Sandbox

Lumber.......$80

6 Yard of Sand......$120

Hours and hours of creative play....... PRICELESS!

Things heard this week

Here's a few things that I heard that cracked me up this week.

Lily: Grandma, YOU know how to make popcorn too?

Lily: That little man wants to ride the scooter. (About her cousin Indy who is 5).

Lily: Mom, first grade is going to ROCK!

Nate: Mom, I can see under my bed. (I made him clean his room and it took long train tracks for him to "sweep" everything out from under his bed).

Nate: Mom, can we build a tree house and then I can live in it? (Good thing he asked me this before I saw what he found under his bed. I might have had a different answer).

Watch out Seattle Prime Outlets....here we come!

Shopping day tomorrow! Whoo hoo! My Mom, two of her sisters, my sister, and sister in law and I are heading south to the Seattle Prime Outlet Mall. I'm really excited to get some last minute back to school clothes for the kids. And of course a day away with the ladies in the family is always sure to be a blast.

You've Been Foiled!

You all have been following the little pranks that my friends and I have been doing on each other. Friday we went and "foiled" Stephana's house. She's on vacation with her family and her sister was kind enough to get us into the house. Tracie, Tarah and I took aluminum foil and covered all of her decorations, wall pictures, pillows and more. I gotta say, this was a good one! Great thinking Tracie! I'm a little scared to see what paybacks will be for this one! The hardest part has been waiting for her to go home and see it. I've had the giggles all week! He he he he he.

Tasty Tuesdays!

Welcome back to Tasty Tuesdays! Tonight I am going to a meeting and was asked to bring some sort of dessert. I love to bake, so this should be easy right? Actually, WRONG! Because I love to bake, it's hard for me to decide what to make. I have so many options, it's hard to choose. So, I finally decided on the most simple dessert that I learned from my Aunt Ruthi. One night a few years ago Ruthi came over for a coffee with the girls. She brought all the ingredients for this and assembled it at my house. It took just a couple minutes and we had a hot yummy dessert. My Mom makes these also, but puts her own twist to it, adding walnuts. I like the original the best, so why change it? This is great to do if you have unexpected visitors, or want a hot treat in a hurry. Enjoy!

Ruthi's Crescent Rolls

1 can crescent rolls
raspberry jam (or other jam of your choice)
mini chocolate chips
powdered sugar

Open the can of crescent rolls and lay out each perforated piece. Top each with a tablespoon of jam. Sprinkle a teaspoon of mini chocolate chips on top of the jam. Roll up dough into crescents. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. After you take them out of the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Birdhouse

My friend Val who is also a Scentsy consultant, had her Dad make her a birdhouse with electrical outlets on it. She uses it to display her plug in warmers at Scentsy shows and parties. When I saw hers I knew I had to have one. So I payed her Dad make me one (I think he ended up making 4 more!). These pictures are the before and after my paint job. I think it turned out stinkin cute!

Corn on the cob=Summer

I have always loved corn on the cob. Something about it just screams summer to me. As a child we had acres of sweet corn and we sold it along side of the road. I was only 10 years old when I learned to make change and do math by 13's. Can you believe that we sold corn for 13 ears for a $1. I once had a man tell me he couldn't take 13 because it was an unlucky number. I threw an extra ear in his bag and told him he would be fine now. Really, I was only 10 years old. That's only one year older than Nate, yikes! I was also driving a four wheeler around the corn fields, and the next year it was an old Toyota truck. I ran over a lot of corn stalks with that thing. But, I learned to drive a stick shift and learned lessons on hard work. When I was 13 we started the family fruit stand, and I worked in there all summer and fall for the next 7 years. I really miss the fruit stand and the fun we had.

Because of all that, I am REALLY picky about my corn on the cob. I will not buy corn from the grocery store. Corn on the cob is best the day (or hour) it's picked. Yesterday I stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's to get some corn. Grandma couldn't believe that I would only get 4 ears of corn. I had to explain that I was only taking enough for dinner, and I would be back in a couple days to get more.

So here is my trick back from the farm days to the best corn on the cob. Place a pot of water to boil. Walk to the garden and pick the corn. Shuck the corn on the way back to the house. Place the corn in the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. Take the corn out and roll it in butter.........ahhhh heaven! And if you don't have your own garden with corn, go support the kids on the roadside selling corn!

