A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

Sauteed Corn and Black Bean Salad

I’m a compulsive recipe collector but sometimes the ideas I clip from magazines or spot online languish forever in The Recipe File. But as soon as I saw this recipe for Sauteed Corn and Black Bean Salad on Say Yes to Hoboken, I knew I’d be eating it soon. Like for lunch that day.

I’ve made it several times already because it’s so simple and summery and we always seem to have leftover corn-on-the-cob lying around. I’ve enjoyed it as a main dish, but I think it’d be a great side to bring to a BBQ, especially because it tastes just as good at room temperature. But beware: you’ll probably want to eat it all yourself.

Do you like cilantro? For me it really depends. It has such a strong flavor it can overwhelm some things, but I think it makes this dish.

Weekend Links

I hadn’t been over to the Purl Bee to see what’s new in ages, so I hopped over to get some summery inspiration and came across this Tiny Triangle Dress. Isn’t it sweet? The dress is made out of Liberty of London Tana Lawn and is sized to fit a three-month-old. Although I’m sure that clever tailors could alter the dimensions to create different sizes.

I subbed at school today and got to play softball in the annual Staff vs. 5th Grade game. Very fun, but bittersweet because it’s another reminder that Lexie and her friends are moving on to Middle School. They’re all very excited about it, but ouch. You know?

Do you have plans for the weekend? It’s an All-Singing, All-Dancing Birthday Fest this weekend, starting tonight. So I’ve got to catch a second wind and get cleaned up for an evening out with the girls to celebrate one of the dearest people I know. It’s a gorgeous night, so the plan is to sit out on the dock and watch the boats go by.

While I contemplate the wisdom of another cup of coffee this time of day, here are some fun links for you:

I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend. Please come back next week for some fun Father’s Day Gift Ideas.

 

Kids Activity / Duct Tape Castle Tutorial

Oh, lordy, would you look at this? It’s an Interlocking Cardboard Castle made with cardboard and duct tape! I love projects like this that don’t cost a lot but can keep kids busy for an entire day…or even longer if you’re lucky.

This project was created by Merrilee of the blog mermag. Merrilee and her kids made a castle, but you could customize the project to fit your child’s interests. A museum, or a zoo, or Hogwarts, or outer space, or a little town with a flower shop, a corner cafe, a patisserie, a bookstore (okay, that last one might be for me). You could make it as big or as small as you’d like. And when the kids (or you) are done playing with it, wouldn’t it look nice sitting on a table or shelf?

You’ll find Marilee’s step-by-step tutorial and free templates here.

Spotted at lmnop.

Movie Night Invitations

For the past few years, we’ve celebrated the last day of school by gathering with friends and neighbors at a nearby drive-in theater to celebrate the last day of school. So I was happy to see this free printable invitation at Oh Happy Day. It’s perfect!

Jordan has promised to share more great ideas for throwing your own Movie Night, so be sure to visit her blog soon.

I’m thinking about making these Fruit Roll-Up Diplomas, or maybe even these, to hand out to the kids that night. I’ll have to wait and see what kind of week I’m having before I get too carried away…

 

Graduation Ideas / Fruit Roll-Up Diplomas

{ image by Aimée Lowry and Bettijo B. Hirschi }

Do you celebrate graduations? Looking back over my childhood, I remember a big picnic and awards ceremony at the end of sixth grade, a special church ceremony for eighth grade graduation (I went to parochial school for middle school and high school), and, of course, a big ceremony and open houses for high school graduation. For my kids, the big graduation events have taken place after preschool and kindergarten, and then really nothing else until high school graduation.

If you have a little one graduating from preschool or kindergarten, you might like these graduation party ideas from One Charming Party. And, really, your older kids might get a kick out of these “diplomas,” too. I mean, who doesn’t like a fruit roll-up? You can go here for a more generic free printable for graduates of any age.

I think it would be fun to print out one of the signs to hang on the door to greet the kids when they come home from school on the last day. You could then present each child with a diploma while recounting some of their finest moments from the school year. And then send them outside to run off all the sugar!