Sunday!

~~~~A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~~~

I saw this quote for summer and thought it was cute!
Have a great Sunday:)

Pizza!

Here is a pizza I made for lunch.
I bought the crust already made, put sauce, cheese and pepperoni on it that I got at the deli of my grocery store. I found you get a better deal at the deli and the pepperoni is so much better too:)

Before:

After:

Friday:)

These past two days just zoomed by...LOL.
I thought I had made a post yesterday, but it was Wednesday. Where did Thursday go??
We had a nice day today.
For dinner I made Hamburgers with mushrooms, steamed rice, peas and carrots and a salad.
My dishwasher is running and my coffee pot is all set for the morning.
I have my Dr. Quinn DVD all ready to go. I pop it in my TV when everyone is asleep, and watch it. I just started the 3rd season:) I was up pretty early this morning, so sleep will be very welcomed tonight.
I will be back tomorrow with another post about my daily life as a wife and mother:)
Have a blessed evening!!!

Chicken Artichoke Pasta!

Good Morning!
When we were in Georgia, my MIL made this pasta dish. It was really good. She gave me the recipe.
With the leftover Chicken I had, I used it to make this dish:)

You can click on the recipe to enlarge it.

Here are some of the ingredients I used.




I used the red and green pepper instead of the yellow and orange. They were much cheaper at the grocery store.





This is the finished product.

Everyone LOVES it.
I think it is perfect for summer:)...or really anytime!

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Today is Thursday and my husband has been in San Francisco since Monday, he will be home this afternoon~~YaY!!!

Tonight I am making pork. I have these pork strips that I cut up into bite size cubes, and fry them with onions and mushrooms. I usually serve it with rice or mashed potatoes. I will steam some broccoli and make a nice green salad. I also made some dinner rolls, so I will warm those up for dinner too.

Not sure if we are going to do anything away from the house today.
I may take the kids to the park.
Tomorrow I am going to take them to the big pool:)

Alexis has been going to the beach a lot with my sister and her cousin. It is great because her cousin is the same age and they get along like best friends.
Alexis is becoming quite the expert on boogie boarding...LOL.

School does not start here until September 7th, so we have a little over a month of summer left.

Fall, I think is my absolute favorite season:)
Everytime I go into the garage, I see Fred, and I tell him, it is almost time to come out...LOL.
For those of you that don't know, Fred is my scarecrow, and he comes out September 1st and stays by my front door until December:)

Happy Thursday!
Off to clean the toilets!

Wednesday!

Good Morning!
Today is my shopping day.
On my list of things to buy, are cleaning supplies:)
I am running low on a few things, like comet and window cleaner.
I have been using vinegar, but I really like this certain window cleaner. I have posted about it before. It comes in a an aerosol can....I can't think of the name...LOL. Maybe I need another cup of coffee.

Last night I made crockpot chicken, and I still have a bunch leftover, so I am going to make something with it for dinner.

The weather has been really nice. I feel bad for the other parts of the country that are having such terrible heat. I remember those days in Georgia, when you open the door and the heat just hits you in the face and you can't breath.
I also remember sitting on the porch at night and listening to all the sounds all around, like the tree frogs. We don't have lightening bugs here in California, so it was really neat for the kids to see them when we were in Georgia in April.

Also, in Georgia, Sweet Tea is a really big thing and my husband grew up drinking it. Here in California if you want sweet tea, you make it yourself. So I will make sweet tea for my husband. He showed me how to make it and how much sugar to add. Also, you heat the sugar you just don't pour it in the tea.

After, I am done here, I am going to sit down and write down my list for the store:)
I need things like foil, more fresh fruits and veggies. We go through a lot of fruits and veggies since I have gotten my juicer. If you have not gotten a juicer yet, you must. WE LOVE OURS! It is so healthy for you. Mine came with a recipe book, so there are just so many different drinks you can make. There are even recipes in the book in how to use the pulp:) I have not tried those recipes yet.

I will be back, lots to do today!!!

Little Blue Plastic Pool!

This is our little Blue Plastic Pool:)
How many of you have ever had one of these pools...LOL.

Thursday!