Sleepovers

Lily and her BFF (best friend forever) have been bugging me for sleepovers all summer. Lily is very brave and I wasn't worried about her, but her little friend had never done a sleepover at a friend's house before. So last week I told them they could have a sleepover at our house. They were super excited and had a grand time.....until bedtime. I had a feeling that the BFF would not be brave enough for this, but was willing to play along until proven otherwise. As soon as I sent them to bed, the BFF started crying and asking for her Mom. I tried to talk her into going to sleep, and even layed down in bed with her, but the tears wouldn't stop. So at 9:30pm, I packed up all 3 kids and we drove her home. I was met at the door by her Mom, Dad and brother who had the funniest looks on their faces. It was a mix between, "oh boy", "oh no" and "what the heck is someone doing at my door this late". I had the giggles and quickly walked the BFF to the door and said goodnight. I don't blame the poor little girl, most 6 year olds are not ready for sleepovers other than Grandma's house. Lily is not most 6 years olds!

So last night it was Lily's turn. I think she told the whole world that she was having a sleepover. I talked to her about being brave and being polite. I even tried to tell her to go with the flow and not be bossy. I dropped her off with her backpack full of jammies, pillow, bear, blanket, toothbrush and a movie. A couple hours later I got a call from BFF's Mom. She asked if Lily HAD to have a bath, since Lily was insisting that she takes a bath EVERY night. I said Lily could skip a bath. She did great, I never got a phone call again, and she didn't end up at the door in the middle of the night. Her BFF didn't want her to leave this morning when I picked her up.

I guess Lily has proven again how brave she is. It's a bit sad that she doesn't need me as much anymore. My baby is growing up too fast!

Weapons from the fair

Monday the kids and I went to the fair. We met up with my brother Marty and his family, and my sister Amy. The kids had a blast on the rides and could care less about the animals or anything else.
Lily wasn't tall enough to do some of the rides by herself, but thankfully Nate was and they could ride together.
Of course they had to get their faces painted. Lily has a butterfly and Nate has a lizard. Lily's only lasted a couple hours because she rubbed her face.
It was a hot day and the lines were long everywhere we went. The kids look forward to the carnival games every year, and this year I told them that they had to save their money for games. That way they were limited to the money they brought with them. They understood, but wanted to do games right away. I had a backpack with me and figured they would win small prizes that could be carried around. WRONG! They won swords. And guess who had to carry those swords around for the rest of the day? Me! I caught on really quick and told them they couldn't play more games until the end of the day. So later in the day Lily won a big blow up hammer. While the kids rode the last couple rides of the day, I was left holding two swords and a hammer. Fun stuff.
All in all it was a great day. I knew it was time to head for home when Lily threw a fit and Nate didn't even want to stop for food because his feet hurt. I hope the rest of you get a chance to enjoy the fair this week. Just remember to do the games last!

Tasty Tuesday/Wednesday!

Oops, sorry I forgot about Tasty Tuesdays yesterday. I was busy at the Scentsy booth at the fair. It was a looooong day!
Here's a quick and easy recipe that's great for a no cook dinner or a quick lunch.

Cashew Chicken Wraps

1 12.5 oz can chicken
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup light mayo
4 green onions, diced
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
1/2 cup chopped cashews
ranch dressing
lettuce
4 flour tortillas

Mix the chicken, celery, mayo, green onions, seasonings together, mix well. Add cashews. Lay out each of the tortillas and drizzled with a small amount of ranch dressing. Divide chicken mixture between the four tortillas and top with lettuce. Wrap and enjoy!

See you at the Fair!

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 18th, I will be at the Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden. I will be working the Scentsy booth in the Commercial building. If you happen to be going that way stop in and say hi.

Back To School Shopping

I love to shop! I really have this strange competitive urge in me to find the best deals. I scored at JC Penney the other day, 8 items (jeans, 3 pairs shorts, 1 bra and 2 tee's) for $40!!! What is bugging me is that the kids are getting so big! The jeans I bought for Nate the other day are 10's and they just fit him now, which means they will be too small in about a month. On top of that, his feet are the same size as mine. He just turned 9!! And Lily is now in the girls section of clothing, not the little girls where you can still find clothes that are somewhat conservative. Now she's in the section where short skirts and Hannah Montana rule. This is scaring me. I have found that I love the kids clothes at the Children's Place and have found some great things online at Land's End. Anyone else find some deals on great clothes for back to school? Please leave a comment and share your secrets!

