Just a Bunch Of Momsense

Lunch box Round Up #12

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 18:53:00 +0000

I've really been enjoying my new lunch containers by Lock & Lock. I also purchased a container very similar to Lock & Lock's 4 square, since those seem to be out of stock everywhere. It's the perfect size for my tween daughter's smaller lunch portions. Here are last week's lunches in my new containers.

Jambalaya, cantaloupe, salad, dressing

Mr. Right has also been enjoying the new containers and my recent consistency of packing him a lunch almost every day. This not only helps our budget, but also allows him to be extra careful about his sodium intake. Since I started packing his lunch more regularly, he's eating a lot healthier, and especially loves the flavorful salads. (As you can see, I "forked" the cantaloupe to transfer it to the container. I wasn't thinking how it might look in the pic. Oopsies.)

Boiled egg, Rosemary & Olive Oil crackers,
homemade ranch dip (in yellow container), carrots, cheese wedge,
frozen mango chunks

Homemade veggie fried rice, pistachios, clementine, raspberries

Here are a few of my other Lock & Lock containers. I love using the cylinder one for drinks. They're totally leak proof! Here's a simple lunch I made for my tween.

Beef Lo Mein (Chinese take-out), cucumber, clementines, milk

The last 2 photos are of the 4-square container made by Kinetic. I was able to find a brand new one on eBay. They are leakproof, BPA free, and hold perfect portions for my 12 year old. She loves them!

Pasta Salad, cucumber, clementine, Goldfish crackers,
peanut butter (to eat by itself), mozzarella cheese (in yellow container
to sprinkle on pasta salad)

Quinoa Confetti Salad, vanilla yogurt with honey, clementine,
raspberries, pistachios, chocolate candy bar piece

Which lunch accessories could you not live without?

Happy Packing!

Lunch box Round Up #11

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Well, school is back in full swing and I'm very exited to be making lunches again. For the first week of school, I resorted to using a few of my tried-and-true lunch box ideas as the kids and I adjusted to the new (earlier) schedule. Thankfully, that first week went very smoothly. But last Saturday, after a nice, restful sleep, I woke up very motivated to do some make-ahead lunch prep for the following week. Amazingly, it didn't take very long at all, and boy did it pay off during this past week! The mornings were almost, dare I say... easy! I planned a menu for each day's lunch, so there was absolutely no brain work involved -- Just check the list, pack the food -- DONE. And we managed to make it out the door with time to spare. It's much less stressful that way! So here is a photo of most of the things I made, just before everything (except kale and pizza pinwheels) went into the freezer. The next day, I whipped up a batch of muffins (which they sometimes ate for breakfast), mini chocolate chip cookies and I also prepped salad ingredients.

Make Ahead Lunch Prep

Items Pictured:

1. Marinara sauce (for dip to use with pizza pinwheels)

2. Quinoa Confetti Salad

3. Veggie Fried Rice

4. Quinoa & Brown Rice Molds (with cheesy center)

5. Spinach, Banana & Berries smoothies

6.Baked Kale Chips

7. Pizza Pinwheels

Muffin tins are fabulous for making individual portions. Just freeze, then carefully remove food from muffin cups using a butter knife, then store in a freezer bag in the freezer. Allow to thaw in fridge overnight for next day's lunch. It's helpful to put the individual portions in ramekins or small bowls for thawing. Just place the bowls on a plate and cover the whole thing with plastic wrap.

Here are some of the lunches I made this past week.

pizza pinwheels, marinara sauce for dipping, salad,
salad dressing, mini chocolate chip cookie

The pizza pinwheels were a huge hit. This was my first time making them, and the whole family, myself included, thought they were delish. My kids both ate them cold, but I heated them up, along with the sauce... Yum.

Quinoa Confetti Salad, peanut butter balls,
blueberries, watermelon, pretzel crisps

I usually add okra to the Quinoa Confetti Salad because my kids love it so much, and also a squirt of Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids for a soy sauce flavor.

That green divider you see is from a different lunch container. It is part of Rubbermaid's new Lunch Blox series and this is part of the salad kit.

Quinoa & Brown Rice with cheesy center, squirted with Bragg's Liquid Aminos,
apple, peanut butter, blueberry muffin,
Annie's Cheesy Cheddar Bunnies, (vegetable juice -- not pictured)

Mini Quiche Cups, tomatoes, mini Triscuits,
steamed green beans, apple, (smoothie -- not pictured)

The mini quiche cups were made with eggs, chopped red pepper, chopped green onions, and mozzarella cheese. You can really tailor these to fit your taste. If you (or your kiddos) don't like peppers & onions, try broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, olives, spinach, or simply just add cheese!

I'm expanding my horizons this year and investing in some new lunch box containers, although I will still continue to use my Easy Lunchboxes as well. These are part of my new Lock & Lock Lunch box System and I absolutely LOVE THEM. What can I say, I'm a sucker for awesome containers. When these arrived in the mail, I could not wait to use them! So here is Mr. Right's lunch packed in a few of our new Lock & Lock's. (I have a few more designs coming, so you'll be seeing those in future posts.)

Italian Lemon Chicken, quinoa & rice with cheese,
steamed Brussel's Sprouts, apple, salad with olives on the side, dressing

Lunch packed in Lock & Lock containers

Here is what comes in the set. You get 3 containers and 1 lunch box. They are not sold separately. The bottom container is deeper than the other 2. The top one comes with 2 removable dividers. The left one with the Brussel's Sprouts is one divider, and the chicken and rice make up the other (it has 2 compartments.) All items are very sturdy and well made, the containers are completely airtight and do not leak. The 3 containers fit very snugly in the lunch box, not leaving room for an ice pack or drink, but I couldn't see ever using all 3 containers at once.

Lock & Lock Lunchbox System

Here are 2 of my other Lock & Lock products. The right one is the 14 fluid ounce round container that is just perfect for drinks. The left one is part of a round 12 piece set I bought at my local grocery store. I can't recall the ounces for this one, but it holds a medium-sized sliced apple.

sliced apple and vegetable juice in Lock & Lock containers

Lunch packed in Lock & Lock containers

This is the lunch box packed with the 2 short rectangular containers, along with the small round container (sold separately.) I didn't try to fit an ice pack in there since Mr. Right will be putting this in the refrigerator at work, but I think I could fit a thin one on the very bottom if I needed to, and still be able to zip it. I look forward to packing many more lunches in my new Lock & Lock containers!

The first 4 lunches in this post were packed in EasyLunchboxes, also one of my favorite containers. Click on over to find out how to order!

Happy packing!

Works for Me Wednesday {In the Kitchen}

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Make me chop an onion and I'll cry you a river. No joke. One whiff and my eyes will be on fire and the tears will start rolling down my face. It happens every time, yet it doesn't stop me from chopping onions several times a week. My fear is that one of these days I will end up slicing into one of my fingers because by the time I get to the last few slices, I can't see!

I needed to come up with an easy solution that would allow me to chop a week's worth of onions at a time without shedding a tear. I especially love caramelized onions and since they take so long to cook, I like to make a huge batch at once. I've tried many things, and some things have worked a little, but my eyes would still end up burning for the rest of the evening, long after dinner was eaten.

But lo and behold, I have found something that works!! MATCHES! I don't know the exact science as to why it works, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the sulphur mixing with the gases from the onions. So here's what you do if you have this problem too.

Light a match and blow it out. (I add an extra step and wave the blown out match around the area where I'll be chopping the onions. I'm not sure if it helps or not, but it surely doesn't hurt.) Then put the OTHER end of the match in your mouth, so that the end you lit (and hopefully blew out) is hanging out. Proceed to chop as many onions as you like and whatever you do, DO NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTH. I believe this is key, so just breathe normally through your nose until all onions are chopped, scraps are thrown away, and you've thoroughly washed your hands. I do not remove the match until I've washed my hands. It really does work! Also, be sure and use the vent above your stove as it will also help absorb the gases being released by the onions.

I've been doing this for several weeks now and I'm loving having a batch of fresh, caramelized onions in my fridge at all times.

Although, a few weeks ago, I had to start doubling the recipe (no problem since I discovered the match trick!) I discovered by accident that caramelized onions are absolutely wonderful in salad! I happened to be making a salad for lunch during one of my batches of onion-cooking, and decided to try it and I'm so glad I did! I like to warm the onions before adding them. I recommend trying it!

Do you have a trick for chopping onions without crying? I'd love to hear what others do!

Happy chopping!

Lunches Fit for a Float Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:34:00 +0000

You can work up quite an appetite floating on a river for 6+ hours, but who says you have to eat junk food? For our Annual Family Float Trip, the kids each brought a friend so I packed 6 healthy, high-protein, colorful lunches in our EasyLunchBoxes to take along.

