Bedtime stories

 My kids have had the very same bedtime routine their WHOLE lives.

It started out when Harmony was a baby and continued until last night.

We do skip on the weekends some times but other than that, it has remained...

Bath, pj''s, teeth and 2-3 stories. Depending on length.

Right now, I have 3 books that I have been reading over and over. And over again. Sometimes I hide them, so that we can read other things. They love them.

These three books are totally and completely 100%  Ivan & Mason approved.

image taken from Google

1.  "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin Jr. is an "oldie but a goodie".
After reading Mason's very first report card, and noticing that he needed to do some work on his letters, I purchased it. Again. My first copy of the book, after being read numerous times to my older children, was toast. My second copy, purchased in late January, is headed the same way! We don't just read this book. We recite the alphabet. We sound out the letters. We think of people's names who start with every letter. And at the end, when "a" gets out of bed? I tickle them like crazy on the "boom-boom".

image taken from walmart.com

2. "Goodnight Ipad by Ann Droyd". It is a cute & contemporary parody of the classic book, "Good Night Moon." The boys love this book. They love when the book talks about You Tube and Facebook. They laugh when, after it is announced that it is time to turn all gadgets off, it is the Dad who replies, "do we have ta'?". It is a fun read!

3. "The Book with no Pictures" by BJ Novak. I bought this book for the boys as a Christmas gift, and have pretty much read it every night since. The book really doesn't have pictures, but it is colorful. This book, has the person reading the book, say funny things, sing silly songs and call themselves a monkey. BJ Novak, who was hilarious in "The Office" is just as funny as an author.

So there you have it. Three books that my boys are totally digging right now! What about you? Do you have these books? Do your kids like them as much as mine?

Family Movie Night

With all the craziness that happens every day around here, we try to spend time on Saturdays to sit, relax& eat snacks and watch a movie together.

Having a girl and four boys, and different ages of kids, it can be hard to pick out a movie. Everyone has different tastes and interests.

We all take turns picking. Although Ben & I have to share a day! However every once in a while I will find something I think they will like or a new movie comes out that I will buy.

Even with that, I don't always pick a winner. Then there are days that I do!

While walking around Sams Club one day, I found the movie, "the Adventures of Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Treasure." I thought it looked like something my kids would like, and for $9.99, why not?

We popped popcorn and watched the movie. Snuggles on the couch with blankets and popcorn.

Mickey Matson has to solve a mystery that was left to him by his grandfather who had died. He meets friends a long the way as well as "bad guys" that he has to outwit.

The movie is sort of a cross between Indiana Jones & National Treasure. My boys loved it! Harmony (14) found it to be kind of lame (but she is a teenager and so she finds most things lame!). We enjoyed the mystery and action through out the movie.

Another thing I loved? It is rated PG. No bad language, no sexual situations...everyone in the family can watch it! One the back of the movie case it has, "a Dove Family Approved movie". You can learn more about it here

It is so hard to find something that fits all of our criteria:
1.family friendly
2. interesting
3. clean

If you are looking for something to watch with your kids, I would highly recommend it.

**This is NOT a sponsored post! I just want people to keep making these types of movies, and so I want to get the word out! Although I wouldn't say no, if they want to send me movies to try out!**

Mini-corn dogs

Over Spring Break, our family was so off schedule, we couldn't even find it any more!

Sleeping in until past 8:00, having breakfast at 10, lunch at 2 and dinner around 7:00. Then staying up late and doing it all over again.

For the most part, it was enjoyable to be so relaxed. But as we all know, kids who have no schedule do not thrive. And neither do Moms!!!

Sunday evening I decided to make a snack for the kids that could also be used for their lunches during the week.

While they jumped on the trampoline, I made a recipe that I had seen floating around the blogosphere. Mini corn dogs!

I am not sure if you can call this a "recipe" per say but...

2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix (ingredients needed to prepare)
Hot dogs (amount depends, I'll explain in a second!)

Follow the directions on the package, to make muffins. I added a bit more water, because I wanted it a little runnier.

Line muffin tins.

Add a small spoonful of batter to the bottom of each cup.

Chop hot dogs into desired size and place at least one in each cup.

Add another spoonful of mix on to the top of the hot dogs.

Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes or golden brown on top.

The boys loved and devoured these corn dogs.
Harmony felt that there was too much bread and not enough dog. She said 2 pieces in each would have been better.

All in all, it was a total hit...and way cheaper than buying a box of corndogs! These travel well in lunch bags AND freeze well for later.

I can see myself making alot of these this summer!

14 Days

I love February. It is one of my favorite months!

