Cleaning the House (Mad Libs Style)

Today ________(person in room) spent the day ________(verb ending in –ing), even though the ________(plural noun) were underfoot.  The ________(pet) was tied up outside all day.  The ________(plural noun) did not want to help, but were told that if they ever wanted to see their ________(favorite toy) again they’d better.  After many utterings of “________(exclaimation)!” we began  ________(verb ending in -ing).  Starting in the ________(room in house), the ________(noun) was scrubbed with a ________(adjective) brush.  Then all the ________(plural noun) were ________(adverb) collected and put in the ________(household appliance).  Even the ________(adjective) ________(plural noun) were taken down and ________(verb ending in –ed), which hasn’t been done in almost  ________(period of time)!  Next the ________(plural noun) were dusted and all the ________(adjective) carpet was vacuumed.  Finally, we ________(verb ending in –ed) the dishes.  At last we could ________(verb)!!

Beginning Bentos

I decided to start packing the kids Bento boxes for lunch at school.  I had seen them a few years ago, thought they looked neat, and never gave them a second thought.  Lately they showed up again on a few blogs I started reading and I thought that I’d like to give bento boxes a try.  The appeal for me is that small, colorful kid-sized portions would induce my 3-year-old to eat more. 

Bento boxes are Japanese lunch boxes.  The size for a child or adult is measured in mL.  Biggie from Lunch In A Box has a great little chart and explanation on how to choose the right size.  She has tons of tips and recipes as well!

I decided to get enough gear to start us out, then collect more as we go.  I bought my first group of items from e-Bay. AM and MD each got a similar Urara 2-tier bento that is 610mL total.  According to the chart, they each only need about 500 mL, so I don’t pack them as tightly.  PM’s cute pink oval bento is 2-tiered and holds 525 mL (350 mL bottom plus 175 top).  PM only needs 400 mL so I also pack hers fairly loose. 

What you also see for gear are silicone muffin cups for separating food in the box (these were from Bed, Bath and Beyond), as well as mini silicone cups.  Animal-shaped food picks in the middle, then in the middle top is a pink sandwich cutter that leaves 4 cute shapes and trims the crust (lets face it, they’re throwing the crust away at school anyway).  Under that is a rice ball, or onigiri maker that does hearts, stars or bears.  The little bottles (square and pig-shaped) are for soy or other sauces with a yellow dropper for filling them.  On the very right are three bags I got with kids’ meals at subway.  They are just the right size for a bento!!

Recently I picked up these mini cookie cutters at a fabric store, they’re great for cheese and veggies!

PM is a notoriously picky and small eater.  My main goal was to pack things she liked, as well as things the other kids liked, that were healthy.  I also wanted to make eating “cold lunch” more fun for the big kids.  Here is my very first attempt at a bento lunch (pardon the cell phone camera):

PB&J sandwiches on whole wheat, banana slices, cheese cubes, carrot sticks, black olives and onigiri (shaped white rice) with soy sauce.  They ate everything.  I was hooked.

I now need to practice the art of real bento box design.  Sure, you can pack them functionally, add the essentials, make sure to have all 5 colors (check this article out).  But there is some real design going on by some moms!  Take a look at the cookbooks Biggie posted about, or Salsa In China’s Flickr set with cute toddler bentos.  I have a ways to go!  Here’s a few of my cute, yet very basic bentos so far (clicking on the image will take you to my Flickr set where there’s a description):

I’m still working on my creativity (which may surprise anyone who knows me), but that creativity conflicts with my desire to sleep in and not get up earlier to build lunches (which will NOT surprise anyone who knows me).  Biggie (my new guru of bento) has posted several tips for speedier prep in the morning.  I’ll be posting more as I get better!!!

I Heart Faces – Bundled Up

Here’s my last minute entry for I Heart Face’s “Bundled Up” – my 8-year-old in purple!! Ready to dog sled!

Friday Fragments

Welcome to Friday, time to purge your mind of all those little thoughts cluttering up your mind.  Mrs. 4444’s remedy is Friday Fragments , a chance to post all that stuff rather than, you know, have your brain explode or something! And new to me “Friday Night Leftovers” at Sippy Cups are Not for Starbucks.

