4 Kids' Lunchbox Ideas Plus At Home Weekend Lunch

School has been in session for a few weeks now, and I'm hoping we all got the hang of fixing lunches for the kids for school.  I am constantly trying to think of and find new ideas to not get them bored.  I'm sure I'm not the only Mom who has those kids that LOVE apple slices today...but hate them tomorrow.  So because of this I have to constantly change it up and have lots of options available.  In this post I will show you 4 more ideas for lunches.  Some of these will be with and some without sandwiches.    If you don't know already, my kids hate when I pack them sandwiches for lunch so I have to do it very rarely. I am giving you four meals, which can be a weeks worth of lunches if you allow them to eat lunch at school on Friday.  Usually once a week we allow our kids to eat lunch at school on Friday, or they can choose another day during the week to eat lunch at school.  This gives me not only a physical break from all the preparations, but a mental one as well. I will also include a fun lunch idea for the weekend.

I tried to switch it up a bit with their sandwiches by toasting them (in the morning), and adding lettuce and tomatoes.  Georgee loved this, but Gracee of course didn't like her bread toasted.  I added the baked cheese puffs and a buddy fruit (we no longer use the pouches due to all the horror stories of mold).  The items with the stickers on them are their classroom snacks.  Teddy Grahams with chocolate peanut butter spread for Gracee and mini pepperonis for Georgee.

Once a week I try to include my homemade lunchables.  Thankfully this whole lunch worked great for both kids which consisted of: apple slices, cheese stick, mini Canadian bacon, cucumbers, and wheat thins.  Score for Mommy!

Another once a week option is cereal for lunch.  My husband for some reason is not a fan of me sending cereal for their lunch.  What he don't know is that the kids love it!  They think it's different and cool.  I also make sure to pack them some protein.  Pictured above is Canadian bacon, but sometimes they get leftover bacon or sausage from breakfast.  I store the cereal in a container that they can easily pour their milk in with it.  I put their thermos in the freezer overnight and put the milk in it in the morning to keep the milk cold for lunch.

Here we are back to a good old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Gracee does not mind having pbj's, but Georgee does not like peanut butter at all.  He only likes jelly on his sandwich, which is why I added the mini Canadian bacon.  Gracee likes the ham and wanted some too.  Gracee got another homemade fruit salad, and Georgee got mandarin oranges.  Popcorn is another great addition to lunches and for snacks.  The kids feel they are getting a real treat when they have popcorn in their lunchboxes.

Trying to think of lunches to feed kids for school is hard, but let's not forget weekends.  I find it equally draining to think about.  I am usually lucky and able to give them some sort of leftovers, but sometimes that's not an option.  I go grocery shopping most of the time on Saturdays, so it's a real treat for them to be able to get sushi from the grocery store for lunch.  My kids love sushi and will try all kinds, but we like to stick to the California rolls and anything cooked.  It's very easy for them to split a roll and add in some fruits and veggies.  They can be content while you are putting the groceries away.  That is...if they like sushi!

Makeover Monday: Black and White Nails

As a busy mother of 2, doing my nails weekly give me life!  I don't get to do them often, but when I do, I feel like I'm doing big thangs!  Pictured above I did a black and white combination.  I like to play around with trying to do designs.  I'm not the best artist, but it's good enough to make me feel good on the inside and out!  Like Shameless Maya always say, "Do You Boo"!

P.S. Please disregard my Hubby's Army boots...someone had to take the picture!

3 Lunchbox Ideas for Kids (No Sandwiches)

If you are loving my back to school lunch posts (and I hope you are), then today is your lucky day!  I have created more easy lunchbox options for kids.  Please refer to my previous posts on how I get myself organized to make this happen in an efficient manner in the mornings.  It's all about planning and preparing.  

It's hard enough for me to try to figure out what to put in my kids' lunchboxes every morning, and it's even harder when I can't give them both the same things.  They do not like the same things.  I try to give them similar things without having to think too much that early in the morning.  Pictured above is Gracee's lunch.  Sometimes I will break down and give them good old Chef Boyardee!  I use a small thermos to keep it warm in.  Paired with this is a cheese stick (Gracee does not like meat sticks), homemade fruit salad, and a kids' Odwalla bar.

