Friday Highlights 2016 V4

Happy Fri-Yay!
What a week we've had!
 Birthday celebrations started on Saturday and we loved on and spoiled our guy all week. It was great. Now the weekend is here and I am looking forward to getting in some family time, finishing up a few goals I had set for January *cough* procrastinator *cough* and getting a few things done around the house since I will be gone most of Sunday... more on that later.
{ONE} Blog Highlights
This week on the blog I shared about.

Our weekend recap

A recipe for peanut powder granola bites

Happy 36th birthday Russ

The Guy Behind The Blog: his & hers currently

{TWO} Teaching Together
This coming Thursday, February 5th, is another round of Teaching Together, a monthly education link-up. You are invited to join the fun and share about what you have been teaching lately.

You'll find great posts like these and more!

10 Way your toddler can help in the kitchen

Winter crafts

Teaching your preschooler to read

{THREE} IKEA Trip #2
Sunday oh Sunday! I am SO excited for Sunday and IKEA trip #2. I made my first trip in May and that was obviously way to long ago. This trip came a little more impulsively but when forced to make some changes to Marissa's room I thought I would be crazy to not update the space and make it more functional.
On my list of things to look at this time are curtains, some sort of shelves for Marissa room, decor items, picture frames, kitchen stuff and of course cinnamon rolls.

{FOUR} Happy Birthday

This week we celebrate Russ' 36th birthday and boy did we celebrate.

We went ahead and decided to purchase the car we looked at over the weekend. A two door 1955 Chevy. Of all the classic cars out there this one might just reign supreme. Russ has been saying he wants a 55 Chevy ever since I've know the guy. Finding this one and it arriving on his birthday was just too perfect. Plus he now has lost his ability to complain about how much money I spend at IKEA on Sunday ;). I hope to snap some more photos of the car soon and share them when I get a chance. 

{FIVE} Chocolates & Wine
Valentines Day is just around the corner and what say Valentines Day more than chocolate and wine? #ad #ASweetPairing

There are exciting things happening behind the scenes right now. This week I teamed up with Ghirardelli  chocolates and Josh Cellars wine to work on #ASweetPairing. The details are still being worked out, but I am excited to announce that you will have a chance to win one of TWO $75 American Express prepaid gift cards! Look for more details on this soon!

Friday Linkup Parties To see where I am linking up check out my link-up tab.
Have a great weekend!

We will see you back here soon.

The Guy Behind The Blog: Currently His & Hers Edition

He's back. 

First off thank you so much for all of the Birthday wishes yesterday.
We had so much fun celebrating our guy and spoiling him any chance that we could yesterday.

The Guy Behind The Blog has quickly became one of my favorite blog posts of the month. I am not sure if they really are that fun or if I just love watching him cringe as I ask him the questions.
I know, that's terrible but its kinda true.

This Saturday we were lucky enough to have a date night. My initial thoughts were PERFECT, we can knock this post out fast. I was kinda hoping he would keep the sighs and groans to a minimum if the interview was in a public place too.

This months questions are based on life "currently" To help him understand what I was looking for I decided to join him creating our first ever His & Hers currently post.

Don't get attached I am almost positive that this will never happen again.

P.S. The public idea didn't work either. He may not have caused a scene but he definitely let out his fair share of sighs and grumbles. 

Watching //

His: Football.... nah just kidding, Parks and Rec.

Hers: Parks and Rec with Russ. We never watched the series when it was NBC but we are loving it now. I have also been watching The British Baking Show or something like that with the girls on Netflix.

Reading //

His: My Table Talk magazine.

Hers: I recently started reading The Good News We Almost Forgot. It is a book on the Heidelberg Catechism that I borrowed from my MIL. 

Listening to //

His: Just the radio, (I ask him if there is anything specific) Nope. 

Hers: Pretty much the same I did hear THIS song while listening to Pandora the other day and it really spoke to my heart. 

