Fun at the Zoo!

The best sound in the world is hearing your kids laugh as they play together.  This is what happened on  a recent visit to the zoo.  They are growing so fast and they never cease to surprise me.  The more we visit the zoo, I see my daughter enjoy it in different ways.  This was a cool day in August and we had so much fun.

2nd time at the zoo for my little man and you see how happy he is.  Then again, he is always this happy.

He really enjoyed the zoo playground on this visit.

What a great day!

Yeah Kiddie Thermos!

Back to school is one of my favorite times of the year.  That means fall is getting closer, the weather will soon be enjoyable, the colors of trees will be vibrant, and it is an awesome time for my hair management (say NO to frizz)!  The weeks leading up to school make me excited because I see all the cool supplies and it just brings back memories of how excited it felt to get brand new everything.  Once my kids are old enough for Back To School shopping, I have a feeling I will be sneaking a few products in the shopping cart for myself. Shhhhh, don't tell my husband!

A friend of mine highly recommended these great beverage Thermos containers a little over a year ago. I always looked them over because they aren't exactly cheap.  I will say that I am glad I made the investment.  Let me tell you, they are awesome!

The label on the container says that it will keep anything hot for 5 hours and anything cold for 7 hours.  I testify that anything really cold sometimes stays longer than that.  I have put in ice with water and forgot to empty it out until the next day and when I do it STILL has ice in it.  The hot option also keeps things warm, maybe not as long as the cold but definitely warm for 4-5 hours.

Why do I like it for my kids if they are not carrying lunch boxes yet?  The temperature control, the lid locks, and being able to put hot or cold beverages/food.  It's so much better than any sippy cup we've had.  If you notice in the pics below I also bought the food container.  My husband thought I was crazy and that it wouldn't be used.  I personally liked the cuteness (gets me into shopping trouble) but I truly have used them.  I take yogurt for my son while we are out and about.  I have cut up cheese and fruit for on the road snacks and it keeps cool always.  I have also taken hot oatmeal for those rushed mornings when they don't want to eat but know very darn well that they will an hour later.

I haven't had to replace the straws yet but as I was researching to plan ahead, reviews have mentioned to contact Thermos customer service because it's a better deal.  I will definitely be going that route.

My daughter likes this handle, perfect for little fingers. 

Pieces easily come apart for cleaning.

Love that you can fit a good amount in the container.  A heads up, you will need a tiny brush to clean the lid since has a very narrow space along the edge that traps food.

Hope everyone has a fabulous school year!

It's a Crayola Birthday!

In the springtime my daughter turned 2!  I still can't believe it.  Since we are always on a budget for our own good, I thought what kind of theme could I do that didn't break the bank.  I didn't want another repeat of her 1st (even though it was fun) to happen again.  So, colorful Crayola it was!  I figured that I didn't have to stress and I would just get and incorporate what I came across at my local stores.  With the help of Pinterest, this is what came to life.  

This is how many crayons I used to make a few of the hearts below.

Target and Big Lots had some great options to put inside of the grab bags.

Made a few coloring books using construction paper as the covers.  I also printed a black and white pic of each of her friends to put inside as a nice surprise.

Place cards for each of the food items.

I got this idea from Pinterest

I had an old banner that I just remove the character from the ends and made it fit the theme.

Another Pinterest inspiration.

I was very pleased with how the sweets table turned out. 

Our local supermarket had this option available, Loved It!

We had 3 kid tables with chairs set up with all kinds of creative goodies such as paint, crayons,  markers, side walk chalk, etc.  Little aprons from the $ store came in handy.

Found these at Big Lots for 50 cents each!

The best part of the day was the look on her face when she received her big girl gift.  PRICELESS!

Hope she enjoyed it as much as I did!

Ranch Pasta Salad

I usually make this pasta salad to go along with anything we grill.  It's super easy and packed with flavor.  It will probably taste good as a potato salad as well.  Never thought of that until now so I will make sure and try it real soon.  This is another recipe I tweaked for my liking but the inspiration came from allrecipes.com. I use what ever pasta I have on hand and roll with it. 

Ingredients:

1 box of pasta, (not shown above)

4 celery stalks, chopped

1/4 c. olives (green or black)

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. sour cream

2 tbsp milk

2 envelopes dry ranch dressing mix

2 tsp paprika

Boil pasta according to package.  In separate large bowl mix celery, olives, mayo, sour cream, milk, ranch mix.

Add warm pasta to mixture. Mix again.

Once everything is well incorporated, cover bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours.  The longer it sits the better it tastes.  Sprinkle paprika once ready to serve.

Ranch lovers will love this dish!

Favorite Burger Recipe

In our house we like food well seasoned.  My husband says if he is going to eat a burger it better be worth it.  That is why he likes this recipe.  It is always a hit at get togethers. The inspiration for this recipe came from Ina Gartener from the Food Network, I just tweaked it a little for my liking.

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground beef (not shown above)

1 package of onion soup

3 tbsp steak sauce

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

6 egg yolks

1/2 stick of butter

Mix ground beef, soup, steak sauce, salt, and pepper with a very light hand.

Then incorporate yolks and mix lightly.  Don't mash the meat too hard, it toughens it.

I like to use this nifty burger patty shaper to ensure they are all uniform in size.  I take half the amount need and flatten, then place a pad of butter in the center and cover with a little more beef.  The pad of butter keeps them nice and juicy.

All the burgers end up just about the same size and the shaper gives them a small dimple in the middle to prevent the burgers from swelling in the center and it cooks evenly.

Put them in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours to let the flavors come together.   Once you are ready to cook, just fire up the grill or pan and place a nice and cold burger to cook 3-5 minutes each side.  Placing them cold to cook helps prevent the burger from falling apart.

Hope you like!