5 Spectacular Spring Target Finds!

5 Spectacular Spring Target Finds!

May 3, 2019

Okie doke! So this week has been a little bit crazy.

Jax just decided this week to try and stop napping 😑and let's just say it has not gone well for anyone. Without his usual 12:30pm nap he becomes a little gremlin! If he doesn't take his afternoon nap he gets grumpy and wild at night time--thus resulting in a overtired toddler who doesn't want to go to bed at night either. I tried so many different techniques this week to try to get him to nap and none worked...until today. He finally decided on his own that he liked his nap again and he is currently resting his eyes in his bed (THANK GOODNESS). I finally got to deep clean the kitchen, threw a load of laundry in and am now writing this! What other Mama's have dealt with that this week? Our house finally resembles something that is somewhat clean again and I am slowly getting in my Spring cleaning 😄

Speaking of Spring...Who has been shopping lately? The stores are filled with sooo many cute Spring decor that I haven't been able to resist. All of the things below you can find at Target, which is super convenient and they are all relatively on the cheap side!

 

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First, my sister sent me a fun Spring package with the cutest front door mat to kick off Spring/Summer for us! Jax loves his popsicles (I mean who doesn't love a cold fruity popsicle on a hot day) so this is perfect! I got to replace our boring blue front door mat with a fun and colorful one!



Summer Treats Doormat
$12.99






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Second, Jax's Busia and Dziadz (Polish for Grandma and Grandpa) sent him a care package with sidewalk chalk! I don't think he's ever been happier. He is allowed to draw all over the place, without getting in trouble, which makes him super excited because he loves to color (on...everything...haha). This sidewalk chalk is awesome because it's shaped like a giant crayon, so it has a pointed end, and is washable as well, so it comes right off the sidewalk and clothes! We sat outside for hours playing with his chalk and he never got bored. What a cheap and easy toy for everyone.

Crayola Sidewalk Chalk 
$4.99




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Third, I found these adorable and low price plastic golf clubs that he can play in the backyard with...these have also been entertaining him outside for awhile. There are three clubs and three balls so we can all play with him and get some fresh air! We all love being outdoors but I also love giving him fun activities to do outdoors, while at the same time working on that hand-eye coordination! 😂





Kids Plastic Golf Club Set $8.00





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Fourth, I've been looking for a on-the-cheaper-side kids table to put in our living room where Jax can sit nicely and eat breakfast and lunch at. I noticed that he was super interested in a friend's table that was his size so I knew I needed to get him one of his own. This one is plastic, yet still super sturdy and very easy to wipe down. I actually found it in the gardening and patio section because Target considers it a kids patio table! It comes in other colors as well-mint green, pink, orange and sky blue. The chairs come separate so I bought two of them. These also come in a variety of colors-mint green, pink, orange and sky blue. An added bonus is that it won't get ruined if he wants to sit on the patio with it!





Kids Plastic Patio Table

$13.99







Kids Plastic Patio Chairs
$19.99

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Lastly, Jax is currently obsessed with bubbles, so naturally I had to get him a bubble machine of some sort. This little bubble maker is perfect because it is self propelled and doesn't require batteries. He previously had one with batteries (which already broke) so I was very excited to find one that didn't require batteries. The trigger is also easy for his little fingers to pull making him able to use it all on his own! These bubble guns can also get a little messy and soapy--making it a perfect outdoor toy!

Light-Up Bubble Blower

$12.00




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Hopefully your little ones will take their naps this week so that you can have a successful trip to Target when they wake up!

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Game of Thrones Dragon Eggs

Game of Thrones Dragon Eggs

April 28, 2019

It's Sunday again and you know what that means! Winter is here.

GAME OF THRONES TONIGHT!

If you couldn't tell I love the show. My in-laws do as well and because of this we've had a few little Game of Thrones food parties. My father-in-law is the mastermind behind all of this and gives each of us a recipe to work on for our GOT parties. We've gone through quite a few different types of recipes in the past, but the three that I will be posting are our favorite three that we have made!