Holy Green Beans Batman!

I told you that I had gotten carried away with green beans. I really didn't NEED to do more beans this year. The other day I picked 24 pounds of green beans, then snipped them and canned 18 pints and 9 quarts. As I was putting them away I found a can of beans from 2006! And I still have a few from 2007. Really, it's becoming a sickness. I may need help. Someone may have to take the pressure canner away from me.

Tasty Tuesdays!

Here we are again.....its' Tasty Tuesdays! Today I have a little lesson to go with my recipe. The lesson starts like this.......say it with me......Double your trouble! We do so many things in the kitchen that are repeated throughout the week. I used to cut up celery for the kids every other day. Then it hit me to cut up the whole bunch, stick it in a baggie in the fridge, and only have to deal with it once a week. The same concept goes for casseroles. Really, it doesn't take much more time to double the casserole and freeze the second one. You are only making the mess once, so it cuts back on your clean up time as well. When my sister in law Tiffani does her Enchilada's, she will make a batch of 7 casseroles, and freeze them. Yes it's one big mess, but it's a great time saver. I know it's summer and casseroles are not on your mind, but it's great to start thinking ahead and finding some of the ingredients on sale. Take a rainy day (like today) and double your dinner. You will be thankful you did on some busy night when you don't have time to cook. Here's one of my lasagna recipes that freezes well. You can substitute meat for the Bocca burgers if you are not a fan of them. This is also a great way to hide veggies!! Good luck!


Vegetarian Lasagna

3 meatless Bocca burger patties

1 small zuchinni, finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped onion

½ cup sliced mushrooms, broken into small pieces

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 tbsp itialian seasoning

6 oz tomato sauce

1 cup small curd cottage cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

8 lasagna noodles

8 oz sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup water

Heat bocca burgers in large skillet with olive oil and veggies. Break bocca burgers into small chunks. Add sauces and Italian seasoning. Mix cottage cheese, sour cream and egg together. In a greased 9x13 pan, layer ½ sauce, noodles, sour cream mixture, then cheeses. Repeat layers. Pour water around edges of pan, cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, remove foil, bake for 15 minutes longer.

Nicknames

How is it that summer weekends are crammed full of activities? It seems like the summer pace gets faster and faster as we get into August. Between birthday's, anniversaries and summer BBQ's, we are running all over the county! Yesterday we had my Grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary party. It was fun to hang out with the family and the kids were excited to see their cousin John John. Poor kid, he's 12 now, and we still call him John John.......but you know it's tradition on the Dennison side of the family to have a nick name that you NEVER outgrow. Mine is Hob. Really. I was named after Holly Hobbie (so were my brother and sister Robby and Amy....long story why Marty got left out). Somehow my nickname got shortened to Hob, and that's what my aunts still call me. My oldest cousin Angela is Toad (a green pj is to blame for that one), Marty is Mart Mart, Ryon is Ry Ry, Rockell is Rockellybelly, Joell is Joellybelly.....and the list goes on. Seriously, we are all grown adults and we are still known by our childhood nicknames. So I am curious.....what nicknames did you get called by family when you were a child?

Girlfriends

I am VERY grateful for my girlfriends. I would not be sane without them. I have a group of friends that I take once a year for girls night, and we have become a close nit group. What's funny is that we are all very different. Yet we all get along great. And not just the superficial great, the we tell each other everything and know it will be taken to the grave. I appreciate that I have friends I can vent to, but will also tell me if I need to get over it. And they will do this out of love.
Tonight was our monthly "Poker Night". Really, we have only played poker once, but it's just more the idea of getting together. Tonight there was only 4 of us, but it was nice to sit and chat.
I also have a group of friends that I acquired through my kids. These are my kid's friend's Mom's. They are a great bunch of women who are wonderful to my kids, and are there for me when I need them, and I return the favor when I can. I love that these women live close by and are game to go to coffee with me (even when I say we have to walk to the coffee shop!!).
I am a true believer that women need good friends, and need to take the time to hang out with those friends, especially Moms!
So thank you to my friends, I appreciate your love and support!

Canning Season Has Begun!