**3 of my favorite people were born in this month
** watching the movie Ground Hogs Day
** Valentines Day
**Presidents Day weekend

I know that not everyone loves Valentines Day. I know that I am a romantic. I know all that. But it is my favorite holiday. My daughter, Harmony tells me it is because I am married and that I wouldn't feel the same if I was single.But its not true! I love that there is a day set aside, just to show & tell people how much we love them.

A few years ago, I started doing the 14 Days of Love. It is a fun tradition and I love it. This is the first time my husband has been home for Valentines Day in 2 years! So I have been including him this year as well.

So here is what I did for Day 1, starting with my kids lunches:

A heart filled with heart shape fruit snacks

Heart shaped pb & j with a heart food pick

Graham cracker pretzels, red apples, pb

 

Their treat was a pudding and so the spoon was wrapped in a napkin & held together with that cute heart shaped clothes pin!

OK, here is the treat in their mail boxes

 

The 4 older kids already had their mailboxes, so I had to come up with something different for Ben & Mason

 



Bens Valentine

For the kids: You have the "WRITE" stuff with a pencil shaped notepad (Target $1 spot) with a Valentine stacker pencil (Target Valentines section 4/$1.50)









Mason isn't old enough to get the whole "write stuff" thing so he gets a notebook & markers..for my lil' pip squeak :)

I will try and let you know where I got all the items. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!



Kryptonite

We all have our kryptonite, right? Something that just tests your resolve. I think I may have more than one, but one of my biggest is...

Targets Dollar Spot!! They have so many fun, cute, practical items.

My husband and I went into Target the other morning for, of course, "just one thing". Please tell me I am not the only one who walks into Target muttering those words...


I bought a few things for lunches and a few things for the 14 Days of Love.

In the above photo, I found some cute owl sandwich sized bags. Harmony is a huge owl fan so these will be fun. The pink, green & blue items that are shaped like bread...those are sandwich stampers. They can also be used for toast. The polka dot and the other one (what shape is that?) are reusable sandwich bags! Each has 3 in a pack. Love these!

close up of two of the stamps

 

It can be hard to find the boys fun little items for the 14 days of Love. Harmony is easy...lip gloss, lotions, bath soaps, fun pens & pencils...I found these Star Wars erasers that they will love. They are big and heavy. Sometimes I like to sneak things in their lunch bags, little surprises, but I have to be careful. I don't want to give them a toy that they might sit and play with at school. So school supplies are perfect. The R2D2 is a "water bag". I have no idea what the official name of these are but...I could only find ONE, that was Star Wars. There were plenty that matched the reusable bags but only one Star Wars. I am so going to be on the lookout, or my other boys are not going to be happy!

 

These fun food picks (which is an awful picture, so I will be very impressed if you can actually tell what they are!) But they are hearts and mustaches. Can't wait to put these in a Valentine themed lunch.

 

Do you have the same addiction, problem, love for the dollar spot? Have you found anything fun lately?

Menu Making Tips

Is everyone having as crazy of a holiday season as I am? Life has been so busy! Going from one event to another. No matter how busy I am...my family still wants dinner.

Every.single.night.

Too often on those nights, I turn to a drive thru. Or call  my favorite pizza place. Not great on the budget, or the waist line, but at least everyone is happy, right?

Well...maybe not.

Are you someone who makes menus? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants every night?  Do you make a plan, and then don't use it because you don't have the items? Maybe your family doesn't like what you had planned?

Do you know why going out to eat is easy? Besides the fact that someone else is making it for you?

Because they have a menu!! Imagine this scene:

Mason when he is waiting for dinner!

It is close too (or past) dinner time. Kids & hubby are cranky and hungry. You pull into the drive thru of your local fast food restaurant and start to look at the menu board...and there is nothing there. You drive up to the window, and the employee says, "what would you like to order?" You have no idea what they serve and what they don't serve. Can  you get a taco or a hamburger? Sub sandwiches or pizza? What kind of drinks do they have? Is there a combo? It would make getting dinner a lot harder wouldn't it?

It is the menu that makes it easy for us. A number one meal with a diet coke. One kids meal with chicken, apples and a chocolate milk. See? Its easy.

Pretend your kitchen is a restaurant. No, I don't mean offer each person a different meal. I mean, plan out everything.

The main course? Sides? Bread/rolls? Dessert? Drink? Plan it out. Even if you don't have it written out before hand, at least have everything planned in your head :)

There can be a big difference in what we PLAN to eat and what we ACTUALLY eat, right?  If you plan to have lasagna, and you forgot to get it out of the freezer or realize you don't have an ingredient, and end up making scrambled eggs. We have all had that happen at least once, right? Well, I keep a dry erase calender board on my pantry door. Every night, one of the kids or I, write down what we ACTUALLY ate for dinner. Whether it was filet mignon or pancakes. Then at the end of the month, I write it all down. From the first day to the last. (**Note---> I have never served filet mignon**)

This helps me a ton! How many times did we out last month? Did we like the new recipe that was tried? Were there any requests? What about repeats? This is a true representation of what we eat. It is much easier to make my menu with this list in front of me.

