Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Lunch is ready for the kids to take to school.
The girls love taking their lunch to school. I try to pack a protein, a veggie, fruit, drink, and snack. With one kid with food allergies she doesn’t have dairy, but the other chickie usually takes yogurt and cheese stick.
Lunch Box Meal:
- Tuna Fish Sandwich
- Fresh Apple Slices with Caramel
- Fresh Banana Pepper
- Dried Peaches
- Fruit Chew
- Mott’s Pomegranate Applesauce
- Animal Crackers
- Stila Blueberry Granola Bar
- Yogurt Tube
- Windmill Cookies (Egg, Diary, & Peanut FREE)!
- Cranberry Juice
The girls are pretty good about helping put together their lunches, however, on busy days I will do it for them. Do you pack your kids lunch everyday? What do you like to put in their lunch boxes?
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Karlie and Brina’s school lunches are ready to go!
Some days it is hard to get everything done. I am a person who likes to have things done in a timely manner and on schedule, however, you have those days….weeks…..that just don’t happen the way they are planned. Thankfully, I have spent time on the weekend prepping for lunches so usually it doesn’t take too long to put them together!
Lunch Box Meal:
- Hot Dog Slices
- Fresh Apple Slices
- Fresh Carrots with Hummus
- Peanut Butter Crackers or Teddy Grahams
- Strawberry Yogurt
- Foot Long Strawberry
- Mixed Flavored Mini Marshmallows
- Capri Sun Sunrise Juice Bag
Fresh apple slices, carrots & hummus and more!
I am thankful the girls enjoy eating leftovers and taking their lunches to school. I like knowing what they ate for lunch. Plus Karlie’s teacher lets any kids that have a lunch or brought a snack eat something about mid-morning to keep everyone going.
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Lunch is ready to go!
The best part about Holidays is you get a lot of fun food to eat. On this particular day the girls got to take a rice krispie treat “cat” with the first letter of their name on it. When Grandma Penny was visiting she made these cute cats for the girls. They were super excited to see them in their lunch bags.
Lunch Box Meal:
- Hot Japanese Beef, Vegetables & Rice (in the thermos)
- Fresh Fruit Salad or Fresh Fruit Salad with Creamy Sauce
- Fresh Cucumbers
- Sugar Free Cherry Jello
- Cashews
- Apple Peel Confetti Crisps
- Halloween Cat Rice Krispie Treat with initial of their first name
- Corn or Bugle Chips
- Ritz Bits Cheese Crackers or Kellogg’s Pop Tarts Mini Crisps
- Reduced Sugar Grape Hugs Drink
Japanese food, Halloween rice krispie treat, fresh fruit salad and more!!!!
I always love sticking in a surprise for the girls every once in awhile. Sometimes they see it before lunch but several times they don’t open their bags until at school. One day I was able to go to lunch with them and watch their faces when they pulled out the special treat (a new container with their name on it). It made my day seeing the thrilled looks on their faces when they discovered their new container. Although it was something simple and easy it really was special to them!
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Getting the school lunches ready
The biggest challenge for me when making and prepping the school lunches is finding a good variety of items for the girls to take to school. Thankfully they eat almost everything (they don’t like liver) so that makes it easier for me. Although I do have one that if she gets the same item in the lunch several days in a row she’ll stop eating it, guess she needs a little food variety to keep her excited!
Lunch Box Meal:
- Beef & Bean Burrito
- Fresh Banana
- Fresh Broccoli
- Batman Fruit Snacks
- Red & Blue Tortilla Chips
- Strawberry & Lemon Circle Crisps
- Chex Mix or Animal Crackers
- Jelly Beans
- Fruit Punch Juice
Fresh banana, broccoli, burrito and more!
The girls really do eat most of the items in their lunch bags! I have found that the food I pack them hold them longer than when they eat lunches at school. Part of the reason may be because students that bring lunches get a few extra minutes to eat, plus they can eat any of the leftovers for a snack on the way to our after school activities.
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Karlie’s lunch is packed and ready to go
The girls and I try to clean out their lunches after school and homework so we can re-pack them for the next day. It is easier for our family make the lunches the night before and stick the whole lunch bag into the fridge. The mornings tend move quickly and I want them to go as smoothly as possible for everyone.
I am really excited about the girls new lunch bags from Thirty-One! They are spacious and easy to clean. The girls were SUPER EXCITED to get them! A big thanks to Jennifer Kauffman for helping me get these bags ordered and monogrammed! If you are looking for a monogrammed bag for yourself, a child, or to give as a gift Jennifer would be happy to help you.
What’s for lunch today?
