Lunch Box Notes Sept. 2016

I may have a good stock pile of lunch notes left from last year but with all 4 kiddos in school, I plan to go through them fast! And most of the ones left are rather generic so I want to get some more "fun" ones.

Here's a cute back to school one:

From HappinessisHomemade.net

Here's an example of some really cute ones babysavers.com compiled.I can't wait to use this one tomorrow!!!!

I had to dig around on Google to find some adorable Shopkins ones. Here's an example of one you can find when you Google "Shopkins Lunch Notes"

My girls are going to flip! I printed three copies... just in case ;)

And for the boys!!!

One of Mason's favorite kinds are ones he can show his friends and work on/ figure out. Last year I found some really cool optical illusion ones but I can't find any new ones so I went with some critical thinking ones. Here's some neat word puzzles I found:

Found from a Google Search. Couldn't pull up the website sadly

8 years

It's been 8 years since I found out I lost my baby. I was 20 weeks at the time, sitting in a room with my 3 year old and 1.5 year old, husband, and an ultrasonographer. Within minutes of walking into that room my world came crashing down around me.

I woke up that morning hoping to find out the gender of the baby only to end up deciding what funeral home I wanted to go through. It was the hardest blow still to this date that I've had to take.

I used MySpace and Facebook to vent a lot during that time. I found comfort in writing and it was a nice peaceful outlet. During that time in my life I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out and the last thing on my to-do list was talk to people. Social media gave me a way to receive the support but in ways and at the times I was mentally ready to. When you are suffering from overwhelming grief, many things can set you back. It's hard to fight towards the light and during those moments you are trying, the last thing you want is someone to remind you of why your heart constantly aches. The support I received was amazing but definitely overwhelming at times. Thank you to those who stuck around and hugged me even when I didn't look huggable.

Here's what I wrote 5 years ago:

Time

I don't think you fully understand the speed of time until you have a child.

How to make Flashcards!

Over the years, I've had to rely on Flashcard MANY times!!!

Kids TOO Young?!

I found the above quote on Facebook and it made me giggle. I've been saying this since I gave birth to my first :)

Homemade "Lunchables"

I'm really big into teaching my kids the value of what is considered a "balanced meal." So much so that I have my kids pack their own lunches every morning (that and it saves $$!). In a matter of 15 minutes we had 16 "Lunchables" made for pennies on the dollar!

St. Patrick's Day

I love holidays!!! I go all out for them- always have!

The next holiday is St. Patrick's Day- one of my favorites. No, not because I like green beer (yuck!) or corned beef and cabbage, but because I love all the mischievousness that goes along with it. When I was in first grade, my class got a visit from a leprechaun and I thought it was the COOLEST thing EVER!  It wreaked havoc all over our classroom and left green footprints and goodies all over. It was so cool when I was 6!

Since St. Patty's Day is on a school day this year, I'm going to go all out!

Boon Snug Spout

A couple weeks ago I got the chance to try out the new Boon Snug Spout Universal Sippy Lid and I've got to admit, it's AMAZING!!!!

We've pretty much transitioned away from sippies for the most part for Darik but he's a HUGE fan of water bottles. But honestly, I hate having to carry one around and search for the lids and straw (if it has one). Talk about a pain. At one point I had a cupboard full of miscellaneous parts and pieces and ugh... it was just frustrating! I finally got fed up and with Darik's permission (hehehe), we tossed them all!

Then this came along....

Dun dun dun!!!!

Game changer!!!

 These fit everything!!! I've put them on plastic cups, water bottles (Camelbak and off-brand ones, glass cups- you name it! And not once have I seen it move or shift. NOT ONCE! I have not had a single drip come out of it either.

And to top it off- it's super easy to clean in the dishwasher too. I toss it in on the top rack and BAM! Ready to go! I shove it in my purse and no matter where I'm at with Darik, it's ready to go! They fit great on restaurant cups too and not a single worry about him spilling it all over everything.

Darik is 3- the prime of "me do it!". He's getting the hang of most things but well... we've still had juice mishaps. Thankfully he's cool with this Boon Spout because he can use a big boy cup AND mom doesn't have to worry about spilling.

I've already order a set because one of these just isn't enough! :)

If you are interested, Target and Toys R Us have a pack of 3 for $9.99 (free shipping if you are a Red Card holder)

Now GO! Go get them! You won't be disappointed!!! 

Lunch Box Love

One of my favorite things to do is pack a little surprise in my kids' lunch boxes!

I try to find all different types. I've got holiday related ones, movie themed, jokes, riddles, sentiments of love and pride of them,  puzzles, and even optical illusions! They usually have NO idea what they are getting that day and I think that helps with the excitement :)