High Protein Peanut Butter Cups

So, funny story about me and peanut butter... I always hated it, my whole life.  I know it's, like, everyone's favorite thing, but I just never liked it!  I gave my Reese's cups away after trick-or-treating, I chose tuna over pb&j, and I preferred my apple slices on their own.  But when I was pregnant with my first child, I craved peanut butter SO BAD!  We were buying those huge, Costco-sized tubs of it on a regular basis, and I ate it every chance I got.  And ever since then, I've loved peanut butter!  It's like that pregnancy converted me, and y'all know what they say about the fervor of a convert...

I think we all know the BEST way to eat peanut butter is with chocolate, amirite?  No more trading away Reese's cups for me - I'm gonna hoard those beauties all for myself (and maybe even steal the kids', too)!  But, since I'm trying my best to eat healthier & stick to my high protein/low carb regimen, I wondered if I could maybe make a healthier version for myself.  I make peanut butter balls at the holidays, so the process was easily tweaked to make a healthier filling, and these High Protein Peanut Butter Cups were born.  These delicious treats have all the flavor of a Reese's, but with way less sugar and triple the protein!

INGREDIENTS

-2 tbsp whey protein (I used chocolate, but vanilla would work)

-1/4 Cup PB2 powdered peanut butter

-1/4 Cup skim milk

-3 tbsp creamy peanut butter

-1 Cup chocolate chips (I used Hershey's special dark, but you do you, boo)

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine the protein powder, the PB2, and the skim milk, and stir until smooth.  Add the peanut butter and mix to combine into one smooth filling.  Set aside.  Melt the chocolate chips however you like - in the microwave, using a double boiler, in a small pot on the stove, whatever.  Pour a small layer of melted chocolate into each of 8 silicone cupcake molds & freeze until chocolate is solid.  When they're ready, add a spoonful of the filling to each cup and smooth it down, making sure you leave an edge for the chocolate coating to surround it.  Top the cups with the rest of the melted chocolate, then freeze them again til they're completely solid.  You want to store them in the freezer, too :)

Kid-Friendly Laundry Organization

My family just moved into a new house, which is of course stressful & overwhelming, but is also a great excuse to get things organized right from the get-go!  One of the things I wanted to change our routine for is dirty laundry.  In our old house, I threw everything all together in one big laundry basket, just sitting on the floor in our master bedroom.  But I want a system that will sort my loads out for me as I go, so it was time for a little DIY-ing.

Let me just get this out there right now, before anyone feels the need to lecture me later in this post: I.  Do.  Not.  Sort.  Laundry.  By.  Color.  I know, it's what you're supposed to do.  I know, everyone does it that way.  I know, my mother would be appalled.  But it just seems so silly to me - I toss all our shirts, pants, jammies, etc. together.  I DO separate undies & socks into their own load, and wash them in hot water, for germ purposes ;)

So, when I was planning my laundry organization system, I decided I needed 3 baskets: clothes, socks & undies, and towels.  Our new house has a big, wide closet in the bathroom, so I can fit 3 baskets on the floor in there, and everyone's laundry can be put in them without any inconvenience.  I even created the labels with pictures, to help my 4 year old sort his own clothes:

I just printed them on cardstock, cut them apart, and attached them with heavy tape to baskets from the dollar store.  So far, this system is great!  I don't have to spend my time sorting, because everyone in the house is doing it as the days go along.  And come laundry day, I just grab a pre-sorted basket & take it downstairs with me :)

I TRY to Be an Organized Mom

The amount of STUFF I have to cart around for my two boys can often get out of hand, and I sometimes struggle to keep it all organized.  I swear, I have all these good intentions and great plans for how I'm going to keep everyone organized & on schedule... then somehow it turns into me packing lunches while getting dressed in the kitchen, or forgetting to bring diapers when we run errands...

For example, the daycare situation.  My 4 1/2 year old needs a sheet, a blanket, a pillow, and of course, a "sleepy time friend" (that's a stuffed animal, lol) every day.  My 18 month old needs all the same things PLUS diapers, wipes, sippy cup, lunch, and 2 snacks.  They each have a backpack, and I usually stay on top of those daily needs.  But now, for the summer, their school is adding a Water Play Day one day each week, and of course, each boy is on a different day.  Our mornings are quite rushed as it is, and I just knew I needed a system to help me remember all their stuff on those specific days.  So, I decided to make each of them a tote bag, stuffed with all their Water Play Day items, that I can just grab on the way out the door.

