Not much time to post here - we're headed out to Grandpa's farm this afternoon and still have much packing to do!

We'll be spending some time with family and seeing a cousin get married tomorrow!
In between packing we're hitting our neighbor's garage sale..thinking about purchasing a big rug...hmmm.

Homemade Camp Pancake Mix

When we go camping I like to make up a big batch of this pancake mix and take it along. It's great because it uses dry milk so all you need to add at the campsite is water! I can't recall where I found this recipe but thank you to whomever shared it!



8 cups flour
1.5 cups dry milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp baking powder

Mix and store. Mix 1 cup of dry mix with about 1/2 cup water & cook. (serves about 8)

A MiniVan Family

Welp...we did it! Yep...I am now a mini van driving mama. Whoah!
I think it bothered my husband more than me. Though we frowned at having to spend money on a new (to us!) vehicle, we are looking at it as an investment in our family! And that, I think is a worthy cause.

This past weekend we used it to go camping for the first time and it was so great to easily pack all the kids things and have plenty of room for extra things as well instead of just the necessities. So here's to our new mini van and praying it will last us a long time and be a blessing for our family!

Our Favorite Things

In my humble opinion, a requirement for a good children's book means that both kids and parents enjoy the book! There is so much fluff out there that I'd rather spend my time and my little one's time on the really good books and ignore the fluff!

One of the great ones we've been enjoying lately is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
If you haven't enjoyed this one yet, it is definitely worth checking out from your library! We have a well loved copy at home!

Desperation Brownie

Several months back I read about these brownies in a mug in the Chicago Tribune. I thought it would be fun to try them, but never got around to it. Well last night I had a taste for chocolate but didn't feel like putting any real effort into baking, then I remembered the recipe and was happy to find it online!

Let me tell you this is dangerous - to be able to make yourself an individual brownie with staple ingredients in under 5 minutes?! I wonder how many you'd have to eat to gain 5 pounds?! I'm renaming them desperation brownies because I feel it is a more fitting name.

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons water

¼ teaspoon vanilla

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large coffee mug. Add liquid ingredients and mix well.
Microwave on high approximately 1 min. Middle should not quite set up. Beware I think I overcooked mine a tiny bit at 1 min. Still tasty though!

This could be a fun baking activity for elementary age kids to master on their own!

Chicago Family Time

For Mark's birthday we gave him a homemade certificate for a Wendella boat tour of Chicago! He had the option of taking the kids or having a babysitter...from the pic you can tell he chose to bring them with!

We all had a great time. Little construction enthusiasts will love the views they get of the big city under construction. You can see a lot of that from the river!
Packing a lunch saved some cash and prevented toddler crankiness as well!

As an aside...the cute baby sling Aubrey is riding in was made by my cousin!

Be Inspired

- Could Amy please come clean out my fridge?! Really smart tips for cleaning the fridge!

- I'm on a homemade kick lately - maybe homemade chocolate syrup should be next on my list?

- Warm weather splashing for baby in the high chair - very creative!

- I love this series - yes, you can make a reversible tote bag!

- A good take on kids and chores.

- Ok...I'm getting the hint, it's high time to hang up my line - 5 reasons to line dry your laundry.