Georgee does not like Chef Boyardee and will only eat the mac & cheese one.  He does like meat sticks, but does not like fruit salad.  He gets a cutie for his fruit.  

Another alternative to sandwiches or deli meat is mini pepperoni packs.  Georgee loves these and they are easy to throw in his lunchbox.  No prepping needed.

Gracee actually really likes the spaghetti and meatballs Chef Boyardee and will often request it.  I added raw broccoli, grapes, and a squeezable Greek yogurt.  One of these sides she can choose for a classroom snack.  

Over the next few weeks I will continue to post new ideas so that you can have at list of options to add to your kids' lunchboxes.  Don't forget to add in a cute little drawing or note.  They may not show it, but they do love that!  

More Back To School Lunch Ideas for Kids (No Sandwiches)

In the hustle and bustle of back to school time, the last thing we need to worry about is what to put in our kids' lunchboxes.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about this issue and have come up with some quick, easy, affordable, and mostly healthy lunch ideas.  I hope these ideas are able to save you at least a little bit of time and stress.

This may not look very appetizing, but any type of cold pasta salad is great to add to lunch to change things up a bit.  My kids love my Mom's recipe of macaroni salad.  We just use whole wheat elbow noodles, eggs, relish, onions (add whatever diced vegetables you like), ham or turkey, shredded cheese, and light miracle whip.  You can choose whatever pasta salad your child prefers and put it in a thermos to keep it cold.  I use a thermos that I can store in the freezer at night, and put the pasta salad in it in the morning to keep it cold for lunchtime.  I like to add raw veggies and crackers with this.

I usually meal prep for my husband and I a big fruit salad every week.  My daughter is also a fan.  I like to prepare hers in a cute small mason jar with some whip cream on top.  Sometimes we add granola and Greek vanilla yogurt.  This dish is not only super healthy, but super cute and delicious too!  My son is not a big fruit eater so he isn't a fan.

Here is an example of my homemade lunchables.  I have mentioned before that I hate buying the ready made lunchables in the store.  I do give in to those when I'm having a Mommy moment and just don't feel like having to think about lunch anymore.  Those times are few and far in between because I think my lunchables taste better and are quite cute.  The kids liked that I wrapped turkey around blocks of cheese and secured them with toothpicks.  You can also do this easily with string cheese without having to cut anything.

Soup and salad is always another great option.  My kids like tomato soup.  I use the thermos to keep it warm.  In the morning I pour boiling hot water in the thermos and let it sit in there for five minutes or so.  Then I warm up the soup until it is boiling hot as well.  I pour out the water and quickly pour in the soup to keep it warm for lunch.  I add a salad and fruit.

Check out my previous blog post for how I organize myself to quickly create these lunches.  Comment below ideas you use for your kids that you have found helpful.

Kindergarten Back To School (Boy) Style

It was just last year that my baby was entering Kindergarten.  He has been going to daycare all his life, but it's a different story when they go to big kid school.  With starting big kid school, he had to look the part.  We found this super cute outfit all from our favorite store Ross.  Little Georgee loves to wear his ties and it was befitting he do so on the first day of school.  This tie came with this shirt and we matched some dark jeans to go with it.  We also got the orange Converse sneakers from Ross to add a pop of color.  He was definitely the coolest and most handsome Kindergartener!

Back To School Lunch Ideas for Kids

Back to school is upon us.  As parents we have scrambled around to tackle the infamous million dollar school supply list, got the kids fresh new outfits and kicks, and made sure to tame their manes all so that they can make the best first day of school impression.  The last thing we want to think about is what to put in their lunchboxes. Especially if you have picky eaters like I do.  I mean what kids don't like sandwiches for lunch?  My kids, that's who!  Considering my kids will be entering 4th and 1st grades this year, I have agonized over the lunchbox issue for years.  I have racked my brains on what to feed them, and I refuse to pay for lunch daily.  After awhile and getting their feedback, I finally got this lunch thing down to a science.  Over the next few posts I will share with you different ideas for kids' lunches.  I will warn you that my options are not super clean, organic, or super healthy, but they are quick, easy, mostly healthy, and kid approved.

