School Lunch Box Packing System

There are a lot of pros and cons when beginning a new school year. Depends on who you ask too. Personally I'm ready as you may have read in my post about that. But, there is one big "con" if you ask me. Packing school lunches every night. It's one of those chores that my husband and I often forget about until the kitchen is cleaned up, the kids are in bed, and we've slumped down on the couch to relax. Then one of us looks at the other (with a pleading look) and says "lunches." Then it's the usual sigh and he or I will drag ourselves to the kitchen to piece together whatever we can.

The fact remains ... it's a necessity. Kids need to have lunch and they need to be packed. All the sighing and complaining won't change that fact. So this year we're trying something new. We're embracing this chore and attempting to put a system in place to avoid all the bellyaching. Maybe this will work for you too, that's why I'm blogging about it.

Back to School Prep!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year .... Lol. Kidding! I do love the summer, but like any season, I'm ready for the next one when the end nears. School starts for us next week and the preparation that goes into getting us all ready is a layered process to say the least. So I'm sharing with you the check list of what we do to get ready in the event it is helpful to you.

Tomato and Basil Harvest - Recipe

Oh the tomato, how I love thee ...

What a wonderful time of year for produce. Especially tomatoes. I love them, and this time of year I usually eat them in some capacity daily. Though I am not a gardener, I still manage to have a bounty of fresh picked tomatoes thanks to family and friends whose gardens are bursting with them right about now. Basil too (which go together like peas and carrots). Obviously there are so many ways to eat tomatoes and this is my current favorite (my daughter's too).

A Balanced (and fun) Summer

Sorry for the lengthy break between posts these days. Per usual, life is crazy and the time simply gets away from me. But here we are. For must of us summer is in full swing. Schools have wrapped up, kids are home, or in camps and a new routine (or lack there of) is upon us. I don't know about your kids, but mine were bouncing off the walls with all the end of school year activities. And even more so transitioning into summer. Like everyone we want to have a great summer. And with that comes addressing all our expectations (and bucket lists) which prompted a family meeting to discuss all of the above. Here are some of my tips for setting yourself up for a great summer as discussed at our most recent family meeting.

Homemade Pretzel Crusted Chicken Nuggets (baked)

If you read my blog post about our family meal rotation then you'd know Monday night is "chicken night" for us. And yes, I have my "usuals" but wanted to mix it up a bit this week (I'm wild and crazy like that). Like all kids, mine love chicken nuggets. But it's very rare I buy them unless I need to feed a gang of kids. And fast food is a foreign concept to them so they are really deprived! I'm a little old school when it comes to cooking (and baking) and prefer (and enjoy) doing what I can from scratch. So needless to say, when the kids want nuggets I make them "my way".

Family Meal Time Game

"Sit down, use your fork, please eat your dinner, stop talking with your mouth full." Sound familiar? It's the general "conversation" happening at our dining room table too. We will get the occasional "how was your day," "tell me about school," etc.  It's been said that having a family dinner at least 5 times a week lowers a teens's chance of smoking, drinking, and using drugs.  So now that we've all made the effort to gather around the table, what should we talk about? Well besides what I mentioned above. Today my friend Martha shared with me a great article about unlocking they key to your child's heart.

By request - my meal planning schedule and most recent "must have" purchase.

Life has been super busy lately so I apologize for the less frequent posts. Just a girl trying to keep it all in balance over here. Work, family, and social plans (like all of us) has kept me from blogging! Also our big redecoration project at home. Thanks to a very generous Mother's Day gift (thanks Hubs), I have totally  jumped into accessorizing and updating our living room and dining room. We're married 15 years this year and our decor looked like it too! We change as we get older and our tastes do as well. I'm thrilled with the end result and enjoy being home even more now.

Today's Before and After Organizing Job

As a professional organizer I always enjoy seeing before and after pictures of projects. I find them inspiring and motivating. I have done many make overs through the years and only recently have I been taking before/after pictures. Not sure why I'm late to that game (maybe it's because I didn't have a blog). So if you're like me, this post might interest you (maybe even inspire you).

2 Kid Approved Recipes

I love to cook and bake. It really is how I show love (I'm 1/2 Italian after all). I especially love to find or create recipes the whole family enjoys. In our house Saturday morning means one thing -  Pancakes! The kids look forward to it all week and to be honest, so do I. It's a tradition we started years ago when my friend Brenda had us over for brunch and served us the most delicious pancakes I've ever had. She shared the recipe, and the tradition began.

The Laws of Attraction

Have you ever thought of a song and it came on the radio soon after? Or mentioned someone you haven't seen in a while and then bumped into them that week? This is called the Laws of Attraction. The theory that our thoughts manifest our destiny. I happen to fully believe in this concept 100%. I've seen it happen too many times in my own life for it not to be real. Once you are in tune with this frequency I bet you'll notice it more too (and use it to your advantage).