'Jett' has landed

So this is the first year my boys are experiencing the magic of Elf on the Shelf and so far it is one of the best traditions we have every started with them.  They never heard of it so really they had no clue what in the world was going on.  When my middle son woke up Friday morning and saw there was stuff in the kitchen he came running in my room.   I totally acted like I had no clue what he was talking about.  Told my youngest to go check it out with him & two minutes later they both come running back and at that point I had my iPod set on video to record what they were saying.  During all this my oldest was still sleeping so I said go check to see if he was up which apparently mean go wake him up to a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old.  So once all three came running back and my oldest said it's an Elf on the Shelf, I said a what? and followed them to the kitchen acting all surprised.  They had Christmas place mats waiting along with Christmas Star Wars cups and some powdered donuts, a letter from Santa himself, the Elf on the Shelf book and of course the Elf.  They were beyond thrilled, so I read them the letter and then read the book {which to me is so adorable} and after five minutes they finally agreed on his name.  'Jett' our family Elf was written in the book by my 8 yr old son and since then the Magic has begun.

I am documenting each day to share with family & friend..

Day 2:  We just moved him to the mantel before it was decorated & I never got a picture with my camera my husband did with his phone but it's just not the same.

Day 3: Okay I thought this idea was brilliant, I put him where I thought my boys would notice him right away and it was the first day he was being mischievous. He had used tinker toys to help him hang upside down and written his name upside down on the mirror with a green crayon.  Well I had no clue at 645 in the morning he would totally scare my 5 yr old son to death.  I mean he was literally screaming at the top of his lungs & ran into his room.  Apparently in the dark when something is hanging from the hallway mirror it's very scary.  I felt horrible but after he said there was something on the mirror I couldn't stop laughing. 

Day 4:  He turned our milk green and bundled up to stay in the frig for the day, they loved having green milk to drink and with cereal but I think they loved him dressed up the most.

Day 5:  This morning they woke up to see he had taken their stockings off and hung up their underwear LOL and he also made a red/green paper chain.  I think he figured we needed more Christmas decorations.

Mini Apple Pies... Yumm

Thanks to the pinterest world once again {I'm sure that is getting old but really the things I find on there are ever so amazing} I came across a picture of mini apple pies which looked & sounded amazing.  It brought me to this blog little bit funky and I luckily I had everything I needed on hand.  So while the older two boys were at school me & my three year old partner in baking went to work.  I cut her recipe in half since I only have one muffin pan.

Peel & core 5 green apples, cut up into 1/2 inch pieces 

{I say 5 cause I shared about an apple with my son who kept saying how great they tasted lol}

Mix the apples with:

6 Tablespoons of flour

3/4 Cups of sugar

2 heaping teaspons of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg 

(I did half of 1/4 teaspoon but you can leave out if wanted)

Make sure you coat all the apples.

Next you will need one box of Pillsbury Pie crest {not frozen}

Unroll your first pie crest and cut out circles 

{a mason jar lid washed first of course works great}

Do the same with the second pie crust {save the scraps to use}

Line each muffin tin with the circle pie crest and pinch together sides so it fits nicely.

Next add the apples to each muffin tin & I found using an ice cream scooper for this part is perfect.

Add a small piece of butter to each pie then top with the left over scraps of 

pie crest {it doesn't have to be perfect}

My son loved doing this part.

 Brush with melted butter & bake at 400 for 18 to 22 minutes.  

{I started checking on them 15 minutes into baking, 

once the tops were a nice golden brown I took them out}

Enjoy & they taste really good the second day also.  I'm sure if you added 

some vanilla ice cream on top they would taste even more amazing!!!

Elf who?

We are starting a new tradition with the boys & to be honest I'm so excited about it.  Traditions are amazing and I feel what kids will never forget. Sometimes the traditions are even better then the actually holiday.  I still remember traditions my mom did with us as children & we are now doing those with our children.

