The kids and I made my husband, Greg and my dad a Father's Day dinner today. I love to cook gourmet dinners any chance I get and Greg loves to eat them so we get the best of both worlds! I got all of the recipes out of my favorite cookbook: Essential 3-ingredient, 4-ingredient, 5-ingredient cookbook. It is so hard to believe that such a simple cookbook can produce such great dishes, but we have proof of that today. Everyone left the table with a full stomach with some of the yummiest food I have ever tasted. The kids really did have a hand in cooking each item. Kaplyn made the salad and potato dish, Cameron and I made the chicken dish, I made the green bean dish and Cameron and Genin together made the dessert. These recipes were a first time try and all turned out delicious!! For anyone who wants to try them, here they are:

Green and White Salad



1 (16 oz) package frozen green peas, thawed, uncooked
1 head cauliflower, cute into bite size pieces
1 (8 oz) carton sour cream
1 envelope dry ranch-style salad dressing

In large bowl, combine peas and cauliflower. Combine sour cream and salad dressing. Toss with vegetables and chill.

Wine Chicken



6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 oz) can cream of onion soup
1 cup white wine (I used White Zinfandel instead of white and it was awesome!!)

In skillet, brown chicken in a little bit of oil. Place in 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Combine soups and wine and pour over chicken. Bake uncovered at 325F for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 25 minutes.

Cheddar and Scallion Baked Potatoes



1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream'
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
4 Tablespoons chopped green onions

Mix all ingredients and serve on baked potato.

Green Bean Amandine



2 (10 oz) packages frozen green beans, thawed
1/3 cup almonds, slivered
3 Tablespoons butter

Cook beans according to package directions and drain well, In small saucepan, saute almonds in melted butter. Stir almonds and butter into green beans. (I melted another 1/2 stick of butter onto this and stirred before serving)

Hawaiian Dream Cake



1 (18 oz) yellow cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with 1/2 juice

With mixer, beat all ingredients for 5 minutes. Pour into greased, floured 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until cake test done with toothpick and cool.

**Coconut-Pineapple Icing
1/2 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
1 (7 oz) can coconut
1/2 cup almonds, slivered, toasted

heat pineapple and butter and boil for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Punch holes in cake with knife. Pour hot icing over cake. (I forgot to buy the coconut for this icing recipe, but went ahead and prepared without it. So wonderful!!)

I also bought fresh tomato basil italian bread to serve :)

What a great dinner! For those who try any of the recipes, enjoy!

I loved Hello Kitty!

I was head over heels for Hello Kitty as a child. There was a store at my local mall in my hometown called "Heaven" that turned me on to the cute little kitty. I used up quite a bit of allowance in that store buying various dolls and trinkets every week. Here are some facts that you may not know about this American Idol:

Born: November 1, 1974

Hometown: London, by way of Japan

Sibling: Twin sis, Mimmy

Hobbies: Traveling, music, reading

Celeb Entourage: Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Carrie Underwwod, Mariah Carey, Suri Cruise and Heidi Kum's daughter Leni, to name a few.

Pop-Culture Honor: Last year, she was the star of her own art show.

Fav Animal: Goldfish and other small, cute things.

Life Lesson: You can never have too many good friends.

Hot Spot: Hello Kitty has an official theme park in Tokyo.

Wear her: On bling, pj's and more.

See her: As a balloon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Fun Fact: She weighs the same as 3 apples.

Claim to Fame: She's one of the few cartoon characters cool enough for both kids and their moms to love.

I love to see my daughter enjoying Hello Kitty like I did as a child. She has a bit of the new and some blasts from the past!

Yay for Clean!!!

So...I came up with this new system for myself when it comes to my cleaning...the 15 minute cleanup. I have such a hard time focusing on cleaning my house especially since there are 14 rooms to clean plus 4 bathrooms. To me, sitting in one room staring at the same walls is of complete and utter boredom, but I was tired of these wrecked rooms. I came across a book at a bargain bookstore the other day:




The first thing that hit me to begin with was...does that even exist?! A tidy and neat house?! Then I realized...hey, I think I had that once, yeah, Cameron is 12...about 12 years ago. It may be harder to do with 6 kids, but it may be possible....I can do this!!


My system is simply this: Set an egg timer for 15 minutes and then like a bat out of hell, run through the room cleaning. When the timer goes off, move on to another room (on another floor if you have more than one floor), whether you are finished with that one or not. Do the same thing in another room. Eventually, you will make your way back down to the room that you may not have finished the first time around and you will get to it then. The change of scenery alone is worth it! Strangely, this system totally works!! On another bright note, moving this quickly is great exercise! I have 3 floors in my house and in 2 days, 2 of them are finished and... I have lost 3 lb (not sure if this is due to the exercise or the lack of snacking since I am focusing on the cleaning)! Do you know what? I could care less the reason because it is working!! I hope to be able to keep this up, a clean house and possibly another child's worth of weight off of me...woo-hoo!!!

