So here is our schedule. I didn’t post it because I think it’s what everyone should do, but I thought it might give my readers some ideas of things to do with their kids this summer.
  • Monday – Zoo/Children’s Museum/ Swim Day – We have a pass to the zoo and museum, but I wanted to give my kids another option with swimming. We plan to check out different pools in the area, and on days we don’t want to travel, we can play water games in the backyard. Nothing says summer like running through the sprinklers.
  • Tuesday – Baking/Errands – I need a day to do errands, but I thought we could add in baking at some point, since we’ll have time for both. We may make cookies from scratch, decorate cupcakes, do an easy candy, or make a healthy treat together. The point is to get my kids learning in the kitchen.
  • Wednesday – Library Day – We chose Wednesday because that is “story time” day at our library. We spend extra time picking out books and playing on the computers.
  • Thursday – Park Day – We have a group of moms that get together at a different park every Thursday morning during the summer. It keeps it more interesting than visiting the same park every week.
  • Friday – Grocery shopping/Craft Day – Like errands, I have to do my weekly grocery trip, so I thought planning an easy craft would be a good idea for grocery day. The craft may be as easy as coloring,drawing or painting; or may consist of making a gift for a birthday or Father’s Day.

 

Daily Schedule:

  • 7-8:30 – Get ready (between me getting ready, getting everyone breakfast, and getting the kids dressed, it really does take us an hour and a half).
  • 8:30 -10 – The kids have free time while I clean up breakfast and prepare for our daily activity
  • 10-12 (or 1) – Daily activity. When we go to the park or zoo, we generally bring a picnic, which extends our activity
  • 12-12:45 – Lunch/cleanup – I’m trying to teach my oldest to clean up his own dishes and lunch mess
  • 12:45-1 – Reading time – My kids participate in the summer library reading program, so we have to make sure to read a lot.
  • 1-3 – Nap/quiet time – My youngest still takes a nap, while my oldest has quiet time for about an hour. This is also my time to get some cleaning done for the day.
  • 3-3:30 – School time – I purchased a workbook for the summer with basic reading and math activities to keep my kids learning during the break.
  • 3:30-4:30 – Outside play (if it’s warm. If it’s raining, we’ll do a rainy-day activity).
  • 4:30-6 – Kid’s free time – This can be their time to play, color, read or watch a show if they like. I play with them if they want me to, and then generally use the last bit of time to get dinner ready.
  • 6-7 – Dinner/Family time – After dinner, we sit in the living room as a family talking or playing
  • 7-7:30 – Bath and pajamas time
  • 7:30-8 – Read and brush teeth
  • 8 – Bed time

I know things will come up and we won’t follow this perfectly, but I think it will help us to have a basic plan for the summer.  I also wanted to plan things that didn’t require a lot of travel or money. What are your favorite summer activities to do with your kids?

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Pulled Pork Sandwich

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

I LOVE pulled pork. If it’s on a menu, I’ll probably order it. This weekend, we made our own pulled pork. YUM! Luckily, it makes quite a bit so we have a ton of leftovers!!

I started with a dry rub, but then cooked the pork in a homemade barbecue sauce. This recipe is portioned for a 4 lb pork shoulder. Adjust it accordingly for different sizes.

For dry rub combine:

  • 3t salt
  • 1 1/2 t pepper
  • 1 1/2 t onion powder
  • 3/4 t garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 t cumin
  • 1 1/2 t Chinese five spice

Rub this over the entire roast (don’t just sprinkle it on, but rub it in), and put it in a slow cooker.

For sauce, combine:

  • 1 can (14.5 oz) garlic flavored, fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 1 C ketchup
  • 2 T Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 splashes liquid smoke
  • 1/4 C molasses
  • 2 T apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 t onion powder
  • 1 t Chinese five spice
  • 1/2 t cumin
  • 1/2 t pepper

Pour this over the entire roast and cook on low for 10 hours. I like to do this the day before. Once it’s done, remove roast and shred it with two forks. Then using a strainer, pour the juices over the shredded meat. I like to strain it to get out the tomato chunks and the fat globs. Eww to fat globs.

