Works For Me: Cold Coffee Recipe

Caution: This recipe is NOT for the calorie conscious!!

I love, love, love fancy cold coffees! But, at $4 each, I have to make it an occasional splurge. I have discovered this recipe that is inexpensive to make and so delicious. It may not be quite as good as Starbucks, but when I have a mad craving for a cold coffee, I can whip this up at home. And that definitely works for me!!

2 T. instant coffee (I use a little less)
3/4 cup warm water
1 can Fat Free Sweetened Condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups ice.

Dissolve coffee granules into warm water. Pour into blender. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Blend. Gradually add ice until you reach desired consistency.

You could also add other things to fancy it up a bit more: chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, etc... Make it your own!

Head on over to Rocks In My Dryer for lots more ideas!!

Need a Good Book to Read??

I am a huge Karen Kingsbury fan!! My dear friend, Lisa, got me started reading Karen's books last summer. Lisa knew that I would be spending many hours on my couch while nursing my new baby, so she loaned me several of Karen's books. Little C. nursed to his heart's content while mama sat and read chapters at a time of Karen's books.

Last summer, I rediscovered my love of reading fiction books. I have to be careful, because when I get started, it's difficult to put the book down. I am tempted to neglect all of those really important things moms must do, like feed the children, and do the laundry. :-) When involved in a really great book, it's not unusual for me to stay up WAY too late. But, that is better than actually neglecting the above mentioned duties!!

What would I recommend?? Well, I've now read most of Karen's books, and honestly, I love them all! But, to get started, I would recommend her Redemption series. You will probably be able to find them at your local library. Or, since we are nearing the anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, I might suggest reading her September 11th series.

Post a comment and let me know if you pick up one of Karen's many great books! And, if you are already a Karen Kingsbury fan, let me know that too! I bet we'll both be reading her newest book, Found, very soon!

Happy Reading!!

Women...according to my 7 year old

Yesterday we were getting ready to go to the park. I overheard N (7 yr old boy) and K (5 1/2 yr old girl) having the following conversation.

N: K, why do you want to wear those Nemo sandals? I thought they left marks on your feet.
K: I don't care if they leave marks, I still like them.
N (with a sigh): Women are so complicated!!

It just cracked me up!

This is my first time to participate in Menu Plan Monday. I've not always been a menu planner, but am realizing that it really does make life a little simpler. I list a meal for each day, but if something comes up and I need or want to change it, I do. No more standing in front of the fridge at 5pm wondering what to eat for supper. Cheaper grocery bill too...it's a win-win situation!

Monday: Crescent Roll Taco Pie
Tuesday: Tuna and Noodles (I'll post a recipe for this sometime for 5 ingredient Friday).
Wednesday: Aztec Quiche (I grabbed this one from someone's blog, but I can't remember who. Sorry!!) :( It's a new recipe for us, I'm anxious to try it out!
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Chicken Breasts and pasta
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Stroganoff (of the Hamburger Helper variety. We don't do a lot of HH, but we LOVE this one!!)

Head on over to orgjunkie's place for more great menu ideas!

Baby is Getting Brave

Yay!! Last night, Gitchy started taking a few steps. He is the 3rd child and is sooo laid back. He didn't crawl until he was nearly a year old. Now, he's almost 14 months old and last night he decided he could give walking a try. He walked back and forth between me and the couch several times. Big brother and big sister were sitting on the couch and would clap for him when he made it. He was so adorable. He would get to the couch, stop and then clap his hands while trying to still keep his balance. It won't be long now and he'll be readily walking. And then, I will really have to keep an eye out for him.