Tips Tuesday! 6 Germy Places to Clean

I came across these great tips in Woman's Day. Here are 6 germy places that you should always take a quick swipe of the sanitizing wipe or a rag dipped in warm water and detergent.

1. Lotion and Soap Containers-Dirty hands reach for soap and lotion constantly, so clean them just as often.

2. Light Switches and Doorknobs-Thonk of how often you use them. All those fingerprints are proof that germs are lurking.

3. Kitchen Appliances-Germs gather on the dishwasher opener, coffee and teapot handles and the dozen other buttons and switches on appliances.

4. Electronics Controls-The TV remote, the kitchen radio on/off switch, the DVD player-give them a good wipedown.

5. Bathroom Knobs and Handles-The bathroom faucets and toilet flusher are some of the most-touched places in the house. Clean them daily.

6. Car Door and Controls-The outer and inner car door handles, as well as the steering wheel and radio controls, need attention too.

Yard Sale Season!!!

It is yard sale season and I am thrilled!! I usually hit random thrift stores and consignment shops to curb my yard sale cravings during the off season, but now, it is here!! I have already hit a few :)

Last week, I bought the older boys a Pittsburgh Pirates lamp for their room that I believed came from a former player of the Pirates. At his sale, I came across so many Pirates items including things that said "Pittsburgh Pirates Alumni" I never thought to ask when I was there :/

Check out some of my great finds for the week!

I was so excited when I found this beverage fountain. I have been wanting one of these for years and had never gotten one. I paid $10, normally I would never go that high at a yard sale, but it had only been used once at the seller's wedding and I just wanted it so badly! I am planning on having a 15 year anniversary party for Greg and I this summer and can't wait to use it!



This item is a gorgeous piece of wall art. I hope to use it in my great room when I begin the redecorating process within the next year...bargain price: $5!!



Last, this item was what I considered to be the item of the day. I define the "Item of the day" as an item that I see for sale at more than one yard sale. I picked this one up for only $5 and the kids have not left it alone yet!!



I am thrilled that school is coming to an end..my kids love to accompany me on my yard sale ventures...they are little versions of me :)

Did I ever tell anyone...

Did I ever update you all on the clogged toilet situation? We weren't sure what was causing it exactly. 1 phone call to the plummer, give him a few minutes to do his thing and guess what came sailing out?!

Weeks in Review...Reading, Trolley Rides and Septic Tanks

Still a little behind with my blogs having to write every 2 weeks. I really hope to get up to date very soon. What a busy week!

Kaplyn had her 1st grade field trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo on May 18. I wasn't able to go due to Matlyn's birth, but my mother-in-law happily filled in. It rained in the morning, but when they got there it stopped and was a beautiful day! Kaplyn bought Matlyn a leopard printed pacifier that said "Wild Thing" on it. She was so excited to give the gift to her new little sister :)

Cameron's Academic Fair was the same night. He had a Science project on display. He received a 1st place ribbon for his display!



Likes of the Week

Plumbers! They are my new best friend...they fixed my washer problem and toilet issue all in 1 hour...and found a tub toy that was missing...where do you think it was found?!

On with the week....

We enjoyed an afternoon of singing, dancing and reading at Kaplyn's 1st grade Author's Tea. She is such a great reader (must take after her mommy ;)



the same day, Genin attended "Nate the Great" in Uniontown with his 3rd grade class and Cameron performed in his spring band concert. That was one busy day!!

Dislikes of the Week

Bulletproof by La Roux...I absolutely detest this song! Not sure if it is the singer's hair, makeup or accent that you can clearly hear in the song...2 very unenthusiastic thumbs down on this one!

More week....

Matlyn went for her 1 week appointment this week. Everything looked great although they like for the infant to be back up to birthweight. Not only was she not back up, she had lost 2 more ounces. She has to go for a follow-up appointment.

Cameron went on his band trip to Hershey Park. They performed in a competition and then hit the theme park. He and his friends had a ball!! They especially loved the water ride that was similiar to the Pittsburgh Plunge at Kennywood or as Cameron says, "Picture the Pittsburgh Plunge, but add 10 times more water!!" I am so glad that he had this opportunity with the band and had such a great time :)

The same day, Kaplyn had a soccer game and Genin had his U10 soccer tournament. Both did great as usual. They only have 1 more game of the season. U12 game was Sunday (even after the all night Hershey trip) They still did very well even on practically no sleep!

Kaplyn, Reiner and Brandis attended their friend Gavin's birthday party at the PA Trolley Museum (wow, 2 trips in 1 month) It was nice for me (to enjoy as a guest and not the host this time) Trolley ride, homemade popcorn (my friend Stacey, Gavin's mom makes it), kids hitting a pinata...couldn't get much better!

Lost and Found

Lost: our septic tank...actually we just never really knew where it was...last seen in our back yard by the former owners of our house who were nice enough to give us the wrong location.

Found: our septic tank...also 7 cents, 3 bullets and an aluminum can tab by our friend Tony and his trusty metal detector.


Hoping to stay up-to-date...see you next time!