• Longing for more “chick flicks” in my library, I bought and downloaded the BBC version of “Pride and Prejudice” in iTunes.  I have since watched all 6 hours 3 times (6 x 3 = a LOT of watching) and I’ve started on it again this morning.  I’ve watched it on the big living room TV, on my iPod (while doing housework) and on my laptop in bed.  I’ve been dying to buy it for ages, so I guess I’m just catching up.  It’s already paid for itself.
• My Hubby is still on active duty and probably will be for a while (hence the chick flicks).  There are days I just want to pull my hair out with the kids underfoot constantly.  I’ve realized bed time is SO much easier with two parents to work on it.  I have no idea how I did all this for 18 months last time. (I think it was the fact that there were half as many kids then).  A few months this time doesn’t seem nearly as bad.
• I GOT TICKETS, I GOT TICKETS.  I’m going to see Simon & Garfunkel with my BFF in May – eeee!!
• My oldest lost a tooth at school Wednesday.  I packed her bento box with Nutella and animal crackers.  She bit too hard on the animal crackers and popped it out.  YAY! One less the dentist will eventually have to pull out.  She has several others that are very overdue in falling out, with new teeth behind them already!!  She looks like a shark with rows of teeth.
• TMI update… I have not had a razor anywhere near my body in well over a month.  Just saying.
• Still working my way through the house, trying to clean up.  My big projects so far are the downstairs kitchen and JC’s room – you can click on those to see the major chore they were!!!! 
• Our plumbing is still not fully functional yet, I really miss the bathroom off or our bedroom.  I have to go either up or down stairs if I want to use it in the middle of the night.  I’ll be happy when I can go back to being lazy again.
• I’ve been trying to find fun ideas for the kids’ bento boxes still.  I’ve started a photo set HERE on Flickr.  It’s been fun packing them, but I need to get more creative.  I’ve seen some downright works of art!!  Here’s a few of mine:

Not quite works of art, but healthier than the school lunch most days I think.  And they usually eat everything.

ATWT – 5 Layers

 No, really, 5 layers of…well…clothes left at school.  He told me this was the best way to carry them all home.  Wear them.  I wonder how long he had them all on that day. (oh, and guess who definitely needs a haircut?)

A Thousand Words Thursday is hosted by TheMomJen at Cheaper Than Therapy – please stop by to see even more!!!

Tackle it Tuesday – JC’s room

 

My house is still a disaster, I figured the only way to stay on task was to blog about it, and 5 Minutes for Mom happens to have the remedy: “Tackle It Tuesday”.  Now, I have to admit that this week’s room of choice has been a long standing sore spot around the house.  We just had major water damage and work to do on the main floor, but this room is on the third floor.  (Yes, we have three full floors – no wonder I get behind!)  The shape of this room is embarrassing, but at least we’re not on “Hoarders” quite yet.  JC’s room, formerly the “toy room” or as we used it, the dump-it-in-there-if-you-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-it room began it’s life as an extra room where we stored boxes we hadn’t gone through after we moved.  That was now 5 years ago.  I am standing firm on the new pledge:  If we haven’t needed it in 5 year, we probably never will.  Time to purge!!!  With that in mind, here’s the room:

         

Anyone who’s been to our house recognizes this garbage dump as the “toy room”.  The black hole of toys.  I decided to just start at the door and tie a rope around my waist and make my way to the back.  On one side of me a garbage bag, the other side a tote for actual “keeper” toys.  When the kids would come to see what was going on, I swear they thought it was Christmas.  Long lost toys reappeared.  Some we parted with and donated, others we decided were trash.  This was much more than a one-day project.  I am proud to say we made it out alive!!

We bagged up two large bags of broken toys and empty boxes.  I found two disgusting sippy cups that also got trashed.  JC has a cute crib bedding set that I was finally able to use, complete with a matching valance.  Now all this room needs is a good color to be painted…. any suggestions?

 

ATWT – Red River Sled Dog Derby

Of course we’ll not make it to Alaska by Sunday to see the Iditarod mushers start, so I thought the next best thing would be to take the kids to see a local dog sled race.  The Red River Sled Dog Derby start is about an hour and a half from us.  I’ve resolved to try to get the kids out and do unique things that they might not otherwise be able to experience.  I want to let them see or do things that encourage their interest in learning and having fun at the same time.  AM really wants to be a dog sledder some day!

A Thousand Words Thursday is hosted by theMomJen at Cheaper Than Therapy!! Please stop by!!

PS: We’re rooting for DeeDee Jonrowe in the Iditarod – you can see her at www.deedeejonrowe.com