4th of July

Happy 4th Friends!

July 4, 2011 By teresak 2 Comments

What do you do on the 4th of July? I watched part of a segment on a talk show and the hostess was showing creative ways to decorate for your 4th of July party. I couldn’t help but wonder (A) who has time for such elaborate displays (except Martha Stewart) and (B) who can afford all those decorations? These days the average person does well to buy a Christmas tree.

One thing they did talk about on the show was potato salad. Yum. I’ve had many different variations over the years and here are a couple of my favorites.

Ingredients

16 pounds baking potatoes, peeled, cooked and cubed
32 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 pounds sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
16 green onions, thinly sliced
4 cups Miracle Whip
4 cups (32 ounces) sour cream
1 cup prepared horseradish
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons pepper

Directions

Toss potatoes, eggs, bacon and onions. Combine remaining ingredients; mix until smooth. Toss with potato mixture. Chill several hours. Yield: 60-70 servings.

This one was named a prize winner by Emirel on Good Morning America.

Ingredients:
8 large red potatoes

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 lb. bacon

1 large white onion, chopped

2 c. mayonnaise

1 c. sour cream

3 tbsp. milk

2 ½ c. shredded lettuce

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 c. Shredded cheddar cheese

1. Wash and boil potatoes until tender. Let cool.
2. Chop and cook bacon and onion together, until bacon is crispy. Drain grease into a bowl and reserve.
3. In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, sour cream, bacon drippings and milk. In a large bowl, combine potato, eggs, and the onion-bacon mixture. Add mayo mixture to potato mixture and toss. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
4. Served topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.

NOTING FANCY BUT FUN!

We grilled hotdogs and hamburgers at the blueberry farm on Saturday night. We didn’t have fancy decorations and I confess, the potato salad came from Krogers but you don’t have to spend a fortune to have fun. The blueberry farm is right across the road from the community park and they had a great fireworks show. I tried to make pictures for you but it was too dark and I am not a very good photographer. I will share two photos that were decent.

I wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July (plus a heap of good potato salad) and to all our service men and women, I say “thank you” for what you do! We love you and pray for your safety!

Filed Under: Family, Friends Tagged With: 4th of July

Friday Fun Links – 4th of July Edition

July 1, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

Hey, hey… it’s almost the 4th of July! And around NanaHood this weekend, we’re having one BIG BASH of a time! Teresa has slashed prices in the NanaHood shop by $4.00 (for everything in the shop!), and I have a bunch of fun red, white, and blue themed links for you today.

So, let’s get started with some patriotic fun:

Definitely check out the NanaHood shop for the big sale… because what’s more American than a holiday sale?
Jennifer of Adventures in McQuill-land wrote a fun piece over at the HomeSchool Classroom about a new family tradition – making 4th of July t-shirts. You have to check this one out! AND here is a post she wrote just last night about their 2010 T-shirts!
My family is heading to San Diego for the holiday weekend (HALLELUJAH, it’s COOL there!), so I needed a few car activities for the kids. I found THIS and THIS and THIS
And even though it’s summertime, I’m still a homeschooling mom, so I downloaded and printed off this patriotic activity book for the kids to put together and work on.
Martha has been talking ALL week about how we are going to “Diego, but NOT the person” (because, she’s three, so the only Diego SHE knows is Diego from Nick Jr.). I really do think she still expects to SEE Diego the person…in San Diego. So, how funny is it that I found this adorable fan craft for the 4th of July? I’m sorely tempted to make it for her, and REALLY confuse my child.
And I couldn’t help but link up to a couple more Nick Jr activities for the 4th – Wonder Pets Activity Printable and a State Map placemat.
When the kids start complaining about how bored they are in the car, we’ll use these State Fun Facts cards to liven things up
We will of course be going to the beach in San Diego (YAY!), and so I found a couple of fun links for THAT part of our trip. I expect we’ll find a few (hundred) sea shells to bring home, so I’m prepared with two crafts – Personalized Sea Shells and Sea Shell Critters

And it wouldn’t be the 4th of July without REALLY yummy summer foods. Here are a few recipes you might like to try:

Grilled Corn with three Butter Flavors (YUM)
Red White and Blue Delight
Grilled Chicken Bruschetta
Cherry Pie Cups
Patriotic Pops
Red White and Blue Pie
Watermelon Pop Stars
Marble Star Cut-outs
Frosty Fireworks

And now I’m hungry… and ready for the weekend to officially start!

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If you are a first time visitor to NanaHood we hope you will stick around awhile and check out the site. There’s lot to see and do and if you are looking to create your own blog, hop on over to www.thenanablogs.com and get started! At NanaHood we think that being a grandparent is GRAND and we strive to keep the generations connected by sharing humor, advice, recipes, book and movie reviews and a whole lot of love.

We hope you like what you see and ask that you leave a comment to let us know how we are doing! Thanks and have a great 4^th of July with your family and friends!

Teresa and Char
The NanaHood Gang

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 4th of July, blogs, crafts, friday, fun, links, nanahood, patriotic, recipes, vacation

Making December Birthdays Special

December 17, 2009 By teresak 10 Comments

Eighteen years ago on December 26th I gave birth to our twins, Grant and Russell. Russell is all of four minutes older than Grant and they both weighed over 6 pounds. Does that give you an idea of how I looked at Christmas that year? Picture an elephant with a green silk maternity top. That would be close.

They were the best Christmas present I have ever received and it’s so hard to believe my 6 foot 8 babies are turning 18!

My best Christmas presents!

Anyone with a December birthday can tell you that it isn’t the best month for a party. My mom’s birthday was the 23rd and every birthday present she ever received was wrapped in Christmas paper. So how do you make a December birthday special? Especially one the day after Christmas?

What we did was for the first ten years we celebrated on the 26th by taking them and their cousins to Baskin Robbins for ice cream and a small gift. Then on the 4th of July we had a cookout and party on our deck. The park right down the road from us always had a fireworks celebration and so we’d sit in the front yard and watch the display. For years the boys thought the fireworks were in honor of their birthday.

Recently I ran into a lady whose granddaughter has the same birthday as our boys. To make her day special she bought her a pink Christmas tree and is adding a pink ornament to it every year.

Another friend whose son shares the 26th birthday too (good day for babies obviously) takes down all her decorations on the night of the 25th and decorates for a birthday party on the 26th (I admire her energy).

What about it readers? Do you or does someone you know have a December birthday? How do you make the day special? We’d love to hear about it! Post your comments below!