TheMakroLife

Kids Snack Project Even though we are in the middle of September....it still feels like summer here. I have stuck with my resolve to only feed my children healthy snacks. They already eat all healthy, real food with little to no artificial anything, but the snacks have always been a tough one to commit to, basically because it is sooooooooo easy to walk the aisle of Costco and buy all the super easy convenient pre-packaged snacks!!! I've bought them all, even the ones that say organic. But no longer!!!!!!!!!!! Fruit Smoothie Treats One of my kids favorite snacks are the frozen yogurt sticks but they are full of sugar. I knew I could make them better, but how? Well, of course I turned to my favorite resource www.pinterest.com  and looked up yogurt sticks and up popped this amazing find.....and of course I bought 12 packages that second!! www.zipzicles.com $2.99 for package of 12 (and they are reusable) Who better to ask to assist me in this mornings project than our

Yes I'll blog! I have been happily surprised by how much everyone liked viewing my blog. You all gave me such positive feedback, I was overwhelmed. And I had a great time blogging! It was a good outlet for my creative self.   But how much to blog......I've decided I'll blog when something is noteworthy, worth sharing, etc. I'm not going to blog about the day to day. I'll continue to notify Facebook when I add a new post. As far as emailing friends, I may do that once a quarter as I don't want to bombard friends with emails.   And please do not hesitate to email me and let me know if you do not want to be on email list anymore! I will never take offense that you don't want to read yet another email!!!   So, get ready.......................just kidding! I hope you enjoy sharing with me this road of creativity!!   Big Hugs  

The Vineyard We have great friends, Mike & Tina, who live in Fallbrook and have an active vineyard on their very beautiful property. Mike has made wine for a few years and every year it is getting more and more serious. His 2011 vintage won a medal at a recent wine show! Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Every year Mike asks his friends, those who are willing and able, to join him in the annual harvest of his grapes. He tells it how it is, it's hard work but I'll feed you and give you drink! This year we decided to get to work!!! And I have 6 extra little hands that I thought I"d throw into the work force. And boy did they deliver! After a long dip in the pool, my 3 little kiddos joined me in the vineyard and with clippers in hand filled up bucket after bucket! They really enjoyed the work, asking questions all along the way. My favorite question from Ana....."Mr. Samaras, how many grapes do we have to pick to make your wine.................Mr. Samaras

School Year 2013-2014 Niko - 2nd Grade Ana & Theo - Kindergarten So exciting the first day of school always is for me! This year the kids were very excited to start school. Niko, after a long summer away, was so happy to reunite with his very close friends. Theo & Ana have literally been counting the days for 2 years till they got to attend the same school as Niko. They have over the last 2 year gotten to know their Kindergarten teachers so they felt very comfortable on their first day of school. I am so excited. The new year always brings such excitement to my heart. Not to mention I LOVE LOVE LOVE buying school supplies!!! New supplies, new uniforms, new shoes, new classrooms, new teachers, new activities, new routine - all with the promise of an exciting beginning to a new year!   Theo - our newest boy Kindergartner....sporting the red Nativity School polo! He's excited about reading, math and doing puzzles at school. He hopes to make good friends!

Kavala Airport - Athens Airport - Toronto Airport - Los Angeles Airport   9 weeks - 65 days - 1560 minutes   Home Sweet Home Our beautiful and memorable trip to Greece has come to a close. Our memories are countless. We had amazing days, lazy days, quiet days, exciting days, sad days, days filled with family and friends, days of loneliness, days of education, days of teaching, days of movies, days of adventure, and above all else days and days filled with beautiful and blue Aegean waters!!! Our memories will last forever. The time spent with Papou Nic, Meme Therese, Thea Jenny, Theo Andrea and all the Alexoudi Family were wonderful. I am eternally grateful to each and everyone one of these persons for the generosity of themselves, their time, their homes and their hearts that they shared and gave me and my children! I love you all always and forever. Back in the arms of Phil! Oh how we missed Phil on this trip. He was not able to make the trip so the 9 weeks were very long without h

Batis Beach   Just 4 kilometers outside the main city of Kavala is and old town favorite.....Batis Beach. This beach has been here forever. Everyone who has lived in Kavala for any period of time has spent many of their swimming days at Batis. Now this beach has turned resort. It has an amazing restaurant, kid size and full size pool, great lounge and chaise selections depending on your mood, and of course and most important an amazing beach cove that has crystal blue waters with a spectacular view!!   My kids love this beach because there is so much for them to do when we go to this beach. Some days we just visit the pool. Other days we lounge on the sand and swim in the sea! Most days we visit here we eat at the great restaurant. As always, fresh fish is this restaurant's #1 priority!!! And they never disappoint! Please enjoy these fun pictures of all the great things to enjoy about Batis Beach!!!    Bed-type lounges by the pool, my kids favorite! Ana having