Here is a fun summer craft to keep your kids cool by using household sponges as an alternative to water balloons! This was an old project a few years ago on Family Fun but is still fun than ever and a cheap way to keep cool this summer. Thanks to Betz White for the great tutorial and photo!

Supplies:

• 4 regular sponges (they look great in as many colors as possible)
• Scissors
• Dental floss
• Bucket of water!

Directions:
Step 1: Cut sponge lengthwise into four equal strips. Repeat for second sponge.
Step 2: Stack sponge strips as shown, alternating colors. Place length of dental floss under stack.
Step 3: Tie floss around stack, drawing strips together into a pom-pom shape. Wrap tightly and knot.
Step 4: Fill a bucket with water and have fun!

Life is sweet! And I mean sweet by Walla Wall Sweet Onion Rings! Today Jeff and I  just fried up a batch of homemade onion rings using northwest grown Walla Walla onions. The Walla Walla sweet onion is unlike any other onion, they are SWEET and mild when other onions such as the white or green have a strong distinctive flavor and aroma. As the Walla Walla cooks it only gets sweeter and more delicious!

I got this recipie and sweet idea to fry up some rings from my best friend Ashley B! Ashley’s Grandma (Nana) is from Walla Walla Washington where theses delicious onions grow by the plenty! Nana makes a trip up to her hometown of Walla Walla each year to get dozens of these onions we all crave.

Until now I have been getting my fix of sweet Walla Walla onion rings at Burgerville. Burgerville is a fast food burger restaurant only in the Northwest (Washington,Oregon,California) that serves not only fast diner drive-thru style food, but uses the freshest ingredients found locally including the Walla Walla onions!

Nana’s Onion Ring Batter

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Ingredients:

• 1 Egg
• 3/4 Cup Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 Cup Milk (can be substituted for beer)
• 1 Quart Canola Oil
• 1 Tbsp. seasoning of choice (optional)
• 1-2 Walla Walla Sweet Onions

Directions:

(To Prepare Batter)

1. Beat egg in a medium sized bowl

2. Add milk/beer

3. Add other dry ingredients

4. Mix all ingredients well to the consistency of pancake batter

(To Prepare Onions)

1. Slice and peel off outer layer of onions

2. Slice width 1 inch apart, you want the onion slices to be thick

(Frying Instructions)

1. Heat Canola oil in a large stove top pot. If you have an at home fryer those work best.

2. Dip onion slice in the batter, swish around a few times to coat generously

3. Place battered ring into pot/fryer

4. Cook each ring 1-3 minutes depending on size

5. Continually turn the onions in the pot so they will not burn

Summer cooking can sometimes be a dread when it’s hot out and you don’t want to heat your house with ovens or stoves! Controlling my Chaos feels the same way which is why she shared her yummy grilled recipe of Teriyaki Pita Pockets with Pineapple!

The recipe card below shows the ingredients and directions but if you need the full tutorial with pictures and further tips and direction visit Controlling my Chaos {HERE}

With the economy as it is, cutting back on food and other every day items can be hard and nearly impossible. I have come to find a few great coupon blogs and stores savings alerts online, but wanted to find more! Set let me know what you have found and I will add it to the list! A lot of these sites post sales and Buy One Get One deals they have found at local stores such as Target, Alberson’s, Safeway,Walgreens and some sites even post printable coupons!

PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS POST WITH YOUR FAVORITE MONEY SAVING BLOG!!

Around the Sun Blog (Portland,OR)

Printable Coupons Blogspot

The Krazy Coupon Lady

Clipper Girl’s Saving Spot

Surviving the Stores

918 Coupon Queen

Save at Home Mommy

Frugal Coupon Living

The Coupon Clippers

Be CentsAble

Nicole’s Nickels

Chicks with Cents

Hip2Save

Freebies 4 Mom

Want it All for Free

Katherine over at NannyGoat is the mother of all organization! I love her stair baskets she snagged up at Michael’s which were on sale! I have never seen anything like these cute little stair baskets, I wish I had stairs just so I could buy them! What a great way to keep kids (and us adults too) by having a great drop of site when coming in the door from a long day.

Q: Do you have any organizational ideas or tips that you use in your house? Please share!

It is my favorite time of the year again! No not Christmas even though that kinda is my favorite time of the year too, but I’m talking about the July Craftwarehouse Summer Sidewalk Sale! This sale is a huge outdoor tent event that is a huge tent filled with clearance and sale items from all over the store! Many items are discontinued that the store carried throughout the year, so if you have your eye on something through he year and don’t want to splurge then just wait for the sidewalk sale and see if your special item is there. If its not, then oh well sorry you should have bought it. C: JUST KIDDING! But I’m serious, they do have a lot of stuff it’s hard not to find something you like.

Below are pictures of the items that I picked up at this year’s sidewalk sale! Lucky me I found a vase that I have been eying through out the year which was originally 13.99 on sale for 2.50 (WOW!) and I couldn’t part with myself to spend the original price on a vase which I was only planning to use it as a dish liquid dispenser. So I am glad that I held out and found it at the sale for only 2.50, I’m tempted to go back and buy a few more because they did have other sizes and shapes.
Another item that I picked up was a decorate your own wooden serving try! I have been in and out of stores trying to find the “right” tray that suits my flavor and that would go with anytime of the year, my journey stopped at the warehouse with a wooden tray that is perfect for decorating! The price of the tray on sale was 4.95, I don’t know what the original was but I don’t care because all I had to pay was less than $5!

