It's #grilleverything season! The simplest Shrimp Tacos EVER.

We are getting into the season that nearly every dinner at our house will be prepared on the grill.  I don't want the oven on. I don't want to be inside more than we have to be. I want yummy food thats simple and healthy!  The grill is the best.

We don't limit our grill to burgers and pork chops either (although we do plenty of that too! Stay tuned for my spicy pork and cherry skewer recipe coming soon!). We do the whole meal on the grill.  Roasted potatoes. Grilled vegetables. Mushroom caps. You Name It. We grill it.

Now we loooove Taco Night at our house and Tacos are a perfect match for the grill.  This recipe for shrimp tacos is seriously the simplest recipe you'll find.  I seasoned some shrimp with my Salt Free Southwest Seasoning (that I keep in the pantry at all times), a couple twists of sea salt (I try to keep the salt separate when seasoning to know just how much I'm adding), and…thats it. (I did spray them with some light cooking oil so they wouldn't stick to the grill.)

I also cut up a red onion and green pepper, added a pinch of the same southwest seasoning and 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil. A quick toss and put the veggies in a foil pouch to steam on the grill.

Finally I sprayed a few corn tortillas with cooking spray, and those went on the grill as well.

Top these bad boys off with whatever taco dressings you love. We are partial to avocados, salsa, plain greek yogurt, and when we can, fresh cilantro straight from the garden. Ahhhhh…. Summer, I love you.

Let the Crafting Begin! {Super Simple Dad's Day Special}

Everyone knows the best Father's Day gifts are the hand-made treasures, but for some reason in the past few years, I have spent far too long racking my brain on which golf shirt to pick or what barbecue tools he might need replaced and the clever crafts have been an after-thought.

This year I have committed to bringing the children and their #skillz center stage with a series of projects that both fill our afternoons and will be sure to fill daddy's & grandpa's hearts with love. #awwwww

The first thing we are getting started with are watercolor photo mats.  I saw these frames at {one guess} Target and thought we could personalize them in some way for the grandpas. The girls have both been really into their watercolors lately so it is the perfect fit.

There's not much to it.

Buy the frames & disassemble.

We used a black sharpie to include a message and also to give the girls something to "color in" per Natalie's request.

Then they got to work.

We let the paint dry, added in their cute little faces and Voila!

Eleanor's Art, age 3.5

Natalie's Art, Age 4.5

Chipping away at the gift list…1 month to D(ad's) Day!

Just What You Need

There have certainly been times when I got my workout in because I was supposed to. Maybe it was the scheduled workout of the day or I was working toward a certain goal and the workout had to happen - so it did.

After a day at the hospital, a run for mama was just what the doctor ordered.

But today was different.  Today the workout was not because of a goal or a schedule, and I had every reason to not make it happen. But after a long, emotionally exhausting and physically sedentary day, getting a workout was what I wanted. My body was just asking for blood flow, movement, and my mind was begging for moments to myself, a chance to zone out on my breathing and the road.

The better part of our day was spent with tonsillectomy recovery snuggles. Amazing for the heart and soul, not so great for my back.

After getting the kids settled in for the evening, I knew I still had a small window of daylight and could squeeze in a run. It wasn't long, it wasn't intense, but it was wonderful.

That's a turning point. That's a NSV (non-scale victory…a fitness "win" that has nothing to do with the numbers on the scale).  Giving your body exercise for no other reason than because you want to and you know its going to be just what you need.

This is my signature move, ladies.

Cauliflower. I mean... if you have been following my Facebook page or know me in real life, you already know that cauliflower is MY JAM! So even though many of you already know about it, this blog would seem incomplete if I didn't dedicate a post to my beloved Superfood.

On this particular day, Benny had a bowl. Nat had 2 bowls. Elle had 3 bowls. Stair-step Noodle Success.

The facts: cauliflower packs tons of vitamin C, fiber & antioxidants. But the really good stuff is this fancy word Glucosinolates which you can learn more about here. Bottom line, its SUPER good for you and your family.

Now, my kids eat pretty well, but theres no denying that they love mac'n'cheese above all else. It reigns supreme and is the BEST bribery tool in our dining room drama.  So I do what I can…and try to balance the meal so this is where cauliflower has been HUGE!  Any time cauliflower is on sale, I buy 5-10 pounds, steam it, puree it, and package it up using my Squeeze Station.  I put the pouches in the freezer and pull out a couple each week to be fridge ready for macaroni emergencies.  I boil the noodles, drain, add the cheese and then become a rule-breakin' mama…I omit the milk and butter. Oh yeah, you heard me.  #risktaker  For each regular size box of mac'n'cheese, I use one-4oz squeeze of cauliflower puree and voila! Healthier "cheesy noo-noos" with a dose of hidden veggies.