Just made lunch:

Crispy Fries
Hot Dogs filled with Cheese
Raspberries
...and Root Beer Floats:)

After grocery shopping we stopped in the Office Depot, and I found Alexis, her new desk for her room. It is the perfect size for her room, and it has peace signs on it. She is into peace signs at the moment. I have been picking up school supplies here and there. I love school supplies, I just can't pass them up...LOL.

Dinner Tonight:
HOT WINGS~~~> Yummy:)

Tiki, Staying Cool:)

I was misting her with water, and she was loving it:)

Housework!

I love these old ads:)

Today I have been doing some housework!
Toilets, cleaned them all!

I really need to get in my bathroom and clean my shower.
That one always seems to take a back seat to everything else.
I have no idea why...LOL.

It is a warm day here. Not as warm as other parts of the country, but it is warm.
A/C is on.

Dinner tonight:

Steak
Steamed Rice
Veggies
Salad

I am going to bake some brownies today too:)
Happy Tuesday,

Holly Hobbie!

I just loved Holly Hobbie, when I was a little girl.

I remember when I was a little girl, my mother had bought me a Holly Hobbie lunch box. I loved that lunch box. I was so excited to take it to school and use it. I grew up in Oak Park, Illinois until I was about ten years old. It was such a cold and snowy day. I was walking home from school and slipped on the ice, and my lunch box hit the hard ice, flew down the sidewalk. It was a plastic Holly Hobbie lunchbox and it cracked and I was never able to use it again. I was so heart broken. I would love to find that lunchbox. I don't know why that memory popped into my head, but I thought I would write it down:) That was kind of sad, huh?

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For dinner:
NACHOS!!

It is a warm day today.
I filled up the blue plastic pool and filled up about 30 water balloons. I bought some normal party balloons, so the kids had some tiny water balloons and some really BIG water balloons...LOL.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
On another note, I am turning 41 on Sunday!
41, I can not believe it...LOL.

Do you think 41 is too old to have another baby?

Monday:)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Monday:)

Friday..Fun Day!

Hello!

I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese today:)
We had the whole place to our selves for almost an hour...Fun, Fun, Fun!

They had so much fun playing all the games.
I myself like Skee ball....LOL....oh, and the air hockey.

After Chuck E Cheese, we went to the Farmer's Market, I got lot's of fresh veggies.

I made homemade juice with some of the veggies and fruit. Alexis says when I add lemon to it, it just makes the juice that much better!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Mushrooms

Button Mushrooms!

Snap off the stem of the mushroom. Put the stems in the food processor with about two green onions and chop them up together until they look like bread crumbs.

In a saute pan, put butter/margarine..and saute the mushroom stems and onions. Add a few drops or worshtershire sauce.

Break up a piece of bread into the mixture, and mix it up while it is still cooking. If it starts looking a bit dry add more butter.

Then add lots of cheese. I like to use cheddar. Mix it all up. The cheese should melt.

Put the button mushroom in a cooking dish. I butter the bottom of the dish.

Then fill all the little mushroom with the filling.

Put in a 375 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through.
Golden brown, so to speak:)


Ta-Da!!!
Stuffed Mushrooms!

A family favorite here. They are the first thing to go at parties!

Wednesday!

Good Morning!

Today, I am going to do my grocery shopping!
We are good on meat, I just need a bunch of other things.
Milk, coffee...Yeast!...and some other things.

It is going to be about 68 degrees all week, so that means it is too cold to go swimming or to the beach.
So on Friday I will take the kids to Chuck E Cheese for lunch:) That should be fun.

After I go shopping, I am not sure what we will do, maybe the park?

Last night's dinner, I made hamburger's, potato salad, and peas:)

Coffee is calling me, be back later!!

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday!

Good Morning!!!

I just had my first cup of coffee this morning.
Don't you just love the smell of fresh brewed coffee in the morning?
I am not sure what our plans are for today.
It is supposed to be 68 degrees today.
Too cold for the pool or beach........

Maybe we will just stick around the house, I can always find things to do here.

When I was at Walmart the other day, they were putting out all there school supplies.

I Love, Love, Love school supplies.