I like to first make a list of ideas of all the different types of foods I can put in their lunchboxes for their lunch and snack.  I make a list of possible entrees and sides.  I always put in their lunchbox one entree with two sides and an extra snack.  All the sides that I list can go either way as sides or snacks.  Making a list gives me a good idea of options to be able to change it up.

Possible Entrees:
Sandwiches
PBJ
Turkey/Ham Rollups
Wraps
Salad
Soup
Chicken Nuggets

Possible Snacks/Sides:
Raw Veggies with Ranch
Fruit
Yogurt
Fruit Snacks
Fruit Salad
Nuts

My actual list is very long because I try to list everything I can possibly think of.  I go back to the list when I get ideas off Pinterest and other blogs.  I keep this list stored in the kitchen.  Once my list is ready, I can go shopping.  I like to shop in bulk for lunch items so that I am not running out of them quickly.  Above I started with their drinks.  In addition to taking their water bottles to school, I also back a milk or juice box.  The ones shown are some of our favorites.

Cheezits, crackers, fruit snacks, etc count as sides and snacks.  I like to get an assortment of each.  Pictured above are some of my kids' favorites, but we also like the organic rope fruit snacks, and the Motts fruit snacks.

These are a few more of our favorites.  I love the small apples, oranges, and bananas for kids.  I found these at Wal-Mart.  I try to always include one or two fruits and vegetables in their lunches.

Here is a sample of putting everything all together.  They are pictured Hers and His.  As you can see, both kids do not have the exact same lunch.  I mean that would just be too simple for me if they both liked the same things right!  So of course having to make different foods is also a struggle.

For my little Georgee he is fine with a sandwich...once in a blue moon.  He prefers Cheezits and he likes bananas and yogurt raisins.  Notice the Ninja Turtle sticker?  That is for him to be able to distinguish his snack for class from his actual lunch.  Otherwise he would eat everything in his lunchbox at lunch and look at his teacher like, "Mommy didn't pack me a snack".

For my Gracee, she prefers blackberries, a pbj, and occasionally will eat the Cheezits.  Also in the picture is the Odwalla kids bars.  She really likes those as well.  Hers has a sticker on it for a snack as well.  She can usually tell which is her snack, but she likes the stickers anyway.

These are examples of my homemade lunchables.  I hate spending money on the store bought lunchables (unless I'm in a lazy Mommy bind), so I try to make my own.  Also, I have found that my kids prefer to eat lunch meat plain instead of as sandwiches.

Here is another rare day that the kids allowed me to send sandwiches.  I try to throw those in once every other week.

I hope these ideas help to get you started.  I will also note that I pack their lunches with an ice pack.  They also have small thermos that will keep the contents in it hot or cold.  I will have more posts with those later.  Stay tuned to more lunch ideas and comment below any ideas you have found helpful.

Thoughtful Target Father's Day Gift Basket Idea

Father's Day is really right around the corner!  At this point it's in four days!  You would think that because I'm now a Stay-At-Home-Mom that I would be on point with thinking ahead for thoughtful and creative gifts!  Well, much like the idea that Stay-At-Home-Moms have lots of time, you are dead wrong!  It seems as if it crept up on me this year, but who am I kidding?  I said the same thing last year when I had a full time job!  I'm not sure what my problem is...too bad I can't blame it on "pregnancy brain".  Maybe it's just "I already have too much to think about" brain.

Last night I made it a point to get my brain in gear and come up with something for Father's Day for Hubby's Dad, my Dad, and my Hubby.  I figured if I needed to mail something I definitely needed to get it in the mail today to make it to SC on time for our fathers.  I love to kill two birds with one stone and decided I needed to shop for Hubby too.

The kids and I set out on a Target journey in hopes to not spend our whole life savings (everyone knows that Target is the devil), and to find all the gifts that we needed.  Prior to going to Target I sucked it up and made what I wanted to make for our fathers.  Weeks ago I got the idea to make our fathers a calendar on Shutterfly of pictures of our family, the kids, and their other Grandkids.  I was thinking against it this week knowing that I waited too long to make it for it to get delivered on time.  My dear friend assured me that it would be just fine if it got to them late, but to make the calendars anyway.  I thought long and hard about what to get our fathers and was sure that even though they wouldn't say it, but they would be tired of yet another gift card from us.  I knew that they would really love and cherrish a cool calendar with pictures of their Grandkids and family.  Two hours later, I was done with the calendars and knew I made the right gift choice.

