Counting Down!

I am official counting down to m BIG summer trip to my hometown on the coast of Maine! I am so excited & anxious all at once >.< I am soooooo happy to be going to see my family & friends but I'm always a bit anxious when I am away from the Hubs. He is definitely the glue that keeps our family together and I'm not gonna lie...the kids really only listen to him,lol! This will be our 3rd summer trip there without him though so hopefully things will go smoothly now that the kids are another year older. I do get to see him on the ride up there though as he is dropping us off ^^ My brother in-law is flying in first thing tomorrow morning and he will be going with us on our road trip as well! Fun times!

I can't believe it myself but I have the kids all packed....that like, never ever happens this far in advance.  I'd like to give a shout out to space bags to-go cause they were a life saver in this process. I packed 7 outfits each since I will have access to washer & dryer and I don't want to bring a million things like I normally do. I think I brought their whole closet last year...no kidding! We will be there a couple of weeks (or possibly even a month!?) so I think we will be OK with the clothes situation...and I have been told not to being any toys or activities as my Mom and Grandma have some waiting...yay, less to pack! My personal packing is another story....such a nightmare! I think that won't be all packed until the night we leave ^^

Anyways, I just wanted to give a quick update and let you know I am still here! I will be busy until we leave on Saturday night so I probably won't be updating until next week once we get settled into my Mom's place. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and your weekends. Sending lots of love and hugs to you all ❤


p.s., I have lost another 5 lbs this past week and i am so excited! I am down over 40lbs since last year (33.3 lbs since April). I am not getting too attached to the recent 5lb loss since I am going on vacation and I will not have my treadmill...but I will do my best not to go too crazy *crossing fingers* 

{Recipe} 계란말이 Gaeran Mari - Korean Stuffed Omelette

One of our favorite side dishes is Gaeran Mari (계란말이), which is a Korean stuffed omelette. It is very similar to Tamagoyaki, which is a sweet Japanese rolled omelette but ingredients and technique is just a little bit different...both are perfect in any Bento though! We do love them both but I usually make this one more often as the kids love the gim (seaweed/nori) and veggies. 

The ingredients are very simple and you probably have everything you need right in your cupboards (ok, maybe not the seaweed ^^). With Gaeran Mari you can make it without the seaweed and also add any veggies you like...you even add a little bit of diced ham if you'd like!

Today, these are the ingredients I used:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup frozen veggies
• 1 sheet of gim (seaweed)
• 1/2 tsp of minced onion 
• 1 teaspoon of lite soy sauce
• olive oil to grease the pan (you can also use cooking spray)

Preparation:

1. Whisk your egg, then add the soy sauce, onion and veggies until well combined. (I cook and slightly mash the frozen veggies ahead of time).
   
2. In a lightly greased saute pan, pour egg mixture and heat slowly over low heat.
   
3. Wait until the egg is almost cooked through, then place seaweed sheet on top of the omelette.
   
4. Roll the omelette gradually into a tight roll by lifting side with spatula or chopsticks. Let it cook a few seconds longer after the omellete is rolled to seal it up good.
   
5. Transfer your omelette carefully onto a plate then let it rest for a few minutes to cool. I usually tightly wrap a paper towel around it to soak up any excess oil and to firmly hold it's shape while it's cooling. 
6. Once the omelette is firm and cool, slice into 1/2-1 inch pieces depending on your preference (you don't want to slice too thinly or it will fall apart when slicing). 

We usually serve our Gaeran Mari with rice but today the kids had theirs with some noodles! Yummy :)

Confessions of a Drama Queen

We got a mini-van! I am uber excited because we will be taking it on our big road trip to Maine in a couple of weeks and now we can ride comfortably instead of squeezing into our car (my brother in law is coming too!). Aside from the horror ride coming back from picking it up, I am really happy about it...and they kids are too as you can see ^^

Now, I will let you in on a little secret that only my close friends know about me. I am afraid of driving....like REALLY really afraid. I didn't get my license until I was 27 and after that I only drove around our little island  in Maine and surrounding towns. If I did drive on road trips I was with girl friends and it was way less frightening. Since I have moved from my hometown about 5 years ago, I have only driven a 4-6 mile radius from my house...luckily we are close by to malls and shops. So anyways, yesterday my Hubs called me and told me we would be driving to Virginia to pick up the new van and that I had to drive our car home....alone. I immediately felt nauseous. I was even more nervous at the fact that I would be driving so far through big cities at night since I am supposed to wear glasses due to my night blindness and I lost those years ago. On the way out there I guilted my Hubs into stopping to buy me an XL Hazelnut coffee for my ride back....I knew I probably would not have made it without my DD super powers of course! So with my ipod playlist loaded with Kpop & Jeff Buckley and with my coffee in hand I was off! All I remember is the van tail lights as I followed the Hubs and the ride taking FOR.EV.ER @.@ (and by forever I mean a little over an hour), the rest of it is just a big blur.We drove through Fairfax, D.C., and into Maryland off the highway cause the 6 lanes would've given me a sure heart attack. Looking back on it though, it probably would've been the smarter and quicker choice. I did learn something about myself from this venture though and that is, I will NEVER be a city girl. I will enjoy my new mini-van while driving it around my comfort zone in my area or on our family road trips with the Hubs driving and I am 100% OK with that :) 

Just Dance

This is what we have been up to these past few days....