The next day, pour the entire mixture back into the slow cooker and cook it on low for about 3-4 hours, or until it is warm. Now serve the pork on a bun.

Posted in Cooking | 4 Comments

Being a Mom

Posted on May 11, 2012 by admin

I apologize in advance to those of you who aren’t mothers, but as this Sunday is Mother’s Day, I wanted to write a post about being a mom. With everything I’ve experienced in my life, nothing has changed me more than being a mom. In most ways, that’s a good thing. In some ways it’s bad (like those days when it’s 3 p.m. and I realize I still haven’t had three seconds to myself to shower. I apologize to society for those days). This post is about the things that have changed since I became a mom. Some I expected and some I never thought would apply to me.

mother's day(This is the day I became a mom).

Before becoming a mom, I never thought I would:

  1. Pick someone else’s nose.
  2. Do a full-on, screaming, cheer because the poop ended up in the toilet and not in a pair of pants/the floor/the bathtub. Yep. Being a mom is glamorous.
  3. Spend my day shaping play dough, coloring, singing Old McDonald, and watching Sesame Street repeatedly. I can’t even recall what a day in the life of an adult includes.
  4. Spend many sleepless nights in a rocking chair with a sick or grumpy baby.
  5. Be more overjoyed to receive a picture of myself with 15 fingers and a blue nose, than a portrait done by a famous artist.
  6. Actually stick a bum right up to my face to see if the offensive odor in question is coming from my child.
  7. Let my child eat food off the ground. I admit. I was one of those judgmental people who saw other moms do such things and thought I would be superior in my mothering skills… someday. Now, if it’s not covered in anything toxic and it will prevent screaming, a few dropped cheerios or pretzels are still edible in my book.
  8. Forget what it feels like to sleep until I am no longer tired and let my body wake up naturally.
  9. Find toys everywhere: laundry baskets, sock drawers, kitchen cupboards, the fridge, the VCR (yes… we still have one), and yes, a bucket of flour.
  10. Know what it is like to love someone so much I would give all I have to make them happy.

Being a mom is the hardest/best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there! If you aren’t a mom, let the moms in your life know how much you care for them.

Consider these tips to help mom feel extra special on Mother’s Day
For breakfast, consider making  Cinnamon Raisin Scones

Posted in Kids, Seasonal | 1 Comment

Strawberry Crisp

Posted on May 8, 2012 by admin

I love strawberries. Plus it’s one of  the only fruits my husband will eat. For these reasons, I’m always looking for new ways to use strawberries. This week, we made a strawberry crisp. This is one of those rich, warm desserts that’s perfect on a rainy day.

Strawberry Crisp

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees.

Combine:

  • 5 C sliced strawberries
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 3T flour
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/4 t nutmeg
While your strawberry mixtures sits, in another bowl combine:
  • 1 C flour
  • 2/3 C brown sugar
  • 1 C oats
  • 1 t cinnamon

With a pastry blender, two forks, or your hands, mix in

  • 1/2 C cold  butter, cubed

Strawberry Crisp

Pour the strawberry mixture into a greased 9×13 pan. Top with flour mixture and bake for 30 minutes or until strawberries are bubbly and topping is slightly browned.

Strawberry Crisp

Serve with fresh whipped cream, whipped topping or ice cream.

 

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Spring Sugar Cookies

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

This week, we decided to make flower sugar cookies. These were so much fun to make (and eat… of course). These cookies are perfect to celebrate spring, or to mourn when the snow starts to fall.

Spring sugar cookies

I’ve posted this sugar cookie recipe before, but it really is the best sugar-cookie recipe I’ve found, so posting it again won’t hurt anything.

