Tuesday's Tip: MORE Simple, Summer Fun and LEARNING!!!

I guess if I had a theme this summer it would be simple, summer fun. I think I have used those exact words about 100 times but I am realizing how amazing the little things are. I see how drawing at the table and cutting paper (oh my word....it looked like it snowed) can be so fun for the kids. It doesn't have to be a "big to do."

One blog that I have fell in love with is QuirkyMomma which you can find HERE! When I say fell in love...I mean...Oh.M.Gee I want to share everything they post!!! They have craft ideas, printables, and organized ideas for moms along with a lot of tips and tricks!!!

Next week, I am starting the week long coloring sheet mural with them. They color a sheet each day and at the end of the week it creates a mural. You can get it HERE!

 

Since I am in a house full of Star Wars fans, we will definitely be making the toilet paper roll Star Wars characters shown HERE!
 I am sure my sweet hubby will like them! Just a side note: Him and his friends actually have a ministry where they use Star Wars characters. It truly is amazing and draws a crowd...and the best thing yet, they get to hear the gospel. Here is a picture from our church's 4th of July outreach.

Okay back on topic....The amount of ideas and activities are truly endless. They have pages and pages of outdoor easy play ideas and inside. They also have activities listed by age starting from babies. All of their printables are FREE! We are about to make the bookmarks before we head to the library this morning!

Another blog I am loving is the Moffatt Girls. Even though it is summer, I still have the kiddos working and sharpening those skills. With Ella, we have been working on literacy. We have identifying letters and sounds down, writing her name, and now we are really focusing on blending phonemes. I am also starting to introduce sight words. It makes me feel like a Kinder teacher all over again and I secretly am loving it!!!

Grayson has been working on reading chapter books and with comprehension. We are also working on writing stories and remembering punctuation, writing properly on the lines, etc. I found a writing program called Write Shop and it is very similar to writer's workshop. I tried some sample lesson plans on The Moffatt Girls blog HERE. I also bought a workbook for him that focuses on basic math skills. When I was a first grade teacher I remember hitting addition and subtraction so we are making sure he can recall those quickly.

The Moffatt Girls blog has a lot of resources for reading, writing, and math. She is a past teacher who now homeschools her children and creates amazing activities!!! Some of her activities are FREE and some you have to purchase...but they are so worth it. Next on my wishlist is her color by sight words for Ella.

 

So what I do is similar to lesson planning. At the beginning of the week, I look at different activities and do some prep. I print them out and put them in a folder. I would label and sort etc but I don't exactly know which day we are doing them because we have playdates and activities in between. I just have them all neatly in a folder so when we have some down time or quiet time, I can pull them out!!!

Well that's all for today, we are heading to the library and for fun with friends! Have a great day! Don't forget....if you have any questions or topics you would like to see in a blog, email me at: melroseacker@yahoo.com

Don't forget to check out Lauren's Must Haves HERE!  They are some good ones!!! : )

What's On Your... Menu Linky Party

Hey y'all. Today I am linking up with Andrea over at Momfessionals for her What's on Your...Menu Linky Party. I would love to say I have a super cute weekly menu planned out along with a grocery list but that's not how meal time works in our house. When I grew up, we just ate what was on the table and loved it. In our home, we all eat differently.

My hubby eats a lot of plain protein. He doesn't like sauce or much seasoning, no vegetables, nada. So what I do for him is usually a Sunday prep of baked potatoes (plain), brown rice, baked chicken breast, and turkey burgers.

I have a lot of stomach issues and really watch what I eat. I have gastroparesis and crohn's disease. So I usually prep boiled eggs, salmon, baked squash, etc for me. I try to find recipes that are easy on my stomach that I can enjoy. I also eat about a dozen egg whites a week or more plus salads. I love trying new foods and make exceptions if I am eating out...I just may pay for it later. I grew up on super Southern food (my dad's side) and Filipino food (my mom's side) so I do eat a lot of different things when not at home and love trying new stuff. I could live on Sushi and Starbucks,,,,for real...everyday.

The kids rotate through the usual: chicken nuggets, baked chicken, quesadillas (I do chicken or just cheese), tacos, chili....the usual pre-school aged type of food. They are a but picky but have added some more veggies and fruit to the mix. I will give them props because they are branching out more.

So....to sum it up....our meal planning is usually consistent. My hubby has a sensitive stomach and is a bit picky, I have stomach issues that limit what I can eat, and the kids are your average picky eaters.

