Insta-Friday.

Hooking up with Life Rearranged again this week.
Had an awesome time at the Minnesota Zoo thanks to the free passes I scored at the library!

Pigged out on S'mores for dessert three times this week. Gotta love skewers and gas grills!

Free outdoor movie night at a local church. Loved the concept. Loved the movie. REALLY loved the treats. Did NOT love the mosquitoes.

Discovered an awesome new park to play at.

Treated myself to some green goodness a couple times because sometimes you just need to.

Picked some wildflowers to put in my painted mason jars.
Took the kids fishing at a local lake. Had a blast even though we blew through a container of worms in one hour and this teeny tiny fish was the biggest catch of the day.

My Labeled School Supplies.

Check it out--labeled school supplies in under 30 minutes! Thanks to Marty, address labels and the printer, Noah's school supplies are labeled and ready to go. And the best part is I didn't have to spend countless hours writing his name on each individual item! You could probably just as easily use a label maker to make the labels, but I don't have one of those (sigh), so we did it the old fashioned way and it worked just fine.

Or maybe the best part is that this little bit of creativeness didn't cost us a single dime?!? (I'm cheap that way.)
Well, whatever the best part is, it was all worthwhile when Noah was inspecting what I purchased for supplies.

After he saw everything was labeled and that everything coordinated around his favorite color (blue) he said "Mom, this deserves a huge hug and kiss." He also then proceeded to tell me he was thrilled that I labeled everything because "now everyone will know they're his and not try to take them."

This is definitely how I am labeling school supplies from now on!

Linking up with:

Insta-Friday.

Looking back at this week, I realized that while we didn't do anything real huge, we were really busy and really enjoyed our week!
Finally got around to picking blueberries this week. Not sure how many batches I froze, but it felt like a ton!

Went to the lake a few times this week to feed the ducks and the fish. Love that we live in a lake town.
With heat indexes of 110 degrees this week a lot of time was spent at the beach.
Was craving homemade cookies or brownies or cake or something. But since I don't bake, I opted for grabbing a pan of brownies from the bakery at the grocery store, topping them with some M&M's and calling them homemade.
LOTS of sno-cones were made this week thanks to the killer deal I scored on a sno-cone maker!
I finally treated myself to my reusable Starbucks Customizable Cold Cup and some Iced Coffee. I have yet to use the cup for anything Starbucks related, it has only housed ice water and smoothies, but it's pure joy to finally be the owner of one!

Something Tasty For Tuesday.

In my attempt to mix my blog up a bit, because I really think it needs-to-be-shaken-up-a-little-but-I'm-not- sure-what-direction-to-go-with-it, I thought I would attempt to dedicate Tuesday's to food. So to kick my new schedule (or maybe plan is a better word???) off, I am posting a Spaghetti Chicken freezer meal.

I have always thought it would be so much fun to be a part of a freezer cooking group. That dream has yet to come to pass, but that doesn't stop me from collecting freezer meal recipes! I know I could just as easily have my own freezer meal day, but I'm absolutely positive it wouldn't be nearly as much fun as doing it with a group of friends. So, I file away the recipes in hope and when the day comes; I'll be ready!

Chicken Spaghetti

5 chicken breasts

1 tbsp chicken boullion

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 small bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

½ lb Velveeta cheese

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom

1-16 oz pkg spaghetti

Make It!

Cook chicken in 4 qt. pan, filled 3/4 full with water; add boullion. While chicken is cooking, chop veggies. After cooking for 15 minutes take chicken out of pan, add spaghetti to broth. When spaghetti is cooked, add chopped chicken, veggies, soup and cheese. Cook 10 minutes and pour into a casserole dish. Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Easy Homemade Lemonade.

So last night Meghan and I made what the five of us thought was the best (and easiest) homemade lemonade ever. In fact, we all loved it so much that we drank the entire pitcher during dinner! But the best part about this lemonade was that it literally took less than five minutes to make. Gotta love that, right?!

The Easiest Homemade Lemonade
6 lemons
1 cup of sugar (or to taste)
1 cup hot water
1 2-quart pitcher

Make It!
Combine the cup of sugar and the hot water in a pitcher. Stir till the sugar is dissolved. Next, juice the lemons directly into the pitcher. (I used my handy dandy lemon juicer from Target making this process super slick) Finally, fill the pitcher with cold water, give it a good stir and serve.

That's it. Super easy. Super quick. And super yummy.

On a side note: serve House Of Grace's Chicken and Cucumber Pita and you have an awesome summertime meal that only took you minutes to whip up! Gotta love that, right?!

Linking Up With:

Purely Random.

Still experiencing shoppers high from finding these classic books in the Dollar Spot at Target. Easy enough for Noah to read, yet still interesting enough to peak Meghan's interest.

Loving the countless hours we have spent by the pool this summer. Many of my "summer reads" are getting read and I am well on my way to a really great tan!

Totally digging finding hidden treasures like this park downtown St. Paul that we discovered when we went to the Farmer's Market last weekend. The kids had a blast. And as you can see we were the only ones there!

Loving the fact that Sonic has Happy Hour from 2-4 every day. $4.17 for 5 slushes is totally worth the 30 minute drive!

Still thinking it's so awesome that Barnes and Noble has an online storytime for little kids. And that a new book gets posted every month. It keeps Addison entertained and engaged for a good 15-20 minutes which is just long enough for me to do something like quickly fold some laundry, Swiffer the floors, pay bills, or get dinner going.

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Maybe These, Too?

recipe: here

Appetizers.

One of Marty's sisters and her family will be visiting us for the holiday weekend. I'm thinking of making both of these recipes to serve as appetizers. They sound easy and they sound yummy and you can't get a better combination than that in my opinion!


Nacho Platter From House of Grace
In a food processor mix some salsa with one or two bricks of cream cheese. (You could even use refried beans and sour cream if you wanted.) Spread on a platter then in layers add:

lettuce, chopped fine
shredded cheese
tomatoes
onions
green onions (optional)
olives (optional)
jalapenos (optional)

Make It!
Chill. Serve with chips.


Black Bean And Pineapple Salsa
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups pineapple tidbits, drained, juiced reserved
1 cup diced red bell pepper
6 thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 seeded jalapeno pepper, minced

Make It!
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Toss and serve.