My grandmother made the best blueberry cobbler on the planet. I am happy to tell you, it’s in the genes. Grandma made this recipe entirely on the stove-top in a cast-iron pot with a lid. I don’t have a similar pot, so I use the microwave (because I don’t have to watch and stir) and then the oven. Try it … you’ll love it!

I picked these cherries from my parents farm last weekend. They are a wee bit tart, so I knew they’d make great cobbler.

Ingredients

I always manage to leave something out of the ingredients photo. In this case the vanilla and butter are missing. It’s hard to be the cook, mom, photographer and food stylist all at the same time.

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1. They dust:

2. They vacuum:

3. They wash floors:

Hey kid, whadda ya think this is summer vacation? Get back to work!

MK xo
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Disclaimer: this is not an advertisement for child slavery. I’m merely trying to raise useful, independent adults.

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Our first of many Lay’s® Chip Trips this summer was to the Edmonton Valley Zoo.

Using Lay’s® Chip Trip points is super EASY and you can print out the savings on your home printer. In this case, for the cost of one small bag of chips (approx value $1), we saved the cost of one adult entry to the Zoo (value $5+).

If I haven’t told you before, Georgia is animal crazy. Sam is just an animal, hence the bars (I jest). With their birthdays being just days apart and having ‘animals’ in common, we decided the zoo would be a fun outing birthday outing.

This is Lucy. She’s lovely and smart. I love elephants. We started the day with an educational elephant show, no weird circus tricks, just information and Lucy participates.

Speaking of weird circus tricks, Sam not to be outdone showed us his weird thumb-bending trick. Well done son, I’m so proud.

Georgia was thrilled with a pony ride.

Lizzy was disappointed not to ride, but as you can see, she was way too BIG!

Georgia likes to think she is a wolf. She howls like a wolf, and devours books on wolves, yet she refused to pose with a wolf. Go figure.

They all loved the ‘hands on’ approach in the petting zoo.

Lizzy’s getting too old and too cool, to ride the train. Sam and Georgia are NOT.

Above –> my favourite haircut of the day.

If you’re in Canada, there is a Lay’s® Chip Trip just waiting for you. Find out more at Lays.ca.

MK xo
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Disclosure – I am participating in the Lay’s® Chip Trips program by Mom Central on behalf of Frito Lay Canada. I received Lay’s® Chip Trip points and a gift card to off-set my trip costs to facilitate this post. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Georgia: Daddy I am going to go sun tanning.

Mr. MK: Umm OK, but do you know what sun tanning is?

Georgia: Yes, it’s when you lay very still on a towel with your bathing suit in the sun and go to sleep.

And that is just …

exactly what she did.

MK xo
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Disclaimer: this is not an advertisement for skin cancer. Promptly after finding her a sleep, we brought her in the house for a nap.

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Georgia and I just spent a lazy morning crafting bookmarks for Father’s Day. They were inspired by the FedEx Out of Office blog. From gift and craft ideas to spring cleaning and party planning tips, the blog provides innovative projects that anyone can tackle. With Father’s Day and the summer right around the corner, Out of Office features tips on how to turn photos and children’s artwork into great presents and fun craft projects kids can create on their own. The blog also has weekly round-ups of some of the best project ideas from around the Web.

The men in our family are all readers, so Georgia is making her Daddy and Poppa bookmarks for Father’s Day. FedEx Office Out of Office blog has a quick and easy project idea – personalized bookmarks! This is a great craft project for kids to make and can be made with anything and everything from old photos or wrapping paper, to magazine clippings or scrapbook paper remnants.

We used the following to get started:

• 4 templates
• Ribbon
• Stickers
• Crayons

Start by cutting out your bookmark template. Next, gather craft supplies and get to crafting! For inspiration, check out the cute bookmarks shown as examples on Out of Office: http://outofoffice.fedex.mediacdt.com

There are tons of other great crafts with templates at the FedEx Out of Office blog. I know Sam will enjoy making the Kites (me too!).

MK xo
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“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of FedEx Office and received the items necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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This recipe is super easy and a hit with the whole family.

I rarely follow a recipe exactly, this is actually a twist on a recipe I originally found on the Kraft Foods website. I was looking for something easy, but I didn’t have salsa and I LOVE my Patak’s curry paste. I made a few substitutions and came up with the following:

Super Easy Chicken Curry

Prep: 5 minutes Cooking Time: varies

8-10 chicken thighs
2 cans of diced spicy tomatoes
1 chopped onion
2-3 Tablespoons of Patak’s Hot Curry Paste
1-1.5 cups of sour cream

Directions:

1. Add chicken and chopped onion to the crock pot.
2. Mix curry paste with the tomatoes and pour over chicken and onions.

Cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 4 hours).
Alternatively, you can cook this in the oven covered for 1 hour @ 375f.

Prior to serving stir sour cream into the curry dish. Serve with rice.

Notes:

I know Patak’s products are available in most Canadian grocery stores. I don’t have a clue if the same is true in the USA. However, I do know you can buy it online in the USA for less than $5.00 per jar (click here). It is well worth your money.

Use whatever sort of tomatoes you have available. I like the chili version, but have used plain whole canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, even Italian diced. They all work.

