School Lunch Ideas

This year I have two in school and they both take their lunch every day.  My youngest daughter is my picky eater so I have had to get a little creative when it comes to packing lunches.  I do not like to spend my evenings on this task so I came up with a list of things my girls will eat and have it on the side of our fridge so I can get some quick ideas.  Here's some things we pack...

Homemade lunchables:

1.       Pizza-open up a whole grain English muffin, put sauce on both sides and put the two sides back together.  Pack shredded cheese and small turkey pepperonis for them to add to pizza at lunch time (at lunch take the English muffin apart and have two small pizzas, sprinkle cheese and pepperonis on each half)

2.       Crackers sandwiches-whole wheat round crackers, lunch meat torn into small pieces, and cheese slices torn into small pieces.  

I love using these silicon muffin cups for packing several things in one container.

 Bagels-My girls prefer the smaller bagels and they like cream cheese or butter on them.  Or you could make sandwiches using them instead of sliced bread.

Wraps:

-hummus

-pizza (put pepperoni and melt cheese then wrap up. Can add a side of marinara                                      sauce for dipping)

-pretty much anything you would make a sandwich out of you can make into a wrap                                    (pb&j, turkey, ham & cheese, etc)

Greek yogurt-add honey or fruit or granola

Greek yogurt with honey on top, granola on the side to mix in at lunch time.

Fruit kabobs-make a pattern of fruit on a skewer (grapes, blueberries, pineapple, clementine slice, strawberries, etc) You can add cheese cubes too.

Leftovers from dinner-if its something that needs to stay warm, use the containers that will keep food warm/cold for several hours 

Soup-use stay warm containers and pack with crackers or corn muffin

Tuna-mix some mayo, mustard, salt and pepper and send with crackers (put in stay warm/cold container)

Waffle Sandwich-heat up two whole grain waffles and put PB or Nutella if school is PB free, cream cheese, or almond butter, (my younger daughter loves pumpkin butter on hers) between the two waffles to make a sandwich

English Muffin-I like to get the seasonal flavors when they have them or whole wheat when they don't and add cream cheese (plain or flavored).  Sometimes, instead of cream cheese, I will do a pb&j or lunchmeat sandwich.

Whole wheat English muffin with pumpkin cream cheese

Roll-ups-Take a slice of lunch meat and a slice of cheese and roll them up together (might need to hold together with a toothpick)

Quesadilla Strips-Take a whole grain flour tortilla, sprinkle shredded cheese on it, heat in microwave (until cheese is melted-30ish seconds), fold tortilla in half then cut folded tortilla into smaller strips.  Send salsa or sour cream to dip strips in.

Italian Pasta-Take whole grain, cooked noodles and pour Italian dressing on, mix well.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.  Take in a stay warm/cold container.

Mac and Cheese-serve in a stay warm/cold container(my girls love a can of tuna mixed in)

Crackers-Whole wheat round crackers with a spoonful of pb in the middle.  Make sure you know if your child's cafeteria is peanut-free before sending these!

Favorite lunch side items/school snacks:

-granola bar

-small bagel

-Pirates Booty

-Goldfish
-Babybel cheese, cheese sticks/bars/cubes

-cereal mix (1-2 cereals, maybe add in some raisins)

-fruit (apple, clementine, pear, container of grapes, strawberries, pineapple)

-squeezable applesauce

-pretzels (w/ or w/o hummus to dip)

-Go-gurt (stick in the freezer overnight & it will thaw by lunch time)

-homemade muffin (pumpkin is my kids' favorite, here's the recipe)

-popcorn
-Fig bars (we love these! Costco carries them.)

**My girls are not sandwich lovers so when I do pack a sandwich (and sometimes do this to waffle sandwiches, too) I cut them with a cookie cutter to make sandwich into a fun shape. My girls love it (and I don't hear "Mom why did you pack me a sandwich?" when they get home in the afternoons!)

**You don’t always have to pack a “Main Dish.”  Sometimes we just pack several “sides” (applesauce, homemade muffin, cheese stick, yogurt, apple, granola bar, veggies w/ ranch, pretzels, etc)

I hope some of these ideas help you and if you have any good ones, I'd love to hear...I'm always looking to add to my list!!

