Lunch Made Easy: Breakfast Edition

Since Little Miss is out of school, I don't have to make her lunches during the week but I still try to make her breakfasts, dinners, snacks, and weekend food fun - when possible. :)

Deals & Steals: $1.00 Subs at Jimmy John's (at select MI locations)

To my followers from the great mitten state of Michigan... tomorrow select Jimmy John's locations are selling subs for $1.00 from 11am-3pm!

Check it out HERE: http://www.freakyfast.com/2011/06/june-30-2011-11am-3pm-participating-1-sub-locations-for-the-grand-rapids-and-flint-mi-area-jimmy-joh.html

Lunch Made Easy: Flowers and Food

I'm so behind on my posting as of late. Between fun & full weekends and being crazy busy at work, I feel like I'm behind anyways. :)

Mission Organization: Spare Room Shelves

Wow - what a great last couple of days! Sorry I haven't posted in a couple. Little Miss went to visit her grandparents so my boyfriend and I got to spend some much needed time together which included some dining with friends, an evening downtown, and a music concert in the park. It truely was a great weekend!

That being said, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of organizing. :) The spare room I have serves as storage, additional closet space, and has become a "catch-all"... it bothers me greatly. It's still not perfect but I definitely made a dent. Here's the before:

Snackable: Happy Halfway There Day!

It's WEDNESDAY! That means we're halfway through the work week! (WOO!!)

Here's the snack for Little Miss today:

Food for Thought: Buffalo Chicken Egg Roll Wraps

When I saw this recipe posted on "Can You Stay for Dinner?" I knew I wanted to give it a try! My boyfriend is a sucker for buffalo wings and anything he can pour Frank's on, lol.

Snackable: After Daycare Snack

Now that it's summer break, Little Miss goes to a daycare that's by my office - An hour+ from our home.
She is always starving (according to her, lol) when I pick her up. So I've learned to pack her a snack to enjoy. :)

Deals & Steals: FREE Sample of Jif-To-Go PB from Target

Just a little deal - Quick get yours before they're gone!

http://samples.target.com/

FREE sample from Target of Jif-To-Go
We don't keep PB in our house (since Little Miss is allergic) but wanted to share with all you other PB eaters! :)

Mission Organization: Front Entry Way

Why not start a new blog thread?!... "Mission Organization" it is.
This will be me tackling little things around the house in an effort to better organize and create efficiency.

Today's task was simple and clear: Cleaning up and organizing the front entry way.

Food for Thought: Oreo Brownie Cupcakes

Brownies again? Yes. If you remember from my last brownie post, those were Junior Mint Brownies and I gave them to Little Miss's Daycare... lol, so these are for us to eat. :)

Craft Complete: Bubble Wrap Hopscotch

This can be done with extra bubble wrap laying around the house or I bought this 6' roll at the dollar store! That's all you need! That and a permanent marker. :)

Craft Complete: Father's Day Gifts & Ideas

I am obsessed with Pinterest, by the way. What an awesome place to find ideas and inspiration!

That's where this one came from for Father's Day:

Lunch Made Easy: Last Day of Kindergarten Lunch & an Afternoon Snack

Since I took off work yesterday to attend Little Miss's Kindergarten Graduation and spend the afternoon with her (it was a half day of school), my boyfriend was gracious enough to take off work early to pick her up from the half day today. (It's her VERY LAST DAY!) So they get to hang out this afternoon until I get home from work. :)

That being said, I made her a lunch and an afternoon snack to have with him so he didn't have to worry about getting her anything or trying to make something.

Snackable: Hillbilly Teeth

What better way to snack this afternoon then on some Hillbilly Teeth?!

Apples, Sunbutter, & Marshmallows

A five year old favorite. lol

Snackable: Edible Crayons

What a crazy busy and good day!
First with the good: My little miss graduated Kindergarten today!! The celebration at her school was so cute. (Yes, I did tear up!) They did such a nice job between the songs, a little dance, a poem, and announcing each child by name. I especially loved her little graduation cap she made and wore. :)
After, we had a girls lunch out to eat followed by some fun driveway chalk drawing time together. Perfect day off work and so glad I didn't miss it!
Now with the crazy... so I got home late last night and didn't get to make her class treat for today. Instead, I woke up early to do it. No big deal - I get up early everyday... except when things don't work out like you want them to and you start to get upset. (Not a good way to start the day.) I'll explain more about that in a minute...

While blog stalking reading one day, I found an amazing link on Gourmet Mom On-The-Go's blog that was for Edible Crayons! What a GREAT idea and I had been waiting to try it out... what a perfect time, right?

Photo courtesy of Gourmet Mom On-The-Go

Lunch Made Easy: Last Full Day of School!

My little miss has her last full day of school today! I'm so geeked for her Kindergarten graduation/ celebration tomorrow.
She and I are making a fun treat for the class tonight - I'll post that either tonight or tomorrow early AM.

Craft Complete: DIY Jellyfish Craft for Kids

This is a cute craft to do with kids - Making jellyfish. :)

Of course when I told me daughter we were going to make jellyfish, she started saying in her very best Spongebob impression "jellyfishing, jellyfishing..." and wouldn't stop. lol

Super simple and cute. We already had all the supplies in the house too!

