Travel & Vacation: Mickey Mouse Travel Folders
Travel Folders
When we are planning for a trip I try to compile various pieces of information for that specific trip into one spot. Anything from Hotel Reservations, Tickets, Events, Schedule, Activities, Coupons, and more. If it is a trip that we have some time planning it is fun to get folders that coordinate with the theme. The kids get excited when they see a travel folder being updated. Whenever I receive a new piece of information for that trip I add it to the folder. By the time we are ready to head out usually everything is completely ready to go and waiting for us in our folder.
Sometimes the folders coordinate with the theme of the trip, like the Mickey Mouse folders for our Disney trip, while other times I just get a colorful folder and place it in a spot where I can easily add items to it. There are a few places we tend to go more regularly so I have a permanent folder for those locations. As I find fun activities, events, or get discount tickets in that area I add it to the folder. It makes it easier when we have a last minute trip. Usually the biggest problem we have is narrowing down which activities we really want to do because there is so many great activities that we enjoy!
Thankful for an opportunity to travel with the family. When everything is organized and accessible it is one less thing to have to worry about before leaving the house. Little preparations ahead of time make packing up more efficient for the whole family. Plus, it helps ensure that you have all the little items (tickets and paperwork) you need once you arrive at your location.
Mickey Mouse! Whose ready for a Disney trip?!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Recipes: Eggs with Portobello Mushrooms (Breakfast)
Eggs with Portobello Mushrooms for breakfast. The mushroom slices makes it resemble a flower shape.
At times breakfast can be kind of hurried around our house. Especially when the kids are trying to off to school, Jake’s heading into work, and I have various activities going on that day as well. We try to have our family dinners together during the weekdays and on Saturday morning we have a family breakfast or brunch (most Saturdays). We started doing this because Saturdays typically get busier and fill up the later in the day. This allows us to have at least one meal a day together as a family.
It is always nice when we have a chance to sit down, relax, and enjoy some time together at breakfast. A lot of times Jake’s will make up something tasty for our family breakfast. One day Jake was frying up an egg for himself and told me that he was going to make me something for breakfast so don’t worry about getting anything ready for myself that morning. When I arrived at the table this is what I had waiting for me. He had made scrambled eggs topped with bok choy, ham, cheese, and surrounded by a sliced up and sauteed portobello mushrooms. It was delicious!
Eggs with Portobello Mushrooms Recipe:
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 cup Fresh Bok Choy (cut into 1 inch strips)
- 1/4 cup Ham (diced)
- 1 large Portobello Mushroom Cap (cut into strips)
- 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 slice Ultra Thin Sargento Colby Jack Cheese
1. Slice the bok choy, ham, and portobello mushroom cap and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil up in a pan on medium heat for 1 minute. Add the portobello mushroom and diced ham; cook for 3 minutes.
3. While the mushroom and ham is cooking make crack the egg and beat it slightly to make scrambled eggs. Add 1/2 tablespoon of water or milk (I prefer water in my scrambled eggs, but a lot of people like milk). Place the scrambled egg into a small frying pan that is lightly greased (spray with cooking oil or a couple drops of olive oil).
4. As the egg is cooking add the bok choy to the mushroom and ham mixture. Cook until the bok choy starts to wilt.
5. Place the egg in the center of the plate. Top with the bok choy and ham. Add the portobello mushroom slices around the outer edge of the egg stack and top with a slice of cheese.
It tasted AMAZING! A great start to the day!
I Have Decided…
Flashback Friday: Fun with Friends and Bath Time
First trip to GattiTown with Mandy, Jack, Danielle, and Riley (Brina & Karlie)
Today our Flashback Friday is in August 2005 when the girls were 6 months old. It is quite an adventure packing up and heading out to visit family, friends, or do errands, but we are getting better at it. The process of just getting out of the house, into the car, and on our way is usually several minutes long.
