Super delicious pancakes!

On Monday I promised you my delicious pancake recipe so I'm going to make good on my promise! I don't remember where I came by the original recipe, so I am afraid I don't know who to credit for how it began, but I've changed it up quite a bit since I first started making them. This recipe makes a pretty large batch of pancakes. As a rule we end up eating half and the other half goes into the freezer for quick breakfasts (or dinners!) down the road.

Super Delicious Pancakes

3 cups All Purpose flour
7 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2.5 cups milk
2 eggs
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat your griddle or skillet to medium heat, I usually test by dropping a few drops of water onto the surface...if they skittle around before disappearing it's ready.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and blend well. Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients and add the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla and mix until all is incorporated. Batter may remain a bit lumpy and that's okay.

The thicker the batter the thicker your pancakes so if you'd like them a tad bit thinner then add a tad bit more milk. I experimented with the milk ratio until I found the perfect pancake thickness for us.

Pour onto griddle, about 1/3 cup at a time, and cook until the surface begins to bubble and the edges look a bit dry then flip and cook on reverse side for additional 2 minutes or so. Try to only flip once or your pancakes will get tough.

To freeze: place pancakes in single layer on a baking pan and place in freezer until frozen then you can stack and wrap them to store in the freezer for that night when you really need a quick dinner or you're craving pancakes for breakfast...and there they are waiting for you! If you would rather just throw a quick batch of pancakes on the table without all the extras just halve the recipe!

I haven't experimented too much with add ins but we have tried blueberries and strawberries with great success...and of course chocolate chips!

Give it a try and let me know how they turn out!! Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!

Gone Swimmin'

We've been trapped in an endless cycle of rain and gloom for a couple of weeks now. Rain, 70 degrees, more rain, more drizzle. Today, finally, this is what I see...



So today we are Gone Swimmin'...have to take advantage of those blue skies while they last!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Menu Plan Monday!

I'm on a roll with the menu plans lately! I've had them ready and even had part of my grocery shopping done before Monday even gets here...watch me go! Since I've been taking part in Orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday I've found myself much better organized about mealtime and that's been a blessing. Even when we haven't stuck strictly to the menu (hey, I'd rather have Friday's pizza tonight, let's switch!) we've still had a great meal with all ingredients in house every night. That means if we had a meal away from home it was by choice, not out of necessity like it used to be. I love it!

This week's menu looks like this:

Monday~Grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup (from the freezer stash)
Tuesday~Skillet Red Beans with rice, salad, bread (Yeah, this meal has gotten carried over a couple of times...I just keep scheduling it on a night when we end up changing up the plans!! It's from the Kentucky Fresh Cookbook)
Wednesday~Veggie fajitas, Mexican rice, refried beans
Thursday~Homemade pizza (excellent dough recipe to follow)
Friday~Alfredo pasta, broccoli, salad, garlic bread
Saturday~Brinner! From-scratch pancakes and scrambled eggs
Sunday~Crockpot pork roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits

I also have blueberry and banana nut muffins on my baking list, hopefully early in the day on Tuesday before the heat sets in (can't believe I can say that..it's been in the 70's forever lately, so glad to see 90 degrees returning. Pool here we come!)

A super quick and easy pizza dough recipe is sometimes hard to come by. I tend to forget I'm making pizza until an hour before dinner and then it's a huge hassle to pull off a good crust. I've found this recipe to be super versatile and no fail. I've never had a flat or tough crust from this recipe, and I almost always have everything on hand I need for it because it's so simple.

Super Quick and Easy Pizza dough

1 package dry active yeast (I use the fast rise as well-both work equally well)
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup warm water (see yeast package instructions for water temperature)
1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I have used regular vegetable oil as well)
1 tsp. salt
3 cups All Purpose flour
Add Ins: I have added garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, basil..about a .5 tsp each. I imagine anything you add to this crust is only going to make it that much more tasty!