You'll notice that one of these things is not like the other. (I was totally channeling Sesame Street there.) My husband insisted on having a ham and cheese sandwich in his lunch. I guess some of us are just too manly for an apple peanut butter & honey quesadilla. [eyeroll]

So here are the contents of the lunches:
apple peanut butter & honey quesadilla *See recipe below
Annie's cheddar bunnies
cheddar cheese slice
red grapes
carrot sticks
fresh deli ham
Oh, and a very manly ham and cheese sandwich ;)

*For the quesadilla, just spread peanut butter on one entire side of a whole wheat tortilla, add apple slices to one half, drizzle honey over apples. Fold tortilla in half and slice into thirds.

And here are some of us on the river enjoying our delicious lunch! There wasn't a morsel left in any of the containers!

These lunches were packed in EasyLunchBoxes. To order a set of your own, CLICK HERE.

Happy floating!

Works for Me Wednesday - Week #2 {In the Kitchen}

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:02:00 +0000

Keep dirty dishes out of your sink!

In my family, we dirty a lot of dishes in the morning. Even though I know I could do a lot of the prep work for my kids' lunches the night before, I typically put it off until the morning. (*See: procrastination.) So between making lunches, using little strainers and chopping boards for fruit/veggie prep, a knife for slicing/spreading, a spoon for scooping, etc., my husband typically making the kids' breakfast (usually eggs, toast, and/or oatmeal, my kids eating breakfast, my husband's morning tea, and my coffee, we end up with a sink full of dirty dishes. Since I always run the dishwasher full of dinner dishes overnight, the dishwasher needs to be unloaded in order to put the dirty dishes in there. (Yes, I'm stating the obvious here.) But no one actually feels like unloading it in the morning so everyone just piles their dishes in the sink for mom (that's me) to take care of later.

So I've come up with a simple solution that seems to make this task a lot less ~~annoying~~ daunting. While I'm waiting for my coffee to brew, I fill an empty dishpan with hot soapy water and set it next to the sink. ALL dirty dishes must go here. That way, the sink is empty (and still CLEAN from the night before!), and since the dishes are soaking in hot soapy water, there's no dried egg or oatmeal stuck on any of them! (I'm still in the process of training my kids to RINSE and SOAK their dishes when they put them in the sink, and mornings are the worst. A quick rinse in the EMPTY sink and they're ready to go into the dishwasher, after I unload it. Boom. Done.

I know this may seem silly to some, and you might just think, "So unload the stupid dishwasher and be done with it." However, this is not what I'm thinking at 5:45 in the morning , after not getting enough sleep at night. (I have a child with a serious medical issue. I stay up late to make sure he's okay, and when I sleep, it's never sound. So it's not a matter of just going to bed earlier. Just to clarify.) ; )

So that's it! I hope you've enjoyed today's post for WFMW! I know this has made my life easier... well, at least my mornings, anyway. ;)

HINT: This tip also works great during dinner prep time. Just throw in your cooking utensils, measuring cups/spoons, peeler, etc. & things can soak while you eat. Then, maybe even throw in the dinner dishes!

Happy Wednesday!

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DIY iPod Sleeve & Earbuds Case {Guest Post}

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:48:00 +0000

(A guest post from my mom!)

DIY iPod Sleeves — Great gifts!

I always look forward to whatever new “surprise projects” Becka puts on her wish list for me to make, especially at Christmastime. Last year it was the fun Christmas bag project. This past Christmas (2011), she wanted to give the kids some cool iPod sleeves. She had her heart set on this iPod sleeve, designed by Robyn at Dog Named Banjo...

... and this earbud pouch designed by Erin Erickson at Dog Under My Desk. (Does anyone see a trend here?)

Aren’t they just so cute?! I think it’s way cool that she just happened to find two random patterns, by two unrelated bloggers, and both blogs were named in honor of their beloved dogs—how serendipitous! I have come across many patterns for DIY projects online, and I have to say that both of these ladies did an amazing job with their tutorials, not only in the written description, but with tons and tons of high-quality pics. KUDOS to Erin and Robyn on that!

I made the iPod sleeve first. In her tutorial, Robyn does wisely caution her readers that different iPods may have different measurements. If there is one thing I would like to see her add to her tutorial, it’s a little more descriptive detail as to the exact circumference—lengthwise and widthwise—of her iPod, so that the reader can make a better judgment as to whether or not adjustments are needed before cutting. Although it appeared that her measurements would work for Brittany’s iPod, it turns out it was about 1/2” too short. Of course, even if that had not been the case, it still would have been back to the drawing board, because the sleeve is designed for a very snug fit, and after I finished it, Becka realized she forgot to tell me that Brittany’s iPod would have a plastic casing around it (which it did not when I measured it). Oops! Thank goodness we had lots of leftover fabric!

After adding a little more length and width to the measurements, I made the second one. Robyn’s instructions were easy-peasy to follow. If you decide to make one of these, I would suggest using a piece of muslin or scrap fabric to make the first one, keeping careful track of the measurements of the fabric. You don’t have to make the sample according to the full-detailed tutorial—just make two separate, unlined sleeves, stuff a piece of the batting in between, and stuff one inside the other, then try it on and adjust the template/pattern if need be. Also, keep in mind that the iPod plastic casings that have a sort of rubbery feel don’t slip in and out as easily as the metal casings do, but they still work. And if you are going to have a casing, be sure that it is on the iPod when you take the measurements!

The earbud cover came next. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it came together. The tutorial calls for a 5”-or-greater 1” zipper, but all we had on hand was a 4” zipper, which worked just fine, with very careful attention to the alignment. We used one of those little round keychain holder thingies to attach the earbud holder to the iPod. I love how they turned out! I have to make a confession that I am a little slow sometimes, and I didn’t “get” that the musical pattern in the lining was a deliberate choice, because, well, it has a musical theme, for a music player. Duh!

Much to the surprise of both of us, Brandon said he would like to have one too. That wasn’t in the original plan, because we assumed he would think it was too frou-frou. What do we know LOL! Becka happened to have some black music fabric as well, which would make it look more masculine. So I whipped one up for him too!

We had planned to make him an earbud cover as well, and we thought the thick sport zipper she had on hand would really add to the masculine look. But the sports zipper was so big and bulky that it made it impossible to achieve the perfect circle of the cover, so we abandoned that idea, at least for now.

I highly recommend these two patterns if you want to make your own cover. Both of these ladies have lots of other fun sewing projects on their blogs as well, and I may have to try some of them out too.

Happy sewing!

~Karen

Works for Me Wednesday {In the Kitchen}

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:29:00 +0000

I'm starting a new series!

My schedule can get quite hectic sometimes so when I'm home, I tend to spend a lot of time ~~on Pinterest.~~ coming up with different ways to save time, money, space, and most of all, SANITY. And I often wonder if any of these ideas would be helpful to others working on the same goal. Some ideas I've used for years, and others I have more recently implemented into my everyday routines. So I've decided to do a weekly post to share some of the ways I make my life run just a little smoother. Hope you enjoy!

I don't have an island in my kitchen and my counter space is limited so I needed to find a way to display a recipe to refer to it while I'm cooking. This counter is where I do all of my prep work and it's right next to my stove so I use a simple 3M Command hook along with a binder clip to hang my recipe. It's right in front of me at all times and it saves my precious counter space. Lately, I get most of my recipes from the web, or my collection of cooking magazines, which makes this method work really well. When I'm finished with the recipe, it goes into a page protector and into my recipe binder. (I'll share that in a future post!) Simple and easy solution for viewing recipes!

Do unclaimed cups drive you CRAZY? I don't know how many times one of my kids has gotten a drink, just to set it down and forget about it. Then, later, they won't drink it or reuse the cup because they don't know for sure if it's theirs. Or, they have friends over and they will get everyone a drink... in the SAME kind of cup and no one knows whose is whose!! GRRRRR! Well, here is a very easy solution. I bought this set of BPA free cups at Reuseit.com, and purchased some chalkboard labels on ebay. I stuck them on the cups and I use a chalk marker to write the kids' names on them. The chalk comes off easily with just a swipe of the thumb before putting them in the dishwasher. I've been using these since last Summer and the labels have not come off. This has saved me a lot of sanity.

HINT: This also works GREAT for guests!

I have an undying love for Mason jars. I think it comes from growing up in the South. Seriously, I don't think I could ever have enough of them lying around. I like to pick them up at garage sales, flea markets, and leftover stores, however, they don't always come with lids. Did you know that most mayonnaise jar lids will fit regular-mouth Mason jars? Yep. Just save those lids. When you buy jars of food, be sure and check the lid before recycling it to see if it will fit any of your lidless Mason jars.

Over the course of the last few years, I have slowly but surely eliminated almost all store-bought cleaners and have replaced them with all natural, SAFE, homemade versions. Here's one of my favorite all-purpose mixes.

Using a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water, add this to an empty spray bottle. Add a few drops of essential oil such as lemon, orange, peppermint, lavender, or pine. The essential oil is not, well, essential for this recipe, but it really helps cut the vinegar smell. This cleaner works great throughout the kitchen and smells fresh and clean. I use this on counter tops, stove tops, linoleum floors, kitchen table, microwave, outside surface of appliances, and in the sink. This cleaner costs pennies to make and you will feel good about using something safe for your family.

