Braden's choice...

Braden wanted to pick what went in his little pineapple for lunch - I decided to allow him to choose until I thought he needed help - he did great!

(sorry for the bad image - used the phone!) As you can see he also helped at the grocery store by begging for fresh blueberries and strawberries! LOL they're not cheap right now but how do you say no??? so with those he has fresh pineapple (we never go without if possible), baby carrots, boiled egg (that's the bad exposure part) and a small brownie. In the "stem" of the pineapple is the ranch for his carrots and egg - yes, ranch for egg, just like if it were on a salad!

now we have this yummy lunch packed, along with his choice of vanilla yogurt, and he's home sick :( he woke up at 1am throwing up with just a low fever, then woke again at 2:30 with 102....I'm going to get him in to our favorite pediatrician just to rule out anything major since I know strep is making it's rounds again....our stupid roller coaster weather does not help all these bugs!

and one other thing - HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPPY JOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we love and miss you!!!!!!!!!

Lunchbot

I finally got to pack a lunch in my Lunchbot container! (I admit, I have a "slight" obsession with lunch boxes/containers)


this is for Braden so I had to go heavy on the fruit side!!! He has a little cutie orange, kiwi, and grapes. the other half is pb & j on honey wheat with some candy hearts and chocolate hugs. there are also some snacks going with because today he ate more than he has in weeks and I wasn't prepared! thank goodness the daycare has snacks available!!!

I would have loved to make it cute with shaped cheese pieces but he is NOT a cheese eater like Hailee. He likes it on/in things but won't just eat it - so no babybel or string cheese items for him....and no cute cheese cut outs unless I want him to just throw it away....and I'm not big on wasting food.

Hailee has a similar lunch in her 2 tier bento box but omit the grapes.....and I'm pretty sure the orange won't be completely gone but she'll bring it home and her brother will take care of what's left!

I'm always looking for new, creative lunch ideas, sandwich options - so if you have any please feel free to comment....my kids are pretty easy to feed, but I just don't always think of new things! (that's the great thing about packing Bento style - presentation makes a big impact!!!)

my PTI favorite...

on the Papertrey Ink blog they asked us to link up our favorite creation using their products. This is mine. I've used a lot and PTI stamps are my most favorite EVER - but I just love how this card turned out.



the hot air balloon stamps and dies are SO fun! and the clouds....oh my the clouds are my most favorite dies EVER - so many ways to use them on my projects!!! and let's not forget the fabulous PTI paper here!!!! can we say DROOOOOOL.

Record Breaking Snowfall -

14" in Tulsa - we heard 15" in Broken Arrow but haven't checked ourselves. Our snowdrift, the one that is covering the front of our house, is 52". wow. and last week we broke record high temps at 76 degrees!!!

Happy Birthday to my mom!!!

today is my mom's birthday - and since she's already received it, I'll share the card I made for her!

this one was fun - I layered, and punched, and glued, and stamped, and just kept adding until I felt it was done. I wanted a pin somewhere but just couldn't make it look good - so a pinless card again :( but I still like it and love the little pocket on the front.

this is how it looks all together.... (and oops...she's 58 - I caught that before I mailed it!)

this is the tag pulled out...

{Papers by October Afternoon (modern homemaker), stamps and red cardstock from Papertrey Ink, bingo numbers by Maya Road, mini envelope and tag from Melissa Francis, lace & buttons from my stash}


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

I got a little crafty...

I saw a challenge on the Whimsie Doodle Blog and was inspired! So I bought a digital stamp set, printed out a couple images, colored one in, and made a card for the challenge!!!!!

{Echo Park Papers, Whimsie Doodle Stamp & Sentiment, Core'dinations textured cardstock, Twill, Button, and lots of COPIC markers!!!}

a birthday.

Hailee is NINE. n-i-n-e. 9.

good grief where does time go? I can remember her delivery like it was yesterday. And hers is a better memory than Braden's. I remember her chubby, okay fat, arms and legs and that everyone called her the Michelin baby. some days her little rolls looked painful! I can remember her signing "eat" and "milk" before she even mumbled the words. Her cute, gorgeous curls that turned into beautiful ringlets as she got a little older. her adorable little voice when she "talked on the phone" around the age of 2. her first day of pre-k.

so many memories that are still fresh in my mind. then I'm saddened when she says "do you remember...." and I don't. I don't want to forget a thing and am amazed that I have!

I plan to document as much as I can. mentally. physically on note paper. and creatively through my scrapbooks. because if today she is NINE tomorrow she'll be married. and if I blink again SHE'LL be a grandma! just don't blink. that's all I can advise to myself and to any parent.

