Thank a Police Officer Day is coming up on 9/20/2014. If you’re looking for a fun and easy project, check out our instructions for Police Officer Appreciation Week Goodie Bags. They were a huge hit with my husband’s department!
How to Make Spaghetti From Spaghetti Squash
A couple years ago, I had never even heard about a spaghetti squash, but now it’s one of my favorite foods! During those years, I tried many ways to cook the squash including in the microwave and in the oven. Both seemed far too difficult. I’m all about ease, so I figured out how to cook a spaghetti squash right in my slow cooker!
Simply make a couple stabs in the squash with either a knife or a fork and gently place in your crockpot. Add in about an inch of water and cook on low for about 4-6 hours depending on the size of your spaghetti squash. Yes, it’s that simple! To check if it’s done, simply press on it and if it’s really soft, it’s done! Pull out your squash carefully and allow it to cool a few minutes. It may be really hot, so please be careful!
Cut the squash open from top to bottom and scoop out the seeds. The next part is pretty fun! Just take a fork and start scraping at the inside of the squash. It will start looking like strands of spaghetti, like this!
Next place on a plate, add your favorite spaghetti sauce on top, along with extra italian seasonings, parmesan, and of course meatballs, and you have a wonderful carb free dinner!
MMMmm…. what a wonderful dinner this was last night!
13 Years Ago Today…
I was getting ready to go to class for my senior year. My classes started at 10 that day. I was watching something on TV and it was interrupted. I called my mom at work to tell her and while on the phone, the 2nd plane hit. I remember being scared and thought about not going to school that day. I ended up going and all the classes had the TV on showing the news. I will never forget.
Where were you?
Crown Reef Resort – Ultimate Family Destination!
My family and I had the pleasure of staying at Crown Reef Resort in Myrtle Beach this past weekend. We had an absolute blast! It has recently refurbished rooms that are beautiful and they are working on the rest of the refurbishing details in the next few months.
Crown Reef Resort has 514 guest rooms and suites with views of the Atlantic Ocean. The rooms range between a Queen Efficiency and a Queen Jacuzzi Suite! With room for up to 8, this hotel is perfect for a larger family like ours. The room we had was the Queen Deluxe Suite. Our suite had a full kitchen including a full size refrigerator, stove, microwave, and sink. All basic cooking utensils were available as well! Cooking from our own hotel room saved us a ton of money by not dining out. For breakfast, we made things such as cereal, bagels, and eggs, lunches were sandwiches, and for dinner we made quesadillas, sausage, salads, and veggies.
Each morning, we could wake up, eat breakfast and walk right down to the beach. We would stay and play for hours! Once the beach got too hot, we headed back up to the watersides and pools in the back of the hotel.
During the day at the beach, there are lifeguards available if we needed help and also flags showing the rating of the water. One day while we were there, the lifeguards wouldn’t let anyone go in the water more than waist deep because of how rough the tide was due to the upcoming storms. I really appreciated having them nearby.
Crown Reef Resort features the longest oceanfront lazy river in Myrtle Beach at 575 feet, indoor and outdoor pools, watermark with 2 four story tall waterslides, hot tubs, kiddie pools, and a silly sub with slide for the little kids. I admit that I had fun going down the slides as well!
We had planned to stay at the hotel some but also venture out to local attractions but we were having so much fun at the hotel, we only left once during our stay! When we go back next time, we will plan on staying longer.
At Crown Reef Resort, they have Swirls Ice Cream Shop, where you can purchase ice cream cones made with Breyer’s ice cream! They also have a eatery called Grab N Go that has easy to grab snacks, breakfast, and lunch items. For lunch and dinner, they have the Loco Gecko. This was a pretty cool restaurant that offers everything from fried pickles to pizza and salads. Everything looked and smelled great!
In between Loco Gecko and Swirls, you can find a game room, which is perfect when it’s too hot to play outside or the kids just need a break from the water. Lots of games from motorcycles to air hockey.
I definitely recommend staying at Crown Reef Resort if you need an affordable family vacation. They have fall rates from $49/night and the watersides and pools will be open all year! Huge thanks to Crown Reef Resort for inviting us on this trip and we cannot wait to come back!