Lunch Box Meal:
- Beef Stew & Jasmine Rice
- Fresh Banana Bread
- Apple Peel Confetti Crisps
- Pickles & Dip
- Batman Fruit Snacks
- Strawberry & Lemon Circle Crisps
- Spiderman Cheez Its or Grahams Bug Bites
- Peach Yogurt or Sugar Free Strawberry Jello
- Oyster Crackers
- Jelly Beans
- Fruit Punch Juice
Beef Stew, pickles & dip, homemade banana bread and more!
It has been better for our family to send our girls lunches to school. Before sending lunches a lot of afternoons the girls would come home from school starving. When I asked them what they ate for lunch they could never remember. I like knowing what they are eating and I make sure to pack enough so they can have a snack after school too since we go to after school activities every day. If they finish everything in their lunches then they can get something else to eat once we are home.
Brina’s lunch is packed and ready!
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
It was my fifth full week of doing my new cash budget system – Groceries $40 for 4. This week I was super busy so for the most part we ate from what we had in the fridge, freezer and the pantry. I think it is important to have these weeks where we utilize our food stockpile. Although, it is nice to stock up during the weeks it is equally rewarding having the opportunity to be more creative with the food we have on hand. I even made and delivered a meal for someone in our church this week with the food on hand without making a run to the grocery store for extra ingredients. It felt great saving some of the grocery shopping cash this week too especially since I had a couple higher weeks in the past. Below are my grocery shopping adventures for the week!
Bi-Lo Groceries Grcoeries from Bi-Lo:
- $7.02 at Bi-Lo for 1 gallon of Skim Milk, 1 gallon of 2% Milk, and 1 loaf of bread.
In our fifth week of the challenge – Groceries $40 for 4 we spent $7.02 so it was a pretty good week regarding saving extra grocery cash. We did better this week because I didn’t have the extra time to go grocery shopping and we ate from our pantry. Although I wasn’t able to stock up on a few extra items this week it was wonderful being able to eat some of the items we already had in our fridge and pantry! Last week we stocked up on milk and I froze it, however, I didn’t pull it out in time for it to thaw enough to drink otherwise we wouldn’t have even purchased the milk this week. Oh well….you win some and lose some! I was thrilled to see Bi-Lo still had their milk under $3 so everything went well. I am still trying to work out all the details of how to make the budget most effective for our family and I think we need some weeks have been easier than others. We’ll see how I do next week and yes it’s another busy week!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Life Simplified: Set the Timer!
It has been a really busy few weeks and I don’t anticipate that it will slow down any time soon (maybe in May). The girls and I will be traveling over their Spring Break so I have a lot to get done before our fun time begins. If you are like me I want everything to be caught up before I leave on a trip – bills paid, house cleaned, emails returned, inbox empty, garden planted and weeded, etc…. however, the “to do” list is generally much longer than the hours available in the day. When I am working on a project I want to stick to it until it is completely finished. There are major benefits having this personality, however, the downside is that I may get that one project completed but there are 27 other projects that haven’t even been started.One of the ways that has helped me stay on task and be more productive (I have been using this a lot lately) is to set the timer. I have a small timer that I can take with me from room to room. My timer has been well used the past few weeks, I even lost it for a couple days while getting ready for the yard sale! I anticipate it will continue to be used in the upcoming weeks as well as I prepare to travel with the kids. I set the timer for an increment of time to help motivate me and keep me focused on getting the task done. When the timer goes off that means I am done with that project for the moment and need to move onto the next task (which can be very hard for me at times especially if I am really close to finishing the task I am currently working on). Here is an example of some of the activities I do during a day with my timer (every day is different so this just an example of activities I set the timer for throughout the day):
- 30 minutes – Exercise
- 45 minutes – Quiet Time
- 10 minutes – Prep for Dinner
- 10 minutes – Eat Breakfast
- 30 minutes – Check & Respond to Emails (sometimes I do this 2 to 3 times a day)
- 60 minutes – Blog Posts
- 60 minutes – Work Projects
- 30 minutes – Pick Up the House
- 60 minutes – Fold & Put Away All Laundry for the week on Laundry Day
- 30 minutes – Lunch
- 45 minutes – Homework with the Girls
- 45 minutes – Make Dinner
- 30 minutes – Dinner Clean Up and Wash Dishes
- 15 minutes – Packs Lunches for the Next Day
- 30 minutes – Clipping Coupons
- 30 minutes – Matching Coupons with Weekly Ads
- 30 minutes – Pay Bills & Balance Accounts
- 10 minutes – Power Clean My Desk (or on some days find my desk)
If I get to all the tasks that had on my list that day I will reward myself with 30 minutes of “free” time which usually means spending extra time with the family, reading, writing, or something else rewarding yet beneficial. A lot of times during breakfast or lunch I will spend time reading or answering emails as well. I have found that days when I work on the computer I don’t get anything done in the house and days that I spend concentrating on home projects I don’t get any work done so as in my attempt to try and balance life a little bit more the timer has become a fun trick that works well for me. Although the computer work is important I do have some moments when I get sidetracked by a great article or Facebook or something else and before I know it the time has flown by and an hour has passed (same things happens on home projects). The timer helps me track the time better and alerts me especially when I have gotten distracted from the task at hand. I do not set the timer for family time or family oriented meals and tasks because those are important for the entire family.