Daenerys Dragon Scotch Eggs

I'll start my three GOT posts with the Scotch Eggs. My father-in-law made these for us before we had any of our little GOT parties, but we figured these would be the perfect "dragon-like eggs" to recreate. They are super tasty and can be eaten with any meal as a nice side. 

Ingredients

8 large eggs

1 lb ground sausage

1 bunch of green onions (chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tbsp mustard

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp salt

Flour, as needed for the eggs

Seasoned bread crumbs, as needed for the eggs

Olive oil for frying

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Bring pot of water to a boil and add 6 shelled eggs, boil for about six minutes. 

3. Combine 1lb ground sausage, chopped green onions, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp mustard, 1 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Mix well. 

4. Press out sausage mixture into 6 different patties to eventually place the eggs in. 

5. Place flour in bowl and set aside. Whisk the two extra eggs together in a separate bowl for an egg wash and set aside. Place bread crumbs in another bowl and set aside. 

6. Remove eggs from water and put into ice bath to cool immediately-you do not want hard boiled eggs for this, just soft boiled. 

7. Peel the eggs and roll in the flour until fully covered. Wrap the sausage patties around each of the floured eggs.

8. Roll each sausage wrapped egg in flour, then egg wash and finish by rolling in the seasoned bread crumbs. 

9. Heat olive oil to 300 degrees and fry each egg for about 3 minutes. Make sure to rotate and brown each side.

10. Place fried eggs on a foil lined baking tray and finish cooking for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. 

Enjoy your Daenerys dragon eggs!

And episode 3 tonight!

Comment below with your favorite GOT episode

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Elote Recipe-Mexican Street Corn

Elote Recipe-Mexican Street Corn

April 26, 2019

The weather is warm and we've been eating out on the porch almost every night.

I love these types of days when it's the perfect temperature to do yard work comfortably and sit outside at sunset without getting eaten alive by bugs. I appreciate Spring so much more after living in a few states that have REAL seasons! When it starts to get warm I love breaking out the corn on the cob recipes. And one of my favorite recipes is Mexican Street Corn, also known as Elote. If you haven't tried it, YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE ASAP! It is commonly sold on the street in Mexico by street vendors and it is sooo addictive! 

ELOTE

Ingredients

4 ears of corn-shucked
1/4 cup sour cream (or Mexican crema)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cotija cheese, or feta (plus a tbsp or 2 more for serving)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus tbsp more for serving)
1 lime, half juiced, other half sliced for serving
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Tajín seasoning

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Place shucked corn on foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes. Rotate occasionally to lightly "brown" the corn. (You can cook the corn on the grill as well if you prefer that)
3. Mix the 1/4c sour cream, 1/4 c mayo, 1/4c cotija cheese, 1/4c chopped cilantro, juice of half of a lime, 1 tbsp melted butter and the 1 tbsp minced garlic.
4. Take corn out and brush generously and evenly with the mixture. Sprinkle tbsp of cheese over the corn, sprinkle the tbsp of cilantro and the tbsp of Tajín seasoning.

Plate and serve! 

(Optional to squeeze the extra lime slices on the corn if you love lime flavoring)

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Be Proud of Your Military Family

Be Proud of Your Military Family

April 24, 2019

This week we are just getting back from our week and a half Florida/Alabama trip. We're getting a little bit of our much needed rest and Jax is resetting back to his normal self after such a long trip. 

Butttt I couldn't feel any prouder after this week of events!

Do you ever get that feeling when someone in your family has accomplished something that is a big deal? Well I definitely do.

Since I was in the military before I know how much a reached goal means to a lot of military members. I have a lot of family in the military, so we are constantly at military events, training or graduations. This last week stood out to me as a huge accomplishment that my brother and brother-in-law should be extremely proud of. 

During this past week we went to my brother-in-law's Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot Training Graduation and my brother's Air Force Helicopter Pilot Training Graduation. This is a big deal because they both have really wanted to fly helicopters for quite some time. My brother-in-law will be flying an MH-65D Dolphin and my brother will be flying a CV-22. Both of their flying career dreams are now coming true and this made me feel so happy for them both. Jax was especially happy because he got to hang out with his cool Uncles and see a ton of planes and helicopters.

