Category: Family and Friends

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Kid friendly snacks

Growing up I had raisins, grapes, apples, and oranges.  Well, I probably had most every fruit available as long as it was om sale and not that expensive.  I also had cheese and crackers.  I loved the goldfish crackers.

Anyway, I’m trying to come up with kid friendly snacks for my kids and their play group.  I want the food to be fun and interactive.  I thought about cutting cheese up into fun shapes or even doing the same with fruit.  Melons and pineapple will work great for fun shapes.  I bet I can make some of those fancy fruit flowers that you can order online instead of regular flowers.  I could give each girl her own little bouquet of tasty flowers.

I’d like to try fun finger sandwiches for them also.  I did find a neat collection of character faces made out of food when I looked up bento box lunches.   Maybe each child could bring a bento box and I could have them build their own tasty treats.  I’ll have to talk to the other parents in the playgroup to get their thoughts and opinions.  I just want the next time I host the group to be tons of fun with a fun and fantastic snack.

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Shorts vs Long Skirt

Most of the time I like to wear shorts and sandals when I am working around the house or just running errands around town. Shorts are cool and don’t need ironing if you take them right out of the dryer before the wrinkles can set in.

This afternoon I wanted to meet up with a girlfriend who also has a daughter so they could have a play date. So we agreed to meet at a little family friendly restaurant that has a play area for kids. I decided to wear a long cotton skirt instead of shorts. Mommies like to dress up for play dates, too!

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Flower Boxes

I would really love to plant a garden. I’m not really sure if I’d be up for a large garden so I’m contemplating maybe getting a few window boxes around the house.  I could put one at the kitchen window and then maybe some by the bedrooms.  I know my daughter would love to help with a garden.  She is always drawing flowers.

If I gave my daughter her own flower boxes to take care of, it could teach her new responsibilities. We could plant the flowers together and watch them grow.  I bet she would love picking out the flower seeds at the store and filling the boxes with dirt.  I will have her be responsible for watering the flowers every day.  Maybe to help remind her I’ll make her a chart and she can color it in each day she waters the flowers.

Just to add a special touch to her windowbox I’ll hand paint her name on the one by her bedroom window.  I’ll let her pick out the paint colors and stencils.  Her favorite colors are pink and purple.  I’ll bet she picks those colors and also asks me to decorate it with sparkly stars.  I’ll have to take pictures of the boxes when they are all done and the flowers have grown.  I’m excited to see the finished product.

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Summer Movies

There are so many movies out this summer that are made for kids. If I had little boys, I could take them to a different movie at the theater every week and they would have a great time!

But, I have a little girl and she is not old enough to appreciate most of the movies yet. We’ll have to wait a few more years. In the meantime, I know the good ones will come out on DVD and I can add them to her library of movies on special occasions.

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Cake Shop To Be?

My sister has been baking a lot of cakes as of late. It seems like every week she’s putting together another three tiered something or other. A lot of people have even suggested she open her own business. She has an amazing talent and she seems to really enjoy baking and crafting delicious and beautiful desserts.  I told her that she should really start taking people’s suggestions and begin looking into a location to open up shop.

One of the first things she’ll have to get are Bakery display cases.  Once she sets out a few cakes on those displays orders will be rolling in.  She already has a pretty big word of mouth clientele but having a few cakes on display would definitely boost her business.

I told her to check out Tiger Chef.  They have a huge variety of restaurant supplies and everything she would need for the bakery and store.  All of the prices are really reasonable as well.  She won’t have to fork over tons of money to continue gathering equipment for the business using this company.

I know her focus is  decorating and baking cakes but, I wonder if I can convince her to add in cookies and cupcakes too.  Cupcakes don’t seem like that far of a stretch.  I mean after all, they are nothing more than miniature cakes.  Cookies on the other hand, are a little different.  But I ask, who doesn’t love a good cookie every now and then?   Then again, maybe she should start with what she knows and expand from there.

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Color Wonder and Crayons

I’m SOOOO very grateful for the invention of Magic Pens and Color Wonder Markers.  My daughter can color to her little heart’s content.  She loves to draw and is always asking to draw on something.  With these markers I dont’ have to worry about her getting ink on her clothes, the walls, or anything else for that natter.  I love that the invisible ink only shows up on the special paper made to use just with these products.

Now, crayons on the other hand…. ONLY BUY WASHABLE!!!  Yes, all crayons usually say they are washable but buy the ones that are marketed and labeled as being washable.  There REALLY is a HUGE difference.  The washable crayons wipe off of my walls with ease.  The regular crayons take a lot of elbow grease to get off.

I have to go birthday shopping and will be restocking on these two wonderful, worry-free, art supplies for the kiddos.

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Summer is here!

It’s the 1st day of summer and I’m excited it’s finally here.  I can’t wait for the summer picnics with family and friends, trips to the park, movie nights on the lawn, swimming at the pool, and much more. Better stock up on sunscreen now so we can spend lots of time outdoors.

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Chicken Enchiladas

Although I really love to eat beef, my favorite meat for dinners is usually chicken. It is so versatile and easy to work with. And I believe that chicken is healthier for you in many ways.

I have a great recipe for chicken enchiladas and make a big batch of them about once a month. Then we feast on fresh enchiladas for a night, and I freeze the rest in serving size portions for a fast, easy meal once a week until they are eaten up. I found the recipe on the internet several years ago, and it was a hit with my family the very first time I tried it.

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Start With a Good Foundation

Funny how little things happen in your life and they bring up little memories of people and places that you otherwise might have forgotten.I was shopping at a little department store to take advantage of the Memorial Day sales and spent some time in the lingerie department. As I was flipping through the racks and looking at the new styles and colors, I could not help but overhear what another pair of shoppers were talking about.  The older woman of the pair was explaining how to pick out the Best Bra to her shopping companion, who I suspect was her granddaughter because of the age difference. I could be wrong, it may have been her daughter, but I really think it was her granddaughter.

That moment took me back about 20 years to a shopping trip with own grandmother. She worked in retail stores all her life and was the queen of shopping and fashion in my world. She taught me about selecting the right bras, panties, slips, and camis and called them our “foundation garments.” These are the items you put on to shape and lift a woman’s body parts and make the street clothes both fit better and look better on you. These days we also have Seamless shape wear as part of our foundation wardrobes, and I like the descriptive quality of the word “foundation” rather than the crass “underwear” or naughty connotations associated with “lingerie.”

One of my favorite new foundation items is the Bra and Cami with cleavage cover so that the deep necklines of so many fashion tees are still wearable in a more conservative atmosphere, such as church on Sundays. The tees can top anything from a pair of jeans to shorts or a skirt, but I don’t like to show so much cleavage at work and at church, so a pretty little cami is a simple and inexpensive fix to the modesty issue. Ad I thank my darling grandmother for teaching me these feminine tricks.

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Flowers Just Because

After lunch my husband said he had a few errands he needed to run and that he would be back in a few hours.  He returned two hours later with everything to make yummy ice cream sundaes and beautiful flowers.  He brought me flowers today for no reason other than he loves me.  I love that man.