Back to School Series "Lunches! Packing, Planning, and a book that was an eye opener"

Hi everyone, thanks for being so understanding about taking a week off from the blog and the Back to School series. I really was just sick and really not feeling well the whole week. Sorry, I am almost back to 100%.

So I wanted to talk with you about lunches. So if you follow me on my Instagram devoted to lunches, you will see we are now starting our 2nd week of school. I have to admit, I am in a rut on what to pack. Partially because it is SO HOT in Southern Arizona. I don't want to make my son sick because I packed soup, with crackers, and cheese, and a cookie. I mean who wants that when it's 110 and humid out, yuck. So right now, you are seeing a lot of sandwiches and such. I am not packing any heavy dairy products like yogurt or even milk. I might do cheese and that is it. I have gone and done some chicken breasts with bar b que sauce and such. My son did indicate it was to heavy and he felt icky after lunch. So for now, bear with me as I try to navigate the heat a little.


However, for those of you have actually have 4 seasons, this will help. Planning lunches, I do it for the week. I also STICK to what I plan. I might switch some days around depending on how my day goes, but other than that, I don't sub anything. It helps for me to have a stocked freezer on days where it's like I am sick or my daughter is sick to get lunches together. I might unfreeze some waffle sticks I made or cook some meatballs. Those are really the only days I deviate from the plan. I like to include a day or two of left overs if I can. My son is a Stir Fry fanatic so I love when I get to pack that for him to take. Macaroni and cheese, so much to list.

What I suggest doing is writing out foods your child or children like. I don't have two taking lunches so combining to make life easier, I would look on Pinterest. It might just be doing an overlapping list of Mains, fruits, veggies, and snacks. Maybe they get one fruit, veggie, and or snack they like to have that week, the rest is shared stuff.

If you meal plan as it is, go back through and high light stuff you think would make great for lunches. I always had the hardest time last year because my son really didn't like a lot of fruit and veggies. I got him on nectarines, snap peas, and such this summer. So bonus for me, they are in season and inexpensive! If you are worried about budget, I would say less is more. Start out what you think you might need and if you need more, have a friend grab it at the store when she goes.

I will do a little Mom Confession, I totally buy my cantaloupe and watermelon pre-cut in the produce section. I still have to cut them to smaller squares, but It's so worth my time. I never would cut up a whole melon because I hated the mess. So I spend not even 2.00 and buy the pre-cut stuff. It's worth it to me and some weeks like the next few months, it's money well spent. (I don't get my nails done, or even color my hair at all so for me it's my splurge)

Lunches now a days and I know I am dipping my foot into the Political Pool here. However, I don't think the Lunch program is at all over the past 40 years something to brag about. I like how Michelle Obama is trying to get healthier stuff in there, but at the expense of it all. It's really a waste, kids don't like it and school's are losing MAJOR MONEY.  I don't even like half the stuff I have tasted to be honest. Some schools are fairing well, ours is wonderful at the fresh fruits and veggies selections. The selection is AMAZING and if my son would eat the main course we might be okay. However, he still isn't into it and I am saving money by using what we have. So this is a win win for our family.

Last year I read a book called "Fed up with Lunch" find it here. It was written by Sarah Wu and before the overhaul of the lunch program started, you can read about what was served. Sarah taught at an urban Chicago school and her points are well on target with any child in America. I remember the frozen fruit icees she talks about that were in a triangle, those were considered a fruit back in the day. Juice is still considered a fruit I believe last I checked. The book moved me SO MUCH. I really got motivated to show pictures of my son's lunches on that Instagram account. I might do some cute fun stuff for holidays, but I can't do the Bento route, I don't have time. They are cute, but, my son is growing and he just scarfs it all down anyways. I just wanted what he would eat, cheap, and healthy.

Long story short from the book, I saw a difference last year when I started packing the lunches full time. My son was no longer starving when he came home. He said he felt better the second part of the day and wasn't counting down the hours until he could come home. The year before, he would eat constantly the moment we got home. Sandwiches, fruits, etc, and when I saw him at school he barely touched his food. The protein he wasn't getting and his behavior showed it. I was also so upset, at the money we were wasting, he would eat constantly at home and the lunch money was wasted because he barely ate sometimes.

