Art

Each of these canvases are probably 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide. This wall is in our stairwell and is about 20 feet, from floor to ceiling. 

This was an inexpensive way to fill such a large space with art. And the best part is that the kids and I drew/painted them together! It was lots of fun :)

What would you do?

Homemade lunchable: ritz crackers, cheddar cheese squares, turkey squares, ranch and veggies (cherry tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower), and red grapes. 

Here we go again! School has started! And so has making lunches each night :) It's a good ritual, and makes me feel happy. 

Peanut butter and honey sandwich, carrots and ranch, babybel cheese, and green grapes. 

Melt My Heart

This. I love this. We have LOVED having our backyard finished. And this is my daughters favorite thing to do. Read a book next to the cherry tomato plant, picking and eating them all the while :) It was really important to us that our garden beds have wide tops to sit on. And we LOVE the way they turned out.

Mac & Cheese

My youngest has been requesting macaroni and cheese for quite awhile. So, we had this for dinner on the first day of school. The secret is, it's half macaroni, half cauliflower! I didn't make it this way for health reasons. It actually tastes better! The slightly cooked cauliflower adds so much texture to this dish. It helps the macaroni not seem mushy. So, next time you make homemade macaroni and cheese, cook half as much macaroni, and add small pieces of cauliflower to the pasta water for the last 3 minutes. You won't be sorry!

Taco Salad

A taco salad lunch for Jonathan:

Chips, lettuce, cheese, ranch dressing, taco meat, tomatoes, and olives. 

Mastectomy Packing List

I'm cleaning out my binder of papers, and thought this list might be of use to someone else. It's all the stuff I packed for my surgery, and also a checklist of things I did to prepare. I suppose I better keep this list through the end of the year. Two surgeries to go. But the worst is over :)

New Stuff

I'm super frugal. Like, ultra cheap. I hate spending money and do so very reluctantly. For example, I use the empty sour cream, yogurt, and cottage cheese containers as Tupperware in the fridge. Because I don't want to spend money on actual Tupperware. Well, the other day, I was looking for a particular leftover in the fridge. I literally had to open 7+ containers before I found what I was looking for. It was annoying and ridiculous. I decided that it was time to get extravagant and buy some real storage containers. You know, the clear kind, where you can actually see what's in them. So, after debating in the aisle at Costco for much too long, I finally put this Rubbermaid set in my cart. It was like Christmas, washing and putting them in the cupboard! Plus, they all nest perfectly into each other, and the lids attach to the bottom of the stack! Brilliant! Yes, I did recycle the old containers. Now, when I need something in the fridge, I can see what I'm looking for without opening a bunch of stuff! And, I know that it's actually sour cream in the sour cream container. Imagine that! Whoever said money can't buy happiness never bought a new set of Rubbermaid containers! Pure joy, and I'm not being sarcastic. 

Summer's Over

School starts tomorrow. No!!!!!! I'm mostly bummed about it. The older my kids get, the more fun summer is, and the less fun school is. I'm not looking forward to being the slave driver and making sure homework is done. We've had so much fun swimming, hiking, playing in our new backyard, and being with friends this summer. 

I also must say, there hasn't been much "I'm bored!" going on around here. My kids have done a great job at finding fun. But I did see this quote the other day, and nearly peed my pants laughing... 

😂😂😂😂😂

Homemade Salsa

We were thrilled to make this! Especially because most of the ingredients came from our garden!

Tomatoes, jalapeños, bell peppers, chives, and basil. All from the garden. Then we added garlic, onion, s&p, and a bit of lemon juice. Even the kids loved it! We ate it with chips the night we made it, and called it dinner. Then we put it in breakfast burritos the next morning. Hooray for fresh produce!

Best Yogurt EVER!

Product endorsement: This is THE best yogurt you will ever eat! I ain't lying. Do yourself a favor and try some today. The flavor and texture is perfect. Unlike any other yogurt I've had. Too bad it's not cheap... Sigh.