Cookies:

Ingredients

  • 1 pound butter, softened
  • 5 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 tablespoon almond extract (You can use vanilla or peppermint if you don’t like almond)

Directions 

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Mix butter in a mixer until light, add remaining ingredients.
  3. Knead until velvety. I know it sounds strange to knead cookie dough, but since this is more of a shortbread, kneading makes it softer and easier to work with. Roll one-quarter of the dough at a time to about 1/3 inch thickness using the smallest amount of flour possible.
  4. Cut the dough using flower cookie-cutters.
  5. Bake on a lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Cookies will be almost white when cooked.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

  • 1 C butter
  • 4-6 C powdered sugar
  • 2 t almond extract
  • 2-4 T milk
  • Food coloring (my favorite kind is the Wilton gel food coloring in the small tubs. I scoop a little out with a toothpick and add it to the frosting. With these, a little goes a long way. We picked blue, pink and yellow for spring).

Directions:

  1. Cream butter and powdered sugar
  2. Add milk and almond extract and beat for 5 minutes
  3. Divide the frosting so you can make equal amounts of each color (we, of course, split ours into three equal parts).
  4. Add food coloring and beat well.

Now frost the cookies!!! We picked a solid color for each base, and then piped the outline of each cookie with a different color. The  large bloom cookies got a gob of color in the middle for the center of the flower. We experimented with adding dots, lines and swirls, but decided the simple cookies looked better.

Spring sugar cookies

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Freeze and Bake Chocolate Chip cookies

Posted on April 27, 2012 by admin

Few things bring me as much joy as a chocolate chip cookie. But one thing on that very short list is chocolate chip cookie dough. This is probably why making chocolate chip cookies is a frequent occurrence in my home.

Here is one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. This recipe came from my sister, who is the greatest cookie maker on the planet. One of the greatest things about this recipe is, it freezes beautifully. After I make the dough, I scoop out (what is left after baking and eating) dough into balls, just like I would if I planned to bake them. I put the balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and cover it with plastic wrap. Then I put the tray in the freezer until the cookies are frozen and then transfer them to a freezer bag. They stay good in the freezer for… hmmmm… I have no idea. The longest they’ve lasted in my freezer is about a month. That’s how long it takes us to either bake the entire batch, or (here comes a guilty confession) for me to eat through the frozen balls of dough. I know it’s bad to eat raw cookie dough but I just can’t seem to help myself! The best part is, you don’t have to let the dough thaw before baking. Just stick the frozen balls on a cookie sheet and bake them at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. So easy!!! For a strange reason, I don’t have a picture of the completed cookies. Luckily, I do have a picture of my favorite part of the process.

Chocolate chip cookie

Freeze and Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 C softened butter
  • 1 C packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 C granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 2 3/4 C bread flour (this is what makes them so amazingly awesome)
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 2 C chocolate chips (my sister uses semi-sweet, but I use bittersweet. Use what you prefer)
  • 1 C chopped pecans or walnuts (this is optional. I just think every chocolate chip cookie is better with nuts)

Directions:

  • Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well blended.
  • With a whisk, stir together flour, salt and soda.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three installments, beating after each addition.
  • Fold in chips and nuts.
  • If you want to bake some right away, bake at 375 degrees and check them after about 7 minutes. Bake the frozen dough at 375 for about 12 minutes.
Posted in Cooking | 2 Comments

At-Home Kid Activities

Posted on April 24, 2012 by admin

We’ve all been there. We make a plan for the day, but wake up to bad weather or sick kids. We, of course, have the old fall back activities of watching a movie, playing with toys or coloring; but living in the Rockies, winter lasts a long time; and those activities get very old, very fast. Here are just a few ideas of activities to do with your kids on those days you can’t leave the house for one reason or another.