Freezer Cooking: new tips and links

For those of you who have followed along for a while, you know I have loved doing freezer cooking in the past. Well recently (with the start of the new school year) I got back into it. Since it'd been about a year since I had done this regularly, I decided to stick with my old favorite recipes.  But I have already started searching for some recipes to try next time.  

For those of you new to this, check out a previous post I did on Freezer Cooking Tips! And I have some new ones for you below...

1.  Try swapping meals.  Find a friend or family member who likes to or wants to try Freezer Meals.  I tried this out for the first time recently and it was a great way to switch things up.  I made 14 meals (each recipe makes two meals worth) and swapped with someone and ended up with 28 different meals in my freezer...enough to last my family for more than a month.

2.  Buy bulk bags of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the meals that call for chicken.

3.  Let your kids help.  This was the first time I have had one of my kids help with preparing meals.  My almost 8 year old daughter and I had a blast doing this together.  Even for those of you with slightly younger kids, letting them pour some of the ingredients in the bags lets them feel important.  And I have found that when my kids help with dinner, they are less likely to complain about it. 

4.  I like to do all my grocery shopping for meal ingredients in one big trip.  Saves time and gas and money.  And don't go food shopping when you're hungry...you'll end up spending money on things not on your list-I know from experience ;)

5.  Know your crockpot.  Mine cooks very fast so I learned (the hard way) that it won't take 8 hours for mine to cook any meal.  If you aren't sure how fast or slow your crockpot settings cook, you might want to try a meal out on a weekend or day you're at home so you can be there to keep an eye on it.

6.  There are different containers to store your freezer meals in but my favorite way is with gallon size freezer bags.  They are easier to get all the air out of when you are sealing it up and they take up less room in the freezer.  Some meals, like the ones you will put in the oven, need to be stored in a different type container.  Since you can squeeze all the air out of these containers, make sure you seal them up tightly. 

7.  Clean your freezer out before you start preparing meals.  I got rid of bulky boxes I had in my freezer (that waffles, black bean burgers, etc come in) and put those things in freezer bags.  Just doing this (and tossing a few things that had been pushed to the back and forgotten about) made a huge difference in the room I had in my small freezer!

I didn't think there was any way to fit all these meals into my freezer...amazing what a little reorganizing can do!

8.  Organize your recipes!  I found the easiest way to do this was print off the recipe when I find one I like (either by using the print button on the website or copy/paste into a Word document) and then putting them into the clear plastic page protectors and sticking those into a binder.  I have organized my binder by chicken, beef, pasta, sandwiches, soups, etc so all the recipes are easy to find.  And printing them out lets me make my own notes (such as family favorite, or perfect for when company comes, or even side dishes that go great with them) on each recipe.

Here's a list of some of the sites where I have found great recipes...

Once a month meals 

30 Days of Freezer Cooking Recipes 

Thriving Home 

Ring Around the Rosies 

Mom on a Mission 

Six Cents 

Tips on making freezer cooking gluten free 

Gluten Free Freezer Cooking recipes 

Or if you are looking for something in particular (breakfast freezer meals, gluten free freezer meals, etc.) head on over to Pinterest for lots of ideas!!  

More to come soon...Stay tuned!

The Blessing of Being a Single Mom

I never thought I'd hear myself referred to as a "single mom" but here I am, going on almost 2 years of that title under my belt...and it's been a huge blessing to my life!  What??? you ask, how can that be a blessing?

The old me...
I used to be one of those "everything has to be perfect" moms....my children's outfits had to match or at least coordinate, they had to have cute themed birthday parties every year, I had to say yes to help out/volunteer/organize every class party, team get together, play date, and so on. But since becoming a single mom, I've realized I can not do it all and yet miraculously the world still goes round! 

Me now...
Hand me down clothes are my favorite, my kids get a cake and special family meal for their birthdays, and more importantly I've learned to say no sometimes.  I get frequent comments on how exhausting it must be to be a single parent and carry it all on my shoulders.  But I'd rather be in my shoes than have unrealistic expectations and always demand way too much of myself...now that's exhausting!  Yes, there's a lot on my shoulders but I get to pick and chose what it is I really want to "carry."  Being a single mom has helped me appreciate what I do have rather than focus on what I don't. I thank God for my blessings and my struggles every single day instead of constantly asking Him "Why me?"  