Back to Target, I allowed the kids to pick out what they wanted to get their Dad.  Gracee is very resourceful like myself, and found an idea on You Tube of something she wanted to make her Dad.  I was quite impressed and happy that I didn't have to think of this.  She got her materials and her present came out perfect!

Gracee made a "Dad's (Mu) Stache" jar of candy.  I had seen this on Pinterest and of course pinned it, but didn't actually think to make it!  She found a large mason jar and all her Dad's favorite candies and she was set.  When she got home she used black construction paper and a silver sharpie and made her creation.  She even revealed to me that she put a little glue on the paper to make it stick to the glass.  I didn't cringe at the thought of her doing this due to my hopes of reusing the jar for my own purposes.  I of course smiled and praised her on her creativity.

Materials from Target:
Large Mason Jar $1.99
Assorted Candy 3 bags for $10

Next I asked Georgee what he wanted to get Dad.  He said "A thing that Dad can make pancakes and grill on".  So I'm thinking a griddle.  We did buy him one for Father's Day like six years ago, but of course one too many Army moves broke it.  We looked at the griddles and they were just #teamtoomuch.  Especially for a Dad that never makes pancakes!  Instead Georgee settled on getting his Dad some Avengers pajama bottoms.  Gracee also picked out a Corona t-shirt because she said, "It's Dad's favorite beer...and look it's even his favorite kind...the Extra one".  I could die right there.  Kids pay attention and tell everything.  Lastly I added a Brita water bottle.  Hubby is the only one in the house that doesn't have one, and Mama is tired of buying him bottled water!  We finished it all off with a cute little basket.

Materials from Target:
Corona T-shirt $12.99
Avengers Pj bottoms $17.99
Water Bottle $15.00
Basket $3.00

Not bad for a last minute, yet thoughtful gift!

Breast Augmentation 1 Year Update

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to my girls, happy birthday to you!  That's my attempt at singing in a blog!  Actually my girls' official birthday was March, 11, 2015, but time sure does fly when you are having fun.  Okay not fun, but when you are super busy.  Yes, it has been a year already!  I am one year post op!  I am so happy that I made it to a year without any complications (knocking on wood).  I still can't believe they are all mine!

How do they feel?  I think they feel very real still.  My husband has no complaints.  They are very soft and squishy.  They feel like a soft water balloon.  They have also dropped a little more, and at this point I think they are done dropping.  After they have dropped and fluffed, they have a very natural look.  Most people are surprised when they find out they aren't real due to them looking very natural.  I can definitely make them look unreal with the right bra *wink wink*.

Speaking of bras, they are hard to find.  I will do separate post all about bras.  I am a 34D or a 32DD.  A 34D is very hard to find in most stores.  If I do find it, I immediately snatch it up.  I can usually find it in of course Victoria's Secret and Ross.  Sometimes I will buy a 36C which can be found in any store, but its not a perfect fit because of the band being a little too big.  Sports bras are even harder to find because I need maximum support or high impact.  I can find a few at Wal-mart, but mostly have to get those from specialty stores, but more on all that in another post!  The bottom line is that good bras are hard to find now!

I can fully do any and all exercises now.  I can lift heavy weights and do any type of movements with them.  I can even do pull ups again on the pull up bar.  I thought I'd never be able to do that again.  The more you try to do exercises that are a little uncomfortable, the easier it gets.  I have also noticed that with exercise I sweat A LOT in the boob area!  It's crazy because any time I'm hot now I sweat there.  I never had that problem before.  My naturally big boobed friend told me that she uses deodorant around hers for this problem.  I may just have to try that.

My scars are quite normal to me and healed well.  I will also do another blog post just on those.  One of my scars is way lighter than the other one.  It blends well with my skin.  It doesn't bother me that one is lighter than the other one.  No one is seeing them, so it doesn't matter to me.  For the past six months, I have not been active in using anything on the scars.  Every now and then I use coco butter.

Overall, I do enjoy my girls!  I love how I look in my clothes and how I feel.  I will admit that when it's time for me to get them redone, I would like to try to get them a little bigger.  Not ridiculous but a few cc's higher.  I am not looking into getting them redone anytime soon, but maybe in the next 5-10 years.

