so good!

I just had to share this recipe with you! It's pinterest inspired, but what isn't these days??

It is so simple and quick enough, we had it for an after-nap snack. The granola part is yummy enough to make on its own for yogurt, cereal, or anything else you like!

Not to mention, it's pretty healthy.

Granola topped baked apples!

• 3-4 apples
• 4 1/2 Tbs butter melted ( I used 3 Tbs butter, and 1 1/2 Tbs coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup oats 
• a little less than 1/2 cup wheat flour (it actually calls for all-purpose flour, but we used this and it was great. If you use all-purpose, use a full 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger

Cut the apple in half. Core the middle out. Combine the other ingredients and spoon on top. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. 

So good. Next time I'm going to cut the apples up a little more and sprinkle the granola on top. These were great, but I had to cut them up anyway for the kiddos.

Also, I have seen so many activities where the kids just stick something in play-doh. That's it. I finally did that with Gray and he loved it. Amazing what keeps them entertained. He did this forever and it was great because it let me sit and catch my breath today. 

a little diy

So today I got the creative bug.

I wanted to be much more creative than this, but with a budget of zero, this is all I had. My vision was to take different styles and sizes of serving trays, paint chalk board paint on them and go from there. At some point, I will go to goodwill and start my search!

Well, this is what I had on hand. Two cheap frames and some scrap book supplies.

Viola! My menu and weekly planning board. 

Love to all! 

just plain old water

These last two weeks have been busy! Oh, my.

Last week Nevaeh started swimming lessons. She's a pro. She dunks her head under water like she can breath under there, jumps in without being helped at all (and I mean at all, even the going under and coming up from the jump), and just enjoys every aspect of swimming.

Buuuuut, we couldn't finish them this week because both kids got pretty sick. :( Sadness.

We did get a couple of pics to document her first ever swimming lessons though!

Water itself is so fascinating and fun to my kids. Just running the hose keeps them occupied for a good amount of time. But this great activity kept them occupied for over an hour. 

I am always trying to find activities that will catch their attention for more than 15 minutes. Especially for after nap hours. Between nap (2:30) and supper (5) seems to be the hardest time of the day for them. I don't know what it is, but I really have to make sure I spend some with God before nap time is over. Otherwise (in the words of my Pastor's wife) I might tear their heads off if I haven't been encouraged by God before heading into this battle.  

Today was so fun though. I have been wanting to try this activity and I randomly did this after giving our dog a bath.

Water painting!!!

 Give them a paint brush and let them go! 

Nevaeh likes to make sure every spot of the cement is wet anywhere we go. That is what she does at the wading pools; spends her time pouring water making the cement wet. This was perfect for her.

 Gray liked being the big man, the one in control of the hose and making sure the buckets were full enough. So I let him at it. He did a good job with his responsibility. 

 Gray also liked making sure Nevaeh's water was dumped so he could fill it back up again.... 

They sure did have fun!