So fellow mamas, here's what I'm trying to say...
Stop being so hard on yourselves!  Let your kids pick out their clothes occasionally (even if your 2 year old son insists on wearing his sister's gold sparkly church shoes-true story), eat cereal for dinner every once in a while (we just did the other day), forget those Pinterest-perfect birthday parties, learn to say no and not feel bad about it and most importantly go easy on yourselves...there's not a single one of us who is perfect...let's lift each other up, laugh at our mistakes, share our stories, and praise God for allowing us to be mothers-single or not!

Exercise...do it!

Finding time to do it-You might be thinking..."I don't have time to fit exercise into my already busy schedule." Maybe you can't workout for an hour every single day and that's ok. Try 30 minutes 3-4 days a week and work up to more if you can. Are you a dvd workout person?, a class at the Y person?, a runner?, or all of the above? Figure out what you like best and build that/those thing(s) into your workout routine. Switching things up often is what works for me.  Right now, I mix up the dvd workouts with Asylum, P90X3 and T25 (ps P90X3 is only 30 min and T25 is only 25 min for those of you who are short on time), running, strength, core, stretching/flexibility and rest days into my routine.

Making it a priority-I have definitely had to learn to prioritize things in order to get done what I have to each day.  My kids and their activities come first so I often find myself doing my workouts after I put them to bed. But having my workout to do in the evenings, keeps us on schedule and gets my kids in bed by a certain time each night.  Maybe you are an early riser and working out first thing in the morning would be better for you? When I was a stay-at-home mom, working out during nap time was the easiest for me.  Figure out what time of the day is best for you and make that time a priority to becoming a better and healthier you!

Doing it with your kids-When I do my shorter video workouts, I always ask my girls (ages 6 and almost 8) if they want to join me and they usually say yes.  I let them go put out their "workout outfit" on and we have fun together.  We laugh when we are doing silly looking exercises and we cheer each other on.  Some of the exercises might require more coordination the girls have so I let them do it best they can and don't criticize.  The last thing I want to do is discourage them from getting active!  
I also do an outside group workout at least once a week.  Going outside is even easier to get the kids involved.  I let my kids pick a riding toy and a soccer ball to take when they go with me to my group workouts.  They play and stay active while I'm working out.  It's a win/win!
If you want to run or walk, let your older kids do it with you.  If you have younger kids, get a jogging stroller (bought mine off Craigslist for $60 and when my kids grew out of it, I sold it on Craigslist for $50).  Here's an easy Couch to 5K training schedule you can do with your kids and work towards running a race together.  Here's a few links that might help you out...
Couch to 5k training program
Couch to 5k Treadmill training  
*There's also apps you can download onto your smartphone, Facebook pages you can like and follow for tips and guidance and local groups (check out Fleet Feet or a similar store or the YMCA in your area to see what's available).

Setting realistic goals-Everyone wants results but you have to put the work in to get them.  Just make sure they are realistic.  Setting goals that are too hard to reach leads to frustration and eventually giving up.  I like to set short term goals for myself so I can feel a sense of accomplishment as I reach each one.  There's nothing more motivating than being able to say "I did it!"

Accountability partner/group-I was always a loner when it came to exercising until I joined a running group. It was there that I realized how beneficial it was to have someone there to push you harder and cheer you on and it made exercising more enjoyable.  I only went one evening a week but that ended up being my favorite day.  Then this summer (as I was taking time off from running for an injury) my brother and sister in law started a workout group with a few friends.  They have been my accountability partners for the past few months.  In that time, I have stuck with my commitment to exercising better than I ever have before.  It's been such a success that they are thinking creating more small groups for others (in the Winston area) who might be interested.  Check out the Red Fury Fitness website to see what we do!

I'd love to hear about the ways you stay active!

Saving Money at Target

Saving money is a must for me these days so I have learned a few, easy ways to do so at my favorite store and wanted to share them with you...

It's no secret, I am a Target lover and I know many of you are too.  There are several ways to save money when shopping at Target, that don't include clipping coupons.  (I have tried to be a couponer and just can't ever seem to stay with it. I envy those of you who can!)

