Fall Fun at Applewood Orchard

Wow! It has been a while since I blogged. Lots to catch up on, but those are for another day...

Well, now that Haley is down to one nap/day it is SO much easier to do fun family activities since we don't have to try to squeeze them in during a 2-hour window that also included lunch. What did we do to celebrate this new freedom? We took Haley to Applewood Orchard for apple picking, hay rides, a corn maze, pumpkin picking and more.

We really had a lot of fun and got a HUGE bag of Honeycrisp Apples, too!

I was really impressed with all the free and low-cost things they had to do at the farm, too. Tractor rides...

the corn maze...

and finally, our little pumpkin picked out her own pumpkin! 

A good time had by all!

June Photo a Day 17-25

Again, here is the next week of the #FMSPhotoADay for June! One more little set to post soon to finish off the month! I've stared the July photos - too fun!

Day 17 {centered} My roses in the front garden FINALLY started to bloom!

Day 18 {street}

Day 19 {currently reading} A Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling...love reading books on my iPad Mini, especially on the patio!

Day 20{cute} 'Nuff Said

Day 21 {lunchtime} Good to the last bite! It was a bowl of broccoli salad!

Day 22 {enjoying life} Her favorite place to be...on Daddy's shoulders!

Day 23 {last} The last moments before going to bed on a beautiful Sunday evening.

Day 24 {negative space}

Day 25 {sharp} Again, featuring my roses!

Enjoy! Hope everyone has a very happy and safe Independence Day tomorrow!

July Photo A Day Challenge

Here is the latest list from FatMumSlim Photo a Day Challenge and it starts TOMORROW. I've had a great time with the June challenge (will post the last 2 sets of photos soon) and can't wait to tackle this one!

Baby/Toddler Recipe: Salmon Sticks

I thought I would share a quick, healthy recipe that I found that was a HIT with Haley! The best part is that I got to use up a bunch of baby food that I had made previously since she is growing out of that.

Salmon Sticks (from here)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup peas
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach (thaws out to 1.5 Tbsp. of spinach)
1.5 Tbsp. pumpkin or sweet potato puree

1 egg white (I prefer cage-free organic - they just taste better!)
1 6 oz. can wild Alaskan salmon

Milk of your choice (I used formula)
1/3 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko because I already knew Haley loved it from when I made this!)

More bread crumbs for rolling

Directions:

Mix peas, corn, spinach and pumpkin/sweet potato in a blender, food processor or bullet. (This is where my leftovers came in handy - I already had these pureed and frozen so I just thawed them up and mixed together!) 

Such pretty colors!

Then add in the salmon (drained), bread crumbs and egg white.

Roll into logs and freeze for 1 hour. Dredge frozen logs in milk and then breadcrumbs. Freeze until you are ready to eat. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes from frozen.

Done!

I think this took me all of 10 minutes. I just make 1 at a time for Haley when they are on the menu. They go great with sweet potato fries and applesauce!

Haley approves!

June Photo a Day 10-16

As promised, here is the next week of the #FMSPhotoADay for June! 

Day 10 {you!) Selfie! LOL!

Day 11 {something funny} Oh, that smile!

Day 12 {11 o'clock} A.M. Working...

Day 13 {kitchen} We remodeled almost 4 years ago (great to have a brother-in-law who is a contractor) and I still LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Day 14 {texture} Tired Wally after swimming at the park. 

Day 15 {from above} My lovely flower pot in the front garden.

Day 16 {family} Celebrating Father's Day on the deck!

Free Printable: Grocery and Menu Super Planner

Hello! So I have a gift for you today! As I was fumbling my way through the grocery store the other day, literally dropping coupons from the giant stack I had in my hands because I wanted to make sure I got the right items/quantity list on them I thought to myself, "There HAS to be a better way!"

And there is! Behold...my very own Grocery and Menu Super Planner! I created this free printable to help make grocery shopping and meal planning a breeze!

Download it here! 

How to use it:

First, yes, it is two pages. Please save some trees and print front to back. I also designed it so you can just print page 1 if you don't need the "baby" or "pets" sections or don't want to use the meal planner.

I thought I would provide a few pointers on how I designed this to be used, just so you can use it to the fullest capability. The second page has a meal planner AND it includes an activity reminder space in case you need an easy place to remember soccer practice or a date night, etc.

After planning out your meals and printing all your coupons, write down the SPECIFIC coupon items under each category and mark that there is a coupon. That way you know you need 2 boxes of Jiffy brand cornbread mix or you won't be able to use that coupon. Best of all, you won't be shuffling through coupons in the middle of the store just to make sure you have all the items correct! Add in any other items you need and you're on your way to an EASIER shopping experience.

I have tried and tested this list and it worked great! I just handed the cashier my stack of coupons at the end of my trip without having to worry if I had all the right stuff.

Enjoy!

June Photo a Day 1-9

As promised, here are the first 9 days of the #FMSPhotoADay for June! I've really been having fun with each and every challenge and ended up taking over 400 pictures this week! I'll post a few bonus photos of my cutie pie later this week. 

Day 1 {B is for...} Bleeding Hearts

Day 2 {a moment} Enjoying a sunny day on the patio with daddy.

Day 3 {on my table} Baskets full of toys, The Story Bible and a Woodwick candle. Probably some dust, too!

Day 4 {after dark} This guy was waiting under the light of the front door when we came in from doing yard projects late that night.

Day 5 {environment} This pretty much sums up what our environment looks like lately.

Day 6 {transport} New shoes!

Day 7 {bright} Those eyes! So blue and bright...no editing on this one either. They are just THAT blue. 

Day 8 {an animal} Usually, this would be Wally, but this mama Robin was feeding her chicks in the front tree that day.

Day 9 {from down low} Look at those cute heart-butt jeans. Baby jeans are the cutest! Pretty sure those are still 0-3 month, although all of her other clothes are 3-6 month. Cutie!

Looking forward to posting the next batch!

Tiny Cutie - 9 Months Old!

Yesterday, Haley turned 9 months! I can't believe how fast the time flies. Although she is still tiny, she is healthy, happy and getting bigger by the minute. I can't believe she started out at only 3 1/2 pounds!

This is Haley when we brought her home from the hospital at 3 lbs, 11 oz. 

Park Review: Lebanon Hills/Shultz Lake Beach

We are so lucky to live in an area that has A LOT of parks. There are very nice trails just blocks from our house that we go to almost daily. This particular day, however, we decided to go to a park a little further away so we packed up the stroller, the leash and the "kids" and drove to Lebanon Hills Park in Eagan. Specifically, we stopped at Schulze Lake Beach, where our church has their annual picnic. 

This is a fantastic park to visit year-round. The visitors center is really nice and you can rent canoes and kayaks there, or even camp!

There is a VERY nice, sandy beach with big umbrellas for shade. Just watch that you don't get there after all the geese, if you know what I mean.

I hope you get the chance to explore some of your own neighborhood parks this summer!

Committing

OK. I've been a bad blogger and it is time to get back on track. Not only will this help me with my blogging, but it will help me practice photography - one of my new found passions. :)

So, here goes. I'm going to do the FatMumSlim Photo a Day Challenge starting TOMORROW. The June list looks pretty fun and will be just what I need to revive my blog. I am committing to posting at least once/week!



Thanks to Laura for the inspiration! Your May pics were awesome!