Easy Meatball Subs

If you have been around for long, you know my struggle with dinner...

so when I find something that works, I want to share the wealth.

Last week I made super yummy, super easy meatball subs!
And the recipe made enough to freeze half the batch!
It was great!

I used the following Kraft recipe.
It was fast, easy, and yummy.

Ingredients:

2 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1-1/4 cups water

2 eggs

Directions:

Heat oven to 400ºF.

LINE 2 (15x10x1-inch) pans with foil; spray with cooking spray.

Mix ingredients until blended; shape into 32 (1-1/2-inch) balls, using 1/4 cup for each.

PLACE 16 meatballs in each prepared pan. Bake 16 to 18 min. or until done (160ºF).

Freeze half the meatballs for another day!

After reading over some of the reviews, I decided to add some spices to help add some flavor.
I just added some minced onion and Italian seasoning.

For the subs I just used a cheap can of spaghetti sauce and some shredded mozzarella.

The Makery Bakery

I'm always looking for fun, inexpensive ways to entertain the kiddos.

Last weekend we went to a local bakery with our good friend,
Chase, to decorate a cake to take home.

They started with a blank canvas...

and went to town!

There is something that instantly bonds kids to something they picked out or created.

There was no plan or design element...

just a true appreciation of colorful sugar.

But, I can pretty much guarantee that
every last drop of that frosting and crumb of that cake will be consumed...
simply because they "made" it.

It was quite the masterpiece.
Everyone stayed busy and was so very proud of their work.

And the best part was, I didn't have to clean up.

The Story Of V's Quilt

My nephew Vincent is four months old...
it's about time his aunt got off her duff and made him a quilt.

I have been looking for the right fabric for...
well more than four months.

It just wasn't happening.

I found a line of fabric that would work, but I wavered on it so long that when I went to buy it...
it was sold out.

Heart break.
Panic mode.
Then I was just plain pissed off.

This child needed a baby quilt while he was still a baby.

Then it happened.
Thank God.
A quick walk through a quilt store.
A brief glance over the limited section of boy fabric...
and it was love at first sight.

The wheels were set in motion and the process had begun...
Two other fabric stores later for more coordinating fabric,
and I was ready to get to work.

After some consulting, calculating, and sketching with my BFF,
I set to cutting and piecing blocks.

But I was not satisfied.

It was not turning out like the picture in my head.
And this crazy, hormonal pregnant lady
could.not.let.it.go.
I had to do this fabulous fabric and my sister's style justice.

So I started over.

Second round of piecing later,
we had a quilt top that I was happy with.

whew.

Next, I set to cutting my backing and adhering all three layers on the patio.
That adhesive spray stinks, and I needed the space...the patio it was.

Not fun when it feels like it's 100 degrees,
and you are this freakin' pregnant, but I was on a mission.

That quilt was going to be quilted that day.
Sorry if you are a neighbor and happened to glance out your back window that day...

Finally, I got out my still new-to-me machine, read over the free motion section of the manual,
and set to quilting.

Let's not talk about how many needles I broke that afternoon...
or how I cursed and cried...
and Andy made dinner while I took a bubble bath to calm down.

I finished quilting the damn thing that day.

My love affair with this quilt was becoming a real love-hate relationship.

But the good news is that my BFF taught me how to machine bind.
It's a fraction of the time, looks pretty dang good, and the perfect corners stole my heart!

I'm sorry, hand binding but we.are.over.
For good.
I'm never going back to you again.

A quick toss in the wash and dryer for the my favorite crinkling effect...

and baby V has a baby quilt before he graduates high school.

Needless to say mommy will not be making baby Brody a quilt...
anytime soon.

Summer Mantel

I may have said this before, but
I don't like doing housework.

So I play games like...if I do this...I get to do that...
It works out.

As a reward for doing the dishes the other day...
I leisurely spent some time daydreaming on Pinterest.

And before I knew it,
I was inspired to get off my whale of tail.

It was like magic, I tell ya.