Add 1 cup warm water to the yeast and sugar and proof for 10 minutes (top will get foamy if your yeast is active. I do all of this right in the bowl of my Kitchenaid mixer.) When yeast is ready add olive oil and salt. Place bread hook on your mixer and add flour in one cup at a time on medium low speed until all flour is incorporated. (If you are adding herbs this is the time to do it!) Turn mixer to medium high speed and knead dough for 5 minutes. (If you are using a regular mixer or none at all knead dough by hand for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface.)

Prepare a large bowl by adding 1 Tbsp. of olive oil to bottom and swirling to coat sides slightly. Form kneaded dough into a ball, place in bowl...turning to coat...cover loosely and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Punch down dough and proceed to roll out or push into pizza pan. (I prepare my pizza pans with a light coating of non stick spray and a light coating of cornmeal then simply work the dough into the corners of the pan with my hands rather than rolling it out.) Top with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes. Delicious!!!


And now..my question of the week! Do you regularly use store bought pancake mix or do you have a recipe you make from scratch? I'll admit, it never occurred to me to make pancakes from scratch until a few years ago, I always just bought the box mix. Now that I've had from-scratch pancakes though I would NEVER go back to the box mixes....and making the mix yourself is SO easy! I have a fabulous recipe I'll share later in the week. Until then...do you have a special recipe for pancakes? Can you share or is it top secret?? If you can share without 'having to make the unbreakable vow' (you Harry Potter fans out there will know what I mean) then please do share in the comments!

p.s. can you tell I'm excited about the last Harry Potter movie coming soon?? I'm such a geek!

Butterflies and Beer Cheese

Not the most appetizing title, maybe, but an accurate representation of our weekend.

My boys helped me celebrate my birthday on Friday with our favorite pizza and ice cream for dessert then one of mommy's favorite movies..Harry Potter-Deathly Hallows Part 1-and yes I cried through parts of it, and yes they let me and didn't make me feel like a total geek for doing so. They must love me.

Saturday we hit Hofbrauhaus for a friend's birthday celebration and Ewan discovered the tastiness that is beer cheese with soft pretzels....and fried pickles, and sauer kraut balls, and potato pancakes. That child is a foodie!



Afterwards we attended Krohn Conservatory's annual Butterfly Show. I've never been but always wanted to attend. The butterflies are just amazingly beautiful, and they'll land right on you! We spent at least an hour walking from flower to flower waiting for one to land on our heads or noses and the boys really enjoyed it.


Overall it was a lovely day spent with good friends and my handsome men. Today Mother Nature decided to ruin our pool plans with more rain and cool temps so we are having a lazy Sunday. At some point I may think about getting around to those pesky chores that just won't go away...laundry, cleaning, etc...but for now I'm enjoying being just a tad bit lazy and snuggling with my boys.

Happy Weekending....

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see."


Happy weekend...

Summertime lasagna

MOST of the time by June 23rd it's too hot outside to even think about turning on the oven. Not this June 23rd of course, because most of this entire month has been cooler than normal and rainy. Our pool bag has sat untouched for many days now...it's depressing. However, even with the cooler weather, it's nice to have a quick, easy recipe you can throw together and get on the table with little cleanup. You may not be able to run back out to the pool after dinner but that doesn't mean you can't find something else to occupy yourself!

Enter Skillet Lasagna. It's an easy, no oven required meal that you can get ready and on the table in around 30 minutes. I found the original at Spark People Recipes but did my own tweaking over time. This meal is actually popular with my entire family (and if you know my oldest you know that in and of itself makes this recipe worth it's weight in gold).

Skillet Lasagna

1 pound ground turkey
1 small sweet onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 15oz. can of diced tomatoes (regular or the herb added Italian variety)
1.25 cup water
16oz. tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
10 oz. rotini pasta (or any medium sized pasta...bowtie, shells, macaroni) whole wheat if available
2 cups fat free cottage cheese
8 Tbsp. reduced fat grated Parmesan cheese
.25 cup Egg Beater's or other egg substitute (or 2 egg whites)
4 oz. part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Spray large, deep skillet with non stick spray (if needed) and brown turkey, add onions and cook until translucent, add garlic and saute for just 1 minute..do not brown garlic. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water and spices and mix well. Add pasta and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer covered until pasta is done, about 20 minutes. Mix cottage cheese, Parmesan and egg substitute together. When pasta is done drop the cheese mixture by the spoonful onto the top of pasta mixture, cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Garnish with mozzarella and serve.