1.  Always take your own bags when shopping there.  They will take off $.05 for each bag used.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot but every penny counts in my book  :)

2.  Get the Target debit card.  It took me a while to do this because I thought it was a credit card...it's not! They link it up to your bank account and it's a debit card that can only be used at Target.  Each time you use this card, you save 5% on your entire purchase AND when you use your card to order from Target.com, shipping is FREE and you save 5%. Last time I ordered online, I saved more money than I ended up spending because of the free shipping!!  Here's an article and review on the advantages and disadvantages of the Target debit card.

3.  Cartwheel App-its a free app you can download on your phone and can save 5% + on all kinds of things.  You don't have to spend lots of time picking out which deals you want because the app has a scanner option.  Last time I went Target shopping, I had my list of what I needed and when I picked up the item, I scanned the barcode and it automatically told me if there were any money saving offers on that particular item.  Five of the things on my list ended up having 5-20% off deals on Cartwheel which saved me a total of $7.84. Here's a website that explains Cartwheel in detail and answers those FAQs you might have.

4.  The hardest part for me is not wandering around the store and finding things I "need."  I have learned to make myself a list and stick to it.  I occasionally will have a coupon or two and I write that on my list beside the item that it's for.  I hate to know how many times, I've gotten home and realized I had a coupon for something I purchased and totally forgot to use it.  Making a note on my list has really helped when my "mommy brain" kicks in :)

UPDATE:  Thanks to a friend who reminded me about the Target mobile coupons.  No clipping needed and can be used with paper coupons and Cartwheel.  How could I forget about that!?!  Thanks Lynsey!!  Sign up for mobile coupons here!!

Ok, I'd love to hear ways, tips and tricks to help you save money at Target!

Back at it

I have missed the blogging world so much and have vowed to get back into it. It's not going to be easy to find the time since life has changed a lot for us.  (I'm a single, working mom these days, raising my three precious smarties.) But I want to continue to share my mommy moments, fun ideas, time savers, freezer cooking experiences, etc with you.  Posts won't come as often as I wish I could get them out but I hope you will bear with me and enjoy!  First one is coming soon...stay tuned :)

Happy Birthday Harper Ellyson!

This special, precious, beautiful girl made me a mommy 7 years ago!  I can't imagine my life without her and even though she's only 7, we have been through so much together that she's also my best little friend!  I love you to the moon and back my little mini-me!!

My little dark eyed, black haired baby turned into my blue eyed, (thickest ever) curly blonde hair big girl...

How did this happen so fast?

Happy Birthday Harper!

Saving Money in the Kitchen

I'm always looking for easy ways to save some money and there's a few of my new favorite ways that I want to share with you...

I don't know about you but with five kids (mine plus two I babysit) we go through a lot of granola bars!  And those things aren't cheap, even when you buy the generic brand.  So I hoped on Pinterest and found a recipe that I'm in love with.  It's pretty easy and really yummy!  Click here for recipe.

Here's all the ingredients

I used a rolling pin to flatten the mixture out and make it even in the pan.

May not be the prettiest granola bars ever but they are delicious!  I used a pizza cutter to cut out the granola bars...I found that to be easier than using a knife.

My bars were falling apart somewhat so I store them in a container in the fridge...solved that problem!

You know those little "Energy Bars/Cookies" you can purchase at the grocery store for $4.99 for a tiny container?  Love them but not paying those kind of prices when we would go through one container in a day!  So when my aunt made some delicious Energy Cookies, I told her I had to have her recipe. The recipe makes 2 1/2 dozen and they are "cookies" I don't mind feeding my children.  

 Here's the recipe: 

-Microwave 1/2 cup of butter at HIGH for 30-40 seconds or until butter is partially melted

-Whisk together partially melted butter, 1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp of honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract

-In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt

-Stir in 1 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats, 1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels, 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup roasted/salted pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries 

-Add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring just until combined (Do not overmix)

-Shape dough into 2 inch balls and place 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets

-Bake 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned at 350 degrees

Oatmeal...it's a staple in our pantry.  But there's a cheaper way to have the convenience of those packets that cook in a minute in the microwave. All you need is a big container of quick cook oats, brown sugar, and snack baggies.  Put a 1/4 cup of the oats in each baggie then add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to each.  I made 40 "packets" of oatmeal for less than $4.  You can also add dried fruit, cinnamon or other things to the baggies if you want a variety.  Here's where I got this idea.  

