My Latest Projects

I have been busy sewing these past few weeks. I made this car cozy for a sweet two year old who will be sitting in a car for 2 days. I hope that he will get a few hours of distraction with this! I used this tutorial to make the cozy. Easy directions to follow.

My next project was an eye-spy bag for another busy two year old. She has a serious case of the wiggles! I hope this will give her mama a few minutes to catch her breath! I followed the directions from this tutorial.

And lastly, I made up a couple of  pool bags with new towels for two of the sweetest girls that I know. I hope that they will look nice for them when they get a chance to go to the pool or the lake. One of the best things about these bags is that they are soft and wash great! I followed these great steps from this tutorial to get the job done.

I love love love to make things, but I really enjoy to make things for others. To my dear friends who received these gifts, I hope that you enjoy your time away. No one deserves it more than you all do. I love you ! Mwah!!

My beautiful yard

I am cursed with the blackest thumb. Which is why I am very intimidated by my new yard. The previous owners planted beautiful flowers all over the yard and it is terrifying   amazing to me! I had to take some pictures because I can't believe all the beautiful things that God put right outside my door.

What beautiful things do you see out your door? Take time to look- you will be glad that you did!

Menu for Week of June 13

Another week, another menu. Here is what we are eating at my home. As always check out orgjunkie for Menu Plan Monday for other menu ideas and recipes.

Sunday: We were supposed to do a leftover buffet but we felt really lazy- must be the rainy weather, and we brought home some In-n-Out burgers and fries. Yummy!

Monday: Today is my birthday! We will eat out tonight.

Tuesday: Chicken Cacciatore- I will post the recipe tomorrow. Yummy recipe!

Wednesday: Tacos with homemade salsa

Thursday: Hot Cheddar Beef Subs- I will post this recipe on Thursday

Friday: Homemade Pizza night

Saturday: Whole Roasted Chicken in the Cropckpot

School is Out!

This year has been a harder year for us in many ways. Moving 700 miles away in the middle of the school year really disrupted us. However, we persevered and we finished this past Friday. I don't know who is more relieved to be done with this school year, the boys or me? To start off the summer  with a bang, the boys woke up on Friday to this summer stash. I have been stockpiling all sorts of fun summer things. They got a slip-n-slide, mini-lacrosse set, horseshoes, water cannons, glow sticks, marshmallow roasting sticks, water ball slingshots, Crunch-n-Munch, pop rocks and squirt guns. They were so excited! I also left them a note telling how proud I was of them for finishing the school year strong when I know that it was hard for them at times.  The bowl holding the glow sticks and the pop rocks was a fun craft that I did one afternoon. I followed this tutorial and got messy. It took me two bottles of glue, but it turned out really cool. I am going to use it for the fourth of July! Happy Summer! I hope that you get to go out and play in the sun!

Boys and Airplanes

One thing that most boys love is airplanes. Being that I have 4 boys, we seem to find our way to numerous aerospace and transportation museums. This past Saturday, we went to Hill Airforce Base to tour their aerospace museum. It was great! Everyone got see their favorite planes: the Mustang, the Jolly Roger, a Wright Brothers replica, a Curtiss P-40, an

F-16 and the impressive SR-71!

This is the Mustang- we all liked this one.

This is Son#1 with a Wright Brothers replica plane. We studied the Wright brother for several weeks this year and we really enjoyed seeing something similar to what we have been learning.

                                         This is a cool WWII era bomber. 

         Son  #2 has always loved pirates, so it was natural for him to declare the Jolly Roger to be his favorite!

                        Son #4 really liked all the planes. He is standing in front of a B-19 wheel. It was huge!

           Son #3 who is my natural tough guy, could envision himself flying this Curtiss P-40 with the face on it.

I am so humbled by the men and women who serve in the armed forces. We were blessed to get to talk to a few gentlemen who shared with my boys some of their experiences flying many of the aircraft that we viewed. Thank you to all who serve or have served our country. May God Bless you and your families! 

Homemade Pizza Sauce

We are having homemade pizza every Friday night this month. I wanted a tasty sauce for our pizzas and I searched for one and tweaked it to make it a little more spicy for my hubby.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

3 Tbsp water

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil (when in season, use fresh)

1/8 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp garlic powder

2 shakes red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool before using on top of the pizza. I think that it would also make a great dip for bread sticks. I am going to have to try that soon.

Menu for Week of June 6

I LOVE that summer has finally decided to arrive. In my area of the world, we were almost 90° yesterday. The snow melt off has been greatly accelerated and a creek that runs near by my church is overflowing. All this warm weather means that I am searching for and planning meals to prepare that don't heat up my kitchen much and are easy so I can enjoy the beautiful evenings. Here is what we are having.

Sunday: Leftover night
Monday: Chicago Hot Dogs- Yummy! I follow my own recipe, but it is similar to this one. We prepare our dogs out on the grill instead of boiling them.
Tuesday: Steak Sandwiches- Thinly sliced steak cooked on the grill and served up in a hoagie bun with grilled onions.
Wednesday: Spicy Pulled Pork from Pioneer Woman cooks cookbook.
Thursday: BBQ chip chicken
Friday: Homemade Pizza Night- I am going to try out a new pizza. I will post a review and recipe after we eat it.
Saturday: Fish and Chips. The boys have been begging me for this for weeks now. It doesn't fit in with the keep the kitchen cool requirement, but it is so tasty!

I hope that you have a wonderful week. I am linking up with Menu Plan Mondays hosted by OrgJunkie.