Recipes I want to try….
Lately I’ve been on a quest to find healthy lunchbox foods that my family will love. Kayla doesn’t have the option of heating things so this is a little bit of a challenge for me.
I’ve been doing some searching and found a few things I’d like to try….
Rachael Rays Peanut butter and bacon on banana bread- sounds weird, but I like weird
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/28031/
Rachael Ray’s cold ginger soy and honey noodles
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/27794/
Curried Hummus
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Curried-Hummus/Detail.aspx
Bodacious Broccoli Salad
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bodacious-Broccoli-Salad/Detail.aspx
After I try these, I'll update with reviews :)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
So everything really is made in China!
Like everyone else, I've read all the articles about recalls for items that were made in China. This scares me. Luckily we don't buy many Mattel toys, so I didn't have anything to worry about during the most recent round of Mattel recalls. I triple checked the list and breathed a sigh of relief when I realized we have none of the recalled toys in our home.
Then, a few weeks later, I read another article regarding pajamas made in China. That scares me too. I am assuming that these nasty chemicals don't wash out, since they are meant to make the clothing flame resistant and it would make sense to make them flame resistant after washing, right? Otherwise it wouldn't make much sense to market them as flame resistant. Luckily we usually only buy 100% cotton clothing for the kids and none of that is flame resistant.
Of course since I like to sew when I have time, I have a pretty decent stash of fabric in my closet, most of which was probably milled in China. I know most new fabrics are finished with something to make them look nice in the store, but that washes away after a couple washes so I'm not so worried about that although I will be cautious when fabric shopping in the future.
Just to be on the safe side, I decided that whenever possible I will only buy products made in the US or at the very least NOT from China.
This is turning out to be very difficult. During this past week, I got sick and tired of shelling out $2 for lunch money every day for my 13 year old and I began thinking about things that I could pack for her that she will eat. I also dislike the cost and wastefulness of disposable food storage. Luckily, just as I started considering my alternatives, my friend Hayes sent an email asking if anyone would like to order some Laptop Lunches with her.
These Laptop lunches looked great to me, but being the bargain hunter that I am, I decided to look around at local stores to see if I could find something just as effective but cheaper locally. I went to Target, Walmart, and Bed Bath and Beyond. Would you believe that I only found one suitable alternative that was not made in China? This is insane!!! There were some really good products on the shelves, but all of them were made in China.
I managed to find on lunch box type container that was made in Mexico. It was cheap and barely held together but it wasn't made in China so I bought it and that is what she's been using for her lunch.
I decided that the Laptop Lunches were the only acceptable choice since they are made in the US and seem to be a reputable company.
This is turning out to be a really long post, huh? Anyway, my quest for decent food storage containers led me into the world of bento boxes, where I began reading about people who arrange their kids's food in elaborate ways to resemble hearts, stars, flowers, dolls and other objects. This looks like fun to me and I figured I'd give it a try so today I go out in search of a few things: mini muffin pans, party picks and cookie cutters to get me started
First I went to Bed Bath and Beyond. The selecton of mini muffin pans was small. I did find what I was looking for, but all were made in China. Walmart is next door, so I dragged the kids through the parking lot and we made our way into the superstore. I hate Walmart, but sometimes you just gotta go in there. I found one mini muffin pan that was made in Indonesia, so I bought it. Not sure if that is any better, but at least it didn't say made in China! I'm going to need to do a little online shopping for some other things I need to buy.
I think I'm going to make a post with a list of US made products that I buy, as I buy them so that others can take a look as well. Obviously it won't be a complete list, but at least it will be something.
Then, a few weeks later, I read another article regarding pajamas made in China. That scares me too. I am assuming that these nasty chemicals don't wash out, since they are meant to make the clothing flame resistant and it would make sense to make them flame resistant after washing, right? Otherwise it wouldn't make much sense to market them as flame resistant. Luckily we usually only buy 100% cotton clothing for the kids and none of that is flame resistant.
Of course since I like to sew when I have time, I have a pretty decent stash of fabric in my closet, most of which was probably milled in China. I know most new fabrics are finished with something to make them look nice in the store, but that washes away after a couple washes so I'm not so worried about that although I will be cautious when fabric shopping in the future.
Just to be on the safe side, I decided that whenever possible I will only buy products made in the US or at the very least NOT from China.
This is turning out to be very difficult. During this past week, I got sick and tired of shelling out $2 for lunch money every day for my 13 year old and I began thinking about things that I could pack for her that she will eat. I also dislike the cost and wastefulness of disposable food storage. Luckily, just as I started considering my alternatives, my friend Hayes sent an email asking if anyone would like to order some Laptop Lunches with her.