The girls have been enjoying going out and about more. I try to do at least one fun activity outside of the house each week with family or friends. They are usually exhausted by the time we get home, but we have fun. It is good for me to spend time with other Moms too.
Thankful for family and friends to hang out with. The girls are really good and for the most part do really well when we are out and about. They love watching everything. It is neat to watch them soak everything in during our adventures.
Mandy and Jack on the carousel
Danielle and Riley on the carousel
Brina very excited about driving Riley’s cool car! Vroom…vroom….look out people here I come!
Josh carrying Brina
Karlie hanging out with Kari
Christy holding Karlie
Aunt Vick hanging out with Brina as she bounces around
Cousins Jordan and Rachel feeding Karlie
Brina watching cousin Jack open his birthday gifts
Jack opening his birthday gifts.
Karlie starting to zone. She didn’t like the party hat at first, but soon forgot about it.
1st Bath together after being out with friends and having sunblock on them. It was too hard to safely bath two wet babies at the same time before now. They could sit up on their own and each had a place to safely sit in the tub now. At first they were not sure what to do? You mean we can play in here!?
Getting use to the bath time fun.
Organized Chaos: Household & Party Supplies
Household and Party / Gift Supplies
There are certain items our household tends to need or go through on a regular basis. Since these are items our family uses regularly we try to keep them organized, accessible, and stocked so that when they are needed we can get them quickly. Also, there are certain party or gift supplies that we keep on hand and organized to use for a variety of different events that we participate in as a family.
In order to organize our Household and Party Supplies efficiently in our storage room we used these clear small containers with white lids, you can find them for a $1 at Dollar Tree. We were able to fit all our household and party supplies on one shelf. Once the items are placed in containers, we put the lid on, and labeled them. We picked up the wire shelving several years ago at Sam’s Club, but you can find it at a number of stores including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and more. We have used this system for several years now and it works really well for our family.
Household & Party Supply labels:
- Vacuum Attachments
- New Sponges
- AAA Batteries
- AA Batteries
- D Batteries
- C & Miscellaneous Batteries
- Curling Ribbons & Yarn
- Gift Bag Ribbons
- Paper Bags (White & Brown)
- Crepe Paper
- Ribbons
When the kids were little it felt like almost every toy had a battery, not sure if we go through any less batteries now that they are older. Although, they do have more stuff that charges using a wall outlet now!
The household and party supplies are located on the bottom rack in this picture! Easy to see, reach, and use when needed!
Song: Lord, You Have My Heart by Delirious
Very simple, yet powerful song. Who does your heart belong to? Is your focus on heaven or this world? Do you humbly seek God’s truth and wisdom for your life? Or are you walking blindly through each day? Take time today to give Him your heart and seek His wisdom.
Lord you have my heart
And I will search for yours
Jesus take my life and lead me onLord you have my heart
And I will search for yours
Let me be to you a sacrificeAnd I will praise you Lord
And I will sing of love come down
And as you show your face, We’ll see your glory here.Travel & Vacation: State License Plate Game
2 State License Plate Game Boards
Our family enjoys going on road trips. We’ve had 40 plus hour road trips before so we are always looking for fun ways to stay busy while in the car. We play games, listen to audio books, read, watch a movie, rest, and more. One of our road trip rules is the only time the kids are allowed to watch a movie is if the trip is over 5 hours long. We found these printable State License Plate Game templates on The Dating Divas website just in time for our last road trip (which was only 19 hours long). The kids have always traveled well and actually look forward to our road trip adventures.
We printed out two of The Dating Divas State License Plate Game sheets, one for each kid. After printing out the sheets we laminated them so we can re-use them for all our road trips. Once they are laminated you can use dry erase markers OR crayons to mark off each license plate as you see it. The only one we have never seen (so far) has been Hawaii. We’ve seen Alaska a few times, but Hawaii is a hard one to locate. On one trip we got 40 plus of the license plates.
