Independence Day

Source: thecraftingchicks.com via Kristina on Pinterest

Happy 4th!!!! Most of us are off work (except for J who has to sleep all day and work tonight), and will be celebrating with food, beverages, and fireworks. I don't know about the rest of you but I really dislike it when a holiday falls in the middle of the week and we don't get the day after off. It should be a law that when this happens that we automatically have the day after off. Don't you agree? At least I can say I threw that thought out there. Not like it would ever actually happen.

I have to drag myself to the store today of all days. I should have gone last night but that didn't happen. So, instead I get to go grocery shopping on the 4th. I mean, it's not like we can go another day without cereal! If we do, my kids won't let me hear the end of it. Let's hope it's not chaos and everyone else has already done their shopping. After the store I plan to take M & L with me to hang with my mom and make some festive goodies for today.

Source: grinandbakeit.com via Stacy on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Amber on Pinterest

Later this evening we're heading to my sister's to have a BBQ and fireworks!

I hope you all have a fantastic and safe 4th!

Meet our new furry friend!

It's Monday "Blah day" folks. No one likes Mondays, myself included. But, I'm really trying to push through the day with a smile on my face.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Ours was pretty mellow, but wonderful at the same time. J and I have been discussing getting another dog and finally took the plunge! I guess you could say it was his Father's Day gift. We didn't want a puppy. I'm not big on really hate training puppies. I loathe potty training them and going through the mess of it all. Instead we wanted to adopt a young dog but one that was already fixed, house trained, and up-to-date on shots. We lucked out and found this pretty girl, Lily! She is a 13 month old, American bulldog and Boxer mix. They actually call these half-breeds Bulloxers! Isn't she adorable? I had a Boxer while growing up and she was the best dog so my hope is that Lily will be too.

So far she seems like a great fit in our home. She is a gentle dog but has lots of energy. We already have a 7 year old golden retriever, Jake. He needed a playmate and she will certainly keep him on his toes. He tends to get lazy! She needs some training but nothing major. Just small things that we need to work on. J and the kiddos are stoked to have another dog around. I hope that she can be my jogging buddy in the near future. :)

We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday night with J's favorites: lasagna and chicken wings (nice combo, right?) and some delish turtle brownies. Sunday morning we joined my mom, step-dad, step-sister and her kiddos for brunch. Gotta love biscuits and gravy, bacon, fruit, strawberry pie, and mimosas!

I definitely indulged way too much this weekend. All that food tasted great but man did I overdo it! Time to cut back and work out extra hard this week.

  

Sunday Funnies + Father's Day

It's Sunday Funday people! I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend. Today we get to celebrate Father's Day with those special dads in our lives. What better way to spend a Sunday?

I know I'm especially thankful for the father's in my life today!

Dad - I love you and miss you every day. I wish we lived closer and could see you more often. You're the best father I could have hoped for. You are always there to guide me with great advice and compassion. You're caring, forgiving, funny, and smart.....the best qualities you can find in a dad in my opinion :)

Kara, my Dad, and I

J (my husband) - I love you more than words. You're an amazing husband and a wonderful father to our children. You wear your heart on your sleeve and your passion drives you. Both qualities are not easy to find in a person. Our kids adore you and look forward to every minute they get to spend with you. Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father.

Our little family :)

I also want to send some Father's Day wishes to my step-father, father-in-law, and step-father-in-law. You're all such special dads in our lives and we are thankful for you each and every day. You all have a piece of our hearts and we love you!

Now, onto the Sunday Funnies: Father's Day Edition! If you haven't linked up with Kara for Sunday Funnies before, you should need to right this minute.

Source: someecards.com via Jenissa on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Jacque on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Maribel on Pinterest

Source: roadkilltshirts.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Until next post!

Memorial Day & Recipe Round-up

I hope everyone is having a safe weekend and enjoying their extra day off work. I also hope that everyone is taking time today to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day. Today is a day to remember those that have served in the Armed Services, past and present. And most importantly to remember those that didn't make it home. Those that sacrificed their lives for our country. Let us always remember them and honor them and respect today for what it is meant for.

Source: bbc.co.uk via rayna on Pinterest

To my husband, brother, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and many friends and family members that have served or are currently serving our country, thank you for service. Today and always.

