Quick Quesadillas

Note: The correct pronunciation is "kay-sa-dee-ah." Don't be a ninny like my mother-in-law by calling it "quess-ah-dill-ah." ;-) (Although it's pretty funny when they do it at a restaurant. Hahaha!)

I encountered my first quesadilla maker while having dinner at my in-laws. I instantly fell in love! I was quite impressed with the ability to make a variety of yummy concoctions in minutes.

While grocery shopping one day I saw a display of shiny red quesadilla makers. At that moment, I knew that I was taking one of those bad boys home with me!

We love our quesadillas! It is such a versatile food. In our house, each of us may have a different quesadilla at the same meal. It’s the norm for us. Some of us like refried beans, some of us enjoy salsa, while others only want cheese. No biggie!

Here is one of our favorite quesadilla recipes.

Cheesy Quesadillas
Servings 4

1 can refried beans (we use fat free)
1 jar of your favorite salsa (mild for us. Yep, we’re sissies!)
1 bag of shredded cheese (Mexican blend is our fave for tacos/quesadillas)
1 package large (10-12 inch) flour tortillas

Note: This is not a “measuring” type of recipe. This is an “add to your liking” recipe.

In a mixing bowl; stir together beans, ¼ to ½ bottle of salsa (use your discretion here), and 1 cup of cheese. Spread the mixture onto 1 large (10-12 inch) tortilla. Sprinkle with more cheese. Top with another tortilla. Bake in the quesadilla maker until golden brown. You could also cook on the stove top using a frying pan.

Try your own concoctions! I enjoy adding fresh spinach leaves to mine.

(Here you can see the quesadilla mix in the plastic bowl.)

(I love fresh spinach!)

(About to be baked!)

Delicioso! (Yeah, I watch Dora the Explorer too!)

Maker Tip: We like to use our quesadilla maker for things other than just quesadillas. It makes great pancakes! Evenly browned and large! We also make 3-4 grilled cheese sandwiches at a time. We don’t mind the triangular shaped grill marks on our pancakes or grilled cheese either!

Big Mac Love: A Dog's Shame

Recently, my son found a lovely surprise. He was in the middle of eating a juicy Big Mac® when I called him to come upstairs. After stepping away for a few minutes, he returned to his food. When sitting down at the table, he realized that his burger was missing. He immediately thought that he might have taken it upstairs with him. After glancing around the room, to his surprise, he spotted the burger box sitting closed on the floor. When he picked up the box he noticed that it was unevenly weighted. To his amazement, inside the box was not his burger but a golf ball!

Our sweet and goofy 2 year old black Labrador retriever, Eli, decided to help himself to my son’s Big Mac®. He must have felt bad about eating his human brother’s food, and left his most prized possession (his golf ball) in return. It was quite a hilarious experience for our family!

To make the situation even more hilarious, we decided to take silly photos.

Sorry for the poor quality. The shame sign reads: I ate my brother's Big Mac®, but I gave him my ball as a peace offering.

Pets are so fun! Do you have a funny story about your pet?

Photo creds:
Big Mac® photo from McDonald's Restaurants of Canada. www.mcdonalds.ca

Olive Oil Hair Treatment

Here’s a great hot oil hair treatment! No need to spend money on pricey hot oil treatments from the salons and drugstores. This is a great, all natural method without any added ingredients & chemicals.

The oil:
Today, I used the olive oil that I already had on hand in my kitchen pantry. However, you could use coconut oil, argan oil, sunflower oil, or whatever other type you wanted. Ideally, organic is best because there aren't yucky additives.

I poured half a cup of oil into my measuring cup and heated it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Note- You may need more or less oil depending on your hair length. I discarded the bit I had leftover.
CAUTION: Every microwave is different. Be careful to not burn yourself. Test the oil before applying.

Thoroughly coat your hair and scalp. I like to massage it into my scalp to help with dryness. I try to make sure that my hair is pretty well saturated with oil. Next , wrap your hair up in plastic wrap. You can also use a towel. Let the oil sit for 30 minutes. Today, I actually got busy with online tasks and my hair treatment ended up lasting an hour.