  1. Build a fort – This can be as fancy or as ordinary as you like. We’ve done as simple as draping a blanket over a table and as extreme as setting up several tables, chairs and attaching blankets to the walls.
  2. Bake/Decorate cookies -Make these from scratch, or use a pre-made dough and frosting and let the kids decorate. Make sure to have lots of sprinkles.Home Activities
  3. Crafts – Make a fun card for friends, grandparents, aunts and uncles or anyone who may need a little extra cheer. I love to let my kids tell me what to write on cards. We get very interesting results. Make holiday/seasonal decorations. This can be as simple as coloring and cutting out flowers for spring, making leaves in fall, or making Christmas tree ornaments. We also love to make kid hand prints using paint, tracing the hands or making an imprint with clay. Those little hands grow so fast, it’s nice to document them. Also, consider tracing whole bodies on large pieces of butcher paper. Then let your kids fill in the details.
  4. Act out a story – Rather than just read or tell a story, act it out using toys and whatever you have in your house for props. My son insists on doing this daily with “Toy Story.”
  5. Movie-athon/read-athon -This is especially great when everyone is sick. Rather than just sitting down to read a book and watch a movie, make it extra special. Include blankets, pillows, a new movie/book and a special treat.
  6. Refer to the classics – Some of our favorite games to play at home are “hide and seek,” “tag” and “I spy.” My son even likes to play “hide the toy.” He hides a toy (usually Buzz Lightyear) and I have to find it. We love “I spy” because it’s a great way for me to teach adjectives.  ”I spy something small, yellow and soft.”
  7. Look at old pictures – Maybe my kids are a bit vain but they absolutely love to look at pictures of themselves. If I need them to calm down, this is a great way to get them to sit still for a few minutes. We look at old pictures and talk about when they were taken and what we were doing. It’s also a great way to remind my kids that we do have a lot of fun, and I don’t just spend their lives telling them to be nice to each other and pick up their toys.
  8. Alphabet game – This is a great way to help kids learn letters and realize they do serve a purpose other than to stock the alphabet. Go around the house finding each letter of the alphabet. Then help your child sound out the word with that letter.
  9. Make a photo album – My kids love to take pictures. Walk around with them and let them take pictures of their favorite things. Make them explain to you why they love each thing. Then put the pictures on the computer in folders labeled “(child’s name) favorite things.”
  10. Family room camping – This is similar to the read/movie a-thon idea, but incorporates camping. Set up sleeping bags, camp chairs and if possible a tent in the family room. Do camping activities around the house. Go on a hike through the house and find wildlife (stuffed animals), make s’mores (over the stove), and go swimming (in the bathtub). Then get in your sleeping bags and tell stories/sing songs.

What does your family do when you are stuck inside?

Posted in Crafts, Kids | 1 Comment

Baked Penne Dinner

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin

We love pasta, but spaghetti can get a bit old after a while. Here is a dish that is just as easy, but adds a little variety. Plus, there are some options to make this dish a little healthier!

Baked penne dinner

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb ground beef or sausage
  • 1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 t Italian seasoning
  • 1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
  • 2T balsamic vinegar
  • 1 (13.25 ounce) box penne pasta (cooked to al dente)
  • 1/2 C ricotta cheese (optional)
  • 1 1/2 t salt
  • 1 t pepper
  • 1 1/2 C Mozzarella or Italian Blend shredded cheese

Directions:

  • Brown meat, onion and garlic together in a large skillet sprayed with non-stick spray.
  • Stir in spaghetti sauce, balsamic vinegar, italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
  • Add cooked and drained pasta
  • Stir in ricotta cheese (this is optional. If you don’t like/ have ricotta, it’s still delicious without it. I just like the extra flavor and creaminess).
  • Spread mixture in a 9×13 pan and top with shredded cheese.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour. Cheese should be melted and slightly browned.

As promised, here are your healthy changes. This is how I make it for my family. Luckily, the changed still make for a DELICIOUS dinner my family thoroughly enjoys!

  • Use ground turkey in place of the beef or sausage and be sure to drain it after it is browned.
  • Instead of traditional pasta, use a whole wheat/whole grain pasta.
  • Use part skim ricotta, or leave it out all together.
  • Use part skim mozarella for the cheese, and take the amount down to 3/4 to 1 cup.

Enjoy your dinner!!

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Cheesecake Brownies

Posted on April 17, 2012 by admin

This is one of my favorite recipes to make in a bind/when I’m craving something sweet and I’ll go crazy if I don’t get something! They are fast, easy and I usually have the ingredients on hand.