I had a great time playing hooky from my to do list yesterday. It was already miserably hot and humid by the time we got to the zoo, but we enjoyed it anyway. Gitchy was really watching all the animals and even petted the llama. I love babies excitement over the animals. We came home for lunch and put the pool trip on hold until after supper. Hubby stayed home with the baby and I took the big kids to the pool. I had so much fun swimming with them and going down the big water slides with them. I usually hang out in the shallow area and play with baby. I think N & K like it when they get mom to themselves for awhile! I even managed to do up the dishes and get a couple of work things done yesterday. So, I guess I didn't completely neglect my household duties!! :)

Have a happy Saturday!

I think I will rebel today!

I have a long list of things that need to be done. I have plenty of laundry, some dishes, vacuuming, dusting, a couple of bathrooms that could use some help, and a stack of paperwork a foot high. I also work from home part time and need to put in a couple of hours at my desk. We're getting ready to list our house on the market and need to do some decluttering and organizing for that.

But, you know what I've decided?? School starts in 11 days. I only have 7 weekdays of all 3 children being at home with me. The things on my list? They aren't going away. They will still be there tomorrow and the next day if I don't get to them today. So, today, I'm going to go have fun with my kids. We're going to go to the children's zoo this morning (before the heat is unbearable). Then after we come home for some lunch and a short nap for baby, we're going to go to the pool! I'm going to forget about the things that need to be done (for now). I'm going to enjoy my kids and these last days of summer!! If I can figure it all out, maybe I'll post a couple of pictures later.

What are you doing today?

Thirteen things on my August Calendar!

1. Today my daughter has an eye doctor appointment. Apparently it is now required to have an eye exam before entering kindergarten. Did you know that 1 in 5 children have an undiagnosed vision problem??
2. Later today I'm taking my baby in for his 1 year pictures. (Never mind that he is almost 14 months!!) I can't wait to get his cute little curly head pictures framed and hung up!!
3. Meetings, meetings!! It seems like at the beginning of the school year there are lots of wonderful meetings!
4. The annual back to school picnic. We're excited about this one! We get to go eat and hang out with friends from school that we haven't seen all summer!! Too bad it will probably be 100 degrees while we're trying to eat our potluck food outside!
5. The 2nd Annual Back to School Luau!! My friends Jen and Ryan are hosting this. We had a blast last year. They have lots of fun activities for the kids and lots of good food! And, of course, Hawaiian attire if you wish!
6. August 22nd is my son's first day of 2nd grade!! He's excited to see which friends will be in his class. We already know that one of his best buddies will be!
7. August 23rd is my daughter's first day of Kindergarten!! She is so excited!! She has the same teacher as my son had 2 years ago so she'll feel comfortable right away. Plus, the girl is NOT shy at all!
   
8. August 24th is so special!! My hubby and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage!!!
   
9. August 25th.... Something special is happening today but I can't say what just yet. I think hubby might be reading my blog!
   
10. Swimming! It's my goal to get the kids to the pool as many times as possible before school starts. This week the weather hasn't been very cooperative. But, I am soooo thankful for the great rain we have received!
11. A play date or two. How can it be the end of summer already? There are so many people we should have tried to have a play date with. We'll try to squeeze in a couple among all the swimming we'll be doing.
12. A little more back to school shopping. My oldest just informed me that his shoes are already too small. His little toe will be poking out of the front soon if we don't get to Payless! I'm pretty sure daughter will need tennies too. She'll probably want about 5 other pair to go along with that, but we'll stick with the necessary for now.
13. Days at home with only one child!!!! Poor little Gitchy will probably miss his big brother and sister. I am so excited to have some one on one time with him though. And, I get to take naps with the baby!!!
    

My First Blog

So, here I am. I have been lurking on other blogs for a while now and decided to join them in blogland. I don't claim to be a great and witty writer, and I won't promise to post something everyday. I just want to try my hand at blogging and see if it sparks some creativity or something.

I hope to use my blog to do a little journaling, record some things I've learned along my journey in motherhood, and share the funny (or not so funny) things that my kids do to keep life interesting.
Blogging will also be a way to exercise my mind because I am not very computer savvy and so I'll be learning along the way.