Take your shopping list to go! I learned this great tip from Julie at Less-than-Perfect Life of Bliss, where her shopping list is written on a chalkboard and not very portable. Even though mine is on a pad, I don't always want to tear it off if I'm just going out to run errands and may or may not end up at a grocery store. I just like to have the list with me, just in case, meanwhile, we can continue adding to it at home. I've already ended up using it a few times, although I hadn't planned to, so I was grateful to have the pic on my phone!

So there you have it -- My first 5 WFMW tips, shared. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Not Your Usual Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:47:00 +0000

I recently came across a cute idea in a magazine and thought I'd shake things up a bit this year for Valentine's Day. It was an idea for a "family gift exchange." I liked it. We would all pick names and then on Valentine's Day, you were only responsible for giving that person a gift. So on Family Night, 2 weeks ago, we drew names and gifts would be exchanged on Valentine's Day during our Family Night. I announced the rules to the family: The price limit was $5 - $10 and you also had to do one random act of kindness for your gift recipient, anonymously.

In the end, it turned out great and I've decided to adopt the idea as a new family tradition. It definitely eliminates the pressure surrounding this holiday, and allows the kids to get involved on the giving end for a change. And it's also very easy on the wallet which is always a plus in my book! Everyone did a great job picking out their gifts.

Wouldn't you know it? I picked my husband's name -- the man who is IMPOSSIBLE to shop for, nor does he even like gifts that much anyway! I decided to keep it simple and give him a box of some of his favorite things, and created a fun little tag for each item, describing how I feel about him. I also added some amazing hand repair cream that I am hoping will heal the cracks and dry skin on his hands from washing them several times a day. (He works in a hospital.)

I just covered a shoe box with brown Kraft paper and used a free printable card that I found n Pinterest. I printed one of my favorite photos of us onto regular paper and used my tag punch to create a cute tag. I also added a button for embellishment. Simple and free!

In case you can't see it, that is a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and the red package is beef jerky. These are two of his favorite snack items.

He loved everything. :)

Do you have any fun Valentine's Day traditions in you family?

DIY Cat Window Perch {A Momsense Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:40:00 +0000

So, this was our Christmas present to the cats. And my taupe-colored, micro-fiber couch and loveseat have never been happier. While doing a Google search for a cat perch to buy, I came across this great idea to make one on the DIYShowoff and I was totally inspired.

The cats love these so much, they almost never hang out on the couch anymore. They've always loved hanging out in the window, enjoying the view, and the warmth of the sun when it's warm, but the window sills are so narrow, they end up with half their body on the window frame itself, and the other half on the sill. This means they are laying on a metal bar that separates the 2 parts, and that just can't be comfortable. This also means that when the windows are closed, they can't hang out in them at all. I finally decided to create an extension to the window sill which would be A.) comfortable. B.) Allow them to enjoy the view whether the windows are open or not. and C.) Keep them off the furniture. These new perches have fulfilled all 3 of these things. And they were so cheap and easy to make. Here's how I did it.

(As you can see from the above pic, I made 2 perches, but the tutorial shows just one.)

Supplies needed (for each perch):

- 12x24 (or whatever length needed to fit your window) piece of heavy duty wood (I used pine)

- 2 shelf brackets (I purchased mine from Lowe's)

- wood screws

- anchor screws (not pictured)

- cotton batting

- fabric (to match your decor)

- fabric scissors

- heavy duty staple gun & staples

- measuring tape

- pencil

- power drill

- window

- cat

For the wood, I purchased a 12x48x1 piece of LAM pine and the nice guys at Home Depot cut it in half for me (1 piece for each perch.) The total price of the piece was $9.21. The metal shelf brackets were purchased from Lowe's and were $5.28 each. The cotton batting was on sale at Hancock Fabrics for a total of $4.19 and I picked up the sage green velvety fabric from the clearance shelf for $5.00yd. (I got just under a yard for $4.17.)

*NOTE: When having your fabric cut, be sure and allow an extra 4 inches of fabric on all side to wrap around the shelf, and also to allow for the depth of the 2 cotton, plus the 1 fabric layer on top of the shelf.

I added an extra layer of cotton just to the top of the shelf for added comfort. To do this, just trace around the wood and cut a piece to fit.

Then flip the 2 pieces over onto the larger piece of cotton batting, and begin to wrap it around to staple it in place. Start with one end, and place a few staples along the fabric. You will want to pull it taut in order to get a nice tight fit.

Once you've stapled it all around, you will need to trim off the excess batting.

Now it's time to add the fabric.

Lay your fabric right side down on a large flat surface. Doing the same as you did with the batting, begin to wrap the fabric around and staple it onto the wood. Be sure to pull it taut as you go.

For the corners, just tuck them in as if wrapping a present. Then, fold it over and staple it a few times, right along the seam.

Once you feel you've got enough staples all around, trim off the excess fabric and your perch is ready to mount onto the wall.

First, you will need to measure your window so you can center the perch just below the sill. If your window length is larger than your shelf, you will need to subtract the length of the shelf from the length of the window, divide that number in half, then make a mark that many inches IN, from each window sill edge. Does that make sense?

You will then screw the brackets onto the shelves, then while holding the shelf up to your center marks, use a pencil to mark your screw holes on the wall. You will then use the anchor screws to mount the shelf.

And there you have it! For less than $20 bucks (each) and about an hour of your time, you will a happy cat and fur-free furniture for years to come!

Yes, they are facing forward and stretching their necks around to look out the window. They are cats, after all. :)

Happy crafting!

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Lunch box Round Up #10

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:20:00 +0000

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope your 2012 is off to a great start! Mine seems to be going at warp speed, but all is well so far!

I have lots of posts in the works for the new year, including tips on organization, homemade cleaning & beauty products, fun DIY projects, and more! I can't wait to share them with all of you!

But meanwhile.... here we are at Lunch box Round Up #10. This will make a grand total of 52 lunchbox ideas! I hope you have found several that your kids have enjoyed. I'd love to hear feedback about what they liked or didn't like about a particular lunch. :)

Well, since my kids have been back in school after the long Christmas break, they have only had 4-day school weeks (which is really nice, and I wouldn't mind having that ALL THE TIME! But I'll keep dreaming.) They started back on a Tuesday, then we had MLK day, then they had their very first snow day for this school year. I've also been allowing them to buy lunch at school on occasion, [cringe.] so I haven't had to pack very many lunches this month. But I've managed to come up with 5 new lunch box ideas for this post. I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Homemade biscuit,
salad, salad dressing

This soup was left over from dinner the night before and I always love to serve biscuits with homemade chicken soup. I recently discovered this great homemade biscuit recipe that is so much healthier than the canned version, and they're so easy to make. I'll be making them this way from now on. A spinach, sprouts, pecan, and dried berries salad round out this healthy lunch.

Bread circles, cheese circles, ham chunks, berry medley, Vanana yogurt

It's a MOMable! I used one of my Tupperware smidget containers to cut the bread & cheese into circles, then added some chunks of ham for make-you-own mini sammies. I used to do this a lot in the beginning and I had forgotten about it until I recently saw it on my friend Keeley's bento blog. She makes some of the cutest lunches I've ever seen! It's just a nice change of pace then a big ole sandwich. The yogurt is my latest discovery from Trader Joe's. It's called Vanana, which is a combo of vanilla and banana. It's quite tasty, especially with berries mixed in. Yum.

cucumbers, carrots, homemade ranch dip,
peanut butter balls, dried tart cherries, yogurt tube

Homemade chili, homemade kale chips, cheese, chips, sour cream

My kids absolutely LOVE kale chips, and I love that I can get a bag of Kale from Trader Joe's that's already washed, cut up, and ready to bake! They're totally easy and so addicting! My tween daughter likes to put kettle popcorn seasoning on hers. I like them with just a little salt. They bake up nice and crisp and just melt in your mouth. Here's an easy recipe for baked kale chips. You should give it a try!

Omelet wrap, vanilla-almond granola, frozen berry medley,
orange-banana smoothie

To make the omelet wrap, I prep the eggs the night before. I add 2 lightly beaten eggs to a warm skillet with olive oil, and cook just till set. I then slide them onto a plate, lined with a flour tortilla. Once it's cooled, I then cover it with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge till morning. In the morning, I add chopped red peppers and green onions and mozzarella cheese, and roll it up. You could really add any veggie and cheese combo to this. It can be eaten cold, or gently heated in a microwave. Very tasty.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this edition of Lunch box Round Up. Be sure and stay tuned for more posts coming your way!

In case you're wondering, those containers are called Easy Lunch Boxes and I totally love them. Click on over to get yours!

Happy packing!

DIY Christmas Gift Ideas... on a Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:38:00 +0000

With just a little thought and effort, and A LOT of Google, you can make great homemade gifts for everyone on your list. Here are a few ideas to get you started. I've been making various homemade gifts all week and I'll post more once I get finished with them. I won't get into all of the tutorials, but links to the tutorials I used will be included in each idea. Enjoy!

