Magnolia Mamas : Mother's Day

Showing posts with label Mother's Day. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Kitchen Confessions: Favorite Side Dishes

Our Mother's Day was a busy one this year filled with two soccer games and a baseball tournament game. Some people may not think this is the ideal way to spend Mother's Day, but for me, I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. I just love watching my kiddos do what they love and this day was perfect!

First up was Boo-Boo's baseball game. His team played great, but lost so they are officially out of the tournament now and his season is over. He told me he wasn't sad, but he was disappointed because he didn't want it to be over! After the game they gave each of the boys a rose to give their moms which was so very sweet.

Then we headed over to catch Blondie's 2nd soccer game where she ran hard and played her little heart out!

After that we were ready to come home, get out of the heat, and relax! We had Jen and her family over for dinner on Friday night, but a crazy allergic reaction sent me to urgent care with Boo-Boo so instead of grilling out as planned, we ended up ordering pizza. That just meant that I still had a yummy dinner sitting in my fridge that we were able to cook on Mother's Day instead. It ended up being two of my favorite sides - roasted sweet potatoes and crunchy Asian slaw. These are two of my go-to sides, especially when we grill out.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This side takes a little bit of planning just because it takes a while to cook, but it is so worth it! I can't even say it is a recipe I'm sharing because it really is so simple. I just wash and cut sweet potatoes into large bite-sized pieces and place them in a large bag.

Next I add olive oil and a bunch of random seasonings (anything from salt/pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, rib rub, basil, parsley, etc. ...honestly anything I have in the cabinet). I shake the bag to coat all of the potatoes.

Last I spread the potatoes on a cookie sheet I've sprayed and bake at 350 degrees for about 45-55 minutes. That is it! You do have to be careful and flip the potatoes every 15 minutes or so or they will burn on one side, but other than that, it's a super simple side!

Crunchy Asian Slaw
I've had a lot of different varieties of this dish, but they are all always so good and I love it because it is something you can make ahead of time and just toss with the dressing when you are ready to serve. I've played around with mixing and matching several different recipes to find the right combo of what tastes best and the funniest thing that is in every one of them is uncooked ramen noodles. I know it sounds weird, but trust me...so good! I've taken this side to potlucks and picnics and it is always a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:
Bagged coleslaw mix
Bagged broccoli slaw mix
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 packages Beef flavored Ramen Noodles
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon worcestershire

Directions:
1. Combine bag of slaw mix, 1/2 bag broccoli slaw, green onions, almonds, and sunflower seeds.
2. Crush uncooked raman noodles and add to slaw. Set aside flavor packets.
3. Prepare dressing with oil, vinegar, sugar, flavor packets from raman noodles and worcestershire sauce. Mix well, but note, all sugar may not dissolve.

4. Toss slaw with the dressing and serve!

What are some of your favorite sides for grilling out? Any easy, make-ahead sides you love?

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Happy Mother's Day

Source

To all the wonderful mothers,

we hope you have a fabulous Mother's Day!

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Mother's Day Giveaway

Happy Saturday everyone! Just a quick little note to let you guys know we are doing a fun giveaway with The Avenue over on Instagram.

We are giving away a fun little Origins prize including a $25 gift card.

If you are on Instagram, make the hop and enter

HERE.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Mother's Day Photo Card and Gift Print {Printables)

With Mother's Day only a few days away, the last minute scramble for gifts begins! Sometimes shopping for mom is hard, but as moms ourselves the gifts we tend to look forward to the most are those cute little handmade ones our little ones share with us.

Give me anything with those adorable little handprints, or containing pictures of those sweet faces and my heart melts!

We came up with this fun framable gift print to make your Mother's Day gifting easy this year. Use this custom print as a gift tag, a card or even as a gift itself with just a few easy steps.

We also came up with a simply adorable card version as well.

What mom doesn't love a cute card with her little ones face on it?

Attach a gift card or an adorable drawing and done!

To learn more and download the prints visit our post on Savvy Sassy Moms

HERE.

Happy Mother's Day weekend everyone!!!

Monday, May 2, 2016

Write it down

Happy Monday friends. Can you all believe it is May?!?!? With May comes Mother's Day next weekend and a time that we all reflect on being mothers and what really matters...being moms to our sweet kiddos! One thing I just love is sitting down and looking back on pictures and stories about the kids from when they were younger. One thing I've realized is that you think you will remember all of those special milestones or funny things kids say, but the truth is you won't. Your life gets busy, you start in on a new stage of life with your kids and you just forget those sweet little details that were so important at the time.

Here is the real answer to remembering it all - WRITE IT DOWN! Sounds simple, I know. However, in our busy day-to-day lives, so many of us don't take the time to document and write down special little tidbits of information about our kids. Maybe something funny they said, maybe the first time they rode their bike or learned to read.

