Food Fun Family

Avocado BLT Mac & Cheese

Lolli — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 12:00:16 +0000

This recipe for Avocado BLT Mac & Cheese is sponsored by Annie’s but all gushing love, thoughts and opinions are my own. #DiscoverAnnies

OK, who’s with me here? I love macaroni & cheese, and so do my kids. But Avocado BLT mac & cheese? Even better!

We adore Annie’s macaroni and cheese because…

It’s super easy to prepare (mac & cheese was one of the first foods that each of my kids learned to cook independently)
It’s tasty and wonderfully creamy
It is pure comfort food (without the guilt of junk food)
It’s made with organic ingredients, including REAL cheese
There are no GMOs, artificial flavors, synthetic colors, or preservatives

Seriously, guys. We love Annie’s. And now I’ve turned a family favorite into a delicious, full-of-flavor meal.

How many of your kids have grown up on mac & cheese? I know mine did. There was a time when I made mac & cheese nearly every day for lunch. Now that the kids’ bellies (and appetites!) are a lot bigger than they were before, we enjoy macaroni and cheese as a tasty after school snack. And Annie’s Shells and White Cheddar is their absolute favorite.

True story: when I came home from Sam’s Club the other day with a 12-pack of Annie’s Mac & Cheese, my kids all yelped for joy.

My daughter, Necco, and I put together this little recipe video to show how easy it is to make:

Get the ingredients and detailed instructions…

Afterglow Sings Again! #PSF Give Me Your Best Shot

Lolli — Fri, 15 May 2015 01:23:01 +0000

Two sure fire ways to tell that it’s May around here: 1) there are at least 2 spring/end-of-year concerts or performances a week and 2) the weather changes drastically from cool and rainy to HOT. My bedroom is miserable – even with the air conditioning on – when the temperatures are above 85 or so (my bedroom was hovering around 83 for several days this week, which means that I feel sluggish and sweaty and my skin is breaking out like a teenager).

This past Tuesday night was the spring choral concert at the high school, and Necco’s quartet, Afterglow, performed 2 of their new songs. I’m so grateful for the chance that Necco has had to sing with these 3 other incredible girls. I love each of them so much!

Two of the girls will be graduating this month, and I will be so sad to not have these school concerts to hear them sing together. The girls love their quartet so much, though, that they’re planning on staying together after the oldest 2 head of to college locally, so this definitely won’t be the last time Afterglow sings together.

Instead of pictures this week, I’ve got 2 videos from Tuesday’s concert:

Goody Goody

The Cup Song (You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone)

I’m so proud of them!

What have you been up to this week? Now it’s time for YOU to show me your best shots from this past week. Link up below and have a fantastic weekend!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

To play Give Me Your Best Shot – Photo Story Friday, check this. Copy this code into your post and sign the link list:
<center><a href="https://foodfunfamily.com/tag/give-me-your-best-shot" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://mychaosmybliss.com" target="_blank"></a> Hosted by <a href="https://mychaosmybliss.com/" target="_blank">Cecily</a> and <a href="https://www.foodfunfamily.com" target="_blank">Lolli</a> </center>

An InLinkz Link-up

One Family Photo #PSF

Lolli — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 03:43:48 +0000

Back in the spring of 2008, I asked my sister (who was over at our house at the time) to take a picture of my family in front of our house. Even though my sister is an incredible photographer, the point was not to get the “perfect” family photo, but just to capture all 7 of us together, dressed nicely, at the same time.

I will be forever grateful that she snapped pictures through the entire photo shoot – the potentially good pictures right alongside the really silly pictures – because what she captured before and after the ONE FAMILY PHOTO that turned out is priceless, especially 6+ years down the road.

Tonight while the rest of the kids and I were out at activities, my husband and youngest son put this video together. It brought back so many memories. And I decided that it would make a much better Photostory Friday post than what I had planned.

What’s behind the one good family photo? Lots of kisses and lots of laughter, some pinching and tongue-sticking-out. Lots of “bad” pictures that show the true nature of our young family (and boy do we look young!).

Here’s the original post from March 2008. It’s hard to believe how much my family has grown since I started my blog!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

To play Give Me Your Best Photo Story Friday, check this. Copy this code into your post and sign the link list:
<center><a href="https://foodfunfamily.com/tag/give-me-your-best-shot" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://mychaosmybliss.com" target="_blank"></a> Hosted by <a href="https://mychaosmybliss.com/" target="_blank">Cecily</a> and <a href="https://www.foodfunfamily.com" target="_blank">Lolli</a> </center>

An InLinkz Link-up

Harvest of Harmony 2014 #WW

Lolli — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:00:58 +0000

I am so proud of Necco, my 15-year-old, and my 3 other “quartet daughters.” The girls’ quartet, Afterglow, was invited to perform at the Harvest of Harmony concert in Washington DC this weekend, and although we couldn’t take photos or video during the concert, I did capture a few videos and pictures after the concert was over. If you know anything about barbershop, you know that the real party starts once the formal concert is done.

The girls had a fantastic time getting to know Last Men Standing, who just won first place in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s competitive Mid-Atlantic District Convention about a week ago.

This is not a song that Afterglow quartet does, but most of the girls learned it in chorus at school, and they learned that Last Men Standing knew the song, too. They got together in the hall after the concert and sang it together, just for fun. This video is the song they sang together – with no practice, no coordination. It’s just a group of people who are passionate about singing and LOVE to do it.

And here’s a little preview of one of Afterglow’s songs from after the concert:

A video posted by Lolli (@1momof5) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:44am PST

Afterglow is just starting their concert cycle this year, so expect lots more to come!