Make sure you go through your stockpile/pantry/freezers before you step foot into a grocery store. You may be amazed at what you already have on hand!

How about you? Do you have any tips on planning menus? Sticking with a menu? I would love to hear how you manage the dinner hour!

Halloween lunch

At the start of the school year, I am sorely lacking in creativity when it comes to do something fun in my kiddos lunches.

The only "theme" I can really think of is back to school, abc's & 123's, apples...I know kind of lame right. But holidays give me so much more to work with.

Although, there are a lot of ready made Halloween treats,such as fruit snacks or pretzels but  there are also some easy and inexpenisve alternatives.

For me, one of the easiest things to do, to make lunches a little more fun, are to use foods that are that holidays' colors. Halloween screams orange and black right? But I can also see a bit of dark purples and lime green. So here are a few things you can add to any lunch that will help make them a little more themed.

You can add these items..

Black: olives, oreos, chocolate teddy grahams (or similar), chocolate pudding

Orange: cheese cubes/slices, carrots, peaches, oranges, mandarin oranges, cantaloupe, mango, cheese crackers, orange juice, jello

Purple: grapes, egg plant, grape juice, cabbage ( I would be hard pressed to get my kids to eat egg plant or cabbage but you get the idea!)jello

Green: grapes, apples, pistachios, pistachio pudding, jello

Don't forget to add a fun napkin (either a plain color or a themed one), fun picks or other "scary" elements. You can also add orange/black plastic utensils!

At the end of the season, I go through all the holiday clearance and look for anything that I can use for the next year. Like cupcake picks, cocktail straws, napkins, plates, cups, cookie cutters...Then I store them away with my Halloween stuff and I have them for the next year!

Do you do anything fun for lunch?

ABC's of lunch bags!

(St. Patty's day lunch from last year)

(lunch box from last year)


***I originally posted this almost 2  Years ago. But I know that right now, if your kids aren't back to school yet, they soon will be. So enjoy this list of ideas for your kiddo's lunch bags!***  If you have any other ideas, that you don't see listed, please let me know!

In a week, my kids head off to school! I couldn't be more excited. Don't worry, they are as excited as I am!

But this does also mark the daily occurence of packing lunch bags. This year, I get to do it times 4. But I thought I would share my Lunchbag ABC's and hopefully it will inspire & help you. If you think of anything good that I don't have listed, please leave a comment and let us all know what it is!

A: apples/ applesauce, apricots (dried or fresh), avacados, animal cookies, apple crisp, ants on a log

B: bananas, breads (all different kinds), hamBurgers, biscuits, bagels w/cream cheese & lunch meat, bagel pizzas, brownies, blueberries, burrito

C: crackers & cheese, crackers, cookies, candy, corn, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, cherry tomatoes, chex mix, celery sticks w/ pb, cream cheese, cherries, chips, chocolate milk

D: deviled eggs, devils food cake, dried fruit, dips- caramel for apples, ranch for vegi's...

E: eggs (hard boiled), egg rolls, enchiladas, edamame

F: fig newtons, fruit snacks, fried rice, french bread, fettuchini alfredo, fruit,fruit salad

G: grapes, granola & yogurt, granola bars, graham crackers, Goldfish, gum-if your school allows kids to chew it, suprise them every once in a while!

H: hamburgers, hot dogs, hot pockets (cook in the morning, wrap in tin foil and it will stay warm until lunch), ham & cheese on crackers, hoagies,

I: ice packs. You can get these for pretty cheap. Helps keep things cool. Also, freezing water bottles or juice boxes can also help keep things cool.

J:jerky, jam, juice, juice boxes, jokes-my kids love getting a quick little note that has a joke on it. If there is a holiday, look out for holiday related jokes.

K: kabobs (make sure your kids are allowed to have kabob skewers. These might be considered a weapon.) kisses -since we can't go to school to give them a kiss, let 'em know you are thinking about them with a Hershey's one!

L: lemon bars, lettuce wraps, lasagna, lunchables (homemade or bought with sale and coupon!), leftovers from dinner, Love notes from Mom

M: mac & cheese, muffins, milk, mango's (fresh or dried),

N: Nutter butters, napkins with their favorite character-grab a pkg from the birthday section at the store, nacho's, nilla wafers, nuts

O: oranges (cut up for them or you are guaranteed to get it back!)orange juice, oreo's

P: pizza, pepperoni's (my son Connor loves having mini pepporoni's to munch on)pb on crackers,pasta, pasta salads, pudding, pears, peaches, potato salad and of course...pb &j!

