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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

5 adults, 9 kids, 1 CRAZY zoo trip!

 Today's MOMS Club activity...a trip to the zoo! It turned out to be one of the craziest outings yet. We arrive just after opening and the kids began playing in the fountain. After several of the kids slipping on the grates, fountain time was ended.

We then had potty breaks while one of the moms finished nursing her 5 month old. Then the rain starts...very slowly. We got started seeing some of the nearby animals to work our way toward a covered area. After posing for pictures, the rain started pouring down.

It rained on and off all day long. By the time we reached the food area, it was pouring too hard to continue on so we took cover inside after potty break number two was finished. This is when it got crazier. As we couldn't bring in our own food into the zoo, we had to forgo our picnic plans after we finished seeing the animals and buy food there. It was chaos between getting food for 9 kids, 5 adults, taking turns to get food, screaming babies, and spilling drinks! 

Finally the rain stops and we all had finished so it was time for more animals! On we went. The rest of the day was running fairly smoothly until on of the kids found a water spicket, turned it on and shot water out making a huge mud puddle...which of course meant several of the kids getting covered in mud!

On we moved again, getting back almost for the 3rd potty break when one of the little boys decides to just go right in the middle of the walkway. Good thing was he was wearing his swim trunks, so he just went!

We all said our goodbyes after the last potty break and headed home. It was a crazy, wet, yet fun outing with great friends. What's a little chaos when you have great memories to go with them!

Monday, July 30, 2012

No more shopping for milk

Yesterday I went to a cloth diaper/pamper yourself event that had a few vendors as well. One of those vendors was Oberweis. Travis had heard of them at work one day so we looked into it. My initial thought was, if we were only going to get milk delivered the $3.00 delivery fee each week was WAY too much. So we put it out of our minds....until yesterday when they had their table set up, I got to try their chocolate milk (which by the way is fantastic), and found out I could sign up then and get $0.99 delivery each week. Okay now were talking.

I went ahead and signed up yesterday as there is no contract so we can stop anytime with no problems. As I was signing up though, there was a cooler for $24.95 or free if you kept service for 6 months. Hmm....with all my Thirty-One thermals and other coolers we have I skipped paying for that. After all, it was just a Coleman cooler. Not like it was really neat cooler or anything like that.

Last night I received my welcome email and stated my delivery date is Monday and that my first delivery would be today. YIKES!!! Had to get the rest ordered that I wanted. I love that I can just go to the website and place my order for milk, juice, etc. As I was getting my ice cream...bam we'd like you to buy a special thermal for the ice cream that is $4.99. Well let's just say it is EXACTLY like my Thirty-One Picnic Thermal! So I said NO thanks!

Today the delivery guy came. I stayed home to be able to ask if he could use my bags, etc. He just GAVE me one of their bags because he thinks it's crazy to pay for it and he has a "ton of them" as he stated.

Now we have whole milk, 2% chocolate milk, and two flavors of lemonade plus some ice cream, organic chicken nuggets, and sausage to try! The ice cream though, unless it wows me, I won't be buying hardly ever. After all $6.49 (or around there) for a quart of ice cream is pretty expensive in my book!

Now you are probably wondering, if I don't want to pay the extra fees, etc. why have their service? Well their milk is supposed to be one of the best around, comes in glass bottles that get returned for reuse, and I don't have to worry about running out of milk (or at least I shouldn't have to!)

While my hubby and I are not major environmentalists, we aren't huge animal rights activists, etc. we are finding that we want to make some changes in our daily lives. This is just one small step. Instead of plastic or cardboard with plastic lining, we can return the bottles for reuse each week! If we decide we want to keep one, it will cost us $1.50. Not too bad since they are good bottles. Sometime later I will write a post on how we have gone greener.

The bottles fit awesome in the Thirty-One Making Memories Rolling Thermal Tote. The frozen are in Oberweis' thermal, but my Picnic Thermal Would work much better. I think mine has a better thermal lining especially.
This week's delivery of the refrigerated items. I had put the frozen away already. Whole milk for my son, chocolate milk (it was free), and lemonade and raspberry lemonade! All very delicious.



Saturday, July 28, 2012

Best way to transport a cake!

I love baking, of course, and recently got my first paid cake order (outside of cupcakes)! Transporting cakes, especially in this heat can be a bit difficult, especially in our Focus. I have found a great method of transport though that helps keep the cake cool and covered.

