Do You Bento?

A few months ago, I was on a search for healthy lunch ideas for B, since I knew I would be packing his lunch 3 days a week. I wanted to try out the recipes before I sent him off to school with something he wouldn't eat, and have to go hungry the rest of the day. I stumbled across Bento lunches.

Bento is popular in Japanese culture. It's simply healthy, fun, home-packed lunches, put into adorable containers, with adorable accessories. I figured if it was fun to look at, it would be fun to eat! They were an instant, huge hit!! He's not a picky eater at all, but I think even picky eaters would find these fun!

Here are the Bento's I made for him on his first day and from this week.

Back To School Bento:
I was inspired by those adorable little mini-oreo apples I made for his teacher gifts for this one! For the sandwich, I used an apple shaped cookie cutter, cut out a hole for the worm with the open end of an ink pen, and used peanut butter to stick the sprinkles. The little plastic apple is a sauce container with ranch dressing for dipping the carrots.
Under The Sea Bento:

The big eye on the fish is just a candy eye. I stuck it on with peanut butter. I found these on Amazon. They're by Luck's. I put some teddy graham's into gummy lifesaver's for a float, threw in some gold fish crackers and made up some "fish food". A mix of almonds, M&M's raisins and yogurt covered raisins. I also added some "logs"...celery with peanut butter.

Flyin' High Bento:

The cookie cutter I used for this one is a Lunch Punch. Also from Amazon. I love these! I have all of the sets. (They come 4 to a pack.) The airplane and clouds were cut out of cheese with the same cookie cutter used on the sandwich. The bento box is by Sassy.

Silly Faces Bento:

A good old PB&J! I used a biscuit cutter for the face, Luck's candy eyes, sprinkles for the eyebrows, a M&M for the nose, a sliced carrot for the mouth, and pretzel sticks for the hair. All of it was "glued" on with peanut butter. I also used a mini star shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cucumber slices and the cheese.

I know these may look complicated and you think you just don't have time in the mornings, I thought that too, but they only take me about 15 minutes to make. I just make them up while the boys are eating their breakfasts. The key is organizing your supplies. I'm in the process of re-organizing my stuff, but once I finish, I'll have more on that later.

If you'd like to get started making Bento lunches, I'd recommend a few things:

*silicone baking cups - these are perfect for holding fruits and veggies.

*a variety of cookie cutters - both large and mini cutters.

*a variety of Bento boxes - I like the Kotobuki boxes, they're super cute and the Easy Lunchboxes. They come in a pack of four and are good for larger sandwiches and portions. Both of these brands are BPA and phthalate free and dishwasher safe.

*sauce cups - if your little one likes to dip their veggies like mine.
*picks - good for skewering fruit and veggies and they just make the lunch box look that much cuter! You can use the picks you find in the bento accessory section at amazon, but cupcake picks are great too and there's a larger variety of these out there.

All of these supplies can be found on Amazon.

Now start turning the wheels of imagination (or just use these ideas) and go Bento!

First Day of Pre-K

Today, my baby boy flew the coop. Well, maybe not exactly, but it sure felt that way. :( He fared much better than I. I was an emotional wreck! I managed to keep myself in check until I got in the car after dropping him off. Then the floodgates opened. Once Noah and I got home, I wasn't much better. I just felt lost without him here. The house was strangely quiet without him to chase (and occasionally, pester) Noah.

B on the other hand, couldn't have been more excited. As soon as we walked into his classroom, he had to show his teacher his book bag, and his "wunch" box, and his nap mat. After refusing to sit at the table for yet another picture, he asked me, "Mommy, are you weady to go yet?". So, reluctantly, Noah and I went.

When we went to pick him up, he'd had such a great time, that he didn't want to leave!! He also had a great report from his teachers. They bragged on what a sweet, well-mannered boy he was. :) And still, now, at five in the afternoon, school is all he can talk about.

Here are a few pics I snapped before heading out this morning.

B actually asked me to put Noah in the chair with him for a "picture with my bwodder".

I just loved that he had the sign upside down. So fitting for pre-school. :)

The pics with the book bag and lunch box were the last I took, and at this point, he was hot and sick of posing! But before that he was the poster child for giddy, pre-school excitement!

**All photos were edited using actions from the Fable Collection by My 4 Hens Photography.**

Back To School

In the spirit of back to school, new beginnings and fresh starts, I've decided to resume the blog.

It's been an embarrassingly long time since I've posted! But, with B starting "pre-school" (Oh, my goodness...did I just type that?! How can that even be possible?!?) I thought now might be a good time to start.

For my "first" post, I wanted to share with you these oh, so adorable first day goodies I made for his teachers. These little apples are candy coated mini-oreos, with pretzel sticks for stems and watermelon air heads for leaves. In case you want to check them yourself here is the tutorial. Super fun, super easy!

Then I made a few note cards...

and put the little bite sized "apples" in a ramekin, wrapped them in cellophane added some ribbon to both the apples and the note cards, and voila! A great first day teacher's gift.

Oh, and, yes. Those are bagels the tooth picks are in. I forgot to pick up the styrofoam, so I had to improvise. :)

The adorable doodled apples on the notecards are from Off To School by Kate Hadfield.

That's all for now. What cute back to school ideas have you seen lately?

Two Months Late...

here are are few of the 101 pics I snapped at B's birthday party! I still can't believe my baby is three...and his birthday was in January!