Sometimes it seems like our Christmas gift list is never-ending: family, friends, neighbors, teachers, youth leaders, Bible study group/youth group members, coaches, scout leaders, music instructors, babysitters, co-workers, bosses, school bus drivers, mail carriers, roommates, school staff (office, nurse, etc.)... but look on the bright side. That just means that you are blessed by THAT MANY people in your life! So here's a way to show them how grateful you are for them.

For the adults in your life...

First up, we have Sugar Scrub. Easy to make and people LOVE them!

recycled artichoke hearts jar

No need to buy any jars. Just recycle those from jelly, jam, baby food, etc. Marinated artichoke hearts happen to be my teenage son's favorite food and they make the perfect sized jar for gifts!

Here's the basic recipe I use for sugar scrub:

50% sugar
25% vegetable glycerin
25% carrier oil (almond oil, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, grapeseed oil)
5 - 10 drops essential oil (peppermint, lavender, orange, vanilla, lemon)
5 drops vitamin E oil (optional) this is great for skin and also acts as a preservative, making the scrub last longer

For one batch (approx. 4-6 oz.), start with 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, then add 2 tsp. of vegetable glycerin, and 2 tsp. of carrier oil. Stir the mixture until you get a good consistency (not too dry, not too oily.) Add more sugar, glycerin or oil as needed. Add vitamin E and essential oils and mix well. Scoop into jar and add a tag with instructions. I also threw in a pinch of red sugar crystals for color.

Tip: Oil separation in these homemade scrubs is normal. Sometimes it just needs a quick stir before using. Also, it can make a tub slippery if used in the shower so use caution.

Here's the tutorial I used to decorate my jars. I saw it on Pinterest and just knew I would use it for my jar gifts this year.

Another great gift-in-a-jar are homemade mixes such as Ranch, Taco Seasoning, and Onion Soup Mix.

The homemade versions of these are much healthier than the store-bought ones. The recipes for all of these 3 can be found here. The Ranch recipe is a good basic one, but I also like to throw in some dill, basil, and black pepper as well. Just mix your ingredients in a measuring cup and use a funnel to pour it into a cute jar. I used a baby food jar. I also printed up the mixing directions and decoupaged them onto the back of the jar. I used the same method as I did on the sugar scrub jars to decorate it. (See above)

Next, we have an all natural, homemade vapor rub. 'Tis the season to be sick, so bless your loved ones with this wonderful aromatic, soothing remedy.

It's very quick and easy to make, and does not contain harmful petroleum jelly like that other kind. I used the recipe found here. I don't have a double boiler so I just used a pint-sized, wide-mouthed Ball jar in a medium sauce pan of water. As it turns out, this stuff works wonders on your skin too! Once you get a whiff of it, you'll never buy "Oh, what's his name?" in that little blue jar again!

For the (female) tweens, teens, college students & adults in your life...

How about some fun, wearable gifts? You won't BELIEVE what these are made from, and they are so easy and quick to make!

I know! Can you believe it?! Just trace your washer onto some scrapbook paper, fold in half to cut out your center (or use an Exacto knife,) and decoupage it onto your washer. Put a layer of Glossy Accents (usually found in the scrapbook section of craft stores) on top and you have a very attractive necklace! And it's SO INEXPENSIVE! The larger washers were 19 cents and the smaller ones were..... wait for it....... 13 CENTS EACH!! The small ones are great for tweens. Here's a tutorial on how to make them.

Here's another very cool necklace. This one is somewhat more difficult to make than the last one, and does require drilling a hole, but I wouldn't call it complicated, just a little more involved.

I just LOVE these fragments by Tim Holtz. They are just clear acrylic pieces that you can do lots of fun stuff with. Here's the tutorial for the necklaces. These make great teacher gifts!

These cozy, fleece tie blankets make excellent gifts for tweens and teens, and even on down to tiny newborn babies! (Just use less fabric.)

I made this one with my 11 year old. She comes out of her room almost every morning with it wrapped around her. She absolutely loves it. Fabric stores like Hancock's, Jo-Ann's, and even Hobby Lobby will often have fleece on sale for 40% - 50% off, making the cost for these blankets between $20 and $25 for 1 1/2 yards of each color. (For a baby, use 1 yard. For an adult, use 2 yards.) There are so many different prints of fleece, it's easy to find a style that's perfect for your gift recipient. Here's a tutorial on how to make them.

How about some festive, edible treats? Here we have Marshmallow Peppermint Pops. It is marshmallows on a stick, dipped in white chocolate, and sprinkled with crushed peppermint. MMMMmm.

These are very quick and easy, make a fun presentation, and no cooking skills are required! I like to use the Wilton Candy Melts (available at craft stores). They're very easy to work with and stays melted long enough for you to do an entire batch without it getting hard. To crush your peppermint, you can put candy canes or peppermint candies in a thick ziploc bag and beat it with a rolling pin, or use a manual food chopper. OR... you can ~~just be totally lazy like me~~ save yourself some time and energy and buy a bag of crushed peppermint. [Wink]

BONUS TIP:

Here's a quick and easy idea for a homemade gift bag... from your recycling bin!

Take an empty cardboard box and cut it open along one of the side seams. Now you have this:

Now cut off one set of flaps, like this:

Now just fold your box inside out and use clear tape to tape the side that you cut. Use your box as a tracing template, and trim a piece of scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, or even fabric to cover the front, back, and sides of your box. You'll also want to tape your flaps ones you fold them in for extra support. Punch 2 holes near the top, on both sides and attach a ribbon handle. Voila! An adorable gift bag.

I'll be back with more ideas!

Happy gifting!

Disclaimer: Although these gifts are individually very inexpensive to make, they do require purchasing supplies and ingredients that may not seem so cheap. However, all of the ingredients and supplies used for these items have a decent "bulk" price, and you will have plenty on hand to make lots of multiples of these gifts, AND you'll have everything you need for a nice, last minute gift down the road, or just to whip up something for yourself. ; )

This post is participating in the following linky parties. Click on over for more inspiring ideas!

Christmas Fabric Gift Bags

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:28:00 +0000

I realize that some of you may not be thinking about Christmas yet, what with 2 major holidays still left to go, but as of today, there are only 2 months till Christmas Day! And I know how crazy December can be, so I thought I'd post this early enough to give people time to hit the stores for supplies before they run out of the cute stuff!

Last year, I got to thinking about the amount of wrapping paper we waste every Christmas, once everyone has opened their presents. We typically fill 2 large, black trash bags. I thought about the extra money I spend every year on wrapping paper, tape, and bows. At first, I thought, "What if I just bought a bunch of pillow cases, decorated them, and put all the gifts in those?! And then I could reuse them every year!" Then I realized that pillow cases might not be the ideal size for some of the extra small and extra large gifts. Then it hit me...... "What if I used Christmas-y fabric and made bags of all different sizes?!?! YES! It's perfect!" Then I thought, "Oh, wait, I don't sew.... Oh, but Mom does, and she'll LOVE this idea!"

I called my mom and told her my idea for reusable Christmas fabric gift bags and she immediately jumped on board! This was just 2 weeks before Christmas, and we still managed to find enough cute fabrics to make all the bags. Using her sewing machine, she whipped them up in practically no time at all! I think she spent part of an afternoon making them. We decided to make all kinds of different sizes to fit a variety of gifts. She just sewed up the 2 sides and the bottoms, just like a pillow case. Easy peasy. (If you know how to sew, of course.)

I also purchased some fabric ribbon in Christmas colors to tie off the tops, once the gifts were placed inside. You could use hang tags to label the gifts. I chose to secretly assign each person a different color ribbon, and on Christmas morning, I revealed everyone's colors.

These bags work great for oddly-shaped gifts, as well as books, gift cards, clothing, and extra large items.

I think it took me less than an hour to ~~wrap~~ bag everything, and I actually went to bed well before midnight on Christmas Eve! That hasn't happened in at least 10 years! For once, I did not feel (or look) like a zombie on Christmas morning! Yay!

They looked lovely under the tree, and everyone who visited commented on them.

Here they are, all folded and ready to go for next Christmas. And I don't think we even filled 1 whole trash bag. More sleep, less mess, money saved..... now that's my kind of Christmas!

So why not GO GREEN this Christmas and whip up some of your own fabric gift bags? Since my mom hand made these, they became an instant keepsake in our family, that we'll use for many years to come. And if they ever start to get dirty, they can easily be thrown into the washer and dryer!

My mom decided this would be a great idea for non-Christmas gifts as well, such as family birthdays, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Happy Christmas!

This post is participating in the following link parties.Click on over for lots more Christmas inspiration!

Lunch box Round Up #9

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:18:00 +0000

Some of you may have noticed I haven't posted any lunchbox ideas in a while. I decided to take a mini break from trying to find/come up with new lunch ideas, and start repeating some of the ones I've already posted. I also decided to let the kids order a school lunch on occasion. So I apologize to anyone who was expecting a new post in the week following Lunch box Round Up #8, but I promise to continue to post new lunchbox ideas as they come up. Thank you all for your support and patience! Just keep watching your Facebook and emails for any new posts!

So without further ado, here is a new round of lunchbox ideas!