Most of the time we end up having this vegetarian by subtracting the turkey and adding an additional can of diced tomatoes. If you happen to have cans of stewed tomatoes those work just as well..just chop them up a bit before adding. Add a green salad and a loaf of good, crusty bread or garlic bread and you are set!

This recipe is also something I almost always have ingredients for in my pantry, so it's a great "Oops! I forgot to thaw the roast" type of meal.

Do you have a good "pantry meal" that you keep in the wings for emergencies? Share it in the comments!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday...

A Star is Born!

This past weekend found us in the audience watching our oldest make his acting debut. It was only 2 lines then he was swept offstage with his fellow actors so that the band could do their thing, but to us it was Oscar worthy.

that's my big man in the red shirt

He was part of a group of 4 young men ages 7-10 who did a little opening skit for a fundraising concert at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center. This was a Big Deal. It was a sold out show of over 400 people. That's alot of people to stand up in front of, even as an adult...for a soon to be 8 year old? Was he nervous? Nope. He stood in front of the mic and waited for his part like an old pro and we couldn't be more proud of him. He gets to do it one more time this coming weekend too. So cool! He even got his picture with WCPO news anchor Brendan Keefe who was the night's emcee!

We are SO incredibly proud of this super outgoing and talented boy! Bravo!! Can't wait to see him do it all again this weekend!

Menu Planning Monday

Another Monday, another menu plan! I'm still participating in Orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday! I plan on hitting the grocery store first thing this morning so that I can enjoy the day outside with the boys (if the weather cooperates!) After a lazy day yesterday (at Daddy's request...I was happy to oblige him) I have a checklist of things I want to at least 'try' to accomplish today. Wish me luck ;)

Nothing extra fancy on the menu for this week...I'm enjoying the trend towards sandwiches for suppers as it keeps me out of the kitchen and we can head to the pool again after dinner instead of cleaning up!

• Monday~Spaghetti with tomato sauce, garlic bread, broccoli
• Tuesday~Potato Soup (requested by the boys...we haven't had it in forever) with turkey sandwiches
• Wednesday~Asian Chicken with basmati rice and broccoli
• Thursday~Grilled cheese sandwiches (again, requested by the boys)/BLT sandwiches (for the grownups)-I have a meeting this night, so quick and easy.
• Friday~Homemade Pizza, salad
• Saturday~Red beans and rice, french bread, salad
• Sunday~Steak, twice baked potatoes, salad

I may throw in some pancakes for breakfast on the weekend and possibly breakfast sandwiches as well, but otherwise easy, simple fall back meals that we all enjoy.

Any 'go to' suppers that you rely on to fill in on weeks when you are busy or lacking inspiration?

A crafty Father's Day

It's almost Father's Day...are you ready? I thought I would share the craft we did for Daddy last year. I can't take credit for the idea, my dear friend Katie at the little things blog invited us to participate in the making of handmade mosaic coasters. It was such a cute idea and I think they turned out great!

We used ceramic tiles, bits of cut up tissue paper and Mod Podge, along with those little felt circles you put under things to keep them from scraping/sliding. (I have no idea what these little things are, and I've tried to look them up but no dice. I'm sure Katie remembers and will provide the
answer in the comments...right Katie? ;)

EDIT: Imagine my surprise when I saw the "little felt thingies" tonight at Joann's. Guess what they are called? Felt circles. So much for my brain power. I guess I really wanted them to have some kind of cool technical name, eh?


You simply put an even coat of Mod Podge over the surface of the ceramic tile then let your artists arrange their bits of color tissue paper any which way they like.



Put another coat of Mod Podge over the top of the tissue paper to seal them and let dry. You can add another couple of coats of Mod Podge if you like, to make them extra glossy and water tight. Then simply attach those little round felty thingies (so technical) to the bottom of each corner of the tile and Voila! Cute, handmade coasters for Dad to sit his refreshing beverage on after a long day of work or play!






This craft only took one afternoon, so you definitely have time to run out and grab the supplies to do this for Dad this year! The possibility of colors or designs are endless...make a set for Grandad too!