An InLinkz Link-up

My Guy {Afterglow} #PSF

Lolli — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 22:39:48 +0000

Afterglow is back and they are rocking it already this school year!

My daughter’s quartet, Afterglow, performed at their first concert of the year last night, and they brought the house down. I love that in just a year since they first started singing together they have not only improved so much, but they have developed quite a name for themselves among their high school peers and the large Barbershop community in the greater DC area. They already have 2 huge DC concerts coming up in the next month (where they are guest performers at big venues) and I couldn’t be more proud or more excited for them.

Since I accompanied these 4 girls to all of their concerts and camps last year, they call me Mama Laura…and I love them all like daughters. I love that they are so different and yet they mesh together – in voices and in personalities – so perfectly. They just have so much FUN together. It’s contagious.

Here is their second song from last night, their first time performing this song as a quartet in public.

Here’s their performance of Taking a Chance on Love last June, and the very first song they learned together (Jeepers Creepers), performed last winter. My daughter is the tenor (the high voice).

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

An InLinkz Link-up

Jeepers Creepers! #WW Link Up

Lolli — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 23:00:51 +0000

This past weekend, my 14-year-old daughter spent another fun music-filled day at a youth singing festival with the Alexandria Harmonizers, where she and her barbershop quartet were asked to perform at the evening concert (a first time honor for a high school quartet!). Not only did they get to do a ton of group singing and group training, but their quartet was singled out to receive some one-on-one training. These girls are really going places!

The Alexandria Harmonizers:

The youth festival participants:

“Afterglow”, performing Jeepers Creepers (my daughter is the tenor – the super high voice – on the far right):

Ready for another week of Wordless Wednesday posts? Link up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Barbershop Quartet Youth Adjudications #WW

Lolli — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 02:42:32 +0000

My second daughter, Necco, has always been a singer. Not only does she have a fabulous voice, but she loves to perform. During her first semester of high school, she decided to try out for a barbershop quartet, and she was snatched up immediately as a tenor (luckily her teacher recognizes her crazy talent, too!). I can’t believe how well this group of four young girls fits together. Not only do their voices blend beautifully, but they get along fabulously.

After spending 15 hours with the four of them this weekend at Adjudications (a youth quartet competition and performance during a weekend-long Barbershop convention), I was struck by how their friendship enhances each song that they sing. I am so glad that Necco has been able to have this experience (and the weekend was quite the experience, with hours of professional training and critiquing, very entertaining adult barbershop quartet competitions, and hours of jamming with other talented youth). Instead of being bored, the long day flew by and I was thoroughly entertained.

This weekend was Afterglow’s first public performance, and they not only did well…they blew it out of the water! They scored an Outstanding, which got the quartet a partial scholarship to a singing “camp” at a college this summer. And many seasoned Barbershop singers mentioned to me and to the girls that their group outshone the rest and showed the most potential by far.

I can’t wait to see where they go from here!

Are you playing along with Wordless Wednesday this week? I’d love for you to link up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

How to Embed Video from Your YesVideo Library

Lolli — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 18:55:27 +0000

I have a long-standing friendship with YesVideo. I was a happy YesVideo customer before I was asked to be an ambassador, and I have maintained a friendly relationship with them even after my ambassadorship ended. While this post is sponsored by YesVideo, I want to stress that I am a loyal customer first. And as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Cute little toddlers with curly hair are also mine…just not so little anymore.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been away from the house, chatting with a friend about something that my kids said or did long ago. The conversation inevitably leads to one of the many old videos I’ve had transferred from video cassette to DVD and digital format through YesVideo. I pull out my iPad, open up the YesVideo app and literally bring my example to life.

Now that my oldest daughter is heading to college, we’ve been talking a lot about how adorable she used to be (she’s still pretty adorable!). When she was just two years old, she memorized one of her favorite stories, This is the Farmer, and we caught her reading it on video. Thank goodness! I love that we can relive this moment over and over again.

Now that I can embed my YesVideo clips onto my blog, the kids had better watch out. I’ve got plenty of blog fodder in the hours and hours of video footage I’ve converted from old formats. And black mail material. Oh, we can definitely provide hours and hours of embarrassment. The funniest thing for me is seeing the grown-up personality shining through in these videos from the toddler years.

How to embed videos from your YesVideo library

I am so thrilled that my YesVideo movies and clips can be shared anywhere now! It couldn’t be easier to embed a video from YesVideo.

1 – Log in to your YesVideo account.
2 – Browse through your library until you find the perfect video chapter to share.
3 – On the right side of your video, click “Create a link to this chapter” then click “Get embed code.”

4 – Copy the embed code that pops up and paste it on your blog.
5 – Share and enjoy!

Need more videos to full up your YesVideo library? Read about how easy it is to transfer your old home movies to DVD (and digital format)…and then be sure to share some of your cutest clips with me!

SPECIAL: Get one free VHS tape or film reel transferred to digital with YesVideo. Promo code: SAS1FREE

I’d love to hear about some of your favorite moments captured on video – old or new. What would YOU like to see in your YesVideo library?

Note: Links to YesVideo within this post are affiliate links. Thanks for the support!

Food Fun Family

Avocado BLT Mac & Cheese

Afterglow Sings Again! #PSF Give Me Your Best Shot

Goody Goody

The Cup Song (You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone)

Sponsored Video: The Flavors of Home

One Family Photo #PSF

Harvest of Harmony 2014 #WW

My Guy {Afterglow} #PSF

Jeepers Creepers! #WW Link Up

Sponsored Video: Four Girls + One Shower = Clogged Drains

About Liquid-Plumr® Hair Clog Eliminator

Barbershop Quartet Youth Adjudications #WW

How to Embed Video from Your YesVideo Library

How to embed videos from your YesVideo library