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Sunday, May 31, 2015

Seven on Sunday ~ Week 22

Day 1: Sunday ~ It was a fun Memorial Day weekend and of course, burgers on the grill were in order! We mixed things up a little and didn't do the "traditional" burger....get the "recipe" HERE. Seriously, best burger ever!!!


Day 2: Monday ~ Memorial Day. Spent the day in Napa! Had an awesome picnic at Frank Family, candy store in Calistoga, then a leisurely drive home--we had to stop and get a pic of this flag amongst the vineyards. :)


Kiddos at Frank Family

Day 3: Tuesday ~ Daddy's away, so it's pizza and ice cream for dinner! :) You can tell Will LOVES when I take pics! He purposely made that face.

Day 4: Wednesday ~ When I forget a picture, I do a quote. I LOVE this one! Makes you think :)


Day 5: Thursday ~ So you guys know I love my job. It has it's low points, but I just LOVE helping kids who need that "little extra" help. Today my kindergartners brought me to tears! I was just informally, randomly testing them on word blending and reading and 4 months ago, none of my kinders could blend letter sounds into words. Today, all 5 of my kiddos could do it!! I was so stinkin' proud of them!!! Hopefully they didn't notice my tears!! LOL!


Day 6: Friday ~Sarah was showing off for her Auntie Jenna saying she was a boy (that's her brother's shirt!). That girl...

Day 7: Saturday ~ We spent the day in Sonoma celebrating my sister in law's 40th birthday! Wow--what a wonderful house they rented!! Complete with a pool, hot tub, egg laying chickens and a zip line!!! SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!

This view...

View from the pool--crazy!!

Kids had a BLAST!!!!

Happy birthday, sister!!!

I'm exhausted from this week!!!! See ya back here tomorrow for my Summer Skin Care Faves!!


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Friday, May 29, 2015

The Best Summer Burger

Ok, so grilling season is upon us and burgers just seem like our go-to whenever the weather is nice and we want something yummy on the grill. I've never had a BAD burger on the grill...it really doesn't get much better than the smell of a juicy burger being cooked outside. However, we recently tried a few different things to mix up our summer burgers and HOLY BBQ-SAUCE Batman, these burgers were Uh-MAZING!

This burger is not made with some fancy method, marinade or anything super "special"--therefore I don't have an exact "recipe" per se. However, I will share with you a few things we did that made these burgers off-the-charts delicious!!

Best Summer Burger

1. Organic 85/15 Hamburger ~ Listen, I know I'm from California, but truth be told, everything I buy is not organic!! :) It was a friend who actually went with me to Costco late one night (long story) and forced me to try organic hamburger meat. She said we'd never go back to regular. She was right. The meat had a different taste and was just so. darn. good.

2. Kings Hawaiian Burger Buns: I didn't even know they made such a thing! I grew up eating King's sweet Hawaiian bread and I love it! Their burger buns are soft and have a touch of sweetness, too. SOOOO GOOD!

3. Toppings: We mixed up the toppings a bit and strayed from the typical ketchup/mustard/lettuce/tomato and topped our burger with this:

~ BBQ Sauce: Just a little, slathered on both buns
~ Sauteed onions: I just cooked one large, thinly sliced onion in a little olive oil for 10-15 minutes.
~ Avocado: Need I say more?
~ Bacon: Yep
~ Lettuce and Tomato: Just to keep it traditional :)

It's something about the good quality meat, sweetness of the buns and BBQ sauce, creaminess of the avacado, saltiness of the bacon...all of those awesome flavors on one plate!

There you go! Best summertime burger ever!!!

I forgot to post last week's recipe, Crunchy Noodle Salad on Facebook and Instagram, so if you missed it, you can find it HERE. It's a delicious summertime salad and perfect for picnics and potlucks!



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Sunday, May 24, 2015

SEVEN ON SUNDAY ~ WEEK 21

Day 1: Sunday ~ Just another Sunday night playing "tie up the sibling."


Day 2: Monday ~ Today she learned how to take a selfie. I'm so proud!! LOL!


Day 3: Tuesday ~ Fun with her friends at her babysitters house! That yard!!!!


