Skipper’s New Dog House
Skipper's New Dog House! See the black furry spot in the middle, she's sleeping! As we were cleaning up from dinner a couple weeks ago we looked out at the jungle gym and noticed Skipper all curled up and sleeping on the floor. She had found a nice place to go to sleep. The jungle gym has an area that is dry in the rain and you can see into the house (Jake made sure I had a good view of the jungle gym from the house) as well as the driveway and a good chunk of the yard.
Skipper learned how to climb up the ladder to the jungle gym and can often be seen up there playing (or sleeping) while the girls are playing in that area. A couple times Skipper was convinced she couldn’t get down from the jungle gym, I think after a “fun” ride down the slide, so we had to re-train her to climb down the ladder.
It wouldn’t be the best place to get stuck during a 100 degree summer day, but you have to admit it is a pretty cool dog house! She enjoys her time with the girls and loves the jungle gym almost as much as the kids. Skipper is a great dog for the girls, even if she tries taking over the jungle gym!
Song: “Blessings” by Laura Story
The phrase “What if blessings come as raindrops, what if your healing come through tears” has been stuck in my head for a couple weeks now. I have rejoiced in blessings and shed a few tears with family and friends over the past few weeks. I would love to think all blessings come from great positive events in my life (and in the lives around me), however, it is during those hard times that we turn back to the truth and our strength is renewed. As I look back over the “trials” in my life I have caught a glimpse of how God is using those times to help me grow and make a positive impact on the lives of others.
Book: “A Dog’s Life: Autobiography of a Stray” by Ann Martin
Since we have been traveling a good bit this summer we have been able to check out a few audiobooks for the family to listen to on the road trips. One of the recent audio books we listened to was “A Dog’s Life: Autobiography of a Stray” by Ann Martin. The book follows a young dog named, by her mother in the traditional way of naming a pup, after the most important things in her life. Her name is “Squirrel” and her brother’s name is “Bone”. It is full of touching stories as well as the adventures and perils of being a stray. The book is simple enough for children to follow yet engaging for the adults to enjoy as well.
Family Recipe: Grandma’s Six in One Oatmeal Cookies
Grandma Willa makes a delicious oatmeal cookie. She calls it her Six in One Oatmeal Cookies because they are loaded with amazing ingredients and you can make 6 different types of cookies (or more) with the base cookie mix. It has been nice having cookies to take with us on our various road trips. The girls have enjoyed the sweet snack and it has been neat sharing the recipes with others along the way (although not all of the cookies made it to each destination).Six in One Oatmeal Cookie Recipe:
- 1 cup Shortening
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 cup sifted Flour
- 3 cups Quick Cooking Oats
Add in 1 or more of the Following Ingredient Options to the Cookies
- 1/2 cup chopped Nuts
- 1 package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 2 tablespoons grated Orange Peel
- 1 cup Raisins
- 1 cup cut up Gum Drops
- 1 cup cut up Dates
Cream shortening and sugar thoroughly, add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Sift together flour salt and soda. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Add oats and one or two of the choices above. If desired divide dough into several portions adding something different to each one. Form dough into small and drop from teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 35o for 15 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from cookie sheet and place on wire rack to cool. For a special treat, try adding both nuts and chocolate pieces. Or combine dates and orange peel. For a crackly glaze dip balls of dough first into milk then in sugar prior to baking on cookie sheet, bake sugar side up.
More Ingredient Options you can add to the Cookies (these are variations we have tried in our family):
- 1 cup M&M’s
- 1 cup Cranberries
- 1 cup Butterscotch Chips
- 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
- Add another one of your favorite cookie ingredients!
Makes 6 dozen.
Photo by Lara604
Teaching Our Children: Encouraging the Kids to Read During Summer Vacation
Our reading tree! I was trying to come up with a visual prompt in our home that encourages our children to read this summer. The girls LOVE it when they are read to and could do it for hours but since they are starting to read on their own I wanted to find something that would help motivate them to read a little more. I came up with the idea “Spring into Reading” since we technically started it in the Spring and I wanted to boost the girls reading skills.
