Sending them Back to School

I just listened to my 8-year-old tell her brother (in her whiniest, most annoying, loud voice) to get out of her room because "I just need PRIVACY" while attempting to shut the door in his face (I assume).  That's the third time today.  *sigh*
School starts in a week and that was probably just the reminder I needed to get me out of my nostalgic mind-set (summer can't really be almost over can it?! But it was so much fun! And dang, are my kids really this OLD?!) and back to looking forward to the fact that this year both kids will be in school all day and I will the have the house to myself - clean (because no one will be home to mess it up), quiet (with no one around to blast the music or interrupt me every 5 minutes), and with plenty of time to work on anything my little (crafty!) heart desires - WOOHOO!
So today I got on the ball and pulled together everything I've been meaning to get ready for the transition to school.  I have a whole list - and a Pinterest Board (see it here).  The kids and I went through their closets last week, reorganized everything and made sure they were all set for school in that department.  Today I pulled all the supplies together and double checked the school's lists (missing one thing for each kid - urgh) - see that big pile of stuff?  I remember when all we needed for school was a pencil and maybe a Trapper Keeper :)

Then I labelled everything that I thought would need labels.  Supplies.  Backpacks (Sharpie on the inside with names and name keychains we picked up in Utah for the zippers).  Coats, etc etc.  And I made sure to bundle everything up and put it where we would need it - backpacks are now back on their hooks in the mud room (tight fit with the pool bags still out), supplies in grocery bags for us to take to Back to School night.

I even printed out some of the fun First Day of School memory/scrapbook stuff I've spotted online.

I will have the kids fill these out this week (printable can be found here)

And the kids will hold these signs for some of the First Day photos.

I even prepped a quick little First Day gift for the teachers.  (printable found here)

That just left lunchboxes.  I tracked them down, added new bottles of hand sanitizer, and put them in the pantry so they will be easily accessible when needed.

I fired up the printer one more time and added a few more fun lunchbox notes and jokes to my stash.  And I made myself a quick list of lunch ideas.  That's always the hard part - figuring out original but healthy ideas so the kids don't get sick of PB&J over and over. 
My list includes:
-sandwiches:  peanut butter with Nuttella as a treat.  Cut into shapes once in a while to vary it
-see if the kids will try wraps, even if it's just peanut butter on a tortilla
-make your own lunchables (crackers and cheese for Tyler, crackers and bologna or pepperoni for Kate)
-nachos
-waffles/pancakes
-french toast sticks
-muffins:  easy to do variety with these and the kids eat almost any kind.  The pumpkin/cake mix kind is a big favorite and pretty healthy.  Bran.  Sweet potato.  etc etc
-yogurt
-yogurt and granola
-trail mix/nuts:  these are good to add when the rest of the items in the lunchbox are low on protein
-nachos (this is more of a once in a while thing to add in some fun)
-smoothies: fruit, yogurt, milk/juice, even some veggies/spinach and the kids love them.  Can make ahead of time and freeze and the containers will thaw by lunchtime plus help keep the rest of the lunch cool
-tomato soup or chili for Kaitlyn (need to remember to try the hot water trick to see if it really does keep the thermos extra warm - she hates it when her hot food gets cold before lunch)
-chicken nuggets and maybe mac n cheese for Ty (he likes his food room temp so I don't have reheating issues with him)
-Kaitlyn will eat all fruits (and I mean ALL fruits - it's great) but Tyler sticks to apples (have finally been able to get him to eat them whole/with the skin on yippee), applesauce, bananas, carrots, celery (sometimes, with PB), and once in a while some grapes (thinking I need to try the trick of rolling them in jello mix and freezing them.  Bet he gobbles them up that way).
-raisins/craisins
-and mix up the drinks between milk, juice, water mix-ins (love these!), juice boxes/capri sun, and Splash (sneak in those veggies!)
I have pinned a ton of those cute Bento Box and Muffin Tin ideas that I want to work into the lunches maybe once a week.  Often enough to make the kids' lunch extra fun, but not enough that they complain when I just throw something together quickly and not made it cute :)

I think that covers everything - phew!  Now I can just sit back and let things happen.  First day of dance class tonight.  Back to school night for Kaitlyn on Wednesday.  Monday brings the first day of school for Kate and also the first section of the staggered entry stuff (can't believe it takes them 2 weeks to get the Kindergarten fully started!) for Tyler...
It's going to be a busy year!

