Healthy Lunch Ideas

I am always looking for good ways to feed my kids great food while they’re at school.  I have spent a lot of time looking online for ideas that would miraculously get my kids to eat awesome things.  An overwhelming amount of sites made kids lunches into works of art!  I love art but some things just need to be quick. 

Unfortunately, I tried to make one of those wonderful artsy sandwiches into the shape of Tow Mater one day.   It took me over an hour!  I have four kids, and therefore, have four lunches to worry about.  Who has that kind of time on their hands?  So, I decided to compile some healthy, easy lunches for our kids to eat.   They may not be works of art but they are certainly great and efficient.  You can’t ask for more!  Please note: at the bottom of all the lunch ideas, you’ll see a link to give you a lot more options.  And, each picture has it’s own link.

Great way to use leftover pancakes!

Pancake Lunch!

Fruit, Veggies, Cheese and Baby Peperoni

Fruit, Cheese, Yogurt raisins, and lots of fruit!

PB &J Bagel, grapes, crackers, and pear slices

Real food ideas

Quesadillas, fruit, and crackers

http://wendolonia.com/blog/bento-box-basics/lunch-box-idea-list/

Also they have cute notes you can print out!

Rolled meat and cheese, fruit, yogurt, cheerios and crackers

Fun Fall Crafts to do with the kids!

10 Fall-Inspired Crafts for Children

By Denise Craig

Fall is my favorite time of year.  There are so many things to love!  Apple Cider, doughnut holes, hayrides, apple & pumpkin picking, corn mazes, and hikes on leaf covered paths are some of the wonderful things to enjoy during this season.  But, there is something that many of us overlook as we plan our activities during this glorious time.  We forget to use these vibrant colors as inspiration for crafts with our children.  If you’re looking to incorporate some crafts in your day, here are some ideas that I found on PINTEREST.  These crafts require little planning and most of them use very few materials. Click on the project title to be directed to the original site.

  

Tye Dye Coffee Filter Fall Leaves

 Fall Tree Craft

Handprint Fall Trees

Spider Candy Holders

  
Fall Leaves Garland

Fall Leaves Craft

Pumpkin Seeds Mosaic

Pumpkins on a Fence

Paper Pumpkin

 

Fingerprint Fall Trees

So, dig out your paints, smock, and construction paper, and have fun with those kiddos! I personally have done the Fall Tree craft and the Fingerprint Tree with my kids and they have thoroughly enjoyed it.  

Keeping Score

Hubby and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary this year.  It's an exciting milestone.  We've had good times and bad times and from all of these situations, we glean knowledge that changes us.  It's interesting to see the ways we've adapted to life together over the years.

Even though we adore our first child B, his entrance into the world was enough to rock even the strongest of boats.  During labor I lost a lot of blood and was anemic for a while after the birth.  B wouldn't nurse and he was extremely high maintenance (doctors probably could have labeled him as ADD).  But, that might be because we were high strung!  These are all things that were imposed on us, things that couldn't change.

Every time one of us got a moment away from the baby it was chalked up to our mental score board.  So, it was only fair for the other person gets equal time away.  That kind of thinking allows resentment to creep into your heart.  Life doesn't work that way.  Hubby "gets" 43 hours per week away from home.  Was I ever going to get that?

This was an area that HAD to change!  Resentment is an UGLY thing.   Long periods of resentment/anger can cause all kinds of emotions that are not healthy.  It can break down relationships and it can even cause physical problems.

Hubby felt like he was always under the microscope.  Often he would hear questions like, How much time did you spend with the baby, and when can I get a moment to myself?  At this point in life, a shower was a big deal!

Luckily, God blessed us with more kids.  The more children we had, the less we thought of ourselves and the more we had to put self aside.  Time has marched on and we have both grown.  Hubby has  gotten better at juggling the kids so that when I leave, there's no guilt like there used to be when I go out.  The kids have gotten older and can do more for themselves.  And now, I go out 1-2 nights per week while hubby tackles bedtime by himself.

Now that the kids are 3, 6, 9, and 11, I am starting to feel like I am getting some of myself back.  I am writing, a bit more organized than I have been in years, and teaching again.

So hang in there, pray, love your hubby/wife and have more kids! (the last one was a joke- just having more kids will not necessarily solve your problems).  And, whatever you do, don't let resentment creep into your heart.  It will only hurt you and the ones you love.  You can learn from what others have endured and hopefully you won't have to suffer as long.  And always remember to turn to God for help.

Staying safe while Trick or Treating

Mycnymommy.com has posted my second article.  

It can be seen HERE!

Thanks for checking it out and being supportive of my efforts!  

A New Venture

I've been a busy beaver lately.  I was browsing a website that I check every once in a while and the lady who runs it/owner happened to be asking for help to expand her readership.  Her site was exclusively couponing and money saving tips.  One of her ideas was to have articles that might appeal to her readers.  I applied, and she gave it a whirl.  She asked for a piece on Halloween.  That was a tough one for me.  Although we do trick or treat, we by no means celebrate this holiday with the typical grim and gruesome fervor.  So check out the article I wrote for her:

Halloween Events Around CNY

I have some more coming: On Monday she's putting another article of mine, trick or treat safety, up on her site.  There will also be articles on crafty things, recipes and more.   So, stay tuned and keep checking her site.  Good news is, a news website picked up my article, redirected traffic to her site and her site hits are up quite a bit.  There are also 2 other ladies helping her with some other development aspects.  All of this is very exciting.


And also, if you see something advertised on her site and want to buy it, go through her site.  She's a mom who's trying to make enough income on this site that she can stay home with her kids.

Delayed Gratification #2

Please read Delayed Gratification first....

This is just a quick add on to the previous article.  I am remiss to forget to mention the impact that our parents and grandparents have in this equation.

I remember watching my mom walk around with holes in her shoes, denying herself things, so that she could make sure we had what we needed.  She delayed her own gratification.  My Father worked two sometimes three (?) jobs to put food on the table.  We didn't have a lot but we had what we needed.

My husband's parents have had to work many different jobs to make ends meet and are working hard to this day.  My mother in law is awesome at stretching a dollar.

My Grandparents worked as butler and housekeeper.

Our home-life environment has a huge part to play in who we are as adults.  May we be mindful of that as we move forward to spur our children on to hard work and self-sufficiency.  And hopefully, they will learn to delay their gratification.

Writing Fiend

Hello everyone!  I am happy to say that over the next couple months, I will be writing articles for a local website.  I guess you could call me a free-lance writer now.  I am very excited and feel blessed that my words will reach beyond my blog and reach even more people.  In order to secure the job I had to do a piece on Halloween.  Funny huh?  I am not a big fan of Halloween but I was able to find ways to use my writing on it anyway.  I wrote about "Alternatives to Traditional Trick or Treating".  I listed things like mall trick or treating, the park that has a jack-o-lantern walk, the zoo, and local churches that have activities set up for that night.

I would've never ever thought that I would get paid for the words I put on a page.  And, it truly is a miracle how it all came about.  I pray that I can encourage others and continue to glorify God in the midst of all.  So, if you think of it family and friends, pray for me that I would honor Him in the words I write.  And with that I wish you all good night!

(When my first article goes live, I'll let you all know about it.  And make sure that if you like it, you comment-on the website- to keep me writing!)