Preschool Lunches

Baby Chewie gets to go to preschool. YAY!!! Baby Chewie also gets to eat lunch at school two times per week. He's 3 and lunch boxes don't last longer than two years in this house because they get used almost daily. I had Baby Chewie pick out his own lunchbox at Target and this one drives me nuts. I honestly don't think it's super great at keeping cold things cold, even with a cold pack. It's also smaller and not as squishy as The Monkey's so I have to pack it in weird ways or find weird containers to pack food in. Even a Thermos fits in it a bit odd. I dunno...all I know is that before Kindergarten this kid will be getting a soft sided lunch box from Land's End.

So far I've sent him with some strange things and he's eaten them all. But the favorite so far is macaroni & cheese - I make it in the morning and put it fresh into hot Thermos' so it's warm for lunch! And then I also pack fresh fruit and a very small treat. He needs to be sugar detoxed, that kid. 

Meatloaf was another favorite - I cut it into bite size pieces and drizzled BBQ sauce all over it. When I opened the Thermos, it was EMPTY. WOOT!!

Strangely enough the kids will eat Mini corndogs in the Thermos but The Monkey will not eat the school's corndog. I have no idea why. I don't ask these questions anymore. Not quite sure.

Tomorrow I'm making macaroni and cheese again but sending it with a scoop of chili. We shall see if the kids like Chili-Mac!

Baby Phil!!

Weekly Plans

I feel like I've fallen behind in so many ways, and in others I'm completely on my game.

CLEANING:

I started following The Fly Lady again to keep the house clean - because with the dog I have to vacuum daily but I need a list of things to do otherwise I just Swiffer and wait until everything is kinda gross to clean. If I have a checklist, then I can keep on top of things and our house is pretty neat and clean. And after growing up in a clean house with a cleaning day, I really hate spending a whole day cleaning. I would rather spend daily time cleaning so that I don't have to work after the kids are in bed and I'd rather spend the weekend doing what I want to do, not what I have to do (though that rarely happens!).

This week is the kitchen to clean so today I went through the cabinets and gave away food that's not expired that we're not going to eat and semi-organized it. I have a short people problem though and I can't see all the way into the back of the cabinets without a step ladder so I moved everything that we eat on a normal basis to the front, put the tall items in the back (maybe I'll find a step thingy for the actual items???). Hopefully this will help the next week for finding meal items.

THE HUMAN CHILDREN:

There's no swimming on Monday because someone had diarrhea in the pool and people got Cryptospirosis which is a diarrhea bug. GROSS. Tonight I had mini corndogs on the menu, but I guess I can change it to something a little healthier? Eh, maybe I'll just make wild rice to go with it, or quinoa. Eh, just steam some veggies.

THE DOG:

Phil is now signed up for Puppy class. He gets his 3 month vaccines on Wednesday. He can get a dog license next month. He can go to doggy daycare next month. So cheers to that! I also saw the training place also offers classes on greeting guests, walking, and other things too. I'm really excited about that so we'll have to sign up for a few classes over the next year or so. And he's a pretty good puppy - although Baby Chewie has been bit several times (all his fault I might add for teasing the dog after I have repeatedly said STOP, so this week I'm buckling down and basically making Baby Chewie play in his room every.single.time he tries to do anything with the dog). Phil has his own Instagram (@philthedogg) and lots of followers. I try my best to take photos every day, he's pretty darn cute so it makes it easy!!

PLANS FOR THE WEEK:

Sign Phil up for class (DONE)
Walk the dog daily
Clean the whole kitchen
Vacuum
Get large containers for my summer clothes so I can swap to fall/winter clothes

New School Year, New Mantra

Last year I shot myself in the foot trying to make meals from scratch for dinners before after school activities and I tried to control all food aspects and seriously make sure everything was low-sugar and all whole foods.

I realized I just stressed myself out way too much so...this year my mantra has basically become "fuck this shit, just let it go."

However, I also have a husband that doesn't do some things unless I ask him. For example, last night there were dishes in the sink, the wagon needed to be dragged inside, the laundry needed to be swapped, the dog needed to go out, and the kids needed to get their shit together to go to bed. He did the least amount of everything to get to the end of the night. I hate being a nag about shit, but if something needs to be done, I'm going to have to be up his freaking ass about it so that I'm not stressed out. I feel like I need some emojis to explain myself but frankly, I'm a stay-at-home-mom and I do 90% of everything around here. Bimmer Man just mowed the lawn for the first time THIS YEAR last weekend. I can't do everything AND keep my shit together. For the most part, none of this bothers me, but there's times where I think to myself, "OH MY GOD. HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE???" And that's when I realize I'm too stressed to really do anything at all and I need to be more vocal about what needs to be done and that the crumbs on the floor are driving me batshit crazy.