A spark from someone else
unleashed some motivation and a sudden burst of latent energy.

I went shopping in my basement and around the house to find some items to use.

And ended up with a new mantel.
It was refreshing.

(Good thing I did those dishes.)

A Summer Wedding

I love weddings.

And this one was so bright and classy.

yellow...need I say more?!

Fabric streamers...
Big, funky wrist corsages....

A beautiful bride...

yellow tulips...
fabulous shoes....

An elegant ceremony...

Fun decorations...

Cute signs...

Yummy treats...

Classic center pieces...

And a quilt for a guest book!

A perfect evening!

Concrete And Glass

We made garden stones last week!

$14 to $20 each at Michaels for some concrete and mosaic fun.

AJ's picked a frog and Abby randomly selected an octagon.

It was a fun project,
but I don't see myself going into the concrete business anytime soon.

Super Yummy, Easy Dinner

I don't love housework, but I do it.

I don't love laundry, but I do it.

Dinner on the other hand...
I struggle with.

I struggle with making a menu.
I spend too much money at the store.
I usually start it late...
or talk Andy into just picking something up on the way home.

But my goal this week is to conquer this aspect of being a stay-at-home mom.

Monday I made Sour Cream Ritz Chicken from
quick-and-easy-dinner.com

And it was fabulous!

It was super yummy, and the best part was how easy it was to make.

So if you're are like me and dread making a menu every week, give it a try.

It's a menu keeper!

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of boneless skinless chicken


• 1 can of cream of chicken soup


• 16 oz sour cream


• 1/2 pack of Ritz crackers (the cheap version works)


• 1/2 stick melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Use any cake pan and put your chicken in there.

Mix sour cream and cream of chicken soup then put in the pan over the top of the chicken.

Cook for about 1 hour then mix melted butter and crackers and sprinkle on top of the chicken and bake 5 or 10 more minutes

FaThEr'S DaY

Every Father's Day we continue this tradition
and get more daddy books for Andy to read with the kids.

This year Brody picked out this book:

Mommy picked out this book:

Abby picked out this book:

and
AJ picked out this book:

Still lovin' this tradition!

Library Days

Going to the library with these two is a kick.

Abby just walks up to a shelf and randomly grabs a book, and is
dead set on checking out that exact random book.

This week she ended up with a book about a monkey named Marigold that is very set in her ways...ironic...huh?

Chick loves monkeys and the book could be her biography.

It starts out with:

Marigold did not agree with her mother, or her father, or her friend Maxine.
But she agreed with herself,
and that was the important thing.

Last week she ended up with a book about the Easter bunny.

This week she also wedged herself in between a chair and a bookshelf and yelled
at the top of her lungs in the library,
"I'm going poop! Leave me alone while I poop! I'm pooping here! I done, and I stuck! I stuck!"

(except when Abby says the word stuck, she leaves out the t...so it sounds like "I done, and I suck! I suck!")

Thank you Abby. Thank you.

AJ walks around, looks through several books, and always has a very specific reason for his book selection.

This week he picked out a book on grains...
his logic being that they are healthy for our bodies so we should learn about them.

Last week he picked out a book about France because he wanted to learn about all the world.
He also named that book Francis and hugged it good-bye when he returned it.

Abby throws things when she is finished with them...plates...diapers....books...

It really is amazing that these two have the same parents.

This week we also took home the following titles:

My Big Girl Potty
Go Girl! Go Potty!
Going to the Potty

(noticing a theme here?)

Your New Potty
No More Diapers for Ducky!

(Because this momma needs all the help in this area of parenting she can get.)
I seriously think parents should get a medal or a trophy or a badge to sew on a sash...some kind of prize when their child is successfully potty trained.

After our time at the library, we hang out at the park behind the library for a while.

AJ has the time of his life.

Abby, the adrenaline junkie that is she,
is terrified of water shooting up out of the ground.

I don't get her.

Library Day usually ends in momma getting one heck of a big ice cold Dr. Pepper.