I also wanted to share a fabulous recipe today that I tried out this weekend. Time for Recipe Round-up! I know I haven't posted any recipes lately and mostly it's because every time I start dinner I forget to break out my camera and then I get lazy and just don't post about it. Terrible, I know. But it's the truth.

Saturday evening I really wanted to eat out. But something made me decide not to and just cook up some ground turkey that was sitting in my fridge. So thankfully I did because I had been wanting to try out this recipe for weeks. It's probably one of my favorite meatball dishes now. Hands down in my top 2!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Sauce


Here's what you'll need. Don't pay attention to the Teriyaki glaze. I took it out on accident and had to swap it for Sesame Oil. Silly me.

For the Meatballs:
- 1/4 cup panko crumbs or breadcrums
- 1 1/4 lbs lean ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil

For the Dipping Sauce:
- 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp chopped scallions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Mix ground turkey, panko (or breadcrumbs), egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp sesame oil and mix with your hands until well combined. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture. Makes about 12 meatballs.

Bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

For the dipping sauce, mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 tsp of sesame oil in a bowl. and scallions.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce then drizzle meatballs with 1 tbsp sauce. Serve meatballs with remaining sauce, about 1 tbsp per person for dipping.

That's it! Easy peasy and so delicious! I will be making this often. I served it with some teriyaki style rice which was perfect.

Happy Monday and Happy Memorial Day! Have a fabulous week! We're off to a BBQ at my mom's :)

Sunday Funnies

Happy Mother's Day to all of you gorgeous mommies out there! I hope you all have a fabulous day. I am especially thankful today for my mom. She is one of the strongest, most loving, and hard working women I know and I couldn't ask for anything more. She is an amazing Yaya (grandma) to my kids and we are blessed to live so close. Love you mom!

My mom and all of her kids

And of course I can't forget the other special moms in my life.....Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law, step-mom and J's step-mom! They are all such special women that have impacted our lives in so many wonderful ways.

Now, on to Sunday Funnies! Because it's Mother's Day and all, I have decided to dedicate this entire post to this extra special day. Enjoy and laugh a ton :)

Hooray for weekends!

Happy Friday peeps! TGIF sums is up for me. It's been one of those weeks. A week where my stress levels peaked majorly. Beyond the norm. Which is generally pretty high as it is. So, to say my stress levels are high means it's pretty bad. Basically, we moved and I have been searching for daycare every day with no luck. I am pretty particular when it comes to who I leave my kids with. Understandable to most moms. I just have high expectations and I wasn't finding what I had hoped for here. I even broadened my search to about a 20 mile radius. Still nothing. I reached a fork in the road where I felt that if I didn't find something soon I could risk losing my job. Which of course I didn't want to happen. Thankfully, LBCC pulled through and sent me a referral list in the area and the first place I called had openings. I popped in for a same day visit and LOVED the provider and her entire set-up! She has a great structured environment, wonderful property, and it just felt like the right fit. I snatched it up yesterday afternoon and my kids start on Monday. Close call to say the least. But, the stress is lessening now that I have that secured and I feel good about it.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a jog with my sister and then my hubster made us a yummy steak, potato and salad dinner (of course accompanied by a glass of wine) and we celebrated Mother's Day at our house a tad early. My kids couldn't wait to give me their gifts and I was okay with that! And boy was I a spoiled momma this year! Not that I am complaining because I LOVE everything. But I don't do much for myself so it was a bit more than I expected. I must rephrase, it was a ton more than I ever expected. J emphasized how important it was for that very reason....that I just don't buy myself things very often. I really do love what they all bought for me. I mean, check it out! (Excuse the not so great pics....taken with my Blackberry)

I have been waiting for one of these and he found an awesome deal!!! And I got chai latte to boot :)

The kiddos picked out these beautiful orchids for my table....love them.

And a Kindle Touch! I hope this gives me motivation to read more. 

See what I mean? Seriously spoiled! I will admit I felt a tad guilty about it because I don't spend very much on myself but J insisted that he set aside some cash and kept it a secret so I guess I will let it slide. Just this once. Haha.

Anywho, I am looking forward to this weekend. Lots of cleaning and laundry to get done, but also planning to enjoy some nice weather. Happy Mother's Day to all you fellow moms out there and have a fabulous weekend!