Muffin Tin Monday!

(1st row: Cherry Jello, Crackers and cheese, red and blue cereal)
(2nd row: Strawberry yogurt, star jelly sandwich, mini marshmallows)

This weeks "Muffin Tin Monday" theme was a Patriotic/4th of July tin. I could not come up with any great ideas, so I threw this together at 5 minutes to lunch time. Molly really loved the star shapes and the red jello.For other great muffin tin ideas, visit Her Cup Overfloweth.

Sew Something Saturday!

This week I sewed these super cute note cards I saw at Creatively Domestic. I thought they were so ingenious, and would be great for putting with a plate of cookies for someone, or when you need to write a quick note. The zig zag stich is so adorable. Happy Sewing!

Frugal Friday!

Every Friday this summer there are free concerts for kids in Kollen's Park in Holland from 12-1pm. Such a fun event. Today we met friends in the park for a picnic while listening to the fun kids concert.

Also, Friday nights this summer Kollen's Park is also having a free Summer Concert series at night more for adults and families. I am very excited for the July 10 Dueling Pianos!!!

Toddler Time Thursday!

MUSIC!!

(Molly and Shelby playing the drums at the zoo)

Music has always been a huge part of my life, and I have really been working on exposing Molly to all different types of music. She LOVES music, which makes me so happy, and everyday I can't wait to here what she is going to sing.

When we went to the zoo last week, in the Africa exhibit, they had a ton of different instruments from Africa for kids to try hands on. Molly loved playing the drums with her cousin Shelby. Who knows... maybe she'll want to be in band like her mom was. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Hello... cupcake. Our practice dog cupcakes for Molly's birthday this year. Which one to you like the best?

For more great "Wordless Wednesday" visit 5minutesformom.

Zucchini Cake

This is the best recipe for Zucchini Cake that I've had. Love it, YUM!!! Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try!

Ingredients:
-1 cup veg. oil
-2 cups sugar
-3 eggs
-2 tsp. vanilla

Mix oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each, blend in vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine
-2 cups flour
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. baking powder
-2 tsp. cinnamon

Slowing mix dry ingredients into the 1st mix, altering with
-2 cups grated zucchini (w/ skin on)

Pour into greased and floured 9x13 inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

ENJOY with your favorite bought or homemade cream cheese frosting on top.

Menu Monday!

Hope everyone is enjoying the first week of summer with some picnics and great summer recipes. Here is what we are having this week!

Monday- Dinner with family for brother's birthday
Tuesday- Grilling hot dogs
Wednesday- Bean Quesadillas
Thursday- Asian Crock Pot
Friday- Spaghetti
Saturday- Date night

For more great menus visit orgjunkie.com

Sunday's Spotlight!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

To the best dad our daughter could ever have!

We LOVE you!!!

And to my dad, Happy Father's Day!! We love you.

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day!

Sew Something Saturday!

This is one of my favorite sewing projects, it turned out really good. I made valances for my slider and 3 windows in my kitchen and dinning room. Very easy, just hems and folds. But they make such a decorative difference, and now I can base all my decorations around the fabric I picked.(The long slider valance)

(Closer view of the window valance)

Happy Sewing!

Toddler Time Thursday

This week over at ABC & 123's prize picnic, we are talking about ways to keep your little ones entertained in the car, and on the go.

This is a huge issue over at our house. My daughter has ALWAYS had a huge issue with the car. It didn't take long for us and our pediatrician to learn that she was getting motion sick because from her car seat facing backwards. So for a year, we constantly dealt with screaming on any car ride over 10 minutes. :(

After Molly was big enough to face forward, things are much different. Here is what works for us to keep our 20 month old happy in the car.
We have a set area of the closet that she can reach to pick out a certain bag. (There is one for car rides, one for church and one for restaurants (this one has a bib, fork, crayons, etc already inside))Then she gets to pick what to fill her bag with, any toys or books that will fit. She seems to like the toys more, because she was in control of what to play with. It also help keep the car clean, since when we get home it all just gets thrown back in the bag.

Head over to the picnic to join in or read other great ideas!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun at the zoo with cousins...

For more great "Wordless Wednesday" pictures visit, 5minutesformom.

Tip Tuesday

Tip Junkie is one of my ultimate favorite blogs. It is actually the first blog I ever read, thanks to Katie from A List Maker's Life's facebook page. I was instantly in love with this site! If you have never checked it out, you are in for a treat. Now is the perfect time to head over, Tip Junkie is turning 2 years old and switching to tipjunkie.com, and having a party with some great giveaways. Check out some of the popular searches on the right hand site their page for some amazing ideas!

Menu Monday!

Saturday, my friend Kalli and I did a cooking marathon. We cooked a ton of meals to freeze, so we would have them ready for those summer days when you just don't feel like making something. This made my weeks menu easy to come up with. Here is our dinners for the week.

Monday- Chicken Lasagna
Tuesday- Out to dinner with friend, grill cheese for family
Wednesday- Martha Stewart's Pot Roast
Thursday- Chicken salad, strawberries, pretzels; picnic
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday- Grilled chicken breast with BBQ sauce glaze

For more great menu planning ideas, visit orgjunkie.com

Sunday's Spotlight!

This week I am spotlighting SUNSCREEN! I am a huge, huge supporter of using sunscreen. My husband, daughter and I are all very blond, blue eyed and pale; which means we get burned in a second. So, I've spend years trying all kinds of sunscreen.

Today, we went to a baseball game in the direct sunlight for over three hours, and after applying 2 layers of sunscreen, none of us got any sun. It was awful to watch the people around us getting redder as the game progressed. Please, be kind to your skin and put on sunscreen, IT WORKS!!!

Sew Something Saturday!

