This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting fellow blogger Pink & Polka Dot.  She is not just any blogger either, but someone whose blog I love. She has fun, down-to-earth decorating ideas and does a great job showing her readers how to make cool things too. Here are some things I can’t wait to try:

Freezer Paper Art: Dining Room Chairs

Bathroom Re-Do

Recycle A Skirt Into An Apron

Pink & Polka Dot and her sister were so kind and gracious to me – thanks K & K!

I bought one of her cute personalized coffee mugs too (photo coming soon)!

turkey & veggie cream cheese roll-ups, carrots, ranch dressing in the red container, a babybel cheese wheel, blueberries, mini chocolate chip cookies

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since I started making bento lunches for CJ.  We have had a fun-filled year of lunch adventures. Thanks to my friend Keiko, my bento stash has expanded quite a bit. When Keiko went to Japan she kindly stopped at the local dollar store and picked up some food picks, dividers, sauce bottles, and many other cute things for CJ. We have enjoyed them so much - thanks Keiko!

my lunch-making supply drawer

Similar Japanese items can be ordered online. Here are some great sites for cute bento supplies:

www.from-japan-with-love.com

www.sugarcharms.com

www.amazon.com (search for bento)

wheat crackers, pepperoni, cheddar cheese stars, carrots, blueberries, Sharkies organic fruit chews

Over the last year I have developed a go-to list of CJ’s favorite lunches. These are: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, mini bagels with cream cheese, ham and cheese wrap sandwiches, and pepperoni with cheese cutouts and crackers. Having a go-to list of favorites makes it so easy to prepare lunch.  I just try to “cute them up” each day to make them interesting and fun. This includes cutting the sandwiches into fun shapes, using food picks and dividers, and adding a decorative/seasonal napkin and a little note too.

What is your child’s favorite lunch, and how do you make it cute or fun?

Thanks so much, I can’t wait to hear your ideas!

bento box inside an insulated lunchbox with Sigg water bottle and ice pack

Bakugan napkin and note for CJ

This has been a family favorite for a long time. I don’t remember which cookbook I copied the recipe out of, but I have tweaked it a little bit over the years until it feels like my recipe now. The chili tastes great the first night, but is even better the next day. We serve our chili with cheese and onions on top, and cornbread on the side. This is a mild dish, suitable for kids, but can easily be spiced up with additional chili powder or hot sauce. Best of all, the recipe only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook!

Quick & Easy Chili

1 lb lean ground beef

2 TBS olive oil

3-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp each chili powder, oregano, cumin

1 16 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 4 oz can green chilis, diced

1 28 oz can tomatoes (I use crushed)

salt & freshly ground pepper

Brown ground beef, adding salt and pepper to taste. After browning, remove beef with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Discard excess fat from pan. Heat olive oil in the pan. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 2-5 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Add cumin, chili powder and oregano to pan and stir for 1 minute to coat garlic with spices. Add browned beef, pinto beans, chilis and tomatoes. Heat the chili for at least 15 minutes, or heat longer for more flavor. Makes 6 medium servings.

Previously posted as “Luke, I Am Your…Mother” in October 2008.

I have been searching everywhere for a Luke Skywalker costume! I found a few online, but the choices were very limited and expensive for what they were – mostly polyester. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find any Luke costumes locally. I looked at Target, Walmart, and the Halloween store.

Since CJ’s heart was set on being Luke Skywalker I decided to make him a costume – it was easier than trying to change his mind! I searched around on the internet and found this site with great suggestions on how to make an adult Luke costume. CJ’s costume is similar, but I had to make a few changes.

The Tunic- I bought an oversized white sweatshirt (size 10/12, CJ wears a 5T). I cut off the cuffs, cut it up the front to make a jacket, and hemmed the raw edges. To give the tunic a “I’ve just come from the Tatooine desert” look I tea stained the tunic in my kitchen sink in a solution made of hot water and 4 large size tea bags.

Pants & Boots- CJ’s pants are brown sweatpants. I bought ace bandages to wrap around CJ’s calves to mimic Luke’s boots, but I decided not to use them. Hey, if he’s happy, I’m happy.

Belt - The online article suggested a utility belt, but I couldn’t find one when I went to Walmart.  But I did find dog collars! That’s right, CJ’s belt is a 2-inch dog collar that I bought for $7. I just hand-stitched the leash ring to the collar so it wouldn’t hang down. I also added an oval key ring that we took off one of his wallets. CJ uses this to hook his light saber onto his belt.

CJ loves his costume so much! He thanked me today for making him such a cool costume and it really made my day!

May the force be with you too on Halloween!

I got a new scarf – isn’t it cute? The two ends of the scarf cross over and snap behind the bow. I think it will look perfect with my charcoal pea coat. Check it out at Target.