I know Elf on The Shelf has been around for awhile and before this year we never really looked into it.  But a few friends said they do it with their children and seeing ideas of what "Elf" can do or get into while the kids are sleeping or not home on the pinterest just seemed perfect for our children.  He will make his appearance the day after Thanksgiving and I have a bunch of ideas lined up.  One Elf painted the children's noses red while sleeping and had a note by him saying go look in the mirror.  Sitting next time to him in a cup was a paint brush with some red paint on top of it.  The mom took a picture of all three kids on the couch with their noses red, it was so adorable.  Our friends said their Elf cleaned out their entire pantry last year lol.  Elf had changed the color of their milk, had a nerf gun fight with woody, a snow ball fight with buzz {marshmallows} baked something or just made a complete mess.  The possibilities are endless.  We both can't wait to see the boys reaction.  Here are some ideas to pass along that I have found.

http://blossombunkhouse.com/2011/11/08/101-elf-on-the-shelf-ideas-2/

http://raeoflight-photography.com/blog/2010/12/20/elfie-rojos-mischeif/

http://www.chubbycheekphotography.com/blog/?p=2564

CLUTTER

Clutter clutter everywhere Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Not sure if it's the same situation in your house but I'll get the house all clean from top to bottom, everything is in it's location.  The weekend comes & goes and by Monday it's chaos all over again.  Or  last week it was four out of five of us sick for almost a week so everything really added up.  I guess it's not the everyday stuff driving me nuts today though {laundry, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms etc} more the clutter of stuff.  Like the piles of papers/mail etc that were on our dining room table but really we don't use it as a dining room table cause we eat in the kitchen so that table is like the office table {or better known as everything that doesn't have a home paper wise just piles up there.  Come on you're telling me you don't have a place like that in your house!!  Well yesterday I was sick of it and organized it all up, tossed half of it then moved the table to the wall & set it up more as a desk till we can sell that set to actually turn our dining room into an office area.  My husband started back to college :) so I was trying to make it more cozy & less craziness.  He said it looked awesome.   Also the junk drawer please tell me you have one or two of those in your house.  We have two smaller drawers in our kitchen one tends to be more the grown up one {with phone chargers, pens, sticky note paper etc} and one is the kids {pencils, erasers, tiny little trinkets, silly bands etc} well they were both a disaster yet again so earlier today I dug at them.  What is so amazing is once I was done and re-opened them up I felt ten times better, like two simple small drawers that once were chaotic are now nicely organized.... I could breathe again.  

It's nice to know something free, sometimes stressful, may or may not be time consuming like de cluttering areas in your house cause make you feel so wonder.  Who needs shopping & spending money after all!! Wait did I just say that, well yes shopping is awesome but then I have the quilt of spending the money.

Crazy what some paint & wall decor can do

We moved here {SEVEN} months ago & it's just crazy it's been that long already yet it feels like we have lived here forever.  Not sure how that makes sense but it does lol.  Buying a house is amazing & wonderful, stressful & frustrating but the positives totally out number the stress factors and such.  We had a lot of those in the beginning.  We are slowly making the house our home cause well money don't grow on trees and re-doing anything even just painting a room can add up.   I have personally {on my own yes just me} painted the three rooms in the house that have gotten a paint job and I just love the changed.  Our entire house is the same color {except both bathroom had wallpaper Yuck!!} granted it's better then staring at white walls all day but the brownish color can get to you after awhile. To me it's dark & makes the rooms look so much smaller.  Plus I like each room to have it's own personal character if possible. 

So the laundry room, the boys bathroom/guest bath, and my older boys room {they share} got a paint job.  Both bathrooms in the house had wallpaper which I truly disliked {my husband thought there was nothing wrong with it}, I first ripped off the wallpaper in the boys which was so simple & easy.  Thanks to the advice from a friend it was smooth sailing & I thought "why do people complain about removing wallpaper it was nothing".  Then a few months later while my husband was away for a few days with work I decided to do our bathroom which is much bigger & surprise him.  Definitely was not as simple & took me practically all day but now it sits wallpaper list waiting for us to pick a color & make it beautiful.  Yes I know I totally jinx myself with the comment of it's nothing to do.