If you have read my blog before you might know how much I L.O.V.E. this blog!  Not long ago she had such a simple but amazing tip for making your own pumpkin flavored coffee (it's fall and I'm all about pumpkin flavored everything!).  So simple, I had one of those, "Why didn't I think of that!?" moments.  All you do is sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice right on top of your coffee grounds and hit the brew button.  You can decide how strong you want the pumpkin flavor to be...Happy Fall Yall!

Anyone have any favorite ways to save money in the kitchen?

5 Cheap Organizing Ideas

As a single mom, I'm always looking for ways to save money.  As much as I could go crazy spending money on cute little things or organize my home with, I've learned a few ways to do it cheaply... 

Hangers:  Who doesn't have a few unused hangers in their closet??  I use them to organize my pocketbooks, belts, scarves, bras and bathing suits.  Sure you can make a pile of purses in your closet floor or stuff belts, scarves, bras and bathing suits in your dresser drawer (which I've tried before) but I can find what I need a lot faster since I started hanging all of those things up.

my purses, scarves and belts

Hooks:  I use hooks all over the place.  Since we are in a rental house and I don't want to leave any holes or permanent marks on the walls, that I'm going to have to repair later, I love the 3M Command Hooks.  I have used them to hang pictures as well as organize.  Here's how I used them to organize our school stuff.

I used scrapbook stickers to put each child's initial on their hook

Shoe Organizers:  You can buy these for a few dollars and use them to organize all kinds of small things.  My son has one on his closet door for shoes, hats, gloves, ties, etc.  My daughters share a closet but both have their own shoe organizer hanging on their side of the closet.  Putting their shoes in that, frees up a lot of floor space and allows them both to have room in the one shared closet.  We also have one hanging in the art supply closet.  It holds all kinds of small art things (paintbrushes, pipe cleaners, fabric, glue sticks, paint, art smocks, pencils, etc).

I just cleaned Archer's organizer out so it's got some pockets ready for this fall/winter season's stuff

Storage bins:  All of the plastic storage bins I have purchased have been on sale and I haven't paid over $3 for any of them.  I keep our pantry organized with these bins.  It keeps it looking good without much effort.  As you can see, we just throw things in the bins but since they are labeled, it makes it look nice and tidy.  This method has made it so much easier for my young kids to go in and get themselves breakfast, snack or help me pack their lunch.

I also used the plastic bins when I was organizing our school stuff.  I realized they needed more than just a hook to hang their backpack and coat on, so I got each child a bin to keep under their hook.  They throw things in there that they will need for school the next day (like shoes, socks, lunchbox, show and tell, library book, etc). 

Self Stick Tiles:  Great to use on wire shelving.  It creates a space for things you wouldn't otherwise be able to put on that type of shelf.  I used them on the top shelf in my pantry to store my cookbooks on, in the art closet to put coloring/activity books on, and even in my closet so my folded clothes wouldn't end up with those darn wire marks on them. 

$9.99 for a box of 25 tiles at Ollie's

I'm always looking for new and creative ideas so please share how you keep your home or car organized!!

First day of Preschool

Well that week between my oldest starting school and my middle smartie starting preschool sure went by super fast...sigh.  I do have to say, I'm not an emotional wreck like I was when my Harper started preschool.  And my middle smartie did go to preschool for half a year last year, so we aren't complete newbies to this.  But it's still hard to let go of one of your babies...whether it's the first or last or any in between!  

Here's how today went for us...

Got all three smarties up and dressed, their two cousins came over and they ate breakfast together and played while I cleaned up after breakfast.  Then we loaded the van up (not without snapping a few pics first) and headed to school.  Since it was Palmer's first day, I walked her in but from now on, she will get out at the traffic circle with her sister and cousins. 

She wanted to make her own First Day sign like her big sister did last week.  And even though it's hard to read, I went with her idea...I mean how cute is that!?