Dreaming of //

His: This survey being over. *said with a smirk* or a 55 Chevy.
*Side note: days later that dream came true, see above photo.

Hers: Warmer weather, I am so over the cold. 

Eating //

His: Whatever my wonderful wife puts in front of my face.

Hers: Really bad foods this week thanks to Russ' birthday. Cheesecake and lasagna, how could I say no?!

Learning //

His: About what? (I tell him anything) Nope.

Hers: I don't really have anything either. 

Wishing //

His That this survey would be over. I wish the car (a 37 Ford he is building for me) was done

Hers: That we had won the Powerball... or even that it would just be warm. 

Obsessed with //

His: *Longest pause in the whole entire world* You!

Hers: Nothing out of the ordinary, taking pictures I suppose? 

Loving //

His: *Laughter* *More laughter* NO! Why would anyone ask someone that?!

Hers: My new slippers.

Planning //

His: Does a nap count?

Hers: A trip to IKEA!!! Can't even wait!

Linking up with Betsy for:

Don't forget about  the first ever The Kids Behind The Blog coming up on February 10th!

Mark your calendar and plan to join us.

What are you up to currently?

Happy Birthday Russ #36!

January 27th, the day we celebrate our favorite guy.
Happy Birthday Russ!
I swear it seems like just last week that I wrote THIS birthday post and snapped this photo as we celebrated #35 with his yearly birthday dinner of homemade lasagna and cheesecake. 

And now here we are a whole entire year later.  When I think back on a year I am filled with smiles and happy memories. 
For 9 years I have been celebrating this guys birthday. It all started with his 27th birthday. It was the year he dreaded, the one that left him feeling doomed to certain death. I am NOT exaggerating friends. I have never seen anyone get so worked up over a birthday like this guy did when he turned 27?!?!  ...and yet I still married him ;). 
Now here we are at #36. So much has happened over 9 years of life.  Marriage, kids, homes, jobs, cars, celebration, loss and more.
Back then

Now

Comparing these photos and thinking back on our life I know that things have gotten better with age. Every passing year we laugh a little more and my love for this guy grows as we (ever so gracefully) age and mature. I wouldn't trade what our life is like now for our 20's even if I could.    Russell Todd, I love growing old with you!
So here is to you, many more years together and the memories the next year will bring.
Happy Birthday! XOXOXO

Peanut Powder Granola Bites {Recipe}, Tuesday Talk V4

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #StartWithJifPowder #CollectiveBias

With the arrival of January and the end of the holiday season I set out to try to regain my focus. I needed to find focus in the gym and focus in the kitchen. I derailed a bit over the holidays and have since made countless confessions that I need to put down the cookies. Hello, my name is Beth and I have a sweet tooth. Buckling down and making better choices in the kitchen is never easy for me. I am always on the look out for something low in fat, high in protein and if it can satisfy my sweet tooth, it gets bonus points. It seemed like a nearly impossible task until I discovered Jif Peanut Powder and created these.

Recently when I was shopping at my local Walmart I stumbled across Jif  Peanut Powder. I am no stranger to peanut powder products and have used other brands in the past. What caught my eye about Jif was the price and even more so the ingredient label. Jif has one ingredient, fresh roasted peanuts. Other competitor brands add salt and/or sugar to theirs. I love how simple and pure Jif is. 

Jif Peanut Powder has the same nourishing protein as traditional peanut butter, but with 85% less fat! 85%, that is amazing! So often I skip out on peanut butter because the fat content but with Jif Peanut Powder I don't have to give up one of my favorite flavors any more. Smoothies, baking, breakfast, dips and more.

This powder can do it all with less calories and sugar. 

Did I fail to mention it also comes in chocolate?

The chocolate contains semi-sweet chocolate and a dash of sugar. It is perfect for those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth, like me! I can't wait to mix some into my Greek yogurt. How amazing would that be?!