Boys/Guest Bathroom Before & After



Apparently me thinking I took a picture of the bathroom before I ripped the wallpaper off was a bad assumption cause the only picture I have is when me & my husband came to look at houses {I promise you he is not peeing loll} the before picture is their stuff before we even got it.  They did leave the mirror which I spray painted black & we need to get a new light fixture or spray paint that also i dont like gold & there is a lot of that in the house.  The wall color looks white but it's more blue-ish in color and we got a new shower curtain & rod.  Since it's my boys bathroom but also our guest bathroom I didn't want it to scream kids .  Plus our oldest son & youngest are 5 years apart so while a cute-ish bathroom set may work for a 3 year old it's totally not as cool for an 8 year old.  For now it's just simple with some color, I made the splatter paint on a canvas for some color & when I find the right wall art for the room I'll know it.  I just wasn't sure what exactly I was looking for at the time & didn't want to waste money till I was.

 Bigger Boys Room Before & After

{Easy} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Are so flippin amazing that you can't eat just one & you must share them with friends/neighbors otherwise your will eat them all yourself lol I laugh but I'm dead serious they are that good.  I found this recipe on {Pinterest} of course & what totally caught my attention was the ingredients or should I say the little ingredients it called for.  When being a mom to three wild hyper crazy{I mean cute & adorable} boys sometimes making time to bake {which I love to do, I could bake all day but cook.. not so much} isn't as often as I like cause I do love to bake from scratch when I can & with that comes more time needed.  So this huge shortcut is perfect.


Until last year I would never try anything pumpkin when I was a kid I just thought eat pumpkin {pie, muffin, etc} was ill gross & it stuck with me forever finally at {twenty eight} I tried a pumpkin spice muffin from Dunkin Donuts but not by choice.  They had messed up the order and when my husband got home I was like what the heck "where is my coffee cake muffin" that I was so craving.  So I was stuck with  the decision throw away a perfectly yummy looking muffin & waste the money or just try it, I did and it was AMAZING.  So flash foward a year later I look forward to fall time coming to get the pumpkin spice muffin from DD {which I did two weeks ago btw} but then I thought well maybe I could just make some & I bet the kids would like it {well secretly hoped}.  So I looked on pinterest & my eyes were fixed on a picture of some yummy muffins which said "easy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins' only THREE ingredients needed, Say what?? 3 ingredients no way.  So I got all the ingredients & baked away.  My house smelled amazing & fallish which went perfect with the cool temperatures we were having.   My boys {even our oldest who can be super picky}, the husband, and my neighbors loved them.  They taste even better the next day & the day after.  

See I used the pumpkin pie mix the first time

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins:

• 2 Spice Cake Mixes {the blog I got the recipe said the Duncan Hines Spice Cake is the best for this recipe}
• 1  30-oz can of Pumpkin
• 1  12-oz bag of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips {I used 3/4 of the bag}

Preheat Oven to 350.  Now for the hard part, mix both cake mixes and the can of pumpkin together.  Next add chocolate chips.  Spoon mixture into lined muffin tins & fill those bad boys up.  The muffins don't rise that much so I filled mine almost full and using an icecream scooper to me works well.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean. 

I made 30 muffins & they taste even better the second day {my older two even took one to school as a snack} You could even freeze the extra and put them in your lunch bags in the morning or if you can't wait that long warm it up in the microwave & Enjoy.

