Wow is it really almost September already? We're celebrating this Labor Day weekend by going to a big parade and doing a bunch of stuff outside--like reclaiming the vegetable garden from the grass that is overcoming it! (I'm hoping to sneak in some time decorating my home for fall, too!)

Also on the docket for this month is the Democratic National Convention. No, I'm not attending it. But I am looking at a lot of traffic headaches since I work very near several of the venues where the President will be. I'm hoping that the amount of money that the convention will bring to my area will outweigh the inconveniences. But enough looking forward to September...the point of this post is to look back!

August brought another month of growth for the blog--woohoo! I also learned a lot about rejection. I submitted several posts to some craft/recipe online galleries. One image got accepted....and about 20 were rejected.

The lessons learned: improve my photography and develop some thick skin. I have been blessed that so far in the 6 months that I have been doing this blog, I haven't had any negative comments. I know it'll happen, so getting rejected by these galleries is practice. And it'll make getting accepted by these sites even sweeter...'cause I'm already trying to learn more about my camera. If you're interested in improving your photography skills, may I recommend Aimee's Photography Friday over at It's Overflowing...the link to the first post of the series is here. She keeps it real and basic--so check it out!

I also linked back up with twitter. I last tweeted like...oh, two years ago...maybe more. Check out the link in the sidebar if you'd like to link up.

Here are YOUR favorite posts of the month! Thanks so much for reading this blog!

Top craft posts of the month:
Tomato Jam


Thanks for growing Architecture of a Mom this month, and have a great long weekend, those of you in the U.S!

You know you blog a lot about food...

When your four year old starts messing with her food.



Her daddy told her if she kept working on it, maybe she and I could write a cookbook together. She is taking it quite seriously. So if you know of anyone who'd like to give us a book deal, let me know.

In the meantime, I have some "rest-apees" to work on. So does my little chef.

Happy Friday!

I hope my little nephew loves looking up at it!

I absolutely love my Lexington Style Crockpot Barbecue. It is a yummy recipe and makes me think of family, but even better, it is super easy. I love how I can come home to this recipe, pull out some hamburger buns and some fruit and the meal is basically done.

However, the crust of the meat is sometimes a little spicy. Don't get me wrong, I love me a little spice.

But the three little ones are not the biggest fan. So I try to give them the inside portions of the meat. But daddy, well, he's not as careful, and dinner isn't nearly as fun if a little one (you know, one of the twins who don't express themselves very well), is crying because she got some spice. So I went in search of another recipe that would be a little less spicy. I ran across this recipe at Six Sister's Stuff that used honey and parmesan with a pork roast. This recipe uses the same base ingredients (honey, parmesan, and pork), and then I changed pretty much everything else.

Well, except the crockpot. That was the same, too.

So here's a new version of pulled pork in the crock pot. It was definitely less spicy, more sweet, and a big hit  with the kiddos!!



Parmesan & Honey Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 3.5-4 lb boston butt pork roast
1 onion, quartered
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup honey
3 tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp basalmic vinegar
2 tbsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp corn starch



Lightly spray the crock with cooking spray. Set the pork into the crock and arrange the onion quarters all around it.



Mix the remaining ingredients except the corn starch together in a bowl and then pour over the pork.



Cook for 7-8 hours on low.

15 minutes before serving, pull out the meat and retain the liquid. Skim off any fat and then take two ladles full of the cooking liquid and place it into a saucepan. Whisk in the corn starch over medium heat and bring to a boil.



Stir sauce until slightly thickened. Shred meat and serve with sauce over a bun.



I hope you enjoy this sweeter version of pulled pork!

Another week awaits! I can't wait until next weekend, with a long weekend! I got an extension on my deadline at work, but all that means are more crazy days.

Here's the plan for this week:

Monday: Meatball sandwiches, fruit, and corn on the cob
Tuesday: Asian Sausage, fruit


Friday: Chicken & sweet potatoes (I'm hoping for a new recipe for the sweet potatoes to share with you!)
Saturday: Something on the grill--we're going to a big parade during the day, so looking forward to celebrating Labor Day all day, and I always think of the grill for this holiday.
Sunday: Leftovers

We went to the beach last week. Everyone had a blast.We were down at Hilton Head with my parents and my sister's family. The kids had a lot of fun, but not a whole lot of sleep. It's what happens when 6 kiddos are crammed into a pretty small space.