Now I will say the one area we have fun is....DESSERTS!!! We don't eat tons of sweets but I feel like this is the area where we all enjoy it!!! So, today I am sharing two recipes. One easy dinner recipe that I prepped on Sunday for me to eat. It is healthy and I read it is good for people with stomach issues.

The other recipe is for homemade ice cream. This will be my new, fun summer recipe that me and the kids....and Joey will love changing up each time we make it.....so here ya go!!!



Homemade Ice Cream (without an Ice Cream Maker...YAY!)
My BFF made this and it was delish. She put real chopped cherries and chocolate chips. When I made it I added just a touch of chocolate syrup and it was pretty good. It tasted like a Frosty with more of a thicker, creamier ice cream texture. It is very rich! It was gone in a day!!

Homemade Ice Cream (from Woman's Day)

2 cups very cold heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1. Using an electric mixer beat cream, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl on medium high until stiff peaks form 5-10 minutes. (Amanda told me to do 10 minutes so I did and it was perfect). 
Gently fold in add-ins (ex. strawberries, chocolate chips...we are doing butterfinger and reese's next)

2. Put mixture in a freezer safe container/pan. Freeze until set (at least 4 hours). Once set, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 weeks.

I think I will double the recipe next time so it will last a little longer!


This next recipe I didn't get a picture of but it is delicious. I was researching recipes good for stomach issues and came across this. I also found this info on cabbage (the main ingredient) on Wikipedia:
Cabbage is a good source of vitamin K,^[79] vitamin C and fiber.^[79][80] Cabbage is also an excellent source of manganese, vitamin B6, and folate; and a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, vitamin A, tryptophan, protein, and magnesium.^{[citation needed]} Studies suggest that it, as well as other cruciferous vegetables, may reduce the risk of some cancers, especially those in the colorectal group.^[81]

Believe it or not I had never had cabbage rolls or unstuffed cabbage rolls, it will now be part of my meal rotation!! Plus if you are looking to lose weight, this is a very low cal, no carb recipe....unless you add cornbread to the side or rice with it. I loved it by itself but may add rotel in placed of the diced tomatoes....it needed a little more of a kick!


<sup>Unstuffed Cabbage 
Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey ( I used ground turkey)
1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small cabbage, chopped
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt

Heat the Olive oil in a Big Skillet (use medium heat) Saute the onions until tender, and then add the ground beef (or turkey) until the meat is browned.

Add the garlic, cook an additional minute before adding the remaining ingredients. (This is the point you would add the  if you would like. Bring them to a boil, Cover, reduce the heat and simmer about 25 minutes (or until the cabbage is quite fork tender)

Yield: Serves 6 to 8


I hope y'all have a great rest of the day. See y'all tomorrow for Tuesday's Tips.</sup>  

Sum It Up Sunday!!!

This past week was so nice. I mean, spoiled me nice. The kids and I woke up late (think 8:30 a.m.) and just had fun. Going back to work is always bittersweet. I love my job but being home with the kids and doing whatever we feel like is just too stinkin' nice!!!

Next week, we have VBS and dentist appointments so it may not be as fun! Haha!

So here is a glimpse of our past week!

I met up with Liz (my new counseling partner) so that we could chat and plan which ended up being more chatting and laughing. We met up for tea at Maudee's which was so cute and had amazing tea (I think I had an iced apricot tea) and we caught up some. She was an intern on our campus this past year and I was so glad we got her. We then decided we needed a cupcake from Sprinkles but made a stop to check out the gorgeous new Chi O house at SMU.

Chi O

Then she showed me a shop over in the University Park area called Swoozies. Be still my heart. I literally almost had a panic attack because I was so overwhelmed by the cuteness and most importantly you could monogram ANYTHING!! I love stationary and monogramming so I was in love. Since we will be co-counselors we just had to get Kate Spade planners...monogrammed of course for the school year!! I need to go pick mine up but will definitely share a pic when I get it! You can check out all of Swoozies' goodies HERE!

We had a fun playdate at my BFF's house and celebrated her little one's birthday! She made amazing ice cream that I will be sharing the recipe for tomorrow. Of course, we also made a stop at Firewheel. We ran around to pick up some little things and it was gorgeous out. Oh and thank you to those who suggested Bath and Body Works' 3 wick candles. That is now all I will ever buy. Amazing.

Caught this sweet moment of them holding hands

Grayson also started golf lessons and he loved it. Right now, we are really wanting him to explore different things to see what he will enjoy and where his talents are. He loved golf and we will see if he wants to continue it after the summer.