Now don't forget to share or even make for a party cause I'm telling you everyone will be asking you how you made them and want the recipe.  :)

{we were on our way to drop these off at our friends house when i realized i never took a picture so i had my oldest run inside & grab my ipod so this was taken in my driveway lol}

**A few people said they make them as cookies, drop tablespoons on a baking sheet & bake at 300 for 18-22 minutes,  I plan on trying that next time {well any day now as I did run back to the store a few days ago & got everything I need to make another batch}

67 = Chili

This past weekend came with amazing cool temperatures {we went from 94 degree high temp to a whopping 67 degree high temp over night} and seriously I was loving every single minute of it.  We rocked hoodies with jeans & flip flops {my boys love rockin that outfit}, open the windows and the A/C didn't run once for three days straight {finger crossed it help our electric bill out some}.  Our middle son {the big 5 yr old} had his first ever soccer game on Saturday & he was so excited.  Granted it was drizzling out which had our youngest freezing even though he was bundled up.  Wanted me to hold him the entire time to cuddle but I was attempting to capture the first soccer game which made me feel torn {note to self when having more then one child at times you will feel torn between them & trying to comfort one while doing something for another isn't always stress free simple}.   Halfway through my camera battery died go figure {always have a fully charged camera battery not one that is only 25% charged cause it will not last}.  My husband wasn't able to be there since he was in a class all day long otherwise the hold me while trying to capture the game would have been stressful with other hands there to do one or the other.   

I decided that we needed to make a trip to the grocery store cause it just felt like the perfect day to make chili & let it cook all afternoon long.  So once the game was over & we went home to change into dry clothes, the boys had a snack then we were off.  We got everything we needed to cook & to bake but first we stopped at the local bakery right next store {when we lived in VA there wasn't a local bakery around beside one you may find at a grocery store which I don't consider a "bakery" I was going to say real bakery but that sounds harsh I mean yes it a bakery but the ones we grew up with in NY were an actually store that was just that a 'bakery' nothing else}.  The older two had never been there before so when I opened the door their eyes lit up, like a kid in a candy store {another thing my boys have never been into}.  After five minutes of going back & forth on what they wanted we got 3 big circle cookies with sprinkles & I decided to get two apple turnovers for me & my husband to enjoy later once the kids were in bed {which were so amazing that I am now craving for another one}.  Once we got home I started cooking the chili {I make turkey chili & its amazing, it wasn't till about 2 years ago when a really good friend told me how she cooks with ground turkey never ground beef.  That you really can't tell the difference so I tried it & in the past two years I have bought ground beef maybe 5 times total we use ground turkey for everything} & decided to make Spice Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins {I'll post the recipe tomorrow} which only call for 4 ingredients.  


Turkey Chili:

1 lb of turkey {browned & drained}
1/2 a green pepper {cut up}
1/4 of a onion {cut up}
1/2 can of corn {drained}
1/2 light kidney beans {drained & washed}
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
chili powder {i just sprinkle till it taste the way we like it lol}

sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
tostitos chips {the scoops are perfect}

Brown the ground turkey & while that is cooking cut up the peppers and onions, drain & wash the kidney beans, drain the corn.   In a large pot add the peppers & onion cook on medium.  Once the ground turkey is fully cooked drain you can add that to the peppers & onions. Then add the kidney beans, corn, died tomatoes, sauce and stir it all up.  Add the chili powder {I don't measure I just shake till it's perfect}. Let it cook on low {stir here & there} till you are ready to eat {I like to let it cook for a few hours}.  When your ready to eat pour into a bowl top with cheddar cheese and sour cream {if you like} now the best part take tostitos scoops chips & scoop away {that is my boys favorite part of chili}. 
Now this is how I make chili & there are so many way to do it, things to add and not add.  I started making it 3ish years ago at first it scared me cause I'm not the best cook.  I like to say I'm a cook in training {many many years of training lol} so going out of my comfort zone to make something new freaks me out.  I used to make it with ground beef & when we made the switch 2 years ago to ground turkey it still tasted great.   But it's seriously one of the best things about fall time & it taste great as leftovers.

Baked Broccoli

I never thought to bake BROCCOLI before.  We have boiled it & my husband has been wanting to get a steamer so we can "cook it the right way" but while on pinterest I saw a recipe for baked broccoli & all the comments that followed said how amazing it was & it's the best tasting broccoli ever.  So I tried it out last week & it was A M A Z I N G.  Our two younger ones love broccoli to begin with so they kept eating it up.  I made it last night & gave it to all our boys, even my oldest {who is anti fruit/veggie kid} said it was really good & he liked the brown spots the best {the semi burnt spots} & he is so right cause those are the best parts.

