Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken + Salad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HeatAndEat #CollectiveBias

Lunch; it’s a necessity, but it used to very rarely be a luxury. Lunchtime used to consist of getting three little ones to decide on what we were going to eat, get them all sitting in one spot for more than 5 minutes (all at once) and try to coax them into eating the veggies on their plates. Half of the time back then I would be standing so long going back and forth between the three of them that at some point I just gave up making myself a plate and either just picked and nibbled, or caved in and ate whatever was left from their plates.

Lunch was hard work.

Bacon Balsamic Asparagus + A Pot Pie Dinner

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PotPiePlease#CollectiveBias

Most of the time when I make a quick meal it’s because, well, I’m in a hurry. Sometimes though, I’ve learned that it’s good to have a fast go-to meal when you’d rather spend a free evening sitting down together as a family, whether you are playing board games, talking about your days at school or work, or watching a movie together.

I like to keep Marie Callender’s ® Pot Pies on hand for when I stumble upon such a rare occasion. They have many different flavors and sizes to choose from, so I can make everyone their own individual pie, or I can bake a family sized pie in the oven for all of us to enjoy. To me, Marie Callender pies bring back a feeling of nostalgia and comfort in a golden, flaky crust.

Quite a Day + Frozen on Ice

Hello! Remember me? That blogger who has left you hanging since last week? Well that was unintentional, believe me! I’ve wanted to sit down and get a full day’s worth of writing and photos to upload on here and just haven’t had the chance to do so – until today.

Another Day, Another Field Trip

Yesterday I chaperoned Emma’s field trip to the pumpkin patch, and it felt like Deja vu  - probably because I was just there last week with Noah and his class. The owner of the pumpkin patch was delighted to see us. They are a pretty popular pumpkin patch for schools in the area to visit, yet she told us that we were the only 2nd graders that booked a field trip this year, and that all of the rest were Kindergarteners and First graders.

A Tasty Halloween Treat: Boo Berry® Bars

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SpooktacularSnacks #CollectiveBias

It’s coming...11 more days now until Halloween! Yesterday I purchased all of the goodie bags that I’ll be filling and handing out to all of the trick or treaters on the 31st; now I just have to purchase the tons of candy that I will need for the 300 + ghost and goblins that normally knock on my more.

When we moved here 8 years ago, I had no idea just how big Halloween was in our little neighborhood; in our small town. I’ve since then learned and become prepared.

A Recap of Feast Portland 2015

Last month (I can’t believe it’s been 4 weeks already!) I attended one of the best foodie festivals around: Feast Portland.

This was the second year I was given a blogger pass, and after the amazing time I had last year at Feast, I couldn’t pass up another opportunity to attend. Feast is made up of many events across 4 days; marquee events, hands on classes, dinners, and plenty of additional parties throughout, with proceeds going to a good cause.

Why Field Trips Are Important

After Noah’s field trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday I rushed back to the school to help organize papers and count money for the grade school’s annual Read-A-Thon; the P.T.S.O.’s first big fundraiser of the year.

After a couple of bumpy roads with my time with our school’s Parent Teacher Student Organization, this year I’m finally beginning to feel a little more confident in it, and have a handful of other parents who are just as supportive as I. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Sweet Ghost Snack Pack® Treats

Compensation provided by Snack Pack® via Mode Media

Well friends, we are officially two weeks away from Halloween weekend, and I know my kids are as excited as ever! Not only do they get to dress up in their favorite costumes, eat candy, and show all of their wild and craziness, but they also get to stay up later because it’s on a Saturday this year, which means they can sleep in the next morning! (I’m a little excited about that myself!)

Today, I’m chaperoning Noah’s first “big kid” field trip with his Kindergarten class to the pumpkin patch, where we will go on a hayride, do some fun activities, and pick out pumpkins. We love going to pumpkin patches and normally go a handful of times every year, but I’m running behind with so many soccer games going on, so this is the first pumpkin patch trip of the year! I’ll have to get the rest of the family together and head out to one this weekend or next so we can spend the day together and stock up on more pumpkins for decorating purposes.

My Dream Digital Life + a $25 Home Depot Giveaway

Thanks to AT&T for sponsoring this event and giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own.

