Summer Pizza

It's summer, and we are enjoying the fruits of our labor in the garden. Our garden is doing great this year, we planted about 3x as much as last year, and (surprise, surprise) it's 3x as much work. But we are having a great time watching the garden grow, teaching our 4 yr old about growing our own food, and teaching our 1 yr old NOT to pick yet (after loosing many a green tomato first.) So far we have eaten lots of beans, peas, carrots, and the occasional tomato. And, the squash. Oh, the squash, it is good. As each week goes by, we get to eat more and more (we almost have a fully grown cauliflower!)

This is the first year we have planted round squash; the first time we picked one, I didn't know what to do. But, in the wise words of my friend Joni, "when all else fails... grill". So, grill it was, and we loved it. We started brainstorming the many things we could do with this lovely round squash, and so was born, the Summer Pizza.

Ingredients

1 Round Squash

Olive Oil

Italian Spices

Pizza Sauce or Pasta Sauce

Cheese

Anything else you top pizzas with (we topped ours with canadian bacon, pineapple, olives and tomatoes)

Step 1: Cut the squash into thick slices and rub Olive Oil on them. Sprinkle with Itialian Spices, then put on a medium hot grill

Step 2: Flip. Cook for a few minutes (depending on how done you like it) and then spread on the sauce

Step 3: Cheese-a-fy

Step 4: Meat-a-fy

Step 5: Add toppings

Step 6: Enjoy!



Kids loved it, but adults loved it more. Great summer meal!

The Many Uses of a Mitt ID

We like multi-tasking. I mean, who doesn’t, right? So, we like our products to multi-task too… we expect a lot of out them, you see. So, when baseball season winds down, we want our Mitt IDs, who have been trusty sidekicks through the spring and summer, to keep on working for you. So, today, we present to you their many other uses in your life.

1. Luggage Identifiers. Instead of tying on an old ribbon, attach your Mitt ID to your luggage handle to easily identify it at the airport.
2. Napkin Ring. Who doesn’t love a cute little napkin ring? Also works well in lunch boxes and on picnics to keep silverware together with your napkin.
3. Wine Drip Catchers. A use for moms too! Wrap around your wine to catch the drips, or wrap it around for cute little packaging when bringing wine as a gift.
4. Key Keeper. We can think of tons of ways that our Mitt IDs can be a key keeper. I use it to keep my keys attached in a certain spot so I don’t have to search through the abyss that is my purse when trying to get out the door.
5. Shoe Keeper Together-er. Works at home, at a bouncy house, at the playground… anywhere that shoes are off and need to be kept together. I have had countless mornings searching for the match for my 4 yr old’s shoes, and now, no more.
6. Tennis Racquet ID. Mitt IDs love sports, so keep it in it’s realm and use it to ID your tennis raquet!

I'm sure you can think of many more, send us pics of your creative uses of your Mitt ID and we'll post them!

the climber, the explorer, the candlestick... eater?

We are moms of boys. I am a mom of 2 boys, and Amy is almost a mom of 2 boys (baby boy #2 will be here in a week!) I never really liked the “boys will be boys” expression because I thought it was more “kids will be kids”, you know? Kids will find fun in everything, and it is my job as their mom to help them play and learn and learn while playing and play while learning. But, now that my BABY is ONE I’m seeing more and more where that expression came from. In the past week, he has learned to unbuckle his carseat while driving, climb on the stool and turn on the bathroom sink, climb into the bathtub and turn on the water, open the fridge and open bottles of sauce/salad dressing with his teeth, and climb up the shelves in the pantry. Oh yeah, and spray the sunblock. From a toddler point of view, all of these things must be AWESOME and he is probably so proud of himself for learning these… but as a mom? As a mom, it means I have no downtime, like, none. And, I have to find the line that I want to walk between keeping him safe and letting him be an explorer kid teaching himself new things and discovering new ways to do things, and being independent. One of my focuses as a mom is letting my kids make their own decisions when appropriate, but with baby #2, this has become increasingly hard…. I am trying not to suggest things that could hinder his discovery, but climbing the pantry? Danger. Eating sunblock? Danger. Eating A-1 sauce, yeah, ok, I’m fine with that. Turning on the bathtub water? Danger. Carrying around a tube of gutter glue? No (and where did he even find that?) I think his first sentence might be “J, are you kidding me?” He is the most curious little boy I have ever met, I love him dearly, and I’m learning from him just as much as he’s learning from me (when he’s not ignoring me.) He’s on the loose, watch out Beaverton. Wish me luck!

b