I bought this book and this "cupcakes and butterflies" kit at JoAnn's Crafts a while back.  They had other kit options and plenty of bulk perler beads, too.

You could also buy a large container of "perler" beads at IKEA.  When I bought them there they were listed at $5.99, I believe.  That seemed like a good price to me.

So, the kids made their patterns and then I used my iron to fuse the beads together.  Easy-peasy!  Afterwards, I had some magnets that I wanted to add on the backside.  Just glue-gunned them on.  

After they were finished, I hung the magnets on the side of my fridge.  Cute and handy creations!  

Summer is great, but sometimes lunchtime seems a little boring.  Just as I get tired of the same old thing...so do my kids.  So, I decided to try something a little different.  I only wish I'd tried out and learned a few tips sooner.  Time for a fun bento inspired meal...at home.  So, I skipped the "box" and served it on square plates to give it a more "boxed" feel  Can't forget the chopsticks, either!  Of course, I packed the extras into a bento box for my husband to enjoy when he got home.

Of course the easiest way to make lunch more fun is with some cookie-cutters.  I love my old Pampered Chef Kids Cutters set.  I've used it so many times!  The flower is big enough that it doesn't waste much from a standard sandwich bread slice...so it's perfect for a cute sandwich minus the crust.  Of course, I cut out the lunchmeat and cheese to match.  I also use the Pampered Chef Creative Cutters Set, too....for things like meat/cheese for crackers or to cut shapes in slices of fruits/veggies.

My kids do like hard-boiled eggs, so I thought I would make them a little more fun.  So, I bought some egg molds.  I boiled my eggs and following some recommendations, then I began getting the egg molds wet.  As I peeled each of the warm eggs, I placed them each in a mold, locking the mold, and placing it directly in a bowl of ice water to cool.  I left them in the ice-water for a bit to ensure they would hold their shape.

I ordered a "sushezi" to make some sushi-type rolls and thought I'd give it a try.  Worked great.  Next time I will wrap my roll(s) in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a while before serving, though.  

I wasn't so sure about this...  I have to say that it turned out better than I thought.  Sliced into thin strips, pan-fried and placed in the center of the "sushi" roll.  It was yum.

Thanks to Costco, you can get small sheets of seaweed easily!  It's a nice and salty snack even on its own, too. I just used these little sheets to wrap my "sushi" roll.  They worked out pretty well.

One of the tricks I learned was to make "sticky rice" you need to soak the short-grain rice for at least 30 minutes prior to turning on the rice cooker.  I have to tell you that it really worked great.  I used rice molds on some of the extra rice, too!  They held up great!  Mmm...I got to enjoy some sweet sticky rice later with sweetened coconut milk.  

Friday was fun!  I took my kids to see the movie Despicable Me 2.  We ate a bunch of popcorn, while we were there.  Afterwards, we walked around looking at booths during Cornucopia Days.  When we were through...we went to McD's drive-thru to get some ice cream cones.  When we got home, we had a dvd to watch together, too.  It really was a good day.  

Saturday was simple.  We all watched some tv, did some chores around the house and yard, and I reorganized a few kitchen cabinets, too!

Sunday dinner - my husband grilled some teriyaki chicken and baked potatoes for us.  Yum!!!  

Did I mention he cooked us eggs & turkey-bacon for breakfast, too?  Lucky me - no cooking for me today!

Monday, I started the morning off with happy kids. Thanks to my son's request, I made them some chocolate-peanut butter pancakes with bananas (my idea to add some fruit, not my son's - LOL), mini chocolate chips, syrup and some whip cream to top it off!  Afterwards, I enjoyed my coffee along with a lovely cool breeze that was coming in through all the windows. 

Being in such a summery mood, I decided to make some jell-o for after dinner dessert.  So after I made that, we made and all enjoyed some shaved ice.  Later we munched on some chilled watermelon.  Mmm...  Then, I decided to make some sort of pasta salad for our dinner.  Rotini, cherry tomatoes, olives, summer sausage, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, and bits of carrots were thrown together and chilled with some Italian dressing.  When I served it, I sprinkled some shredded Italian cheese blend on the top.  Ahhh.... gotta love those easy going summer days.

It's been a warm day, although overcast.  Tonight, as I sit here typing this, it's time for a cool drink.  So, I'm sipping on a mixture of a non-alcoholic "mocktail" I made from  TGI Friday's® Hard Lemonade Mix, Sierra Mist and sliced lemons. 

