Make Over Your Monday

Happy Monday!!! How was your week? We had a fab-u-lous week and are gearing toward a busy one! As much as I have thoroughly enjoyed the Olympics I am glad they are over. I don't think I can handle any more late nights! The girls and I loved watching the equestrian events, rhythmic gymnastics and Noa's favorite, synchronized swimming. Noa was really into they Olympics this year. She knew a lot of the athletes' names and last night at dinner she correctly told us how many medals (and which ones) Missy Franklin won. She is sad that it won't be on again until she's 8.

How did you do on last week's challenge? Did you think about what Olympic event you'd like to compete in? As much as I love running, my dream event would be archery. I have loved it for a long time, even before The Hunger Games and Brave, and it was my absolute favorite thing at camp growing up. 

This week's challenge is to compliment someone. Nothing brightens someone's day like a kind word. 

Let's start this week out right and shower those around us with kind words! Don't forget to share your Olympic event below and we'll check in next Monday to see how all the complimenting went!

Thanks for checking in and have a wonderful week,

A Day At The Fair

Are you sick of hearing me complain about the hot Indy weather yet??? Well you are in luck because we FINALLY got the cool down I was looking for! I've never been so happy to see 70 degree weather! It instantly made my whole family more pleasant and it gave us the perfect weather for the Indy Fair!

My desire to go to the fair depends heavily on the weather. I don't find it too appealing to spend insane amounts of money while stuffing my face with various fried foods (Really Indy??? Fried BUTTER!) while it is a balmy 105 out. Give me 72 degrees and I'll gladly fork over the dough for any type of food you're willing to batter and deep fry for me! So, when the hubby suggested he take off work last Friday so we could go to the fair I was more than happy to oblige!

Every year there is a different animal that is showcased. This year is the year of the dairy cow.

First I have to say how amazingly wonderful our kids were! Especially G, he was the best baby ever!

The first thing we did was check out the Family Fun Area. They have a cute little section where the kids can pretend to be farmers. They go through various stations where they pick their crops and feed their animals. At the end they sell their items and get to spend their "money" in the market and buy a healthy treat. The girls loved it and will pretty much do anything for a snack.

Before we even left the girls started thinking about what food they were going to get (just like their mama, it's always about the food!). Noa wanted a corn dog and Lo wanted a turkey leg. The turkey leg ended up being the best purchase of the day! It fed ALL four of us is was so big!

Of course you can't pass up the pony rides! Lo takes lessons regularly, but Noa is old enough yet. The smile on her face says it all-so happy to be on a horse!!!

Even G was having a good time! This is our very first documented smile!

This was the first year the girls were really into all aspects of the fair. They enjoyed the exhibits, animals and everything in between. We even saw some of the high school girls compete on their horses which was really cool. The girls had front row seats and loved it!

Have you seen these ornery characters?

I've mentioned before that we are working on being grateful for what we have with the girls. We gave each of them $10 (hardly any money by fair standards!) to spend on what they wanted. The girls chose different things and their choice really highlighted their personality. 

Lo, my stuffed animal hoarder lover didn't disappoint and chose this cute little poodle. She named him Buttons. Buttons cost $10 so she didn't get to ride any rides and she was more than happy with her decision. She snuggled her all afternoon, made her a cozy bed in her room and Buttons even has her own wardrobe. 

Noa of course chose rides and she had a BLAST! The first ride was the flying bumblebees and when I tucked her in at the end of the night she told me it was the best part of her day!

I love this picture! It looks like Nate is riding the bumblebee all by himself!

Her other choice? Five minutes on the slide. She instantly made a friend and their was nothing but five minutes of giggles and fun!

We had a wonderful family day! School starts in a few days and with it comes all the craziness of balancing everyone's schedules. It was a great end to our busy summer!

Quinoa Taboule

So I've heard a lot about how great Quinoa is for you...low in cholesterol, high in protein, lots of essential amino acids...but to me that means it probably taste G-R-O-S-E. I'm not a huge fan of grains, oats, rice, etc (Have you tried steel cut oats?!?! How anyone can eat more than one bite is beyond me!!!), BUT I am trying to lose my baby-weight and get back in shape so I thought I'd search for a recipe that not only would be good for me, but would also taste good. I was pleasantly surprised to find several recipes that had promise. I tried two of them this week and what do you know! They were fab-u-lous! This one is great because it has a lot of flavor, can be served cold or room temperature and it makes A LOT! I didn't have to go too far to find it, it was right on the side of my quinoa package. The girls didn't care for it, but that just meant there was more for me and the hubby to eat. Serve it with a side of veggies and hummus and you've got a healthy and filling meal.

• 2 cups cooked and cooled Quinoa
• 1 cup chopped Parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped Scallions
• 2T chopped fresh mint (or 1t dried)
• 1 Garlic Clove, minced or pressed
• 1T minced fresh Basil (or 1/2t dried)
• 1/2 cup fresh Lemon Juice (Personally I think this was too much, I'd add a little at a time and taste as you go.)
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4t salt
• 1/8t ground White Pepper
• I also added, seeded cucumber and chopped tomatoes, amounts to your liking

Toss together all ingredients. Chill for 1 hour or more to allow flavors to blend. Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Do you have any quinoa recipes you'd like to share? Send 'em my way I certainly could use more than two!!!

Happy Friday, 

Homemade Moon Sand

As much as I L-O-V-E, love to be crafty and I am not a fan of messy crafts. I hate play-dough, cringe when my child brings home sand-art or glittery pictures from school and we rarely paint. My idea of crafty fun tends to be less messy.

A long time ago, before I had kids, I sent my good friend Amy's son Moon Sand for his birthday. I don't think she's ever forgiven me and who can blame her. Clearly the person who invited it didn't have children and hated moms. It's sticky, sandy and you find it everywhere for days years after it's been put away!

At the end of the school year Lo's class made their own Moon Sand and she came home with a little zip-lock bag filled with her share. She was so excited that she made it, and was pleasantly surprised I let her keep it. She carefully kept it outside and made sure she put it in the bag after playing with it. All was going well until she let her sister have a turn. With in 2 seconds the entire bag of Moon Sand was gone, lost in the cracks and crevices in our screened porch. To say Lo was devastated is putting it mildly (she's a bit of a drama queen), her precious sand was g-o-n-e, gone. Apparently this ridiculous heat caused me to lose my mind, because I said "yes" when the girls asked if we could make our own!

Are you brave enough to make your own?!?!

Here's what you need:

• 9 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of baby oil
• You can also add 1/8 cup of Powdered Tempera Paint per 3 cups of moon sand for colored moon sand if you're feeling especially adventurous. We skipped that step, I think powdered paint would have sent me over the edge.

Put your ingredients into a large container

Then get ready to get dirty and mix everything up together

Add more Baby Oil if needed. You'll know you have enough and everything is mixed well when your sand looks like this:

This was by far a HUGE hit with the girls and the "recipe" makes enough for lots of playtime fun. I definitely recommend keeping it outside and in an area that can be hosed off because it is EVERYWHERE. The girls have played with it everyday since we made it and personally I think the mess is worth the smile on their faces!