Happy Birthday, Munch - I (daddy, too) love you so very much!!!!

wow is this month over yet?

so busy around here! I think half the people I know have birthdays this month - another portion have them the first 2 weeks of January! lol

tonight I'm wrapping the last of my gifts - whew! then I can rest, enjoy Christmas, and quickly switch to birthday mode for Hailee!!!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and joyous new year! I don't know if I'll be back on before then so "cheers"!!!!

so dang excited!

it's the last weekend before Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the fat man in the red suit will be here soon!!!!

so close!

yesterday (and today) the scale was good to me. It showed a number I am *almost* ready to say out loud! almost is not yet LOL

but here are some facts.

*I am only 5 pounds away from the weight I was at when Darren and I moved to OK 15 years ago (just wish everything was in the same place it was 15 years ago). that makes me SO CLOSE to my goal! I don't plan on stopping - but that was my first BIG BIG goal - to be the weight of where I was when we moved here - maybe it'll be like getting 15 years of my life back?? LOL

*I am 20 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Hailee over 9 years ago.

*I am 25 pounds lighter than I was when Darren and I got married 14 years ago (if you do the math you can see how much weight I gained from stress the first year we were here)

*I am now down 36 pounds from when I started my weight loss journey almost 2 years ago. Yes, it's taken some time, but with the exception of Christmas in Seattle last year, I haven't gained any weight back....I just stalled for over 6 months...lost some more, stalled again.

With the holidays approaching again I'm trying to get weight off knowing I'll be putting some back on this month LOL. I really am trying to be good - and I have a great support system/cheer team!

so that's my update - it's been awhile but I really haven't had anything to say!


now - on to Christmas - with the exception of one gift that I'll get picked up today, I am DONE shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what a great feeling!!!! my decorations are up but still need some movement to get the shelves looking good and then I can add more snow (adding snow means I don't have to dust around ALL the little figurines for the month!). Then, Kimmie, I will take some pictures :)

off to bake my kids some cookies so have a great Sunday!!!

wahooooooo!

It's December 1st!!! Look at my Christmas counter - it won't be long now!!!


guess I better get my butt in gear!

a card for a friend.

Sympathy cards are the most difficult to make. It means that sadness and/or a loss has come to someone I care about. Nothing can ever be said to fix such a thing. But I want who ever is suffering to know I care and am thinking of them....so I make cards because that is the only way I know how to express my feelings and show my concern.

tonight I had to make such a card. Someone I have recently met has suffered a great, terrible loss and I truly ache for her. She is someone I respect and knowing she hurts right now is hard to deal with. Losing a loved one is never easy, and though I hear people say "it takes time", there's never a set amount, because I still ache for my grandma after 7 years. So it may get easier, but you never know when.

to show her I'm thinking of her - and her family - I made a card. It won't heal the wound, but at least she knows she's in my heart.

{papers by My Mind's Eye, Stamps and die by Papertrey Ink, ribbon and button from my stash, Punch by Fiskars}

Productive.

Yesterday was a very productive day for me. Started by going to pick up a rental car to use for the week while my car is in the repair shop. After that Darren went to work so I cleaned my house! Dusted. Vacuumed. Sanitized the kids' bathroom. Laundry. AAAHH. so nice to have my house in order!

I also made quite a few cards for the upcoming issue of Ready, Set, Create that will go to my mom for her stash (her hints are not so subtle anymore that she is out of cards! LOL).

Somewhere in there I made it to the mall to get mascara and face wash - was a good excuse to put a few miles on that rental car :)

While dinner was in the oven (oven-bbq pork ribs, mashed potatoes, and salad!) I decided to have fun with the kids' lunches. They've been getting their bento's packed but they have been far from cute or fun - I figured I owed them.

Hailee has just 20 minutes in the cafeteria at school - so I don't give her a lot of things, but I do make sure she gets full - and I'm careful knowing if I give her "junk" she won't eat what she's supposed to because of no time! So she has ham and cheese acorn sandwiches with cucumber flowers tucked around it. Then she has a cut up kiwi, ranch for the cucumber, and a little bit of chocolate for dessert. I added some bear picks (bears are in the woods and acorns are on trees in the woods so it all goes, right?) for the cute factor knowing she'll appreciate it.


Braden's lunch is a bit different. He comes to the daycare where I work after school and he likes a snack first, then he'll eat lunch a little bit later - he's there for 3 hours so he has time. For the snack I have some baked Cheetos. He will eat those first along with the grapes maybe. Along with that he has a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with a cheese acorn on top. Carrots and ranch and a piece chocolate finish it off. I will also take some applesauce or yogurt in case he eats it all and wants something else since we do have some errands to do after work today.