To sum it up, it took some time to find out what would work for our family. Containers, foods, lunch boxes, drinks, etc. If you have a day where they hated the lunch, it's okay, cross the food off and don't pack it. Experiment on the weekends or maybe dinner. Never with the lunches at school. Summer is a great time to get the list of stuff you want to try and try it. Make a special day of the week like "Try it on Fridays", lunches are new foods to see if we like or don't like.

Back to School Series...Postponed for this week

Hi All, so it's now Wednesday and I haven't posted AT ALL. I am under the weather and with school in it's first week and also a toddler, I haven't had the energy. I won't lie, there has been time, but I am resting when my husband takes over. Sorry everyone and I am making it up by having an extra giveaway at the end of the series.

I will still draw the Katie Daisy Planner, you have just a couple of days to enter in that. It's so wonderful and Purse friendly. :)

Thanks
Megan

Back to School Series and a Katie Daisy Live Simply Planner Giveaway!

If you have been following I have been looking for the cutest planner! I wanted something that was small, fun, and perfect for on the go! Voila! I came across this cute planner on Etsy from Katie Daisy. It was so cute and it looked perfect for what I was needing. Unfortunately, they sold out faster than a Free TV on Black Friday :(

Seriously, isn't it pretty???

Don't worry the story get's better! One fateful trip to Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago, there it was on the shelf! They had one beautiful planner left and I grabbed it! A little 17 month planner from August 2014 to December 2015. It was perfect for what I was needing, appointments with little details. My huge at home binder is filled with stuff that needs to be done by the month with bills, meal planning, etc. It's the brain of the family really. This would just help me keep track of appointments, PTO meetings, Doctor Appointments, afternoons out with friends, and so forth. 

One thing I found was, it had ALL the Months first and then after that it had the Weekly days for the 17 months. From what I am understanding this is the new trend now?

It also changes color schemes and designs as the seasons change through out the calendar

I bought some of her notebooks at Target after finding her on Etsy. I was worried about them not being spiral bound, but being a Left Handed person, I love them so much more because they aren't

Through out the book there are these wonderful spreads

Right now I have mine in my night stand. I write the appointments as I go in it. School hasn't really picked up since yesterday was our first day back. However, I got to write some PTO dates and our Open House in there. 

Seriously, it is super small and super cute! 

So to finish this story about this planner. I bought the one at Barnes and Noble, I then ordered 2 more online. I passed one along to a friend as she was dying to get back into having a planner. So that leaves 1 for you all to WIN!

Enter Below

DISCLAIMER! Barnes and Noble, Katie Daisy, Orange Circle Studio or any of it's subsidiaries are affiliated with this raffle or post. This is NOT a sponsored post and all views, opinions, and so forth are my own. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back To School Series and Organizing Schedules the Electronic Way - The Cozi App

I am going to air some family secrets here and please, if you know and see my husband smile as if you know nothing. It is true that EVERY SINGLE one of our closest friends know that if you want to make plans with us, you need to contact me. I am the scheduler of the madness in our family, birthdays, sports, PTO functions, work schedules, vacations, etc. I do it. I was often having the hardest time with my husband in trying to get him to understand "Yes honey, we are booked 6 Saturdays from now, it's YOUR BIRTHDAY!". Seriously, that is how clueless my wonderful husband could be, he forgot the day he was born.

I took to a smart phone immediately. I was a Blackberry addict and from there my love of technology grew. Another family secret, if you know me, I love cell phones. I could tell you the best on the market for what you would need based on your personality :). I still miss my Blackberry, it now belongs to my 3 year old, who lovingly makes play calls to Grandma and Papa. It wasn't until almost 2011 when my husband got a smart phone. He got the most basic one he could get of a Blackberry, which was obsolete at that point. Finally a year later I got him into an iPhone 4 and with that came the Cozi App for me. FINALLY, I could sync calendars with our home computer and phones that we would know what was going on. 

I took my planning seriously too! Sunday evenings I got out my paper planner (I tried the exclusive electronic way and it got crazier as the years went by. More on that later) and would type all the new update information I could. 

I loved Cozi because it was Free, it synced, and also was color coded! Each Family member had a color, all 4 of use had our events highlighted in our designated color. I could include anyone in the family I wanted or just one to highlight "Jacob's Doctor Appt" Which it was me taking him, but I often excluded myself so my husband would pay attention a little more to the colors. 

I love Cozi because I do little Albums for the kids of things the say and they also have a Journal part of the App. I could open it and write something Anna or Jake said to put in their albums later. 