Day 3: Wednesday ~ Quote of the week :)
 Day 4: Thursday ~ Celebrating my bday with some dear friends....love my girlfriends! Don't know where the group shot is..no one sent that one to me!!!


Day 5: Friday ~This kid lost another tooth!

Day 6: Saturday ~Shopping, haircut and fun with friends!

Shopping with some (old) bday money! Thanks Pops and Gramma Melly!!

 She got 6 inches cut off!
 These crazies!
Have a great week!


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Friday, May 22, 2015

The Summer Challenge!!

Girls! It's time!!!! Early bird registration for the Summer Style Challenge with Get Your Pretty On, opens TODAY (Friday)!!
If you are new to this blog, I have been participating in these style challenges for nearly a year and it's been such an awesome experience! I recapped all of my outfits from the Spring Challenge here:

Spring Challenge Recap ~ Week 1
Spring Challenge Recap ~ Week 2
Spring Challenge Recap ~ Week 3
Spring Challenge Recap ~ Wrap Up

In a nutshell, the Challenge provides you with a shopping list, plus 21 days of outfit "formulas"...totally takes the guesswork out of what to wear everyday! Read all about the Challenges HERE.

Then click HERE and sign up on Friday because prices go up on May 28th!

Here are my favorite outfits from the Spring Challenge ~


I'll remind you again before registration closes, but grab some friends and sign up HERE!! I promise, it's so much fun!

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Crunchy Noodle Saad

Today I've got the perfect little summer side salad for you! It's a pretty popular recipe--some people call it "Ramen Noodle Salad" and there are tons of different versions of it, but this is mine :)

This recipe is the perfect backyard BBQ dish or great for a picnic since there is no mayo--just toss the salad with the dressing up to 30 minutes before serving.

Crunchy Noodle Salad
(serves 4-6--double for a crowd)

Salad ~ 
1 packet dry Ramen noodles (discard spice packet)
1 bag (about 10 oz) bagged coleslaw mix
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3-4 scallions, diced
1 can mandarin oranges
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup shelled edamame (I used the frozen kind, thawed)

Dressing ~

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup white wine or rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup olive oil (or less)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Whisk together dressing ingredients, season to taste and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400. Crunch up the ramen noodles until they are in small pieces. On a cookie sheet, toss noodles together with the slivered almonds. Bake for 3-4 minutes until toasted and golden brown.
Lazy Girl Note ~ Skip this step if you are in a hurry...but I will say it adds an awesome layer of flavor!

3. In a large bowl toss together remaining salad ingredients; add toasted noodles and almonds.

4. Toss with dressing and chill for 15-30 minutes or serve immediately.

I served this salad with just a grilled chicken breast that I brushed with a little teriyaki sauce.

Crunchy Noodle Salad

Dinner is served!!!!

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Sunday, May 17, 2015

SEVEN ON SUNDAY ~ WEEK 20

It was a great, SICKNESS-FREE week! :)

Day 1: Sunday ~ Mother's Day!!! We went to church, followed by a HUGE homemade brunch. After that it was off to Train Town in Sonoma...we promised Sarah we would go there for her birthday last week, but considering everyone was barfing, we didn't go. Train Town is a small little amusement park with an awesome stream train that takes you for a ride through trees and tunnels and takes you to a little "town" where the kids can play around and feed animals. We have been going there since Brookey was little and it was Buddy's favorite place when he was a toddler and obsessed with trains! Sarah loves it now, too.

My loves :) They might drive me nuts sometimes but I am blessed God chose me to be their Mama.

Fun at Train Town...


Day 2: Monday ~ Every Spring I buy my kiddos new Crocs and they LIVE in these shoes (and flip flops) during the spring and summer. Sarah picked out this pair but then one shoe mysteriously disappeared into thin air one night after she rode bikes. Scott finally offered up a $10 reward to anyone who found it....low and behold, Will found it (in his Power Rangers basket!!) Money talks!!! :)


Day 3: Tuesday ~ My prompt to my students: "Write about one thing you like about Kindergarten." I LOVE MY JOB!!!


Day 4: Wednesday ~ Another Wednesday, another frigid, gale-force-winds night at the ballpark!