Ella enjoyed the big rocking chairs on the back of the clubhouse. She looked pretty relaxed watching brother.

We enjoyed a Chick Fil A play date with Lauren over at Williams Party of Four. They enjoyed some sweet cousin time then we headed to a friends' house for a little hanging by the pool. Grayson loved hanging out with buddies from school and I loved hanging out with the sweet moms.

I know...pretty amazing...we got 4 kiddos to all look in the same direction!

We had our sweet friends over for a 4th of July play date and then day 2 of golf.This day was the day Grayson decided he wants to one day play for Alabama....haha.

Then it was the 4th!!! I can't believe how fast that got here. We started the morning with a video about what the meaning of the 4th of July was. This is so important to Joey and I that the kids' understand the meaning of every holiday...it makes it so much more meaningful for them. I found this video on youtube....and we kicked it old school.

Then we headed to our neighborhood parade and met up with Lauren. The kids were so cute but one of them was just not feelin' it that morning. Can you guess who?

Then after being so hot, we headed to the house for some popsicles.

And we ended the night doing an outreach for the church which was so fun!!

She was showin' her new rain boots which are now her fav pair of shoes ever. Guess we will get our money's worth.

And today we are relaxing....don't forget to check out the blog tomorrow. It will be two recipes! One healthy...and one not so much! Can't wait to see what Lauren posts about. Check it out here!

Spread the Love....

I know my blog post title sounds very hippy-ish today. Today, I wanted to share something that we will be doing with the kids before they go back to school. Every year, I see all of these neat ideas on Pinterest about Random Acts of Kindness and every year I say we will do some and we don't. Heart.breaking. We did make cards for the nursing home and did a shoe drive for those in need but I feel like that is not enough.

I feel like there is a strong need to teach our children compassion. Now, don't get me wrong my kiddos are pretty stinkin' sweet but I want them to think outside their bubble. I want them to see that there is pain and hurt in the world and not everything is picture perfect. I blog about fashion, playdates, and things I buy or want to buy but I know there is so much more in the world than that. There is so much more outside of us. I praise the Lord each day because this blessed life I know is not guaranteed. Lately, I have been reading The Voice of the Martyrs and my heart just aches for them. Their stories are heart breaking but so inspiring and it has made me think so much about how me and my family are reaching others and being a reflection of God. How are we being Christlike?

So, I made a list of the things we plan to do this summer and all year. I am starting small and realistic at first so they we can really make it happen.

1. Make cheerful "kid made" notes for nursing homes in lower income areas. I feel like our local ones have so much support but there are a lot in run down areas that can be forgotten.

2. Make cards for soldiers. They protect our freedom everyday and sacrifice so much for our countries and bless their families' hearts who also sacrifice their families being complete.

3. Write letters to imprisoned persecuted Christians in other countries. I used to do this and used the Voice of the Martyrs website because it will allow you to choose encouraging phrases and scripture and will translate it for you so you just have to print it and mail it. You can find the site HERE. Click GET INVOLVED and click LETTERS TO PRISONERS. These are people who have been imprisoned for following their Christian faith. I DO NOT put a returning address when I send these for safety purposes.

4. Toy/My Closet Clean Out with the understanding they won't be replaced. We always clean out toys before Christmas and before birthdays because we know they will be replaced with bigger, better things but I think it would be good to get rid of  items to help others knowing they do not need to be replaced. To put us in the mindset of I am giving this up to help someone and I am not necessarily getting something to do it as opposed to I am cool with getting rid of this because I get something new.

These may seem simple or little but I want to instill in our kids' hearts to have compassion, love, and grace towards others just as God has shown to us. I would love to hear some ways/ideas that your family pays it forward or serves others? Feel free to comment below or on Facebook.

Before I go, I MUST share this picture of our little group today. Lauren and I met up at Chick Fil A and we actually got all four kiddos to look at the camera...now that is down right AMAZING!

Don't forget to check out my counseling blog HERE! and Lauren's update on sweet Jansen HERE!
See y'all tomorrow for Trendy Thursday!

Tuesday's Tip: Bible Studying

Today's tip will be simple and sweet. I am having some cuddle time with the kiddos and don't want to miss it!!

If you are like me, you may want to read your bible but aren't sure where to start or get super overwhelmed. I want it to be meaningful and not just something I feel I need to do. So, a couple of nights ago I was looking up different ways and found the SOAP method. You may be familiar with it but I had never heard of it.