I have always used the free version of Cozi on our phones and haven't purchased the Gold Membership. It is a nice app to have for your family to sync and go. 

In a way our life is a little easier because I no longer get the phone calls or the sentences that start with "This weekend we are having Johnny over for dinner" yup, never mind that Suzie invited us over after Jake's soccer game. Those situations are NO MORE! 

What is the best for me, I get my PTO (Parent Teacher Organization, AKA a PTA) schedule a year in advance and I set up special warnings 2 weeks before for the both of us. Just in case if I need him to take a day of work for a major event, we both get the reminder. I have my schedule for School events well in advance for him to be there too.

Download it, try it, and see if it helps. I still have a paper planner because I am just that weird personality. One extra reminder for myself and for my husband goes a long way.

As the school year progresses, schedules get crazy. Use it as an extra reminder during the holidays too! Holiday cards and shopping can never start to early in my book. 

Have an awesome Wednesday! 

*****This post was not sponsored by Cozi or the Time Inc Corporation (owner of Cozi) or any affiliated company. I have used the Cozi application for a few years now. I have not been given monetary or a membership to write this post. All content and views are mine and of my own choice*****

No Excuses

Okay! It's Monday, I like Mondays, call me weird. I feel like it's time to get down to business I feel my most motivated on Mondays, well most of the time. So today, despite the horrible sleep due to Thunderstorms, I got a lot done. With my son heading back to school Thursday and I start homeschooling my toddler on Monday there is tons to do. Plus, we had a lazy Staycation last week and I have a lot to kind of catch up on.


I will not lie to you, I woke up with dread as my alarm went off at 6:15 AM. I mean just a measly 4 hours total of sleep. UGH. However, I had stuff I had to do! Not just my daily mom and wife duties, I had so much to get done and organized. I want the start of the school year to go off as best as I can and my time is dwindling.

I want you this week to focus on a task! Maybe more than one task and I want you to DO IT! Just Do it! Look at the clock and then say okay I am going to unload and load the dishes. When you are done, look at the clock again. You will see minutes, not even 10 minutes to do that task (I hate dishes and folding laundry). Laundry will be more time consuming than unloading and loading the dishwasher.

So today was my day of "Just Do It" (my husband thinks I made a mess). I FINALLY sorted my son's school work by year and it's ready to get filed. 4 years of drawings, funny stories he wrote, Mother's Day cards, etc. I organized them by school year in stacks and they are ready to go in their filers when I go shopping later this week.

I organized my pantry as well, cleaned a little, and did some other odds and ends.

Tomorrow I am tackling the fridge. EEEK

So today, GO! Just do what you need to do! Tackle the closets, tackle the garage , tackle tackle tackle. Go forth and be positive! Think of the end, when you are done!

If you are going back to school look at the thing you are dreading. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. It seems like yeah, it might not be fun, but it has to be done.  Once you get some of the stuff done you will know where you stand. Like cleaning out the closets, do it, and you will say "OH Suzie, you need new skirts" :)

Don't focus on the negative, focus on the positive and just do the task you need to do.

Happy Task Attacking!

Back to School Series The Homework Box and a GIVEAWAY!!!!!

So, I started this idea for my son in the middle of the 1st grade. I am sure other's have something similar, but for my son, it was genius. What you are going to see here is a base, after the school year starts I will add to it.

The homework box has everything so far my son will need. 

****Crayola, Target, Fiskars, nor Webster is sponsoring this giveaway or post.****

So, let's start with the basics. Pencils and a pencil sharpener, large erasers, crayons (24 count), colored pencils, a ruler, scissors, glue sticks, paper, a dictionary, and a thesaurus. 

Yes, I get we live in a digital age, but these two little books I  have my son use no matter what. It will reinforce spelling skills, help them understand the words, or not sound redundant in writing a book report. These are important to have to me... if they have to sound it out and look for the meaning. They will most likely remember it more than if they used a computer. Google is not a homework tool for us, these are.

We had to get Jake a new box this year. We found out how easily the old one could be broken into by his sister. It took 4 incidents of writing on herself with markers for me to be like "OHHHH" So this has latches!

As you can see, everything fits in there nicely! I hope if I have to add anything extra it will all still fit. 

Now for the FUN!

