Cheers to Summer!

You can find more info about his here...just looking at it make me HaPpY!

Butterscotch Pancakes - the EZ way!

I always make pancakes for the first day of school, but this year I ran into a little problem...no eggs or vanilla : (

But luckily, I did have good ol' Hungry Jack mix...saved me from have one disappointed boy.

And as an added bonus, while hunting in my cabinet, I discovered butterscotch chips...SCORE!

In they went

Delish! No need for syrup, these are sweet enough on their own.

Mmmmmmm....

My fingers are crossed!

Have you heard about the AMAZING machine called a Silhouette...its sort of like a printer that hooks up to you computer but instead of printing on paper, it prints on things like vinyl and heat transfer paper AND HERE IS THE BEST PART...it cuts it out for you too!!! See, I said AMAZING!!

Here are a few examples of what it can do...

PAPER/SCRAPBOOKING.....

VINYL CUTTING!!!....

GLASS ETCHING!!!

{image source: make it and love it.}

PAPER PARTY SUPPLIES!!...



HEAT TRANSFERS!!!!

{image source: make it and love it}

Here is another ETCHING example...

Here's another Vinyl example...

So obviously I want one!! I'm entering a couple contests in hope to have one of my very own : ) I'm feelin' lucky!!

Here are the sites with the giveaways

http://karaspartyideas.blogspot.com/2010/08/silhouette-craft-cutter-giveaway-300.html

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2010/08/super-fantabulous-product-giveaway_23.html

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2010/08/over-300-giveaway-santa-has-arrived.html

http://www.twigandthistle.com/blog/2010/09/giveaway-silhouette-digital-cutting-tool/

Back to School Traditions

Back to School is an exciting time around here. My oldest LOVES school! Every aspect of it...the learning, the friends, the routine.

So we celebrate the big day!

Butterscotch pancakes for breakfast

Posing for first day pics

Measured on the closet wall

And at the end of the big day, a favorite meal of mini sloppy joes.

Those are some of your back to school traditions. How about you?

Plum Crazy

Our plum tree was very generous this year, so many that we lost a few limbs due to the weight of these big beautiful juicy gems. We couldn't pick them, much less eat them fast enough.
So I tried a few new recipes in addition to the usual Plum Jam.

I tried a plum jalapeno salsa...it was interesting. I'm not a big fan of jalapenos, but I liked it with chips. Shawn liked it too but after a day or two in the fridge, it was done. This is a salsa that needs to be eaten the same day it is made.

I also made Upside-down plum blueberry cupcakes...so delish! I adapted this recipe. I will DEFINITELY make this again and again and again!



I wish I could make another batch but I don't dare buy plums from the store, they just don't taste the same!

I also made homemade turnovers using frozen puff pastry...super easy and super yummy. I just put about a tablespoon of jam in a square of dough, egg washed the sides and top and baked according to directions. So super yummy!

I ♥ lunchbox notes

Hello, My name is Sharla and I'm a lunchbox note-aholic...yes I do love lunchbox notes, so while the blogosphere is buzzing with back to school stuff, I keep noticing all these cute printables.

I think these are my current favorite...can't go wrong with apples, right?

http://www.howdoesshe.com/wp-content/uploads/HowDoesShe_school_printables.pdf


http://www.scribd.com/doc/36030529/Lunch-Box-Notes-Printables



http://www.skiptomylou.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/customlunchboxnotes.pdf

I thought these were TOO CUTE!!!! Logan loves a good pun!
http://www.skiptomylou.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/fruitlabels.pdf

This site has EVERYTHING Disney, princesses to the Jonas Brothers!

http://disney-stationary.com/printables/lunch-notes.php



http://www.readingrockets.org/content/pdfs/lunchnotes/lunchnotes3.pdf


http://www.parents.com/holiday/valentines-day/printables/print-it-lunchbox-lovenotes/

Really thought these were fun!

http://fun.familyeducation.com/lunchbox-notes/lunch/64045.html?detoured=1
These are ADORABLE design your own notes!!

http://www.alenkasprintables.com/lunchboxnotes.shtml
These are cute customizable notes too!

And sometimes, all you need is a joke or two!

http://familyfun.go.com/assets/cms/pdf/printables/0903_jokes.pdf
Some fun jokes arranged for easy printing and cutting out

for the little ones: Blues Clues (does anyone even watch that show anymore?) and Do-Do-Dora (which could be fun for a bigger kid who really liked Dora back in the day)
http://www.nickjr.com/printables/blues-lunchbox-notes.jhtml?path=/printables/all-shows/all-themes/3-4-years/index.jhtml

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/dora-lunchbox-love-notes.jhtml?path=/printables/dora-the-explorer/all-themes/all-ages/index.jhtml

***Just Added***
These are cute too

http://www.mariahdemarco.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2010/08/Lunch-Notes.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/TweedleDeeDesigns

http://www.executivehomemaker.com/gingham-lunch-note-cards/

http://printable.tipjunkie.com/lunchbox-love-notes-printables-for-kids/

B is for BOY

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of showering a friend expecting her first baby, a baby BOY. I love making something special to go with a gift, an excuse to get my craft on!

I decided to make some clothespins. I use these handy clips ALL THE TIME. Keeping a blanket over the stroller when the monkey is sleeping or blocking the sun from the car window. And now that my monkeys are getting bigger, they get used to keep blankets together for forts and hanging wet fingerpaint masterpieces on the line. So you get the point...super useful!

I already had a supply of clothespins (bought a pack of 40 at the dollar store) that I spray painted silver for another project that never got off the ground...(can you believe that??!?)I was getting very impatient waiting for one side to dry so I could flip it over to paint the side...then a moment of brillance hit! clip them so they stand up straight! WAH-LA

Now to make them cute, I used a straw to make big circles

And a chop stick to make the small dots

So Fun and EASY! The Mommy to be LOVED it!