I consider myself a pretty lucky lady. Not only do I get to attend all of my children's events and do most of my work from home, but I also get the opportunity to go to special media events where I can learn about the latest and greatest things. 

I don't write about all of the events I attend, but wanted to share with you one that I attended a couple of weeks ago and became instantly intrigued by. It was an open house for a product called Digital Life from AT&T. AT&T Digital Life allows you the freedom and convenience to monitor your home while on the go, and if you know me and the kids' schedules, you know how often we are always running around. 

Cranberry Orange Sparkling Soda

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.#SimplySparkling #CollectiveBias

Oh the holidays. What can I say? I absolutely adore them - especially this time of the year. From Halloween, to Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Emma’s birthday on January 14th, we have lots of moments to make fun memories together.

During special dinners or events I like to make not only treats to eat, but original drinks as well that the entire family can enjoy. Whether it be parties or ringing in the New Year, my kids know that we will have something special to “Cheers” with.

Caramelized Chicken Kaiser Roll Sandwiches

Thank you to Foster Farms® Simply Raised, locally grown in the Pacific Northwest, for sponsoring this post!

These days lately dinner is on the go at least half of the time – so I’ve been cooking up things that we can eat on the go together as a family or bring with us to whatever event we are attending (usually soccer right now!). Even though we aren’t actually sitting down at the dinner table every night like it should be in an ideal world, at least we are still eating together, and it’s homemade.

The Wine Bloggers Conference: Day 4

Oh my goodness, how has it been nearly two months since this fabulous adventure? Today I'm sharing my final day at the Wine Bloggers Conference that was held in Corning, NY. To read about my first three days, check out my initial post here.

Sunday morning’s sessions began with a lively blogging panel which included Madeline from WineFolly.com, and Jana from MerlotMommy.com Their wittiness and sense of blunt humor made for a very entertaining hour, where they discussed questions from the audience. After one last panel, we all headed outside for the final lunch, and I learned a new food: spiedies. Here in Oregon I had never heard of them before, but they are chicken prepared on a skewer, then you take the chicken off of the skewer and place it on a bun, then from what I heard you scoop up more sauce on the bun.

BOO'tiful Stuffed Brownies + A BOO It Forward Surprise

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone.  #BOOItForward #CollectiveBias

This past weekend Wayne was gone camping with a friend, so it was just the kids and I. We had a bunch of fun and went to the movies, traveled to soccer games, and went shopping for a special project that I had never done before.

This year, I’m making a #BOOItForward kit and sharing it with someone. I’ve seen people do it before in years past, but wasn’t sure exactly what it was all about, so, I looked it up. There’s a fun little card that you can print (found here) and the whole concept is to anonymously surprise a friend or neighbor with a cute Halloween gift basket and then it’s their turn to “BOO  it forward” to someone else. It's super easy all you need to do is:

Personal Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Pies

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EffortlessPies #CollectiveBias

Hello my friends! I’m finally beginning to get used to having a few hours every day to actually get things done, and I really like it. The evenings though, well they’ve been pretty hectic. Yesterday Emma had her first horse riding lesson right after school, then Noah had his soccer practice after that. We still got home at a reasonable time (6:15) but there was no way I had the energy to bust out a meal...luckily I had already prepared it though. :) We had homemade chicken noodle soup, and a dessert that literally took  thirty seconds for me to make - and it was SO delicious!

The Heroes Around Us

I generally keep the daily news topics far away from this little space I’ve created on the Internet. So often they are filled with tragedy; sad things that I choose not to dwell on because focusing on them only brings me down and quite frankly scares the living daylights out of me because I begin thinking of all of the “what ifs” and “what could happen” scenarios and when you have children, it’s the worst feeling in the world that instantaneously makes you nauseous and want to cry.

But with that being said, this time I can’t get Roseburg out of my mind. I grew up in Grants Pass which is a little over an hour’s drive from Roseburg. I’ve been in Roseburg many times, have friends that live close and grew up there, and my Dad currently lives 30 minutes from there now.  I refuse to write or dwell on the perpetrator or gun topic issues, because right now is not the time for people to argue and debate such things. I will however, grasp on to any tiny amount of positivity that I can in this grave event that has left many people brokenhearted.