A glimpse of what we’ve been up to this week!

A while back, I’d bought a couple pairs of new undies online and I absolutely LOVED them.  I searched in stores and online, and the only place I could find them was on Ebay and I feel weird about buying underwear on Ebay.  I found several places that sold the brand, but they didn’t carry the style I adored.  I also found some that looked JUST like them and bought them, only to have them be no where near as comfortable.  I have been waiting not so patiently for Zulily to offer them again, with no luck.

Today, I started asking around and a friend in a Facebook group said she thought she saw the brand at her Ross.  I had to run to Target today anyway, and our Ross is in the same plaza, so I figured I’d run in and check.  And SCORE!  I found 10 pairs in my size, and bought them all!  I am so excited- I can finally throw away some of my old pairs that I’ve had forever!

While we were at Ross, I handed Lili a pair of super high heels to try on.  She is always asking for heels, and in that same Facebook group we were recently discussing little girls and high heeled shoes.  I thought it would be funny to snap a photo of Lili wearing them and jokingly post it in the group asking them if they were appropriate for fourth grade.

I helped her put them on and as I was backing up to take her photo, the sales lady at the jewelry counter right near the shoe aisle yells over to Lili.

LITTLE GIRLS SHOULD NOT TRY ON THE HEELS BECAUSE GOD FORBID YOU FALL AND TWIST YOUR ANKLE!  YOU’LL BE SORRY FOR LIFE!

Now I agree that little girls shouldn’t be wearing high heels.  However, I am her mother, and I was right there and I handed them to her.  I am the customer.  What if I was buying them for her for whatever reason?   If I want my own kid to try on a pair of shoes, it’s my business, not the sales lady’s- right?

She scared the heck out of Lili who kicked them off and put them back and came running over to me, all of 3 feet away, and I wasn’t able to snap a full body shot like I’d planned.  All I got was the one here.  Boo!  She sure spoiled our fun.

But at least I got new underwear!

If there’s one thing we always have on hand at our house, it’s bars.  Granola bars, cereal bars, breakfast bars.  The kids love them and I love that they aren’t messy and that I can just throw them in my purse or the diaper bag for when they want something quick while we’re out.  They are perfect for on the go!

The Fiber One Chewy Bars are available in chocolate and Strawberry PB&J.  I definitely prefer buying my kids non-chocolate things for their snacks, so I’m happy to see these are available in one of their favorite flavors.

Some info:  They contain 20% of the daily value of fiber and 10% of the daily value of calcium.  These 100 or 110 calorie bars contain no high fructose corn syrup, and only 7 or 8 grams of sugar.

And something really cool:  These bars are so new that the final packaging has yet to be produced, so in order to offer a true sneak peek, we will be sending plain sample boxes in your gift packs!   Mine arrived in plain white boxes!  Soon they will feature the added bonus of Box Tops for Education on-pack, truly making Fiber One Chewy bars an ideal snack for school-aged children.

My awesome Fiber One Chewy Gift Pack contained one  box of Fiber One Chewy Chocolate Bars, one box of the Fiber One Chewy Strawberry PB&J Bars, a Drawstring Sack Pack, a Water Bottle, a Flexi Flyer, a Soccer Ball and Sidewalk Chalk.  It’s a great way to start the summer right!

Would you like to receive the same gift pack that I did?  Just leave a comment on this post telling me what your summer plans are to stay active by June 14th.  Winner will be drawn June 15th.  US only please!

The product, gift pack, information, and additional sample have all been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Summer plans always kick us right in the wallet.  We always travel to NY to spend time with family, and the drive there and back can get pricey- gas, hotel, food.  Then when we’re up there, the kids want to do all sorts of fun stuff.   And of course, we have to feed them the whole time too!  We try to set aside money for the summer each year, but I always worry.

Right now, we don’t own any credit cards aside from the military one and a debit with a MasterCard logo that’s attached to our checking account.  If any emergencies were to arise, we’d be in big trouble financially.  I think a good option for us would be to apply for the lowest rate credit card we can find to keep on hand.

If money were no object, there are so many things I’d love to do with the kids this summer.  But theme parks, carnivals, even movies all cost an arm and a leg when you have seven kids.  Luckily, my medium sized and little kids are content doing simple things such as splashing in water at the stream.  And the big ones are fine as long as they have their cell phones or internet access. (Don’t know where they get that from!)

Dirty Dylan last summer at the park in NY

In lieu of winning the lottery, I suppose it is time to start  making free and cheap plans for our summer vacation.  And perhaps as soon as we’re home we can start instituting some of money management tips so that we have a decent amount put away for next year!

Do you have any big summer plans?  What about some tips for things to do that are fun and free?

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On Pinterest, there are a bazillion posts abut fun creative things to do with Mason  jars.   I was so inspired by them, I went and used some of my Amazon credit to order a case of them.  And now I have 12 Mason jars just sitting on my counter.