Here we go, the start of a crazy season for me. Life will now revolve around canning. When I managed the family fruit stand many moons ago, I would laugh at some of the women who came in and wanted to buy peaches/pears/apricots/ect. that would be ready to can on their day of choice. Once in awhile I could accommodate that, but most of the time the fruit controlled the day. You need to can fruit when it is ready, not when you are ready.
I did my first batch of green beans yesterday. On Monday I had stopped by my grandparents and saw that the beans needed to be picked. If you don't pick them when they are ready, they will get overripe. So I picked the beans, snipped them the next morning and canned 16 pints. Today I went to put the beans away and had a bit of a shocker. I still have some beans left from 2007! I really don't NEED to do more beans, but every year Grandma calls and says she has extra beans, and I can't seem to let them go to waste. So sign me up now for bringing the green bean casserole to Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter!

Tasty Tuesdays!

Welcome back to Tasty Tuesdays. Today will be a favorite salad of mine. Summer is always a time to have a few salad recipes in your back pocket, because it seems like you always need to take one with you to a BBQ. This one can be made ahead, and assembled (add lettuce and croutons) when you get there.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

1 pound penne pasta, cooked and drained
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 bottle Caesar dressing
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp pepper
1 head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
croutons

Mix dressing, lemon juice, Parmesan and pepper. Mix well, combine in a large bowl with pasta and chicken. Mix in lettuce and top with croutons.

Enjoy!!

A Word From My Sponsor

This commercial break is brought to you by Scentsy. No, Scentsy does not pay for advertising on this blog, but it is my business and pays me, so.....it's my official sponsor.

Scentsy is having a great sale for the month of August. Almost everything in the spring/summer catalog is 10% off. August is a great time to stock up on your favorite scents, or snatch an extra warmer for your bathroom. August's scent of the month is Tangerine Tango, which has been a huge hit.
Also, Scentsy is discontinuing 41 scents to make room for new scents in the fall/winter catalog. Along with the scents, they are discontinuing some of the warmers and plug in warmers. As soon as all these discontinued items are gone, they are gone for good.
If you happen to be visiting the Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden on Tuesday August 18th, come find my Scentsy booth in the Commercial building and see what Scentsy is all about!
So check out my website by clicking on the Scentsy add on the right side of the blog. Or, give me a call to book a party or basket party.....or just to talk shop about Scentsy!
The first 5 people to visit my website, check out the products, then e-mail me their favorite scent along with their mailing address (e-mail link is on my Scentsy web site), I will send them a free car candle in their favorite scent!

We now return to regular programing.

Children of the lake

The last two Sunday afternoons we have gone to Lake Sammish. My Aunt Ruthi and Uncle Marv have a cabin and invited us to come play. The kids love the water, and rarely got out the whole time. Nate does a couple hundred cannon balls, and will push you in if you are dry. Last weekend Dan was home and he got to play on the jet ski's and tubes. Lily liked to be the flagger in the boat, but the problem was when they did a quick turn around, she would almost fall out of the boat. So Lily would hold the flag, and I would hold on to Lily.
Yesterday Nate got to knee board. He has done this the last three years, and did great. He also loves to get on the tubes with the bigger kids. Nate fell off the tube once and about lost his shorts. I was flagging at the time and was laughing so hard I couldn't tell the driver of the boat to stop.
Last week Lily rode on the tubes, but didn't want to go very fast. Yesterday she went with some of the big kids and got more brave on the tube. Really though, I was glad to see that she had some fear. She is fearless in most everything else (on the jet ski, she yells, FASTER!). She has no fear of the water, or strangers. Last weekend Marv's nephew was also at the lake and Lily just started climbing all over him (they had never met) then hopped on the jet ski with him. She really does scare me sometimes.
A BIG thanks to Marv and Ruthi for inviting us out, we had a blast!

The Love Lights Rock

Last night the kids and I went down to Marysville to see my brother's band The Love Lights play a free concert at the park. It was really cool just to sit on the hillside and watch them play. It was also really cool that my kids were able to watch, since most of the venues that they play are at bars. The band has a great sense of humor and put out a "magic box" that people could request songs. If the band could not play the song, the audience got a point. If the band could pull off even part of the song, they got a point. We had many laughs at the band's attempt at some random songs. In the end, the audience, dubbed the "grassy knowle" won 8-7. Great job to The Love Lights for a fun, family friendly concert. You can check out their music on itunes or their myspace page. www.myspace/thelovelights.

My brother's girlfriend, Jessica and Nate, watching the concert. Oh, and I took some video's of Lily dancing (more blackmail for when she is a teenager!!!! Whoo hoo!).