If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Purslane, cactus, mermaid craft and another big meal

Thank you all for the information about our mystery plant, purslane.  
We haven't eaten any of yet but I did move it's pot where it shouldn't be able to spread to anyplace we don't want it.  

My son made this cactus arrangement for his uncle's birthday.  

I saw this mermaid craft idea on Instagram.  My daughter already had the Popsicle sticks that have a head and arms.  I set out play dough and a box of assorted sequins, tiny shells and buttons.  
The grands had the best time making these as did the adults who helped.  
This is a craft that is mostly enjoyed in the making, not for keeping, as so many of doo-dads did not stay attached as the dough dried.  That pile of doo-dads on the right is just what fell off.  

Some have tails and some have princess dresses and some are supposed to be boy mermaids.  
Some have hair and are embellished on both sides.  The children who made them were ages 3-7 and all thought it was a lot of fun.  




For my brother's recent birthday, we had a big family meal here.  
This meal was one of the easiest group meals I remember serving.   
The main entree was make your own taco salad.  

I set out tortilla chips, chopped romaine lettuce and tomatoes, a dish of beef taco meat and a bowl of homemade salsa.  All the tomatoes were from our backyard.  
We had a pot of spicy beans and taco salad toppings. 
Meals here always include fruit - this was a cantaloupe from our backyard and strawberries from Aldi (and an adult hand snitching fruit early) 
My daughter brought the desserts- a lemon pound cake and key lime yogurt pie. Both were delicious.  
These grandsons were the last to leave and they love desserts.  They ate lots of supper and then wanted a little more cake and green pie before they went home.  

If you look, you'll see they are using disposable bowls.  Big meals here are always served on disposable plates and bowls.  I find Aldi and the military commissary have the best prices,  I was shocked how much they cost at Walmart now.
The disposable plates and bowls just make clean up so much quicker and easier! 


Summer will be around another month or so but the area schools start next week.  
We've had a fun summer break with lots of cousin fun.  This was a picnic last week after 5 of the cousins played at one of our town's splash pads.  

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer- however much longer it lasts ❤️

17 comments:

  1. I'm with you on the disposables. We do all paper for every meal all through the Christmas holidays and it saves my sanity!

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  2. We always use paper when we have family gatherings. I can't imagine all the washing we would do if we used china to eat off of. I usually get my paper plates at Sams, but will have to check out the pricing at Aldi.

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  3. LOVE the play dough mermaids. I need to find some of those people-shaped sticks...

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  4. The food looks delicious and I love how your grandchildren have healthy appetites. I too buy disposable napkins, cutlery and plates when we are having our family get togethers. it just makes clean up so much easier as I'm the one that has to do all of it. Others do other tasks related to the dinners.

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  5. Looks like so much fun! Great easy meal served to a crowd. Disposables will be in my near future LOL. Have a great day!

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  6. Purslane ---- I've been routinely spraying weed killer in the flower bed trying to rid myself of that stuff. So I just looked it up....."Its a weed worth eating".

    No clue it was actually anything but a weed......

    Let it out of that container at your own risk!! lol

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  7. Love the food!!!!!
    Plastic and paper here too!
    Have a great weekend. : )

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  8. I just love you blog! I have purslane in my garden but haven't eaten any yet.
    Have a great weekend!

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  9. Do it yourself taco salad is a great idea. When the crowd's here we use disposables too. I don't think we even have enough dishes for all of them. Love the mermaids!

    Hugs
    Jane

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  10. I made taco salad for dinner! :-) What a great idea for family gatherings. We've had taco bars but never taco salad bars. :-) The dessert looks yummy! Hope you are enjoying your summer!

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  11. Love the mermaid craft - that is so cute! We've done the taco bar thing before for bigger gatherings. Great way to feed a crowd. We always use regular dishes though because we're very keen on leaving a smaller "footprint" and not contributing to landfills, but we did use paper products for my son's graduation party since we had 35 people here - though we did use regular silverware. Over the years, I bought extras at Goodwill (only 10 cents each there) and keep in a separate storage space.

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  12. It's a wonderful life you're living!

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  13. Hi Mrs. Rhonda,

    Although my blogging break is not fully over, I just had to pop over to your blog and catch up with you. What a wonderful summer you've enjoyed with your family!
    Taco / taco salad bar, baked potato bar, sub sandwich bar, soup bar, etc. are always a fabulously easy way to feed a crowd. When all mine are home, I always cook each child's favorite meal and then the rest of the afternoon and evening meals are an easy themed buffet. I also get quite a bit of morning breakfast prep done before bed, especially for Sunday mornings, when all the family is home. It is hard to get 10 people fed and out the door for church services by 9:30 AM, especially when there are only two bathrooms.
    Anyhow, I've enjoyed catching up on your blog. Hopefully my life will slow down a little and I'll be able to check in more frequently.

    Blessings,
    Mrs.B

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  14. I love the cactus gift. The playdough craft is ingenious. I will be trying that with my grands. Nothing better than make your own tacos.

    Your daughter is quite the baker. Her lemon pound cake looks so yummy.

    I am so glad that you are enjoying your family this summer. Time with them is so precious.

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  15. The mermaid craft idea is so cute!

    Love the Taco Salad and desserts! They look delicious! =)

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