Summer Learning Ideas

I love my sons preschool teacher. She was a lovely lady and she was kind enough to send home some summer learning ideas. I thought since I thought they were so clever, I would share them with y'all.

The plan is every Friday to post a couple throughout the summer so that we can sneak in some "learning". (Mamas are sneaky people, I tell ya!)

* Attend special summer reading programs at your local library. (I know locally there are several libraries that offer stories or movies on the lawn for the whole family!)

* "Write" a letter to a family member or friend. The letter can be a picture, a dictation or written words.

* Create a travel journal for a vacation or special trip. Your child can draw pictures of the days activities and then dictate or write about their adventures!

Its True...Men are from Mars

Now ladies. Y'all know that this is not a man bashing blog. I love my man and he is a wonderful husband and provider. I am blessed beyond measure.

But......

God did make us different. No one can argue that fact. So since I use this blog as cheap therapy, I thought I would ummmmm....talk about some of the differences that my girlfriends and I have been discussing lately.

Daily mundane chores- Why is that hubbies think that they are entitled to do their everyday tasks without any interruption from little ones and have to do it at the exact moment that they feel it needs to get done.

Example: "I have to mow the lawn this morning" or go and run and get a part for the weed eater. Or even " I am going down in the basement to fix that part on the water heater."

Ok. These are all things that need done and I am glad I have a man that takes care of business.

However...

I would love to turn to my husband and say "I need to clean the house right now...your taking the kids to the park for 3 hours, feeding them and bringing them back when I am done, right?"

It never occurs to our husband that we do our everyday mundane tasks like cleaning house, laundry (many times in the basements while our little ones are frantically screaming "mama!!" because they haven't seen the white of our eyeballs for 3 minutes.) gardening, grocery shopping and the thousand of other things we do in one day with our children underfoot. More than that, it takes four hours to do a 30 minute task because we have noses, tears and tushy's to wipe, multiple"I'm hungry ....I need a snack" to dish out on demand and don't even get me started on the whiny "I'm booooorrrreeeedddd."

Recently the love of my life explained to me with a baffled look that it never occurred that I needed help with these things because it all got done and I wasn't complaining.

REALLY?!?!?!

Note to self: Look as frantic and worn down as I feel to maybe get some help.

Asking to do Things- Why is it that husbands inform us when they have work events or social obligations but we have to ask to grab a quick cup of coffee with my girlfriend or even go in our backyard for some quiet time.

My girlfriend told me that recently after a total meltdown her confused hubby threw his hands up and said " Honey, I know you need to get out. All you have to do is ask!!"

Really?!?!?!

Note to Self: Maybe if I start asking every single time I need something, hubs will take a hint and start to ask me when he needs to do something. Like "Honey, can I go pee? I really need to...." "Babe, Can I go get the mail?" Hmph.

Obligations count as our "Time out"- One of my dear girlfriends gets hot under the collar at this one. When explaining to her husband that she has been with the kids for a couple weeks straight with no time to herself, her husband got a confused look on his face. (Notice the theme of confused husbands when talking about feelings.) He replied with "But honey, you just got out for a couple hours when you went grocery shopping the other night.

Really?!?!?!

You know..... because going to the grocery store is really comparable to a good pedicure or long talk with friends. With all the coupon organizing, deal comparison and calculating down ever isle and all.

Note To self: Next time I am getting a cavity filled or going grocery shopping for my family I should start skipping because this is just a swinging time away for me.

There. I feel better.

Now I can get back to loving my man.

Works for me Wednesday: Bird is the word....

Summers are fun...and hard at the same time. It difficult to keep the kids from getting bored and staging an all-out mutiny. Its a fine line between that crazy look in their eyes from too many icee-pops and just pure boredom. In an attempt to keep the crazy looks away, I have decided to plan some loose theme based activities each week.

This week we are doing bird week. (A trip to the library resulted in too many bird books.) We have been reading them this week and have learned where they live, different species, what they eat and even what their eggs look like! My son is surprisingly interested in the yuckier details. EWWWW.

