Bruschetta and opps :)

Found this bruschetta recipe and LOVED IT!!!  we received fresh basil in our farm fresh delivery this week and it was perfect for this recipe.  I found it here but here is the recipe itself:

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil Recipe

 

6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar ( I added a little more, LOVE balsamic vinegar)

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread

1/4 cup olive oil (to brush on bread before broiling)

The instructions said to parboil the tomatoes so the skin would peel off easily.  I hadn't done that before but it was so simple!  Then I mixed all of the ingredients and spooned it onto warmed baguette (brushed with oil) and voila!  Yummy!

 

 

 

 

Oh and my opps.  Last night Tommy and I were playing soccer with the kids and I kicked the soccer ball and it hit Olivia RIGHT in the face! (It was a soft rubber ball, but I kicked it HARD!)  It was dramatic, but after some motrin, a hot bath and some chocolate milk we were all ok.  Not even red this morning.  whew.  opps :)

Ballerina girl, you are so lovely....

"I'm you momma!"

Notice the sunglasses, ring, bracelet and shoes :)

Flip Crayons

When classes started this year Logan struggled with holding his pencil the correct way.  He would get very discouraged and want to give up.  Then came the dreaded "I don't like school momma!" 

Then his WONDERFUL teacher introduced these "Flip crayons" and PROBLEM SOLVED!  He went from gripping the entire crayon or pencil to using it correctly in one morning at class. 

This is very encouraging to me because while Olivia is all about perseverance, Logan will get frustrated with himself and want to give up.  Or, in Logan's case, go up to his teacher and say "I'm ready to go home to play with my mom" :)

Before

After

Just thought I would share in case anyone else's little one is struggling with pencil grip.

Hugs and happy writing!!!  :)

Barbecue Sauce

I have a few reasons for trying this one.  First of all, it is hard to find barbecue sauce without high fructose corn syrup.  Second of all, and this is a big one, Tommy would put barbecue sauce on cold cereal he loves it that much, so we use alot.  :)  and third, this making stuff from scratch is really growing on me.  I can put my own ingredients together to make the same thing (or very similar) from the store. 

Love this simple, easy recipe I found in the Reader's Digest Homemade book

1 medium onion, chopped (I put pureed it)

1/4 c vegetable oil

1 cup ketchup

3/4 cup water

2 T Worchestire Sauce (we didn't have this on hand so I used steak sauce and eliminated the vinegar)

2 T sugar ( I used brown sugar because I LOVE the flavor)

1/4 c cider vinegar

2 T mustard

1 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

Simmer all for 20 min.  Store in fridge for 1 week or frozen for 6 months. 

(I brought mine to a boil so it would thicken a bit.  )

Also, we found another use for the chocolate sauce:

drizzled over chocolate chip cookie bars.  YUMMY in the tummy  :)

and finally,

Just wanted to report that we are in our 3rd week without paper towels.  It is going so well!  I still by baby wipes for quick floor clean ups.  But we now just use cloth for napkins and kitchen clean-up.  Yay for saving the earth and a few dollars :)

Hugs and happy Saturday!   

It's hard to be brave

Logan is trying so hard to be brave these days, but his imagination is running wild.  Especially at bedtime {smile}.  Here is a picture of  "What scares me" - Logan

"It's a big monster and there is me.  I'm sad" 

"And here's me with you, momma"

Tommy discovered that this orange monster is from an episode of "Harry and his bucket full of dinosaurs".  TOTALLY cute show, apparently with a scary, orange monster.

We talk about being brave, we pray about being brave and after 10 goodnight hugs he is back to falling asleep easily.

Love when his imagination turns him into monkey or a submarine.  Hate when it scares him.

Hugs and happy hugging and kissing your babies just "ONE MORE TIME!"  :)

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

SUPER excited about this chocolate syrup recipe I found over at  52 kitchen adventures.  It is SO EASY!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

•1 1/4 C organic sugar

•1 C unsweetened cocoa powder

•1 C water

•1/4 t salt

•2 t vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cocoa powder until most of the lumps are gone. Add water and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes, until thickened, continuing to stir frequently. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes, then add vanilla extract. Store in air tight container in the fridge.

I made Tommy and I a cup of coffee and added our homemade whipped cream and then drizzled chocolate syrup.  

Simple.  Easy. Yummy!

Hugs and happy chocolaty afternoon!

Smurfs

We haven't seen the movie.  But we figured out you can purchase the McDonald's Happy Meal toy without buying the meal. 

I'm pretty sure Brad and I had these exact same toys when we were little. 

 It was fun collecting them. 

  I quickly became the mom who drove to multiple locations to find just the right ones.    The kids and I had so much fun collecting them. 

Hugs and Happy toy collecting!

How we spend our mornings...

Homeshooling in our jammies :)

Hugs and learning!

Summer landscaping

 10 years ago, when we moved into our home we planted a couple of ivy plants. 

 Now we have lots of ivy!! I love it, I love the look, I love that it is virtually maintenance free.  I love that it transplants easily creating FREE LANDSCAPING!

Not sure what this vine is but I LOVE IT!!! It grew right up out of our ivy, but seems to be a different kind. Could even been a weed. I love the way it grew up onto our Shepard's hook.

 This is part of the side of our house.  In years past this has been weed-central.  This year we cleaned it out and transplanted hostas and ivy and added a couple store bought flowers.  but mostly  FREE landscaping!!!

 Olivia's flowers she planted from seed.  The hummingbirds love these!

Logan's cucumber plant he planted from seed. 

I love these swings.  We have 2 of them.  I remember when we bought them years ago.  They are completely faded and worn, but I don't think I could ever take them down.  So many fun afternoons spent pushing the kids on these swings.

Hugs and happy September!