And when you combine not much sleep with a lot of activity--the pool, the beach, and loads of fun...well, you reach a breaking point.

Lil Bit reached her breaking point when we told her that it was time to leave the pool and go back to where we were staying. She wasn't ready. We don't have regular temper tantrums, but when we do, it tends to be a doozy. We loaded up the van, with her still having a major fit in the way back of the van in her car seat. The babies still face backwards, so they were both watching the...show.

I had to wait on my sister to get ready to go, so we sat in the van as the fit continued.

If you are a parent of a child older than one, you have experienced this feeling. It is the feeling that your child is out of control, and that you are an awful parent. Even though she was contained in my van, not hurting anyone, and learning an important lesson in self control and obedience, I still felt awful. I was trying to find something to redeem the situation.

And then it happened.

The silver lining.

A little girl piped up.

Sweet Pea, to be exact.


For the first time in her 16 month life, she said a three letter word.

Clear as a bell.

Her big sister's name. All 8 letters.

She was trying to get Lil Bit to calm down, too. Some teamwork between the littlest and the biggest members of our little family helped calm everyone down.

I don't think she'd have said such a difficult word (or name) without a big catalyst. Like a major fit.

A good thing to remember while parenting...look for the bright spots.

I wanted to create a coordinating bracelet to match my Coral Shell Bib Necklace. I thought that the aqua colored beads would link together.

Um, no.

So Plan B.







I love how these two pieces coordinate without being matchy-matchy. What do you think?

My brother-in-law is an amazing cook. He takes making (and eating) food very seriously. So a couple of weeks back, when he walked in after the first time I made this recipe and asked what smelled so good, I knew I must have a winner of a recipe! Brown sugar, garlic and rotisserie seasoning make a perfect combination of flavors.



This recipe is made even better by the fact that there are few ingredients, which means a really easy weeknight meal. Even better, you can mix up the spice mix and then let it sit on the chicken while it thaws, or if  you're in a rush, let it sit on top of the chicken while the microwave defrosts the chicken! We took all the ingredients down to the beach, so you know it was easy and a crowd pleaser (4 adults and 6 kids ate this recipe)!

Brown Sugar and Spice Chicken


2.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp grill seasoning or rotisserie chicken seasoning (pick your fave)
1 head of garlic (approximately 12 cloves of garlic), minced

Mix the brown sugar, seasoning, and minced garlic together.


Spread on top of the chicken and allow to thaw/marinate.

If you aren't the biggest fan of garlic, you could go as far as halving the amount of garlic (When we made it at the beach it was a little strong in the garlic department).

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes in a baking dish lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up.



You can also cook this in a skillet or on the grill. This will give a milder garlic flavor, too!



Enjoy!

Well, we're back from a long week at the beach where we stayed with my sister's family at a condo. It was lots of fun and the joint menu went really well. My husband and brother in law thought we were crazy to bring so much food, but since we still had to go back out to get cold cuts, bread, and milk, I think we did good to go shopping while we had sales before we left home. Later this week, I'll be sharing one of the dishes that we prepared, Brown Sugar and Spice Chicken--it was a big hit!

But now, it's back to reality. I know that I have a deadline this week, so I am trying to plan accordingly, with quick meals that my husband is comfortable finishing off if he has to do so.

Monday: Asian Sausage and Pineapple....I may throw the pineapple into the Asian Sausage to make something new...Hawaiian Sausage?...we'll see!


Tuesday: Crockpot Barbecued Pork



Wednesday: Chicken Nuggets and Sweet Potato Fries
Thursday: Grilled Cheese and Fruit (can you see that this is the day I'm thinking that I'll be staying late?)
Friday: Pesto Caprese Chicken and Green Beans



Saturday: Dinner with friends; I'm bringing Deviled Eggs
Sunday: Leftovers!

What are you cooking this week?