It’s summer! That means you are probably looking for something fun to do to entertain the kids. What if you could do something fun while stimulating their mind and creativity? You CAN! Thanks to the …
Heather Brummett
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Amazing cookie dough brownies
Warning: This is an amazing dessert that does my qualify as a healthy treat. But we splurged last week and discovered something incredible!
What you need:
2 packages of brownie mix
Ingredients to make the brownie mix
1 package cookie dough
(I am sure you could make both from scratch. That is just not how we roll. )
9×13 dish
1. Combine brownie ingredients as directed.
2. Pour half of the mixture in the dish.
3. Open the cookie dough. We used the precut piece that made it super easy.
4. Space out the cookie dough pieces in on top of the brownie mixture.
5. Spread remaining brownie mixture over the top of the cookie dough. Cover as much as possible.
6. Bake according to brownie mix instructions times 2. (Since you are using 2 mixes)
7. Let cool
8. Enjoy!
Kid Friendly Summer Snacks: Fruit Scoops & Chili Cheese Scoops #shop #cbias
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.
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It is officially summer and that means the kids are home. They are already using the phrase “mom I’m bored!” I decided to put an end to that today by trying a new summer time snack that included the kids from the beginning to the end. After putting on my creative hat I came up with two very fun and yummy snack ideas but I needed the kids to help with the details.
I took the kids shopping early in the day and we gathered all the ingredients for our two projects. The main ingredient for both projects was Tostitos Scoop Chips. That seemed like the perfect mini bowl and it could be paired with anything! It is always an experience when I shop with the kids so I gave them each an assignment: “What do you want in your scoop?” My kids are like night and day so the items they choose were just what I would expect. We ended up with fresh fruit and chili and cheese to help dress our scoops.
Once home we were ready to get to business. We had a variety of items and with such amazing deals it was a really cheap trip! With my sweet tea in hand I was ready to help them dress their scoops. Here is what we came up with:
Fruit Salad Scoops
Ingredients:
- Strawberries
- Pineapple
- Apples
- Ground Cinnamon
- Tostito Scoop Chips (I suggest Multi Grain Scoops)
Create:
- Chop all the ingredients into bite size pieces.
- Mix in a bowl.
- Sprinkle lightly with ground cinnamon.
- Spoon the fruit salad into the scoops.
Chili and Cheese Scoops
Ingredients:
- Canned Chili
- Tostitos Chili Con Queso
- Tostitos Scoops Chips
Create:
- Cook the chili.
- Warm the cheese (just a few seconds in the microwave).
- Allow the kids to add a spoonful of each to each scoop.
- We did some with only cheese or only chili as well. Mix it up.
- If you would like you could add salsa as well.
Then it was time to soak up some sun and enjoy. Boy did we enjoy! The sweet and salty fruit scoops paired along side the chili cheese scoops were perfect!
I really enjoyed the Multigrain Tostitos Scoops with the cinnamon fruit salad. It was the perfect combination of salty and sweet. The multi grain had a slightly different texture that I really enjoyed. I found this to be a great snack for me in keeping with my healthy living diet. I was excited to see the kid enjoying it as a healthy snack. The fruit was also great for keeping us cool. The scoops provided the perfect size and shape for our bite sized treat.
I added some delicious Lipton Iced Tea to make it truly the perfect summer snack. The fresh taste of the Sweet Tea paired with the salty scoops was divine! It was so refreshing while we sat out in the hot sun! Even my kids, who normally do not drink tea, were very impressed. That gallon did not last long!
The Tostitos Scoops are like mini bowls. The kids really liked eating each one as a special treat. One thing I liked was they could play a bit and come back and have another. The Tostitos Scoops proved to be very sturdy through all the handling of my kids! I was surprised even as time passed none of the scoops became soggy or lost their shape. They stayed strong until the last one was enjoyed!
This is something we are going to do often now. We discussed ideas for the next time we make our scoops. There are so many fun things that we put in the Tostitos Scoop Chips. I am thinking we should try ice cream next week.
What would you dress your scoops in?
Finding Balance As A Work At Home Mom
I sat here tonight planning out my week and felt totally overwhelmed! Then a word came to mind: balance.
“Balance is a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. or the mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.” Dictonary.com
I have been a full time “work outside the home mom” and I have been a full time “stay at home mom” but now I am a full time “work at home mom“. I have to say having been in all 3 positions this one is the toughest!
As a mom who worked outside the home I thought it was challenging. I didn’t have enough time with my kids. But the plus was that the kids were having a blast while I was at work. I was able to pay for good child care where they developed friendships and had constant attention. On the weekend we could just play. There was always the battle of housework. But since both mom and dad worked it was a known fact we all had to pitch in.
As a stay at home mom I felt like my life revolved around diapers, tantrums and singing silly songs. The intellectual stimulation was non existent but things round the house ran smoothly. Dinner was ready when my husband got home, the kids had all my attention, I had time for friends and church. The things that really mattered to me. But I missed working and the creative and mental challenges that came with it.
Then I started pursuing my work at home job of blogging and social media. I prayerfully worked on it and watched it bloom into a paying job. Last year my dream job appeared and now I work 40 hours a week for an amazing company and have my blog and freelance for examiner.com. It is awesome! The kids are home with me and I am doing what I love!
Here comes the hard part that makes me lose sleep. Balance! There is no balance! Some days I feel like I am failing at everything! Trying to balance being a good mom, wife, friend, coworker, employee, business owner, writer, and everything else on my plate is hard!
I want to do it all and do it all GREAT! Sometimes I think…Do I pick what I am going to do awesome and do the rest with what is left?
No that is not me! I have to give 100% to everything I do. That means I have to make time for it all. And even eliminate the things that don’t matter as much.
As I sat here tonight I made a list. (I love lists!) I wrote down the top 4 things in my life right now. 4 is an easier number than all 25 or so things I was worrying about. Now those 4 things I can work on balancing.
As moms and women in general we were made to multitask. We can do many things and do them all well. So I encourage all the other work at home moms to do the same.
- Pick your top 4.
- Make a calendar. I use google calendar because it is in my phone and computer. It can also be shared!
- Mark time for each of your priorities.
- If you work 40 hours a week or make up your own hours put them on there. Block them as office hours. (Don’t feel bad about hiring a sitter or sending your child somewhere for those hours. )
- Then block times for the other important things in your life. Make time for your kids without work. Make time for friends. Make time for your husband. Block those things in your calendar. Share it with coworkers if need be.
- Make sure everything in your top four has a time and a place in your week.
- Stick to your calendar!