Momfever

Fun healthy snacks for kids

2013-06-19T09:02:28Z

Fun healthy snacks for kids are important.

Or to be more honest: healthy snacks for kids are important. Making them fun is important to me, because it makes it easier to get my kids to eat their fruit and vegetables.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away?

For years I’ve been offering my kids an apple a day. Much like the wicked stepmother in the story of Snow White. Then a few months ago, I read somewhere, apples are nót fun healthy snacks for kids! The article said that apples don’t contain many vitamins and other healthy stuff. In fact, the article went on to state that apples come with pesticides. Hence the wicked stepmother association.

But as it is so often the case in the Land of Parenting, soon I read another study telling me that apples áre healthy snacks for kids.

Fun healthy snacks for kids made easy with an apple slicer!

And I choose to believe thát one. Because it’s easier, and because I’ve just bought this great new apple slicer! I found it at Ikea and I love it. No more boring peeling the apples. I just use my apple slicer and the apple spontaneously turns into a little piece of art!

When it comes to healthy snacks for kids, looks are very important! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you can create fun healthy snacks for kids you’re already halfway there when it comes to getting them to eat it.

Here’s a gallery of me creating fun healthy snacks for my kids!

I used Jonagold apples in these pictures, and I was pleased with how easy it was to slice them. You can take the apple slicer to a Granny Smith, but then you’ll have to push harder. So choose your apple wisely.

Ideas for fun healthy snacks for kids

There are many, many great ideas out there to create fun healthy snacks for your kids. I especially like the ones that require little or no effort on my part. I’m sad to say I’m not one of those creative moms…

Here are some simple tips to get you going

Use grapes to recreate the Hungry Little Caterpillar! In fact I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find out Eric Carle was inspired by grapes when he drew the Hungry Little Caterpillar. It’s so easy!
I once made chicks on a stick. I just sliced a big carrot into long pieces, and attached a little (fake) chicken to it. It looked great and it was easy.
Make a piece of watermelon look like a popsicle: just cut it into a triangle and put a stick in it!

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Bicycle bags

2013-06-15T10:08:06Z

I love bicycle bags! I need them to get all my libary books back to the library. I also use them for grocery shopping. Bicycle bags are a great way to transport stuff, without having to carry it.

As you can see in the picture I also have a bicycle basket. But you can’t leave anything behind in a bicycle basket, so even though it’s handy to put my purse in, I also need bicycle bags.

Bicycle bags: feminine and pretty

Though my husband may disagree, I think I’m a very easy going, low maintenance woman! But when it comes to bicycle bags I can be a bit fussy. I want them to be big, because who are we kidding: size dóés matter! And I like my bicycle bags to be feminine. And that means, they have to be pretty, preferably with lots of romantic flowers.

My old bicycle bags ripped!

I had found a pair just like that. They were grey, and covered with pink roses. But after about two years they kind of ripped! I think I may have stuffed too much stuff into them. So I’ve been looking around for a new pair of bicycle bags to replace them, but it wasn’t easy. I found cute bags that were too small, and boring grey bags that were the right size, but the wrong look.

I found a beautiful pair of new bicycle bags!

But last Thursday I suddenly found the perfect pair of bicycle bags! They’re black with flowers on them. They contain about 54 ltr, which is a bit less than I’m used to, but they’re made out of stronger material than my old pair of bicycle bags. And they match my black bike perfectly. They cost me 64 bucks, so they didn’t come cheap. But I plan on using them for the next decade. And just think of all the gas I’ll be saving by using my bike instead of our car. Really, it’s an investment!

It’s funny but my pretty bicycle bags make me enjoy riding my bike more!

Do you have bicycle bags?

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Flowers

2013-06-12T08:51:03Z

My granny used to say flowers were more trouble than they’re worth. So she bought some nice plastic flowers and once a year she hosed them down. And then they were good to go again!

Flowers add a touch of nature

I used to think my granny had a point, but now I prefer real flowers! I love the way they bring a bit of nature into our home. Flowers can be expensive though. I usually buy them at our local supermarket where they cost about 4 bucks, though at the moment I’m too cheap to spend any money on flowers. But I’m happy to report I’ve found a great way to have flowers in our house without breaking the (piggy) bank.

The secret is to use a small vase

Just buy some really small vases! That way you get the look and feel of flowers, yet it doesn’t have to cost much. Another perk of small vases is that you can recycle tired looking flowers by cutting them down to a smaller size. In a small vase they will look all perky again! And because the vase isn’t very tall your floral arrangement won’t obscure the view of the tv… My kids and husband tend to banish my lovingly placed bouquets to the window sill, because they want to watch television. But this little vase they leave alone!

Flowers for a small budget

So if you’re strapped for cash, using a small vase can be a great way to add a touch of nature to your home.

In the picture you can see my little floral arrangement! I recycled two exhausting looking Gerbera’s and added some twigs from our garden. Doesn’t it look great? And it only cost me 75 cents for the vase. Every time I enter our living room the sight of my flowers pleases me!

Do you have flowers in your home?

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What to wear as a Sahm or Wahm?

2013-06-09T06:34:20Z

Wouldn’t it be something if I dressed like this, as a SAHM?!

As a stay at home mom/blogger it’s up to me what I wear. If I wanted to, I suppose I could go about my day butt naked. Nevertheless, I dó wear clothes. Usually a jersey skirt, a t-shirt, Uggs during Winter and Birkenstocks during Summer. I think I look nice and feminine.

I feel it’s important to dress well, even if nobody sees you, and your kids don’t really care are as long as there’s dinner on the table. Because it makes you feel different about yourself. If I don’t dress in a nice skirt, I start feeling down and unmotivated to do anything at all. I totally get Flylady‘s advice to put on some serious shoes every morning to get yourself up and ready for your day.