My Thirty-One Large Thermal Container. Unfortunately this are a retired product, but just shows one way how Thirty-One products can be used outside of their original purpose!

Here are some pics of the cake and transporting it.



Large Thermal Container is perfect size for many of my cakes!

It's even great for grocery shopping, picnics, and more just like all the Thirty-One Thermals!



Brownie or Cookie? You decide.

One of my favorite new desserts to make and eat...is it a brownie or a cookie?
I first learned about this dish at a Pampered Chef party. I know it is out there on Pinterest, but I'm still blogging about it anyway! :)

I hosted a Pampered Chef party a few weeks back and was able to get a ton of baking goodies! One of which was their brownie pan. Now I have a brownie pan that you can separate all the brownies while baking, but nothing like this pan. It has so many more uses than mine.

All my Pampered Chef goodies. The brownie pan is in the front!
Last night I decided to make some yummy goodies for the girls coming over for a Bible study. After all they are taking time out of their schedules to come help me learn more! So what do I do best...bake of course!

To make these you first need the following ingredients:
pre-made cookie dough
1 box brownie mix plus ingredients to make them
anything you want to put in the middle (suggestions: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (miniature not the regular size, the peanut butter will taste burnt, Andy's Mints, etc.)

This really is simply to make. Fill each cavity with cookie dough (just barely to the halfway mark). Be sure to squish it in and get it as even as possible.
Squished cookie dough
Top with whatever you wish to be in the middle. Last night I experimented with Reese's Peanut Butter chips and Dark Chocolate & Mint chips!
Reese's Peanut Butter chips on the left, dark & mint chocolate chips on the right
Prepare brownie batter. Using a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop fill each cavity to the top!
Topped with brownie batter
Bake as directed on the brownie box, but keep an eye on them! Use your nose more than a timer. If they are smelling yummy and delicious....they are probably done!
There weren't many left over to get a picture of. They were just too tasty!
Enjoy and happy baking!


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

Fluffy goodness. I won all this from NOW Family's Twitter party in June! Such an awesome prize.



Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Firsts at any age!

Tonight was mom's night out with my MOMS Club. It was a great evening even though only a few of the members were able to attend. We had a great time at dinner. Abuelos! Tons of Mexican food at a good price and tasted great! The desserts were great too!
 
 
Anyhow this is about firsts...at any age! Tonight was my first pedi. Yes I am...(cough cough) 30 years old and have NEVER had a pedi! I wasn't so sure about it, but I figured I could handle getting it down once at least. My friends Jennifer and Kim were the ones that dragged me to the nail salon. Okay, so not really. I did go willingly but it sounds so much better that they had to force me into! LOL

We arrive with 15 minutes to spare before closing. Yeah, I don't think they were super excited to do 3 pedis at that time, but they did. Who would turn down money after all?

Kim and Jennifer
 
I had no idea what to expect. It was different than I thought it would be and I handle the guy touching my feet much better than I thought I would be able to. I only squirmed once when he caught the middle of my foot while using the pumice stone. That tickled!
 
My toes! I went with a turquoise to break a little from my favorite color...orange! Plus I wasn't liking the orange choices!

All our toes!
Part of the time I was picturing my mother getting a pedi and having someone touch her feet. That gave me a giggle as she CANNOT stand her feet being touched! (Okay she might kill me for posting this now. It's a good thing I am across the country from her!)

Tonight was definitely a great night and we might just have to go back for some of their other services such as massages, facials, etc. That would be more firsts for me!

Mommy Talk Tuesday (Free and Cheap Kids Activities)

Mommy Talk Tuesday is back! This week it is Free and Cheap Kids Activities.
This is a topic I am just getting to know. RC is just about 16 months now so we are just starting to get out and enjoy the free and cheap activities out there!

Playing Outside is, of course, the top free activity. Even on those hot and humid days you can try to get outside early or take a walk in the evening. I know RC loves to look around at everything. If it has been really hot, he takes a walk around our apartment building and through the back yard with my hubby in the evening.

To go along with playing outside, sidewalk chalk and bubbles are inexpensive ideas to keep your little one occupied.

An activity we enjoy is going to Chick Fil A to play. RC loves the play area, I get to sit in the AC and talk with my friends and then we usually splurge and get lunch. We do this about once to twice a month with MOMS Club.

