Martha comes out when the kids are away...

Today is the first day of school for my boys after a long, fun summer. They were both excited to go back this morning to see their friends and start new adventures as a 3rd and 5th grader! I'm also excited for them to be back at school. I crave for our family to be on a routine, no matter how busy it is. So, every year I look forward to that first day of school and the first signs of the normal routine coming back. Here are my grown up boys all ready for school.

I have this week at home to myself to get some things done before I go back to work next Wednesday. This morning, I took advantage of a little ME time. I used a gift certificate for a much needed pedicure. It was so relaxing to sit there while I read my book while being pampered a little. Once home, a little Martha came out. ;) I decided to tackle two Pinterest recipes that I had been eyeing. The first was homemade no bake chewy granola bars. Here is the link where I found the recipe. I like the fact that you can pick your own mix ins for this recipe. HERE They were really easy to make. The recipe didn't really fill a 9x13 pan. I left about 2 inches on the end with no mix. I pressed them down with wax paper. Also, I chose to mix in peanut butter and chocolate chips. My first mistake was not waiting long enough for the mix to cool before stirring in the chocolate chips. Mine melted...but they will still taste good. ;) I individually wrapped them in plastic wrap and left out 2 for the boys to try when they get home from school. I tasted them and thought they were pretty good, but the true test will be with the boys eat them.

Next, I made these banana oat cookies. I was looking forward to making them since Steve and I are trying to eat better and it's hard to find things to curb my sweet tooth. I did add chocolate chips and I'm so glad I did. I really was disappointed with this recipe and I probably will not make them again. The chocolate chips are really what made them worth eating. But it was a super easy recipe and a lot better for you than regular cookies!

I only have about 45 minutes before it's time to find out how the boys first day at school went. Let's see how much cleaning I can get done in that time!