Salad w/Balsamic dressing, croutons, grapes,
mozzarella cheese, organic roasted/salted soy nuts

The soy nuts are hiding under the mozzarella cheese bites. They are nice and crunchy and have a whopping 10 grams of protein per 1 oz. serving. They help to round out this light meal.

1/2 of a BBQ shredded chicken sandwich, peas & onions,
prunes, cheddar cheese, pretzel crisps

Protein bites, cucumbers, avocado with Creole Seasoning,
homemade ranch dressing, homemade strawberry-banana smoothie

I always squirt a little lime juice on the avocados to make sure they don't turn brown.

Meatloaf cups, potatoes, apple chunks, ketchup

These meatloaf cups are one of our family favorites. My kids were both very excited that there were actually leftovers to use for their lunches the next day. That never happens.

apple, cheese & walnut quesadilla, peanut butter & breadsticks,
pineapple chunks with frozen blueberries

These wonderful lunch containers are made by Easy Lunch Boxes. Click on over to order some of your own!

Happy packing!

This post is participating in the following blog parties. Click on over for more great lunch ideas!
What's for Lunch Wednesday

My "37 Random Acts of Kindness" Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Let me just start by saying.....

This truly WAS my best birthday EVER!! Here's how it went down. 6 days before my 37th birthday, my husband asked me the annual question: "What would you like for your birthday?" I didn't have anything already in mind, (and of course, after stating this, I got the "look". I know y'all know what I'm talking about. It was as if he was saying "Oh, please don't make this harder than it already is.") I told him I would get back to him.

As I lay in bed that night, I still couldn't think of anything I just "had to have." As I said a prayer, thanking God for all the blessings in my life, IT HIT ME. That's what I want for my birthday -- I want to bless peoples' lives! I had recently stumbled upon this idea from Kimberly, so I decided I wanted to spend the next few days leading up to, (as well as on) my birthday, doing one random act of kindness for each year I've lived, and I wanted others to join me. I set up an event for my birthday wish on Facebook, asking friends to do at least ONE random act of kindness in honor of my birthday. Then I made a list of 30-ish ideas (God filled in the rest) that I could feasibly do within just a few days, along with everything else I needed to get done each day. Some of these were borrowed, others I made up on my own.

(Now to convince my husband it was REALLY OKAY not to buy me anything. In fact, I gave him specific orders NOT to. I believe this tortured him slightly, as he was not 100% convinced. ) Sorry, Honey! ;)

You have no idea what an awesome feeling it was, pulling out of my driveway, as I set out on my first day of RAKs. I was never so excited about a trip to Walmart in all my life!

So here are the 37 RAKs, as well as the RAKs by others who participated in my birthday celebration.

1. Taped $2.00 in quarters to a Self-Service car wash

The quarters were tucked behind the note

2. Stopped by the dollar store and hid five 1-dollar bills in the toy aisle

3. Left change for a free soda on a vending machine at Walmart

4. Left fresh diapers on changing table in Walmart restroom. I bought a pack of 24 diapers and put 3 diapers in each baggie (to leave in multiple restrooms.) If you do the math, that's 8 people blessed. Boom. Done.

5. Paid for the next person in line in Starbucks drive-thru. This guy is holding my note to give to them. He was super friendly & didn't mind posing for my picture!

6. 7. & 8. Went to the pediatric wing of a hospital and brought bottled water and chocolate for the nurses, balloons for any patients who weren't getting many visitors, or might just need some extra cheering up, and coloring books and crayons to leave in the activity room. The nurses were extremely grateful and insisted on taking MY picture with all the stuff. (I cropped myself out.) ;)

9. Donated a bag of clothes to charity.

10. Made bookmarks for my 9th and10th grade girls small group

11. Wrote a nice post on a page of an online friend who has inspired me this year (You know who you are, K.L.!)

12. Donated dog and cat treats, old blankets and towels to an animal rescue shelter

I visited a few of the residents while there. So. Darn. Cute.

13. Put quarters in 6 of the gumball machines at the mall

14. This one was fun. I walked up to this random, yet totally adorable couple while at the mall, asked if they were married and how long, he smiled adoringly at his wife and said, "2 years." I handed them a 5-dollar bill and asked them to go get their picture taken in the photo booth, in celebration of their marriage. They were incredibly grateful and said they hadn't taken a picture together in well over a year! Newlyweds! Can you believe it?! As you can see from their pics, I think they will cherish them. They also win the award for "Cutest Couple." Too sweet.

15. I hand wrote 10 "happy notes" and put them on cars in a parking lot

16. Sent in a small gift for the school nurse. She is our brand new school nurse and she is now helping to take care of my 15 year old son who has diabetes, while he's at school. And she is as sweet as ~~pie~~ warm vanilla sugar. Thank you, Nurse T!

17. Stopped at a laundromat and left quarters on one of the washers

18. Sent in a small gift for one of my son's teachers. Nearly every day, when I pick him up from school, he tells me how awesome this teacher is. I wanted to thank her for being awesome. And do you know what she did? She gave him a merit! Now I see what he means! She IS awesome! You rock, Mrs. C!

19. Wrote a thank you note to a soldier, then prayed for whoever would receive it

20. Wrapped packs of gum in this note and taped them to peoples' cars. Corny? Maybe. Minty? Yes. ;)

21. Made this reusable "love note" sign for my sweet husband. It now hangs in our bedroom. With our crazy-busy schedules, we don't get a whole lot of time to talk about things other than the usual - (kids, bills, etc.) This is just another way for us to communicate in a way that helps our marriage grow.

I created a printable for the frame, (I used Picnik.com)
and used a dry-erase marker to write on the glass

22. Left a gift for our wonderful mail carrier. She promptly left a thank you card the next day. :)

23. Spent 10 minutes tidying up each of my kids' rooms, giving them a head start on Saturday morning chores. They were very excited to come home to this on Friday afternoon. Now that they're 11 & 15, this is something I NEVER do anymore.

teen son's room

tween daughter's room

24. Sent "thinking of you" cards to 3 people who have been in my prayers lately: a friend who lost her husband 1 year ago (on this day) to Cancer, a sister-in-law still coping with a messy divorce, and a close cousin (who lives far away) who is going through a very difficult time

25. Sent a card to a child with Cancer through Hugsandhope.org

26. Made a small donation to my grocery store's "Adopt a Family" program, which allows them to purchase food and gifts for a needy family around the holidays. They were collecting, via a chili cook off, while I was doing my weekly shopping

27. Brought homemade pumpkin spice bread to a residents' home

28. Spent time talking to each clerk I encountered, asking them how their day was going (Some were smiling through obvious hurt, pain, or stress. Others just lit up with joy.) Powerful moments.

29. Returned a carafe I borrowed from my mom, and placed fresh flowers inside

30. Donated a bag of food to our church's food pantry for the needy

31. Left a generous tip for my server at a restaurant. She deserved it.

32. Handed out water to people walking, jogging, or walking their dog. All were grateful. I had the kids with me for one of them, and the lady who was walking her dog was so tickled pink over the whole thing, she couldn't stop talking about it! Totally awesome moment, for her, for my kids, and for me. And this one was ON my birthday. Pure Awesomeness.

33. Dropped off homemade cookies to my local firehouse. He was VERY grateful and offered to pose in front of the truck for me.

34. Left coupons on store shelves near products.

35. Mailed expired coupons to military families. (They can use them up to 6 months past the expiration date.)

36. Picked up trash in parking lot

37. Made cookies for my neighbors

Here are the Random Acts of Kindness from others, in honor of my birthday:

Kim E. - Abby at Applebee's just got a big high five from her manager. Her awesome service garnered her a RAK in the form of a compliment paid.

Kristen P. - There's a soybean field by my house and I walk through there to get home from school. (The owner doesn't mind.) The other day, I noticed that someone had dumped their trash in the field, so today I went to the field and cleaned up most of the trash, although I didn't get it all. There was a lot and I couldn't get anymore in the trash bag.

Lori G. - I got water for a gentleman in my office. He was older, unstable, and complaining of chest pain. Not too cool. I do this all the time, but I did want to share that on occasion, we all need a cup of water. Wouldn't you offer water to someone? I teach my children to always treat others as you wish to be treated. I hope this resonates in them... for you. Put yourself in the place of others and realize that we might be different on the outside, but essentially, inside.... we're all the same.

Katrina L. - I have a friend with Cancer of the spine I'm helping move into a new place. Also, I keep in touch with his sister too. xx

Jodi K. - This morning, I treated myself at McDonald's to an iced caramel coffee and also paid for the woman behind me. The cashier told me I was actually the 2nd person that morning to pay for someone else's order. :) I looked back at the woman as I drove off and she was waving at me in thanks with a look of "Do I know her??" Then, when I got to work, I discovered I won a free Quarter Pounder through the Monopoly Game from my coffee. I gave that to a coworker who thanked me because she was just about to eat a frozen Banquet meal for lunch and said that sounded MUCH better. :)

Nancy S. - I opened the door and helped a quite handicapped older gentleman through the door at the doctor's office... simple ♥

Kim E. - I blessed two cars behind me at St. Louis Bread Co. in your honor today. The cashier blessed me with chocolate to say thank you. I told her that Becka would be so happy.