More photo opportunities...

 I am so excited about the year ahead of her.  She has such an amazing teacher.  Seriously, I have heard nothing but praise, praise and more praise about Mrs. Lyon.  I know one thing for sure, she knows how to decorate, huh!?

Preschool is over at 12, so little smartie and I picked Palmer up and head home for lunch and nap before we went back to pick up the big kids at 3.  Yep, it's a crazy, hectic day with lots of rushing around getting, everyone here and there but I wouldn't trade my life for anything! 

 She got a special first day of school treat after lunch.

Now that we have a new school routine down, we get to throw in soccer practice and dancing next week to add a little more craziness...I'll take any prayers (for my single mom sanity) that you're willing to give! :)

Palmer is a whole hand!

The way we have to do birthdays is different for us now...a hard to get used to kind of different.  When it hit me a couple of weeks ago that my middle smartie's birthday weekend fell on a weekend that she would be with her dad, I cried...cried my eyes out.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I wouldn't be with my child on her birthday...the birthday where she would turn a "whole hand old."

  I prayed (a lot) and finally decided I could do this, I had to do this.  I had to let go and accept that birthdays and holidays would be different for us from now on.  But I would be lying if I told you, I didn't shed tears after watching the truck pull away with my smarties all buckled in and waving to me from the back window.  

With a knot in my stomach and an ache in my heart, I walked back in the house and prayed for my girl to have a wonderful 5th birthday.  As the weekend went on and I got texts and pics and phone calls, I felt better and that knot slowly went away.  I knew my little girl was having a great time on her special day.

When my smarties came back from their weekend away, we had a small family celebration for Palmer after her cousin's gymnastics party.  I realized one huge thing after making it through the first new way we have to do birthdays/holidays...my children don't need huge over the top, Pinterest inspired celebrations to make them feel important, all they need to know is that they are loved.  And that, my friends, is enough!

First Day of 1st Grade

So long summer, hello new school year.  I can't believe my oldest smartie started 1st grade today.  It was so much different than last year... with kindergarten, it was hard to let go and hold back tears.  Today was excitement and smiles.  She had everything ready to go and laid out last night...first day outfit, new shoes, backpack, and lunch.  So this morning it was pretty easy and we even left in plenty of time to take pictures and say hey to friends as we walked into school.  She is beyond blessed to be able to go to the school she does and I can leave her there knowing she is surrounded by loving teachers and friends.

 Yes, we did the first day of school sign but I decided to do it different than last year, from now on.  I let Harper write it herself.  One day we can look back at pictures and see how much her writing has changed as well as how much she has grown and changed.

 After school, I picked her and her two cousins up and we went back to their house for after school treat their mom got for all the kids to enjoy.  

Little smartie was not happy when he dropped his cupcake. haha

 Now it's only one more week until I have to send my middle smartie off to preschool....

First Day of School Teacher Gift

Last year, when my oldest started kindergarten, we found such a cute first day of school gift for her to take to her teacher. (found here at one of my all-time favorite blogs!) This year she wanted to do it for her first grade teacher and her little sister wanted to make one for her preschool teacher.  

Here's what we did:

 ~Got a couple of bags of M&M's -we chose the regular ones instead of the peanut ones since there are so many people allergic to peanuts

~Poured them into a couple of half pint mason jars -I try to keep these on hand because they can be used for some many crafts and ideas 

~Printed off the little poem-you can print it off onto cardstock or use regular printer paper and glue onto a piece of scrapbook or construction paper to keep it from being too flimsy

~Punched a hole into the paper with poem and attached it to the jar using string, twine, yarn, etc.

~You can also add a piece of cute paper or fabric on the top of the jar for more decoration

 Here's the poem:

Green is for the inspiration you will give me each day

Blue is for your patience in showing me the way

Orange is for your awesome first grade style

Yellow is for the way I know you will make me smile

Red is for my life that you will touch this year

You're a very special teacher just like this jar, that's clear

You place your knowledge into our hands

and melt into our hearts.

You're a “Magnificant” and “Marvelous” teacher...

Thank you for being my “M & M”.