These Laptop lunches looked great to me, but being the bargain hunter that I am, I decided to look around at local stores to see if I could find something just as effective but cheaper locally. I went to Target, Walmart, and Bed Bath and Beyond. Would you believe that I only found one suitable alternative that was not made in China? This is insane!!! There were some really good products on the shelves, but all of them were made in China.
I managed to find on lunch box type container that was made in Mexico. It was cheap and barely held together but it wasn't made in China so I bought it and that is what she's been using for her lunch.
I decided that the Laptop Lunches were the only acceptable choice since they are made in the US and seem to be a reputable company.
This is turning out to be a really long post, huh? Anyway, my quest for decent food storage containers led me into the world of bento boxes, where I began reading about people who arrange their kids's food in elaborate ways to resemble hearts, stars, flowers, dolls and other objects. This looks like fun to me and I figured I'd give it a try so today I go out in search of a few things: mini muffin pans, party picks and cookie cutters to get me started
First I went to Bed Bath and Beyond. The selecton of mini muffin pans was small. I did find what I was looking for, but all were made in China. Walmart is next door, so I dragged the kids through the parking lot and we made our way into the superstore. I hate Walmart, but sometimes you just gotta go in there. I found one mini muffin pan that was made in Indonesia, so I bought it. Not sure if that is any better, but at least it didn't say made in China! I'm going to need to do a little online shopping for some other things I need to buy.
I think I'm going to make a post with a list of US made products that I buy, as I buy them so that others can take a look as well. Obviously it won't be a complete list, but at least it will be something.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
A cake!
Today we celebrated Nick's 2nd Birthday!!!! I decided at the last minute to bake him a Blues Clues cake. Blues Clues (or coos coos as he says) is his most favorite show ever. The boy can spot a paw print anywhere and loves to let the world now he found "A Clue! A Clue!" about 5 thousand times a day!
So, at the 4pm, I decided to bake a cake from scratch, and make dinner at the same time. This is what I came up with....
So, at the 4pm, I decided to bake a cake from scratch, and make dinner at the same time. This is what I came up with....
Sunday, February 04, 2007
I finally got to sew some things :)
As I said in a previous post I made up my first sewing pattern for my daughter. It's nothing special, but I'm pretty proud of myself for thinking up something that actually works. I based it on a dress we already have and changed it over and over again til I ended up with something I like. I finaly had the time to make a few dresses for Maddie. One of them has a coordinating stripe shirt and leggings to go underneath for some layering during colder weather.
Here she is modeling her new dresses :)
Here she is modeling her new dresses :)
Monday, January 22, 2007
I'm so tired!
Whew, what a day! Kayla and I are the only people in this house who are not sick at the moment and my goodness we've had a day. Poor Nicholas looks like a different child, his eyes are so swollen and goopy. Madelyn's voice is hoarse and her chest hurts. Mike came home from work and went straight to bed at 4pm. He was lucky enough to sleep til 7:30 and went back to bed at 9. Lucky him. One thing I really wanna know is, why I can't sleep like that when I'm sick!
On a good note, I managed to make my first ever sewing pattern that actually works! I had this dress for Maddie that we just love on her but it is very well loved and getting to be kind of worn out so I decided to make a copy of it. I traced and sewed and revised over and over again til I came up with something I like enough. The funny thing is that it looks nothing like the original but I like my version even better so yay for me! It takes 30 minutes to sew up completely but I do assembly line sewing and I had no time today so I have three half finished sundresses that I cannot wait to photograph tomorrow.
On a good note, I managed to make my first ever sewing pattern that actually works! I had this dress for Maddie that we just love on her but it is very well loved and getting to be kind of worn out so I decided to make a copy of it. I traced and sewed and revised over and over again til I came up with something I like enough. The funny thing is that it looks nothing like the original but I like my version even better so yay for me! It takes 30 minutes to sew up completely but I do assembly line sewing and I had no time today so I have three half finished sundresses that I cannot wait to photograph tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
I lost 2 pounds!!!
Okay this might not seem like a big deal to you, but for me this is huge. Do you know why? Because I didn't even really try. Sure, I go to the gym about 3 times a week and I've made a committment to not eat after 7:30 pm, but that is IT! That is all I've been doing and I lost 2 pounds!!!!
I like going to the gym, because it gives my little ones a chance to play with some other kids for 2 hours or so, I get a break and if I can get my oldest daughter to come with me, we get some bonding time...well, not really but that's what I'm hoping for. Usually she slowly pedals on the bike next to me saying "can we go yet?" but hey, a mom can dream right?