Basically, you follow the acronym: This was taken from soapstudy.com

Scripture: Write the verse or verses that stuck out to you in your reading.

Observation: What did you observe about the scripture? This can be one sentence or a whole book.

Application: How can you apply the observation so that it affects your life today?

Prayer: Write out a prayer that helps you apply the verse in your life.

I also found some great Summer Bible Study Plans on Women Living Well which you can find HERE.

I also wanted to share my absolute two FAV worship songs, as well. I swear they both just speak to my heart!!! Click Play!

Hopefully, this will be as helpful to you as it was to me!!! : )

Don't forget to check out Lauren's post HERE!

Favorite Things Under $10 Party and Giveaway Winner

Hey, y'all! I am linking up with Andrea over at Momfessionals for their Favorite Things Under $10!!

I love this because it is so neat to see what people love and it is all in a nice price range.

#1 I love this scarf at Nordstrom and right now it's on sale for $8.98! You can find it HERE!  I just ordered it. Something about it caught my eye and the price is pretty sweet too!

#2 My Starbucks drink. I get the same thing every time. A venti iced coffee with extra extra nonfat milk and 3 splendas. Oh.M.Gee....I love it!

 

#3 Laughing Cow Light Cheese

I eat this every.single.day....I am a creature of habit.  It is only about $3 or $4. It is great with carrots and wheat thins. I even put it on turkey burgers instead of cheese...may sound gross...but I love it!

 

And our winner for the Lia Sophia giveaway is Liz Wright House!! Congrats! I wish we could have given everyone something because we loved seeing all of your pictures!!! We can't wait for the next one!!! And....Lauren is announcing her winner for her giveaway here!

Mommy Must Have Monday: Keepin' it Simple!

First, I just need to start off by saying you NEED to check out Lauren’s blog today (HERE). I read it this morning and so wish I could have read it when my kiddos were 2. I have a distinct memory of being at Northpark (of course) when Grayson was about 2 and we were having lunch in the food court and it was close to Grayson’s nap time and he was throwing a fit. Nothing and I mean nothing would make him happy and a lady kept staring at me and giving me mean looks. I was embarrassed and angry. I was wondering if that lady had ever had kids or maybe hers were perfect? I think your anxiety level during fits triples when you are a teacher or counselor…haha. I always feel like they may think, “How can she be a counselor and help others with behavior if she can’t control her own kids?” But then I realize that every kiddo is a toot sometimes and that is normal. Developmentally it is normal and sometimes even I am grouchy and can totally understand wanting to throw a fit…haha. So check out Lauren’s post HERE today if you’re a mom of littles because her words will probably speak to your heart and the quote from Nana (Lauren’s mom and my mother in law) are just perfect.

So, my Mommy Must Haves for today may seem so simple but they are things I use every day. Let me first start off by prefacing this with my goal this summer…..my goal is to keep it simple. I was talking to the kids last week and we were just drawing outside on the picnic table. They were having so much fun and I thought, “Wow, this is so simple and nice.” If you know me, I am always wanting to plan and do something BIG and feel the need to plan out something to make my kids feel like they had the BEST.DAY. EVER! I am not sure why, this may be that my heart was made to be a Kindergarten teacher and I love themes!!

So, I asked the kids if they could do anything this summer, what would it be? We were talking and made a little chart. I have been seeing these everywhere this summer and thought it was precious, so we made our own. Ella’s summer to do list is in purple and Grayson’s is red. I was amazed because the things they wanted to do and totally made up on their own were so stinkin’ simple.

I felt a rush of emotions come over me. Had I been so busy looking at the big things that I missed the little things that make childhood memories great? Grayson put that he wants to search for bugs and play in the sprinkler. Gah. So, my focus this summer is to not plan big play dates that go all out or make picture perfect plans in my head…..I will let them lead and have some good ol’ fashion fun.

So, I have a little Simple Summer Mommy Must Have list:

Many of these things you probably already have at home. With the items above, you can have a good ol' fashion simple summer. I hope to have a Read-In this week. I remember doing those when I taught. Plus, we can log the books we read for our Summer Reading Club!

I will feature the homemade ice cream recipe on my blog tomorrow....I have to get it from my BFF, it is hers. I am going to taste the one she made and she said you DON'T have to use an ice cream maker. Bonus!!!

Watch for the announcement for the Lia Sophia winner later this afternoon!!!