We have also been extra diligent in seeing what is living in our backyard which turns out to be a combination of hummingbirds, cardinals and blue jays. Its a rainbow of fun....

Today we did our kids craft of painting bird houses. I found cute little bird houses at JoAnnes for $.50 each and then used my 50% off coupon to buy some pots of water proof and uv proof paint. Then we had a blast painting the new bird condos/restaurants.

The kids had so much fun and I enjoyed watching them lose the crazy look...for a little while at least.

Tomorrow its shopping for seed and hanging our houses. Not only did we have fun but they actually learned some things this week as well...and that works for this mama!

For more great WFMW ideas visit We are That Family!

Make your own Lettuce Wraps!!

This week is all about double duty meals. We had Hoisin pork chops one night and have enough left to make this delicious-sounding lettuce wraps. I just had to share the recipe with my girlfriends :)

Pork Lettuce Wraps

Leftover Hoisin pork chops

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp bottled minced ginger

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp chili-garlic sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

2 cups shredded carrots

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1 head ice burg lettuce, cut in half and separated by leaves

Remove pork from bones; cut pork into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and ginger; saute 2 minutes.

Whisk together vinegar and next 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Add vinegar mixture, carrots and green onions to pork. Cook 3 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly, stirring often. Stir in peanuts.

Spoon mixture onto lettuce leaves, roll up.

Menu Plan Monday: Double Duty Meals

It seems like no matter how well I plan, I always have meat leftovers. I have decided that I am going to try to cook an extra chicken breast or pork chop and get two meals out of the effort! (I can even use the extra corn on the cob for the chicken nachos!) Two meats equals four meals....can I get a WOOHOO?!?!?! Happy Eating Y'all!

Monday: Grilled chicken breasts, butter noodles, salad

Tuesday: Vegetable soup and build your own potato bar

Wednesday: Hoisin pork chops (Recipe below), green beans, corn on the cob

Thursday: Chicken nachos with corn and black beans

Friday: Pork lettuce Wraps (Recipe tomorrow), egg rolls

Saturday: Pizza Night!

Sunday: Leftover buffet- if its not movin, you can eat it but mama is not cooking!!

Hoisin Pork Chops

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick) Cooking Spray

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add pork chops. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight.

Prepare grill (or broiler)

Remove pork from bag; discard marinade. Place pork on grill rack (or broiler pan) coated with cooking spray; grill 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until done (160 degrees).

Local Mamas- Summer reading program!

Saturday I had the pleasure of signing up my children (and myself) for the summer reading program at Columbus Public Libraries. I have always been a fan of the library but I had no idea how many things they had to offer until this weekend.

This is how it works. For every 15 minute that you read to your child, they get to cross a box off their map. When they cross so many boxes off of the map,they win prizes!! (They also get points for going to any summer activity at the library!)

Since reading is how we tell our children that we value education and learning, the summertime is a great time to bring these values into our homes!! I was also impressed at how many other programs that the library offers to everyone free of charge!

Since I am all about saving money, I thought maybe you would be interested in these things too!

* Job Help Centers- Did you know that ALL library locations ( There are 22!!) have staff to help to assist with ....

-basic e-mail training

-On line applications and job searching

-Resume help

-Basic computer training

-Internet job searching

I was blown away with all this training for free! If you have any questions you can contact them at 645-2ask!

* Homework Help Centers - Did you know that your library has homework help for your kids? Contact your local Library to see about hours and programs!

* Ready to Read Program- This is a neighborhood program that gets children ready for school before kindergarten by...

- Ready to read workshops

- Free story time workshops

-Library Cards

-Early Literacy Kits

-Ready to Read training to in-home childcare providers

-Books to check out on the spot!

For more info call 614-769-0757

In honor of reading I will be posting a couple books a week that the library recommends to read to your little one. Happy reading everyone!!

Works for me Wednesday: Kids craft- Library bags!!

I am all about summer reading programs at our local library. I also love that my kids squeal in delight when I say we are headed to get books. What I don't like so much???? Lugging all the books my children can throw at me. It makes my back ache and I get cranky.