Tip: use old clothes, or go au naturel (aka naked!) I was dripping olive oil all over the place. At one time, it was rolling down my forehead and onto my nose & lips.

Once your time is up, unwrap your hair and jump into the shower or tub. (Be careful if you’re really jumping! Ha!) Here’s the tricky part: make sure you wash your hair REALLY well. It usually takes multiple washes to get all of the oil out of the hair. Today, I washed twice with Dawn® dish soap and then once with my regular shampoo. I always wash my hair at least once with Dawn® when doing the oil treatment. It really helps.

Tip: if this is your first attempt at doing an at-home hot oil treatment, aim to do it on a day when you're not leaving the house! Just in case. You don’t want to rush off to work with your head looking like it was dunked in a deep fryer!

After you have thoroughly removed the oil from your hair, you may style as usual. Enjoy your soft & shiny locks!

What's your go-to DIY hair products or treatments?

Painting Parties

My daughter recently attended her friend’s 5th birthday party. The celebration was held at a local painting studio called, Picasso’s Corner. The party was themed after the Disney movie, Frozen.

When we arrived, tables were lined up with easels, canvases, and painting supplies. The party host also had a table filled with yummy snacks and drinks. There was even beer and wine for the adults.

Once all of the guests arrived, the painting instructor had everyone follow along. She stood at the front of the room and showed the kids how to paint step-by-step.
They began by painting their background. They mixed together blue and white paint for a lighter blue shade. Next, they used a splatter paint technique to add white “snow” to the canvas.

While we waited for the background to dry, we ate chicken tenders, pasta salad, fruit salad, veggies & dip, and cake. The kids really enjoyed this time together. They chatted about their exciting canvas painting experiences.

After getting a bite to eat, it was time for the next step in the painting process. The instructor walked around the room drawing a sketch with chalk on each canvas. This would be their guide for painting.

Step by step, the children began painting their character. First, the body. Then, the arms and hair. And finally, the facial features. The children loved seeing their Olaf painting creations come to life!

This was one of the best birthday parties that we have ever attended! It was so much fun! The kids had a blast & they got to take home an Olaf canvas that they painted all by themselves. It was definitely a party to remember.

I had so much fun at this party that I’m planning on having my husband’s 40th and daughter’s 20th birthday there. It would be a joint party (since their birthdays are only 2 days apart) and we can have all the family together. I think it would be a blast!

Have you had a painting party? If so, share your story with us.

Teacher Appreciation

I love our teachers! I mean it. I really do. During the last 14 years of having 4 kids in school, I can honestly say that our teachers have been wonderful! We have had the occasional “bad apple”, but overall they have all been pretty fabulous.

You see, I used to be a “teacher”. I was technically a Parapro or Teacher’s Assistant. I attended college to be a teacher. However, I never completed my degree. I am pretty much only lacking the student teaching portion of my degree. Why? Well, I fell out of love with the job.

I was a Substitute Teacher for several years and loved it. I enjoyed the flexibility of that schedule. Then, I decided to work full-time as a Parapro. I enjoyed it. However, my joy was squelched by the Administration and by the parents of the students. Teachers put up with a lot! Nonsensical rules and bad attitudes from their “bosses” as well as nitpicky, whiny parents whose kid can’t do anything wrong. You know the type…Little Johnny doesn’t complete his schoolwork and homework, but the teacher is to blame for the poor grades.

After being with teachers, day in and day out, I came to have a new found respect and appreciation for them. They deserve tons more praise, love, and appreciation than they receive!

National Teacher Appreciation Day is May 5, 2015. Typically, Teacher Appreciation is the entire week. (May 4-8, 2015).

