Day to Day With Mom

10 Favorite sounds

1. the sound of the ocean is my absolute favorite sound
2. rain
3. birds in the morning
4. children’s laughter
5. my brother singing (which unfortunately I haven’t heard in years)
6. my fiance’s bass in the jeep b/c once I hear it I know he’s home safe
7. all of the instrumental pieces on the Titanic soundtrack
8. a baby cooing
9. hearing someone hum always makes me feel at ease
10. The sound of baby mobiles

Visit http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/?p=267 to add your own favorite sounds.

First let me start todays Meal Time Monday by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my son Brandon who turns 12 today! I can’t begin to tell the world how badly it frightens me that he is almost a teenager. We gave him a fun day this past Saturday for his birthday and today we are giving him his presents. Brandon is a lot of fun when it comes to birthdays or any holiday really because he doesn’t ask for too much or have to have this huge party, he’s happy with the small stuff that we are able to do, he’s happy as long as he’s with people who love him doing something fun together.

I spent all of Saturday morning making little snacks while his daddy took him fishing. When they got home I was STILL making snacks! It ended up being a really great day eating, playing water balloons, candy balloons and then we took the girls to their Mema’s house so that we could have one on one time with Brandon. We watched the new Transformers movie and the new Harry Potter movie, played games like Sorry and UNO, it was really a lot of fun.

I figured for meal time Monday I would just post the recipes of the snacks I made since these can be fun summer snack too.

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Teddy grahams ocean fun cake

Peanutty cheerio surprise

Fruit Kabobs

Froggy cookies

Punch

I had seen a teddy graham cupcake recipe online and decided to do my own little thing with it. I made a regular chocolate cake and dyed white icing into the colors I needed making an ocean and the sand. I placed chocolate chip teddy grahams in the water on toothpicks to look as if they were sking, teddy grahams with a marshmellow as if playing with a beach ball and two more with toothpicks sticking upwards as if they were fishing. Then of course I placed teddy grahams on the yellow (beach) part playing with a marshmellow and bruilding a marshmellow castle. It was simple, inexpensive, and my kids loved it!

Frog cookies from Kraftfoods.com I followed the recipe except I used different cookies.

2 miniature pretzel twists

1   OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookie

1/4 tsp. ready-to-spread vanilla frosting

2   candy-coated chocolate pieces

ATTACH pretzels to bottom of cookie with some of the frosting for the frog’s feet.

PLACE, pretzel-side down, on plate.

USE remaining frosting to attach candies to top of cookie for the eyes. Let stand until frosting is firm.

Rainbow sherbert and ginger ale mixed together make a perfect punch for everyone! It’s not the prettiest punch in the world but with all the different likes and dislikes that my kids share they all liked this punch.

FRUIT KABOBS

These can be seen in the top picture. I placed a grape, cheese sqare, and strawberry slice on a toothpick and ended up having to make more throughout the night because the kids ate them up like crazy!

PEANUTTY CHEERIO SURPRISE (tasteofhome.com)

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 package (10-1/2 ounces) miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 5 cups Cheerios
• 1 cup milk chocolate M&M’s

Directions:

Place the butter and marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl. microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-2 minutes or until melted. Stir in the peanut butter until blended. Add the cereal and M&M’s. Spoon into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. pan; press down gently. Cool slightly before cutting.

• What’s something in your possession that has long outlived its usefulness?

My aquarium at the moment since I don’t have any fish and probably won’t be getting any soon, as of right now it is sitting outside under the carport and has become quite the science project for my son.

• Who in your life has proven to be a very useful person to know?

Believe it or not my son because he knows EVERYTHING.

• For group projects requiring collaborative planning and then collaborative execution, in what capacity are you most useful?

I’d have to say I am better at planning

• What’s something someone gave you that you didn’t think much of but later became surprisingly useful?

My parents gave me a crockpot a while back and I really thought I would never use it, to me I had just moved out and it seemed like something only old people use lol but I have to say there are times I couldn’t live without it!

• What is the most useful book in your house?

Right now Fireproof  and the love dare have become useful books in my home as I work on my relationship with my fiance these books have become my backbone.

I love craft time with my kids, we love making gifts for everyone and seeing the happiness it brings to them. We recently made these handprints for my grandmother and while they are perfect looking they were made with love from my kids and my grandmother was just amazed by them.

Dough Handprints

Mix flour, salt, and water together. Use a rolling pin to flatten out the dough but make it thick enough for the hand to make an indention. Have children place their hands in the dough and bake at 200 degrees for 2-4 hours.   Allow cooling time and paint with food coloring or you can add the food coloring to the dough before baking to have the dough come out a different color. 

We included a picture of each child so years down the road you can still remember whose handprint it is.

Now we are hoping to try out these summer crafts from Family Fun:

Garden of Weaving

• Yellow paper plate
• yellow yarn
• brown yarn
• green paint
• stick

1. To make a yarn sunflower, first cut an odd number of petals around the edge of a yellow paper plate. Tape the end of a length of yellow yarn (we used 16 feet for the dinner plates) to the back. Wrap the yarn around the plate, going from one notch to its match across the plate. Tie the two ends together at the back.