My husband usually goes to work wearing a pair of jeans, an old shirt and hís Birkenstocks. But last week he got an email, announcing the arrival of some important clients, and the request: ‘Wear a suit!’ So in a bit of a panic we went shopping to get him a suit, while not spending too much money on something he’ll only be wearing once. Eventually we found a suit for about 80 bucks. I still think it’s a bit of a waste of our money, but what can you do?!

Do you have a job that requires you to dress a certain way?

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Special delivery: yikes!

2013-06-05T05:18:32Z

Wordless Wednesday

Look what I found in our mailbox… If I wasn’t so scared of little birds, I would think they’re adorable.

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Does the weather affect your plans?

2013-06-04T06:44:23Z

Whenever the sun makes a surprise appearance, I almost feel obligated to drop whatever I’m doing, run outside and go and sit in the sun.

So the weather kind of dictates my plans.

Much like my kids….

Does the weather affect your calender?

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Wood serving tray: pimp it!

2013-05-29T16:54:24Z

I was having two mom friends over, and I was getting everything ready. I like to use a wood serving tray to serve coffee, because it’s practical and it looks pretty! But when I started to put the coffee cups on my tray, I noticed it looked kind of dirty!

That’s because it’s the kind of tray that looks like a little wooden box. Unfortunately it being made out of wood, it’s difficult to clean. My guests would be there any minute. What a pickle! So I tried to channel Martha Stewart asking myself: ‘What would Martha do?’ Then Martha spoke to me, and suddenly I remembered I still had some coloured paper left from the time I pimped my kitchen drawers. Thank you Martha!

Wood serving tray: pimp it with coloured paper

So I ran into the living room to get me some, and chose two sheets with a pretty pattern. I’m really not very handy, so I didn’t even bother with scissors. I just folded it to make it fit my wooden serving tray. I had to use two sheets, because one didn’t cover the whole tray. Within minutes I had given my tray an extreme make-over! It went from shabby to shabby chic, and now it looks kind of romantic and feminine.

Wood serving tray: before pic

Wood serving tray: after pic

I think it looks really pretty. All it really needs is a glass cover or something, to keep the paper from getting dirty and messy. I just have to figure out where I can find a glass or perspex piece to cover up the paper and protect it. Although getting it dirty will be a great reason to change the patterns! This way my wood serving tray can have a different look every day.

Instead of paper you can also use fabric, or whatever material you like!

Do you use a serving tray for your guests?

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Know your numbers: cholesterol 7.9

2013-05-25T12:09:43Z

‘Know your numbers!’ isn’t that what they say? So I decided to get to know my cholesterol number.

But now that we’re acquainted, I can honestly say I don’t like it very much. This is one test I would rather have a low score on. But I got a whopping 7.9. It seems that when they doled out ‘genes for high cholesterol’ I was first in line. Which is kind of a bummer, because usually I’m in the wrong line. You know the one: the one where the cashier is still learning how to work the cash register? Or the one where there’s an extreme couponer in front of you.

Anyway, once I knew my number, I kind of freaked out. I decided then and there that from here on out, no more chocolate Easter bunnies would pass my lips. I donated half of them to my kids, and locked the other half away in our cellar. I like my chocolate nice and mushy, and the cellar is quite cold, so I knew they’ld be safe there. Then I started the slow proces of kicking my chocolate bunnies habit.

But every night at around six o’clock they hopped into my mind. Siting on the couch, nursing my cup of tea, I started to yearn for a piece of chocolate Easter bunny. I lasted two days. Then I snapped. But I didn’t eat a chocolate Easter bunnie! No, because that would have been wrong. Instead on Monday I demolished all the little mars bars in our cookie jar. Tuesday I ate all the twix bars, and on Wednesday I ate all the little nuts bars until there were none.

Since I obviously can not be trusted around candy, I have now forbidden myself to refill our cookie jars. I’ve been on the wagon again since Thursday.

But I think that maybe having half a chocolate Easter bunny isn’t so bad after all.
Not if the alternative is pigging out on candy bars…

Knowing your numbers isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

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Are my husband and kids trying to tell me something?

2013-05-22T07:15:41Z

I got this unexpected present for my family. Are they trying to tell me something?

Almost Wordless Wednesday

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Don’t you go looking at my timeline!

2013-05-20T16:24:33Z

‘I don’t want you looking at my timeline!’

It sounds like a line from a futuristic science fiction movie, but I swear it’s straight from my daily life as a mom in the year 2013.

Last Friday I was busy in the kitchen, having my cake and eating it too, when the phone rang. It turned out to be my eldest son’s ex-girlfriend, who dumped him because she wanted to see if the grass was indeed greener on the other side. Even though I don’t feel very warm and fuzzy towards her, I obediently took the phone up to my son’s bedroom. After I’d handed him the phone, I lingered a bit, hoping to catch some interesting soundbites. Yes, I was trying to eavesdrop, so sue me! A mom has got to get her intel somehow.

But I was out of luck, because my son firmly closed the door on me. I cursed my luck and the bad timing for my parenting skills to finally pay off. Because for years I’ve been shouting: ‘Close the door behind you!’ to no avail. And nów when I dídn’t want him to close it, he did… Typical! So I went downstairs, back to my natural habitat: the kitchen.

After about a quarter of an hour my son came down, returning the phone
‘Well?’ I asked gently. ‘What did she want to talk to you about?’
‘She was angry, because she thought I’d been looking at her timeline,’ he shrugged. ‘But I think she had blocked me, or I her.’
‘But that means you cán’t look at her timeline, can’t you?’ I said, because I’m very ‘with it’.
‘No, that’s right. I don’t get it either,’ he mumbled.

And then he went back upstairs.
To his own timeline.

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