I give them gold; they give me grief.

Every now and then, I'm plagued with delusions of adequacy.  And yes, I mean it just as I said it.  It's a phrase my husband coined (at least I think he did--or did it come from The Office?) and it comes to mind often.

I was feeling rather adequate last night when I made a mean veggie stir-fry over steamed brown rice and homemade (yes, homemade) potstickers.  On a weeknight.

Honestly, it's not entirely out of the ordinary that I put this much effort into dinner.  I cook pretty much every meal every day, but I'm going to admit that I often get discouraged when my efforts are thwarted at every turn.  Mostly by the two rugrats that I brought into this world.

As soon as the red bell peppers bit the wok and the aroma filled the air, Elliott was inspired to remind me that, she in fact, does not like bell peppers.  "Well, I forgot to buy mushrooms," I told her, subliminally letting her know that this could have been worse--much worse.  Within minutes of remembering that the kids would not be pacifists and just eat their dang dinner without complaint and that I might be in for it, James called letting me know that he'd be home late and that we should eat without him.  Well, at least he called, I told myself.

The girls and I sat down for a daddy-less dinner and immediately Bennett started putting plum pieces into her water cup.  And then pouring her water out.  (She does this so fast and under the radar, I swear.) Ultimately my kids are good eaters, so dinner was choked-down.  Bennett picked around the stir fry and ate only the carrots and broccoli, and Elliott told me at one point she didn't like vegetables and was going to throw up.  For the record, she still ate her entire meal, including a strip of red bell pepper, and I made sure to thank her for doing so.

But Moms, do you ever wish that people would just shut up, sit down, and sing your praises?  Is it too much to ask?  With as much as we do, it's often only the things we don't do or things that the family dislikes that are mentioned.  Know what I mean?  Sure you do.  Am I discouraged?  Well, today, maybe a bit.  But don't worry, just like you I'll keep trudging through and doing what's right, despite their complaints and ingratitude.

Never fear, tomorrow's a new day.  And maybe I'll just give up and thrill the kids with the culinary masterpiece that is PB&J.

Week #1 Bentos

We made it through the first week of school!  It was easier than I imagined, thanks to a great staff and a little girl who never ceases to amaze me.  And call me a nerd, but I totally loved packing lunches this week.  Here goes:

Day 1: DIY Lunchables. Cheddar, ham slices, crackers, oranges, edamame, watermelon, and a cookie as a treat.
Day 2: Ham and cheese sandwich, oranges, cheese stick, and a cookie.
Day 3: Egg salad and baked tortilla strips, blueberry applesauce, grapes, and cocoa almonds.
Day 4: Corndog mini muffins, cheese stick, cucumbers and ranch dip, grapes, yogurt raisins.
Day 5: Heart-shaped PB&Js, strawberry yogurt tube, cukes and dip, cocoa almonds.

Worth mentioning:  I found a 12 oz. bag of cocoa almonds at Aldi for $4.99 and they're far more wholesome than the Blue Diamond cocoa almonds that most grocery stores sell.  The Blue diamond brand contains a long ingredient list including sucralose (brand name is Splenda) which I steer clear of, while the Aldi brand has cocoa and sugar and oil added to the almonds.  Better price and better ingredients?  Thanks Aldi.  I'm impressed.

I add a small treat to each lunch as incentive to eat--and she thinks this is awesome as I really don't incentivize good and timely eating at home--it's just an expectation.  Some days she hasn't finished her lunch entirely as I'm still feeling out how much I need to pack and she's learning to eat within the time allotted at school. Our deal is that if she hasn't finished her entire lunch, it's perfectly okay, but she can wait until she gets home from school to have the treat.  So far, so good.  But we'll adapt as necessary.

I'm loving the Goodbyn snack containers.  Seriously--they're perfect for a kids' snack.

Snack 1: Strawberries and homemade chewy granola bars
Snack 2: Whole grain goldfish and watermelon
Snack 3: Watermelon and chia pudding (I repeated this snack one of the days)
Snack 4: Cracker sandwiches with nutella and yogurt raisins

 

Cure the Summertime Blues with Sweet and Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps

Hey crafty pals!  Today I'm taking a break from crafting on Two Girls Being Crafty so that I can get my grub on over at Sew Homegrown.  I hate the word "grub" when related to food, so I'm not quite sure why I used it on this teaser.  Ughh.  As if I can't just delete it and come up with something else.  Anyhow, I'm honored to a part of Sew Homegrown's Cure the Summertime Blues series.

Did you know that I love food and cooking even more than crafting?  Yep.  It's actually my #1 hobby. I know how you love useless factoids about bloggers.


Anyhow, here's a picture to get your mouth watering...

Now head on over to Sew Homegrown for the full post!

Nice Day for a White Wedding

Recently our church had the privilege of welcoming a new family.  They're new Christians, newlyweds, and new to our area.  What better way to welcome someone (officially) than by throwing a fun party in their honor?

This party was the doing of my mother primarily, though myself and several others from our congregation worked to contribute pieces of awesomeness that resulted in an elegant evening for all to enjoy.

