Bentos Examples

This was so easy to do because for dinner we had a salad bar and I just made salads their favorite ways while cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. Put a few pieces of cubed chicken on a toothpick for fun add some dressing to a container for dipping or drizzling and I am positive their will be nothing left of these healthy lunches

Again so easy I took the fruit salad that was left over after dinner, added grape tomatoes, and cottage cheese and I had one happy girl and I can tell you there was nothing left.

This day I was in a hurry because we had eaten out the night before, so I decided to time myself. I quickly cut string cheese and added those along with mini pepperoni to the toothpicks(David had pirate toothpicks). Added some crackers and pizza sauce and chopped up a romaine heart for salad and grape tomatoes. Using food writers I wrote a quick note on their bananas and in under 10 minutes they had a fun lunch! Can I tell you they were so excited for this lunch!

I have always struggled with packing lunches it bores me...another peanut butter and jam sandwich even though I would cut them into cute shapes the monotony of it all made me lose interest and I always felt like they needed healthier options.

The other thing I had not considered was I now make Jensen's lunch when I make Julianna and David's so that is something taken off my list to do during the day. I am glad I had enough foresight to buy him his own box.

This has really worked for me and I am sure to share other bento options in the future and the reviews around here have been fabulous, David has even said he only wants cold lunch(he always loved hot dog day but not now) all year which proves to me I made the right choice of switching how I make lunches!!!

Oh What Do You Do in the Summer Time When Most of the Water is Drained from the Lake

do you pack up your cabin, whine and complain, and throw a fit all day if that's what you did yoiu missed out!!!!!

WE HUNTED FOR TREASURE





and FOR LITTLE FROGS



and KAYAKED THE DAY AWAY



WE LAUNCHED BUNCHES ACORNS WAY UP HIGH




TOLD STORIES BY THE FIRE




LOOKED FOR JUPITER UP IN THE SKY



TRAVERSED SOME LOGS





WATCHED A MOVIE WHEN IT RAINED




AND LOOKED FOR RAINBOWS IN THE SKY




If thats what you did so did we!!!

This was our last weekend of summer and as you can see we had fun even without a lot of water!!!!

The First Day of School

First day of second grade for D4!!!

First day of first grade for our little lady!!!!

David hugged me at the door and off he went his independent self to 2nd grade, Julianna however wanted her mom with her so I took her to class and gave her a hug goodbye at her desk. The sweetest part was Jensen giving her the biggest hug and saying, "I am really going to miss you today." and he did miss them both and so did I!

Have a fabulous year of school my dear children. Remember who you are and who your example is. Let your light shine to others so they can know Him too. Love, Mom

School Lunch

I love preparing for school to start(even though I personally am sad when they go back) except I felt I needed to work on one area their lunches. I always start off the year really well and then more and more I find mysel relying on prepacked fruit snacks, granola bars, crackers with PB, or bags of cookies simply because I am out of ideas.

I started doing some research a lot on line but I bought a couple of children's cookbooks(you know the ones for 3.99 waiting for you at the checkout) and went through old ones I had and the more I read the more I really liked the idea of bento boxes.

Solution #1 Bento Boxes
(to see what these are type it into google search or www.lunchinabox.net )I am really unwilling to shell out the $15 plus(times 3 equals $45 not to mention shipping most typically from Japan) for one so I researched more and found these:


they also come in blue and they were only $5.99(I found them at Babies R Us).


I made up lists of things my children like to eat and put them into the 5 food groups. Now after dinner each night as we are cleaning up we can take portions of our leftovers from dinner and pack their lunches. Yeah healthier lunches without a lot more work.

Solution #2 Lunch Basket

I have always had a lunch basket with items in it but it was more of an economy version. Then I saw this version of my lunch basket HERE and inspiration struck. I knew I needed to make my lunch basket into a first class version so I started adding to my basket.

I am so excited about packing lunches now and am glad I was able to find a way for me to enjoy this part of being a mom and I wish I could be there to see there faces everyday when they open their lunches to new surprises and fun food!!!!

*I will take some pictures once school is under way of some yummy examples!!!

Making Breakfast Inspiration

It is funny when you are doing something you do everyday and then you realize I am their mother.