I got the plain canvas tote bags at AC Moore, along with iron-on letters.  Everything else I already had here at home, so it was a quick & easy project.  I washed & ironed the bags first, so they'd be ready for the letters, which I cut apart from the sheet they came on, trimming close around each one.  They get laid on the bag face-down (make sure they're facing the correct way, like a mirror image kinda challenge), a thin cotton cloth goes on top, then the hot iron is pressed on them for 15 seconds or so.  Once everything is cooled down, you can peel the backing off, and the letters are on the bag!  Easy-peasy :)

Of course, the trickier part is having to actually pack the bags, to be sure everything my boys need is in there.  They each got a towel, their swimsuit, a pair of flip-flops, sunblock, and a grocery bag for the wet stuff to come home.  Leo got swim diapers, too ;)  As long as I make sure to re-pack the bags after I do laundry, they will always be ready for me to grab on our way out the door - Leo's on Tuesday mornings, Aidan's on Thursdays.  Happy Summer, y'all!

Happy Father's Day, Grampa!

Father's day is 3 days away, so I'm working on presents for my husband and my father.  I always find it hard to pick presents for Father's Day.  We're on a tight budget in our house, so I can't really afford the sports tickets, restaurant gift cards, or other gifts that would be sure-fire hits.  That means we typically go the sentimental route, which my father loves, don't get me wrong - but how many hand print t-shirts or sharpie-colored mugs can one grandfather use?  Lol.

I decided I'd go with pictures of Grampa with the boys.  They share so many sweet moments together, so often, I have tons to choose from.  But two in particular really struck me as I browsed: snaps of my dad walking hand-in-hand with each boy.  They were just such lovely moments captured, they make me smile every time:

I paired the pictures with a sweet poem about how special those walks with Grampa are

And framed them all nicely to give to Grampa on Sunday.  I think he'll like it, especially since we're getting ready to move out soon, and he'll be missing his Little Men ;)

DIY Yarn Tote

Have y'all ever seen those awesome yarn bags, with the holes to feed the yarn through, so you can crochet / knit without having to unpack your stuff?  They are super cool & I have always wanted one, but they tend to be on the expensive side for my budget.  A while back, AC Moore had these large, canvas tote bags on sale for, like $5 - definitely more in my budget range.  Pink is my signature color, and I love anything with my initials on it, so I scooped up this awesome bag:

It's sturdy, it's machine washable, and it's huge - it hold 10 large skeins of yarn, standing up, and more if you're just piling them in there.  I've been using it to carry around my current afghan project, and it's working well.  But, I keep wishing I could just pick my work back up without having to essentially unpack each time.  So, I decided to convert my tote to a yarn bag, using a DIY grommet kit.  I got mine at AC Moore for $4.99, but you can grab one online here.  Wherever you pick yours up, it will come with pairs of grommets, a small anvil, and a grommet tool:

If you've never done this before, it can be a little intimidating, but seriously?  The process is so simple & easy, it's kinda amazing.  Once you decide where you want your holes, you trace the inside of one of the grommets, and cut it out using scissors.  You insert the top piece into the hole from the outside of the bag, then put the other half of it on the back side, so that they fit into each other.  Then you place the grommet on the little anvil thingy that came in the kit, insert the tool into the top piece, and gently hammer them together.  The center of the grommet splits, to lock the two pieces together.  And that's all there is to it - hole to grommet in less than 60 seconds ;)

I wanted to have 4 yarn holes, so I did two on each side.  Right now, they're just extras, but if I wanted to do some C2C or tapestry crocheting, they would be incredibly helpful in keeping the yarn from tangling together.  And now, I have a yarn tote I can conveniently bring with me anywhere I go.  Here it is in action:

The yarn feeds smoothly while in use...

And tucks right back in when it's time to go ;)

Crochet Flip-Flops

Ok, let me just tell you, I NEVER buy a crochet pattern.  It's a matter of principle for me - I either figure it out myself, or I Google til I find a free version.  But, y'all, I just couldn't help myself this time!  These crochet embellished flip-flops were just calling my name, and I really don't think I could've designed anything as good as these.

As soon as I saw these, I wanted to make them the very same day!  So, on my way home from work, I went to the dollar store to buy a basic pair of black flip-flops.  Nothing fancy, just regular rubber sandals - how easy is that?!?  Conveniently, the dollar store and AC Moore share a parking lot, so I swung in there to get the yarn.  The pattern suggested Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn, which makes sense because they'll dry faster than acrylic yarns like my favorite Red Heart Super Saver if the shoes get wet, so I grabbed a skein of black.  Perhaps black yarn wasn't my smartest choice when trying a new technique, but I really wanted black sandals!  Lol.

The best part about making these flip-flops was that they worked up super quickly!  I had to wait til my boys were both in bed, of course, but once I settled in, I had both sandals done in about an hour.  And that included my slow progress at the beginning, as I got used to the awkwardness of crocheting around the straps ;)  Before I went to bed that night, I had a whole new pair of beautiful sandals, ready for the summer.