You can do variations of this game as well. If you want try to play bingo, see what different shapes you create, four corners, and more. You only get to mark them off if you actually see them and one other person must see them as well to confirm it. So if you spot a few while your sibling is resting or playing a different game you may have an advantage. This is just one of the many fun games we play on our road trips. The kids enjoy it and it keeps them looking out the window and paying attention to the many sights we are passing along the way. Thank you The Dating Divas for this awesome template! We love it!
License plates for all 50 states
Whose ready for a road trip!?
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Recipes: Chicken Tomato Pasta
Chicken Tomato Pasta Dish
Another great meal made by my awesome husband. He came up with this pasta recipe one Sunday for lunch. The base is animal shaped pasta noodles (can you guess who picked out the noodles)?! Topped with chicken, tomatoes, bok choy, spinach, and mushrooms. It was a fresh and tasty combination perfect for dinner out on the deck with the family on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Chicken Tomato Pasta Recipe:
- 1 lb Chicken Breasts (sliced, cooked, seasoned, and drained)
- 12 oz Pasta (we used Organic Vegetable Pasta in the shape of Animals)
- 1 large Tomato (or can of diced tomatoes)
- 1 cup Fresh Spinach
- 1 cup Fresh Bok Choy
- 1/2 cup Fresh Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- Optional – 1/2 small Onion
- Optional – 1/4 cup shredded Cheese
1. Slice the chicken in about 1 inch strips. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of Olive Oil in a frying pans on medium heat and add the minced garlic (and onion if using it). Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the chicken and stir gently as every couple minutes while working on the other steps.
2. Add water to a pot and turn it on medium-high until it is at a rolling boil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta per the directions on the package.
3. Slice up the vegetables into about 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces (tomatoes, spinach, bok choy, mushrooms). Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes cooking them for about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and bok choy, cooking for an additional 3 minutes or until the leaves are starting to wilt.
4. Scoop some pasta onto your plate. Top with the tomato and vegetable mixture. Add the chicken and a little more of the tomato and vegetable mixture. Optional: Garnish with sauteed bok choy centers and a sprinkle of shredded cheese.
Chicken Tomato Pasta with a Bok Choy garnish!
Worrying Does Not Empty Tomorrow…
Flashback Friday: Sleepy Kids
Brina crashed in the middle of chewing in the ring
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back 10 years when the girls were 6 months old. They were exploring more and falling to sleep in random places. Sometimes in the middle of playing with a toy. I tried to move them a few times, but every time I did they would wake up so I just decided to leave them and let them rest. Usually the random naps were small power naps and they were back to playing within a few minutes anyway.
They are beginning to be more mobile and it took more energy to keep up with them. It is so precious watching them sleep peacefully even if it is in their high chair at a weird angle. Oh to be that flexible again.
At this time they are still sleeping in the same crib. As they grow and move around more in their sleep the crib it starting to get a little more chummy, but they look so sweet sleeping together I wasn’t ready to move them into separate cribs quite yet. Occasionally we would come to check on them in the morning and we would see that during the night they scooted down in the crib until their feet were hanging out. Not sure how it was comfortable, but they didn’t wake up or seem to mind it.
When we checked on this morning their were two sets of titty bitty toes sticking out from their crib. It was all I could do not to squeeze those cute little toes, but they were sleeping so peacefully.
Brina fast asleep in her hair chair. Such a rough life. Love how she folds her hands together sometimes when she sleeps.
Brina and Karlie – sleepy babies.
Taking a snooze during their play time with Mr. Octopus – Brina and Karlie
Playing is such hard work for the little ones – Karlie and Brina
Brina fell asleep while playing in her exersaucer!
She woke up with some sleepy “toy lines” on her face. Poor baby!
Playing in the exersaucers is exhausting. Both have crashed during their play time.
How can that be comfortable Karlie!? Not sure how she was still sleeping so soundly with her legs sticking out like that? I think my feet with get cold and go numb. Guess that’s the fun of being a baby.
