School Lunch

Happy Monday. We are back to school after a fun April vacation. B took swimming lessons every day, which brought him out of his comfort zone and gave him some great skills to become a strong swimmer. It was great.  Our busy Spring schedule will begin tonight with T ball. B has practice twice a week, and games on Saturday's. I am excited, it is so much fun to watch the kids play.

In this lunch:
Circle crackers with nitrate free pepperoni and cheese men
Mango
Nut Mixture
Cucumbers
Yogurt Tube
White Chocolate Chips

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Spring Time School Lunch

This is a school lunch from last week. B is actually on April vacation from school this week, but I figured I would share anyway. We have been busy with swimming lessons, art lab, and lots of outdoor fun. Vacation week always seems to fly by for us, it is a little sad. Summer is right around the corner. Yay!

In this lunch:
Pinwheel flower made with turkey and cheese wrap and cucumbers
Annie's Bunny Mix
Strawberries
Mango
Orange Slices

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Earth Day 2014

Earth Day is tomorrow!!! We LOVE Earth Day in our house. This is the day that we can dedicate to appreciating the beauty of the Earth, and helping to maintain it. All year we work hard to reduce, reuse, and recycle so everyday is kind of like Earth Day, but April 22nd serves as a great reminder of the work that needs to be done.

 My family celebrates Earth Day by planting a tree, doing special earth day planting, and crafts, and picking up trash in our community. This is such a good learning lesson for my children. They love to take part in it, and share their experiences with their friends and family. They effects certainly rub off onto others, surely making a difference. That is what it is all about. If you are just beginning to recycle try doubling your recycling amount each week. You will love seeing the amount of trash you have reduce, and your recycling increase. What a difference you could make. Also, try to always pack trash free lunches for you and your children. The more little things you can do will make a huge impact on our planet over time.



See last years Earth Day post.

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Earth Day Craft

These looked so much better before I glued them to the black paper. The glue pretty much ruined the look, but they were so much fun to make, and are still worth sharing. I would suggest hanging them on the fridge or in the window instead. I found this craft idea on pinterest. You can view the original post here.

You will need:
Markers
White Coffee Filters
Spray Bottle

All you do is color the coffee filter using blue for the water and green for the land, making it look like the planet earth. Once you are done coloring, spray the filter and allow the colors to bleed together. Once it is completely dry hang it up to display for all to enjoy.

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Easter Baskets

I love Easter. I have so much fun putting the baskets together and filling all the eggs. If you know me, you know I only give my children organic or all natural dye free candy. This yar my sister Laura introduced me to the perfect website to order dye free candy. I put in a big order so I could get a deal on the shipping cost. I will use the candy for Easter, B's birthday, and probably R's birthday too. You can visit https://www.naturalcandystore.com/

This year my kids are 6 and 3, so I decided to skip the stuffed bunny that usually goes into the Easter baskets and stick to toys and other stuff they could get some use out of. We have stuffed animals coming out of our ears around here, so it seemed fine to me to skip the bunny. I try to fill both baskets with the same type of contents, but personalized to each boy's taste. I know it is difficult to see, as I use small baskets, which are stuffed pretty full.They each got a bottle of bubbles, a foam sling shot, wooden airplanes, plastic eggs filled with jelly beans that are colored with vegetables, a Lego building kit, and a school workbook. I have to say I was so impressed when the workbooks came in the mail. I ordered them from amazon  and paid only $5 each. I expected them to be thin with maybe 20 pages. These workbooks are 236 pages long, and filled with great learning activities for the kids to do. My thought was that they could work on them over the summer to maintain what was learned in school this year. I spent a little more than I did last year, see post here, but as they get older their interests become more expensive. I was still able to maintain a budget of under $25.

Aside from their baskets they boys love to hunt for eggs. I fill 50 eggs with good candy, stickers, little toys, and marshmallows.  I will say there is a lot of candy involved in this day for my boys. I limit candy so much throughout the year, that I feel like it is okay for them to get excited for an overabundance of sweets a few times a year. They get spoiled with good food and kisses too.

How do you celebrate Easter?

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

School Lunch

Happy Monday everyone. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the temperatures are rising. It is Spring at last. There is nothing that can put me in a sour mood right now. I am in love with my perfect life, and the warm seasons approaching. I have been in birthday planning mode lately, since B's birthday is coming up in a few weeks. I can't believe he is turning 6. Where does the time go?

In this lunch:
Ham and Cheese Sandwich
Organic Cheese Crackers
Strawberries
Cucumbers
Mango
A little Sunshine to add a smile

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Bunny Craft

I saw this adorable craft idea of pinterest the other day. Who doesn't have toilet paper rolls in their recycling bins just waiting to be turned into a fun children's craft project? I certainly do. :) I feel like our recycling has grown so much in just the last year, I am forced to look into  larger bins to hold it all. Earth day is just a few weeks away, so check back for some fun earth day crafts and activities to do with the kids. This bunny craft is pretty straightforward.

You will need:
Toilet Paper Roll
Paint
Craft Eyes
Paper
Marker


Thanks for visiting, Kayla

School Lunch

 

We had a fabulous weekend with company from out of state, and lots of family time. My boys got along so well together, and referred to each other as best friends several times over the past couple days. It was adorable. Let' s see if the kindness and sharing lasts throughout the week too.

 

In this lunch:

Ham and Cheese sandwich

Mango

Kiwi and Strawberries

Annie's party mix

 

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Homemade Chapstick

I have always wanted to make my own chapstick. Sometimes starting from scratch and making your own products can feel like a daunting task, but once you tackle it, it is usually way easier than you thought. That is how I felt about making chapstick. I found a recipe online, and of course changed the ingredients into what I wanted them to be. I played around with textures, and smells and decided on this combination. I would say this was a great success, especially for my first time.

You will need:
2 Tbs. beeswax
2 Tbs. Shea Butter
2 Tbs. Jojoba Oil
20 drops essential oil, I used vanilla and lavender
4 Drops Vitamin E oil


Method:
Heat about 1 inch of water in a saucepan on medium. Place a glass bowl or jar in the water, and slowly melt all ingredients together. Once completely melted, use a glass dropper to fill your chapstick tubes. I used a rubber band to help stand the tubes up. Keep the glass jar in the warm water while you are filling the tubes to make sure your mixture stays melted. I bought my tubes from amazon.

That's it. This was a pretty easy process. I will make another batch in a few weeks and add some zinc to it for a little sun protection.

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Spring Flower Chocolate Pops

I found these cute little silicone molds at the store the other day for under $2. They came with the lollipop sticks, so I thought it was a great deal. Today it took me just a few minutes to melt some chocolate down, and pour it into the mold. I put them in the fridge for about 15 minutes, and they were hardened that quickly.  This is a fool proof easy to make treat that your kids will love. The best part is that you know the ingredients that goes into them. I just melted down some all natural chocolate chips.

Also, I did a little upcycling diy project with the container that the lollipops are in. This was an empty baking powder can. I had some scraps of paper that I just modge podged to the can. It came out great.

 Thanks for visiting, Kayla