“Some succeed because they are destined to; most succeed because they are determined to.”

This quote pretty much sums them both up. Without determination they never would have gotten to where they are today. I am sure you know someone in your life that this quote applies to as well. Another quote that they will start to realize as they step into the next phase of military training is

"Courage is the power to let go of the familiar."

I love this quote from Raymond Lindquist. 

I think this is a quote that military members, military families, military spouses and military significant others should live by!

If I were to recommend one thing to live by in the military lifestyle, it would be this. This is one of THE hardest parts of being in the military or being part of a family with a military member. There is so much unfamiliar that military families face every day. You would assume that there would be so much structure, so much habit, so much familiarity...but in reality it is quite the opposite. 

This is why being a member of the military requires resiliency. Military marriage and relationships require resiliency. Military children require resiliency.

One of the huge things that military couples face is the hardship of change and the unfamiliar. Most military members will have deployments come once or twice a year. Military members will miss Holidays and special events and moments with their families. Hopefully your relationships are able t become stronger throughout this period in time. Hardships like this can either make or break a relationship. For help with this check out my pages about deployments in how to take care of each other.

Being in the military and a military family requires grit. And I am not trying to toot my own horn, or put down civilian families, but there are certain characteristics that are required being a part of a military family. There will always be something unfamiliar and changing looming in your future. It is not an easy lifestyle or job. This is why any accomplishment in the military should bring that pride front and center.

Both my brother and brother-in-law achieved a huge dream this past week when they received their wings but there is still so much unfamiliar to come in their future. They go from one training to the next without even taking a breath. Resiliency and self care is key.

If you are part of a military family or a military member make sure you take every opportunity to see your family because you never know when that next moment will be that everyone can meet up. Work on strengthening your family with resiliency and communication. Work on helping each other through the new challenges and changes that you will face. But most of all take a moment to be proud of what you are a part of. And tell the ones you love how proud of them you truly are.

 

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Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

April 15, 2019

Click link for updates on Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

If you haven't watched or heard the news yet, Notre Dame Cathedral is on fire days before Easter Sunday.

The fire started around 6:50pm local time and is believed to have been caused by renovation work being done on the Cathedral.

As this week marks the start of Holy Week for the Catholic Church, the Cathedral would have been preparing to display its holy relics for Good Friday. Instead, they have been trying to clear out as much historic artwork and relics as possible as the fire continues to spread.

Hopefully this fire isn't the work of arsonists or any other type of attack. The Cathedral is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Paris and dates back almost 1,000 years, with construction beginning in 1160s. For such a historic, worldly structure to be burning down is a sad day for any one, even if you don't live in Paris or haven't had the opportunity to see it. For Catholics it is a symbol of their faith and masses have flocked to see it, it is a historic landmark for both Catholics and non-catholic alike. It is a home for many faithful persons as prayers were whispered, wishes were made and candles were lit for special intentions.

It saddens me to see such an amazingly beautiful work of art and architecture collapsing from the fire. The spire and roof just collapsed not long ago and you can find the details on pretty much any news source right now. 

I was lucky enough to have just seen the Cathedral in December for my five year anniversary with my husband. It is the most beautiful Cathedral I have ever seen. I am so grateful to have been able to visit before this fire that is currently underway. When we visited it was right after Christmas so they still had their huge manger scene out and Christmas trees everywhere. I bought a beautiful rosary that hangs in our bedroom and a rose window ornament to add to our ornament collection from places that we have traveled. We lit candles for our family as well as our future children and for a successful next pregnancy after our loss. We just happened to walk in on time to be able to attend mass and receive the Eucharist as well which was an extra special blessing. It truly holds a special place in our hearts. It was gorgeous.

There are so many intricate details in every part of the Cathedral as well as the stained glass. The rose windows are huge and truly breathtaking. I hope that they are able to save as much of the historic structure as possible.

We are reminded, today especially, that nothing we have here on earth is permanent, and can be taken away at a moments notice. Your family and your faith is your home, not the structures that represent  them both. 

Please pray for all the first 

responders working to fight the fire. 

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