Baby sling question!

Hey girls! So, I am looking for a good baby sling for Lucy. Does anyone have any suggestions? She is definitely a cuddly baby. I have a fleece sling that she loves, but it is WAY too hot for me.

Things to do in OC

Hey girls, I wanted to compile a list of everyone's favorite things to do in our area. It will be nice to have lists to share with visiting relatives, new move-ins, and for ourselves (I know I haven't done nearly enough of the things I should before we end up moving away from here). So, leave your best ideas in the comments of this post, or email me, and I'll compile a complete list and post it. Also, see if you can indicate whether or not the activity costs $ and if so, how much. Thanks in advance everyone. This is going to be so awesome!

Examples:

• Disneyland $124/person for cheapest annual pass (not counting parking)

• Aquarium of the Pacific $125/family annual membership, daily admission--Adult: $20.95, Child (3-11): $11.95, Senior (62+): $17.95

• Science Discovery Center $89/family annual membership, daily admission--Child (3-17) and Senior (55+): $9.95, Adult (18-54): $12.95
  

Meal Planning

I saw a really neat way to plan meals in "Family Fun" last year. You assign each day of the week a food nationality or leftovers. Then for each of those days you have 4+ meals you rotate though the month. If you don't have leftovers, you can always make hot breakfast or something easy.

My example:

Monday: American
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: International
Thursday: Pasta (Anything that has pasta in it)
Friday: Fiesta
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Missionary (Large Sunday Meal fit for missionaries)

This way the entire family knows what to expect which days, so there is no more "Whats for dinner?"

Super Easy Chili Recipe

Alberta said I should post the recipe for some chili I brought to Emma's party. So, here it is:

2 cans 16oz. diced tomatoes (don't drain!)
2 cans 16 oz. red or dark red kidney beans, drained
1/2 lb. - 1lb. browned hamburger (or whatever meat you want, really)
2 tsp. sugar (cuts down the tomatoes acidity)
1+ Tbs. curry
1 tsp. cumin
1+ T. chili powder
salt to taste
pepper (optional)
taco toppings (optional)

Basically, just throw it all (except the toppings) in a big pot or crock pot, stir and cook it until it gets warm and bubbly. If you like to freeze your cooked hamburger, you can throw it in frozen and just cook until the meat is thawed and warm.

Dave and I like shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream and crumbled tortilla chips on our chili, but that's just us. Hope you all enjoy a super easy meal idea!

Birthday take 2 (or three)

Jeremy is turning two tomorrow so we are going to be copycats and do what the Lemans did. Cake outside the Commons around 6.

Ina Garten's flag cake

Here's the recipe for Ina Garten's (the barefoot contessa)4th of July flag cake. My sister in law Amy is to be thanked for introducing me to this incredibly yummy cake. I would suggest using half of the butter in the frosting, because a pound of butter seems excessive. I make it using remainder of the butter from the cake, so about 2 sticks. Maybe it pipes better if there's more butter. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Bekah!

Hope you had a great day. Just wanted to send out a thanks to you for being so awesome. We'll miss you terribly next year!

{Bekah had this flower on her table the other day when I stopped by. It was a simple & surprising spot of beauty in my day.}