I will add, this is my first giveaway and using rafflecopter. So please be patient and kind. You will have a chance to win your own base supplied homework box. Everything in this picture will be given to one lucky winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to School Series ... Planning now for the 1st day

So my 1st post was loaded with information on what I was planning and had also started doing to prepare for myself and my family for the new school year. I am going to cover in this post planning and making some lists.

First, and this might sound kind of harsh. I can't stand going to shop for school supplies when it is so darn busy and overhear a parent say "Gosh, I hate when the 1st day of school comes. It's like la la la and then BAM from the school we need THIS THIS AND THIS" Sorry, this Momma isn't buying that line. As the sun sets each day, you know the 1st day of school is coming.  You wouldn't take a road trip with out putting gas in your car would you? Planning ahead can be amazing and wonderful. Right now, if you are itching to get shopping For the week of 7/6/14 Staples and Office Max had some great stuff going on. Toys R Us is still doing the Buy a Backpack and get a free lunch box. It's summer yes, but deals start the moment it rings Midnight on July 5th. If you have an awesome deal, please share with all the other readers in the comments, we all want to save some money. :)

I can understand it can be a financial burden for some to purchase the supplies. There are school drives, churches, and even talking with your child's teacher about it. I actually spoke to a teacher and she tries to minimize the impact on parents. She buys HALF of the supplies she needs for EACH STUDENT so the parents will only have to buy the other half. She also plans on buying 10 Extra items the parents need in case of a student is in need or ther is a new student transfer. I was amazed by her wonderful generosity towards her classroom and her understanding of some families having financial burdens.

Let's talk lunches! I had the HARDEST time some weeks with my son who was a picky eater. Grapes and carrots. Those were ALL HE WANTED. If you follow my Instagram account devoted to lunches, you saw a lot of those. I worked super hard this summer to open his taste buds up to new things and I will continue to do so. Peaches, nectarines, snap peas, green beans, summer squash varieties etc. This will help my budget in the long run. Grapes can be expensive these days I mean $4.99 a lb, nope, time to try a new fruit.

With lunches, start doing a special day where they try new foods. The rule is "Once to try, twice to decide" so 2 bites. Don't go crazy like if they are a PB & J all the time sort of child and go have them try Escargot. Small steps (This is something that you will want to stick with me through the series. HINT)

When you get an idea of what it is you want, create a lunch list on your computer to print out. Pinterest has a ton, but if you make one customized to your family it might make it easier for you. I presently don't have a list, but I am working on ours. I do menu plan for each meal almost down to snacks and right now it looks a little sloppy since I don't have a planner.

See, it's hideous!

However, as hideous as it looks, it's ours and it's what we like. It don't follow it to a "T" but it does help a lot. When I finally get a planner, it will be planned out by the day and I can get ready. Less stress for a parent is the best "less" you can have. 

I know I hopped from supplies to lunches. So I have some homework for you (don't moan and groan, it will help you)

Assignment A- Make a list of your child's favorite foods. Organize it by category and also snacks. Hang it in your pantry, put it in your meal planning binder, or even on your phone. 

Assignment B- Call your child's/children's school and get their supply lists. Start now stocking up for the rest of summer. 

If you need any other lists, start working on those. School clothes, a list of "Who needs What", maybe if you need to get yourself some things. Like I need a new planner, so I am presently looking for one. Recipe ideas for dinners, a camera to take pictures, a fun sign announcing the grade your little one is going into... there is so much that can be done now to ease your stress.

REMEMBER, if you stress the week before, the night before, or on the 1st day of school. Your child will stress too. Their nerves are already rattled I am sure, having a stressed parent won't help either person. 

Welcome to the Start of my "Back to School" Series

Today is my first post of my "Back to School" Series so welcome and I hope you enjoy the next few weeks. I am going to have a few giveaways and also hope to get everyone ready for the next phase of summer... SCHOOL PREP.

This first post is going to sound about as crazy as when Ben Franklin decided to fly a kit in a lightening storm. I want to talk to all to all of the parents, this is about you first and foremost.

It's about your HABITS and your GOALS. Yes, right now you most likely have about 1 to 2 months before school is back in session. I on the other hand have less than 2 weeks and have been trying to get my habits down and my goals set.

I look forward to a new school year, it's like New Year's Day to me. I start my habits and goals now rather than January 1st. For New Year's, I love the clean slate and look forward to the new adventures of the Numerical Year. I also at the same time look forward to the new adventures in a School Year and I also make goals for myself as a parent. To reach those goals I want to start the habits early in the summer so I am ready to go and to start my goals.