Shelly C. - Today I took care of a homeless puppy. She was found by my daughter and her friends. We are currently looking for a forever home for her!

Scott R. - I brought books, crayons, pencils, paper, markers, glue, glue guns, glitter, and other supplies to a local inner city elementary school in need in you honor!!

Karen S. - I ordered some fingerless gloves for my mail carrier, signed up to the Soldier's Angels website - made a donation, signed up for the Letter Writing Team, and ordered supplies to make sand scarves and cool scarves and will mail them when completed. Also, started some seedlings and ordered a container and kid-friendly watering can to give to the adorable 2-year-old girl who lives two doors down and is completely obsessed with my new raised-bed gardens! -- What a great way to celebrate your birthday! Love, Mom (who works from home and doesn't drive. She had to get creative to think of some RAKs she could do.)

Tyra S. - I know it's not much, but I did help an old lady down a curb and to her car. She was very appreciative and it felt good.

Kim S. - Just took some flowers to a friend who isn't feeling well.

Christy W. - My girls and I have picked up supplies to make walker carriers for the ladies at the nursing home our church visits each week.

Jennifer F. - Today at Bread Co. I paid for the person's food in line behind me, and when I told Kate, the lady working the drive-thru, what I was doing she wanted me to tell you Happy Birthday and that she would be joining in on the RAK wagon!

Kathryn S. - At Chatsworth House I bought a friend an ornament she admired, even though I wanted to buy it for myself! She was so made up with it. I also offered to do back massages for friends at the weekend. All five of them accepted and they spent a lovely couple of hours chilling together.

I would like to give a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who celebrated with me for my birthday wish. My hope is that this event will serve as an inspiration to cause your own ripple of spreading goodness to those around you, and just as a reminder that there are opportunities all around us, we're just usually too busy to notice. As you can see, it only takes one small act to bless someone else. In a world that seems to be "All About Me," it is nice to take a moment to show love, mercy, and kindness to another person. I pray that these 37+ people truly felt blessed by these small acts, and if nothing else, I at least made them smile. These past few days have also helped me realize that I could be doing so much more on a regular basis to serve others.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To ACT JUSTLY, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 (NIV)

"Act Justly." Wouldn't you know it, that on my birthday, which was on Sunday, this was the topic of the sermon? Coincidence? I doubt it. And under normal circumstances, I would not be advertising my random acts of kindness, but the purpose of this was to share the idea with others who might be inspired to do the same, or at least start thinking about the opportunities to do more.

Feel free to share your most recent Random Act of Kindness in the comments.

Have a blessed day! :)

Lunch box Round Up #8 and a Surprise!

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:10:00 +0000

Welcome to Lunch box Round Up #8! And to avoid keeping you in suspense, I will give you the surprise first. Remember, 2 weeks ago when I posted the idea for the lunch box survey and some of you thought it was a cute idea, but that it might be too time-consuming with the too-short lunch breaks? Well, I've created my own, and not only is it shorter, but it's also REUSABLE! You can just attach it to, or tuck into the lunchboxes, and they can choose whether they want to fill it out each day or not. So, here is your new Lunch box Comment card to print and keep. Please bear in mind, this is the first time I've ever created a printable for the blog and it was So. Much. Harder. than I expected. Whew! So, it's VERY IMPORTANT that you follow the printing instructions to ensure the image prints correctly.

Printing Instructions:
1. Right click the image and choose "Save Image As"
2. Save it to your computer
3. When ready to print, choose "Best Quality"
4. Choose 4X6 for your print size. (This photo has been formatted to print as a 4X6.)

Here's how to use and REUSE your lunch box comment card:

Trim all the excess from the printed page. You will now laminate your card. I picked up these self-laminating sheets at Wal-mart in the office supply section. Of course, if you have a laminator, you could just use that. I do not.

self-laminating pouches for 4X6

You will also want to pick up some fine tip dry erase markers, & some small Velcro fasteners if you want to attach it to the lunch box.

Once your card is laminated, you can choose to either tuck the card into your child's lunch box, or use small, self-sticking velcro tabs to attach it to the inside lid of the lunch box. This will allow you to remove the card in order to clean the lunch box (or the card itself!)

I hope you like it, and I would love to hear feedback about your feedback from those who decide to try it! I can't wait to try it on my tween. I'll be sure to report back how it goes and I'll also post some pics of the comment card inside of her lunch box!

Here are the lunches from last week!

PB&J sammies, blue corn chips, plain yogurt with honey, pluots

I have no idea why the yogurt looks so washed out in this pic!

Cream Cheese & Preserves sammies, graham crackers,
baby carrots, cottage cheese, pear slices

Pita crackers, Maple Almond Butter, Garbanzo beans,
pineapple, frozen blueberries, edamame

My kids love the word Garbanzo and enjoy munching on these beans.

Salad, cheese, croutons, Confetti Quinoa with Bragg's,
Apple Streusel muffin, almonds, salad dressing

This lunch was the favorite of the week of both kids, as well as my husband. They especially liked the Confetti Quinoa and apple streusel muffin. I saw the Confetti Quinoa idea on Laptop Lunches and just knew I had to make it. It is quite good, especially with a squirt of Bragg's Amino Acids. Yum.

Pizza muffins, olives, tomatoes, spaghetti squash,
plain yogurt with honey & frozen berries

I discovered the recipe for Pizza Muffins on Weelicious.com. I used Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza crust. I found it to be a little too wheat-y. Next time, I will make my own crust and use a 50/50 flour blend. But they tasted okay.

So that's it for this week! Stay tuned next week for Lunch box Round Up #9! In the meantime, for more lunch box ideas, just click on the tab at the top of the page! And if you'd like to order a set of these awesome containers, just click on over to the EasyLunchBoxes website to find out how!

Happy packing!

Apple Streusel Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:46:00 +0000

Apple Streusel Muffin

There are 2 things that I ALWAYS make during the first week of Fall: Chili and apple muffins! (or apple crisp!) This time, it was the muffins! I made these for the first time last year, and they were a big hit. They make a wonderful on-the-go breakfast, or a very nice snack on a cool, Autumn day. They taste the best the same day you make them, but they can be reheated in the microwave and still taste pretty darn yummy! So, why not whip up a batch today? Here's the recipe:

Apple Streusel Muffins

(adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Dry Ingredients:

- 1 cup unbleached white flour*

- 1 cup whole wheat flour*

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 3 tsp. baking powder

- 1/2 tsp. baking soda

- 2 tsp. cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

- 1/2 tsp. salt

*Can substitute 2 cups of 50/50 flour for 1 cup each white/wheat

Wet Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- 1 cup sour cream

- 1/2 cup applesauce (regular or cinnamon)

- 1/4 cup (or half stick) butter, melted

- 2 large, crisp apples (peeled, cored, and chopped) or 1 1/2 c. chopped

Topping:

- 1/3 cup brown sugar

- 1 TBS. flour

- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

- 2 TBS cold butter, cut up

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Thoroughly grease 1 standard-size, and 1 mini muffin pan, or line with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.

3. In a smaller bowl, combine melted butter, sour cream and applesauce. Add eggs and stir well with wire whisk.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients just till moistened. DO NOT over stir.

5. Fold in apples.

6. Fill each muffin cup almost to the top. (These muffins will not rise much)

7.. For topping, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

8. Sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful on top of each muffin.

9. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow muffins to rest in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

10. Serve warm with butter!

**Yields about 18 standard-sized muffins, or 12 standard and 12 mini muffins.

Happy Fall Y'all!

This post is participating in the following blog parties. Click on over for more inspiration!

Lunch box Round Up #7

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:45:00 +0000

A BIG THANK YOU goes out to everyone who participated in the Lunchbox Linky Party last week! It is still open, so feel free to add your fabulous lunchbox creations!

Here is the 7th lunch box round up as we are approaching 700 mom fans! This is so exciting! Thank you to everyone who has shared my blog with friends! I really appreciate all of the support!

You will notice a trend in these lunches: apples and cucumbers. We've been getting a lot of both from our CSA so I've been throwing them into the lunches. They both make great, crunchy side dishes.

Salad & croutons, salad dressing, sunflower seeds,
butter crackers with cheese wedge,
homemade strawberry fruit on the bottom yogurt

*Note: The little smidget container for the dressing, placed sideways in that compartment didn't allow the lid to close all the way so I ended up switching it around with the cheese wedge after the photo.

Pesto Pasta with edamame, tomatos, apples, cucumbers

Whole Wheat Linguini with meat sauce,
apples with peanut butter, cucumbers

I chopped up the pasta so it wouldn't be too messy to eat at school. For the apples, I cut them in half and used a melon baller to scoop out the seeds, creating a well to put the peanut butter in.

Tuna salad, carrots, applesauce, mini toasts

I included a mini popsicle stick to spread the tuna salad onto the mini toasts.