Have fun and let me know if you try it out!

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see."


Happy weekend....and don't forget to treat your Dad to his special day on Sunday!!

Breakfast for dinner=Brinner!

I've never been a big breakfast person...don't get me wrong, I love breakfast just not AT breakfast. I am one of those people who ignores all of the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" advice and forgoes that particular meal most of the time (even though I tell my kids it's most important on a regular basis).

When I do want breakfast it's generally at dinner time. So breakfast for dinner it is! We haven't had "brinner" on our menu for quite awhile now so I decided to add it to next week's meal plan. Just in case you want to do the same I wanted to share a great, easy recipe with you!

I found the original at allrecipes.com but have tweaked it a bit along the way.

Breakfast "Pizza"

1 lb. turkey breakfast sausage
1 small sweet onion, chopped fine
1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup shredded frozen potatoes (hash browns)
1 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
5 eggs (or the equivalent in Egg Beater's or other egg substitute)
1/4 cup 1% milk
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crumble and brown sausage in large skillet along with onions, cooking until meat is done through and onions are translucent. Drain and set aside. Very lightly grease a 13x9 Pyrex baking dish and press crescent rolls into bottom, pushing up the sides just slightly to make a crust. Sprinkle sausage mixture into bottom of crust, top with shredded potatoes and shredded cheese. Beat together the eggs, milk and pepper and pour over top of all. Top everything with the Parmesan cheese. Bake approximately 30 minutes, until eggs are set and top is starting to very slightly brown.

You can make this as an actual pizza but I find the eggs tend to run out over the edges (at least for me, I'm not the best pizza crust maker) so I prefer the baking dish method.

I hope you enjoy! I you have a great "brinner" recipe please share in the comments!

Warren County Splashground Vacation Sweepstakes!

I don't know about you but we're doing the "staycation" this year....finding cool stuff to do within a short drive, having lots of park and zoo days, etc. My boys are all about the water fun lately and it turns out that it's great timing that they are...Warren County has a super cool promotion going on right now that could land you a great 'Splashground Vacation'!

It's so simple....for every so many new "likes" they get they will give away a great prize package. They started out at 150 likes, then 250 likes... Right now they are looking to reach 350 more "likes". Just visit the Warren County-Ohio's Largest Playground Facebook page and "like" their page. Hit the 'Splashground tab' and you can enter to win one of 3 more super fantastic prize packages! This promotion started earlier this month, so they've already given away 2 fabulous packages.

The next package to be given away at 350 'likes' consists of : A 1 night stay at Great Wolf Lodge and 4 passes to the waterpark, 4 souvenir MagiQuest game wands, 4 mission passes for Lazer Kraze, and a $50 gift card to Cincinnati Premium Outlets. All that...just for hitting "like"!!!!

The prize packages get larger as the "likes" progress.....so the larger the number of fans the page gets the bigger the prizes become! The prize packages aren't revealed until the next tier of prizes are given away...so who knows what's next??!!

You can get more info on Warren County's website, or follow the promotion on Twitter @WarrenCountyOh....search for hashtag #Splashground.

Check out all that Warren County has to offer...and good luck!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!

Menu Plan Monday

Another week, another Menu Plan Monday! I have been participating in Orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday and I'm finding it's a great way to get new ideas for menus and great recipes! We've been on the search for easy side items that I can make ahead and keep in the fridge....cold pasta salads, vegetable salads, etc. as well as just brand new recipes to try out for dinner. If you have a great make ahead side dish please share it in the comments!!

We had some car trouble this past week (which stinks!) that is all fixed up now thanks to a dear friend, and then received a dinner invite from the same lovely friends (and OH it was delicious!) plus we got invited to a spur of the moment cookout this weekend as well so my menu got twisted around and pushed forward a bit. Here's what our week coming up looks like:

• Monday~Chicken Noodle Soup and sandwiches (carried over from last week)
• Tuesday~Pasta, broccoli, garlic bread, salad
• Wednesday~Sandwiches/subs, Southwest Pasta Salad, Twice baked potatoes
• Thursday~Tacos, refried beans, mexican rice, homemade salsa
• Friday~Homemade pizza, salad
• Saturday~Chicken sandwiches, garlic fries, broccoli, salad
• Sunday~leftovers/sandwiches

I have another dinner in the hopper should we need it (the cajun chicken/red beans rice from last week) but in the interest of using up leftovers we're going to save it for next week. Busy week again this week so I want easy to throw together or already made dinners...I'd rather be swimming than cooking!!