So if you have never had baked broccoli it's a must try & so easy. 

• Broccoli
• Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt {I'm sure you can use regular salt but we recently became friends with kosher salt & it's what we use when we bake or grill veggies}

Set the oven to 350 & put the broccoli on a cookie sheet covered with tin foil {for easy clean up afterwards} then pour some Olive Oil {I don't measure I just pour to our liking} over the broccoli & mix it up so they are all coated then sprinkle the Kosher salt {or whatever salt} you are using & mix it up again.  Put in the oven for 20 mins and check, you want brownness on the broccoli then they are more crisp & that is wonderful.  I read others squeeze lemon juice over them once they come out of the oven but this simple way is what we love so maybe one day we'll try other variations.

{not the best picture off my ipod}

Giveaway for those with Boys

Yaya so excited normally giveaways are more geared towards girls {totally get why there is way more out there for girls} but in a house full of {THREE} boys I'm so excited about this one.  You don't just win one or two but THREE amazing prizes!!!!!   Now I have entered contest before & I never do win yet I still keep entering them.  Thinking maybe this time will be it.  LOL  {which I'm sure it won't be but still I will keep trying} 

So for those with boys I pass this along & if you win just remember who sent you the link.  :)   These shoes are flippin adorable & they are so calling my youngest name, at {3} years old he already has his own fashion sense when it comes to shoes.  The past month he has been wearing two totally different flip flops or a croc & a flip flip, when you ask him why he says "cause I like it" and out the door we go.  At church a few weeks ago I was asked if he was missing some shoes to which I replied "No he just likes to wear them like that" {& yes I do allow him to}

http://www.choozeshoes.com

So go there & enter it ends Sunday night....

http://zozobugbabyblog.com/2011/09/08/its-all-about-the-boys-giveaway-1/

Randomness

Here is {FIVE} random things in no particular order from the past week:

• I've learned that whenever I eat watermelon {which I love by the way} I burp A LOT afterwards I have no clue why & yet I still keep eating it especially for a night time snack {I try not to eat after 7pm but that doesn't always stick so having watermelon makes me feel not as guilty when I do}
• I wore my nickers inside out all night/morning today {yes I totally put them on inside out & I can't even blame being rushed by the kids since I shower at night when they are in bed lol} & finally realized it around noon, I kept wondering why my tag was sticking out of my jeans in the back, way to go genius!!!  They are still like that btw!!
• While on my nightly walk {with my neighbor-we are trying to walk to feel great (& if we lose lbs while doing it that's a bonus)} last night a nat {those tiny bugs that love to be all in your face}flew into my eye & if you would have seen it in action I'm sure it was funny.  Can I just say if you never had a nat in your eye I don't recommend it, it actually burns like a {female dog} {I never knew that then again why the heck would I know that} thankfully my neighbor is a nat removal pro & got it out in a few minutes.  Thank you again L you totally saved my walk!!!
• Apparently it's okay to smoke a cigarette outside while your newborn is in the car seat on the floor right next to you, cause that's the normal things parents do right?  I saw that while driving out of a parking lot the other day & I truly wanted to stop the car to say something.  I do judge people that smoke around children it just drives me nuts & I think it's so selfish & cruel/wrong. 
• My {THREE} year old showed me today that you can totally make a birthday cake out of the boxes & things in your shopping cart {while at target} & then sing {loudly} Happy Birthday to Mommy {even though her birthday already past} for the world to hear.  Priceless moment that is for sure :)

Yaya for September but I'll admit it's seems so different now, my older two have been in school for a few weeks now so for most it's the start of school for us it's not but it is my oldest {EIGHT} birthday next week which doesn't seem possible.  It's also the day a friend lost her husband 4 years ago in Iraq {he is a hero & so is she, we will never forget}.  So I'm excited & count down for that day, the day I became a mom/mommy/mama & my world changed forever but I'm also sad for that day to come cause it was the day her life changed forever in a way no wife should have to experience.   