Free Fall Printable Activity Sheets
Fall is just around the corner and coming fast! I can’t wait to see all the beautiful colors and feel the cool, crisp breezes. Fall is my favorite season!
New for you today, I have 5 new printables that are perfect for the younger kiddos to help prepare for fall! To download and print, simply click on the photo of the one you would like to print. I hope you enjoy!
What color are the maple leaves in your neighborhood?
P is for Pumpkin
L is for Leaf
How many acorns does the chipmunk have?
Count and Color the Pumpkins
Note, these are for personal use only and not to be resold. Be sure and pin it so you can find it later!
Also, be sure to check out our Free Thanksgiving Printables as well!
Avocado Eggrolls with Sweet and Tangy Dipping Sauce
Ever since I first tried an avocado egg roll, I’ve been hooked. They can be really pricey at the restaurants so we try to only order them on special occasions. The other day while we were in Aldi, they had some super ripe avocados for only $.39! We decided to see if we could make our own avocado eggrolls. I have a super husband that loves experimenting so he gave it a whirl. He even created a sweet and tangy dipping sauce for the egg rolls! For starters, you’ll want to cut open your avocados and slice and scoop out the goodness. If you haven’t worked with avocados before, there is a big seed in the middle. You’ll want to score around the outside of the avocado and then open it. Scoop out the seed and slice the avocado, not slicing through the skin. Then scoop out the avocado with a spoon.
You will want to do this to 4 of the avocados and then lightly salt. The 5th, you will scoop out and mash into a bowl. With the mashed avocado, you will add in some salt, lime juice, minced garlic, and cilantro. Stir it all up to make the base for your avocado egg roll. 
To make the egg rolls, you will lay one egg roll wrapper flat on a plate and add a spoon of the mashed avocado mixture. Add a couple slices of avocado on top. Next take your finger and dip it in a bowl of water. Run your finger along the outside edges of the egg roll. This helps the egg roll stick together. Then fold the sides in and roll up. Gently place the wrapped egg roll in hot oil to fry. Let cook 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. 
Remove from the oil and place on paper towels to cool. Repeat until egg rolls are filled and fried. 
Next up, mix up your dipping sauce. My husband had envisioned a sweet and tangy sauce. I thought he was crazy at first with the ingredients he was mixing together, but it worked beautifully! It’s a mixture of ketchup, cumin, orange marmalade, vinegar and a touch of salt. Don’t knock it until you try it!
Avocado Eggrolls with Sweet and Tangy Sauce
Recipe Type: appetizer
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 package egg roll wrappers
- 5 avocados
- sea salt
- 1/2 lime
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon cilantro
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Remove the seed from the avocados and slice 4. Lightly salt.
- Mash the 5th avocado in a bowl and add the juice from 1/2 lime, garlic, cilantro, and salt to taste. Stir to combine.
- On a egg roll wrapper, spread 1 spoonful of the mashed avocado mixture and add a couple slices of avocado on top.
- Dip your finger in water and run it along the outside edge of the egg roll wrapper.
- Fold in edges and roll up.
- Place egg roll in hot oil and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain.
- Continue until out of avocado mixture.
- For sauce, mix remaining 5 ingredients until well combined. Pour into a bowl for dipping.
Cut the egg rolls in half and enjoy! Even my kids loved these!
Police/Deputy Wives, Check Out this Bracelet!
I was browsing Amazon the other day for some new accessories and came across this Bronze Infinity/Best Friend/Handcuffs Leather bracelet and fell in love with it! I already received it in the mail and I still love it! I love the blue and black and all the says and decor on it are awesome! It’s only $6.16 + Free Shipping right now!
I’m very proud to be a deputy wife and love to show my support for my husband.
How to Find Educational Videos on Amazon Prime to use in Homeschool
During our homeschool day, we do not watch tv. I do make exceptions when there is something that I need to get done or if we just need a break from learning. I have told you in the past about why I love my Amazon Prime membership, and having wonderful and education videos available at the click of a button is awesome.
If you do not have an Amazon Prime Membership, you can go here to check it out. You’ll score a free 30 day subscription to decide if you love it or not. I love it!