Have a great week!

Summer: Week 1

So it's actually been a bit over a week since we finished with school for the year but I am already finding myself losing track of the days and I don't want to let that happen. We get down to the business of having fun and the next thing you know it's August 1st and I find myself in the position of wondering where my summer with the boys went and scrambling to buy school supplies and school clothes. I don't even want to THINK about the new school year yet! I want this summer to last the full 70-odd days and not go by in the blink of an eye.

Our first full week of summer held lots of fun...park playdate with friends, movie nights at home and lots and lots of swimming!


See that tiny frog in the upper right hand corner? There were HUNDREDS of them our first day at the pool. There's a pond just on the other side of the pool fence and apparently when they lost their tails they all came looking for water in the form of the sprinklers that were running in the new grassy area around the pool. I was scared to death to walk through the grass...I felt like I was wiping them out left and right with my huge foot! The boys had a ton of fun finding them, gently holding them, and then returning them to the grass (although they would much rather had kept them as pets....we had to have the "but don't you want your friend to be wild and free?" talk...yeah, they didn't agree but they grudgingly relented anyway).

We're looking at a few cooler days to start our second week of summer so I'm thinking it's a good time for catching up on our reading logs and maybe a craft or two. I'm hoping the boys are interested in making some friendship bracelets (in cool 'boy' colors of course) because I've been dying to do this again...brings back so many memories!!

How was your first week of summer?!

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see."



Happy Weekend!

The taste of summer

I'm sure I'm not the only one who looks forward to summer and all of the delicious fresh veggies and fruits to be had this time of year. I can't wait to see those first tomatoes and green beans show up at the local farmer's market every year...it is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of summer!


It's not quite late enough in the season to start seeing those farmer's stalls full of veggies yet but I am still craving this delicious simple salsa...it's wonderful with ingredients straight from the grocery store, but when you start getting those farm fresh goodies it is complete heaven!! I'm not sure where this recipe originated, it was passed to me by my Mom and passed to her by some wonderful ladies at her church (thank you ladies!!) Whoever invented it needs a big hug!

Fresh salsa

~8 ripe roma tomatoes (you can use regular tomatoes but these seem to have more flesh/less seeds)

~1 whole sweet onion (I like to use vidalia's when they are available)

~1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I sometimes add MUCH more...love it!)

~2 tsp. salt (I've made it with and without this and honestly can't tell much difference so I usually leave it out)

~.5 tsp black pepper

~1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

~1 can white shoepeg corn (I almost always use regular white corn in it's stead)

~1 green bell pepper

~1 red or yellow bell pepper

~2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

~3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar


Chop all veggies into a small dice (or if you like it chunkier to whatever size you like!) Add all other ingredients and mix well. This salsa tastes best when it's had time to mingle and share flavors in the fridge for a few hours or even a whole day.

We use this salsa on everything....tacos, burritos, with tortilla chips. I can imagine a thousand other ways to serve it and the best part is that it's so full of colorful, fresh veggies I don't have to feel guilty doing it! I plan on keeping a batch of this in the fridge at all times...and a cup of it in our pool cooler too! What a delicious, fresh snack while you are at the pool!

Do you have a great, go-to recipe that you just can't wait to make in the summer? Let's hear it!

wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday....

Our weekend....

Our first weekend of summer did not entirely go as planned.

Friday night was great..impromptu trip to one of the boys favorite places to eat followed by the summer reading kickoff at the library. Awesome! Lots of great books were brought home then much reading on the patio in the summer twilight commenced. It was a lovely evening.


Saturday was karate day and it ended up turning into a lazy, have a water gun fight then watch movies kind of day. Hubby went out for the night with his friends, so I cleaned the house and finished all the laundry then the boys went to bed and I caught up on my Netflix queue. Another lovely day. We had plans for Summerfair the next day...but that's when things went awry.

