Grilled Tomato Mozzarella Basil Sandwiches

If you love the flavors of fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, then you will love this twist on a grilled cheese sandwich!  I was able to use fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden and it was amazing!

Ingredients:
3-4 slices of fresh tomato
4 leaves of fresh basil
4-6 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
butter
2 slices Italian bread

Directions:
1.  Spray nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat on a medium-high.
2,  Butter one side of each of the slices of bread.
3.  Put one slice of bread (butter down) on the heated skillet.  Top with 1/2 of mozzarella, basil leaves, tomato, and then other 1/2 of mozzarella.  Top with other slice of bread (butter side up).
4.  When golden brown, flip sandwich to brown other side.
5.  Enjoy!

Mom and Dad Need A Vacation Too!

I know you have heard it all too often, Mom and Dad need to take time for themselves and their relationship from time to time.  The truth is though, we all get so busy being “Mom and Dad” we sometimes forget how to be “Husband and Wife”.  I’m sure everyone has experienced that awkward silence when we have nothing else to talk about except the kids! 

Within the past five years my husband and I always made time for a monthly date night in our relationship.  Actually, we forced it!  We joined a bowling league with my sister-in-law and her husband so that we were guaranteed one night out a month.  This monthly night always includes dinner and then bowling; it is a perfect opportunity to get away.  We also now have about 3 different couples we like to go out with, so we normally try and go out with one of them also once a month.

At the beginning of this year, we were looking at goals and one that I had that kept getting pushed off was for my husband and I to take a mini vacation, just the two of us.  Beside an overnight for a wedding or the kids spending the night at their grandparents, we have not taken a vacation, just the two of us, for NINE years!  Yes NINE years, this happen to coincide with right before I became pregnant with our first son.  Well, our kids are now 8, 5, and 2, I was out of excuses, and it was time to just book that vacation!

We had always intended on taking a really nice trip on our 10^th wedding anniversary, however that snuck up on us one month after our 3^rd child was born!  So we decided, we were finally taking our 10^th anniversary trip on our 12^th anniversary.  She would be 2 by then and we had willing grandparents to watch our children.  Once again, no excuses!  It was decided, we booked a vacation at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, and it would be our first vacation without kids since kids!

Thoughts of spending days on the beach and at the pool laying in the sun, eating fancy dinners with only adults, sleeping in until we wanted too, quiet alone time, was all so appealing to us.  We were so excited and could not wait until the day our plane took off to our sunny destination.  Then the week before hit us like a rock, my husband suddenly had a horrible ear infection and then my daughter had one!  Was this meant to be?  I was a nervous wreck (to say the least) the day before we left!

In the end, we got on that plane and had the best 4 days of our married life.  I am so glad we took that giant leap and the next time it will be easier.  The kids were just fine; they actually had a blast with all the activities their grandparents had planned for them.  They kept them a lot busier than we would ever had!  My husband and I spent days floating in tropical pools, had our toes in the sand, and enjoyed wonderful food just the two of us.  We are so glad we took this trip and we are going to make a yearly trip for just the two of us a priority.  It does not have to be as extravagant as this one, but definitely at least three days away a year to reconnect and just be us again!

If you are having doubts about taking a trip and are out of excuses, take my advice and book it now!  It only has to be a few nights, but it will be a wonderful rejuvenation to you and your marriage.  You need it, your spouse needs it, and your family needs it.  In the end it will make you a better parent to your kids.  The best part was definitely seeing the huge smiles and great big hugs we got from our kids when we walked back in the door at the end of our trip.  They were so glad to see us and could not wait to tell us about their adventures with Grandma and Grandpa!

2014 Goals - June Recap

Better late than never, here is my update for my 2014 through June.

I am making a real, conscious effort to set goals in 2014 and stick to them. The best way I can think of is to hold myself accountable on a monthly basis. Be sure to check back in the first of every month to see my progress as well as link up your progress.

1. Relationship with God - Do one activity a month to strengthen my relationship with God (going to mass on Sunday does not count).

I need to work on this in the upcoming months, summer should not be an excuse to take a break!

2. Relationship with my Husband - Go on one date night a month with my husband. Plan an overnight trip of at least 2 nights away to take in 2014

My husband and I did a golf date on a Sunday afternoon.  It is so nice to be back into a sport I love and able to spend some one on one time with my husband!

 

I'm so excited (and nervous about the kids), our anniversary weekend trip is booked for August!

3. Family Time - Do one activity as a family once a month. Take one family vacation and one long weekend getaway in 2014.

We took the kids to Niagara Falls for a long weekend.

We went to Orlando over Spring Break. 

 

We have another weekend getaway planned over Labor Day!

4. Relationships with my Kids - Do a one-on-one activity with each child each month (3 a month).

I took my middle son and daughter to the library this month.

 

I took all three kids to the playground one evening while my husband was working.

5. Declutter - sell at least 5 items per month.

I sold $28 worth of items in June 

6. Debt - Pay off Debt #1 and reduce Debt #2 by 50%

Debt #1 is paid. We are back making progress again on Debt #2, I do not think we are going to make our year end goal, but we will make significant progress this year!

7. Me Time - Say "no" to one extra commitment a month. Do an only me or "girls night" activity once a month.

I said "no" to donating items for an end of the year school party. I had donated a lot this school year and it always seems like last minute to me.

 

Sounds odd, but I had to take a work trip and I was able to spend a few hours on the beach by myself (heaven)!

