back to school mad libs
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Back to School Mad Libs Round Up (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Hello, hello! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots here with you today. I’m always so excited to spend time here with Mariel and her readers! And I’m always so excited about this time of year. Fall (my favorite season) is on the way, back to school time is just around the corner, and this year it will mean baby boy number four in October for our family. So many fun things to look forward to.
I like to try and add a few new activities to our countdown each year, just to mix things up a bit for my boys. In July, our family took a big road trip from Utah to Arkansas. I packed up a ton of activities to keep my boys busy during the 23 hour (one way!) drive. And ya know what? The big book of Mad Libs was their favorite! It was mine too, actually. I love how my four-year-old already knows that a noun is a person place, or thing (thank you, Mad Libs). And we all get a kick out of how funny our stories turn out. My twins laugh and laugh and laugh over them!
So, I thought I’d see if I could round up a few back to school Mad Libs to add to our countdown this year. They are the perfect way to add a bit of light-hearted humor to what can be a kind of scary first day.

dealing with a bossy child

Dealing with a Bossy Child (she: Heather)

ByHeather

Happy August Everyone! It’s Heather from FamilyVolley.com. I’m excited to be here today to share some parenting tips to make things a little bit easier in your home. And although today’s post is geared toward toddlers, the parenting tips can be used when parenting kids of any age. When our oldest child was nearing 2, I clearly remember my mom telling me that the twos were terrific, not terrible. I have always been grateful for her counsel. I ignored all the people telling me “to brace myself for the terrible twos”, went into parenting a two year old with an open mind, and you know what, she was exactly right. Now, five kids later, two is one of my favorite ages. As much as I love all the toddler developments, there is something that comes with being two that isn’t terrific. Two year olds tend to be a little bossy. Toddlers in general seem to be a little bossy and want things their own way.

Educational Ruler Activity for Kids

Easy Educational Ruler Activity (she: Amy)

ByAmy Lee

Hi, it’s Amy from The Connection We Share. For a while, I’ve been wanting to teach Elle how to use a ruler to measure. Since this week’s blog hop is ruler themed, I thought it would be a perfect time to do that!

My goal for this invitation to play is to teach Elle to measure things with a ruler and practice writing numbers. I thought it would be fun for her to measure an object and write down its length on a Post It and let her stick it on the object.

Come check out this fun and easy project and… bonus! 7 other blog friends have come up with a ruler idea of their own, to celebrate Back-to-School!

fresh peach ice cream
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Fresh Peach Homemade Ice Cream (she: Jana)

ByJana

I LOVE living in Colorado!! Especially during harvest seasons. We have famous Olathe sweet corn, Rocky Ford Canteloupe, and my favorite….Palisade peaches! And it’s peach season right now in Colorado. I love a nice, big, juicy fresh peach better than just about anything.

Growing up when my parents would buy boxes of peaches to can, we would live on peaches and cream for breakfast until the peaches were all gone & canned. We’d cut up some peaches, pour a little milk or cream on top and sprinkle a little sugar. So divine! I always wished the peaches lasted longer!
If you’ve ever had peaches and cream for breakfast and loved it as much as I did, you’ll fall in love with this ice cream. It is “wish I had 5 gallons of it” good! And so easy…and a perfect summer time treat for the kids…and adults too…and did I mention delicious?

Blackberry & Banana Ice Cream
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Blackberry Banana Ice Cream … a Dairy-Free Summer Treat! (she: Gina)

ByGina Kleinworth

Happy August friends! It’s Gina from Kleinworth & Co. I’m back today to share a simple & tasty treat that my kids are absolutely LOVING. The heat is on & so we are finding all sorts of new ways too cool down & give the poor air conditioner a little break. This Blackberry Banana Ice Cream is definitely something that is gone just as fast as I can make it. But with it being just 3 simple ingredients & 100% dairy free – you can enjoy it any time of day with zero guilt.

book page wreath
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Back-to-School Book Page Wreath (she: Anne)

ByAnne

Hello again, it’s Anne from Circus Berry. I am here this fine Tuesday to bring you some new decor for your front door. With school starting up soon all over the country (sooner in some places than others…we don’t go back until after Labor Day here in WNY), I decided to deck out my front door with some back-to-school flair. I figured I would change it up a little bit before the real fall decor goes up! This book page wreath seemed like the perfect transitional piece from summer to fall in the meantime.

easy crepes
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Easy Crepes… whip them up in no time! (she: Maria)