Avocado BLT, blue corn chips, homemade granola bars,
colby jack cheese cubes, homemade triple-berry banana smoothie

This is a BLT, sliced in half, and the halves are stacked, one on top the other. My favorite homemade granola bar recipe comes from Heavenly Homemakers. These are so quick and easy to make, and there's no high fructose corn syrup! I usually have to make a double batch to make sure they last all week. They make an excellent grab-and-go snack!

I welcome your comments and questions. I love hearing from y'all!

Also, if you'd like to order your own set of these awesome containers, just click on over to the EasyLunchBoxes website to find out how!

Happy packing!

This post is participating in Lunch Box Tuesdays with Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Lunch box Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:12:00 +0000

Starting with the very first lunch I ever packed for my children, way back in 2002 when my son started 1st grade, I've been adding love notes to their lunches. I would jot a little note on their napkin just to say "Have a great day", "Good luck on your test", "TGIF!", etc. I know they've always enjoyed getting those little notes, however, I don't typically get any feedback regarding the notes, or the lunch itself. I usually just get a simple response of "I liked/loved my lunch," or simply, "Thanks for my lunch."

But I WANT DETAILS! I want to know WHAT they liked/loved/didn't like about their lunch! I want to know MORE about their day than just that it was good or okay! Well, I just discovered a way to get the feedback that I'm looking for. I might need revise it a little (or a lot) for my teenage son, but I know my tween daughter is going to love it:

The Lunch box Survey

I just discovered it on June Pfaff Daley and she is sharing it with all of you! Just right click the image above, and save it to your computer. You can then print it for your own personal use.

I'm thinking I'd like to incorporate this on a weekly/bi-weekly basis. Since my daughter is in 6th grade, I'm not sure if she will appreciate the cutsie design of this one, so I might end up creating my own version. I plan to try it out in her lunch this week, so I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Do you send messages in your kids' lunches? If so, what do you use?

Lunch box Round Up #6 and a Linky Party!

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Another week of school has come and gone. It was a very busy week for me and I never made it to the grocery store, so I'll admit that the lunch round up for this week is not too exciting. I was limited to whatever I had on hand. I didn't even think I'd be able to come up with a complete lunch for each day, but it all worked out okay.

Ham & Cheese Lady Fingers, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies,
frozen fruit puree on top of fresh fruit puree, salad, dressing

Apple & Peanut Butter Quesadilla, crackers, Babybel cheese,
apple "fruit on the bottom" yogurt

Pasta w/spaghetti sauce & Parmesan cheese,
edamame with Lemon Pepper, cucumbers, apple sauce

Homemade veggie fried rice, apple, peanut butter

And now for the fun part! I'm so excited to be hosting my first ever blog party! It's a chance for all you Bento Mamas to share your great lunchbox ideas! I could browse through Bento lunch photos all day long. No, seriously. I really enjoy looking at all the creative ideas that people come up with! I also like to see all the different foods they choose, then I wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

So here it is! The rules are very simple:

Link Up using a link to your actual post (not your blog's home page.) Give your lunch a name or short description.

Grab a Button from the choices below, or use text to link back to this page. Add it somewhere on your post. *Instructions below. (Yes, I went a little button-crazy. I got excited.)

Consider following this site via Facebook or Google Friend Connect. (It's not mandatory, but it would be nice. ;) )

Visit and Comment on fellow Bento moms' lunchbox ideas! Show them some love! Make a new friend! Get inspired!

*To add a grab button, highlight ALL text in the box underneath your chosen image. Hit Ctrl+C to copy. Go to your blog's posting/editing page. Click on "Edit HTML." Scroll down to the end of your post and hit Ctrl+V to paste the code. Voila! The button appears!

Show Me the Lunchy!

"Fruit on the Bottom" Yogurt

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Think Fast!

Is store-bought "fruit-on-the-bottom" yogurt good for you?

Well, not all store-bought yogurts are created equally, but when it comes to some of those national brands (you know the ones,) as healthy as they may sound, actually the answer is a big fat NO. Have you ever looked at the ingredients list? I mean, really looked? It's downright scary, some of the things in that yogurt -- something that we think of as a "healthy" food! They are filled with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and lots of other additives and preservatives. These bad ingredients far outweigh the tiny amount of good stuff you might be getting.

There are some that are actually good for you if you shop around and compare labels. Some organic companies have their own line of fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, but they can be pretty pricey.

But what if you could make a week's worth of fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt in under 15 minutes? And you would know exactly what's in it! And you would save money by buying larger quantities of fruit and yogurt by the tub! Then would you consider making the switch? It's actually very easy to make it yourself. Here's how.

I did a batch of apple, (my favorite), strawberry and blueberry. I used 4 oz. canning jars since they are the perfect size for individual servings, but you could also use plastic containers.

For the apple yogurt, I used:

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped ( I used Gala, but any crisp apple will work)
2 TBS butter
2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBS pure maple syrup
2 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

Melt butter over medium heat. Add apples, cinnamon, maple syrup and lemon juice. Stir to coat apples. Turn heat down to med - low, and cover. Allow to cook for 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Yields about 6 jars (with yogurt.)

Meanwhile, have yourself a serving while the fruit is still warm...... So delish.

For each of the berry batches, I used:

1/2 lb. fresh or thawed berries
2 TBS honey
pinch of salt
1 TBS cornstarch
1 TBS cold water

Directions:

Add fruit, honey and salt to small pot. Bring to a simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water and add to pot. Allow fruit mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool completely. Each berry batch will yield about 3 jars (with yogurt.)

For the yogurt, use a plain or vanilla yogurt. Of course, the healthiest yogurt of all is one made from scratch, using fresh milk. However, if you don't happen to have any fresh, homemade yogurt on hand, there are great alternatives. Trader Joe's has a delicious organic french vanilla yogurt, sold in a big tub, and most supermarkets are starting to carry a nice variety of organic yogurt in the large tubs. Vanilla yogurt goes great with any fruit, but you can also mix honey or pure maple syrup into plain yogurt for added sweetness. You don't need a lot, so start with about a teaspoon per cup of yogurt and add more to taste.

For the batches I made, here are the combos:

Blueberries - with french vanilla
Strawberries - with plain
Apples - with plain + maple syrup

Once the fruit has cooled, add about 1/4 cup to each jar, then top with 1/2 cup yogurt of choice. These will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When ready to eat, top with granola for a nice crunch!

For on-the-go snacks, or to throw into a lunchbox, you can also use these plastic Ball jars. I did mine 'parfait style' since the cup is more narrow, making it harder to scoop the fruit up from the bottom. Sprinkle some granola on top and you have a complete breakfast to-go!

So in under 15 minutes, you can have your very own batch of delicious, healthy fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt; and once you make it, you'll never want to buy the store-bought kind again!

What will your favorite flavor be?

I'm linking up to the following blog parties. Click on over for more homemade inspiration!

I discovered the apple recipe at Weelicious.com.

Subway Art Gift Wrap {A Momsense Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:03:00 +0000

I am anything but typical when it comes to gift-giving. From the gifts themselves to the way they're presented, I like to be different. I like to be creative. I like the presentation to be just as much fun as the gift itself. So when I came across the idea for Subway Art gift wrap, I knew I had to do this. Jana over at Scatter Sunshine did a much better job, actually cutting out adorable little boxes, and using colored paper, but I just used it as gift wrap. Easy and fun.

I decided to get one of my favorite gal pals some earrings for her birthday last week, and I knew this would make the perfect gift wrap for the little jewelry box. I used words that describe her and typed them in different fonts, and rotated them. You could do this in any typing program, and keep all of your words going the same way. Just be sure to vary the sizes and fonts. I happened to use my American Greetings Creatacard program because it is "Fisher-Price" easy to do all kinds of fun stuff, which made it easy for me to rotate the words.

I love the idea of printing the sheets on colored paper, but I only had white. But black and white is classic, so it still comes out looking nice. Just trim all sides equally to fit your gift box, then wrap as usual.

So here's the box all wrapped up and she totally loved it!

Pin It

Hint: If you don't want to (or can't print for some reason,) why not create it by hand? And the kids can do it too! For larger gifts, just use white or brown (paper bag type) wrapping paper and markers! You can personalize it for each recipient!

Happy wrapping!

I'm linking up to the following blog parties. Click on over for more fun ideas!

Lunch box Round Up #5

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:54:00 +0000

Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, marinara sauce, pistachios,
Banana-berry puree, peas

This is a much healthier version of the famous Mozzarella Cheese Sticks. These are battered with Panko bread crumbs, and baked, NOT fried. Thanks to Catherine at Weelicious for this great recipe! I pre-baked them the night before, and my kids just ate them cold. I, for one, warmed mine up in the microwave until the cheese started to melt......ahhhhh, all that yummy goodness but without the greasy guilt. ; )

To make the frozen fruit puree, I used 1 banana, a handful each of blueberries (fresh or thawed,) and raspberries. I used the Magic Bullet to blend them, but you could also use a regular blender. I then poured the blended puree into a silicone mini muffin pan, (an ice tray would also work,) then froze them overnight. You can then put the frozen chunks into a freezer bag for later use. They thaw into a nice, smoothie-like consistency by lunch time! So refreshing!