Now if I could only find a way to set a timer for travel time, shopping and waiting to check out, ha! Although I must say I am becoming a little more efficient in shopping too by only going directly to the items I need and not “browsing” through the entire store. Not everything works well with setting a timer but there are some tasks I noticed will consume larger amounts of time if I don’t put a time limit on them.
How do you balance it all as a Wife, Mom, Business Person, etc…? Do you have other ways that help you stay on task?
Photo by ellie
A Picnic in the Park
Legacy Park in Greenville, SC Recently, I was able to meet Jake during lunch hour since I was in his area after an appointment. I packed PB&J sandwiches and goodies for our picnic in the park. We met at Legacy Park to eat our picnic lunch in the swing over looking beautiful flowers and enjoying a few minutes to catch up. After eating we took a walk together around the park. It was great spending some time with my man relaxing and talking for a little bit in the middle of the day.
If you haven’t been to Legacy Park you should check it out, it is beautiful, quiet, and family friendly. You will see kids playing on one of their two playgrounds, families having a picnic on the grass, kites flying, and people walking leisurely on the paths. It is right off Roper Mountain Road across the road from Embassy Suites.
Go ahead and take a picnic in the park with your husband or family. It is a great way to get fresh air and spend quality time together. It doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy. Find a location near you so you save on gas and meet even if it is over lunch. Having those extra few minutes to relax and communicate are valuable in every relationship!
Going for a walk with my man at Legacy Park. Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Now that I completed 9 weeks of my No Grocery Shopping challenge I want to share what is next on my agenda as far as grocery shopping is concerned. I would LOVE to live off my pantry and freezer for the entire year, however, it is getting lower and I need to start shopping for some additional items. I learned a lot from the recent challenge and want to keep my family fed while staying within our budget.Explanation: For the first time ever I am going on a strictly cash system for our groceries. It is my desire to spend no more than $40 per week for my family of 4. I am sticking to just grocery and food related items at this time since I have a separate budget for household, health & beauty. If I find that I still have extra consistently I may decide to roll the other items into this as well. As an additional bonus if I have more than a half of week of “extra” money remaining at the end of the month I want to contribute that money towards my Creative Cash. Although I know I will have days and weeks with hiccups like with any challenge it is my desire to be more accountable with what I have been given. I perceive this budget change to have many benefits over the past systems I have used for example it will allow me the opportunity to buy items on sale but not over do it plus makes me more responsible with the money we have been given, and helps control the spontaneous purchases. Only time will tell how well it works for our family.
Every family is different so you need to decide what is best for your specific family and situation. I am starting this endeavor after several months of thought and prayer regarding our family finances. On a side note I do want to let you know that just because the title says Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4 that does not mean we will never host guests in our home or take a meal to someone in need. Our guests and meal deliveries throughout the month are also included in this budget so the actual number will vary from month to month regarding how many people we feed but for simplicity sake it is Groceries $40 for 4 due to our family size and budgeting.
I hope to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. I hope by taking the extra time to watch my grocery spending it will allow us to feed our family, enjoy life, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Photo by MoneyBlogNewz
Finding a Warm Spot!
Our little feather friend found a warm spot between our storm door and back door! She was surprised to see us heading out to play in the snow! Recently we had a good 6 plus inches of snow in South Carolina which is pretty rare. The whole family was out for a little bits throughout the day. Brina and I lasted the longest the first round of snow playing. I ended up carrying her up the hill to the house after sledding. We got inside had hot chocolate, read books, ate lunch, had Snow Ball Ice Cream, did some laundry and relaxed before heading back out.
The next time when the girls were all bundled up ready to head outside Jake opened the back door to let them out and we were startled to find a “friend” that must have tried to follow Brina and I inside to find some warmth! We weren’t too excited about having a small bird flying around our house so we sent the girls out the garage then Brina came around to the back of the house to free the bird who was caught between the storm door and the back door of our house. I think the bird was happy to find such a warm spot until she encountered us. I am sure she was very glad find another warm spot away from the house! Even the birds are looking for warmth on the snowy days. I am thankful for a warm home especially during these cold days.