This sidewalk sale is running through the month of JULY (possibly through August) I hope you have a craftwarehouse by you because this is the time of the year to stock up on stamps, inks, frames, florals, EVERYTHING that you can use through the year at a steal of a price.

BEFORE

AFTER

The game Checkers is the mother of all board games, cousin to the game Chess and keeper of all pass times when you were a kid. Here is a cute way to spruce up an old hand me down checker board and make it more personal by adding pictures of your loved ones on the chips! The Thrifty Chick is so creative which is why I love this idea of taking the well know black and red checker board colors and adding scrapbook paper to make it more fun and personal!

Check out her full tutorial {HERE}

We have two BIG dark sweet cherry trees in our backyard, they bloomed late spring early summer. Now that we are in full swing of summer the cherries are dried from the sun (not so yummy) but this recipe looks good to do in years to come and for those of you who also have bounties of cherries. I guess I could always make a stop to Safeway and pick up a pint if I’m not too cheap because FREE from your backyard is always nice.

From:DigginFood.com

What you’ll need:

• 8 ounces of semi-sweet dark chocolate
• ½ pound of fresh, sweet cherries

Instructions:

1. Wash and thoroughly dry the cherries. Line a plate that will fit into your refrigerator with parchment or wax paper.

2. Fill the bottom of a double boiler with two inches of water. Bring the water to a boil. In the meantime, break the chocolate into small chunks and place it into the double boiler’s top pan. Place the top pan over the water when it reaches a rolling boil.

3. Whisk the chocolate constantly until it is completely melted and smooth. Then, remove the double boiler from the heat and scrape the chocolate into a small bowl.*

4. Grab each cherry by its stem and dip it into the chocolate. Swirl the cherry in a clockwise motion, coating the bottom ¾ of the fruit. Place the cherry on the parchment paper covered plate. Repeat with the remaining cherries. Then, stick the plate into the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens. If you’re not eating them right away, put the cherries in a covered container and keep them in the refrigerator for a few days.

* If you don’t have a double boiler, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave. Just place the chocolate pieces into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 to 60 seconds on medium power (it might take more time depending on your microwave). Stop and whisk the chocolate every 15 seconds until it is completely melted.

Finding the “right” kind of sunscreen can be hard and confusing, especially if you don’t know what to look for. I did a little research to help educate myself and you Mom’s out there wanting to protect your kids this summer!

What to look for in a sunscreen:

• Something that provides broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection, usually a combination of sunscreen ingredients such as avobenzone, and/or a sunblock, such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.
• Has an SPF of at least 15 to 30.
• Is water resistant for swimming and sweaty days.
• Is Hypoallergenic and Fragrance Free, especially if your child has sensitive skin.
• Is in a form that is easy to use on your child, whether that means it is a gel, lotion, spray, continuous spray.

Parent Recommended Brands and Types:
* Banana Boat Baby or Kids Tear-Free Sunblock Lotion, SPF 50
* Banana Boat Baby Faces Sunblock Stick, SPF 50
* Banana Boat Kids Dri-Blok Sunblock Lotion, SPF 30
* Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen, SPF 30
* Bull Frog Kids FastBlast Sunblock Spray, SPF 36
* Bull Frog “Quick Gel”, Waterproof Non-Sticky
* Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50
* Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Continuous Spray, SPF 50
* Coppertone WaterBabies Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50
* Hawaiian Tropic Baby Faces & Tender Places Sunblock Spray, SPF 50+
* Neutrogena Waterguard Kids Sunblock Lotion, SPF 70+
* Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby Sunblock Lotion, SPF 60+

Extra Tips & Tricks:

• Apply a small amount to a small area of your child’s skin if you think he might have a reaction to the new sunscreen.
• Remember that a sunscreen isn’t better just because it is more expensive.
• Apply liberally a half-hour before going outside. Use more than you think you should.
• Reapply every two hours. The chemicals that protect you from the sun break down in the sun.
• Reapply after swimming or sweating because water-resistant and sport sunscreens do wash off.
• Throw out sunscreens that are one year old or over. The chemicals that protect you from the sun lose efficacy over time.
• Sunscreen only works if you use it – keep a bottle or travel size, tube or stick everywhere: one in car, purse, diaper bag, stroller, beach bag.

Yesterday Jeff and I took a day trip in the car to Kahneeta Hot Springs Resort! If you have never heard of Kahneeta, it’s in the middle of the Oregon eastern desert on an Indian Reservation where they have a natural hot springs mineral pools and a large casino resort! This little town on the hill has a “village” with tepees and cottages for rent, and a lodge with a casino and luxury suites ammenitied with a  golf course, horse stables, and the main attraction of mineral pools. If you go in the winter the pools are naturally heated by the warm springs and in the summer with 100 degree weather they are cooled down.

The the weather was near 100 when we went, a nice breeze kept us cool as  we got out of the pool off and on through the day. We are both sunburnt and red as a fire truck! We have both been to Hawaii before which is warm and sunny too and never had been this burnt, there is something different about the desert sun. We have been trying at home remedies to prevent peeling and applying soothing aloe vera lotion in hopes not to peel and keep the somewhat of a tan we have been working on this summer. This week in Portland the weather will be up in the 90’s all week so it’s inside for us until the sting of the burn is gone.

Our reccomendations to you is if you plan to go to Kahneeta this summer bring sunscreen that is SPF 50 or above. Even if you think you tan easily or wont burn bring it anyways because the sun is different and more intense when you hit the easten Oregon desert.

Below are some pictures we took of this beautiful resort!