September Holiday Recap (part 1)

This has been a really good month for little random holidays. Unfortunately it's also been an incredibly busy month with no time to share any of the fun things we did for those days. So since today is LML Monday and the last day of the month, it seemed like a perfect day to do a little recap.

September 7th: Salami Day
This was one of those spur-of-the-moment things. I happened to be at the grocery store, and happened to remember that it was Salami Day, so I picked up a package. Of course I had no idea what to do with it, but I wasn't going to let that stop me.

I ended up making a little appetizer out of it, with some Ritz crackers, sliced cheese, and (very mild) jalapenos. Don't know that it's something I'll be making very often (mostly because my son and I were the only ones who liked it) but it was fun to have something new and a little different.

September 8th: Grandparents' Day
My daughter was doing a countdown to this one, thanks to the advertising on one of her cartoon channels, so she was very excited to finally get to celebrate it. We took my mom out for dinner that evening, but first the kids colored Grandparents' Day pictures for her.

September 10th: TV Dinner Day
If ever there was a holiday that didn't need to exist, this just might be it. But part of the motivation behind celebrating all of these little holidays is trying new things. And we never eat TV dinners. (With good reason, as I was reminded when I opened them.) But it was a novelty, so the kids thought it was cool.

And when I agreed to set their table up in the living room so they could actually watch TV while eating their TV dinners, they thought I was the most awesome mom ever.

So we put on an episode of Doctor Who (because my kids are also incredibly awesome) and enjoyed the novelty of eating TV dinners. Quite possibly for the last time.


September 12th: National Chocolate Milkshake Day
The other motivation behind celebrating these little holidays (besides trying new things) is just having a fun excuse to enjoy a special treat now and again. Because chocolate milkshakes are not something we drink very often. But once a year... why not?

September 15th: National Linguine Day
I looked all around for a good linguine recipe but couldn't really find one that I liked, so I just improvised my own concoction. I started with an Alfredo sauce, and added some shrimp, crab, and mushrooms for a really nice seafood linguine. It was very simple, but very tasty.  The kids even gave it a thumbs up.

Ok, we're going to stop here, before this gets any longer. If you want to hear about the rest of our holiday fun this month, tune in tomorrow for part 2!

Celebrating Autumn

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.


As you probably know, yesterday was the first day of Autumn. As you probably also know, the changing of the seasons is one of the things that we always try to celebrate in our house. The "celebrating" was simple, as it always is. But, as we know, it's the little things that make life special.


Baked Apples
It seemed logical to make something apple themed for the start of Fall, and since it's relatively quick and easy, I decided to make my super-simple baked apples for the occasion.

Like I said, super-simple. I went with sliced apples (since I don't have a corer, but I do have a slicer) and just sprinkled them with a bit of brown sugar, some cinnamon and nutmeg, and added some raisins. In the oven they went (350 for about half an hour) and they made the kitchen smell fantastic.

They were a little sweet for my taste, but the kids gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up. I'd say it was a pretty good way to kick of the season.


Autumn Nails
In keeping with tradition, my daughter and I decided to try out some seasonal themed nail art. And I'll go ahead and admit right now that this might not have been my most successful nail polish experiment ever. But it was still fun.

I was going for a "leaves changing color" kind of thing. Not sure that really comes across, but it was worth a shot. And in my defense, I live in central Arizona. So I don't really have a whole lot of experience with what leaves changing color actually looks like. ;)

We went a little simpler with my daughter - single colored leaves and a pumpkin. Tiny and cute, just like her.


Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!

Alice, Elephants, and Zombie Gnomes

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.

As I mentioned before, the kids decided to try out for the school play. And they are now both officially "Dodgsonland characters" in this year's production of Alice in Wonderland, Jr. (Those are the kids in the "real world" part of the play, before and after Alice actually goes to Wonderland.) They had their first rehearsal last week, and it was adorable.

To help them get into the spirit of things, they asked if we could watch the movie, so we watched the Disney version for Movie Night on Friday. I hadn't seen it in many years, so it was fun to watch it again, and to share it with the kids.

I don't know what inspired this drawing, but it brought me incredible joy. I absolutely love my daughter's artwork, and this was just so adorable that I had to share.

And speaking of random things that brought me joy, my daughter pointed this out in the grocery store this afternoon. I've never actually been a fan of the typical garden gnome. (I don't have anything against anyone who likes them. They've just never been my thing.) But this... this I could see myself owning. I may just have to go back and pick one up.



Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!

Bananas, Musicals, and End-of-Summer Nails

It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! 

If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.

This past Tuesday (August 27th) was Banana Lover's Day. And since everyone in this house loves bananas almost as much as we love celebrating silly random holidays, we decided to do something special.

And that's how a banana, a box of banana flavored pudding, and a box of Nilla Wafers turned an ordinary Tuesday into a party.

The kids both decided that they'd like to be in the school musical this year, so my husband and I took them to their auditions on Friday afternoon.

I was nervous for them, but they both did great. My daughter sang "In the Highways" (from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack) and my son sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (complete with incredibly theatrical hand gestures.) They were both quite adorable.


And since today is Labor Day, which for most people means one last hurrah before the end of summer, it seemed like a good excuse to pull out the nail kit and do one last summer themed manicure with my daughter.

Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!