Jessica Seinfeld turned me on to the hidden veggies and this has since become my signature move any day of the week. My kids are so used to it that its a non-issue and they go back and forth between restaurant mac and mine without batting an eyelash.  If you try it the first time and think a flavor difference is very noticeable, I challenge you to fix mac'n'cheese a few more times with it before you make a final decision.  It's too good of a veggie opportunity to give up too soon!

Other cauliflower yums to try:
Eggs - Using the Pureed cauliflower mentioned above, simply squeeze a little bit into your eggs before scrambling.  If you are concerned that kids will notice, put a bit of cream cheese in the eggs as well. They'll be extra light and fluffy and have a nutrient bonus! Cheese improves everything.

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce - put it on everything!

Cauliflower Fried Rice - make it your own with whatever veggie or protein additions you love in traditional fried rice

Brown Bear, Brown Bear: Toddler Color Matching

We are huge fans of Eric Carle in our house and I think it's safe to say that his book Brown Bear, Brown Bear is mostly responsible for teaching our girls their colors. 

Supplies needed: Eric Carle's Images printed in 2 sizes, Self-Laminating sheets, Velcro Sticky-Dots, Scissors

Of course, as mom and dad we will take some credit for reading it to them at least 796 times (per child), but the repetitive, predictable stanzas are toddler heaven and they just can't resist the simple, colorful images throughout.  It is also one of the first books that our girls proudly said they could "read all by themselves." The simplicity of it, plus the frequency of our readings, lead to inevitable memorization.

Now we are on to child #3 and he is also totally obsessed with the book, though I have to admit about a third of the readings are now done by his sisters rather than mom and dad. As is a common feeling among parents by child #3, I wonder how many skills he is learning by default rather than by design.  #thirdkidproblems

Little man literally couldn't wait to get his paws on these cards.

I don't harbor too much guilt for for #3's default learning style. I mean, the guilt-ship sails in all the time, I just try not to let it drop anchor.  I know he is moving right along and a happy, well-adjusted kid.  That said, in a moment of, "wait…should my toddler be able to identify his colors yet?" (even if he can't clearly verbalize them)…I thought of a fun activity that I could put together for him. In truth, the answer is, "He's doing fine. All in good time." But it was basically an excuse for me to focus on a designed learning activity for kid #3 rather than the more frequent default learning. 

I can't take credit for this fun idea.  When our middle daughter was about 18 months old she saw a speech therapist for about a year to pull out some language that was just taking its time.  This was a favorite activity of her's and now seems like a great time to recreate it to use with my son. He LOVES it. (*The hide-and-seek version is his favorite! - see suggestions below)

To use less of the self-laminating sheets, I made our large animal cards 1/2 of an 8.5x11 sheet each.

Print the full size color images for each animal and either have your office supply store laminate them, or use the simple 3M brand self-lamination product. (about $6)

Homemade does not need perfection. In my teacher days these would have been made using the large paper-cutter, but scissors do the trick and add that homemade touch of love.

Cut apart the smaller image cards and laminate those individually as well.

Apply sticker velcro dots to the cards. The matching half of the velcro will go on the coordinating full-size photo sheet. (About $4)

"I see a red bird looking at me!"

A variety of activities can be done using these cards.  Here are a few ideas to get started:
*Set all the cards out and simply ask the child "Where is the (color-animal)?" Have the child bring you the card.
*Separate the mini-image from the larger image and play matching games. The younger your child is, the less cards you should start with at once. If your child is just 16-18mo, start with just 1-2 color cards. As your child masters a couple at a time, add in more to increase the challenge.
*Hide the small cards around the house. Send your little one of a scavenger hunt to collect the mini-image cards. As they are found, match them to the larger images being sure to reinforce verbally the color that they have found.
*Work on animal sounds as well as colors. "What color is the animal that says, 'Quack'? Can you find the yellow duck?"


*Thanks, Miss Kate for this wonderful idea :-)
*All of the images are the original are from the book, and sourced to me from any teacher's best buddy: Google Images.