What do you do to get ready for your kids to head back to school?

Picky Eating Chronicles

I'm on a quest. A quest to get my kids to eat a wider variety of foods, so they can lead healthier lives, and possibly turn dinner time into something fun again. That's not too much to ask, right?

I have to admit that in the area of picky eating, we were doomed. I'm a picky eater. My husband is a picky eater too, only about different things. Where I won't eat ground meat or anything resembling eggs and would be happy to eat vegetarian more than half the time, he loves hamburger and steak but won't touch squash or strawberries and apples. Yes, I said STRAWBERRIES. He's the only person I know that doesn't like strawberries. Other than my son, of course. So as I said. We were probably doomed to have picky children, both through genetics and the fact that because we know how it feels to be on the other end of it, we don't pull the "eat what is put in front of you or you don't eat at all" card.

We do, however, realize that life could be much easier if the kids are willing to expand their horizons. You know, so we could go out to eat and actually have everyone find something on the menu that they like. So the littlest one doesn't rely quite so heavily on "dinner cereal" (our solution to not being a short order cook - if the kids don't want the meal we have fixed for dinner they eat the one (super healthy) cereal we have designated as the dinner cereal). And because they are both getting old enough that trying to reason with them actually works once in a while.

After much discussion and research we have now set out on our quest. Our first plan of attack is a series of rewards and a sticker chart. We want to go really heavy on the rewards here at the first, while they are really enthusiastic and willing. Later we'll switch techniques. I have a few up my sleeve and I'm sure I can find more as needed. For now, this is the sticker chart, which we have taped to the inside of a cupboard door in the kitchen. The kids add a sticker on the calendar each day that they try something new. We track which foods they have tried and whether they liked the food or not. Any food that doesn't go on the Like column will be tried at another time (see I've done my research and I know that sometimes it takes many exposures to a new item before a child is willing to try it or like it). We make a point of offering them something new to try every night at dinner (sometimes more than one) and sometimes at other points during the day. Sometimes we decide what will be the new item, sometimes they get to choose one.
The rewards are:
-Trying a new food 3 days in a row = they get to pick a dessert
-Trying a 5 new foods (doesn't have to be in a row) = fun activity
-Liking 5 new foods = $
And once both kids have tried 30 new foods each we get to take a family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge (indoor water park - it looks really cool and they'd better earn it soon because what's the point of going to an indoor water park in the summer?!)

And guess what?! It's actually WORKING! Tyler surprised us by jumping on board right away and trying more foods than Kaitlyn in the beginning. His enthusiasm has fizzled a little and she is now ahead of him in the new food count. But despite a little more nudging than I would like to have to use at times, and having a hard time sometimes handling our own disappointment when they won't try something we know they will like, I'm pretty happy with their progress. As of last night Kaitlyn had 16 things on her list (and only 1 or 2 she didn't like) and Tyler was up to 12. That seems pretty good considering we are only 23 days into the month.

I'll update with our progress and new ideas as we go. And if anyone has any additional suggestions of ways to make it fun, foods that I may not have thought of as kid friendly, or anything else along those lines - please share!