Not so much school starting, but I love school/office supplies.

I cleaned up my bookshelf, so it is already for new things:)

I am going to start breakfast.
I will be back later
Have a wonderful morning:)

Monday!

Hello!

I thought this picture was pretty!


Today was a good day:)
I made pancakes for breakfast, mini pizzas for lunch and Macaroni and cheese with Bacon for dinner:)
Kevin is missing Dinner tonight, so it was a kid friendly kind of dinner.

I had to drive to Laguna Beach today, it brought back a lot of memories of when I learned to drive. My driving instructor told me if I can drive in Laguna Beach, I can drive anywhere...LOL.

It was a cooler day today then it has been in a few weeks.
We have had to turn the air on this past week, because the upstairs got really warm and uncomfortable. I am very thankful for that little luxury.

We have done quite a bit since school has gotten out, so it is always nice to stay around the house, and just enjoy everything around us.

Alexis just took a shower and is asking me to braid her hair. She likes the wavy look the braid makes her hair when she takes it out.
So I am going to go braid her hair.

Have a great Monday evening:)

Sunday:)

Good Morning!
On the menu for our Sunday breakfast:
Homemade Waffles
Over easy Eggs
Bacon

Enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee too.

Stay cool today, I know it is going to be a really HOT day today!!

Tiki!

This is our beautiful Tiki Bird.

She is such a delight to have around:)

Artichokes!

I know I have posted about artichokes a lot on my blog....I am going to post about them again:)

We love artichokes.
I grew up in an Italian family and my grandmother would stuff the artichokes, I mean stuff..she would make a mix of bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, and garlic, and put lots of butter on them.
I make artichokes a lot. I steam them upside down in my steamer. I have read that they steam better upside down.

I like mine plain. My kids like to dip them in the butter. They all love the heart. I scrape the choke out and they eat the heart.
I don't stuff my artichokes. We just enjoy the artichoke plain.
Little Kevin gets such a kick out of how to eat them...LOL.
It is a fun food to eat , and I think that is what first attracts the kids, and then they realize, hey, this is really good:)

I have a simple food rule in my home. You don't have to eat anything you don't like, but you first have to try it. If then, you decide you don't like it, then you don't have to eat it.
There really is a very small list of what they don't like:)

Tonight's dinner:
Baked Chicken
Baked Potatoes
Roasted asparagus
Salad:)

Swimming!

Oh, it was wonderful!!!
We went swimming today at the public pool..it was so much fun!!!

Little Kevin had a blast:)

The girls get to swim a lot at my sister's.
I don't get to go in the big pool that often..it was fun.

I am going to make sure we go a lot this summer.

I can't remember the last time, I actually swam in a pool without a little one holding on to me:)

Time to get little Kevin into swimming lessons!

Happy Thursday.

Dinner is Spaghetti bake.

4th Of July!

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.

Friday!

Happy Friday!

We had some fun outside:)
I did a little housework, and then we played outside. I filled the pool up, made water balloons, and we had these water shooter thingys.

My husband is home for the 3 day weekend, YaY!!!

We are going to make a Costco trip and then that is it.
We will be BBQing also.

This summer has been so nice lately, not too hot, just right:)
Perfect sundress weather, I love, love, love my sundresses!

The other day, I brought the pool out to the front yard, and while the kids were playing in the kiddie pool, I washed my car. I like my car clean. It had gotten a bit dirty. There just is not enough time in the day to do everything all the time, so I sometimes have to multi task.
I also have to learn to relax more and enjoy this beautiful summer. Sometimes though, I think of all the things that need to get done, but then I think how fast my children grow. It seems like yesterday Tony was just a little boy, I held on my hip. Now he is bigger then me...LOL. Time flies. I remember once when he was little, I had taken him to karate class, and he wasn't feeling well, so I picked him up and carried him to the car. I said, "Tony, you are getting so big, I won't be able to carry you for much longer", he then said to me, "That is okay Mom, when I get big enough, I will carry you." That memory always brings a little tear to my eye.

Tonight for dinner, I made breaded pork chops, steamed rice, corn, a fresh green salad and homemade dinner rolls:)

Happy Friday!

XO