Cheesecake Brownies:

Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 1 (19.8 oz) brownie mix and all the ingredients to prepare it (I prefer Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownies. Mmmm… mmmm…. mmmmm)
  • 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 C sugar

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to temperature indicated on brownie mix.
  • Prepare the brownie mix as directed and pour into a greased 9×13 pan.
  • Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth.
  • Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter and use a knife to swirl.
  • Bake according to mix directions.

That’s it! This is a great way to make a brownie mix a bit more homemade.

Posted in Cooking | 2 Comments

Spring Cleaning

Posted on April 13, 2012 by admin

Spring is my favorite time of year. It’s the perfect temperature, the flowers are beautiful and the bugs haven’t quite made their grand entrance yet. The part of spring I have a love/hate relationship with, is the deep cleaning. I find this process is a bit less painful if I have some direction. Below is a list of my spring cleaning tasks. Though many should be done more than once a year, I try to complete each of these tasks in the spring specifically.

Spring Cleaning

  1. Kitchen – Take everything out of the cupboards and wipe them down. This is a great way to de-clutter as well. Also, consider adding some organization as well. Add utensil organizers, labels, or store things like twist-ties and rubber bands in plastic zip bags. Pull out the fridge and range (I know. This can be disturbing to see what gathers under there) and clean the floor. Wipe down the inside of the fridge and freezer.
  2. Windows – This is my least favorite job in the world, but if you do it every year, the next year, it’s not so bad. By windows, I don’t just mean the glass, I mean everything. If you can, remove your window to get the entire track clean. The best tools for this are Q-tips and a toothbrush. When that’s done, change the water and wipe down the blinds.
  3. Walls/baseboards – I fill an old whipped topping container with Hot water and about 1T of dish soap, and wipe down the walls and baseboards with this mixture.
  4. Shampoo carpets – This should be done every 3-6 months at least. I have a household machine I LOVE! It’s easy to use and gets the job done fast. If you don’t want to invest in one, consider renting one. Also, check ads. There are always a ton of coupons for professional carpet cleaning.
  5. Shampoo furniture – Using the same machine you used on the carpet (if possible), shampoo water-safe sofas and chairs. Obviously, you don’t want to shampoo a leather sofa… but make sure to clean those as well.
  6. Light Fixtures – Remove and wash all light fixtures. It’s amazing how dirty they can get.
  7. Cold-air returns – Because these suck in air, they often get filthy!
  8. Organize closets – With two kids in the house, our closets and storage cupboards are generally a disaster. Remove everything and then organize. This is another great way to de-clutter.
  9. Garage – There are few things less fun than cleaning a garage, but the longer you let it go, the worse it will be. Reorganize the garage and sweep out the dirt and rocks that pile up during the winter.

Looking at this list doesn’t make me feel giddy inside. I’ll admit it. I don’t like spring cleaning. I’d rather sit outside and read a book. But it has to be done, so here are a few tips to make the job a bit more enjoyable.

  1. Listen to an audio-book. – This is my go-to for most unpleasant tasks. I love books and getting lost in a book almost makes cleaning window tracks bearable.
  2. Set goals and rewards. – For example, I love to decorate my home. A good incentive for me to wash all the walls, would be to allow myself to purchase a new piece of art to hang on that sparkly, clean wall.
  3. Set time chunks – You’re not on a deadline, so don’t miss out on more important things because you are stuck inside doing spring cleaning. If you have 15-minute chunks here or there, do as much as you can in 15 minutes. You’d be surprised how much you can do in such a short time.
  4. Take before and after photos – It really does motivate me to see something change so drastically. For example, this is my first spring in my new house. This week, I began my least favorite task of windows. The house is 29-years-old… and I’m not sure the front window has been cleaned since it was installed. UGH! While cleaning it was a very unplesant experience, it was so gratifying to see how much better it looked after an hour of scrubbing.
  5. That’s it from me. I’d really like some input. What is missing from my “to do” list and what helps you get up and start cleaning?

 

Posted in Cleaning, Seasonal | 1 Comment