Picky Eating 101

I used to be the pickiest eater I knew. I have a long list of things I don't eat - some that even make me gag. And don't get near me with a cooked egg because even the smell makes me want to run away.
I no longer claim that title in my house - my 4 year old does, with his sister not far behind. They aren't the pickiest kids I know (that would be my nephews who I have only seen eat strawberries, chips, bread and dessert) and they weren't always this picky. In fact, before they each hit 18 months I used to think they were good eaters. But now we find ourselves being THOSE parents. The ones that only order corn dogs (Ty eats the "corn" but not the dog) and fries for the kids at restaurants and still spend most of the meal saying "3 more bites" or "Tyler, keep eating" over and over again. The ones that have to make 2 or even 3 meals for dinner because the kids won't eat what we eat. The ones that read every picky eating article they can find in the hope to get some new tips we haven't tried yet. The ones that let their kids eat like this:

Yup. He's eating peanut butter directly from the spoon! :) That counts as protein right?!

Bet you're wondering what prompted this train of thought. The theme for Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Corner this week is What do you feed your kids? Perfect timing, because Sam and I have been on a mission lately to figure out a better system. We don't have a full plan yet, but I thought I would take stock of where we are right now and some of the things that are working.

When it comes down to it, the kids don't eat too much "junk." I can generally get them to go for things like yogurt and fruit instead of chips and cupcakes. Carbs are probably over-used and meats and veggies need serious work, but I think that's typical for almost anyone. The problem is that overall they eat foods but not as meals or full recipes. Their definition of a taco is a shell with only refried beans (we've lately started trying to hide some cheese and spices in the beans in the hopes their palates will adjust and start liking more flavor in things). They eat ramen noodles and chili (and even that is only one specific brand) but won't try more complicated types of soup. The other sticky point is that if something doesn't look exactly like a type of food they know they like, they won't try it. I already mentioned the chili. It's the same even with typical kid food like Mac n Cheese (Kraft type is fine, home made or anything different in a restaurant and it won't be touched) and chicken nuggets (versus chicken strips).

The high points:
-we've switched to whole grain pastas a year ago and they didn't notice the difference. And they have recently "discovered" that all shapes of pasta taste the same as spaghetti so it's ok if the noodles look different than they are used to. So I am hoping we can use the pasta as a vehicle for starting to get them to step out of their box a bit by adding different sauces or mixing in vegetables.
-Kaitlyn's absolute favorite meal is pot stickers and yakisoba noodle stir fry and Tyler will usually gobble up the stir fry too. Sadly, we can't find the yakisoba noodles at any of the grocery stores here in NC but I'm hoping we'll eventually find a good substitute. I do however take is as a good sign that the kids will eat something that is typically more a grown up taste.
-they will eat almost any kind of bread-type breakfast food - muffins, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, etc. I have started using these as a vehicle to hide more nutritious things in, like pumpkin or zucchini. And while we usually stick to this kind of thing as a fun breakfast on the weekends, I think I might start adding in a "breakfast for dinner" once in a while.
-fruit and yogurt smoothies! Or as the kids call them, "fruit shakes." You can pretty much dump any combination of yogurt, fruit, juice, and ice in a blender and the kids slurp it up in no time. I've even tried adding spinach and got the same result. So while I've been using these as a once in a while treat, I'm thinking it would be a better idea to make them on a more regular basis and start tossing in not only the spinach but flax seed or some other nutrient-dense additives.

Quick tips for every Mom to keep up her sleeve:
-remember that any kid will eat better if it's fun. Use toothpicks or chopsticks instead of forks. Fun plates or glasses. Use cookie cutters to make sandwiches into different shapes. That kind of thing.
-dip! no matter what the food, kids usually will like it even better if they can dip it in ketchup, ranch, BBQ sauce, etc.
-the hungrier kids are, the more willing they are to try new things or eat things they don't like as well. So keep track of how close to dinner you let them have snacks (I sabotage myself with this all the time without realizing it). And if there is one food you want them to eat for sure at meal time (like veggies), give it to them first and add the rest of the meal to their plates after they've had a chance to take a few bites.

Look I was able to find some good things about my kids eating habits. Who knew?! And hopefully in a few weeks I will have more progress to report. Fingers crossed!