We do something a little different from the traditional chores allowance. Instead, we give the kids a reading allowance. 📚🤑
Think 90s Book It!, but instead of a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut 🍕📚 (which I miss BTW! 🥹 #90sKid), they earn a little money when they fill up their reading logs.
And my kids LOVE doing this! 😁
I always take them to the stores where it’s easy to find fun things for under $10.
Places like Walmart, Five Below, Target, and Dollar Tree where a kid gets excited over novelty products, inexpensive art supplies, plushies, puzzles, slime, posters and unique gadgets. 🤩
You know the kind of stuff when you’re out grocery shopping and your kid picks up some random fuzzy pen that costs six bucks and asks if you can get it.
But you’re like, “Absolutely not! That fuzzy pen is $6! 😲 We’re here to just get some milk and bread, dude.” 😂😏
I found this fun sign when we went to Five Below. Lol 😹
But with their own money they can get any fuzzy pen or quirky doodad they want! 😆😉
Yeah, those are the kind of stores I take the kids to on their allowance payday. 🤩😂
They learn price comparison, estimating, paying tax, counting money to pay for purchases at stores, how to save their money…and bonus…social skills—how to interact with the cashiers and staff!
Our cucumbers have flowers now! 😍🥒🌼 I noticed the bright, yellow flowers this past Saturday.
Travis and I were geeking out about it. Lol! 😂This is the first time we have grown cucumbers, so we are very excited!
We’re growing eight pickle cucumber plants. I plan on making dill pickles with our cucumber harvest, so I’m also growing dill in the same grow bags.
The cucumber plants are also showing signs they’re ready to start climbing. Thin tendrils have emerged and started curling around the trellis. 🥹🌿
I think it’s just amazing how the plants know to reach out and wrap itself around nearby objects. They’re like little hands searching for something to embrace. 😄😍
Over the weekend, Travis installed a simple homemade trellis behind the cucumbers. He just used nails and twine. Super easy!
We also ended up transplanting a few of the plants into separate grow bags so they don’t crowd each other and have enough root space to grow.
I can’t wait to see the cucumbers start growing! Shouldn’t be too much longer now. 😊🥒🌼
The day started with a cozy brunch at home. I’ve mentioned before on Fridays we have Pizza Friday.
I always order my pizza from a local Italian market. They always use fresh ingredients and cook the pizza using a wood-burning oven. It’s the best fresh pizza I’ve ever had! 😋
You get an 11″ pizza with unlimited toppings for just $12! Great deal! I always order the meat lovers pizza with artichoke as an extra topping.
For brunch on the weekends, I like to have my favorite tea with a slice of my leftover pizza with a fried egg and honey drizzle on top. I put on my jazz playlist and just enjoy the vibes.
Last Saturday, I introduced my pizza brunch recreation to Travis and he was amazed at how delicious the leftover pizza tasted with fried egg.
“Yo! This is REALLY good!” he exclaimed. “How did you come up with this?” 😲🍕
A little work in the garden
We did a little work in the garden. I planted another sugar baby watermelon start, and Zaya (5) wanted to plant a cosmos flower seed in her little baby pot. 🥹🌸
This makes two sugar baby watermelon starts we are growing in the garden.
Zhen (13) chose the mini watermelon to grow because she LOVES watermelon. 🍉
I’m a little nervous about having enough space for the watermelon to vine, but I’ve been researching ways to grow vertically, so I think we can make it work! 🤞🏾😁
It looks like he’s smiling at me. 😄🐸
Mr. Toad back again
And while I was tending to the patio garden, my little toad friend was hopping behind me. 😄🐸 It’s so cute because I often see this toad pop out when I am working in the garden.
It seems he was on his way to the garden section of our peppers and tomatoes. Lol 😅 That was perfect because some bugs have been hanging around the plants. 🪲
Mass and a quick stop at H-Mart
Later in the afternoon, we went to the Saturday vigil Mass.
Since Travis works six days a week, we have found going to Saturday Mass is a little easier on him. That way he can sleep in and fully rest on Sundays.
After Mass, we stopped by H-Mart to get lo mein noodles and a few other ingredients. I had a craving for homemade chicken lo mein and I wanted to cook it for dinner.
These Canton Style Egg Noodles are so easy to cook and the texture is perfect for my homemade stir-fry. 😋🍜
I also saw these lo mein egg noodles. I’ve never cooked them before, so I thought I’d give it a try. 🍜
The kids LOVE H-Mart! 😍 Every time we go, they always want to get ramyun and snacks. This time, they found K-Pop Demon Hunters snacks, so of course, we had to get it! 😂🫶🏾
What we bought at H-Mart…
I love H-Mart because they sell so many varieties of noodles, rice, kimchi, and other unique foods that you can’t find at American supermarkets.
The kids wanted to check out the toy section (obviously lol), and they wanted us to buy something.
I told them to save up their allowance money so we can come back and they can buy the toy they really want to get. 🤓💡
Before leaving H-Mart, we played a game of Toy House—the claw machine game.
We didn’t win anything (does anyone ever win these games? 😏 lol), but it was still fun trying. 😊
I went to the library to drop off my returns, and I discovered they offer a seed catalog! 😲🥳
So naturally, I grabbed a few seed packets to add to my midsummer seed order. 😆🌿
The seed packets I chose were Chinese giant sweet pepper, okra, cilantro, and parsley.
I know it might be a little too late to start the Chinese giant sweet peppers, but I’m going to try planting a couple of seeds.
The other day, I accidentally spilled some of my cilantro seeds, so that’s why I grabbed another pack.
I went ahead and planted the pepper and okra seeds in seed trays. Then, I added some cilantro and parsley seeds to the herb pots I currently have growing.