I thought you'd enjoy a peek!

Junebug's Summer Birthday Party

As of yesterday, it's officially summer--though here in Florida we've been feeling summer for a few months.  And the air conditioning in my beautiful yet aged Volvo just went out.  Sheesh.  But that's not what I'm here to tell you about today.

I want to share Junebug's second birthday bash with you!

You probably remember from my last post that the theme was simply "Summer".  I left lots of room for interpretation and mind-changing ('cause I can be a bit fickle when it comes to choosing "themes").  And if you follow me on Pinterest then you probably have a good idea of what we did for the birthday party based on my pinboard.  So without further adieu, here's how we celebrated!

The Decor:

The Food:

Looong story short (really, it's a long story) these cupcakes had to have the liners removed before serving because some of our weirdo freaky-deaky Florida ants showed up unexpectedly in my laundry room (where these lovely cupcakes were waiting) and started munching on the WRAPPERS, but not the cupcakes.  Seriously, how weird is that?  Once hubs figured out what was going on he removed all of the cupcake liners and saved the day!

The Birthday Gal:

I can't believe she's TWO!  Time flies.

Linky Love: {Semi-Crafty} Fun Food for Kiddos

I see SO many cute food ideas for kiddos out in the blogosphere and although they may not be super-crafty in the regular sense, they're still worth mentioning since we all have to eat!  A lot of people try to be sneaky with kiddos' food and add veggies in here and there, but these are not really those types of foods.  Most of the links I have included are treats and meals most kids would consume, regardless of whether or not they're a picky eater.

On a personal note, Junebug seems to have outgrown the short-lived picky phase she went through.  We ignored her pickiness for the most part and made very few concessions, and she seems to have adapted.  The foods that she loves shock me--she'll snub scrambled eggs but when I made Thai Coconut-Curry shrimp this week (with this recipe from Skinny Taste) she ate it like it was candy.  Kids are amazing creatures.

On with the show...

Since Spring is around the corner, it's appropriate to start with these sweet little birdies!  Sun Scholars offers a great recipe with pictures to make your own.

The previous treats would be perfect dessert after having this lover-ly pasta nest for dinner courtesy of Crafty Moods.  Isn't it so appealing?

This Cute Cheesy Sunflower is also from Crafty Moods.  What a simple way to make a memorable yet healthy snack!

Gourmet Mom on-the-go came up with this awesome Very Hungry Caterpillar snack.  Wouldn't your kiddo be "very hungry" for this plate?  Mine sure would.

This Bunny Bisque is also a creation of Gourmet Mom on-the-go.  Brilliant.  Just brilliant.

These Babybel kids from Cute Food for Kids really stand out to me 'cause I love Babybel cheese--probably because each wheel is encased in wax and it makes me feel "special".   This method makes them even more special!

Veggie fried rice is a common side dish in our home but I have never thought to serve it like this.  Thanks to Cute Food for Kids, Junebug will enjoy hers in a nice bear shape the next time it's on the menu.

Weren't those such cute ideas?  Makes me want to cute-ify food for my kiddo more often.  I think she'd appreciate it!  But who wouldn't?

All you need is love... and mini pumpkin muffins

One of the ladies at our church is getting married in February, so naturally - a few of her friends threw a fabulous bridal shower! Tristin and I were a part of that group of friends that were fortunate enough to help host the shower. We thought we would share different aspects of the shower on the blog since shower hosting and attending (whether bridal showers or baby showers) is a frequent part of many of our readers' lives.

What's the most important thing at a shower? (Besides the bride-to-be and the presents?) THE FOOD. Wherever there is a large group of ladies gathered, you'd better believe there will be food. Except for the super skinny group of ladies who never eat anything. We are definitely not that kind of group. For this shower, we had a grand array of finger foods (since the shower was at 10:30 AM, we opted for a lighter menu).

One of the dishes was a delicious mini quiche platter. I could not keep my hands off of these! Mini quiches are a perfect idea for any shower since they are cute, girly, and (unfortunately for my waistline) are extremely easy to just pick up and eat.

Another dish was mini pumpkin muffins. I loved these too! They were made (with love) by Tristin's mom. They were so yummy and festive (the shower was in November - prime time for our Fall/Thanksgiving theme).

We also had a pumpkin-shaped cheese ball. (Again, keeping up with our Fall/Thanksgiving theme) Cheese balls are so incredibly easy to make, and they make a great side dish or appetizer for almost any occasion.

Another super easy finger food for showers is a triscuit with garden vegetable cream cheese spread and a cucumber on top. The cucumber is so refreshing on top of a rich, creamy little bite. This is so easy (even as a simple snack for yourself); why wouldn't you try it?

No girly get together is complete without a fruit plate. Or maybe that's because I'm obsessed with fruit.

And last but not least - no, we didn't forget it - the bridal shower cake. Since it was an early shower, we decided to go with a lighter lemon cake homemade by one of our friends. It was delicious and blended perfectly with the other items on the table.

Whether you're throwing a shower or a birthday party, food is a must have! Why not try some of our simple finger food ideas? Even though recipes weren't included, ideas were! :)