And who likes a cranky mama, right?!?!

To remedy this problem I thought the kids could spend an afternoon making their very own library bags. Nothing was off limits. They could decorate it however they wanted because it was their bag. The only catch was that they had to take,use and carry their own bag on library trips. This meant that they could not over stuff their bags and if it got too heavy they had to save some books for next time. ((sneaky, huh?))

I found great cloth bags at Hobby Lobby for $1.49. (They also have a coupon in many of the Sunday papers.) I had some puffy foam cloth paints and some iron-on's in my craft drawer. Then I let them go to it. (I did the ironing.) They had a ball!!!

They got really creative and I even got in on the action :) I love the way they turned out. I REALLY love that they are even more excited to go to the library!!!

No more back aches.....and that works for this mama!

For more great WFMW ideas visit We are That Family!!

Menu Plan Monday - Packet week!

We are just starting to wind down from our very crazy spring! I was going through my fridge to see what to have this week and noticed that I have three bell peppers that I need to use. I found a couple of great recipes that not only use my peppers but also can be grilled in a foil packet. This pleases me for many reasons. The top being no cleanup. WOOHOO! I also like that the pepper steak packets uses most of the ingredients that I am currently growing in my garden. Happy Eating y'all!!

Monday: Cheeze It chicken tenders, baked fries, green beans

Tuesday: Baked Ziti, mixed veggies, garlic bread

Wednesday: Leftover buffet- If its in the fridge, you can eat it. But mama is not cookin!

Thursday: Pepper steak packets on the grill (recipe below), spinach salad, baked potatoes

Friday: Pizza Night!

Saturday: BBQ ribs, cole slaw, baked beans, green beans with ham hock

Sunday: Hawaiian chicken packets on the grill, corn on the cob, tomato salad

Easy Hawaiian Chicken packets

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup bottled teriyaki sauce or marinade
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 onion, chopped
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained

Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.

Lay out four squares of aluminum foil. Place one piece of chicken in the center of each square. Pour the teriyaki sauce over them, turning to coat. Distribute equal amounts of the green and red peppers, onion and pineapple chunks amongst the chicken pieces. Fold the foil up and seal tightly into packets.

Place the packets on the grill, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. I like to take one packet off the grill and check it before removing them all.

Pepper Steak Packets

1 (1/2 pound) sirloin steak, cut into bite size strips
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 zucchini, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup steak sauce

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium high heat and lightly oil grate.

Place the steak strips on a piece of foil large enough to hold the meat and some vegetables. Layer with the red, green and yellow peppers, chopped onion, cherry tomatoes and chopped zucchini. Dot with butter, and drizzle with steak sauce. Fold edges of foil to seal the packet well.

Grill over medium high heat for 45 to 60 minutes. About halfway through cooking, flip the packet, being careful not to puncture it. (Note: Be careful when opening foil packet as the steam that escapes will be very hot.)

Letting go of perfection.....

I looked at the table and gave a little shudder. I saw the tub of butter, bread....in a bag, and mismatched bowls. My deck was not cleaned up. A squirt gun lay beside my left foot and my flowers were not where I wanted them to be placed.

Its funny how things pick up momentum. I had invited my friend, whose husband is in law school, and her two small children over for dinner. She was wanting to talk preschool and buying a new house. I thought that the kids could play together in the backyard while we chatted.

Then I realized that one of my best friends, who had a brand new baby and toddler, was going to be alone due to hubs golf night. "Why don't you come over for dinner....the more the merrier!" I proclaimed.

Going out to the mailbox before I started to fix dinner, I ran into my good friend and neighbor. She had just gotten back from vacation and her hubbie was working late....you know that a invitation followed!

That is how my lonely night turned into a mama and kids dinner party. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Till I opened my fridge. I had this and that to fix. Nothing impressive to be sure. Chicken tenders for the kids and a simple pasta for the mamas.

Nothing was organized. Nothing matched.

Except our hearts on my messy back deck.

