Ready

Summer evenings are coming to an end.  The time for sitting outside on the porch under the blanket of summer heat is slipping away.  

Soon Autumn will begin its approach, leading the way to crisp nights and browning leaves.

I am beyond happy.

As lovely as summer is, with it's bright sunny days for playing outside and afternoon showers perfect for napping, nothing compares to Fall.

And I'm ready.

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Monkey Munch / Puppy Chow

This stuff is sooooo good!  That's probably why I only make it once or twice a year.  I'm sure you've heard of it, but apparently it has many names.  The first time I'd ever seen it was when I was in school.  My teammate's mom brought it to a game - she called it "Puppy Chow."

I had forgotten all about it until that show, Jon and Kate Plus 8.  Kate made a batch on the show, but called it Monkey Munch.  And it turns out you can even get it premade in gas stations by the name of Muddy Buddies!  There's no fun in that for us, though.  What's so great about this treat is that your little ones can dive in a help with the whole process!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of Chex cereal (rice, corn, it's up to you - we used rice)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

*Melt butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter together

Mix the melted peanut butter/chocolate/butter concoction into your Chex.

Scoop some of your chocolatey Chex into a ziplock, add in powdered sugar, and let your little one go to town shakin' it up! Repeat until you've coated all your mix in the powdered sugar.

And good luck trying to keep them out of it for the rest of the day!  I think this stuff is addicting! 

In case you were looking for a handy, easily pin-able pic - here you go:

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Focus On Mom

I'm so excited to be joining up with Nicolette and Susi again this month for the Focus On Mom Challenge!

A big congrats to last month's featured Mama:  Greta of GFunkified!!

Missed out on the challenge last month?  You can read more about it HERE, but this is the idea:

Get out in front of the lens and post pics of yourself for a change!  With your kids, by yourself, it doesn't matter - just get out there.

Here are some of my #FocusOnMom pics from last month.

Taking Little Guy for fro-yo.

Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's

You don't need a fancy camera or photo editor - just a cell phone will do!

How to join us: You can do either #1 or #2 below or both.

1. Link up your picture on one of our blogs. If you have a blog then add a link to your post. If not, then add a link to your Facebook photo, Instagram feed, or Twitter handle. Not sure how to find the link to your photo(s) on social media? It’s super easy. I wrote two posts to show you how: How to get a link to a photo on Instagram and Twitter and How to get a link to a picture on Facebook.
2. Post your photo on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and add the #focusonmom to the description.We are going to use the #focusonmom across all social media to make this challenge as accessible as possible. What does that mean? You don’t need to have a blog to join us. All you need is an account with either Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
3. Spread the word and Follow Us! If you follow us on Twitter (Nicolette / Susi / Melinda), Facebook (Nicolette / Susi /Melinda) and/or Instagram (Nicolette / Susi / Melinda) it will be easier to share our reminder posts and for us to share your posts as well.
4. Encourage others. Starting the 15th of each month click the hashtag on any of social media sites to see the pics shared. Show some love, make some new friends and support other women who have taken the time to get in front of the camera.
5. Link Back. Please mention this challenge in your post and link back to one of our blogs. Thanks to Susi we have a button! Grab the code from the sidebar.

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