So this year I'm going to eat out more, make more processed food, and basically go back to being lazy so that I'm not so stressed out.

Eh, fuck it. We only live once and I'd rather enjoy my time on earth. For now. But I'm sure I'll get sick of processed food in a month and then I'll be back to home cooking everything. I'm throwing in the towel. Make it easy.

Colorado!

Fun Friday Finds...Whistle & Flute

Oh, man. I wish I would have known about Whistle & Flute long ago! Their clothes are so awesome. And before The Monkey had opinions I totally would have dressed her in any of these (ok, maybe not all but definitely lots!).

And unfortunately the shirt that I want to buy Baby Chewie is all sold out in his size!

Flying Bicycle T-shirt - $17

We've had a few Twin Six shirts in this house (headquarters are here in the Twin Cities, actually in St Louis Park!) and I'm always looking for more bike stuff to add to both kids' dressers. Girl bike themed clothes are always a little more difficult to find too. 

I also noticed that I'm not always a huge fan of the mall brands - it seems like all the kids have Target, H & M, Gap, Old Navy, etc... and I like to get my kids stuff that not only fits their personality but also comes from European and small shops. Once kids start having opinions then it makes it so hard to buy clothes. 

I happened across Whistle & Flute items in a resale group on Facebook and thought I'd check it out. Here's a few goodies that I thought I'd share! There's even adult items too which is fantastic because sometimes there's days where I do want to wear a taco shirt. 

Kawaii Panda Striped Shirt - $24

LOVE Sleeveless T-shirt - $16

Kawaii Macaroni & Cheese - $24

Kawaii Ice Cream Bar T-shirt - $24

Enjoy shopping for your little ones or for the little ones you know. Or yourself!! Happy Friday!

Black Booties

I want these.

These are the black Cleo boots from Toms. 

Oh, man. They are so darn cute! And stylish! And they look like they'd get me to and from school really well. And comfy. Do you think they're comfy? I'm old now and have old feet so I can't do stylish and not comfortable. I HAVE TO HAVE COMFORTABLE. I feel like you get to a certain age and suddenly you're consumed with finding shoes good for high arches, and super comfy for walking kids to and from school. I'm going to order these in hope that I have enough time to break them in before we go to Amsterdam so I can be somewhat in fashion (however, I will absolutely bring my flannel plaid shirts because those are also comfy and I have no idea what the weather will be). 

Signing off to find a coupon code...

Good Grief

It's been over a MONTH since I've posted. WTF is wrong with me?>?>?>?

Meh, not much. We went to Colorado. The MOnkey started 2nd grade (and yet this is her second day home sick with a cold. Insert eye roll here). Baby Chewie starts Preschool next Tuesday.

Oh, and we get a puppy on Sunday.

Meet Phil! He's coming home on SUNDAY. That's two days away! Isn't he ADORABLE??? We haven't made it Facebook official yet (because does it count if it's not on Facebook still? Or now is Instagram the place to make things official? I'm not sure) because he's getting neutered on Saturday and that's his last vet visit. He's also doing a puppy kissing booth tonight. He's adorbs.

I renegged my deal - to a certain extent. I don't have too much time to myself (surprise!) but I think we can squeeze in a puppy right now - it's going to be difficult to find a puppy training and obedience class because Bimmer Man still works crazy hours. Basically he's gone from 7am - 6:30/7:30pm. Yep. That's 12 hours. On the regular. When you're with someone that works a ridiculous amount of hours you have to realize that they're just not going to help or do anything until they're home. And even then they might not want to but they have to because that's how households run. So he's going to have to wake up and let the dog out. And then he's going to have to let the dog out before bed.

The kids are going to feed the dog. I decided not to feed raw. I absolutely cannot do this alone and if we feed raw it would be on me to do everything. I'd rather have dog food delivered. Or buy it at Costco. And the kids can take turns feeding the dog. Baby Chewie gets the morning, The Monkey gets the evening.

The Monkey even said she would pick up poop.I'm not sure how long that will last but my plan is to hire a poop scooping business when I don't have time to do it weekly or daily or whatever. I'm at the point where I need to make life easier because I hate when it's so chaotic. I get frustrated easily, irritated, and I have to learn how to delegate tasks better. Something I've learned as I've aged.

Ok, friends. I will update more when I can. EEP!!! I'm so excited!

Baby Chewie's First Race Car Experience

Biking Cuyuna