ByMaria

Hello Everyone! This is Maria from Shopgirl coming over to share another recipe with you today! Crepes are one of my absolute favorite things to eat, both sweet and savory ones, so I’m super excited to share this recipe with you today! It takes a little bit of practice to learn how to make the perfect crepe (and the first one or two of every batch I make are never perfect!), but it’s a cooking skill well worth learning because they are so good, and so quick to whip up! All you need are a couple of ingredients whisked together, and a couple minutes to make the crepes! You can serve them sweet for a big breakfast or dessert, with some berries, ice-cream and whipped creme or with Nutella and bananas (one of my favorites!), or savory with a whole variety of fillings…. some of my favorites being spinach or mushroom

back to school printable
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Back to School Printable… “Good Luck!” (she: Holly)

ByHolly - Bits of Everything

Hi everyone! It’s Holly from Bits of Everything. I don’t know about you, but I can not believe that school is going to start so soon! This summer was just not long enough. I’m trying my best to get back in the school mode. One idea that I want to do this year is giving some ‘Good Luck’ gifts. I knew I wanted to give something useful, cute, and inexpensive. I made these back to school printables to go along with what I found.

Cherries and Cream Dessert Squares ~ So simple and delicious!
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Cherries and Cream Dessert Squares ~ No Bake!

ByMariel

I’ve been on a real cherry-kick lately! Mmmm…. I love how bold, flavorful, and summery they are. You know what else I love? An easy dessert. And, THIS recipe for Cherries and Cream Dessert Squares is exactly that. I’ve been trying to condense my cookbook cupboard. It’s totally overflowing and the shelves are about to fall. It’s hard to get rid of any cookbooks without skimming through each one for potential great recipes. I had this honkin Pillsbury cookbook, taking up more than it’s fair share of space. And, luckily I found this little gem and several more in there, before I let it go. I changed the amounts on several things to suit me. Like, I love an extra thick graham cracker crust, so… more crust. My cherries weren’t spreading across the whole pan, so more cherries. My bag of marshmallows overflowed into the bowl, so extra marshmallows. Things like that, but all good things! Oh, and the cherry on top? These things require no baking. Suh-weet!

Jana's Amazing Breadsticks
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Jana’s Amazing Breadsticks

ByMariel

I stole this recipe from my contributor, Jana. Okay, so not really. I asked permission. I had read about these amazing breadsticks in her post on the Contributor Blog Hop I did, where we got to know the different contributors here on OSSS. One of the questions I asked was for everyone to share their most requested recipe. (If you haven’t checked out the blog hop, you totally should. Great recipes and fun reads there!) Anyway, Jana’s answer was these breadsticks. Naturally, I had to try them, and they went perfect with the big spaghetti dinner we had last Sunday. The whole family LOVED them. And, I loved that they were so easy to make. You just press the flattened dough into a sheet pan and use a pizza cutter to cut the breadsticks into shape, no rising needed. So fast!

So, thank you to Jana, for letting me share her recipe on ‘Or so she says…’.

How to Never Miss a Day of Scripture Reading
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How to Never Miss a Day Reading Scriptures

ByMariel

Today’s post is all about something that up until last January, was super hard for me… consistent scripture reading. Whether you read The Bible or The Bible AND The Book of Mormon, or whatever else enriches your life, this can work for you.

Okay, so as a member of the Mormon church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), we are asked to actively STUDY the scriptures. And despite the fact that when I do, I learn a ton, I evaluate myself for short-comings, I find answers to prayers, and I feel inspired to be a better person… it’s still hard to make it a habit to read the scriptures every day. It’s been hard my whole life. I get too busy, too tired, too lazy, whatever. But, now I got it down, sista. I haven’t missed a day since January 1st and it’s all because of a simple little trick. The best thing ever.

Raspberry Lemon Bread
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Raspberry Lemon Bread with Glaze (she: Zainab)

ByZainab

Hello OSSS friends…it’s Zainab from Blahnik Baker here again to share with you a delicious, sweet, raspberry lemon bread recipe.
This raspberry lemon bread is made with white whole wheat flour and hazelnut flour. The nutty flavor and texture of hazelnuts are incredible with fresh raspberries. The amount of oil used is less than most recipes out there and this uses Greek yogurt for added moisture. This summer bread is everything a great sweet bread should be; so moist, crumbly and delicious. The lemon glaze to go with it is just the perfect added tang.