We love giving our teachers all sorts of goodies throughout the school year. I usually send a nice treat with my kiddos on the first day of school. For added love and appreciation, I like to send goodies at each holiday: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. The week of Teacher Appreciation, I usually send a goody on each day. Then, on the last day of school, I will send a nice Thank You gift. To some, this may seem like overkill. But to me, I want to encourage those who are working so hard for the education, safety, and future of my precious kids.

Here are some of the gifts we have given to our teachers this year.

At Christmas, each teacher received a personalized frame. Female teachers received art that said, “Teachers change the world one child at a time.” For male teachers, I tried to make them something a little more “manly”. Theirs read, “I teach. What’s your superpower?” I actually make these pieces of art and sell them in my Etsy Store.

For Valentine’s Day, each teacher received a snack sized bag of chips with a little note. Again, I tried to do gender appropriate notes. The ladies had notes that read, “You are all that and a bag of chips. Happy Valentine’s Day.” And the guy’s notes said. “Nacho average teacher. Happy V-Day!”

For Easter, all teachers received the same yummy gift. A box of Marshmallow Peeps with a card that read, “Happy Easter to one of my favorite Peeps!”

This week, my daughter’s Prek is having an early teacher appreciation week. Although my daughter’s teachers are opposite genders, they are both getting the same gifts. My 5 year old’s school posted a daily theme for the gifts (I have seen this in the past at one of my other children’s elementary schools.)

Day 1-Sweets Day
Day 2- Flower Day
Day 3-Fruit Day
Day 4-Card/Note/Letter Day
Day 5-Parent’s Choice

I really don’t mind the assigned themes. It gives me a welcomed challenge to come up with neat little gifts. Here’s what I came up with.

Sweets Day: A pack of chocolate or powdered donuts with a note, “DONUT know what I’d do without a teacher like you!”

Flower Day: A mini shovel with a packet of seeds. Note: “Thanks for helping me GROW!”

Fruit Day: An individual bottle of Simply Orange brand juice. Note: “You’re SIMPLY the best!” (SEE PHOTO FROM SWEETS DAY!)

Card Day: A thank you card with my daughter’s drawing of the teacher and a school photo.

Parent’s Choice: In the past, I would give a $5 gift card to Blockbuster for a dvd rental and 2 packages of microwavable popcorn. Note: “Movie Night! Because even stars need a night off!”

Do you have any great go-to ideas for Teacher Appreciation?
P.S. “If you can read this, thank a teacher.”

Links:

My Etsy Store

I'm featured on What's on the List. Check it out!
I'm featured at The Creative Collection Party. Check it out!
I'm featured on I Should Be Mopping The Floor. Check it out!
I'm featured on Best Recipes & DIY Projects. Check it out!

Photo creds: Pixgood.com for the Thank you apple graphic.

My First Letter to Bobby

As I mentioned in my first post (here), I was totally stoked to receive a letter from Bobby (the child that we sponsor through Compassion International). Receiving Bobby's letter stirred up a letter writing passion in me! At first, I read and re-read his letter over and over. It's so cool to receive a letter from someone you've never met who lives thousands of miles away, in a country you've never been to. After the initial shock, eh, excitement I then began perusing Pinterest to find ideas on how/what to write in my letter to Bobby.

I found some really cool ideas. Some of these sponsors really go all out for their child. It's awesome!

















Armed with my arsenal of ideas, I made a trip to the Dollar Store. (Don't ya just hate when people say "I got this from the Dollar Store."? I mean, which stinking "dollar store" are you referring to? There are multiples: Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, etc, etc....Rant over.) Ok, so, I took a trip to Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is my fave! Love it. You can really stock up on kid items like coloring books, stickers, easter basket items, and more. My mission was to find age appropriate materials for little Bobby. Having a sponsored child that is a teen can be a little more challenging for finding items that aren't too "babyish". Even with the challenge, I was able to get some good stuff.