I made breakfast of english muffins and bagels and I set out the plates and all the children sit in front of their plate..one with english muffins with peanutbutter, one with english muffins with butter and cinnamon, one with 1 cinnamon bagel and cream cheese with an apple on the side, and one plate with 3 cinnamon bagels with light cream cheese. I don't tell them where to sit but I know where they will sit just by where the plates were at and then I just sat back and watched them interacting with eachother and I realized I was their mom. I of course realized before this day but once in a while it hits you I really am their mom and I know them. I know their likes and dislikes. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I know when they need alone time and when they need a hug. I know when to back away and let them learn from their mistakes and when to swoop in and teach after they have fallen. I see all their potential and am excited to see who they become. I can imagine I feel a lot like Heavenly Father feels about each of us and I sit in wonder and awe of Him and who He is and that He allows me to share this journey with my children so I can become who He needs me to be!

I am Grateful

I have immense gratitude in my heart for awhile now and in the recent weeks it has been spilling over. For all these reasons and much more I am Grateful:

I am grateful for my husband and all he is, does, and is becoming..for him I am Grateful!

I am grateful for my children! My children are wonderful and I know all mothers think this but they have went above and beyond there duties as young children and the ever busy teenager they are. It is so amazing to me that with all that has been happening in their little lives they could have been terrors but they have been true examples of Christ. They have been kind, compassionate, nurturing, loving, helpful, and the list could go on and on. As an example of their goodness here is a snippet from this morning as I laid in bed trying to muster the energy to get up, I hear the youngest helping each other get breakfast and a sister loving help her brother make his lunch. To their examples I am Grateful!!!

I am grateful for my Grandma who has prayed for me everyday of my life. I can't imagine where I would have been without her diligent heart felt prayers on my behalf for all of her prayers I am Grateful.

I am grateful for my mother who has taught me how to be a daughter. The way she cares for her mother is the way I imagine Christ would care for her. I often watch with amazement as she is truly Christs hands here on the earth for stunning example of Him I am Grateful.

I am grateful for my sisters thoughts, prayers, and concerns. I am grateful for one of them in particular for taking over what I would typically do so it could happen without much effort on my part and for being on your hands and knees cleaning my floors and baseboards...thank you, for your example of service I am Grateful.

I am grateful for my dad and his fatherly phone calls that have made any difficult situation have more perspective for this I am Grateful.

I am grateful for the family I married into and their willingness to do whatever they could for our family especially in the last few weeks but over our entire marriage when the chips were down they were there to help in so many ways for that I am Grateful.

I am grateful for the Sisters that accepted me where I was and saw my potential. They invited me into their families and I learned from their great examples. For their husbands patience and blessings that helped me know what kind of person I would want to marry someday I am Grateful.

I am grateful for the Home Teachers we have had over the years that have gone above and beyond their call of duty and have helped us in countless ways. For their Christlike example of service, I am Grateful.

I am grateful for children and all we can learn from them. If we all could see the world from a child's perspective what a wonderful world it would be. For their sweet spirits that are so close to Heavenly Father I am Grateful.

I am grateful for true friends that call, drop things by, and are willing to take my children when I am having a bad day. For their willingness to sacrifice on my behalf I am Grateful.

I am grateful for the opportunity to make mistakes and learn and grow from them and become one mistake at a time like Christ. One of my favorite quotes is "Mistakes and failures are great teachers. They provide the opportunity to learn and grow stronger and more capable." How true it is and fro all of my mistakes I am Grateful!

I am grateful for Christ and the wonderful atonement he provided. Everyday when I wake up I know I have a new day ahead of me and it can be better than the day before and when I make a mistake I can be forgiven and learn and grow because of that great atonement for that I am Grateful.

I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me for me and sees all that I am and he still loves me! He sees who I can become and shares glimpses of that with me so I know who he wants me to be. He teaches me unconditional love. He is a perfect example of a parent and I am grateful for all that I learn from Him about being a parent. I am grateful for the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and am grateful for Heavenly Fathers wisdom knowing we would need His guidance readily available to us. For the beauty and knowledge He provides I am Grateful.

