What's for Dinner - Week of July 30th

We're out of here Wednesday morning. Surferman and my Dad are going Jeeping. Grom, my Mom, Grandma and I are going to see my Aunt. I'm hoping it will be a relaxing time away. We'll be back next Monday or Tuesday.

Monday - Sunday dinner with my family has been moved to Monday. (YAY! One less dinner to cook this week!)

Tuesday - Crispy Potato Quiche - Salad - Fruit

That's it. Kitchen's closed. For open kitchen's this week and more menu ideas, go to Menu Plan Monday hosted by the wonderful Organizing Junkie.

Win $250 GC at Gymboree

I don't plan for this to turn into a contest blog, but how can I pass up the chance to win a $250 GC from Gymboree. The bloggers at Love Shak, Baby are giving one away. Go enter. Again... I hope you win, if I don't.

Want a free LCD HDTV?

Those gals at 5 Minutes for Mom are giving away a 37" TV courtesy of Best Buy.

Go and enter. If I don't win, maybe you will.

It's still an "idiot box" and will probably induce "brain drain" - but it sure is pretty.

We have winners!

Wow! Who would've thought Shannon's giveaway idea would be the monster that ate Mr Linky again and again.

I didn't get to enter many giveaways myself. I'm still hoping I'll hear from someone that I won. Not holding my breath, but waiting.

So here are the winners....

The first commenter drawn was... Kristy who blogs at Raising Peas . She'll get her choice.

The second commenter drawn was... Annie who blogs at My Life as Annie . I'm glad her name is Annie, because it would be really confusing if her name was something else. :D Annie happens to be a regular commenter of mine - for Menu Plan Monday. It's nice to have a friend win.

Ladies watch your emails or blogs - send me your addresses and I'll have the prizes in the mail on Monday. CONGRATULATIONS!

Happy Birthday Grom!

Grom, you're 3 today.

I love you more than you can imagine. You have taught me so much about so many things. You have taught me about God. Through you I've learned about God's favor and grace.

In honor of your birthday, here are 3 things I love about you today.

I love your blonde hair and your "big boy" haircut. I hope you keep it you're entire life.

I love your indomitable spirit. You don't waver. I know you'll be a man who stands for his convictions.

I love your laugh and sense of humor. I know you'll be a man who defuses tense situations by cracking a joke.

A Momo Birthday Party

Updated to add photos of games.

Momo is Grom's best buddy. He's the monkey that has always been there for him. He's there when it's dark and time to go to sleep. He's there to play when it's nap time and sleep doesn't come easy. Momo is one great monkey.

It was time to plan Grom's 3rd birthday party. With Grom's fascination with tractors and diggers and Bob the Builder, I thought a Construction party would be all the rage.

I really shouldn't have been surprised when Grom announced that he wanted a Momo birthday party.

Saturday was the day. Gorgeous weather. Grom's little friends arrived (2 little boys and an older sister) and tons of adults.

We played games. Surferman made a great Banana Bean Bag Toss Game. Momo (that rascally monkey) hid and left photo clues for Grom and his buddies to find him.


We had pizza (with coupons from Costco), green salad, fruit salad AND Momo Cupcakes.

Summer Cupcake Caper - Momo cupcakes

The timing is perfect.

Grom's birthday is the 23rd and this contest deadline is the 25th.

I'm in!

GiBee at Kisses of Sunshine is hosting a Cupcake Contest. I'm the queen of the birthday cupcake. So here's my entry.

Momo (Monkey) Cupcakes

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 package Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
3 eggs

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F
Place paper liners in 24 cupcake holes
Mix cake mix, mashed bananas, oil, water and eggs with electic mixer on low until ingredients are incorporated.
Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 more minutes.
Add chocolate chips.
Mix on low until chips are incorporated.
Scoop cake mix into cupcake wrappers dividing batter between the 24 cups.
Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cupcakes cool before frosting and decorating.

Versatile White Icing
Ingredients
1 16oz bag powdered sugar
1 cup shortening
3 T corn syrup
2 T water
1 t real vanilla extract

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a large mixing box with an electric mixer on low until incorporated.
Increase speed to high and beat 5 minutes until fluffy.

Momo Cupcakes
Ingredients
24 Chocolate Banana Cupcakes
1 batch Versatile White Icing
24 Nilla Wafers
48 Mini-Nilla Wafers
24 Blue Froot Loops (or similar) cereal - cut in half
1 tube Black Icing
1 can purple Color Mist
1 can yellow Color Mist

Directions
Cut straight edges off large Nilla wafers from 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock and from 12 o'clock to 11 o'clock.
Cut edge off Mini-Nilla wafer to make a 3/4" straight side.
Place cookies on paper towel lined cookie sheet.
Spray cookies with yellow Color Mist.
Frost cupcakes with icing.
Spray cupcakes with purple Color Mist.
Arrange cookies to form the mouth and eyes of monkey.
Push cereal rings into side of cupcakes for ears.
Add eyes and mouth with black icing.


Here's the final cupcakes with their namesake - the famous Momo!


Grom loved them. They were a huge hit.

Two - count 'em TWO giveaways!

If I can get this post written quick enough - I can be the 350th person to link to a giveaway for the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway thought up and hosted by Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

My mother is an amazing knitter. She always has projects going and has even been known to knit in the dark. You should see the cute sweaters and hats that she has made for Grom.

