TaCo TuEsDaY!!

It's TaCo TuEsDaY, y'all!! Thanks to the Lego Movie for that little inspiration, we've dubbed Tuesdays "Taco Tuesday".  The kids love it because it's from the Lego movie and they love tacos.  I love it because Qdoba has a special of $1 tacos and I don't have to cook.  If we don't head to The Q (or "The Cactus Place" as my kids call it), then I make something in the crockpot.  I throw in 2-3 frozen Trader Joes chicken breasts (still frozen!), 1/2 bag of frozen corn, a can of rinsed TJs black beans, sometimes a block of cream cheese, and some seasonings- chili powder (1T), cyannne pepper (4tsp), cumin (2T), salt, and pepper.  I used to measure it out but it was way too spicy for me (my family didn't seem to mind too much, though!)  so now I just eyeball it.  I cook it on low for about 6 hours and we eat it in tortillas, or I make tiny taco bowls for the kids using Tostitos scoops- add a dollop of sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt!) and a sprinkle of cheese and faster then you can say "'Ole!" you have Taco Tuesday!  Put on some Mexican music and it's a party!

Ok- on to lunches today:

Wegmans organic berry lemonade, TJs chewy chocolate chip cookies (SO YUM!!), mandarin oranges, and DIY Lunchables- there's TJs pepperoni, TJs Colby cheese, and TJs butter crackers.  The girls love it because it's yummy and fun to put together...I love it because it's so easy to pack!  Have a happy Tuesday! 

Back At It

Today was the second full day of school for the ladies. I wanted to make sure the lunch I packed them was not only yummy but also healthy and filling.  Here's what they got today:

Annie's cheddar squares, mandarin oranges in their own juice, sandwich with ham and Swiss cheese, and an organic berry lemonade from our favorite grocery store.  We don't have a Wegmans near us but when we were in Buffalo a few weeks ago, I picked up several 6 packs of these juice boxes.  The girls also have nalgene water bottles that I fill with ice water every morning. They keep these bottles at their desk to sip on throughout the day.  

I'm back! (Again!)

1 1/2 years later...

And I'm back!  The last 2 years have been filled with homeschooling my 2 ladies and this year they're back at school!  It's been a bittersweet transition but in the long run I know it'll be good for them.  I'll be starting back with my lunch box round up this week for all 3 people that have read this blog (and have likely since given up on me!)  I was looking through the lunch box round up Fran a few years ago and am excited to do better this year!  Stay tuned for more! 

Happy New Year!

It's 2013, y'all!  A fresh new year with 365 days of possibilities...well 361...got a little late start.  Anyhoo- one of my resolutions this year is to *try* and blog 2-3x a week.  I"ll wait while my 3 readers catch their breath and wait for their heartbeat to slow down.  It's exciting news, I know...let's see if I can do it.  I'm sure I don't have to tell you that homeschooling 2 kids while keeping up with an almost 2 year old boy takes up much of my time.  But this is fun- I enjoy it, and it's something that's good for me.  Plus it allows me to chronicle all the fun stuff I'm working on while also keeping a journal of what the kiddos are up to.  I'd also like to work on my photography skillz (is the "z" still a thing?  Was it ever a "thing"?)  I have this fancy camera (to me anyways) and I treat it like a point and shoot...if that's all I'm going to use it for then I should just get a point and shoot (although they certainly don't look as cool...)  So this year, I resolve to be the BEST at EVERYTHING I do...ok...so maybe not...let's try again- this year I resolve to try new things (regular blogging, learning more about photography) and improve on the things I'm already doing (wife/mother/friend/teacher extraordinaire, etsy store.)  Here's to a great 2013!  That is all- over and out...

New Chapter

So much has happened since my last post almost a year ago!  I continued with the lunches all year <insert wild cheering and applause here> and it was FUN!  Most importantly, Livs rarely asked to buy a school lunch so to me, it was all worth it!  This past week marked another monumental milestone in our house- we started homeschooling!  After much deliberation, praying, and talking it over with the Mister, we decided that this was the best step for our family at this stage in our lives.  This first week has been mostly fun with some frustration and chaos sprinkled in.  Although with a 7 year old girl, a 5 year old girl and an 18 month old fella chaos is a frequent occurrence at our casa.  First, I have to publicly bid farewell to our long-living fish, Stripey.   He lived through much while residing in our household- infrequent feedings, infrequent tank cleanings, just overall infrequent attention- but you would have thought it was a long lost pal that had passed away.  There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth and I mentioned to a friend that if there was a sack-cloth, it would have been torn.  Stripey is now buried under a tree in our back yard with a stone cross and aquarium pebble marking his final resting place.  You may be wondering how he died..welp- remember that 18-month old fella?  HE happened to Stripey.  He's a curious little guy and wanted to get a closer look which resulted in him pushing the aquarium to the ground, cracking the front, and pouring aquarium water all over our classroom carpet...it was grody, y'all.  Thankfully he wasn't injured (the tank was only 2.5 gallons)unfortunately Stripey wasn't so fortunate.  So that was the big excitement for the week.  The girls keep asking for another fish- they say we need a classroom pet.  I'm not quite sure, yet- I fear fishy 2 would suffer the same fate.

Secondly, since I'm now a homeschool mom, I'm trying to make our lives a little more streamlined.  We've cut way back on outside responsibilities and I'm trying my hardest to have meals planned out.  These last 2 weeks I planned breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner.  While we didn't always stick to the menu (especially for breakfast and snack) we did pretty good with lunch and supper...and I only had to go to the store ONE time other then my initial shopping trip 2 weeks ago.  I'm liking it!  I'm trying to streamline it even more and make a cute little schedule like this one from The Creative Mama.

I'll share once I have it done and I'll keep you updated on what we're having each week and occasionally share a favorite recipe.  So glad to be back in the blogging world!!

Lunch Round Up

Ok...so I dropped the ball...I have 3 kids and a husband and am involved in way too many activities...I'll do better...here are the lunches since I last posted...to save time I'm not going to list what's in all of them- they're pretty self explanatory. :)

cucumbers, crackers/cheese/yogurt/dessert

veggie straws, PB and fluff sushi, cucs












PB and fluff sushi, strawberries, cheddar bunnies, yogurt

























baked potato soup, sun chips, yogurt, dessert

























turkey and cheese roll-ups, cheddar bunnies, yogurt, dessert




































PB and nutella puzzle, veggie straws, strawberries, apple crisp












PB and nutella bites, natural cheese curls, M&Ms and Hershey kiss "acorn"












PB and nutella, yogurt, cheddar bunnies, Hershey buttons

Baked Potato Soup

This is indeed the best baked potato soup I've ever had. It's a great comfort food and paired with a salad and some crusty bread it's a fantastic and filling supper!

Baked Potato Soup

• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1-inch cubes
• 4 cans of cream of potato soup
• milk
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella
• 8 oz shredded cheddar
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• sour cream, butter, bacon, chives

Boil potatoes in a large pot until tender (about 20 minutes). While potatoes are cooking, make the bacon. When the potatoes are tender, drain, add back to pot, and using a potato masher mash potatoes slightly- you don't want them to be mush- just broken up a bit. Pour in soup and 4 cans of milk (I sometimes do 3 cans of milk and 1 can of half and half) and stir until combined. Add shredded cheeses, garlic, and salt and pepper and stir until melted and combined. You're done! Serve hot with bacon, sour cream, chives, and extra shredded cheddar. I usually reserve a little bacon for a topping and then add the rest to the pot.