If you don’t like chicken thighs, use breasts, legs … I’ve used them all, they all work.

If you don’t have Patak’s you could use curry powder, like the Kraft recipe suggests.

I’ve added additional vegetables: grated zuchinni, chopped cauliflower and green pepper. That works too!

I guess the point is, don’t let not having a particular brand or cut of meat etc., keep you from trying a new recipe.

MK xo
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Disclaimer: This is not a paid review for Patak’s. I am just their biggest fan.

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Winter’s here. My kids are loving it. They spent most of the weekend outside building a snow-fort and tobogganing.

This kid loves winter, snow, skiing, tobogganing. Today it was -30c and she came home from school annoyed that their outdoor broom-ball game was canceled.

This kid comes in a close second. I love this photo of her coming out of the snow-fort on Saturday afternoon. She was out for hours and hours. I love the flakes on her lashes.

I am so thankful that Georgia has decided putting on mittens isn’t the END of life as she knows it.

I don’t like it when winter sneaks up on us before the summer toys get put away. That wasn’t the case this year, just a week ago we were basking in 15c (+55f). This year the toys were put away and then due to a fabulous fall, they all came back out. You can’t win :)

I won’t tell you how much I dislike it when people complain about the weather. I won’t …

There are certainly things I don’t LOVE about winter. Then again, there are things that I do love. Like this bright blue Alberta winter sky. It might have been -30 today, but it was -30 and sunny! It’s fabulous!

Tell me something you LIKE about winter :)

MK xo
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Disclosure: Mother Nature provided the blue sky and the snow. I received no payment for NOT complaining about it.

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Would you like to read my romance? You would? Fat chance…

I’ve reached the 50,000 word goal of NaNoWriMo.org. Actually, I reached it on the 17th.

I’m not done yet though. I still have to write the last few pages of my romance. You know, the part where they declare their undying devotion to each other, strip naked and live happily ever after. Bwahahaha.

Truthfully, my romance is what is considered a ‘contemporary romance’ and they’ve been getting naked for quite some time. The HUSSY!

The sex love scenes were the most difficult to write and I seriously wouldn’t have gotten past ‘throbbing erection’ without the vocabulary suggestions on this site: Sex in the Romance

I’d never heard of NaNoWriMo.org until Angella over at DutchBlitz.net mentioned that she was doing it (Thanks Angella!). I didn’t have a clue what to write about or how to do it. I’ve never considered myself a writer. A blogger, yes, but not a writer and I wasn’t sure if I would have anything to say with out photos.

Three things have surprised me most:

1. It is way easier than I thought.
2. Writing a novel is just as much fun as reading one. It just takes a lot longer!
3. I’ve been using quotation marks incorrectly, much of the time.

I love reading. I’ve often finished a book and thought I could do that. However, I’ve always been of the opinion that in order to get started I needed a plot, an outline, details. I discovered doing NaNoWriMo that this is just not the case.

It might be the case if you are writing the next best seller, but if your end goal is just ‘a novel’, not even a good novel just a novel. Then all you really need is a deadline and rudimentary spelling abilities. Lucky for me, I have both.

Other helpful knowledge: No-one ever has to read your book but you, so just keep going. Nothing is written in stone, keep going and fix it (edit it later).

I am going to write the ending soon –> like today. Then what to do?

MK xo
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NOTE: I’ve been having trouble with the comments. If you can’t comment PLEASE let me know at kim (at) mommyknows (dot) com. Thank you!

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I found a great new recipe. I am sharing it today at my friend Sandy’s Blog the Reluctant Entertainer. Sandy and I met at the Kraft Blogger Event in Chicago in August, she is fabulous! She’ll love you all too … so go on over and tell her I sent you :)

Raise your hand if you’re afraid of pie crust. I’ve got both of my hands raised high above my head, and I am waving frantically. The fear stops here! There is no need with this EASY NO ROLL PIE CRUST from Joy the Baker.

I’ve long heard the ‘secrets’ of good crust from both of my grandmothers. One insisted it was the ice cold water and no over mixing. The other cold lard and no over rolling. Both of these ladies could make a mean pie (one still does) and I’ve been lucky enough to spend most of my forty years, a pie crust virgin. Oh I dabbled in it in my twenties, turning out tough crusts that tasted inferior to even store bought. It didn’t seem worth the work … and I was happy to give it up. Frankly, the rolling scared me.

… read more –> @ The Reluctant Entertainer

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Who can turn the world on with her Smile?
Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Well it’s you girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement you show it

“Love is All Around” – by Paul Williams

Every time I look at the large image of Georgia walking down the street. I start singing the Mary Tyler-Moore theme song. The image ‘IS’ Georgia.

I thought I ought to let you all know, she isn’t difficult ALL the time.

Questions for you: If your kiddo had a theme song, what would it be?

My NOVEL is coming along –> 20368 of 50000. It’s a romance and it’s complete and utter rubbish! Gotta love it! I’m pretty darn sure it’ll never be mass produced. I’m plodding along, nevertheless.

MK xo
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NOTE: I’ve been having trouble with the comments. If you can’t comment PLEASE let me know at kim (at) mommyknows (dot) com. Thank you!

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