Food Play dates: July and August

July's Food Playdate was a celebration of the summer salad.  Jessica hosted this event inspired by her own patriotic berry salad of blueberries and strawberries! Summer favorites were served up cool and in wonderful combinations.

August's Food Playdate the fruitiness continued!  The menu included tropical pineapple salsa, lots of fruit for dipping, and some Chicken Kofta Meatballs served with an apricot sauce.  If that isn't enough, it looks like the decadence continued with peanut butter banana shakes and my all time favorite treat all year round: guacamole!

Summer sure sounds like a good time to snack to me!

July BIG Play: Splash Pad!

Playing in water during the summer is fun for all ages.  Today the littles were treated to some big-kid-free time at the elmwood park splash pad.  It wasn't the hottest day we've had, but it was fun to run around and interact with all the different water features.  Comically, some liked it better than others. August's big play will be at the splash pad too so if you missed this one, you'll get a second chance!

Fairy and Gnome garden party

To celebrate Owen's half birthday I invited everyone to jump into their fairy garb and take a peak around my garden.  It was a fun little party to out together as I can always get carried away with whimsy. 

June Food play date: You go Grill!

It's hot and no one wants to heat up the house, so grilling it is!  I am an avid griller from the moment the snow melts until it's back again so I was happy to host a grilling party.  Amanda started things off with some tasty veggie kabobs roasted with balsamic vinaigrette that were gone in a flash.  I marinated chicken thighs adapted from my mother in laws recipe as well as tried out a new recipe stolen from Martha Stewart for cilantro lime shrimp.  The shrimp exceeded expectations and I for one with definitely make them again!

Wioletta contributed simply marinated broccoli and summer squash and Danie made a decadent potato dish with carrots, bacon and more.  Both these sides were made by roasting in foil packets while we made other things.  Marie wrapped foil around some giant onions that sat almost the entire time in the grill to become a soft and sweet compliment to the other foods.  Katie happily shucked corn because we had to have the quintessential summer barbecue favorite.  Finally, we were all treated to a truly phenomenal dessert when Colleen introduced honey, butter, and cinnamon to her pineapple kabobs.  The eating was marvelous and I had no trouble managing with the left overs!

Thanks for a great day of grilling and enjoying the nostalgia of summer!

Here's what the kids were up to! Thanks to Katie for taking photos.

 

BIG Play Thursday: June

A belated post for our June big play sans photos, forgive me.

Our dear Brittany and her family have already made their move out of state as I write this.  June's big play was a surprise going away party for her with lots of goodies to eat while mamas worked hard to make special scrapbook pages as a keep sake.  Thanks to Facebook, I know we will still be able to keep in touch and watch Penelope grow, but I know we will all miss them terribly!

It was a challenge to balance busy little ones with hard core crafting but we made it happen, all in days work brilliant multitasking mamas. 

Best of luck and lots of love to Brittany and her family on their next chapter!!

Mother's Day Brunch!

The Emily's hosted a dynamic Mother's Day event today and the weather held up perfectly.  While mama's enjoyed the warm sunshine and company on Emily MS's deck, the babes played at Emily N's home with their dutiful dads.  Some even made lovely cards for their beloved moms!

There were more then enough goodies to go around and the table was overflowing.  Mimosas were enjoyed along with the companionship of our fellow moms who help us in so many ways to celebrate and survive motherhood.  

As usual the time flew by and one by one we returned to the real world but were certainly refreshed, enthused, and full of warm fuzziness.

Many thanks to Emily MS and Emily N for their wonderful orchestration and hosting.  And of course Happy Mothers Day to the Moms Who Play- you put your hearts into everyday and make it look so easy!

DIY essential oil hand sanitizing spray

Today I had the joy of hosting a group of mama's to make our own little spray bottles to fight germs chem free.  My limited instruction was to add water, aloe gel, 10 drops lemon, and 2 of everything else. This is why I do not bake: I am too relaxed about recipes.  But I think it's the gist of the recipe from the video I followed: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5mV-F6QZ1Pk (this video is Dr. Rosen's kids making the sanitizer they keep in the office.  I found this video when I was looking for a pediatrician and stopped looking after I found it ;)

 

Everyone enjoyed the delightful aromas as we mixed up germ fighting potions while the kids gave my homemade toys a run for their money. One duct tomato bit the dust but the drawing station was a hit and all crayons are accounted for.

Thanks to all the ladies and kiddos that made our morning so fun filled and action  packed.