There are lots of different journals that are made for just this reason and we share some of our favorites on Savvy Sassy Moms. You can read all about them HERE.

A few other ways to document and write things down are popular sites that turn your Instagram and Facebook posts into books. A quick internet search will provide tons of options. Social media is such a big part of our lives and we do often post there so this provides a way to put all of those posts and pictures into print form.

Another way I like to document are through photo books on popular sites like Shutterfly. Just having pictures that are off of your phone and in some sort of hard copy is better than nothing at all and adding quick captions are super easy!

My personal favorite is blogging. No surprise there. :-) Anyone can create a free blog and it is so simple to do. I've had a personal blog since Little Mama was a baby. For my family, it serves as sort of an online scrapbook and each year I turn it into a hardbound book.

I treasure these blog books so much. They hold so many memories and information about my kids' childhoods. We all love looking through them and as a mom I love reminiscing about my babies when they were just babies!

I used to use Blurb.com to make these books, but they no longer do it so I'm looking for another company. I've heard of Blog2book.com, but I'm open to others so if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears!

No matter how you document your kids' lives and your journey as a mother, I urge you all to simple find a way to write it down! You and your kids will thank you years from now!

Monday, May 11, 2015

A Sweet Mother's Day

We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! Mother's Day is always a special day for me. Not because my family does anything over the top to celebrate, but because is a sweet reminder to me that I was blessed to be these two little people's mommy. An opportunity for a short period in my life that I didn't think would ever happen, and an opportunity that a lot of women wish they could experience. I am so thankful everyday that The Cutes are in my life.

On Mother's Day we woke up without any specific plan, and I wanted to do a little fun with my family to enjoy the gorgeous summer-like weather we have been having. We brainstormed a few ideas over breakfast and decided to head up to Blue Ridge, GA to revisit one of our fall favorites, Mercier Orchards. They have strawberries currently in season, and the idea of restocking on some of those delicious baked goods had my mouth watering.

We loaded up the car and made our way up the highway, and once we arrived I took in a nice deep breath. Ahhh....there it was! That magnificent aroma of fresh air and scrumptious apple cinnamon donuts. It was going to be a great day!

We made our way into the main building and purchased our baskets for the u-pick. Then we had a short wait for the tractor to take us to the strawberry fields, where Cute was kind enough to put on a little show for all the other waiting patrons. Apparently the strawberry basket we were provided was means for artistic inspiration.

The tractor ride was a huge highlight for The Cutes. We rode for about five minutes or so, and they were in complete awe. I am guessing they didn't recall this part from our fall visit. The ride gives you a small view of the orchard and it is beautiful! We turned a corner and saw the strawberry fields and they weren't lying when they said they had A LOT of strawberries.

Immediately everyone was excited about this little adventure and The Cutes didn't waste anytime taste testing the varieties of strawberries Mercier's had to offer.

One of the employees instructed us on how to pick the strawberries. He informed us that the strawberries came in late this year, but when they arrived they came in huge and plenty. He also informed us to look for the ones with a white tip and to leave those to grow for a little longer.

He wasn't lying...there were a TON of strawberries. The Cutes took their job quite seriously. Well Little Cute took her job of eating quite seriously, and Cute took his job of filling his basket quite seriously. I loved seeing them frolic amongst the strawberry field together. It almost made me wish we owned a farm. Almost.

I think Mr. Cute and I had just as much fun as the kids. We did our fair share of taste testing and Mr. Cute picked strawberries like no other. Before I knew it our baskets were starting to fill.

And surely Little Cute's belly would pop if she kept up this pace. As quick as we could put them in a basket, she could eat them.

It was great fun, and after about an hour we had three huge baskets full of strawberries.

We made our way back to the main area via tractor with our full baskets and one would think full bellies, but no. We couldn't visit Mercier's without eating in their yummy restaurant, and stocking up on some of those baked goods. You think we would pass that opportunity up?

Once you were able to officially roll us out of there, we piled back up into the car and satisfyingly made our way home. I spent the rest of the day enjoying my little family and my two sweet blessings and then we celebrated my mom with a fun cookout at my house. The kids stayed up way too late and ate even more strawberries than one would think was humanly possible, but I couldn't bear to let the day end. It was definitely one of the sweetest Mother's Days ever!

How did you and your family celebrate Mother's Day?

Come spend the day with us on:

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Happy Mother's Day!

New moms, veteran moms, grand moms,

soon-to-be moms, moms who have lost...We wish everyone a fabulous Mother's Day!