2. Next, to make the weaving easier, wind up a bobbin. Start by anchoring the end of a 5- or 6-yard length of brown yarn by winding it around your forefinger a couple of times. Then wrap the rest of the yarn around your whole hand. When you have about a foot left, carefully pull the wound yarn from your hand. Wrap the loose end around the center of this yarn a few times and tie it to secure.

3. Find the end of the yarn inside the bobbin and tie it around the intersection of the yellow yarn on the plate’s front. Weave the brown yarn around the spokes of yellow yarn, as shown. The yarn should pull neatly from the inside of the bobbin. If you run out of yarn, make and tie on a new bobbin.

4. When your blossom is done, tuck the end of the yarn under the woven section. For a stem, paint a stick green, and tuck it into the yarn on the back of the plate.

Hopscotch game

I love this idea! My girls absolutely love hopscotch and this really beats them drawing all over my driveway with chalk!

• 10 patio stepping stones
• fine sand paper
• white latex paint (1 qt)
• paintbrushes
• acrylic paint in assorted colors
• stencils
• sponges
• rubber stamps
• acrylic sealant

1. Sand each patio stone.

2. Paint the tops and sides white. Allow the paint to dry; apply a second coat, if necessary.

3. Use acrylic paint to number the stones.

4. Decorate the stones with handprints, pictures, stencils, sponges, or stamps.

5. Apply 3 to 4 coats of acrylic sealant, allowing each coat to dry between applications.

Tips:
When setting up your hopscotch game, bury the stones to their tops in peat moss or wood chips to help prevent tripping.

Lighthouse in a bottle

• 1.5 liter sport water bottle
• craft knife
• aluminum foil
• red acrylic paint
• black tape
• play doh or clay
• flashlight
• white craft foam
• clear packing tape

1. Use a craft knife (adults only) to cut the bottle in half. Glue aluminum foil inside the cone-shaped portion of the top half (this creates a reflective dome), then use red acrylic paint to coat the outside of the foil-lined section.

2. When the paint is dry, apply 3-inch vertical strips of black tape, spaced evenly, around the unpainted portion of the bottle top.

3. In the bottom half of the bottle, pack a baseball-sized ball of Play-Doh or clay. Stand a flashlight upright in the clay and press down to secure it in place. Cut a notch down from the bottle’s edge to allow access to the flashlight’s switch, as shown.

4. Next, wrap an 11 1/2- by 10-inch sheet of white craft foam around the bottom half of the bottle (the foam will extend about 4 inches above the bottle) and note approximately where the flashlight switch opening is. Remove the foam and cut out a switch opening. Re-wrap the foam around the bottle and secure the overlapping ends with clear packing tape.

5. Finally, fit the cut edge of the bottle top just inside the foam sleeve and securely tape the foam to the bottle with colored tape.

Mail box makeover

• mail box
• scrap paper
• craft foam
• scissors
• double sided indoor/outdoor carpet tape
• colored tape
• decorative ribbon
• polyester rope

1. To begin, make patterns for the basic features (ears, eyes, nose, etc.) by drawing them on scrap paper. Old grocery bags come in handy for this. For added dimension, consider layering shapes, as we did to create the animals’ eyes and fish fins.

2. Trace your patterns onto craft foam and cut out the shapes. Secure the foam pieces to the mailbox (and each other, if you’re layering them) with double-sided indoor/outdoor carpet tape.

3. Add distinguishing details to your Postal Pooch: After attaching foam ears, eyes, and a nose/mouth to the outside, open the mailbox and stick a red or pink foam tongue to the inside of the door.

4. To make a First Class Fish: Once the eyes and side fins are in place, make a paper pattern for a tail. Next, cut out a paper tracing of the back of the mailbox and then cut that shape in half vertically. Tape one of the halves to the base of the paper tail, as shown. Use this template to cut out 2 matching foam pieces. Sandwich the tail portions together, securing them with tape.

5. Then tape the 2 flaps to the back of the mailbox. Embellish the tail with a second layer in a contrasting color, if you like. For the finishing touch, trim the fish’s mouth (the edge of the door) with colored tape.

6. To make a Pony Express mailbox: Tape the eyes to the mailbox. Then fashion a bridle from colored tape or decorative ribbon (attached with pieces of carpet tape). Tape one piece in place around the nose, then add a piece to each side, running from the noseband to the back of the mailbox. To add reins, loop a long length of ribbon around the mailbox post and tape the ends in place at the noseband.

7. For a mane and forelock, bunch together 17 three-foot lengths of polyester rope. Tie them together with another piece of rope about 4 inches from the top. Then unravel the individual lengths to create a crimped effect. Tie the bunch to the mailbox post so that the 4-inch-long portion falls atop the box and the longer portion hangs down behind it. Trim a few strands to give the mane a layered look.