We laughed and watched our kids run around. (Mine half naked. I am so proud.) We talked and then slipped out for a long walk to get ice cream.

The dirty dishes sat in my sink and I never blinked an eye. I was watching my little lick her cone with such delight.

We all mentioned how this night went by so much faster and with more joy then if we were all in our own homes eating by ourselves.

It wasn't till after I had put the kids in bed that I realized that I was the one filled with joy. In trying to be a blessing to my friends, my sisters, they had blessed me.

It wasn't the dinner that I had wanted to fix, the presentation or even the setting. I could have chosen to run around and tried to make things perfect.

But I would have missed all those great conversations and laughs.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV

Works for Me Wednesday: Keeping the critters out of the garden!

I confess that there has been more than one year that I have spoken a curse upon all things furry in my backyard. There is nothing more frustrating than to plant a garden and think of all the veggies that your labors will yield, only to see it gone the next day. I have tried many, many things. Some have worked....some not so much. (But it gave my family and friends a good laugh...so I will share!)

* Inflatable snake- I got this at our local lawn and garden shop. You simply blow it up like a beach ball. (Just an FYI- It looks real. I have gone to the garden more than once only to let out a scream. Yes....the neighbors LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE me.) The idea is that as the wind blows the snake will to, making the creatures believe its real.

I can tell you that the first season it totally worked! Then it got a hole in it and the creatures were not so impressed with a flat snake. Go figure.

* Hair clippings- I have been told that animals get scared around the human scent, especially hair. (I know this applies to deer, which we have in our backyard.) I just happen to cut my hubbies hair and I lose a boatload of hair so I have tried this. I just put it around the perimeter of the garden......I didn't want to deal with hairy plants. You know how it is :)

The only problem is you have to be diligent in being a hair collector which can be a real pain in the tushy. If you have a hairdresser that's a friend you will be in business.

* An owl- You see these owls silently "whoo whoo'ing" at you almost everywhere. I can tell you that our house came with one. I know people who say they work. The birds land on ours and use it as a hangout. Nuff said.

*Urine- They sell animal urine spray for the perimeter of what you want to keep safe. I have decided to use my sons gift of peeing outside to my advantage this summer...maaaawahhhh. (evil laugh) I'll let Y'all know if it works!

* Fences- This is a tricky one. We have one of those green mesh fences over our strawberry patch. It seems to work except that my baby girl takes it off to pluck her bounty only to forget to put it back on. I also have had many a critter dig a whole under the fence.

* Natural Fences- I have been told that certain animals hate onions and certain flowers. You could do a pretty perimeter and see if works. I did this with onions and it seems to be working!

* Scarecrow- I heard that the trick is to make your fake man with clothes that have been worn with "scent" on them. (For the record, the first thought that comes to mind is.. ewwww.)

* Foil- I have recently read that you can take strips of foil and attach them to your fence or posts. The wind makes them move and catches the sun which is a deterrent for critters.

* Homemade sprays- I don't want anything chemical on my plants. I have heard you can make a spray of 1 gallon water and 1 TBS of hot sauce. You can spray directly on the plants which makes them....um not so yummy to the four legged. :)

Veggies and fruits from my backyard means healthy choices on the table and more money in my wallet...and that works for this mama!

For more great WFMW ideas visit We are That Family!

Mama Knows best: Fathers day craft

We as mamas have to be innovative and thrifty all in the same beat. Some how we find new ways of doing things that save us money, time and maybe if we are really blessed.... sanity!

This was the kids fathers day gift last year. It was such a hit with the men in our life that I thought I would post it again.!!

I have been trying to brainstorm about how I could combine a kids craft with a fathers day gift. We have 1 daddy, 3 grandfathers and 2 great grandfathers. That's alot of gifts! I was making coffee one morning when in my non coffee groggy state, I had a wonderful idea. (Maybe I was still half asleep and it was a dream.. not sure)

Coffee comes in such nice containers these days, I just can't bear to throw them away! The idea is that these are really handy containers for dads to keep all those screws, nails, nuts and bolts. It will keep their garages (aka: man space) cleaner and the container has a handy lid to keep every thing in its place.