We got Just Dance Kids 2 for the Wii and it has been a bit of an obsession for all of us :) I love watching the kids getting into the songs and dances ♥ This is the perfect thing for the kiddo's on days it's either too hot or too rainy to go outside and they can use up some of that energy! I also love that they include songs from kids shows that they recognize as well as some classics like Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes and The Hokey Pokey ....I could do without Justin Bieber though >.<

You can find Just Dance Kids 2 at your local Best Buy store or online at Amazon.com
 (it's also available for Playstation 3 & Xbox)! 

Here is the full song list::

1. Accidentally in Love - Counting Crows
2. Alright - David Choi
3. Are You Sleeping - The Just Dance Kids
4. Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
5. Burning Up - Jonas Brothers
6. Crocodile Rock - Elton John featuring Nelly Furtado
7. Despicable Me - Pharrell Williams
8. Dumb Love - Sean Kingston
9. Itsy Bitsy Spider - The Just Dance Kids
10. Feeling Good - Michael Bublé
11. Five Little Monkeys - The Just Dance Kids
12. Follow The Leader - The Wiggles
13. Girls Can Too - The Just Dance Kids
14. On Our Way - The Just Dance Kids
15. Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes - Nadia Gifford
16. Hold Still - Yo Gabba Gabba!
17. I’m A Gummy Bear (The Gummy Bear Song) - Gummibär
18. I’m Gonna Catch You - Laurie Berkner
19. Intuition - Selena Gomez & the Scene
20. Istanbul - The Four Lads
21. Jingle Bells - The Just Dance Kids
22. Jump Up! - Imagination Movers
23. Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
24. Lollipop - The Chordettes
25. Love Me - Justin Bieber
26. Mah Nà Mah Nà - The Just Dance Kids
27. Party Goes Down - The Just Dance Kids
28. Positivity - Ashley Tisdale
29. Rocketeer - Far East Movement
30. Shake Your Groove Thing - Peaches & Herb
31. Something That I Want - Grace Potter
32. Song 2 - Blur
33. Start All Over - Miley Cyrus
34. Summer School - Twirl
35. The Hokey Pokey - The Just Dance Kids
36. The Lion Sleeps - Tonight The Evening Birds
37. The Robot Song - Yo Gabba Gabba!
38. The Shimmie Shake! - The Wiggles
39. Hand In Hand - The Just Dance Kids
40. Whip My Hair – Willow Smith

Pantry Cleaning Day! ....Woo....Hoo

Today on my "to do" list was cleaning out & organizing our teeny tiny little kitchen pantry...ahhh, who am I kidding, it's BEEN on my to do list for weeks >.< 


Our previous rental had a full on walk-in pantry, so adjusting to life with this little closet was/is pretty difficult. We found it more important to store the cleaning supplies then food in this pantry as a safety precaution for the kids....but it quickly turned into that closet you just keep stuffing things into and then can't find what you're looking for. 


Now, I did "kinda sorta" plan ahead and saved a bunch of our baby spinach containers from Sam's Club...you know the ones I'm talking about (see below)

img via  http://itzlinz.com

These containers were perfect for storing the sponges, cleaners, flashlights and batteries in so they weren't just falling all over the place on the wire shelves...I can't tell you how many times a cleaning bottle or flashlight would jump out at me on a daily basis. The best part about them is they are free and recycled, so think twice next time you go to throw out your spinach containers!

Here are my before and after pics of my pantry....nothing super fancy but I am happy with it! Now, I wonder how long it will stay this way??? ^^

Summer Freebies @ Budget Savvy Diva

I wanted to take a minute to share one of my favorite sites, Budget Savvy Diva ♥. This site has the most up to date list of really fab freebies and you can easily follow her updates on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter to make sure that you never miss out on a great deal. She also features recipes, crafts, coupons, and other easy ways to save! You can find Budget Savvy Diva's website @ http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com .

Here are just some of the awesome freebies I have been able to snag so far this summer (some are not pictured because I already used them ^^). My faves thus far have to be the Target Beauty Bag, the Keurig tumbler for Iced Coffee and the free K-cups from Tully's ♥ ...my Hubs fave would probably be the Breathe Right strips for me >.<

While most of these freebies are no longer live, there are still plenty of great freebies posted daily, so don't miss out!

Summer Chaos

Summer is getting the best of me these days and my poor blog has been suffering ....so sorry for the lack of updates >.<  We have been really busy these days and it will only get busier as our big Maine trip is coming up! I am so excited to go back home and spend some quality time with family & friends though ♥. I've already decided I will not be going on hiatus, just posting here and there when I get a chance....hopefully over coffee...on the deck...looking out over the beautiful ocean ^^ 

So in the meantime, please forgive me...I promise I am not abandoning my blog, I am just  REALLY bad at multi-tasking (gotta work on that). 

As for our weekend, we were busy being lazy and recovering from our trip last weekend and our day of house hunting on Wednesday...although we did manage to get out for dinner last night to Joe's Crab Shack at Washingtonian Center ^^ 

How was your weekend????