My Mom graciously made the tree for me and my Sister in Law Becky helped cut out a bunch of the leaves. The purpose of the tree is simple find a visual way for the girls to see their reading progress. Each member of our family gets a different color of leaf. When that member reads a book to the girls or they read a book on their own they get to put up their leaf.
We have started to fill out our tree with leaves and hope to get an after summer break picture up for you to see what we accomplished. If all goes well I hope to see more and more of the girls leaves going up throughout the summer as their reading skills increase.
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Zucchini, Green Beans, Squash, Lettuce, Cucumber, Strawberries, Purple Beans, and Tomatoes!
We are loving the fresh vegetables from our garden! This week I only took one picture from the garden because we were traveling. The good news is we were able to take some of our goodies from the garden to share with family along the way. Also, while we are gone my brother and his family get to pick any of the produce that is ready for themselves or to give away so I didn’t get pictures of the items they picked while we were out of town.
Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:
Fresh Garden Produce! We were able to pick this all in one day fresh from the garden. Fresh Zucchini, Green Beans, Summer Squash, Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Whole Size Tomatoes, Fresh Leafy Green Lettuce, Purple Beans, a handful of Strawberries that made it in the picture and a Banana Pepper (not pictured because it was ate by the kiddos). Some of these items we delivered to a good friend since we were traveling and we wanted to make sure they were eaten while they were still fresh.
We were able to share some of the veggies this week with family and friends! Thankful for a garden that we can share!
What are you eating out of your garden this week?
Fresh & Healthy: Colorful Garden Salad
Fresh & Colorful Garden Salad! One of the best benefits of growing a garden is the delicious food you get to eat. The food is tasty and colorful. Here is a simple garden salad we had for lunch made from home grown vegetables!
The salad contains:
- Fresh Green Leafy Lettuce
- Fresh Purple Leafy Lettuce
- Fresh Cherry Tomatoes
- Fresh Orange Carrots (from our local farmer – CSA)
- Fresh Yellow Carrots (from our local farmer – CSA)
It was a great tasting and colorful salad all made from fresh ingredients grown in South Carolina! Are you enjoying some great produce from your garden?
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of July 6 – 12, 2011
The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience. There are a lot of great deals that are continued this week at Save A Lot. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Fresh Ground Beef – $1.99 per lb
Pork Spare Ribs – $1.88 per lb
Chicken Leg Quarters – $0.59 per lb
Sugardale Jumbo Hotdogs (3 lbs) – $2.99
Holten Beef Patties (32 oz) – $3.99
Sugardale Smoked Polish or Hot Sausage (40 oz to 48 oz) – $2.99
Johnsonville Bratwurst and Italian Sausage – $3.79
Use $0.75/1 coupon from magazine 4/20 Kroger’s My Way Magazine (Expires 7/31/11)
Use $0.55/1 coupon from insert 4/17 Smart Source (Expires 6/30/11)
As low as $3.04 after each couponSchooner Tilipia, Whiting, Pollock Fillets (32 oz) – $5.99
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Buyer’s Best Crinkle Cut French Fries (5 lbs) – $1.99
Minute Maid Orange Juice (64 oz) – $1.99
Use $1.00/1 peelie coupon found on package (Expires 3/30/12)
$0.99 each after couponWorld’s Fair Ice Cream (56 oz) – $1.99
World’s Fair Red, White & Blue Pops – $0.99
Jungle Jammers Twin Pops – $1.99
World’s Fair Sundae Cups – $2.49
World’s Fair Ice Cream (4 quart) – $3.99
Reser’s Potato or Macaroni Salad – $2.99
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon from Coupon
$1.99 each after couponJungle Jammers Freezer Pops (24 Count) – $1.99
Morning Delight Jumbo Biscuits – $1.39