Day 5: Thursday ~ I went out with some girlfriends for a Kindergarten Moms Night Out tonight, but of course I didn't take a pic! So continuing with my tradition of doing a quote when I forget a picture...i ran across this one on Facebook Thursday night. This might be one of my favorite quotes--EVER! You don't argue with a soon to be Saint! And if you can follow this, you are a saint yourself!! It's HARD!


Day 6: Friday ~ Scott golfed in the 2nd Annual Blaise Olmes Memorial Golf Tournament to celebrate the life of a friend's child who passed away 2 years ago. The gals and I met up with the golfing boys for a fun dinner!


Day 7: Saturday ~ Once a month or so, Scott and I like to do individual "dates" with each kiddo. Today this guy was my date! In and Out...he's a super cheap date, too!! and (needs a haircut..badly! OMG!)

This kid had a rough game! First, he gets hit in the face while making a play at 3rd, then he gets thrown out at 2nd (first time ever...thought he was gonna cry!), then he had to play catcher (he HATES catcher!). But he powered through...and so did I! It's not easy to see your kid get beat up on the field! LOL!!


 Have a wonderful week!!!!

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Sunday, May 10, 2015

SEVEN ON SUNDAY ~ WEEK 19

Soooooo....this week was interesting :) Not one I feel the need to repeat ANY TIME soon. Or ever. Let's get started!!!

Day 1: Sunday ~ Sarah was getting over the stomach bug that she had and was feeling a lot better, so we went to church and to Toys R Us so she could pick out her first bike!! We also got Buddy a bike and the kid learned to ride (finally) in a matter of minutes.

So proud of her Dora bike!!!


So proud he can keep up with big sis now!!!

The whole day I was feeling a little "off." I had felt super tired the night before and even missed a good friend's party because I was just feeling icky. On to...

Day 2: Monday ~ I woke up feeling MUCH better! I got up at my usual 5am, worked out, showered, took the kids to school. Around 9:30am I started to feel weak...and tired...and my tummy hurt. Let's just say it was all over after that. Scott had already planned to come home early for Buddy's baseball game and I told him to hurry up because I was down and OUT! Stomach flu victim #2!

I napped while Sarah napped, then pulled it together to pick up the kids from school. Buddy gets in the car and is not his usual, chipper self. He looked awful, said his tummy hurt and started crying. Here he is on the way home...poor guy...(don't ask what the gunk is on his window..just don't ask)

The second he got home he went to the bathroom...and yeah, it was all over from there. Third man down.

Day 3: Tuesday ~ I was still feeling awful, so I slept all day with Will and Sarah went to daycare. Scott worked from home. At about 1:00 we get a call from school. Pick up Brookey--"she's tired and her tummy hurts." GOOD LORD!!! This is how poor Brookey spent the rest of the afternoon/evening...4th man down....

But guess what??! Tuesday was also Sarah's birthday!!! And no one is stopping this girl from having a proper birthday!!! Scott took her to pick up her cake...

The big 3!!!!
She opened some presents and her daycare also had a party for her!!! So I think she was happy :)

Day 4: Wednesday ~ On Wednesday the kids and I ALL stayed home!! Brooke was feeling much better but still weak, Will was pretty much recovered just tired and I was starting to feel slightly human again. I didn't take a pic so here's my quote...Amen! LOL!

Around noon, Scott comes downstairs from his office and says he's starting to feel weak and his tummy hurt....I'll spare you the details. 5th man down!!!

Day 5: Thursday ~ By Thursday the kids and I were all MUCH better and back at work and school. Yay!! Scott is on the mend, so it was a short-lived bug! They were so excited to be outside after dinner!

We're not sick!! YAY!!!!

Day 6: Friday ~ Scott and I were set to go to a fancy bday dinner, but given the week and the fact that our tummies were still recovering...it was Friday Night Pizza and Red Box! :)


Day 7: Saturday ~I definitely felt the bday love!!! (Sorry, Sarah, you're too short!)


Fantastic way to end a cray, cray week!!

CHEERS TO A HAPPY, HEALTHY WEEK!!!


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Quick and Easy Meal Prep for Breakfast + Lunch + Snacks!

Ready for a SUPER quick and easy meal prep?! No joke, it took me longer to find all the lids to these containers than it did it prep my b...