I noticed when I headed to bed on Saturday that my ankle was sore, I thought I probably took a bad step or twisted it while cleaning. No big, I thought. It will be better by morning.

Yeah, not so much. By morning I couldn't put weight on it. I had to hobble to the living room to prop my foot up and wrap it with a bag of spinach (this poor bag of spinach has turned into an ice pack instead of the breakfast frittatta it was destined for. Poor spinach.) Hubby still wanted to do Summerfair so the boys had a day out with Daddy instead of family day out as had been planned.

Now I won't lie. There are time when Daddy and the boys head out for the day and I'm tickled to have the day to myself. Generally I end up cleaning, true, but there is something Zen about doing it in a quiet house and not recleaning the same thing 10 times so I love it. This day though I was just bummed. I had REALLY been looking forward to summer fair (insert pout here). Luckily Hubby took lots of great pics, so I didn't feel quite so left out.



When all was said and done it was still a great weekend! How can the first weekend of summer NOT be great!? How was your first weekend of summer? Or if you are still in school...how are you looking forward to spending that weekend?

Menu Plan Monday!

Here we are again, another week gone by.....but not just any week, the first week of Summer break!!!! We had a great, relaxing yet fun filled first weekend of Summer around here but now I'm ready to jump into some fun activities and actual work around here! (I know, the "w" word really ought to be off limits for summer, but there are certain things that are just so much easier to do when you aren't on that school schedule!)

I let hubby and the boys pick this menu. It's not exactly what I would have picked myself, but all tasty and fairly easy so I didn't argue! I'm taking part in Orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday and I can't wait to see everyone else's menus for the week on the MPM linkup!

• Monday-Grilled Cheese and tomato soup. We took the kids out pretty off the cuff for a treat night so we're carrying this over from last week.
• Tuesday-Baked pasta, garlic bread, broccoli and salad
  
• Wednesday-Homemade Cincinnati style chili 3 ways
• Thursday-Chicken Noodle Soup and sandwiches. This soup recipe freezes really well and heats up quick for lunches.
• Friday-Homemade pizza
  
• Saturday-Red beans and rice, salad and Cajun chicken-requested by hubby, using a recipe recommendation from Katie at the little things. You should check out the recipes she shares...Um, delicious!
• Sunday-leftovers/sandwich night aka "mama ain't cookin'!"
  

Like I said, nothing super fancy but all delicious and hey...if they asked for it, at least they'll eat it..right!?

What's on your menu this week? Any recipes to share?

And don't forget...you still have time to enter to win my Lazer Krazer mission pack!

Summer reading

I am super excited that both of my boys seem to be looking forward to reading this summer. Liam has made his way up to chapter books over the past year and is diving into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and loving them! E is starting to sound out words and be able to work his way through some easy readers with a little help from mom and dad...and I hope by the time kindergarten rolls around in August he'll be even farther along!

We're taking part in some wonderful reading programs this summer and I'm sure there are some great ones in your neighborhood as well! Last night we attended Kenton County Public Library's Summer Reading Program kickoff and the kids had a great time! We even ran into some school friends, which made it just that much more fun.

Besides the library's program we are also doing a reading program for their school, they'll be able to turn in their reading log for great prizes at the beginning of the new school year. We're also taking part in Border's Double Dog Dare Challenge and Half Price Books Feed Your Brain summer reading program as well.

Seeing the rewards roll in from all of the reading they do is a great way to get kids interested in reading to begin with...and once they start they don't want to stop! I always had my nose stuck in a book as a child and I still do, even as an adult. I hope that when they see me read and look forward to a book I pick up from the library it reinforces the idea that reading is fun, no matter your age or reading level. It takes you places you might not otherwise get to go and some places that don't even exist except in your imagination!

I remember reading Nancy Drew and Are you there God, It's Me Margaret as a child but I really got hooked when I found the world of science fiction in my tween and teen years. Do you have a favorite book genre or series from your childhood?

