Prepping for Valentines

I collect ideas.  All.  The. Time.  And sometimes they stay tucked away in my collection in a notebook or on a Pinterest board.  But, especially when it comes to the holidays, I do like to put a few of them into practice.  So I thought I'd share what I've picked so far.
I really loved the idea of doing a "heart attack" on the kids' bedroom doors.  To drag it out a little bit (and cut down on the Valentines Eve prep) I cut out a bunch of hearts (with my trusty Silhouette) and have been writing a compliment/loving thought or two on them every day since Feb 1st.  By the 14th they should have quite a collection.  I did a set for the husband too.  The kids have noticed and I've overheard them discussing their latest hearts, and Kaitlyn even reminded me one day that I hadn't added a heart yet.  The husband hasn't said anything LOL.

 The school does a fundraiser every year where they deliver candy grams to the kids.  This is Kaitlyn's order form - I was so happy to see that she was sending one to her brother (without any prompting from me!).  The forms have been filled out and turned in - cross it off the list! ;)

 The kids' Valentines for their classmates are all finished and waiting to take to school next week.

 Another idea from Pinterest - cute, right?  (link to inspiration post here)

 And finally, a little lunchbox love all ready to go.  (You can find the printable here)  I was happy to find enough red and pink candy in the leftovers from the New Years Pinata so I didn't have to go out and buy any - score!

I'm still not sure what I want to do for Valentines Day itself.  I have gifts and candy for the kids and a vague idea for a small gift for the husband but I'm not feeling like turning it into a huge event.  Maybe dinner out and a simple dessert like those giant Hershey Kisses made out of Rice Krispie Treats (link for that idea here).  I still have a week to think about it.  Hmm...

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?

Lunchbox Ideas

My daughter is a picky eater. And she's going to be in school all day this year. Which means we have a problem. Lunch.

Now, I know I used to have to eat whatever the caffeteria was serving that day but I'm afraid trying that would just be a waste of money in this case. And that means we're going to have to pack a lunch for her. Every. Single. Day. So we may as well make it enjoyable for both of us, right? That's why I've been keeping my eyes open for any and all ideas and products to make packing a lunchbox easier and more fun.

I outfitted her with a cute lunchbox (had to be Hello Kitty - her collection just keeps growing and growing and growing...), containers, and an ice pack (really cute flower one, that I forgot to pull out of the freezer for the photo). I was happy to find some sandwich cutters in Target's dollar section. I have a bunch of fun cookie cutters that I use on sandwiches too, but I like how the sandwich cutters are designed to cover most of the slice of bread so very little goes to waste.


Then came the collecting of ideas. First, the food. I've become a little obsessed with food the last week or so - menus, lists, how to get the entire family to eat healthier and with more variety... I even made it the focus of our Book of the Week activities - more on that when we've finished them.

My list so far looks like this:
-peanut butter sandwich
-turkey slices (rolled up on toothpicks) with crackers and cheese (if I can find a portable kind Kate likes) or a tortilla
-breasticks and sauce
-yogurt and yogurt parfait (with granola and fruit)
-bagel and cream cheese
-chili
-chicken noodle soup
-muffins
-waffles
-celery and peanut butter
-add a veggie option: snow peas, carros, cucubers and dip
-add a fruit - thank goodness she likes pretty much any fruit
-nuts/trail mix
I've been told they have access to a microwave so that may open up some options too. I would have to make up some little Cheat Sheets so that she would know how to reheat different things.
And when things get boring and I need more ideas I want to explore the myriad creative combinations for Muffin Tin Meals and Bento Boxes. Wouldn't it also be fun to do a theme once in a while? Like everything is a certain color, or they all start with "C", shapes, holidays, etc.

Any other suggestions you have had success with that I should add to the list? Please share!

I have also found a TON of cute things to slip in the lunchbox to make it a little more fun.
-notes from home. These can be as cute or as quick at you want them to be. I found some really cute printable ones here and at other sites (I could kick myself every time I use something and don't write down where I found it). Some have preprinted sayings, some you fill in yourself. And there are some adorable "fruit labels" at Skiptomylou.org with sayings like "you are the apple of my eye" that you can print on sticker paper and stick onto fruit.
-riddles and jokes
-mazes, word searches. Could even do a running game of hangman or tic-tac-toe
-cute drawings or clipart
-a photo from home (of family or maybe of the child doing something fun or silly that they will enjoy sharing with friends)
-fun napkins
-cute toothpicks - to use instead of utensils or as mini-kebabs for fruit or cold cuts
-fun muffin liners (to dress up containers for a little color), unique containers and baggies

I took some time the other day and printed out a bunch of things to get me started - notes (blank and preprinted), riddles (found these at familyfun.com), mini-quizes (found them here), games, clipart (mostly Dutin Pike freebies). I gathered a few stickers too, and stuck them all in a manila envelope that I will keep in the pantry so I can grab them once or twice a week.





So I guess we're all set. Wish me luck! :)

*Update 8/25/10
We're 2 days into the new school year and lunches are going great! Kaitlyn was so excited to pack her lunch all by herself first thing in the morning. And she ate every crumb! I was so happy!
One thing I did want to add: My best lunch idea yet was having Kate sit down and help me make up a lunch menu for the first week of school. I had her concentrate on including items from 3-4 of the food groups so that she got a good variety. And I have to say, this makes packing the lunch SO easy. Just a quick check of the list, grab everything and go. I also made sure I checked the list before shopping for groceries on Saturday so that I knew we would have everything on hand when the time came. Easy!