Summer Fun 2013

As the school year fast approaches, the kids and I have had so much fun looking back on the many memories we got to create together this summer....from front yard lemonade stands, to splash pad fun, to the beach, to playdates with friends, to dancing in the rain, to family time, to many adventures in the mountains.  Here's to a great memory making, fun-filled, blessed summer we have had!  

Cookout Yumminess & Giveaway

Silly me thought summer would lead to me having more time to blog...ha!  We have been beyond busy and out of town a lot.  But this weekend, I made time for a cookout after I received a goody box in the mail from Red Gold.  If you remember this post/giveaway about using the Red Gold products before, then you will understand why I jumped at the chance to try out new recipes using Red Gold products.  Red Gold is a family owned business that started in 1942 and they strive, “To produce the freshest, best-tasting tomato products in the world.”

  Health facts about Red Gold Tomatoes:

-100% natural-no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives

-The antioxident Lycopene is found naturally in tomatoes

-A fat free food

-Good source of Vitamin A

-A gluten free food 

I received several yummy recipe ideas but decided to use the Chili Ready Diced Tomatoes for the "Summer Tomato Burger" and the Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies to make the "Spicy Burgers."  They were both super easy and sounded delicious.  If you know me, I am all about simple!

I followed the three step recipes and here's what the final product looked like...

You, of course, can top your burgers with whatever pleases you and your crowd but the recipes did come with serving suggestions.  I chose to put out tomato, spring lettuce, avacado, ketchup and mustard.  The ketchup we used was Red Gold's "Mama Selita's Jalapeno Ketchup."  My brother commented that the ketchup was what made the burger...it was yum!

Enter here for a chance to win a Summer Grillin Party from Red Gold (contest ends Aug. 30, 2013)

If you want to learn more about Red Gold products, recipes, and many other things, visit the Red Gold website.

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Would you like to win this box of Red Gold products (you know you would!)??  

 All you have to do is leave a comment and I'll let let Random.org pick a winner for me.  I will announce winner on My Little Smarties' Facebook page

tomorrow morning! 

Don't let summer get gone before you try Red Gold products at your next cookout!

Summer Schedule

Just because summer is here doesn't mean we will be throwing our schedule out the window.  Yes, it will be more relaxed but I like having an idea of what each day will bring and I think my kids function better knowing what to expect.

So here's the schedule I have made for our summer:

(This schedule is for our mornings, until lunch, since our afternoons consist of nap time for my younger two smarties.)

 Out & About Monday:  We run most if not all our errands for the week.  I make my lists out over the weekend so we can be out the door and on our way first thing on Monday mornings.

Stay Home Tuesday:  Cleaning and Laundry Day -kids have a few chores to do and after they do them they are allowed some computer, tv or Kindle time while I finish up my chores.

Whatever Wednesday:  We will go do whatever activity the kids' pick (It can be something that costs money.)

Active Thursday:  Do something active together, whether it be walking (hoping to try out some of the greenways around town), going to kick the soccer ball around, going to swim at grandparent's pool, etc. 

Free Fun Friday:  We will do a free activity the kids chose (library, park, picnic, pool, playdate, Pinterest idea, etc)

I also made a list of friends who we can call on for a playdate and a list of activities (free and ones that cost money) to have beside our schedule for a quick reference guide.  

For those of you who live in and around our area, here's a list I came up with:

Trampoline Park

Tanglewood Pool

Children's Museum of WS

Greensboro Children's Museum 

Kids' Series at Carmike Theater

NC Zoo

Bowling (kids bowl free program)

Putt Putt

Emerald Pointe

Library

Old Salem 

SciWorks 

Parks-

(we go to Jonie Moser, Jack Warren, Tanglewood but would love suggestions of your favorite ones so we can try out something new) 

As I was making my list of things I wanted to do with the kids, I came across this article of 50 things to do this summer in the Triad Region.

*keep your eye out on Groupon, Living Social, etc for deals on these kinds of things.  We have gotten to do several of these activities for cheaper than normal.  Like a family pass to the zoo for $28 using Living Social.

*Tanglewood park-costs $2 or buy a year pass sticker-$25 ($20 if you purchase in January)

Here is my Summer Fun Board on Pinterest

What will you be doing to keep the kids busy this summer?