So True...

Seriously these all had me laughing & saying yes I used to do that, I still do that or I can totally relate to that or that is so true or I really wish that was true {cake going to boobs Oh how awesome that would be}.  The last one about peeing alone, find me a mom out there that has never spoke those words.  I just want a few minutes to pee alone without a child in the bathroom with me or even the pets cause if it's not the children it's the pets, especially in this house.

DIY Magnetic Board & Family Rules

So pinterest is ever so amazing {did I just say that again well it's true} & the things you can find on there just rock whether it be recipes or DIY projects or posters, decorating ideas, gifts, basically everything & anything.  This morning I found one DIY project that need to be done like yesterday.  A half hour later me & my partner in crime where out of the house on an adventure.  What once was an oil drip pan that I purchased at the auto part store for $9.99 is now turned into a magnetic board for our three boys to hang their art work & special papers from school on.  I love that it's at their level & then can change it whenever they want.  {if you want to do it yourself i highly recommend washing the pan first it has oil/grease on it, i just used all purpose cleaner & a paper towel.}, I nailed a hole in each corner for screws then put two anchors on the top {the bottom part of the wall wasn't having anchors go in it but the screws when it just fine}   To whomever pinned the originally one thank you cause this lady was brilliant for thinking of it, here is the link Oil Drip Pan Turned Magnetic Board.  Our is in the kitchen on our everything wall {as you can tell in the picture} the rectangle black frame has our family rules which is actually another idea I got off pinterest ;)

Our Family Rules sign that I did on word, it did take me like a half hour to do I'll admit.  Changing the fonts & resizing can be time consuming but I thought it looked wicked neat that way.  Don't you think so? {I've seen them hand painted them on wood or you can buy them through a shop on etsy just search family rules, eventually I may do one of those but my first way was free so I chose to be cheap lol but it still serves its function}, it hangs in the kitchen wall of stuff.  I just <3 it & wish I would have thought of it years ago but thanks to pinterest we now have one.

Inked Finally!!!

I am so wicked excited to say I finally got my {THIRD} tattoo this past weekend & it is by far my most favorite, meaningful, amazing piece of art I have.  I truly treasure & love it with all my heart.  The other two I have I do love don't get me wrong but they were just tattoos.  I got my first when I was {15 yrs old} {YES I know who does that} my mom surprised me & one of my best friends after school that she had gone earlier that day to get hers & that I was in fact being the one to get inked.  I truly thought I was freakin awesome & hard core lol granted I about passed out, turned totally white but after some sugar pulled through like a champ & was sporting this cool looking sun b/w tattoo on my ankle at 15 how cool right?   My 2nd one I got two years later while me & my mom were on vacation, it to was a spontaneous thing & I will admit that was the best experience I was {17yrs old} getting inked by a major hottie so what girl wouldn't enjoy havin a needled embed ink into her lower back for almost an hour. LOL.  So while those tattoo themselves don't really have any meanings the memories of getting them are forever the best part & I do cherish them.   


Fast forward almost 12 years later I was on a mission & knew exactly what I want so finally while my mom was in town which meant me & hubby get to go on a date, I said lets go check out a tattoo place.  I walked in knowing I would get it that night but was freakin out on the inside.  I am not scared of pain {I had three kids natural} but still being in a tattoo shop gives me the shakes lol if you ever felt like that you know what I mean.  I asked how much it would cost & if they could do it now and thirty minutes later it was permanent.  That tattoo itself only took {TEN} minutes & it was nothing but the middle part where the 'y' is hurt like hell I'll admit. 

My Nana passed away almost two years ago & I found a card she had mailed to us from 2003 which is crazy I still had it in a book that was in a bin of all our important papers & it had a butterfly on it {whenever my boys see a butterfly flying around they always say there is Nana watching over us so I just thought it was her saying use this}{I couldn't find a letter my mom had mailed me from my Nana a year ago that I was going to use for the tattoo originally}
So the tattoo artist photocopied the card were my Nana wrote "LOVE YOU" and she is now forever inked on me exactly how she wrote it to me.  I am always missing her & just having that there to see makes me feel something I can't explain it. 

