Summer Days

Clean Sweep

I am into the spring cleaning, clean sweep mode right now. I have gone through every room in the house and separated things that we no longer use or need. Lauren was a little alarmed at this telling me, "Mom, we can get rid of some toys...how about Andrew's things!"

I have been getting ready for a garage sale that we will be having next weekend and a friend walked into our "junk room" and asked if I was opening a consignment shop. Maybe we did have a few extra clothes than what the kids actually needed....


This is one of the racks for the sale...

Beauty

A Day at the Park

We all enjoyed our time together at the park! What a great day!

Festival Weekend

This was only the second Memorial weekend in about seven years that was warm and sunny! We loved every minute at the parade! Andrew had a hard time staying awake midway through the parade...

He found something to wake him up...too bad he could not get the bottle open!

Here is our little kitty...her favorite part of the festival was the face painting.

Andrew's First Kiss

Andrew must have been feeling fresh at play group today with his new summer hair do. He was "chasing" one of the little girls (Isn't she adorable?) and when he finally caught up with her here is what happened:

He would not leave her alone today. Hopefully she isn't scarred for life. Poor girl!

Recipe Night

I am looking forward to my evening "out" tonight. All of the ladies from our playgroup are coming to my house tonight to eat, drink, chat and eat some more. Each person that is coming is bringing at least 5 recipes to share with everyone and one of the recipes made up to share with the group. It should be yummy!

I thought that I'd share two of the recipes that I will be sharing tonight. They are both delicious!!


Sicilian Casserole :

Brown and drain 1 pound ground beef, chopped onion, and 2 garlic cloves, minced.

Add 15 oz. spaghetti sauce and simmer 10 minutes.

Cook 2 c. elbow macaroni, penne pasta or whatever shape you like, and drain.

Heat 8 oz. cream cheese to soften, beat it and slowly add ¾ c. milk. Beat until smooth.

Stir in ½ c. sour cream, about 1/3 of a green pepper & ½ c. Parmesan cheese. Pour over cooked pasta and stir. Place in casserole dish. Top with meat mixture and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes covered. Uncover and sprinkle with ¼ c. Parmesan cheese and bake 5-10 minutes longer. This casserole also freezes well.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake :

Combine:

1 chocolate cake mix

1 pkg. instant choc. Pudding mix

1 c. vegetable oil

4 eggs

½ c. hot water

1 c. sour cream

1 t. vanilla

Beat until smooth, then stir in 1 c. mini-chocolate ships.

Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Allow to cool before removing from pan and dusting with powdered sugar. (OR drizzle pieces of cake with caramel topping before serving!)

Enjoy!