Working Mom Meals...Blueberry Edition..

So we have 17 pound of blueberries.  They are everywhere.  I am wondering if it is possible to turn blue like Violet on Willy Wonka.  So along with eating some, freezing some and giving Jack and Lenny bowls of them, I decided to make a few blueberry desserts.   This is one of them.  They are super simple and they are best served chilled. 

A perfect summer treat.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Crumble Bars  (recipe from Smitten Kitten)

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.

I would love to hear some of your favorite blueberry recipes! I have about 15 more pounds to bake!!

Wordless Wednesday

There's no place like home...

So we had our first time away from Jack in Michigan.  We had a great time.  We slept in both days.  We went to wineries, and to the beach and had a good time with friends.  We went blueberry picking and relaxed.  But there was nothing better than coming home to a smiling little guy and a tail wagging dog.

I told my husband this was the last time away from Jack that we will have for a while.

I think I may be losing my mind...

So we just came back from our "vacation".  It was soooo nice.  But there was this little piece of my heart missing the whole time for Jack.  It was wonderful to come back to him and Lenny.

I just realized I forgot the Meetup Monday Linkup this week.  So I may be doing a "meetup monday" later this week.  Be on the look out.  And I am sorry that I forgot the link up.

I also will be posting some pictures of our trip once I get everything cleaned up and back to order.
I hope you are having a great day!

Meetup Monday!

 I am away in Michigan, but am still hosting Meetup Monday! I am really trying to get more blogs linked up, so if you are a regular reader, please help me out and enter your blog! You can meet some other really great people (and blogs) out there!

<a href="http://www.justanothermomday.blogspot.com"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i219/agrip76/coffee.jpg" /></a>

*The rules:
1. Add a link to your main blog (or most current post)

2. Leave a comment on the two blogs above your name in the list.
3. Visit as many blogs as you can and leave comments and follow if you like.

So grab my button, and I hope you have a great Monday! 

Bad Blogger

 I have been a bad blogger.  I don't know if any of you other bloggers out there ever get like this, but this last week I haven't been in much of the "blogging" mood.  Maybe it was the long weekend, or that I feel exhausted ALL THE TIME.

Either way I have not been the best blogger, and I promise I will be better this week.

Tomorrow we are off to Michigan for a two day "vacation".  This is our first time leaving Jack, and I have been crying all night with the thought of being without him.  Maybe that is silly, but I worry he will miss me or that I will miss something important he does.  Mostly, I just don't want to spend a day without him.  But I know it's only 2 days, and my husband and I could use the time.  We are going with some friends, so it will be relaxing.

I will still have Meetup Monday up, so please link your blog up on Monday.  I have had a VERY poor showing with this and if it continues I will probably stop doing it.  : (

I hope you are enjoying your weekend, the weather is beautiful here! Jack and I have been to the pool every day, and are having a great summer.

Starting Early

I love Starbucks.  I don't really know why, but I do.  Maybe it's the feeling I get when I walk in their stores..so cozy and warm feeling.  Maybe it's the smell of the coffee or the sound of those espresso machines.  Whatever it is, I love it, and I have been having it WAY to much this summer. 

My drink of choice?  A grande non-fat, easy whip, extra hot, mocha.  I feel so silly saying all of that, but I have heard longer orders.  It is like heaven to me. 

So Jack and I have been hanging at Starbucks lately.  We get to get out and people watch, and we sometimes meet friends there, or sometimes Jack and I have a date there.

Anyways, the point of my story is, I always order Jack a small cup of water, no ice.  And with practice, he has learned to drink out of a straw.

And his face is just the cutest.

I think Starbucks has a new customer.

Something for you Chicago Moms!

I posted a while back about Stephen Green Photography in Oak Park, Illinois.  They have a great program for my local moms that I want to tell you about. 

2010 Mombassador Program

Stephen Green Photography is looking for “a few good moms” to join the team! We’re putting the call out for Moms to come on board as Mombassadors. Each Mombassador will receive a complimentary children’s portraiture sitting with Lisa Green and Mombassador Photo Cards (with your child’s photo) in exchange for promoting Lisa and her services.

We are so excited about this new program and can't wait to get started. Applying to be a Stephen Green Photography Mombassador is easy. Check out the qualifications and program details below and feel free to email or call us with any questions

(info@sgreenphoto.com / 708-383-0162).


Qualifications:
*Mother of one or more children ages birth – 10, living in the Chicago metro area.
*Social in nature – you must be willing to host at least 1 Stephen Green Photography Event to promote our studio to your friends and contacts (events can be in your home, out at a restaurant, etc).
*Experienced in social networking – you must have an active Facebook page (minimum of 250 friends) and/or blog.

To apply just check out their blog:http://blog.sgreenphoto.com/index/view-post/id/59


 

Bright Beginnings...A Great New Look!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

When Jack was born, and I stopped nursing, we felt so overwhelmed.  What formula should we choose?  Are they all the same?  Does brand matter?  We were clueless.  There were so many choices out there, and after trying many different types for Jack; soy, premium, etc., we found that Jack delt best with a lactose free formula. 
I wish I had known about  Parent’s Choice when starting on formula, they have several different kinds to choose from. Recently, they redesigned the Bright Beginnings baby formula. The new design is exactly like the name, “bright”, and very colorful too.

Bright Beginnings comes in several different varieties to suit your needs: Gentle Formula, Organic, Milk-Based, Follow-On, Weight-Gain, just to name a few. They provide the benefits of the lipids DHA and ARA at a significant savings compared to other national DHA brands.


Bright Beginnings available at diapers.com Be sure to search for “Bright Beginnings” to purchase directly from the site.

Just a Friendly Reminder...

Today is the last day to enter to win a custom pendant from Laffty Crafty.  Also you can enter to win the "Olive Daddy" onesie from Grace Filled Hands, which ends Friday!  Click the Giveaways tab to enter!

Wordless Wednesday

This Wordless Wednesday is full of pics from our 4th!

Creepy Crawler!

Sorry I have been away all weekend! I have been so exhausted from being on the go, go, go the whole time and I needed a day to catch up and relax with Jack.  I will post some parade pics later tonight along with a few giveaways later this week, but I wanted to post a very exciting video....Jack is crawling!!!! It happened on Sunday, and he is super fast!  Excuse my video skills, I am still learning.

I hope you all had a great holiday!



He really wants that bag of popcorn!!!

Have a great 4th of July. I hope you get a chance to relax and enjoy the weekend.




p.s. There will be no Meetup Monday as I will be having a family BBQ!
Enjoy!

Happy Friday!!!!

Welcome if you are new to my blog and thanks for returning if you are not.

I hope you have a great Friday, and please enter my two giveaways I have from some great Etsy Shops.  Just click the Giveaways tab to enter.

I hope you all have fun plans for the holiday weekend, or maybe you just plan to relax. 

I can't wait to spend time with family, and friends!

An afternoon of food, drinks and swinging.....

Tuesday, my husband and I decided to take Jack to the park.  Once we got there, Jack was sound asleep in the car.  Instead of going back home, we did the next best thing....wedrank a few beers, and had some nachos.  We went to one of my favorite bars, and I had one of my favorite beers.

Once Jack woke up, we headed out to the park.  Jack had never been on the swings before, and he LOVED them.

It was the perfect weather, not super hot, and not a cloud in the sky.  These are perfect days to me.  It's so fun to see Jack experience things for the first time.  He gets the cutest looks on his face, like he's really taking in everything he's seeing and experiencing. 

I love summer.  Enjoy your day.