Q: quesadillas

R: rice, mini rice cakes, ravioli, ramen, raisins (yogurt covered or regular)

S: strawberries, soup, salad, spaghetti, smores goldfish, string cheese, snap peas, sandwiches, salsa & chips, stickers (fav. characters or holiday themed!) sweets to share ( I like to put 2 treats in with a note that says one for you, one for your best friend), shapes- turn fruit, sandwiches etc into different shapes using cookie cutters or a knife for fun! Silverware:make sure to send some in every day! Maybe have a set that is for lunch bags only. Or stock up on plastic ones.

T: tacos, tuna fish, tomatoes, trail mix, themes-try making a lunch using foods with your child's initial ( all L foods for example) or holidays, numbers, colors etc., thermos, for keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold!

U: uncrustables. Do not buy them!! They are so expensive for what you get! Using coupons and sales, get pb & jam (or make your own jam!). Head to the day old bread store and get 2 or 3 loaves of bread. Spend a few minutes turning them all into sandwiches. Place them bag in the bread bag and label. I use a cutter from Pampered Chef, to take the crusts off!

V: vanilla flavored...well anything! (:

W: water bottles, watermelon-cut up into pieces, wraps

X: uhm...

Y: yogurt

Z: zuccini bread, zoo animal crackers,

Mint chocolate brownies

I love mint. Mint oreos, mint shakes (or Shamrock shakes as some places call them) mint candy, mint gum...

We were organizing the pantry when I found some mint chips. Yum.

I have a nice stockpile of brownie mixes (doesn't every couponer?) and decided to mix the chips in with the brownie mix.

Then I decided to take it one step further...Have you seen the Duncan Hines frosting creations?

Well I had one of those with a chocolate mint mix in.



Please can I have a brownie Mom?!

So...I added that to the top of the brownies.

They.were.to.die.for! Oh yummy.

A yummy minty brownie with a glass of ice cold milk? Perfection.

Just because you have a mix, doesn't mean you can't add anything to it to jazz it up a bit!

This "recipe" consisted of:

1 box of brownie mix and ingredients to bake them (eggs, oil  water)

1 bag of mint chips

1 container of frosting

1 mint mix in

An easy, simple, yummy dessert!

In the kitchen

We absolutely love Rhodes rolls/breads in our house.

Delish!!

The taste is wonderful and I love the no fail guarantee. Seriously, yummy.

My kids have decided that I need to make this bread at least 3 or 4 times a week. lol

Not a great shot, but the butter melted fast!

I enjoy my bread hot out of the oven with butter and honey. Yum!

I of course, also love that they put coupons inside the package too. Makes it easier to buy more!

*************************************************************************
On a not unrelated note, our family has a rule about cereal. You are not allowed to open a new box until all Rubbermaid/ Tupperware containers are empty.

My cereal lovin' boy came up to me, batting his long eye lashes at me and said, "Mom can we make Cocoa Rice Krispy treats?"

Easy enough treat right? So we made them and as we were munching away he said, "My master plan worked."

Next thing I know he is out in the garage getting a new box of his favorite cereal. Stinker. At least he was following the rules right? It is also one more thing he knows how to make.

What is a Mom to do?!

Bed Fairy

****Before I even start this post, I want it known that THIS WAS NOT MY IDEA!! I found this idea on Pinterest and then went to the blog Organic Families, and am now implementing HER bed fairy idea. I am not including the photos that I got from her site. You will have to go to Organic Families to get them. Doing my best to give credit, where credit is due!!****

Not too recently, we instituted daily jobs and an allowance for all of our kids. There are some jobs that I require my kids to do because they are members of our home. Then there are others that if they do them daily, and do a good job, they earn an allowance. It is not big, but it makes it possible for them to have some spending money.

Now their list of what we call "Dailies" is pretty simple. Yet they are habits that I want them to get used too so that eventually it is just that...a habit.

I know that not every one feels it is necessary to make your bed every day, but I do. It is important to have that space where you can go and rejuvenate. It makes your sleep more restful but also sets the tone for your whole room.

When I saw this idea for the bed fairy, I knew my kids would be all over it. So while the kids were busy doing other things, I printed them off and put them on their beds.

Although my kids are a bit older, they really did enjoy having a treat, and something fun related to their work. This was the introduction to the "program" so I will let you know how it goes this week.

What do you think? Is this something your kids would like? Do you think it is important to make your bed daily?