And don't forget to enter my Lazer Kraze Father's Day package giveaway!!! What better way to show Dad you love him than to blast him in a great game of laser tag!

Let's celebrate summer with a Lazer Kraze giveaway!! NOW CLOSED

The contest is now closed....the winner of the Lazer Kraze package is...#5 Jamie who said:

"james would kick all of our butts, he shows no mercy. I would run around and sweat my buns off just trying to stay out of last place, AJ and B would giggle and hide. "

Congrats Jamie!!! Don't forget, there are still chances to win! Visit my friend Katie at the little things blog and enter to win another Lazer Kraze pack!





The boys and I kicked off summer in style on Wednesday at Lazer Kraze with a little laser tag and video games and oh MY it made their night and was a great first night of summer! If you haven't ever played laser tag you are seriously missing out. Nothing like roaming around a smoky maze with a laser gun blasting the daylights out of your brother or dad!

Lazer Kraze is like a giant space station full of video games, a room with inflatables and of course the awesome laser tag arena! The arena itself is lit with blacklights and full of neon and a smoky haze from a fog machine...rather like a scene from Aliens, come to think of it...add in some fun techno music and OH is it fun! When you arrive and receive your mission passes they all have cool names like 'Endeavor' or 'Galaxy' and you are called over an intercom to come to the 'mission briefing room' to prepare for your mission.


Once in the briefing room you get the run down....no running, no pushing, etc. They make sure all participants play fair. You move on from there to the vesting room where you receive your gear. They get you outfitted and show you how your gear works...got to make sure you are ready for your mission! Every vest has a different name....our first mission Daddy was 'Vader', Liam was 'Skywalker' (hopefully that wasn't prophetic) and E was 'Quest'. You can play on teams or free for all...my kids of course picked free for all for the first round, but by the end they were taking on Daddy as a team and doing a pretty good job of schooling him.


They worked up a sweat and a thirst after their first 2 missions so we took a break to get a drink and play some video games and skeeball in between missions. There are also snacks and pizza, if you are inclined to make a night of it!

This wasn't our first visit to Lazer Kraze but it was the first one when we weren't part of a birthday party so it was fun to just take our time, play games and hang out a bit....but birthday parties are a blast too! And while the boys (I'm including hubby in there) were off playing I browsed around and discovered that they also offer corporate teambuilding, summer camp, Lazer Kraze To Go (they bring the lazer packs and bunkers to you!) and even fundraising for school or church groups!


The main reason I enjoyed this excursion so much was that I got to watch my hubby act like a big kid with the boys...he enjoyed it just as much as they did! So many times we end up places the kids love but they just aren't adult friendly..and that makes for a boring outing for Mom and Dad. This is something the entire family can participate in....and really love! It's great exercise too, you really work up a sweat while avoiding those laser hits! My hubby has mentioned this is something he'd love as his own birthday party....getting all of his friends together to blast each other into oblivion....but I'm thinking, why wait? Father's Day is just a couple of weeks away....why not take Dad out and have a blast!? In fact, on Father's Day....Sunday June, 19th...Dad's play free at the Erlanger location! I can't think of a better gift for Dad!

Want to treat your Dad to a mission or two? Just want to spend a fun summer afternoon blasting your friends with a glowy laser gun? Then I've got the hookup for you!!

Lazer Kraze has very generously given me a family pack to giveaway on my blog! The pack contains 8 mission passes and 2 passes for their inflatable's room (adults don't need tickets for this area if you pay for a child). Lazer Kraze has another location in Deerfield Township, and while you can use the mission passes there as well you can only use the inflatable's passes at the Erlanger location. Here are the contest details:

• To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me which member of your family is most likely to reign supreme in the laser tag arena! Is Dad the most strategic, or does your oldest daugther have the skills to win!? Just let me know who you think will bring in the most points during your laser tag missions!
• If you'd like to share the contest and my blog on your blog, facebook or twitter that would be great and I would greatly appreciate it! But it's not required to win.
• Winner must contact me within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. Tickets will be mailed to you. Contest open to local residents only...sorry :(
  
• Winner will be drawn and announced in this post on Wednesday June 8th at 9:00 PM.
• Winner will be chosen using a random number generator.