But perhaps you’re more ambitious than I am- so I will share the pins that caught my eye with you.

Which ones do you like? What do you think would be the best use for my dozen jars?

As always, all the Pinterest images above are linked back to where I found them.

- I checked an old email address the other night on a whim. I had 1500 emails, the majority spam. But a few were for Zulily credit, score! And several were from my mom. MA! Use one of my gmail emails, OK? Thanks!

- I went to the 7 Day Store on the main base to grab some veggies for dinner.  We needed something, and I figured since they have like half a dozen freezers they’d have frozen green beans or corn or something.  I wasn’t expecting fresh because it is a convenience store, but you’d think in all the rows of various frozen pizzas and dinners they’d throw in something go for you in there.   So I decided to settle for cans, and after walking up and down several aisles full of crackers, chips, energy bars and microwavable stews, I found two lone, dusty cans of green beans on the bottom shelf.  It’s pretty sad that those were the only vegetables available to the marines there, yet you can buy every brand of beer known to man- and get it cold or room temperature.

- I Veeted my legs today (another sure sign of summer!) and I can’t get the smell of it off of my hands.  It’s making me nauseous.

- The boys have been playing with ‘yegos’ all day, asking us to make planes.  They’ve been so immersed in their Lego play that when they girls went outside to play, the two of them opted to stay in and continue to build stuff.

- I can’t believe there are only seven days of school left.  I really need to nail down my summer plans, but I’m missing input from some key players so I can’t do it yet.  So far the only definite is BlogHer during the first week of August!  Can’t wait!

- I saw this cute video of a girl dancing with her father at her bat mitzvah and I thought it was the sweetest thing EVER.  I told Aaron he’s got 6 years to start choreographing and practicing for Lili’s Sweet 16…

Saturday night, after a long day of playing outside, we were all craving something sweet.  The kids were dirty from head to toe.  They had messy, sunkissed faces.  And Aaron decided it was the perfect time to bring out the fire pit and make some s’mores!

Ryan wedged his little chair under the side of the grill, and Mia decided she would sit on the step stool.  The fire took forever to start properly.  We were a menagerie of disorganization as always- but we all had a blast!!

Dylan waiting patiently for the fire to get going.

Lili deep in concentration, cooking her marshmallow.

Dylan decides he can't wait and eats an uncooked marshmallow.

Ryan blows on his s'more to cool it off.

Mia prefers hers well done.

Om nom nom!

What do you mean, three is enough for a little boy?

If you ask my kids what vegetable they want with dinner, the answer you’ll receive is a unanimous ‘CORN ON THE COB!’.  They all love it, and I love that it’s currently in season!  The other day, I picked up 8 ears of corn for $2 at the commissary!

The other night, the kids were playing outside until dark, and when they finally came in, they were exhausted and starving!  As the kids got cleaned up,  Aaron and I scrounged around for something quick and easy to make for them.   We figured we’d grill the corn & some cheddarwurst that we had.

Do you guys grill your corn?  It’s so easy.  We soak it for about 15 minutes with the husks on, and then just toss it on the grill with the other food.  It steams itself  in just 15 minutes!  If that’s not your style, check out these great Sweet Corn Recipes!

Sunshine Sweet Corn is available year round- you don’t have to wait until summer for delicious fresh corn on the cob- go grab some now!  Florida produces more fresh sweet corn than any other state in the country. Farmers plant a larger crop during the fall and winter, offering consumers the opportunity to eat corn on the cob year round – with the peak season in the spring.

If you or maybe your kids don’t like corn when it’s on the cob, because of the mess or whatever, you can check out this quick video teaching you how to easily cut it off the cob!  That way it’s much neater to eat.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Sunshine Sweet Corn. I was reimbursed to purchase Sweet Corn and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

I like reality TV.  There, I admitted it.  I just recently discovered a new show to add to my DVR schedule- A&E’s Monster In-Laws.  The description sucked me right in:

Each episode features a different family in dire straits; one spouse is at their wit’s end, caught in the middle between their loudmouth relatives and the person they married. Using tough love and unconventional tactics, seasoned relationship experts bring everyone under one roof and force them to uncover the deeper issues that lay beneath the constant fighting. Relationship expert and former criminal lawyer Mel Robbins returns this season along with life-coach and advice columnist Laura Baron. They’re sent in to mediate between family members but often, they find themselves in the worst of the crossfire.

Did you happen to catch the first season?  I totally missed it- and I’m rather sad about that.  Fortunately I can catch up and watch them online at http://www.aetv.com/monster-in-laws !  There’s also a sneak peek trailer for the season premiere- which airs on Monday, May 28th at 10 & 10:30PM ET/PT.

Are you also a sucker for reality TV?  Have you watched A&E’s Monster In-Laws?  What did you think?  Will you be watching season 2?

Insta-Friday’s are pretty much my favorite meme right now.