Check out the library. They typically have programs all summer long for kids of all ages. We just signed RC for the summer reading program where he can earn a little prize for having books read to him! For older kids they earn the prize for reading the books themselves!

Many stores have programs that are free or very cheap for your little one to do. Home Depot is one of those. Unfortunately RC isn't old enough, but when he is, we will be there joining in on the fun! Michaels or Hobby Lobby will sometimes have craft demos that your child can take part in as well.

What are your favorite free or cheap kids activities?

Monday, July 23, 2012

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie and have wanted for a while to find a good recipe. Tonight I used a recipe from a Pampered Chef group that is all about using the Deep Dish Baker. I don't have one and the recipe was primarily made in the microwave, which I didn't want to do. So I altered it a bit to meet our needs.

2 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can mixed peas/carrots (drained)
1 can diced potatoes (drained)
1 tube crescent rolls (*it called for no seam, but I couldn't find that and didn't want to use pizza crust)

To cook the chicken I boiled it until cooked. In the meantime, drain the veggies and mix in your baking dish (I used a dutch oven) with the cream of chicken soup. When chicken is cooked add and mix. Unroll the crescent rolls and lay flat stretching to cover everything. Bake at 400℉ about 15 minutes or until top is slightly browned and crispy.

The nice thing about using crescent rolls with seams was it made dividing up portions super easy!

 

 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Happy One Year Anniversary

It has been a great first year as a consultant for Thirty-One Gifts! I have gotten to know some great ladies through the company as well as customers and hostesses. To celebrate my one year anniversary as a Thirty-One Gift Independent Consultant I am offering up a giveaway! Below is the rafflecopter to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway is open to US residents and Thirty-One consultants are not eligible to win. All winners will be verified and notice of winning will be sent via email. Winners will have 48 hours to respond.

Be sure to visit my website at www.mythirtyone.com/bknepp to place an order. There are several specials going on for my anniversary and the great cloth diaper hunt

Be sure to check back at the start of the hunt for a new giveaway!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Not just another outing

Today was not just another outing to

with MOMS Club. The play area is great for a variety of age groups. RC loves it there. While the kids can play, we moms can talk without having to be right in the middle of the chaos...or so we thought!!!

Today was by far the craziest time we have had there. It started with NONE of the kids wanting to stay in the play area. None wanted to play....very weird. RC was making his 'MMM' sound so I got his food early so he could graze as he wanted. This then made it so all the other kids wanted to eat! So got to eat, while others had to wait a bit longer to actually get to lunch time. Yeah...RC had his lunch at 10:30am! Nothing wrong with that considering he took about 2 hours to eat it!

The day continued on with several potty issues, food split all over, drinks spilled...even by moms, finally the kids playing...which also meant, kids coming out crying from something happening. It took a bit for me to figure out, but RC ended up not playing in the beginning because his shorts were too long and he couldn't climb. As soon as I changed him, he went zooming off to go climbing! 

Finally, the play date ended with ice cream sundaes! Even RC got one...well sort of, we shared.


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

RC helps himself

Yesterday while at the fountains with MOMS Club, RC kept going over to a little boy and helping himself to the boy's snack. It was super cute, but then he kept doing it over and over and over....well you get the idea. The boy didn't seem to mind too much, but of course I didn't want RC to think he could just continue taking the boy's snack!

You are probably wondering why I am writing about this...especially when I didn't get any pictures of it? Well, today while shopping, we see the snack the boy was eating and RC got all excited about over it. What was this snack?

 

Wordless Wednesday


Monday, July 9, 2012

Another Perfect Cake

For this year's 4th, I wanted to make a cake that would be perfect for the occasion. A friend sent me a website with a suggested cake. I used the basic design, but made it mine. I think it came out as one of the best cakes I have made. Everyone ate it up at the party so that was a good sign!

The recipe called for fresh strawberries and blueberries, however, I chose to just use my favorite box mix (vanilla cake) and add coloring to the layers. I have yet to find a white cake from scratch that I just love. Hopefully soon!

Here is how the cake came out!
My favorite design "Patriotic Rose Cake"







 And the inside came out like this.....
 

Flag design from Better Crocker
 Now I just need more excuses to bake! I really might just start whipping things up and sending in weekly with Travis to work. Just so I can test different recipes, etc.