For more chances at winning enter here as well!
Little World After All
the little things


Good luck!!!!

disclosure: Lazer Kraze provided my family with mission passes to visit the arena as well as those to give away to my readers...however, my opinion is my own and was not swayed by their generosity.

{this moment}....Proud Mama moment...

Inspired by Soule Mama:

"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see."


Happy Summer....

It's here! It's here!

It really came after all! Summer break!! I am SO proud of my boys! They have both completely blown me away this past school year...and I am so thankful for the wonderful, nurturing, loving teachers who helped them realize their potential! Liam's teacher, in particular, has been a complete angel to our family and I am reminded daily of how blessed we've been to have had her in our lives for 2 whole years. I tear up every time I think of it. (if you are reading this Mrs. H I want you to know how very dear you are to us all...we love you!)

Yet...this has been a really looooong year for all of us for many different reasons. While I really enjoy helping at my son's school, even having a little free time while they are both off learning, I do really look forward to the summer when we can just all relax and put the tight schedule on a shelf for a couple of months. I like waking up and knowing I don't HAVE to run to get everyone ready and out the door unless I really really want to. Do we feel like having a pajama day? Well, that's fine. Want to put on our swim suits and have a water fight all day? That works too. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but I feel like a relaxed schedule during summer...including bed times...is just part of defusing that school year stress, and we've all earned it! (Just for the record, we aren't talking about crazy midnight bedtimes unless it's a super special occasion..but 8 p.m. just seems extreme for summertime when the lightening bugs haven't even made an appearance yet!)

I do want to keep us active though, even if we are having a relaxing pajama day I want to keep our minds sharp and busy, and we keep our bodies busy as well. There are SO many things I want to fit into summer...I just hope we can fit them all in!

Here is a partial list of activities we are really looking forward to. There are so many more that will come up as the summer progresses that I do try to be super flexible...but some things just can't get left out!

• Library reading program-the boys are SO excited about this one this year! We have a school reading program as well that we are taking part in. I love to see them enjoy reading as much as I do! Plus there are a ton of great activities going on nearly every day at one of the local libraries, so much to choose from! Liam made the silver level AR reader this year at school....next year he is shooting for the Gold!
  
• Summerfair Cincinnati-I've never been so I'm very excited to check this out this year!
• Cincinnati Zoo trips! It wouldn't be summer without visiting the animals.
• Playing at the park-just exploring some of our local parks has become a really adventurous outing for us. My friend Katie at the little things blog is a great resource for good parks in the area.
  
• Trammel Dinosaur Park-This one is on the top of the list, I never even knew it existed until one of the Family Friendly Cincinnati contributors posted about it. LOVE the ladies at FFC!
• Plain old water fights in the back yard!
  
• Catching lightening bugs, then letting them go....this reminds me of my own childhood in my Granny's back yard with a butter tub with holes popped in the top. We use a mason jar, but we are careful to let them go again quickly...still, so much fun!
• Blowing bubbles and chasing them!
• Swimming!
• Watching movies in the dark with the shades drawn in the middle of the day with our pajamas still on, homemade popcorn and a pile of pillows.
• Laying outside in the grass and finding shapes in the clouds.
• Picnics in the park
• Crafts! We were so busy during the school year that unless it was for a special occasion we didn't get to do too many crafts...and I really love getting the boys involved in something creative (while I can!)
• Planting-flowers or veggies, we're a little late to get going, but I think we can still find some gardening to do together.
  

This list is missing so much! I think right now I'm just so overwhelmed with the relief of summer break that I can't think past the next moment. And knowing in this moment that I don't have to set out clothes for tomorrow, or check a backpack, or practice a spelling list is gift enough. (Of course, in roughly 12 hours I'm going to start hearing the inevitable "I'm Bored" mantra starting. At that point I may edit this post...or delete it altogether).

What is on the top of your list for summer fun? What are the "must do's" for your family? Please share in the comments! I love exploring new ideas...there may be new traditions waiting!

Images from last summer....so looking forward to recreating these...and creating new ones...

{wordless Wednesday}

I will just say....epic water fights bring out the 'best' in my youngest....