I could continue on about how much I love this product. About how it is helping me to meet the goals I set in the kitchen, is a Newman kitchen staple and how good it is but let's talk more about my Peanut Powder Granola Bites.

They are easy to make, easy to grab, a great source of protein and energy and the kids love them!

print recipe

Peanut Powder Granola Bites

by Beth Newman January-26-2016

A simple no bake granola bite recipe featuring Jif Peanut Powder

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Jif Peanut Powder
• 1/3 Cup Water
• 2 Cups Quick Oats
• 1 Cup Rice Cereal
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 1/4 Cup Dates
• 2 Tablespoons Almond Slivers
• 2 Tablespoons Mini Chocolate Chips
• 2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
• As needed Extra Honey
• As needed Peanut Butter

Instructions

1) Mix the Jif Peanut Powder with the water.

2) Pour the oats, cereal, salt, honey, dates and peanut powder mixture together in a bowl. Stir until combined.

3) Add in the almonds, mini chips and coconut and mix together.

4) Check the mixture for consistency. The dough should be a bit dry and crumbly but it should easily hold it's shape. If needed you can add in more honey, more peanut powder mixture, or peanut butter to get the desired consistency and flavor.

5) Form dough into bite sized portions and roll into balls or flatten a bit into patties.

6) Enjoy as is or drizzle with melted chocolate.

Yield: 2 Dozen

#StartWithJifPowder

When you feel like there is so much you are giving up in the kitchen while trying to make better choices, it is so great to find a delicious & nutritious product like Jif Peanut Powder.

How would you use Jif Peanut Powder?

Now it's your turn to link up for this weeks Tuesday Talk!
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Weekend Recap: Getting Back To Normal

Happy Monday Friends!
It's been a long time since I have put together a weekend recap post. But, if I am being totally honest there usually isn't to much to recap about ;). Our weekends around here are usually fairly uneventful and I think that is pretty fantastic honestly. However, this weekend was a tiny bit more exciting than normal.
Friday
Friday was co-op, and the beginning of getting back to normal. After almost a month of the house being completely shuffled, Marissa's room was finally finished and we moved her back in!   

SO excited to be putting her room back together.

This weeks chalkboard.

Since Russ came home early and we worked REALLY hard to get some things done we had enough time to squeeze in a movie night. It was so nice to relax together after so much craziness lately. 

Saturday

Saturday I tried out a new muffin recipe. It claimed to be the best blueberry muffins ever, not so much. Good try but I'll stick to my usual recipe. I should really share that recipe sometime. 

Marissa worked on this art project for hours.

I made a Hobby Lobby run and picked up this banner for $3!

Then I squeezed in some time to work on the blog. So here is a photo of me working on this blog post, in this blog post. That's never happened before.

The girls played outside.

And Russ and I enjoyed a MUCH needed date night.
We grabbed a bite to eat and took a walk around Kohls before getting home around 9:30 to watch some T.V. I have never felt so lame, but I could honestly care less. It was wonderful!

Sunday

Sunday was church.

Sillies.

Listening to Emily sing. I am fairly positive she will star on Broadway someday.

Life is one giant musical for this girl.

Russ took the 37 to have glass put in it. He actually drove it onto the trailer which was really cool to watch.
Then we took a little drive to the middle of no where so we could take a look at this.


Did you actually think I would show you the full picture? I have to leave that a mystery for a while... or at least until we decide if we are going to buy it.

An afternoon coffee.

Screen time. 

And I nearly forgot! Here is a sneak peek at the bedroom redo. If you didn't know what happened, you would never know. Russ did an amazing job!
It is pretty bare bones in her room right now. I decided that I would be crazy to hang anything up before making an IKEA run next weekend! I'll make sure to post some better photos after that trip.

And that was our weekend!

Now it is the always dreaded Monday :(. But we have a lot of preparations to distract us while we get ready for Russ' birthday later this week!
How was your weekend?