So there is my Sunday wrap up (on Monday). It was a good day - the only thing I think I should have squeezed in is a nap! But I did get to sleep until 8am on Saturday and 8:30 on Sunday, so I really can't complain. But I get up at 5am four days/week but never get to bed early, so weekends are my catch up time!

Have a great week - I'll try to post again soon with some camping pictures and videos!

It's over.

Fall 2010 soccer season has come to an end for the Twisters. Our last game was yesterday and it was the first time I felt sad. This is a great team and all the girls have come along way since the first practice back in August. But - we'll be getting together again for an awards ceremony because the girls took 2nd place in the U9 division!!!! Way to go girls!

Hailee - we are SO proud of you! You have become a very good soccer player and watching you we can see how comfortable you are with the team and yourself! keep up the good work, Munch!

Happy Halloween a day late

I remembered to get pictures in the daylight - well dusk - so that we could take them outside this year - much better than in the house by the wall like every other year!

Hailee's makeup did not last - she kept touching her hair, which made her fingers black, then touched her face which, yes, made her white face black - next year I'm wrapping her in crepe paper and calling her a mummy!! LOL

Braden did good not touching his "stache" but he kept pushing on the pistols so his belt was around his waist really low and he had trouble keeping the guns on the side LOL it was a constant battle but we made it through -

after 45 minutes Braden decided he had enough candy and just wanted to go home - too bad we had 15 more minutes of walking to get back to the car :)

Arby's on the way home made for a quick dinner before baths and bed - we all had fun but I'm glad it's over so we can move on to Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

I'm here!!

Yes, I'm here - I know it's been a while but I've been busy. Hailee is still getting bento lunches for school but Braden hasn't had any since he's been sick - hopefully the antibiotics will kick this ear infection so he can get back to normal.

I'm starting a new position at work on Monday - trained last week and am really excited! I will now be the opening Shift Supervisor 3 days per week - Mon/Tue/Fri. I'll be handling the front desk and think I'll really enjoy it! I still can see the babies from the window and will go and hug and squish them as needed :)

for now - trying to keep the kids calm until this evening - too bad you can't trick-or-treat in the morning!

Happy Halloween everyone! Make it a safe one :)

another snack lunch for Braden

My little man LOVES this pineapple and all the goodies he gets with it! We're both having fun figuring out what goes best.

This one has 3 dips: cream cheese, peanut butter, and nutella (oh yeah, he's thinking that stuff is pretty darn tasty!)

for the dips we have: pretzel sticks, grapes, dried cherries, raisins, mini saltine crackers, and apple slices. again, not a speck left - except for some of the cream cheese.


Our next one is going to be different - I'm going to up the protein with some boiled egg & lunch meat along with veggies and ranch....we'll see how that goes :)

{{posted at What's for lunch at our house?}}

another bento giveaway!

oh my these are making me crazy! so many fun bento things that I feel I must have - so I'll try winning first! you should too :)

click here ----> Patrizzia's Blog!!! and follow all the instructions :) good luck - sort of cause I'm hoping for all the good luck, too! lol

Perfect lunches

My kids are firm believers that EVERYTHING has to be fair - they should each get the same thing as the other. Now - that's not easy because one is a girl, the other a boy. One is 8, the other 4. Yet, they don't quite get it. LOL

When it comes to meals they are TOTALLY different! (except for their cereals!) Hailee likes to have a good, filling meal, but it MUST be cute. Braden - he likes to snack. all day.

Bring in Wednesday's bento's......

Hailee has 2 chicken, broccoli, and cheese corn muffins topped with ham and cheese flowers. some rolled up ham left from cutting. celery sticks and diced tomatoes for dipping in that yellow container of ranch - and a ham/cheese butterfly. then for fruit she has a whole kiwi sitting next to a zucchini bar. She helped me pack this, picked what I put in it - yet all the veggies came home. GRRRR!


Braden FINALLY has the pineapple packed! I love this cute little thing! the green is insulated so if I wanted to put yogurt in it I could! yay! Right now it's just some peanut butter - for dipping the items in the "pineapple"...strawberries (yes folks, he dipped them in peanut butter!), Annie's organic graham bunnies (they are SO good!), toasted 12 grain bread squares, raisins, goldfish, and pineapple (again, he dipped those too!). He ate every bite and was practically licking out the pb!

so you see - they don't always need to be fair - they just don't know it! Had they been eating lunch together at home this would NOT have worked! LOL Hailee would've loved Braden's lunch but she would have needed a sandwich to go with it - she is a big lunch eater when she's at home and not rushed for time like she is at school....

that's all I have for today - I am going to dig through the medicine cabinet and find something to stop this sore throat and cold I'm getting!

a bento give away

if you want to win some cute little bento goodies then you need to go here!


Sonoma Bento