June

  When I thought May was hectic, I was anticipating that June would go a little slower.  Somehow the month is gone and I have yet to post all our Pinterest yumminess.  I feel like my relationship with Pinterest is slowly waning.  Or perhaps it's just gone from a totally crazy addiction to something that relates more to normal life?!  Anyways...glad summer is upon us! And while I wish that our schedule will be more relaxing for a few months, so my Pinterest interest can take back over, I can't quite envision days of relaxing by the pool, watching the kids swim while I pin away.  But I will try to keep it in mind so that when we end up running around with craziness I will sit back, relax and find need those lazy days of summer to regain our equilibrium!

I'm glad to say I squeezed in a couple of crafts last month.  The first was a quick sewing project for Moose.  M&M received a beautiful homemade dress from her Grammy for her birthday last month. We have our annual church convention in June that we dress up for and so Emma's new dress was put on the list of clothes to pack.  My type A personality shines when it comes to special occasions as I have to have all four of us matching.  We all had yellow and black to match M&M, excluding Moose.  I whipped up this tie from some of the leftover material of the dress.  Literally....whipped it up the day before we left.  Easiest sewing project ever!!!   Only adjustments I'd make for next time is use more material that can hide the elastic neckband.  Moose's head is rather oval and more elastic would make it easier as it just barely squeezes over his egg shaped head.  I meant to take a picture of him in it, but here's the version before it was tied around the neckband.

Toddler Ties via Rebekah's Pinterest via Vanilla Joy

Second craft was a little present for the many teachers who are special to M&M.  Found this idea on Pinterest and the schoolgirl had fun helping me paint and pot the flowers.  We did the smaller sizes for the teachers and support staff that she sees less of and the big ones for the teachers she has all day.  Also a fun and quick project.  She did a great job with her name and heart on the back.  She started out the year knowing the E in her name, progressed to a backwards spelling, and got it perfect by the end, among a few other things.

Thank You Pot via Rebekah's Pinterest via Brenda Writes A Blog

I had some cilantro that I wanted to cook with and I felt like shrimp would be really yummy with it.  It was good, although nothing exceptional.  The hubby would have liked a bit more sauce with the shrimp, and I was wanting the sauce to be creamier, rather than so overpoweringly lemony.  That being said, I often find that we don't get enough of a sauce when doing oil based pasta's at home.  I'd like to know how the restaurant's do it.                                                       

Cilantro Shrimp via Rebekah's Pinterest...no recipe as the blog has been removed : (

 

 

I made several versions of these muffins last month and this month.  They were delicious either way.  The original recipe was Inside out carrot cake muffins.  Instead of having cheese cream frosting like the cake version, you slipped the cream cheese inside for a yummy surprise.  The first time I didn't have any carrots that I wanted to be rid of, but I did have some bananas that were on their way out, so I did a banana muffin with the cream cheese surprise.  The second time I tried the original recipe and I'd say both versions were equally good.  Being partial to banana bread myself...they might take the cake, so to speak.  Instead of the giant sugar crystals on top, I used a mixture of brown sugar, butter, and flour. 

Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins via Rebekah's Pinterest via Recipie by Photo

Here's to more mornings of sleeping in!! Have a relaxing summer.

Green, Yeller, and Pink...How we celebrate John Deere style!

Been a little quiet around here this month.  On the blog that is, not in the household.  I had a post on Mother's Day, but it felt a little too personal and raw still, so I haven't got the courage to publish it...maybe next year!  In the meantime....May is what made me a mother (and my mom), so here's to our May Birthdays:

We celebrated M&M and Moose's birthday's (5 and 3) John Deere style this year.  It was really fun to plan and I had lots of crazy ideas pinned here.  We certainly didn't get to all of them, but I did find my cake inspiration, chili bar, chalkboard design, and favour idea on Pinterest.

For the chili bar we used three types of chili and a whole bunch of sides.  I had planned on only two types, but as we got ready to plug the crockpots in and head out for church my husband decided we needed more food and he made the third batch of super spicy/peppery, which actually turned out  a favorite.  I also used this cilantro and lime chicken freezer meal I still had frozen (see this post earlier) that I added some baked beans to in order to make it more chili-ish.  It was my favorite, but then I'm not really a fan of chili.  (I hate all beans, except refried which is why the only beans we use in any chili here are canned baked beans.)   It's one of M&M's favorites tho, and it makes a great party food as the prep can be done hours before, leaving you time to run around at the last minute with the other things.

Our sides included cheese (Monterey Jack and Old Cheddar), tortilla chips (lime, multi-grain, and white corn) green onions, avocado, sour cream, corn, jalapenos, and pickled bell peppers.  I also served corn-bread muffins, watermelon, and a friend brought a veggie platter with some yummy dill dip. 


For drinks we threw ice in a bucket with pop and water, but I also made an Orange Julius drink recipe that turned out to be really easy and yummy.  It was a staple of our Friday night pizza routine when I was a kid, so I was glad to rediscover it via Pinterest!  We loaded up Tommy's John Deere tractor with some Rice Krispy hay bales, inspiration here.  The wagon wasn't totally authentic; it was a hay wagon, but my bales were round and it was supposed to hold square.  Details, details.



Manda Cakes made another delicious and beautiful cake.  I kept it simple this year, because I had trouble figuring out how I could possibly get a scene on the top of the cake that covered both tractors and horses without having multiple layers of cake or being too busy.  I asked for random pink, green, and yellow circles.  Turned out cute with the tractor on top.  The inside was the most fun.  Bright layers of pink, green, and yellow again.  Our favorite John Deere colors!  Pin that here!

In order to entertain 10 crazy kids under 6 that were hyped on being together, I gave them pots and glitter glue.  While we ate their designs dried.  After cake we added some soil (I've got lots as we are in the midst of landscaping) and flower seeds.  I haven't been watching Moose and M&M's, but their cousins said there's are already sprouting.

We had lots of fun with family and friends.  The farming fun will continue for awhile yet.  Moose has lots of new tractors to play with and M&M's birthday is still to come.  I've already booked a riding lesson from a nearby horse farm.  Plus horse cupcakes with her class.  I'm sure the horses will be another highlight.  After the party she went out to her cousin's farm while they did chores.  After coming home she just couldn't get over how lucky she was that day (not for the party, mind you), but because she got to go to the farm!

My display of the kiddos changes year by year!  Where did my babies go?