I started 2006 weighing about 195 (205 if you ask the scale at Curves, but whatever) and I joined Curves. The problem with Curves is that they close at 7 and they don't have childcare, and they only have one type of training. So, I got sick of not going because my husband wasn't getting home in time to watch the kids and I cancelled my membership there and joined a women's only fitness center that has childcare for almost the same cost monthly. They have lots of different classes, all types of machines, including a circuit that is just like what I was doing at Curves. Besides that they have 5 tvs and 4 stereos, so you can plug in your headphones to whatever machine you are using, choose a channel and listen to tv or a cd that you bring form home. They even have a tanning bed and sauna and steam room which I don't use but it's nice to know they are there. Childcare is offered for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon, so I can go without having to leave the house the second my husband gets in the door. They are open til 9, so even if I don't go during the day with the kids, I have time after they go to bed at night. I love it!
Anyway, back to what I was saying. I started the year at 195, managed to get down to 179 at one point this fall but with Thanksgiving, then a cruise a week later, then after the vacation Christmas....I was back up to almost 194 (193.8 to be exact). I was soooooo upset by this but decided to just try to do better.
On a message board that I'm a part of, we were challenged to not eat after 7:30 pm. I decided to take part, half thinking it wouldn't make a bit of difference anyway because I don't really have my head together enough to strictly follow any real diet. Since then I haven't had anything to eat past 7:30 and I weighed myself today at lo and behold the scale actually said 191!!!!!
Can I lose 50 pounds or more by just not eating past 7:30 and exercising 3 times a week? Probably not, but until I'm ready to jump into the South Beach diet (which I love because it really is perfect), this will be a good start.
I like going to the gym, because it gives my little ones a chance to play with some other kids for 2 hours or so, I get a break and if I can get my oldest daughter to come with me, we get some bonding time...well, not really but that's what I'm hoping for. Usually she slowly pedals on the bike next to me saying "can we go yet?" but hey, a mom can dream right?
I started 2006 weighing about 195 (205 if you ask the scale at Curves, but whatever) and I joined Curves. The problem with Curves is that they close at 7 and they don't have childcare, and they only have one type of training. So, I got sick of not going because my husband wasn't getting home in time to watch the kids and I cancelled my membership there and joined a women's only fitness center that has childcare for almost the same cost monthly. They have lots of different classes, all types of machines, including a circuit that is just like what I was doing at Curves. Besides that they have 5 tvs and 4 stereos, so you can plug in your headphones to whatever machine you are using, choose a channel and listen to tv or a cd that you bring form home. They even have a tanning bed and sauna and steam room which I don't use but it's nice to know they are there. Childcare is offered for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon, so I can go without having to leave the house the second my husband gets in the door. They are open til 9, so even if I don't go during the day with the kids, I have time after they go to bed at night. I love it!
Anyway, back to what I was saying. I started the year at 195, managed to get down to 179 at one point this fall but with Thanksgiving, then a cruise a week later, then after the vacation Christmas....I was back up to almost 194 (193.8 to be exact). I was soooooo upset by this but decided to just try to do better.
On a message board that I'm a part of, we were challenged to not eat after 7:30 pm. I decided to take part, half thinking it wouldn't make a bit of difference anyway because I don't really have my head together enough to strictly follow any real diet. Since then I haven't had anything to eat past 7:30 and I weighed myself today at lo and behold the scale actually said 191!!!!!
Can I lose 50 pounds or more by just not eating past 7:30 and exercising 3 times a week? Probably not, but until I'm ready to jump into the South Beach diet (which I love because it really is perfect), this will be a good start.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Hi!
Okay, my old blog was getting neglected so I decided to start a new one. I need a place to write and ramble on and on so here goes. I also need a place to share my pics and my new love, digital scrapbooking. Today my friends Hayes and Jennifer came over today to help me. My family is going through a tough time right now and today I was in need of major support. These two wonderful women came over early with lots of food and took care of my kids, cleaned my kitchen and play room, and kept me company so I didn't go crazy. I love these ladies and their children. Hayes has her own blog at www.mamaj.blogspot.com.
I wanted to do the 365 photo project and I probably took a photo a day since Jan 1, but never got around to posting them anywhere. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to pick some and post as many as I can from the past 15 days. Today I'm going to post some of my digital scrapbook pages.
These are my two daughters. Kayla is 12 and Madelyn is almost 4 years old. I made this layout using free downloads from www.shabbyprincess.com and www.digitalscrapbookplace.com.
This is my son Nicholas. He's 19 months old and plays in the sink almost every day so I decided to make a page with some recent pictures of him getting wet. The page was made with freebies from www.digitalscrapbookplace.com
I wanted to do the 365 photo project and I probably took a photo a day since Jan 1, but never got around to posting them anywhere. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to pick some and post as many as I can from the past 15 days. Today I'm going to post some of my digital scrapbook pages.
These are my two daughters. Kayla is 12 and Madelyn is almost 4 years old. I made this layout using free downloads from www.shabbyprincess.com and www.digitalscrapbookplace.com.
This is my son Nicholas. He's 19 months old and plays in the sink almost every day so I decided to make a page with some recent pictures of him getting wet. The page was made with freebies from www.digitalscrapbookplace.com
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