Pinterest Post: Ice Cube Tray Lunch

Jackson, Owen, and Madelyn's lunch trays!

Inspired by an idea on Pinterest where you put the kid's lunch in plastic Easter eggs, I discovered putting their lunch in ice cube trays.  Let me tell you, all my kids (ages 22 months, 3, and 5) loved this! They all sat and ate their lunch without getting up from the table.  When we eat outside, there are many distractions that beckon to my kids during meal time.  They didn't get up once.  This was a very exciting lunch event for them and I owe it all to Pinterest and ice cube trays!

To make this lunch, I just filled each spot on the tray with a veggie, fruit, nut, cheese, meat, Ezekiel bread, or dip.  I customized each try to each child's preference.  Jackson doesn't like hotdogs, but Madelyn and Owen do, so they both got organic beef hot dogs in their trays.  Jackson LOVES veggies, so his tray consisted mostly of veggies, whereas Madelyn and Owen got more fruit.

They all requested that I make them an ice cube tray lunch again.  And you know what?  I will!

They're excited, can't you tell?

All finished!  Although, she did give her brother her pistachios and celery.  Isn't she kind?

Pinterest Post: Mom's Surprise Party!

I've been holding back on my "weekly" Pinterest posts because I was busy planning my Mom's surprise 60th birthday party.  I had a nice Springtime luncheon with our family for her.  She was very, very surprised!  I was so happy to bless her in that way.  Pinterest comes in, of course because I used many ideas from Pinterest to make her party extra special, from the menu to some of the decor.  Here are some photos of the extra special party!

I used a lot of vintage table cloths and rose china for the tables.  

The first surprise...

(Skip to 1:10 for the "Surprise!")

Sisters!

The menu was a "laid-back Easter Sunday dinner" from my recipes.com. (LINK HERE)  I found this menu on Pinterest.  Instead of making the chicken myself, I let Costco make it.  I also replaced the pasta bake the menu suggested for Juan Pollo's potato salad (which is delicious!).  This way, I was able to focus on the other sides like the roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts and the spinach-strawberry salad.  YUM!

To include my siblings who live out of state, we set up two laptops and Skyped with them.  This was the setup for the second surprise.  About seven years ago, the diamond fell out of my mom's ring at church.  Despite several church members looking over every square inch of the floor and the pews, the diamond was not found.  She hasn't worn her ring since.  I had my brother sneak it from her jewelry box and with the help of family, we were able to get the diamond replaced, the ring repaired, and get it all shiny!  My mom was soooo surprised!  See for yourself...

I loved her reaction!

Trying on the ring.

Perfect!

The cake was from Alberston's.  I usually don't like store bought cake, but I've tried this cake several times in the past and I loved it.  I knew my mom would like the light cream, the fresh strawberries, and the light and moist cake.  It really is delicious.  Well done, Albertson's!

My mom and I!

For the bunting, I folded paper doilies over brown string. I then brushed on a little Mod Podge on to secure the middle of the doily.  Very easy, but very pretty!  (Another Pinterest idea!)

I love to use chalkboards.  This time, I used one for a menu and one for a birthday sign.

Flowers always look great in pitchers! 

And in Mason jars!

The butterflies were used at my wedding reception around the cake table.  I was glad I could bring them out again!  The wooden blocks on the wall spell out "Happy Birthday."  The were made a while ago by my father-in-law and they can spell out several different things.  Very cool!

Overall, I really liked how my mom's party decor turned out.  Most of all, though, I enjoyed being able to bless her with so many surprises in one day!  Thanks to all the family who made that possible!

Rediscovering George (Foreman)

When my husband and I first got married, we purchased the famed George Foreman Grill.  We used it to grill our chicken breasts and turkey burners.  Trying to be healthy, we cooked a lot of chicken on the grill.  BLAH!  We got tired of it.  Personally, I think it dries out chicken breasts.  Chicken  breasts really aren't bad for you, anyway, so I suppose the George Foreman Grill is overkill when it comes to cooking that.  Needless to say, the grill found it's way to the back of our cabinet and stayed there.  I recently had the thought that I needed to get the grill out to put with the items we are selling at our garage sell.  But, with our griddle going out, I decided to use George for making grilled cheese/turkey sandwiches.  Guess what?  They turned out amazing AND they were pretty much pan-inis!  While making breakfast for dinner (a regular at our house) the other night, I decided to try to cook bacon in the George.  I have to admit that I remembered you could do this because I had just recently watched the episode of The Office when Michael Scott burns his foot on his George Forman grill while cooking bacon at his bedside.  I cooked the slices for 4 minutes on each side and it was seriously the tastiest bacon!  It was perfect in texture and taste, and I am guess a whole lot healthier for us since it wasn't cooked in the fat.  So, I suppose I will keep George a little longer.  He has proven to be a faithful and healthful cooking companion!

Jackson's 1st Corn Dog

Need I say more? :)

Seattle Trip (Part 2)

This really only covers the last day and a half of our trip, but we did a lot in that time! We went to the Experience the Music Museum, which, in my opinion was awesome! It was a great place to go with kids because it was so interactive. There was a whole section of the museum devoted for hands-on experience with different instruments and musical/vocal equipment. We all had tons of fun there. There was also a Jim Henson exhibit there, which Jackson really enjoyed, especially the part when his daddy became a muppet...Jackson's favorite instrument to play at the museum was the drums. He does have great rhythm!
Jackson was amazed at the muppets. He quickly figured out that his daddy was one of them.Next, we went up the Space Needle. It was a beautiful view from up there, but it wasn't as high as I expected. I suppose I would have been more impressed if I hadn't already been up to the top of the Eiffel Tower! Never the less, it was a good experience!

This is the view from the Space Needle, facing Mt. Rainier. It was a gorgeous, sunny day!The crew @ the Music Museum, with the Space Needle in the background.
Just before we left to catch our flight back to California, we stopped at a tea house. It was the cutest place, and best of all, it was peaceful and had good food! The boy cousins even posed in front of it (Jackson, Nolan, and Preston).I love how Jackson is actually smiling in this picture!(L-R) Nolan, Angie, Me, Jackson, Troy, Preston, Ryan, Jennifer. This is what I ate for lunch: a scone (with yummy lemon curd and raspberry jam), Bacon Asparagus Swiss Quiche, and frosty cranberry salad. Delicious! Of course, I had some English Breakfast Tea with it. The tea was very tasty because it was loose leaf tea.Angie, Me, and Jennifer in front of the tea house.Troy, Jackson and I in our last family photo before the flight home! Hope you enjoyed out photos from the trip!