Baby Burritos, avocado, sour cream, orange, mini oreos

To make smaller tortillas, I used a small glass bowl as my template, and using a sharp knife, I cut a small circle out of a regular tortilla. For the filling, I used "refried" beans (mashed Pinto beans with a little chili powder and a pinch of salt), Jasmine rice with a squirt of lime juice, and grated Cheddar cheese. The sour cream is kept on the side for the kids to add themselves.

Homemade pb&j "uncrustables", fruit-on-the-bottom strawberry yogurt,
granola, mini oreos

My Cut n' Seal tool used to make the uncrustables is missing a screw so that's why you don't see a nice seal around the edges. I need to get a new one. The granola turns the fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt into yogurt parfait. Yum.

Mini egg salad sandwiches on whole wheat rolls, apple chunks,
cucumber slices, Chocolate Zucchini muffin

Pita chips, hummus, edamame,
cottage cheese, dried fruit and veggie strip

I hope you've enjoyed this week's edition of Lunch box Round Up! Please leave a comment with your thoughts. I'd love to get your feedback!

For more healthy lunch box ideas, just click on the "Lunchbox Ideas" tab at the top of this page. These wonderful containers are made by EasyLunchboxes. <--- Go there to get YOURS!

Happy packing!

I'm linking to the following blog parties. Click on over for more awesome ideas!

Lunch Box Tuesdays with Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:13:00 +0000

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

We've been getting a ton of zucchini and squash from our CSA farm share, so needless to say, I've been cooking them in one form or another every single week. I've made Breaded Zucchini and Squash Coins, Stuffed Zucchini Boats, Zucchini and Squash Meat Cups, and of course, the old stand-by: zucchini and squash sauteed with olive oil and Italian Seasoning. When I picked up our weekly farm share order yesterday, sure enough, there were 2 huge zucchini and 2 squash. I decided to go beyond the realm of dinner, and venture into dessertland. My curiosity finally peaked enough for me to try a batch of Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. I've never had the desire to try Chocolate Zucchini Bread when offered, but after recovering from a bad headache last night with the help of some Excedrin, (and once the caffeine kicked in,) I was in the mood to make something. (It was 12:30am.)

I was in the mood for something chocolate but we didn't have anything. I was in the mood for something sweet. Still nothing. As I stared at the 2 giant zucchini sitting on my kitchen counter, it hit me. I should try making that bread, only muffin-style. I looked up a few recipes online, and devised one of my own. The verdict: They were a little odd at first, but really good. After you get past that first bite, your taste buds say, "Yes. I like this." I ate 2 while they were still warm. Yummy. Here is my recipe:

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. olive oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 c. applesauce* (I used cinnamon, but plain would work)
- 1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 1/2 c. shredded zucchini (can be done in food processor or by cheese grater)

*Can use 1 whole cup oil instead of 1/2 oil, 1/2 applesauce.

dry ingredients:

- 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

optional topping:
- 3/4 c. mini chocolate chips
- brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease two 12-cup muffin pans, or line them with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Beat in sugar and oil. Add the cocoa, vanilla, and zucchini. Stir well.
3. Stir in dry ingredients. Mix until moist.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, leaving 1/2 in. of space from the top. Sprinkle each muffin with mini chocolate chips and a 1/2 tsp. of brown sugar.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.

**Yields 24 muffins

**Bonus: While I was getting the food processor all dirty, I decided to shred the remaining zucchini I had, and stored it in the freezer for the next batch of these babies. I'll be able to whip up a batch in no time, and with less clean-up. Now, that's my kind of cookin'!

If you make these, please come back by and let me know how they turn out! Happy baking!

I'm linking to the following blog parties. Click on over more for scrumptious recipes!

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Lunch box Round Up #4

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Here are the lunches from the 2nd back-to-school week!

Quinoa & Rice Balls w/cheesy center, & a squirt of Braggs,
edamame, raspberry-banana puree cups, salad, dressing, tortilla strips

Pin It

The raspberry-banana puree cups may look like some kind of sugary sherbet, but it is literally just raspberries and bananas....pureed! It melts into a cool and refreshing smoothie-like consistency by lunch time. (Shhh..... don't tell the kids it's actually homemade baby food! :O) I just poured the blended puree into a mini muffin pan,* allowed them to freeze overnight, then transferred them to a freezer bag, and stored in the freezer, of course! It actually tastes a lot like sherbet. My kids love that they're allowed to have these when they ask for a snack and I say "Choose something healthy." I discovered this yummy recipe on weelicious.com.

*I used my mini muffin pan because it happens to be one of those silicone ones, making it easy to pop out the frozen fruit chunks, but you could also use an ice cube tray or silicone cupcake liners in a regular-sized muffin pan.

mini burgers & fixings, mini buns, pretzel crisps, triple-berry smoothie

Pin It

Buffalo Chicken Bites, ranch dip, watermelon, homemade chocolate chip cookies

Pin It

I just tried these Buffalo Chicken Bites for the first time this week. I cooked them for dinner and saved enough for everyone to have for lunch the next day. They are so yummy! Thank you, Nikki at Pennies on a Platter for the recipe! I fell in love with the photo while browsing Pinterest.

Pasta Primevera, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mixed veggies,
fruit-on-the-bottom raspberry yogurt with a drizzle of honey

Pin It

Banana Wraps w/pb&j, fruit sauce crusher, cucumbers, Annie's graham bunnies

Pin It

Here is one of the lunches I packed for Mr. Right, using last night's leftovers:

Stuffed Zucchini Cups, Annie's Organic White Shells & Cheddar,
cucumbers, trail mix

Pin It

The cucumbers and trail mix can easily be removed to heat up the remaining food. Mr. Right loves Easy Lunch Boxes too! ;) I just made these Stuffed Zucchini cups for the first time this week. They were great! Thanks to Kalyn over at Kalyn's Kitchen for the recipe, and whoever pinned it on Pinterest!

Happy packing!

These containers are made by EasyLunchBoxes. <--- Go there to get YOURS!

Be sure to check out other lunch box ideas:

Lunch box Round Up #1

Lunch box Round Up #2

Lunch box Round Up #3

I'm linking up to the following blog parties: Click on over for more inspiring ideas!

Easy Chalkboard Message Board {A Momsense Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (Becka @ Just a Bunch of Momsense) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 05:23:00 +0000

There's nothing I love more in home decorating than items that are versatile. That is especially true with this chalkboard sign. It can be used to welcome friends into your home, display Bible passages, inspirational or funny quotes, a birthday message to a member of the family, a joke or riddle, a reminder....... the list goes on and on. You can change it once a year, once a month, or once a DAY, if you so choose. And the fact that it's cheap and easy to make just adds to it's appeal. So I will tell you how you can make your very own.

First, I went to Hobby Lobby during one of their 50% off sales and bought a metal sign. They come in several different shapes and sizes. I chose a square one. If you look at the tag closely, its brand name is actually "Square One." Clever. This sign was 1/2 price for $7.50. I already had the can of chalkboard spray paint which I had used for previous projects. I bought this can at Michael's for some astronomical price, due to my unusual love for chalkboards, but it has lasted me quite a while so I don't worry about it too much.

Next, I took the paint and the metal sign outside, and gave the sign 3 light coats of chalkboard paint, 10 minutes apart. I then brought the sign inside and set it in a safe place to cure for 24 hours. Once dry, the chalkboard needs to be "primed" in order to be used. (Think of seasoning a new pan.) Using the side edge of the chalk, you just rub it all over to cover the entire surface, then simply erase it. That's it! The sign is done! Easy Peasy, right?

And just when I thought my love for chalkboards was unusual, I discovered these:

and then shouted "Where have you been all my life?" Love. These. Markers. I do have a white one but I loaned it to one of my son's teachers to try it out since I heard she is allergic to chalk dust. (Oh, the irony!) So I didn't have the white one when I made the message board. They don't erase exactly like chalk. You'll need to use something wet, like a damp paper towel. But they sure are fun. They remind me of my teen years, working at the smoothie shop. Oh, how I loved to decorate our black dry erase board for the daily specials. [nerd alert] =)

So I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial and will consider making your very own chalkboard message board.

But WAIT! There's MORE!

It's also magnetic! That means you can display your pictures on it! Oh, the possibilities! Here's an example:

You can use it as a brag board. The photo on the left is my son (second from left) and his boy band, Sync or Swim. Just 3 weeks after forming the band, they performed for the school talent show and won 1st place! My son had been saying for a while that he wanted to form a band and actually perform for "real" people. He did it! If you're interested in watching the live performance from the talent show, just click here. He's the second guy from the left with the black guitar.

The photo on the right is from one of my daughter's gymnastics meets where she won several awards, including 2nd place "All Around" in her age division. My husband and I were very proud of them for these accomplishments, I thought this board would be a great way to share it, and also remind them of how proud we are.

I'm thinking this versatile message board would also go great in a tween or teen's room.

How will you use your message board?

I'm linking up to the following blog parties: Check them out for more great ideas!

This one is just a pic.
Click here to get to the party