Love You Nana <3

I Have The FALL Itch!!

Something about school starting makes me think I need to decorate for FALL & everything needs to be fallish {from candles to foods to the weather etc}.   The older boys started school on Wednesday {which btw they <3 especially our middle one who as you know started KG, the past two days he has come home & told me all about the new friends he made in his class and everything about his day.  I just love the excitement that comes from him as he talks all about it} and after I got home all I thought about was "okay it's time to decorate for fall, I could smell the pumpkin muffins like they were baking in my oven" {unfortunately it wasn't reality dohh!!}.  But to my defense it was beautiful out this week, we even woke up to temperatures in the 70's which truly isn't normal for this time of the year so for a few days it felt fallish outside.  It's still August for Pete sakes who decorates in August, I truly don't want to be known as that crazy newish neighbor who decorates over a month to early for something.   Back North when school started it was common to see fall everything {decorations, the weather, the leaves changing...} cause they start school after Labor Day only a month & halfish before Halloween {I feel that is very much typical time to start decorating for a holiday but more then that, like over two months prior then yeah you're a little crazy} but we are not we are here in the South where school is now underway in August. 

So instead I dream about it, I of course 'pin it', & I count down the days.  I think fall time is one of my most favorite times of the year, something about coolish weather with that fresh crisp smell in the air is just so amazing.  Being able to open the windows & not have the A/C running up my electric bill will make me every so happy.  To wear flip flops with jeans & a hoodie at night is the perfect combination & the fact that my boys all live in their flip flops like I do makes me {SMILE} cause they will soon be rockin that look with me.   Lighting candles with the fall smell {like pumpkin or apple cinnamon} can make any house smell yummy.  Lets not forget the fall sports with the kids, going to a pumpkin patch, on a hay ride, apple picking {which is a tradition in our house}, just being able to play outside for hours after school, go to parks or on hikes without the deadly heat and all the fall baking {delicious pumpkin muffins or homemade apple pie} & the recipes that follow{especially homemade soups & chili} to make fall time complete. 

I don't want time to fly by cause it will be here before we know it but I am truly without a doubt looking forward to Fall time & everything it has in store for us, especially living in a new state it will be a new experience of my most favorite season.   

New Lunch Ideas For The Kids

So school starts tomorrow.. YES TOMORROW {as I tell myself now breathe in & out} & with that I wanted to change things this year especially with {TWO} now being in elementary school.  Our oldest son is picky but has come a long way {if you only knew the battles & the list of what he wouldn't eat years ago till now you would be like wow} and our middle son loves just about everything & anything.  I mean that child just <3's food, or what I meant to say is that he just {ENJOYS} his food.  It's actually cute to watch him eat cause he's loving every bite of it.  Reminds of me Eat Pray Love when Julia Roberts character was truly enjoying all the new foods she was trying.  Anyways back on track so this year I wanted to get way more into healthy eating & less on the crap.  I found this amazing system called Bento Lunches which just had me amazed & I'm the adult.  I thought wow the boys would love this & I will for them cause it's healthy foods but I am not so very talented like so many others are.

See what I mean & there are a million more out there.  What child wouldn't love their lunch to look like Mario or Ferb.  They would definitely be the talk of the lunch room & kids would be running home saying "mom why can't you make my lunch like so & so" lol.   But realistically it can be time consuming which most of us 'moms' don't have enough of.  It doesn't have to be that in dept & still be cool or adorable & healthy.  The american bento {as I found on pinterest & like to say means mom only has so much time in a day but lunch can still be healthy & cool}   Take these for examples:

 

Do you see why I am so pumped & ready? just little things you can do to make lunch even better & my goal is to get our oldest to be requesting fruits or veggies like my other two do for a snack.  Hmmm can this work?? I totally have faith... so if you never heard of it google or search on pinterest Bento or Bento lunches or healthy lunches etc...