8. Budget Buster - Keep library fines to under $5 for the entire year (this is so hard for me).

No fines this month again!  I have succeeded in zero fines for 2014!  The bad news?  The library is changing its loan period from 3 weeks to 2 weeks, I wonder how that is going to affect me!

9. Work/Life Balance - Friday at 5 pm - until Monday at 8 am - do not check work e-mails (I am off the clock).

I did an excellent job of staying off my computer in the evening and weekends.  I think this is due to the fact that we have been so busy that I just do not have time.

10. Have an online business (this idea has been in my head for over a year) fully functioning by the end of 2014. I need to take one giant step every month to achieve this goal!

This is the only goal I do not seem to make time for? Maybe its not that important to me? I need to reflect on what I truly want to do!

How are you doing on your goals thus far? Feel free to leave a comment or link up!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango - Review & Giveaway!

Experience the Ultra Fresh Hydration of NEW Dial Coconut Refreshing Mango Body Wash

 

 

Introducing NEW Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango body wash, the newest member of the Dial Coconut Water family.  Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango is the first of its kind to contain coconut water and refreshing mango for clean, healthy and hydrated skin.  Let the fresh hints of green coconut and tropical mango whisk your mind away to distant island shores without ever leaving the shower.

 

Coconut water is a leading trend known to be rich in antioxidants and electrolytes that help provide replenishing hydration.  Mango is known for being nutrient rich and adds a touch of tropical freshness.

 

My ideal vacation is laying on a beach smelling all the scents of the salt water, fresh air, suntan lotion, and fresh fish.  This new product from Dial definitely takes me to that type of scent experience right in my shower.  I also loves how it moisturizes my troublesome dry skin.  It also helps to hydrates my psoriasis, which I love in this product!

 

Want to win a bottle?  Three readers will win a coupon for a FREE bottle of Dial Coconut Water Refreshing Mango!

 



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Cedar Point!

It would not be summer in NE Ohio without a trip to the world famous Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio!  Having grown up in this area, it has always been a tradition for a yearly trip for me and my husband and we are keeping that tradition with our children.

 

 

I think my favorite part is watching our children ride the same rides we enjoyed as children.  Now I get to ride them with my kids as I had once had with my parents.  We know the park like the back of our hands which makes navigation a breeze, almost to the point where I am frustrated when we visit new amusement parks and I have to look at the map!

 

The shock to me this year was that the Magnum XL-200 was turning 25 years old!  I still vividly remember riding that coaster the first year it opened, how can it possibly be 25 years old?

 

And you cannot forget the Snoopy characters!  They are available to hug throughout the park.  Cedar Point is always clean, which is something I really appreciate in an amusement park.  Taking the kids there is an annual summer treat for our family!

My Baby Turns 2!

 

I cannot believe my baby is now officially two!  She is such a blessing to our family and the time as gone way too fast.  We had a Minnie Mouse birthday party for her.

 

I made the cake and this was my first time working with fondant.  I was quite pleased how it turned out, I will definitely try it again. 

 

 

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet, lovable baby girl!

Go Knock On The Neighbor’s Door

 

There has been a lot of buzz lately about this blog post by DadNCharge, regarding banishing the playdate.  I completely agree with his premise of these “organized play times”.  To understand where I am coming from, I have been and always will be a full-time working Mom.  My husband is home during the day since he teaches at night and online.  My kids never really had a lot of “playdates”.  There are times we meet some kids at the park or swimming pool from preschool or some school friends are invited over to play, but we have never engaged in regular, organized play times. 

My husband and I both grew up in neighborhoods where we had friends to play with daily.  They weren’t necessarily our “school friends” but they were friends we could play with on a fairly constant basis.  We believe in the “open door” policy, if you are home and your garage door is open, come be neighborly.  This means, come over and talk with us, bring your kids over to play, have a drink as we watch our kids ride bikes and play tag, anything like that.  We do not believe you need to “make an appointment” to get together and have the kids play.

We are extremely lucky to live in a neighborhood where several families hold the same premise to be true.  We constantly have impromptu cookouts, bonfires, glasses of wine, and while this is taking place the kids play in whoever’s yard this happens to commence in on that certain night.  As my boys are getting older (5 and 8 now), they are able to play with the neighborhood kids without their parents physically sitting and watching them.  This is when I encourage them to, “Go knock on the neighbor’s door.”

This past Sunday, my boys played all afternoon and evening with the neighborhood kids.  They came home for a quick dinner break and then went right back to playing with them.  None of this was preplanned, it all came about when a neighbor kid knocked on our door and asked to play.  It continued when after dinner my boys went down and knocked on this same neighbor kid’s door and asked to play.  I love this spontaneous play and giving kids the courage to build and develop relationships on their own.  The best part?  We know all the parents and I know they are a simple text message away to say, “hey the boys are down playing, you can send them home when you need to.”  I did not need to “entertain” my children for the entire afternoon; they did that by themselves by running and playing outside!

While I am sure there is a time and a place for playdates, there is also the need to teach our children to be independent young men and women who can be assertive and form their own friendships.  I believe this helps their social skills in the school setting and eventually in the workplace.  Finally, it gets kids out of the house and unplugged.  Yes my kids use electronic devices to entertain them, but a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the summer is NOT the time to sit inside and play on the iPad!

The impromptu Friday night kickball games have definitely been a highlight of this summer, even to the point of the adults playing along with the kids.  Go out and be neighborly; you have nothing to lose but to have some fun!