Happy Father's Day

The Love of my Life
Thank you for giving me 2 beautiful (handsome) boys, who look nothing like me..Good thing I think your cute :) My life would not be complete without Rumi tournaments & late night Psych. You are truly my best friend.

My Dad
Thank you for always being there for me! Not only are you a great Dad, but an even better Papa to my boys :) You are the most giving person I know - I hope someday I give 1/2 as much as you do. And, of course, you introduced me to the best fried fish that exists..Buffalo!

And, to my Grandpa's..who helped mold me into the person I am today, loved me unconditionally, and, kept Mom & Dad from killing me during my HS years :)..Love & Miss you everyday!

Grandpa Gene
A short order cook extraordinaire! Every morning before school we would put our orders in, and, whatever we wanted we got. Pancakes weren't just pancakes..they were micky mouse, letters, numbers - whatever we wanted. He also introduced me to the most amazing food in the world..Fried Mush!

Grandpa Keith
I am a spoiled brat today because of you! I will forever have a love for Roller Skating, Fried Mushrooms & Rockin' Robin..all because of you :) My love for Christmas is a gift that could have only come from you.

Diaper Review

I will admit, with my oldest, Cole, I was a total diaper snob. I only used Huggies as a little baby, then Pampers when he got a little bigger. However, with Jacob, I'm stepping outside the box!

A girlfriend gave me a box of Target Up & Up brand as a shower gift. She promised me I would not be disappointed. I honestly thought - I will be cashing these in for the money back guarantee - I just had never had any luck with store brand diapers. Well...let me tell you. They are almost the exact same as Pampers - they are AMAZING! No leaks! And, you can get coupons on Target.com for Up & Up from time to time! But, since our closest target is an hour away, I felt like I needed to keep searching for cheaper options, closer to home.

One day I had a coupon for Walgreens brand diapers, and, they were on sale - making the diapers about .14 each (I never want to pay more than .17 per diaper since that's what I can get name brand at SAMS for). I also knew they had 100% money back guarantee, so, I tried them. They are good! Very, Very Similar to the Target brand. No leaks!

Then I got even braver. Are you ready...Dollar General Brand...(oh, I hear the gasps now!). They also have 100% money back guarantee - which, I thought, hmmm...good chance I will be cashing that in. Well....we are on day 3 with..NO LEAKS! They are not as cushy as Target & Walgreens...but they do the job!

I still want to try other brands. Walmart, CVS, even the SAMS store brand. But, for now, this is my findings :)

Do you use store brands? If so, which brands do you love & hate?!

Menu Planner...June 4-12, 2011

This week Jason is on vacation (YAY!) so I have to get back on my menu plans so that I'm not stressing everyday about what to cook :)

Saturday
Lunch: Frozen Pizza
Dinner: Roasted Hot Dogs, Chips, Baked Beans, Pasta Salad, Smores

Sunday
Breakfast: Eggs, Bacon, Hashbrowns
Dinner: Grilled Hamburgers, Mac & Cheese, Potato Salad, Cake

Monday
Breakfast: Cereal & Toast
Lunch: Eat Out
Dinner: BBQ Pork Steak, Salad, Baked Potato

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bagels
Lunch: Taco's & Nacho's
Dinner: Sandwiches & Chips

Wednesday
Breakfast: Orange Sweet Rolls
Lunch: Frozen Pizza
Dinner: BBQ Chicken, Cheesy Potatoes, Corn

Thursday
Breakfast: Pancakes & Sausage
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Hamburger Helper, Salad, Bread

Friday - Sunday...Out of Town, Eating Out!!

Homemade Brownie Mix

Cole LOVES brownies. They are his absolute favorite - and, I search everywhere for a great box mix. But, no more! I found an online recipe for a homemade base mix, changed it up a bit & now have (what I think is) the best brownie mix! And, the nice part - the base mix makes a lot & can be stored for several pans of brownies!!

Base Mix (makes 18 cups mix or (4) 9x13 pans of brownies)
8 c. Sugar
4 c. Flour
2.5 c. Baking Cocoa
4 tsp. baking powder
4 tsp. salt
2 c. shortening
- in a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder & salt. Cut in teh shortening until the mixture resembles course crumbles.
- store in airtight container, in a cool place (I like fridge or freezer) for up to 6 months.

Cole's Favorite Chocolate-Chocolate Brownies!
4 c. brownie mix
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. chocolate chips
- in a mixing bowl, combine the brownie mix, eggs & vanilla; mix well. (note: this is a very thick, sticky mix! not like the box mix)
- fold in chocolate chips
- spread into a GREASED (I use crisco) pan - 13x9 - and spread as even as you can. (again: this is THICK & does not pour like a box mix)
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. (mine was about 48 minutes, but, another oven was closer to 40). Insert toothpick to check doneness.
- Cool 10-15 minutes on rack - then cut & remove from pan.

These are soooo good!

Monkey does not like bananas!

Jacob is ready to GO!

He's getting so close!

Editing Fun

I've been trying to learn a bit more about Aperture ... and let me tell you, it's confusing! ha! Anyway..here was some playing this week.

I liked this perspective, I was squatted down, kind of under the plant & shooting up toward the sky.

This is actually a crop of one of the flowers in the pic above. I thought it was kinda cool :)