As you can probably tell I began working on this blog post a while ago and every time I came to it I would cry like I am right now so I would stop and add a little once in a while. My list of gratitude is endless and I have been grateful for this time in my life. It has been a difficult time and I can see down the road and know it is not over yet but I do know I will become who He needs me to be at the end of it all and until then I will find Joy in my Journey and for this I am GRATEFUL!!!!

Detroit Z00 2010

This is how we spent the last Saturday of our summer(the rest are consumed with soccer tournaments have to love High School sports)......




I must admit I had so much fun with the kids this is the ONLY picture I took that day!!!!

A Baptism

There was a such a sweet spirit at his baptism it defineately matched the spirit of the boy who was baptized!!!

LAKE MICHIGAN 2010

I love Lake Michigan! I have some of my happiest memories as a child and an adult on its shores and this day was no different but so different. This was one of the highlights of the year and in thinking more about it a lifetime. It was a perfect day...one of those days you hold onto in your hearts for a lifetime the feeling of a celestial family was had on this day and it makes you realize it is possible!!!


We started off by going to a new children's museum called Sandcastles and the kids had so much fun there and then we headed off to the lake.







David buried up to his neck!!!

and Christian too!!!!

A Pretty Princess!!!

The waves this day were in between 3-5 ft and the lake was warm which is unusual. We spent hours dodging the waves jumping over them, diving under, swimmming to shore with them lapping over you head, sitting there and letting them take you away and we did this until your body literally was so exhausted you had to take a break and then we would go out again...here they are waiting for a big one!


Brotherly Love(he is going to be a fabulous daddy someday)!!!!


Running from a BIG one!!! This is actually not a big one at all the bigger ones were out further just before a sand bar so the kids could stand knee deep and have these waves crash right over their heads...FUN!!!!






The kids including the husband had so much fun trying to figure out how to get to the lighthouse via the "rocks" instead of using the convenient pier provided. I was a bit terrified at times but they all made good choices along the way and I was so proud to see their little minds working their way to the lighthouse(there is a lesson there I might share another day).







I took these without him knowing and I was so wondering what he was thinking.




Up in the dunes....

Ultrasound for....

In response to my last post is the following:

I wish I could say I was having an ultrasound to see a cute little baby because those ultrasounds are fun and you look forward to them and drinking all the water is well worth it. I have something else growing in there and they need to see if it is getting bigger or smaller or if it is still there!

OOPS!!!

I had an ultrasound scheduled for today and I decided to drink all my water required(32 oz) then take a shower after so that I could be distracted for the one hour preceding the appointment. As many know it is quite uncomfortable after drinking all that water in such a short period of time. I go about doing just that I drink all my water and then started my shower and in my routine of starting the shower I brushed my teeth, went to the bathroom, and then showered. It is after I shower I realize the second thing I did which was go to the BATHROOM!!!!!! UGH so I quickly drink another 32 oz of water which as you can imagine is not making me feel great and run out the door to my appointment and luckily for me they see me right away and they ask if I drank all my water I say yes but and explain what happend and they check my bladder and it is EMPTY...needless to say I had to be rescheduled!!!

A Staycation

(by a cancellation ends up being the best)!!! We had planned on going to see the space shuttle launch and with its sudden cancellation we started weighing out our options and decided to try our hand at a staycation. First we decided to stay in the county we lived in but then decided on surrounding area within 30 miles simply because we wanted to go to the nearby zoo:




We also went to the local museum which had a special exhibit that my kiddos loved:


LEGOS!!!






We went to the lakeX3, pool, farmer's market, and ate at fun local resturaunts (Daddy Os, Pizza Sams, and the local Country Club).

Some of my favorite things about staying home on vacation was NO PACKING or UNPACKING..no days of laundry and trying to get back onto a schedule, no pre vacation shopping, finding subs for paper routes, primary, and young mens. The other thing I loved is we were able to get some projects done. I was told that I would not have the time to paint a room while I was the Primary President, that I might as well put all house projects on hold. I am here to say I did it, well I supervised the painting of the teens room by the teen himself and a helper. Plus we cleaned out the whole house 25 boxes to friends and the Salvation Army not to mention the bags of clothes that left the house.

All in all the Staycation was a success and I am thinking we will be doing this every year!!!