We are kind of 'home-bodies" at times and it's nice to be home with my kids.  AND I'm grateful that I can be.  I'm thankful for the time I have with them.

Now, I'm gonna go watch a show with my husband. He's patiently waiting for me.  I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week!

The 4th of July weekend is a busy camping weekend.  Yep, made plans with a friend of mine to take our kids  camping for the weekend. 

This is just another reason that I love our club camp-site... I didn't have to worry about making reservations or finding a decent campsite over a holiday weekend.  We just decided we wanted to go and off we went.  No making reservations months in advance.  Plus, very little packing since we keep all of our stuff at our camp-site.

I'm not gonna post a bunch of pics, but the kids had fun riding bikes, swimming, and exploring together.  Of course, we had a campfire and made some s'mores.  I got eaten by a few mosquitos and so did one or two of the kids, but we all survived.  LOL

The fourth of July happens to be my birthday.  I never know quite what to do...  Families go on vacation, camping, to family parties, etc., etc.  The point is that it's a great day for a get-together, but often people tend to be busy with their own families.  Unfortunately, all our family lives out-of-state, so we have gotten used to doing smaller-scale get-togethers.  So, when I find out a few friends are available on the 4th - I tell 'em to come on over!

I like my birthday, so I am really not complaining.  However, birthdays on or around any holiday can make parties a bit more difficult.  My daughter has it much worse...her birthday is Christmas Eve.  No slumber party for her on her actual birthday...probably EVER.  My other daughter isn't much better off, either.  Her birthday falls the week of Thanksgiving... sometimes on Thanksgiving Day.  Yep, we usually have to celebrate her birthday with her friends before or after that week.  So, we might not have huge birthday bashes here, but we sure do enjoy our little parties!

I decided not to buy a regular table-cloth.  Instead, I bought some cute material at JoAnn's Fabric & Craft Store.  I bought a couple yards of Fabric Central's Honeydew Collection (which matches a bundle or two I already have).  I simply cut it (with pinking shears) to fit over my folding tables.  Since I am planning to re-use this fabric for something in the future, I wanted to protect it from food/beverage spills.  So, I bought a cheap clear shower curtain, cut off the edges, threw on a disposable table runner, and voilà!  Boring card tables transformed into cuteness!

What party is complete without some dessert?  Who needs cake?  We do! So how about some festive, summer-time cupcakes!?!  I used Pillsbury's Orangesicle and Key Lime cake mixes and corresponding seasonal flavored tubs of frosting.  Mmm...  Of course, I had to add sugar sprinkles, choose some cute-polk-a-dot wrappers and festive picks to put in them.  Nope, I didn't stick with just the traditional patriotic colors.  Since it's also my birthday, so I opted for some aqua blues and some reds (and some pinks, too!)

Backyard Party Prep...
Opened the umbrellas, put out some Tiki torches, a Tiki globe, some candles, and mini-paper lanterns.  Made sure everything was swept and cleaned off before bringing out the snacks, too!

We chatted and enjoyed some snacks and drinks.  A little while later we threw some burgers and hotdogs on the grill.  After dinner, we let the kids play with some little things like poppers, smoke bombs, sparklers, and what-not.  As it got darker, we got our fireworks all ready and watched our own little show.  While we watched fireworks, I dished everyone up some birthday (cup) cake and ice-cream.  It wasn't a big party or anything, but I enjoyed the company!  It was a great birthday and 4th of July for me!

Have a wonderful July!

Around the 4th of July, we like to let our red, white, & blue shine.  So, we painted out nails with our own version of stars (dots) and stripes!  

You can start with a clear base coat if you would like.  I painted the fingers on each hand the same way...3 blue nails and 2 red ones.  For the red, I used OPI's Chick Flick Cherry on myself and used Big Apple Red on my daughter.  I painted every-other nail red and the other ones Sally Hansen's Co-Bolt Blue.  After the solid colors were painted, I used a white Sally Hansen nail art pen to make the stripes on red nails and dots (stars) on the blue ones.  A manicure always looks great with a top coat.  Plus, even better is a quick-drying one!  I like to use INM's Out The Door for that.  Of course, Seche Vite makes a top coat that one of my friends swears by.  Whatever products you like to use - have fun with your nail art!