My first goal is to be an early riser. I love to sleep, I could sleep in until noon if I didn't have kids. I did when I was single too, it drove my parents crazy. So about 2 weeks ago, I active tried to rise early. I haven't been successful at times, but I am constantly trying. It helps to take a shower and do a chore for me. I get up shower and then I unload the dishes while my children sleep. It works, I am alert and  the dishes are done and it makes the day start so much smoother. I knocked something off my list to do list. It actually helps in my motivation to do more. After I do the dishes then I read a few chapters in a book and after that, the kids are up and going.

This goal of being an early riser is to help our mornings not to be crazy. I want to have enough time for my son and daughter to get up and not feel rushed. My son especially, he as I do likes to go at his own pace. Sometimes he wakes up on his own and the mornings that I have to go and get him up, he is a bear. This goal of me being up earlier, will wake him up earlier to help shake the morning moodiness off.


My second goal is to have a stocked freezer of lunches for my husband. It has been great just making one lunch for one person. If you follow my Instagram account devoted to lunches, you have not seen as many posts or what I have is kind of to me "blah". My husband is simple and leftovers suffice for him. Also, his job is crazy busy so sometimes he doesn't get to eat lunch. When my son goes back to school I will be packing both of them a lunch and also breakfast and a snack for my son. I have been stocking our freezer with Sloppy Joe's, Broccoli and cheddar soup, cooked shredded chicken for quesadillas, and all of my husband's favorites. I will soon have breakfast items in there like waffles, crepes, muffins, and breakfast breads for them both to have.

My Third Goal is to stock up on snack items. If you pay attention, some of the crackers, granola bars and such are on sale. Reason it, it's pool season. You need fun stuff to take to the pool but for me, I see Lunch and snack stuff. I feel these sales can be better than the Back to School stock ups that will happen over the latter part of July. I do like making homemade snack items, but sometimes, especially as a PTO mom I don't have the time.

********Word of Caution******** If you are going to do a stock up and haven't done it before. Get a piece of note book paper or make a print out on your computer. List what you have and how many of that item and write the expiration date of that item next to the number. That way you don't forget about it and use what is set to expire first. Pay attention to this list each week when you plan your lunches so you know if you should make or use your stock.

 My Fourth Goal is to make sure I am organized myself. I plan out in my day planner all the days when my son is off or has a half day. Activities for the first few weeks and get it all ready so I am set.

I read somewhere it can take 21 days to form a habit... I am one of the ones that it takes longer. So a good month is what I needed. If you sleep in or something, don't beat yourself up. It's okay, just try again tomorrow. If you have your habits ready to start working towards the goals you set for yourself.

The best part about doing this now, is the first day of school will be relaxed. I will already be use to getting up early and not a cranky mom. I will be smiling and happy for pictures (be prepared, my son is not a picture kid. He will have grump faces on)

I will touch on each of my goals through this series in a more in depth scope as we go through the next few weeks.

My Social Media

So in starting this blog, I had a good idea of Facebook and Instagram. I don't like how Facebook is making changes constantly and I am trying to figure out the best way to deal with that. Unfortunately when I post, not a lot of you see it. I only have 18 likes, but dang, only 2 see a post 24 hours after I post it.

I started having fun, but I realized my original Instagram account wasn't going to cut it as far as posting the lunch ideas. I use to post a ton, but I had some complaints from family "We don't want to see food, we want to see your family". So in starting this blog, I set up a separate Instagram account that is devoted to Lunches. Sometimes some other stuff sneaks in, but mostly it is lunches that I pack. So for my Lunch ideas I am on Instagram as "Lunchesby1happymommaof2" my main account is "1Happymommaof2" and that is private so you would have to request to follow me.


For this blog site, it has been a challenge. I did it because it is all integrated in one with Google+, my email, and also this blogsite. I have learned to hack HTML codes to get Instagram and also Good Reads on here for you to see. This reading habit I have developed has taken a mind of it's own. I am like a kid in a candy store. It is also horrible now that books can be E-Delivered to my tablet, I have really had to practice self control. My library system doesn't have a good selection of Non-Fiction so I have to buy or borrow from a friend.

Google Plus is a whole new dimension of Outer Space to me. I don't get it and it's weird. If anyone has advice, please help me.