If these crafts aren’t the cutest things ever I just don’t know what is! I hope you enjoy making them with your kids this summer!

All pictures and craft ideas came from the wonderful site of FamilyFun.com hop on over there and check out more summer activities.

As you may have noticed I have taken the easy way out over the past few weeks and joined the whole meme bus and while you may feel that this takes away from the personal touch of my blog I think other wise. Each meme offers a new window into my life, my personality, a window that I may not have opened to you all otherwise so I hope as my daily schedule gets even busier over the next few months that you will continue reading and enjoying everything that I send your way and hopefully you’ll learn as much about me as I am learning about myself.

 10  FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT

1. Sir Pizza
2. Mayflower seafood restaurant
3. Golden Corral
4. Any where with Chinese food!
5. Taco bell
6. My moms house!!!
7. Arby’s
8. Subway
9. cook out (not cooking out but the actual food joint)
10. Popeye’s chicken

Head on over to http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/?p=266 and share your top ten!

Anyone that has been keeping up with my blogging knows that I absolutely love watching Food Network. I spend most of my weekends watching the food network with my fiance in hopes of getting some great cooking ideas and so far I haven’t been disappointed! 

One of our favorite shows is Down Home With the Neelys starring Pat and Gina Neely. Now this show doesn’t just make me want to cook but it makes me want to have a happy relationship also. I mean if you’ve ever watched the show then you have to admit Pat and Gina are just the cutest couple ever and they seem so in tune with eachother it’s really so much fun to watch them together.

This weekend my fiance bought some groceries which included cubed steak, now normally I just frie it up with peppers and onions and add some gravy but the Neelys did their country fried cubed steak recipe on Sunday which was my hint to go ahead and try something different with my cubed steak. Tonight we will be giving it a whirl using the Neely’s recipe listed below!

Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy (Down Home With the Neelys)

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 6 (4-ounces each) cube steaks
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions

Heat a medium-high skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Cook’s Note: Oil is heated when you drop a little flour in and the oil spits.

Pound out the cube steaks with a meat mallet until they are 1/4 to 1/2-inches thick. Salt and pepper both sides. Mix the flour, cayenne and paprika together in a bowl. Beat the eggs in another bowl. Dredge the steaks through the flour, then egg mixture, then through the flour again.

Place the steak carefully in the pan as the oil will splatter. Cook until golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes on each side. When finished, place on a sheet tray lined with paper towels, hold in a warm oven and repeat the procedure with the other pieces of steak.

When all steaks have been cooked off, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil and lower heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the leftover flour mixture to the oil and whisk to create a paste. Cook until golden, about 1 minute. Gradually add the milk to the flour and oil mixture while whisking together. Season the gravy with salt and pepper, to taste. Let cook until thickened; about 10 minutes. Pour gravy over the steak to finish and garnish with parsley.

It’s been a few weeks now since I started back working nights. It’s not quite working out the way I had hoped it would. I find that getting myself back into the swing of things has become a lot harder then I anticipated, I’m losing money not only from taking a dramatic cut in pay but also because I’m so tired by the time my schedule comes up that I end up giving my hours away to someone else.  I need this money, I need this job, and what I really need is to find a middle ground.

I have weighed the pros and cons and it really works out better for me to work at nights. When I was working from home during the day I felt too stretched between everyone and everything. I wasn’t spending time with the kids as much went meant they were running around the house most of the time alone while I was working. It’s not that I wasn’t here with them or taking care of them it’s just I wasn’t able to play with them, to sit and watch tv or just laugh at all the silly things they do. I really missed it all and I am much happier to have my days open for my kids again.  

I don’t like being so tired. Going to bed at 11pm to wake up at 12 or sometimes not until 2am and work until 5am or 6am then fall asleep only to wake back up between 8am and 9am depending on if the girls sleep or not. That’s not much sleep especially when you are cleaning the house, cooking, and tending to very hyper kids all day. I’m truely exhausted but it’s about to get worse because I’ve decided to go back to school, online of course, but back to school none the less. I was accepted to Univ. of Massachusetts and start classes on September 2nd. I’m excited for this opportunity but again I find myself looking for a relief schedule, I need to work out a schedule that fits me and my family without driving me into an early grave from exhaustion.

Ok enough of my babble here are a few tips for staying focused while working from home.

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/remotely/workremotetips.aspx

Tips for staying focused

• Start working at the same time. Treat telework days like regular workdays: get up, get dressed, and be “at your desk” at the usual time.
• Establish a schedule. Keep work hours similar to the ones you would keep if you were working at your office. Your manager and your co-workers appreciate knowing when you are available.
• Limit distractions. Be careful not to replace office-based interruptions with home-based ones (such as children, neighbors, and friends).
• Take breaks. Plan time to get up and move around. Consider going for a walk or a run during your lunch break to keep your mind fresh.
• Focus on objectives. Work with your manager and colleagues to define clear goals and objectives against which your performance can be objectively measured.

Here are a few pictures from our beach trip yesterday!