I've been wanting to try and make this great wet bag I saw a tutorial for at Little Birdie Secrets, for Molly's wet bathing suit and towel after swimming. I was so excited that it turned out so cute, I even found a really cute matching zipper. :)

Frugal Friday!

It's strawberry time! We love homemade strawberry jam at our house. A great frugal tip is to try picking your own berries, this is not only a fun activity, but can save you a lot of money (they are only around $1 a pound you pick). I personally think fresh local strawberries taste better! Else check you local farmers market for great prices.

The next 2-3 weeks are the best time to pick or buy strawberries in West Michigan!

Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday! (almost)

Molly is enjoying her new cozy coupe we found at a garage sale, Thanks Val!

For more great "Wordless Wednesday" pics, visit 5minutesformom.

Tip Tuesday

This week I just learned that apparently you are supposed to clean out your coffee maker with white vinegar every couple months or so to keep it clean. (I know, everybody probably already does this, but I am not a coffee drinker... my husband is)

Anyways, in my hunt to make sure this is really what you do, I found this really cool site that tells you 1001 Uses for White Vinegar. I already sprayed my plant leaves with it, to see if my cat will leave it alone. It's full of tips, definitely worth checking out.

Menu Monday!

I can't believe we are already into summer. I am definitely going to have to try and find some great summer recipes for next week. Here is what we are eating this week:

Monday- Leftovers from birthday dinner at parents
Tuesday- Honey Mustard Chicken Wraps
Wednesday- Crockpot Lasagna
Thursday- Southwest Chicken Salad Panini's
Friday- Out to eat
Saturday- Bacon, Corn, Salsa and Chicken Rollups

For more great menu plan ideas, visit orgjunkie.com, or my old posts here.

Sew Something Saturday!

This week, I finally sewed flowers, buttons and ribbon onto Molly's hamper. I am so happy how it turned out(hard to see in picture, the flowers are two that overlap), now I just wish I would have had it done 20 months ago, having a hamper in her room is so nice!

ABC & 123's Prize Picnic

This week at ABC & 123's Prize Picnic, we are doing an alphabet theme!



This week was really hard for me to figure out what to write, I have been trying to figure out what to do and how to organize learning the alphabet with Molly. My biggest issue, is how old and when to start each individual letter and sound. She is 20 months, and so far we read LOTS of alphabet books, play with and point out her magnet and bath letters, and look through her flashcards(but she really only likes the pictures on these) as well as similar activities.

What age did you start? I have been reading through everyones posts, and have gotten some really great ideas! Thanks everyone!


Here is my list of Molly's favorite things:
A- Animals (anything animal is a hit)
B- Bunnies (she loves anything bunny)
C- Coloring, any and all paper
D- Doll house (favorite toy)
E- Eating (always been a great eater)
F- Freezes (she loves Mr. Freezes)
G- George (Curious George is a favorite)
H- Heidi (she mentions her cousin Heidi everyday, as well as her other cousins)
I- Ice Cream (who doesn't love this)
J- Jumping (she very excited to have learned this one)
K- Kicking (learned this in swimming lessons)
L- Laughing
M- Music (singing and playing the recorder)
N- Night, Night (bedtime routine)
O- Owee's (she had a band-aid for the first time, and now playing owee)
P- Potty (very interested in this one right now)
Q- Q-Tips (she loves to paint with them)
R- Running (she tells us what she is doing... Running!)
S- Slides
T- Trampolines (1-2-3-Stop, I use to teach trampoline)
U- Uncles (she loves her great uncle, and aunts too)
V- Veggie Tales Books (Her Bob book is her favorite)
W- Water (she LOVES swimming)
X- eXtended stays at Grandma and Papa's
Y- Yo Yo's (Grandma has one that lights up)
Z- Zoo (what's not to like)

Toddler Time Thursday!

Check out the color blocks I made to use with Molly. I saw this idea to make you own on a blog that is no longer available. They are inspired by the Montessori Color boxes. They are so much cheaper to make a set on your own, almost free if you have stuff on hand. I used a piece of thin wood, cut and sanded. And then Mod Podged paint samples on to them. I made 2 of each color, so someday we can use it for a matching game as well. Right know, Molly loves to name the colors and stack them all up.

Wordless Wednesday!

The exhibit was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For more great Wordless Wednesday pictures, visit 5minutesformom.

Tip Tuesday!

So when I was on the train to Chicago yesterday, I took out my Ipod to listen to. I didn't know what I was in the mood for, so I just put it on random. Much to my surprise, I didn't even know some of the songs, and really didn't like quite a few of them... hum... isn't this my Ipod which I chose what songs to put on... hahaha. Whoopsies, what was I thinking when I put some of those songs on their?

So today's tip, put your Ipod on Random, and get rid of the songs you don't like or don't know.

Here are some of my favorite songs on my Ipod-

-I Am, Nicole C. Mullen
-Remember Me, Mark Schultz
-Independent Love Song, Scarlett O'
-Daddy's Money, Ricochet
-Now & Then, Susanna Hoffs

Here are some that got DELETED-
-Another Suitcase In Another Hall, I think this was from Evita...
-Chica Bonita, by Shaggy, HAHAHA
-Dear Diary, by Britney Spears
-I Grave My 24/7 To You, by 2gether (anyone else see this movie?)
-Into Your Arms, by the Lemonheads, huh???

Sunday's Spotlight! (Tuesday Edition)

Hi Everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! I know it's not Sunday, but we just got back from a wonderful weekend away. It was my birthday yesterday, (ah yes, I am now older) so took a long weekend and went camping, and yesterday my husband and I went to Chicago! It was so much fun, but I am glad to be back to an Internet connection! I realized I have a small (massive) addiction to the blog world.