My midsummer seed order has arrived, and I am excited! I took advantage of MIGardener’s 20% off sale because the deals were really good. I was impressed with how quickly I received my order, too! 😁🌿
I love watching their YouTube channel. I have learned so much about gardening and growing food within a year’s time all thanks to Luke, owner of MIGardener!
The seeds I bought
Parisian carrots, purple carrots, midori soybeans, painted pony beans, flor de mayo beans, light red kidney beans, midnight black turtle beans, Charleston Wakefield cabbage, gold rush wax bush beans, sugar beets, peach melba nasturium, and Tom Thumb dwarf pea.
This time I focused on foods we can grow in our grow bags and get started end of June.
We also wanted to try crops we haven’t grown before such as sugar beets, painted pony bush beans, and midori bush soybeans.
I just love MIGardener’s seed packagaing. 🌿
It’s all a learning journey
Last year, when I did a late summer seed order, I bought fall crops such as lettuce, green onions, spinach, carrots, bok choy, and collard greens.
The problem with that was I planted the seeds too late in the growing season, so we didn’t have a fall harvest. 😕
It was a learning experience for me, though, so I wasn’t mad about it. It taught me how and when to plant seeds for a fall harvest.
And I still have a bunch of seeds from last year’s order, so I am ready to plant our fall crops on time this year! 😁
My energy is low today, which is honestly pretty typical for a Wednesday for me. 😴
Today, I am taking it slow and reading Outlander (I’m on chapter 25), finishing organizing my homeschool planner, and doing a little cooking with the kids.
Outlander
Okay, don’t laugh at me, but I have been reading Outlander since last summer! Maybe longer. 😆
I struggle to stay consistent with reading books. 😫 It frustrates me because I LOVE books!
I used to be able to read one novel (under 400 pages) in 1 – 2 weeks. Now, it takes me much longer.
I partly blame social media for zapping my attention span. 😏 Last year, I stopped using Instagram regularly for this very reason (also anxiety).
Now I just hop on social media every once in awhile. It has made a huge difference for me, so hopefully this summer I will finally finish reading Outlander! 😂
Pancakes
It’s a low energy day, so let’s make buttermilk pancakes! 🥞 Zephaniah (8) and Zhen (13) helped me flip the pancakes while I washed the dishes.
Another sunflower rescue
So far, we’ve “rescued” five sunflowers we found growing in between the sidewalk. We discovered another volunteer sunflower sprout that, unfortunately, was broken.
So, I put what was left of the stem in a glass jar of water. Now it’s growing new roots! 🌻😁
One of the sunflowers we rescued is happily growing in a pot for now. Once it has outgrown this pot, I will move it to a large-size grow bag.
Lasagna for dinner
And we’re ending this chill day with a simple homemade lasagna for dinner. Zaya (5) and Zephaniah helped me make the lasagna.
So much to do tomorrow! Hopefully, today’s relaxed activities will give me the energy rejuvenation I need for Thursday.
I love how one day I will check on the garden and I can’t seem to find a single new bloom.
But then the next day, all of a sudden it seems like a flower has bloomed, there are green beans growing, and little green tomatoes have appeared. 😅
Yesterday, I noticed we now have green beans growing. 😍 I am so excited to see so many green beans sprouting, even though I don’t like to eat green beans. 🤣
My kids love fresh green beans, so I am excited to grow a food that I know they love. I can’t wait to harvest the green beans and cook them for the kids!
This is the first time I have grown spider flowers (cleome). I found the the unique flowers at a local farm store.
I intentionally planted four spider flowers near the food plants so it could attract pollinators to the garden.
I wanted to add something different to the garden this year, and I think the spider flowers were a perfect addition. The magenta petals are so beautiful!
And the tickseed flowers have bloomed, too. I actually planted these seeds last summer, but the flowers never grew. So, this was a nice surprise!
I’m so excited because I finally have outdoor shelves for my herb plants! 😁🪴 Travis worked on building the shelves all weekend, even on Father’s Day.
He was so proud of his work that he snapped a picture of the shelves and said, “Now when I go to work and someone asks me what I did this weekend, I can show them I built garden shelves.” 😄
We’ve been finding more efficient ways to grow food in a small space. Growing vertically, like with our new herb plant shelves, makes it possible for us to grow a great variety of herbs without taking up a lot of ground space in our small patio garden.
Now when I am cooking and need herbs from the garden, I can just walk out on the patio and reach for the pot I need on the shelf.
I love my herb plant shelves! 😍 Travis did a great job building the shelves. I said, “Now that I know you know how to build shelves, I’m going to ask you to build more shelves all the time!” 🤣😁
These are the homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies Zaya (5) and I made together earlier this week.
These cookies are delicious! Trust me when I say—after you make these yummy treats, it will be hard to eat just one peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. 😋🍪
RECIPE: PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup chocolate chips, maybe? Lol (but tbh, I just poured in the desired amount of chocolate chips that I wanted 😅.)
BakingInstructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cream together softened butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on the baking sheet.
Use a fork to make the classic criss-cross pattern on top.
Bake 10 – 12 minutes, until edges are lightly golden.
Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before eating or putting the cookies in your desired cookie storage container.
This batch makes a small amount of cookies. So, I ended up making a second batch of cookie dough. That’s how much we love these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! 😍🍪
For the second batch of dough, I rolled it into about 1-inch balls and placed in a container. Then, I stored the dough in my refrigerator.
When you’re ready to make more cookies, if you want to make the classic criss-cross design on the dough, you’ll need to leave the dough out at room temperature for a few minutes so the dough can soften.
That way it’ll be easier to press the fork onto the top of the dough to make the criss-cross patterns.
Otherwise, the dough will just break apart if you don’t let it soften a bit first.