I like this hoodie scarf too. Can you have too many scarves?

I love the ruffles on this black scarf – it’s a big loop that you can wear loose, or wrap around a couple times.

If it’s going to be cold outside I might as well keep warm in style.

My boy CJ is in love.  A month ago he got this huge smile on his face and told me “I think I’m falling in love with Katrina.”

Katrina is a cute 2nd grader (older woman!) in CJ’s class.

This past weekend CJ said “I’m going to marry Katrina.”

I said “Oh really? What do you like about Katrina?”

“She has a nice voice, and she says nice things,” said CJ.

My heart is melting. I love his answer. I am so thankful that my boy would notice his friend’s voice and her kind words and that he would love that about her.

Well Now that I’ve missed posting in May entirely I thought I’d try to catch up a little. I have wanted to blog. I’ve thought about blogging so many times about many different topics, but honestly I been busy and kind of in a funk. Some of you may remember that we moved to the Eastern USA last year. In fact, it has almost been a year – can you believe it? And what that means is that things are changing around here. CJ graduated from kindergarten two weeks ago and we closed on our new house about a week ago. Now I’m furiously trying to pick out paint colors, pack, and get used to the idea that CJ will start big kid school in less than two months! Of course these are all good changes, but even good changes can be hard sometimes. I feel like we had just gotten settled and now we’re changing schools and neighborhoods all in one month. So I’ve been in a bit of a funk, but I’m feeling better now and looking forward to decorating my dream house and getting to know my new neighbors.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest,  I want to share the perfect Summer desert with you! This is the easiest and yummiest pie ever – so cool and creamy. We took some over to my friend Kim’s house recently and were a little bummed that we had to leave the leftovers (I kid, I kid). I felt better when Kim told me that she and her husband ate the leftovers for breakfast! I like to see my pies properly appreciated.

Easy Lemon Cream Pie

1/2 cup lemon juice (bottled works fine, but fresh tastes slightly better)

1  can sweetened condensed milk

1 8 oz container of Cool Whip, defrosted

1 oversized, 10″ graham cracker pie crust

1 can mandarin oranges (drain the can and then place the mandarin slices on a paper towel on top of a plate to dry some more)

Stir the lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk with a wooden spoon (I swear it tastes better) until well mixed. Add the container of Cool Whip and stir well. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust. Lick the bowl and spoon. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours until firm. When the pie is firm, top with the mandarin oranges.

Call me when you’re done – pie always tastes better when someone else makes it!

What are these Bakugan

I seem to keep stepping on?

 

Little balls that pop right open,

waiting for my feet to trip on.

 

Do they really need an arena

When they won’t stay where you can see them?

 

I tell my boy to put them away,

But he says “Please Mommy, just one more day!”

 

I guess I’ll learn to play myself,

I don’t think they’re going on the shelf.

I thought I’d share with you what I really need, or at least the things Google thinks I need. Want to know what you need? All you have to do is go to Google, type in your name plus the word “needs.”  Here is what Google says I need:

1. Sherry needs THIS!!! – That’s right, I want it all baby!

2. Sherry needs prayers – I could always use prayers, but do they know something I don’t?

3. Sherry needs more support - Would that be the brassiere kind?

4. Sherry needs My Space- No, I don’t need My Space, I’m a Facebook kinda gal.

5. Sherry needs instruction in phonics- I can reed jest fyn thank yu and Im a gud speler to

6. Sherry needs some soap in her mouth – What did I say? Have you seen me drive?

7. Sherry needs a drink after watching the dancing madness – That’s true – especially after watching Steve Wozniak!

8. Sherry needs to be rejuvenated- Is Google saying I look old?!

9. Sherry needs a very warm, dry climate – I don’t think so! I just moved from a warm, dry climate – why do you think I need to be rejuvenated?

10. Sherry needs to be aged before it can be drunk – It’s a little late to tell me now. 

11. Sherry needs a new home- Wow, this stuff really works – Google is a soothsayer! (see this post)

Here is my current breakfast favorite – a Monkey Smoothie. Just writing this post makes me want one, even though I had one this morning. I don’t know what makes it so good, I think it’s just the combination of ingredients. The regular recipe is listed below, but you can also substitute sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter; I think it tastes virtually the same. You can also leave out the protein powder, or use chocolate soy milk instead of vanilla. We change it up a bit depending on the ingredients we have, but the original recipe is my favorite. Having a Monkey Smoothie is a great way to get fruit, calcium and protein all in one serving. Enjoy!

1 cup soy milk (we use Vanilla)

2 Tbsp. protein powder (optional, we use Vanilla Soy Protein Powder from Trader Joe’s)

2 Tbsp. peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter)

2 Tbsp. honey

2 ripe medium bananas, sliced

1.5 cups ice cubes

Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes about two 12oz servings.