I know I've been so terrible about keeping up the blog, but hopefully that will soon change. We can finally get high-speed internet out here (I've been operating on Hughes Net, satelite based internet, and it stinks!!), so that should make blogging a little less painful!

Brady has been into tractors and tools for a while now, so I thought a construction themed party would be great for him. And it was! He had a blast, along with every other kid in the neighborhood! I think we had about 35 people here! It was nuts! But, we had a great time, and Brady enjoyed every second of the attention.

We were able to get my grandfather to bring over his tractor, and snag a few "men working" signs from the highway department, and we grabbed some construction cones from my mom's old gym! It sometimes pays to know people! :) All of the other decorations, I was able to do with Photoshop and print myself. I also got the little construction cone cups and hard hats personalized for the kids to take home as part of their favors. It was all really adorable! And, in keeping with the theme, Brady's big gift was a power wheels John Deere tractor! We still can't get him off of it!

Enough rambling! Hope you enjoyed the pics!

It's Hard To Believe...

that my beautiful baby boy is one today! It's passed me by all too fast...even faster than B's first year.

Last night, as I was nursing him to sleep, I had a moment. I realized that right then, one year ago I held him for the first time. There is a 6 hour time difference between here and Germany, so officially, in that very moment he was one. I held him close to me and I sobbed. And I sobbed some more. I held him long after he was sound asleep and just listened to his slow, sweet breathing. I sat there, holding him for almost two hours. I just wanted to stop the clock. I wanted to keep him right there, with me, my baby, forever.

But the longer I looked at him, the more I realized that God has big plans for him. And, as much as I'd love to keep him little forever, I can't wait to watch him grow into the man he will become.

He's already amazing. A smile rarely leaves his lips. He's beautiful...inside and out.

He's a bit of a chatter box, wildly determined, stubborn (wonder who he gets that from?? :)), a BIG eater, into everything, and taking a few steps here and there. All in all...he's perfect!

I still have pictures to post from his party (and Brady's too, for that matter). Keep an eye out...they're coming soon.

Until then, I'm off to enjoy all of life's precious moments with the two most amazing little boys in the whole world!

My Boy...

...is almost three. Almost three?? It kills me just to type it.

He is...
A most amazing boy.
One of my greatest sources of joy.
One of my two greatest accomplishments.
He has a smile that lights up a room.
And eyes that dance.
He is sometimes reflective...

Full of silly laughter... A messy eater...

He's at times a bit pouty...

Sometimes a bit more so...

Excited about Christmas presents...

One amazing big brother...

He can be a bit mischevious...

And he's quick to smile...

All in all...he's one awesome little dude!

Happy birthday baby boy! Thank you for all of the laughter!

Yes, I'm Still Alive

I knew it had been a loooong time since I'd blogged, but I had no idea it had been that long until my sister pointed out that it had been since September!

Between blogging, facebook, and scrapbooking I was spending way too much time sitting at this computer and neglecting more important things like spending time in God's word, spending time with my precious family and less fun things...like housework.

So, I stepped away from blogging and facebook completely. I needed to prioritize. I decided that these things too are important to me, so I'm now allowing myself a certain amount of time per week to enjoy them.

I have so much to catch up that it's a bit overwhelming. I'm starting here with this post. I know you've been wanting to see pictures of the house, so here ya' go. It still needs work, but this is where it stands right now.

Thought I'd start ya' off with a little Christmas cheer! :)
The living room. I love that wall of windows. I just need a nice window treatment to dress it.

The kitchen. I took this picture before we moved in. The lighting stinks. It was dark and rainy and it makes the cabinets look yellow, which they are not. They're really gorgeous.

A better idea of what they really look like.

No explanation needed.

I love my pantry door. I love the fact that I finally have a pantry!

The dining room, currently.

Again, before we moved in, in bad lighting. The walls really aren't pea green. They are green, but more like what you see in the picture above. I just wanted to show off the ceiling. :)

Half bath.

Master bedroom. It needs work. I have material to add to the curtains, and pictures to hang on the walls. I'll get there...eventually.

The master bath. Possibly my favorite room in the house. But, again, it needs work too. I need a window treatment for over the tub and some things to hang on the walls. One day, I'll find the time. Until then, it's functional. For the first time in my life, I enjoy showering as much as bathing.

Ahhhh...the closet. I can actually put all of my clothes out at once and have my shoes and purses in plain sight. Buck has matching shelving on his side too. It's perfection.

The boys' bath. In here I need to hang a few things on the walls and have the shower curtain monogrammed with their initials, and buy a bigger lamp. The towels look black in the photo, but they're chocolate brown.

My little No-Way Jose's room. It's so calming and peaceful. Perfect for my sweet baby boy.

I still have to work on the wall over his crib. I know what I'm going to do. It just has to wait until after the holidays.

And, B-bop's room. I love, love, love the striped wall! It turned out just how I pictured it in my head. I went with a sports themed room. It's the Jr. Varsity collection from Pottery Barn. Yes, it breaks my heart that he's actually big enough for a "big-boy bed".

This little basketball goal was a great buy! It's B's favorite thing in his room.

And, I had one more picture for you of the playroom, complete with a silly little boy making faces on the couch, but I somehow managed to delete it from the post, so I'll put it up later when I post the progress in the other rooms.

And, I just realized I don't have a picture of the outside now that it's not a dust bowl. That one will come later too.