Some of the benefits include:
- 2 day shipping on many items
- Extra discounts with Amazon Mom
- Instantly view over 40,000 movies and tv shows FREE
- Read books for FREE
- and more!
You can find Amazon Prime movies perfect for your homeschool by searching in the Amazon Instant Video Finder, which is broken down by topics such as documentary, history, and nature. That’s the absolute easiest way. Of course, you can always search by subject as well under the Amazon Prime Instant Video section. Here are some that we have enjoyed adding to our watch list and are all free for prime members:
Yellowstone
Reading Rainbow Collection
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Glory to God Alone: The Life of J.S. Bach
Wonders of God’s Creation
Nature’s Great Events
Schoolhouse Rock
America The Story of Us
The Civil War: A Film By Ken Burns
Travel with Kids
What great resources have you found on Amazon Prime Video?
Meal Plan Monday (Plus FREE Printable Meal Planner!)
It’s Monday, so time to plan out your meals for the week! I made a Meal Plan Monday printable meal planner PDF file that I uploaded so you guys can use it too! I like to put mine on the fridge so the kids know exactly what we are having and when. CLICK HERE to print it.
I haven’t been meal planning much lately and need to get back into it with our school year starting. Here’s what we are having this week:
Monday: Grilled Chicken Salads
Tuesday: Dinner with friends
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner – Eggs, bacon, biscuits
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Camping out, so hotdogs and baked beans
Saturday: Hamburgers, chips, fruit
Sunday: Rotisserie Chicken, broccoli, brown rice
What are you making this week?
Tips on Planning an Allergy Friendly Birthday Party
Planning an allergy friendly birthday party may seem a little scary. The number of children with food allergies continues to grow every day, and while families with an allergy sufferer are well educated on how to keep their children safe, the general public always isn’t.
Whether you, your child or your child’s friend suffers from an allergy or not, it is always important to consider the possible allergic reactions that can be caused by the food we are serving at a party, and how to best make our guests aware.
One of the most common concerns for parents of children that suffer from allergies, after suffering a possible reaction, is that their child will be excluded or isolated from fun events like birthday parties because of their allergies.
Planning an allergy friendly birthday party is not difficult and allergy safe menu changes, activities and preparation can all be worked into any ideas you already have planned.
Start With the Invites
Make sure that everyone feels welcome to attend your child’s birthday party, allergy or no allergy. Include contact information for parents on every invitation and a note letting parents know that they are welcome to contact you if there are any allergy considerations that need to be made.
Have Party Activities Planned Out
If you are super organized, you may already have all the snacks, food and activities for the party planned out when the invitations go out. However, not everyone has all that figured out from the start. To make your party as allergy friendly as possible, have your party activities planned out as soon as the invites go out so that you can plan and coordinate with parents if they do call. Remember, it is not just food that can be an issue, but some crafting supplies contain popular allergens.
Provide Individual Dishware
Some allergies are so severe that even if an allergen is not eaten, but simply come in contact with, it can cause a reaction. Try to minimize this possibility as much as possible with individual dishware for each child, so that they know what is theirs. If you can’t budget for everyone to have a different color or set of their own dishware, provide something different just for any food allergic children– right down to the fork and knife they will be using.
Don’t Change, but Amend
A birthday party is a celebration of the birthday girl or boy, so it is important that you keep the activities and fun about what they enjoy to do. This can be a little more difficult if your child decides they want a food themed party– cupcake wars, pizza party with pizza making, cookie exchange or something similar– but it does not mean that you have to change the entire party. Amend, but don’t change. Ask the parent about what level of comfort they are comfortable with their child participating first, because they will be the best person to help you plan for or know the different possibilities for allergen contamination.
Allow for Safe Food
If you know upfront the allergies that you are dealing with and its limited to one or two item that can easily be cut out, an entire menu can be easily created, but remember that you need to check for hidden ingredients in condiments, sauces and batter. Otherwise, allow for safe food to be prepared with the parent’s help, or by the parents. Additionally, when it comes to serving the birthday cake, make sure there is always an option set aside for any allergy suffering guests.
By working with parents to help include, not exclude, children, you can help reduce the challenge for the parent and yourself.
Do you have any tips to add?
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