I've been trying to get her to market her stuff - I think she could sell a lot more of her stuff than she does. She teaches classes and sells scarves, purses and more here and there. I admire her because she uses the money she makes to support various missionaries. I like that she uses one passion (knitting) to support another passion (Jesus!).

She graciously gave me TWO items to giveaway. The first winner drawn will get first choice. The second winner will get second choice.

I have a felted purse and a felted hat for the contest.

The purse is an apricot color. It has a fun trim. It's felted wool and fully lined.

The hat is tangerine. It's floppy and can be styled to suit you. It's felted wool and is embellished with a handmade felted wool flower.

To be entered in the drawing, leave a single comment (duplicates will be deleted) below. You must provide a valid e-mail address, but you do not have to have a blog. International participants are welcome. I'll close comments at 9:00 p.m. pdt this coming Friday night, July 27, and I'll draw a random winner from the list. I'll announce the winner sometime on Saturday.

What's for Dinner - Week of July 23rd

It's VBS week around here, so dinner is going to be S I M P L E!

Monday - Leftover Steak and Potato Salad - Cherries
Tuesday - Spinach and Egg Salad - Cantalope
Wednesday -Smoked Salmon Pasta
Thursday - Vegetarian Slow Cooker Chili - Green Salad
Friday - Steak and a Movie Night
Saturday - CORD (Clean Out the Refrigerator Day)
Sunday - Dinner with my folks

Check out more great meal plans through Organizing Junkie who graciously hosts Menu Plan Monday.

Smart Habit Saturday

It's Saturday again! I'm back for another round of Smart Habits Saturday.

I had a lot more recovering from my surgery last week than I expected. I plodded along with my habits. Didn't do great with them, didn't do terrible either.

I'm feeling like I'm back, and I'm buckling down. I'm hitting my habits hard this week and am going to add another.

Habit 5 - Write down all food eaten. Evaluate food list for healthier choices in the future and ways to avoid problem eating.

Habit 4 - Daily, early morning devotion time. I want to be out of bed at 5:45 am every morning for 45 minutes with my Lord for reading of the Word, prayer and book study. - Restarting this week.

Habit 3 - Lights out by 11 pm nightly.

Habit 2 - Drink 3 qts of water daily. Back to baby stepping - goal is 2 qts this week.

Habit 1 - Wash my face every night. Was almost a habit - I'm getting it back.


Check out Lara, The Lazy Organizer for more Smart Habits Saturday.

Online with Grom

I came across a great site to play at with Grom. Build a Neighborhood -It's from Mister Roger's Neighborhood. It's computer game where you drop and drag different items onto scenes to make your own neighborhood. Today we played with the farm and the construction site neighborhoods.

I worked the mouse while Grom told me where everything should be placed. On the farm he put the cow on the roof of the house to keep it out of the vegetables (of course!). We printed a couple of the scenes and he was so proud to show them around.

Have fun!

I'll try to see if I can post some of our neighborhoods later this week.

What's for Dinner - Week of July 16th

I figure the best way to get back into the swing of things is to proceed like life is normal and adjust from there. I'm 10 days post gall bladder surgery. I'm feeling better every day. My biggest problem is sleeping - I'm tired when I shouldn't be and not when I should be. If you're inclined to pray - pray for my rest and recuperation.

We're back to our healthy eating plan. Here's what's in store this week...

Monday - Crockpot Sticky Chicken - Zucchini - Salad

Tuesday - Chicken Lettuce Wraps - Fruit (I'm going to make something like the recipe I posted - I'm not sure about the website I linked to - it's not one I'm going to go browsing around - you've been warned)

Wednesday - Chicken Veggie Soup - Salad - Fruit

Thursday - Eat out at Farmer's Market!!!! yay!

Friday - Steak and a Movie Night: Steak - Baked Potatoes - Salad

Saturday - Grom's 3rd Birthday Party! Dinner will be leftovers.

Sunday - Dinner at my folks

Check out the menu of the other Monday planners at Organized Junkie.

Smart Habit Saturday

Lara the Lazy Organizer hosts Smart Habit Saturdays. I've been sidelined for the past few weeks and my habits have taken a hit. I had my gall bladder removed. Let's just say that it wasn't on my list of things to do and it has caused a little upheaval in my life.

I've been off work for about 2 weeks and am ready for my body to be ready to get back into the swing of life.

Here's the habits I had been working on...

Habit 4 - Daily, early morning devotion time. I want to be out of bed at 5:45 am every morning for 45 minutes with my Lord for reading of the Word, prayer and book study. - On hold this week.
Habit 3 - Lights out by 11 pm nightly.
Habit 2 - Drink 3 qts of water daily. Back to baby stepping - goal is 1 1/2 qts this week.
Habit 1 - Wash my face every night. Was almost a habit - it's slipped a bit, but I'm getting it back.

Right now, I don't know when I'll be back to work, but I can start getting back into some of the habits that work for me. I haven't needed my "brain book" so that's one of the first things I'm going to get going.

Check out the great habits everyone else is working on - Smart Habit Saturday.

Win a one of a kind - hand made bag!

One of my favorite bloggers - Shelly - is giving away one of her beautiful bags.

Go now and enter.



Check out her other projects. She makes some cool stuff. I was stoked to get a seamstress apron and a craft pad for Grom in the mail recently. It was a great surprise.

And if you want to feel like you need to get off your butt and go exercice - be sure to check out her fitness blog. She's my fitness hero.