I took the containers and spray painted them black. You can totally use any color, especially if your hubby has a certain sports team that he loves. (I got my spray paint at JoAnn's because they have 50% off coupons right now! )

I then dug out some of my "manly" tool scrap booking stickers and paints that I had. You can also print off stencils or make your own sponge stamps. Use anything that your imagination comes up with... or better off let your kiddos come up with some ideas!

I then let my little guy apply the tool stickers to the paint cans and go crazy with the paint.

Big mama then painted on "FROM DADDY'S LITTLE NUTS" and super glued some metal nuts around the letters. (You may want to superglue the stickers so they are not removable.) If you have older kids they can paint the words on themselves! I also put the kids names and ages along the back.

You can fill yours with little boxes of screws, nuts and bolts. Or you can really surprise daddy with a cordless tool or some new screwdrivers / wrenches.

The kids had a ball and I am sure daddy will be thrilled with a little cleaner work space!

Menu Plan Monday - Grilltastic!

Its in the high 80's here in Ohio and it makes me want to fire up the grill!! I wanted to try some basic marinades and rubs this week. I hope they are as tasty as they sound! Happy Eating Y'all! (And THANK YOU to those of you who have served our country so that we can have the freedoms we do. May God bless you and keep you!)

Monday: Ribs (Rub below), baked beans, Italian coleslaw (Recipe below), corn on the cob

Tuesday: Stuffed shells, salad, garlic bread

Wednesday: Chicken Kabobs w/ peppers,mushrooms, zucchini and squash(marinade recipe at bottom.) Potato packets on the grill

Thursday: Chicken basil tomato pasta, french bread, spinach salad

Friday: Pizza Night!

Saturday: Leftover buffet- If its not movin, you can eat it but mama is not cookin!

Sunday: Flank steak, baked potatoes, green beans

Rib Rub

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
25 grinds fresh black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat over to 300 degrees F.

Mix the rub ingredients together well in a small bowl.

Remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs, then rub the vegetable oil onto the ribs. Pour the rub over the ribs and work the rub fully and evenly into the ribs. Spread the ribs out evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake until tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Italian Cole Slaw

1 sm. head green cabbage

1 sm. head purple cabbage

1 green pepper

1 onion

1 lb. bacon

1 bottle Italian salad dressing

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain and set aside to cool. Finely chop 3 cups green cabbage. Finely chop 1 cup purple cabbage. Finely chop green pepper and onion. Combine both cabbages, pepper and onion. Pour salad dressing over, then mixture and toss. Let sit overnight in refrigerator. Just before serving, crumble bacon into cole slaw and toss

Kabob Marinade

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. lemon juice

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

5-6 slices onion

1/2 tsp. oregano

Marinate 2-4 hours. Put chicken pieces on skewer alternating with pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook on BBQ.

We interrupt this blog for a little vacation!

We interrupt this blog for a little vacation!

Didn't want you guys to think I was a slacker or had forgotten about menu planning or home organization!

My family and I are enjoying a much needed vacation!!! WOO HOO!!

Next week I will be back with....

*Menu plan Monday- the grilling edition
*Mama Knows Best- Outside decorating
*Works for me Wednesday- Cute baby gift idea
*Keeping critters away from plants and veggies

See you soon raccoon!

Works for me Wednesday: Traveling in the car with little ones..eeeek!

Traveling with two toddlers makes my left eye twitch. Everyones nerves are shot by the time we arrive at our happy destination.

I have learned that the trick to traveling without mama totally losing it, is to layer the activities.

First there is the movie. Then snacks, followed by some quiet and hopefully nap time, and then mama whips out the magic trays.

I got these trays at Odd Lots. I fill them in secret with snacks, drinks, crayons, books and trinkets from the dollar store. They get so excited to see what treasures are in those trays and it saves some mental anguish....and maybe half a nerve.

And that works for this mama!

For more great WFMW ideas visit We are that Family!