Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese Braid Recipe

Ok... so this is one of our families FAVORITE recipes.  It can be changed to fit your families needs.  Its quick, EASY, and pretty fun. :-)  I also like it because I can make it ahead of time (whenever I HAVE time...LOL).  Today, I'm actually doubling it and taking 1 to a friend that just had a baby.  One more really fun part with this recipe... A LOT of the items often have sales/coupons offered.  So you can stock up on the items and prepare the meal when you have everything you need!  I got the original recipe from Pampered Chef.  So... you can check that out but you'll notice some differences between their recipe and mine.

Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese Braid

Floating Patio

Right so... we finished the sandbox JUST IN TIME for our kiddos birthday shindig and we got the truckload of sand... and we had QUITE A BIT left over.  We tossed around SEVERAL ideas... putting sand under the big toys we have in the yard, just filling in the gap underneath our back porch, I suggested using it in some of the beds in the front yard... and then Handy hubby came up with a GRRRREAT idea!  We can lay pavers and make a floating patio extending off of the one we have already. 

Sound Machine Tip

 Ok... so I got this from one of my FAVORITE deal sites Steals and Deals for Kids...
Once we had baby number 2 a sound machine was a MUST !  It seemed that every time I would finally get one kid to sleep, the other one would wake up.  It was a VICIOUS cycle... I felt like I was getting NOWHERE!!  So... I just waned something simple... I opted for a sound machine... I just wanted white noise.  You know, to drown out the crying in the room next door.

This is the one that we chose.  It was perfect.  Small, inexpensive, loud ;-), light... you get the picture.  It really was/is great.  we could take it with us on road trips and it worked very well for us.

Unfortunately, my rough and tough infant quickly started pulling up on things and standing and become a wobbly, grabbing, toddler.  He definitely stood there playing with the sound machine and dropped it :-(  so... now we've got 1 machine and 2 kids.  It's ok some times... but others, times we need one!

So here's the tip part 2... INSTEAD of buying ANOTHER sound machine, you can just click here and download a $0.99 MP3... yeah that's a RIDICULOUS savings amount!!

Hope this helps...

Pirate Party

WHEW... just finished up the first of MANY dual birthday parties. Heck my kids birthdays are about 2 weeks apart... so a party in the middle?! YES! DEFINITELY!! Thanks to Disney Jr.'s Jake and the Neverland Pirates ("Treasure Island" to Addison?!?!), we had a pirate themed party.

So, first I went to etsy.com and bought some PRECIOUS graphics... (which you can see in the pictures... I couldn't load them here because of copyright stuff. It's a super easy and SUPER cute way to make a party personal...you know, not just the same ole store bought party. This one looks like you took WAY more time and/or $ to create.

Sales at Cabela's

Ok... keeping in mind that Father's Day is coming up... here are a handful of deals from Cabela's...

Happy Shopping...

Minn Kota Endura" C2 55 Trolling Motor

SALE PRICE: $229.99- $249.99

Daiwa Regal XiA Spinning Reel

SALE PRICE:  $49.99

Cabela's Outdoor Walkers by Meindl

SALE PRICE:  $79.99

Tire Step

SALE PRICE:  $39.99

Nikon" Omega Muzzleloader Scope

SALE PRICE: $99.99- $269.99

Click the link below to see more!

Cloth Diapers... Let's Chat...

Carhartt... HOW CUTE?!?!

Cloth diapers have really become quite popular in recent years.  Personally, I think that the increase in the last few years has come from the terrible economy.  In an effort to cut costs, moms started using cloth diapers.  Of course, there are also the environmentally conscious moms out there too, that use the cloth diapers to reduce waste.  Either way... now, it's all the rage.  If you want cloth diapers and cloth diaper covers there are the CUTEST options out there!

Personally, I have been a disposable diaper user.  I have found that with coupons, and sales, I can find them for next to nothing.  Honestly, life has just been too hectic for me to add one more thing to my plate.  But, saving money sounded appealing.

I am interested to hear your opinion.  Those of you that use cloth diapers, is it worth it to you?  Is it a hassle at all?  How about cleaning them?  Honestly, that was one of the BIGGEST turn offs to me.  A friend of mine used a service for hers, but that's not really saving money, now is it?  I say that... but, I don't really know how much the service costs.  How about when you take the kids places... church?  the gym?  daycare?  Do they use the cloth diapers?  So, what's the scoop?  Is it a lot of extra work?  If I were a brand new mommy... WHY would cloth diapers be appealing to me??  

I know you're out there ladies... let's chat...

       

1851 Navy Model .36 Caliber Revolver 20% off

Click here to head on over to Cabela's and snag this revolver for 20% off... remember... Father's Day IS coming up in June.  **Keep an eye out for Father's Day ideas**

Brownie Bites (thank you PARCHMENT PAPER)

So I'm SURE that I have SEVERAL talented readers when it comes to baking.  So here's a twist on everyday brownies that some of you may know... and some (like myself) might NOT!

I bought a plain brownie box mix (that was on sale and I bought WITH coupons...OF COURSE). 

It is FINISHED (with a GREAT sandbox tip)!!

The sandbox making has been a journey.  And is a pretty simple project.  You could DEFINITELY build this in a weekend (or less) if you have some undivided time ;-) (not much of an option for ME).

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom... there's a GREAT sandbox tip!!!

ok... so in case you haven't heard about this project... here's a recap...

THIS was Addison's 'sandbox'... so sad.  She LOVED digging in this nasty DIRT!  She'd come inside COVERED in it... BLEH...

Finger Foods... Let's Chat...

So... I asked my husband for an idea for a 'chat' on the blog today... and his idea... THE NFL DRAFT... SERIOUSLY?!  I mean, I am SURE that I have some readers that actually have some input in that discussion.  However, I do not :-( 
So... in his honor (just to humor him), let's chat about sports events.  What's YOUR team (whichever sport... not JUST NFL)?  Our house has SEVERAL teams but for this convo... we'll focus on the GEORGIA BULLDOGS (that's just for you all of my UF relatives and friends ;-)). 

When it's football season, we LOVE watching games whether we're AT the stadium, a friend's house, or in our living room silently cheering (because the kids are asleep).  We usually have a snack of some sort (I mean, isn't snacking what sports are really all about ;-)).