Stay tuned to specific posts and let me know any questions you may have about getting a boob job!

P.S. I love this picture because I took it after a workout.  I love how I still look like I have boobs in sports bras now.  I posted this picture to Instagram and my friend immediately text me and said if she didn't know already she was going to ask me if I got a boob job because they looked big! I was very pleased!

What I Ate Wednesday: Lettuce Wraps for Weight Loss

Lately my dinner BFF is lettuce wraps.  They are healthy, light, and totally adaptable to whatever you want them to be!  They can be gluten free, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, no carb, etc!  You can't get a better dinner than that!  Honestly I make them a lot because my hubby and kids are eating homemade tacos and in me trying to be good, I try to do without the nachos and tortillas!  Even though I am missing out a little, in the moment I am completely fine with it because these are so delicious.

The lettuce wraps shown above are my version of buffalo tacos from dinner one night.
Ingredients:
Romaine Lettuce
Buffalo Chicken (shredded chicken/hot sauce)
Jalapenos
Bleu Cheese Crumbles
Shredded Carrots
Blackbeans
Red Onions
Homemade Guacamole (not shown)

Just last week we had tacos again and I used all the ingredients to make my lettuce wraps.  Again they were so good and filling and I didn't feel like I was missing out.
Ingredients:
Butter Lettuce
Cherry Tomatoes
Red Onions
Green Onions
Corn
Seasoned Ground Turkey
Shredded Carrots
Salsa
Lime Wedges
Homemade Guacamole

So am I the only Mom that gets super excited when her kids are excited about eating veggies?  This past Saturday my kids went to a free cooking class for kids at Williams-Sonoma (check your local store for details).  I was very pleased that the recipe was to make lettuce wraps.  The kids enjoyed learning how to make the wraps and even requested to make them at home.  Little Georgee (six years old) even had seconds and he acts like he is allergic to vegetables!  He asked for me to make him some in his lunchbox one day!  I was definitely over joyed! Triple fists pumps to Williams-Sonoma!

All in all lettuce wraps are great for the whole family.  You can easily adapt (tacos, burgers/sliders, buffalo chicken, tofu, etc.) them to whatever you have in mind to eat.  They are great to aide in weight loss because they are no carbs!  All you are eating is protein and lots of veggies, and those are some of the keys to weight loss!  Fill up on lots of lean protein and vegetables!

Tasty Tuesday: Family Snack Basket

It's time for a Tasty Tuesday Snack Attack!!!!!!!

Is it just my house where the question of the day is always, "Can we have a snack"?  My kids seem to only function on snacks all day.  I mean 2 seconds after they have completed a meal they are asking for a snack!  Now that they are in school all day, as soon as they come home they run to get a snack...as if they haven't just had one before they left school.

Knowing that snacks will always be the topic of conversation, I try to have healthy options readily available.  Now not all of our snacks are 100% healthy, but they are better options than what they could be having.  We also keep cut up fruits and veggies in the fridge, along with greek yogurt for them to chose from.

I have found it easiest to keep all the pantry snacks in a cute basket.  Yes I needed an excuse to buy another cute basket...shhhhh don't tell my husband!  I keep the basket at their level on a lower shelf in the pantry.  It's packed with Mom approved snacks, so I don't mind what they get out of it.

Ross is of course my favorite store on earth! I mean what don't they have!  I purchased this basket from Ross for the price above.  I purchased this basket like over a year ago, so please tell me why I still have the price tag on it?  For this blog post of course!

The cool thing about this snack basket is that it's not just for the kids, there are goodies in it for Mom and Dad as well!  My husband is always reaching in there to grab things to take to work.  Sometimes the kids get mad that he has taken some of their favorites.  He and my daughter fight over the almonds!  I don't buy all of these at once but just keep replacing favorites whenever I grocery shop.

Nuts are great for protein!  Now of course the health nuts out there will say make sure they are plain and raw! Yes we have those too for Mommy in a bigger container, but we have a motto in our house that everything is fine in moderation.

These fruit snacks and raisins are a few of the house faves.  I portion out the yogurt raisins in little ziploc bags ready to be grabbed.