Morning Delight Frozen Buttermilk Waffles – $1.49
Snack-A-Tizers Potato Skins – $1.99
Mantia’s Pepperoni French Bread Pizza – $1.99
Country Crock Spread – $2.99
Use $1.00/1 coupon from May All You Magazine (Expires 7/15/11)
$1.99 each after couponHousehold
Charmin Basic Bath Tissue (12 rolls) – $4.99
Use $0.25/1 coupon from insert 6/5 Proctor & Gamble (Expires 7/31/11)
$4.74 after each couponWrightware Napkins (250 Count) – $1.55
Wrightware Foam Plates (40 count) – $1.19
Solo Plastic Cups (20 count) – $0.99
Use $1.00/2 coupon from insert 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 8/31/11)
$0.49 each after couponRoyal Oak Charcoal – $2.99
Wisk Liquid Laundry Detergent (50 oz)- $3.99
Use $2.00/1 coupon from insert 6/26 Red Plum (Expires 7/31/11)
Use $2.00/1 coupon from insert 6/26 Red Plum (Expires 8/7/11)
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon from Wisk Facebook Page
As low as $1.99 each after couponProduce
Fresh Peaches, Plums and Nectarine – $0.89 per lb
Seedless Watermelons – $3.49
Hot House Tomatoes – $0.99 per lb
Grocery
Bubba Cola or Crisp Orange Soda (24 pack) – $3.99
Herr’s Potato Chips – $1.67
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon from Smart Source
$0.67 each after couponCap’n Crunch Cereal – $1.59
Use $0.50/1 coupon insert from 4/17 Red Plum (Expires 8/31/11)
$1.09 each after couponDomino Granulated Sugar (4 lb) – $2.39
Use $0.50/1 coupon insert from 5/22 Red Plum (Expires 7/31/11)
Use $0.50/1 coupon insert from 6/26 Red Plum (Expires 9/30/11)
$1.89 each after couponKraft Miracle Whip Dressing (30 oz) – $2.49
Use $1.00/1 coupon insert from 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 7/17/11)
Use $0.75/1 coupon insert from 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 7/17/11)
Use $1.00/2 coupon insert from 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 7/17/11)
As low as $1.49 each after couponWorld’s Fair Chocolate Syrup (24 oz) – $1.79
Mrs. Richardson’s Hot Fudge Topping (16 oz)- $2.29
World’s Fair Ice Cream Cones (24 count) – $1.59
Maraschino Cherries – $1.29
BBQ Sauce – $1.19
Crystal Bottle Water (24 Pack) – $2.49
Summerset Ice Tea Mix – $2.29
McDaniel’s Classic Coffee (11.5 oz) – $2.69
Morning Delight Syrup (24 oz) – $1.49
Sunkist Solid White Tuna – $1.39
Bay Mist Tropical or Berry Blend Splash (64 oz) – $1.79
Spice Time Salt / Pepper Shaker Combo Pack– $1.59
Ginger Evans Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix – $0.79
Nature’s Grain Cinnamon Raisin Swirl – $2.49
Nabisco Oreo Cookies – $2.99
Cowboy Billy’s Baked Beans – $1.29
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Spending Time with Grandma!
We were so thankful that my Mom was able to come visit us for several days. She went with us to Savannah for my cousins graduation and time at the beach. The girls love spending time with Grandma and were thrilled to hang out together.
Grandma Penny helping the girls do their workbooks! I think Grandma Penny was much more patient then Mommy doing the workbooks!
Grandma Penny reading books to the girls! The girls love it when Grandma reads them books. Today they relaxed for a few minutes on the front porch with a stack of books to read together. Thank you Mom for reading to our girls, they LOVE their time with you! I am thankful for a Mom who takes the time to be with our family. The girls have many wonderful family memories because of moments like these!
Song: “Praise You in the Storm” by Casting Crowns
This song got my attention after a recent event with dear friends who lost a little one. I rarely know the answers to the “storm” that is going on in my life or in the lives of others, but I have the confidence in knowing that God is in control of every situation. My prayer for each one reading this is that you have family and friends to rally around you and pray with you during your storms. The storm passes much more gently when you have hope in something greater. We may never understand the reason behind the storm until much later.