{ Image via Pinterest }

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Random Ramblings

It's been awhile since either one of us has done one of these posts, but with the craziness that is apparently the month of May (and I do stress the crazy!), random is about how my brain is working right now.

MOTHER'S DAY

Mother's Day is just around the corner, but in my mind it's already happened. Cute's school sets up this precious luncheon and program for mom's to celebrate Mother's Day, and I can not express in words how special this was too me.

Cute and his classmates worked long and hard to plan what the mom's would have for lunch, and what special little gifts everyone would get. My favorite was this portrait he drew of me and the questionnaire. These questionnaires always crack me up.

He and his fellow classmates/schoolmates sang several songs to us on stage and it was beyond adorable! Cute was front and center, and rocked it!

It would be tough to top that Mother's Day gift!

WUBBLE BUBBLE BALL

Speaking of Cute he has been working really hard to make sure he gets a "good note" from his teacher's each week. We had a ~~major~~ minor set back a few weeks ago, but his reward jar is working quite nicely these days. For weeks I have heard about how when he filled his jar, and received all good notes, he would get something called a Wubble Bubble Ball. At first I had no clue what he was talking about, but low and behold there it was in Target as we were passing by.

Behold...the Wubble Bubble Ball. Interesting, huh?

Well after one full jar we are now the proud owner of a Wubble Bubble Ball. To say he was excited would be an understatement.

He's wubbled that bubble ball everywhere this week. We might be down a picture frame, and I am pretty sure Little Cute wishes we never laid eyes on it...or at least purchased her one if only as a way of self defense. Thank goodness he chose the tiny version.

In all honesty, it has entertained him for hours and he has played with it indoors and outside. Not many toys can hold his attention that long so my hat bows to you Mr. Wubble Bubble maker.

ATLANTA BREAD

We have been on the go a ton, and a lot of times aren't home during a mealtime. I've been trying to make an effort lately to cut down on the amount of fast food we have been eating. And what I really mean is steering clear of CFA and those hard to resist Frosted Lemonade's. I have no will power. None.

I love Atlanta Bread and so do the kids so its an easy choice for us. I have a few go to items on the menu I love, but this week I tried their Chicken and Sausage Gumbo and it was scrumptious.

Seriously, try it. You will thank me later.

BOOKS

In addition to last month's book club read, I also read a few other books. I know, where does one find such free time right? Carpool. Walking on the treadmill. At 1am when I should be sleeping. That one random time when both my children fell asleep in the car and we sat in the driveway until they woke up two hours later. It was glorious by the way.

After finishing up last month's book club selection, I needed something a little lighter. An Instagram follower suggested The Rosie Project to me, and I loved it. I thought it was an adorable story and it made me smile. It would definitely be a good beach or vacation read.

After I wrapped that one up I read American Sniper. Mr. Cute and I went to see the movie earlier in the month and it made me want to read the book too. It was heavy and insightful, and both the book and the movie made me be empathetic to multiple sides of war that aren't always spoken openly about.

My mind needed to take another switch after American Sniper, and The Divorce Papers* was up next.

I am torn on this book. Ultimately it had a really cute story. I loved the main character and how she was a little quirky, but I had a really hard time following along sometimes. The story follows a lawyer who accidentally becomes a major client of her firm's divorce attorney. While not her forte, she navigates the case and you are able to follow her journey to see how the divorce affects her and gives her insight to her relationships.

Right from the beginning I was confused about the novel. It opens with a letter between two lawyers in the firm. Until I took the title literally, and realized the entire novel is written in the form of paperwork I was completely lost on what or who I was following. For example, the main character never spoke directly to her colleagues, clients, or friends. You read her emails, filed documents, and letters to deduce the story. Call me confused, or blame mommy brain, but it was not my favorite format.

GARDENING

I finally started/finished my spring planting. This has been on my to-do list for weeks and yesterday I woke up and set out to make it my mission to get this crossed off my list. It was an all day affair and I am glad I got it done before the crazy weekend we have ahead of us.

The Cute's helped me pick out what we planted and I loved their choices. Purple for some reason usually isn't my first choice in color, but after seeing it here and there I would say it turned out to be a quite pleasant decision.

Now I am not a gardner by any means, and clearly I am not one to pay attention to minor details as I am ~~chasing down the kids~~ frolicking in the nursery amongst the beautiful flowers. I was just about to plant the second fern in our large planters when I noticed something a little off...

I texted Carrie Beth and asked her how did I not notice this while I was in the store? Not only are they different sizes, they have completely different leaves. Oops. And now I can't decide...bigger or smaller?

Either way let's hope everything lasts longer than three days, which is usually more than ample time for my non-green thumb to take out all living plants.

Thanks for sticking with me through my random thoughts!

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*I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

**This post contains amazon.com affiliated links.

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