These are a few more faves!  All of these can easily be thrown into the kids' lunchboxes for their school lunches as well!  I'm all about organized, quick and easy.


#mommytips #snackbasket #kidssnacks #snacks #lunchboxideas #Ross

Makeover Monday: My Favorite Lippie!

If you have been following me for awhile then you know that I am no make up artist! I don't know much about make up at all! I am still a work in progress.  I do have some favorites that I have been trying out.

I am all about the natural neutral face! Probably because it's the easiest for me to do.  I don't play with too many colors.  I often feel that with my lack of experience I will end up looking like a clown!  I have been looking for a nude lippie for the longest, but didn't have much luck.  I hit the jackpot when I found this Revlon Pink Cognito 820 at a drug store for less than $7 I'm sure (I'm cheap).

I love that this lippie is a pinkish nude!  It compliments a neutral face so well!  I wear this one on a daily basis and on lunch dates with my Hubby!  My Hubby isn't into a full make up face, so this color works perfectly!  Thanks Revlon for continuing to make great colors!

#lippie #lipstick #Revlon #MOTD #LOTD #neutral face #naturalface

How To Get Your Kids To Eat More Vegetables!

Is it just my kids that act like they are allergic to vegetables or anything remotely healthy?  In my house this is crazy because the only option is healthy foods.  Everyday I have to fight with them about eating healthy.  I am constantly wondering why does it have to be a fight considering this is what and how we eat on a daily basis.  By talking to other Moms I just realize that kids will be kids.  They want to assert their independence and authority, so one of the few things they can do that with is what they are eating.  Let's face it Moms, we can't MAKE our kids eat anything!  We can influence them, provide them with healthy options, and...yes bribe them! I will admit that I have gone to the extreme a few times and said, "Okay if you eat all your string beans I will give you a dollar".  String beans gone in an instant!

In reading lots of Mom blogs and parenting websites, I realized that kids like to have options.  So I decided to do a once a week salad bar for dinner.  It takes the guess work out of what to have for dinner for at least one day during the week, and it's super healthy with no fighting!

Let's start out with lettuce of course!  I think most of us grew up thinking (and still thinking) that if we ate a huge salad with iceberg lettuce, that we were being really healthy.  As I have aged, I have learned that iceberg lettuce does not have much nutritional value.  Now I love it in my salads still, but it's not the main event!  I like to use organic spring mix or a kale and baby spinach mix of lettuce.  The greener the better!  I put the lettuce in it's own big bowl, and surprisingly I rarely have leftovers of it.  I am shocked each time after dinner being slightly upset not to have lettuce for my lunch the next day, but super happy that my kids ate lots of salad without being bribed!

Now for the main purpose of this post, cut up lots of vegetables!  I cut up any and everything in my refrigerator and freezer! I'm all about an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of salad!  I always try to incorporate new fruits and vegetables for them to try in their salads.  Pictured above was peas, carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, apples, cucumbers, mushrooms, and red onions.  The rule is that in addition to the lettuce they have to choose at least two vegetables to go into their salads.  They always choose more because they like trying to make their salads look as creative as possible.

The favorite is of course the meats!  The rule for the meat is that if you want more meat in your salad, you have to add more veggies!  They usually do.  I like to give them a variety to try in their salads.  In the picture above we have boiled eggs, turkey pepperoni, grated cheese, buffalo chicken, and deli turkey.

Once all the ingredients are prepped, I put them on the table so that the kids are free to pick and choose what they want throughout dinner.  I also add bread or a dinner roll with the meal.

Gracee is usually good about eating salads that I make on the regular at dinner.  She is actually excited to eat salad when we do this.  She even skips the salad dressing and only uses red wine vinaigrette.  She is usually the one that wants thirds on salad when we have the salad bar!

It takes a lot to get Georgee to eat his vegetables and even his fruit.  He is always asking for seconds on something and I always have to remind him to eat all his fruit or vegetables first.  When we have the salad bar I don't have to remind him.  He is eager to try new things in his salad, and cool with putting more veggies in because he likes his meats!

I am thankful that my hubby is not allergic to all things healthy because he loves salad bar night as well!  He just needs lots of meat in his to keep him full.

All in all this idea is a win win!  It's kid (and husband) tested, mother approved!  Try it out tonight!