*Robot Printer Paper *Transportation Stickers *Space Dot-to-Dot book *4 National Geographic Kids Books

You may or may not know that Compassion does NOT allow sponsors to send anything other than paper items. This is strictly due to Customs fees. So, get creative! The books I purchased will be pulled apart, and I will send a handful of pages per letter. It works out pretty well since the books I chose have only 1 subject per page. (Such as connect the dots books.) Coloring books would be great for this! Just tear them out & send 2-3 pages with your letter.

As some of the bloggers mention in the links above, many of these children don't have photos of themselves. So, I cut out one of the photos from my sponsor packet and made a little bookmark for Bobby.

I decided that it would be best not to overwhelm poor little Bobby with my very first letter! So, I'm sending the blank letter template that came in my sponsor kit with a photo of our family attached. I'm also including the bookmark and a few stickers.

I decided to make labels with our sponsor number and Bobby's number on them to quickly label all of his belongings. Compassion asks that all correspondence have both sponsor & child numbers on them. Thanks to Three Little Larks for this great suggestion!

Do you have any great ideas for letter writing to a sponsored child? Share them with us!


Links:
Compassion International: www.compassion.com
The Compassion Experience (video): http://www.compassion.com/change/about-the-experience-video.htm

Compassion

Are you familiar with Compassion International? If not, let me just tell you, I'm in love!

Last month, my church hosted an event for Compassion International. Basically, the Compassion team arrived with this cool trailer and set up shop in our church parking lot. This trailer transformed into a really cool, interactive experience. In some strange way, it reminded me of a haunted house. Nothing in the trailer was "haunted house" like, but the fact of walking through room-by-room, behind closed doors, gave me that instant "cautious" feeling. To be honest, I was bracing myself for some scary person in a mask to jump out from behind a door or curtain. It was the perfect set-up to catch unsuspecting guests on camera being frightened by scary dudes. Ha!

HOWEVER, it was nothing like that!!! The Compassion Experience was a display showcasing 3 children from various parts of the world. First, we chose a child to follow throughout our journey through the display. We could actually choose to follow all 3 children, by walking through the display 3 times. Robert & I decided to only do it once since we were pressed for time. After selecting the child who would be our guide, we were given some cool, noise cancelling headphones and a handheld device. Robert swore it was an iPhone. The device prompted us to walk through the display stopping in each room. The rooms were set up to resemble the actual homes, schools, and other environments that these children live, work, and play in every day. It was quite sobering to see how little people in other parts of the world really have. At the end of the experience, a room was designated for sponsoring a child. Hundreds of child packets lined the walls and shelves.

I already knew that I was going to sponsor a child. God had really laid that on my heart & prepared me over the last year. I told my husband that I really wanted to find a boy who had the same birthday as a baby we had previously miscarried in 2008. After walking in the sponsoring room, I found the boy we were going to sponsor. His packet was the third one that I looked at. His birthday is August 10th, which was our due date with the baby we had lost. I immediately fell in love with the little boy in the photo. I just knew he was the one! We immediately filled out the sponsor card and took our packet home.

Here's our little guy! His name is Bobby. He is a 9th grader who lives in the Philippines.

To sponsor a child through Compassion International, it costs $38/month. As tight as our family budget is (with 1 income), we decided that $38 is really a very small amount to sacrifice for such a huge investment in a child's life, as well as their family. To be honest, I don't care if we have to eat out less or sell something on Ebay, as long as little Bobby is getting his sponsorship each month!

So, we sponsored Bobby last month (March 2015), and we have already received our first letter from him! How cool is that!? I realize that just maybe, the organization has the children write their first letter before even getting sponsored. If so, that's perfectly fine with me. I am just so ecstatic to get a letter from him! I'm on cloud 9! I think that in the last 2 days of having the letter, I've probably read it 10 times! Not to mention, the countless hours that I have spent scouring Pinterest for letter ideas to send to sponsored children. Look for my first letter to little Bobby in my next post! :D

Can you tell that I'm seriously excited!?!


Links:
My church: www.therevolution.tv
Compassion International: www.compassion.com
The Compassion Experience (video): http://www.compassion.com/change/about-the-experience-video.htm