Food For Thought: Crockpot Love - Beef & Bean Chili

Ya'll thought I was joking when I said I'm having  a secret love affair with my crockpot, didn't you? ;)

Today was a cooler, rainy, dark day here so a bowl of warm chili just sounded like it'd be nice this evening! Here's how I make mine...

Lunch Made Easy: For my Shining Star!

A little lunch, for my little shining star! :)

Lunch Made Easy: All Signs Point to Thursday! <--

"All Signs Point to Thursday!"
Today's theme is with arrows :)

Food for Thought: Kraut & Kielbasa "Man Meal"

My boyfriend and I have an running joke that the meals I make that only he likes are dubbed "Man Meals" (although, this particular one the 5 year old has taken a liking to as well, lol - win/ win I suppose!)

This one is one of my faves (not to eat but to make) because it takes 1.2 seconds to do! lol ;) great for a morning when I don't have a lot of time!

Lunch Made Easy: What's for Lunch Wednesday?

What's for Lunch Wednesday? I'll show you mine if you show me yours! ;)
No, really, show me!... lol... here: at BentoLunch.net
Every Wednesday she has "What's for Lunch Wednesday?" You can link up pictures of your lunches from the week or view others for inspiration! So clever. I love participating.

Lunch Made Easy: Terrific Tuesdays!

Terrific Tuesday's... Once up and at em', the realization of only having three more blaring alarms until the weekend again!

What else is great about Tuesday?
1) My little miss has five full days left of school + two half days.
2) I plan on stopping at Starbuck's today to get my free iTunes card (10 free summery songs) when I buy any Frappuccino *mmm, high calorie coffee drinks, drool!* (don't judge me) lol.
3) Don't forget the old folk rhyme: "Tuesday's child is full of grace". Not sure how that applies to this posting, but it sounds good. ;)

Things I Love... Take Two!

Second Edition Posting of THINGS I LOVE!

I love Lego Walls for a Kids Room/ Play Room.

Lunch Made Easy: Just Another Manic Monday...

Monday morning... ick.

Thoughts:
1) Monday's are historically busy at my office - *fingers crossed* the day goes fast!
2) I only have to drag myself out of bed four more times before it's the weekend again.
3) Eight more school days left this year for my Little Miss. Two of them are half days.
4) Um... that's all the positivity I can think of right now. lol

Craft Complete: DIY Craft for Learning to Tie Shoe Laces

I have been trying to think of fun ways to help my daughter learn to tie her shoes.
If we just sit and try with a pair she has on, she gets very frustrated and gives up. (She is extremely hard on herself - the type of person, already at five, that wants to understand and do everything correct.)

In an effort to make the learning process more casual and fun, we did this craft together to help her learn to tie her shoes.

Food for Thought: Crock Pot Love - Cheesy Potato Soup

So, as I mentioned in an earlier posting (http://keeleymcguire.blogspot.com/search/label/Meatloaf) I have a secret love affair with my Crock Pot, lol :)

One of my other favorite things to make in it is Cheesy Potato Soup. Mmm, mmmmmm!

Lunch Made Easy: Friday Fixins'

My daughter is so thrilled - she has only 9 days of school left and two of those nine are half days! Mama, not so thrilled... my little baby is graduating kindergarten! *sniff*
She is counting the days down not because she's excited for summer break, but because she has nine more days before she can start declaring "I'm a First Grader!" :)

Today's lunch was a quick fix since I was focusing my efforts in making "Thank You Brownies" ...
(Click the link to read about THAT story and for my Junior Mint Brownie recipe.)

Food for Thought: Thank You Brownies... Please Accept Them?

Okay, let me first explain by talking about what happened yesterday...

I get a phone call at work from my daughter's teacher. (She's in full-day Kindergarten.) Haley apparently left her lunch box on her AM Daycare Bus that transports her to school from Daycare. *sigh*
This is bad for a couple reasons -
1) She has a severe peanut allergy and even though they do their best to keep things with loose peanuts out of the cafeteria, they cannot guarantee everything is without a peanut warning. The main reason I strated packing her lunches every day - for peace of mind.
2) Both my boyfriend and I work over an hour away in opposite directions from her school, so I can't exactly quick run over to fix "the problem".

Alas, her daycare came to the rescue...

Deals & Steals: $20 Old Navy Groupon for $10!! *HOT*

Hi everyone!! This deal is too HOT not to share!
Right now GROUPON has a National Deal where you can get $20 to shop at Old Navy for only $10!
That is like GOLD to me, lol... I never have trouble finding purchases for my entire family there.

Lunch Made Easy: Happy It's Almost Friday Day! AKA Thursday.

Thursday is Almost Friday! *HAPPY DANCE*
I love getting up Thursday morning knowing the weekend is fast approaching. :)
Should I start a countdown now, or....? lol

Craft Complete: DIY No-Sew Bag (Revisited for Kids)

If you remember my previous post from a couple weeks ago, Craft Complete: No Sew DIY Tote Bag (Made from a T'Shirt!) I mentioned I'd be revisiting this to do a small bag for my daughter.

I wanted to share it with you!

Lunch Made Easy: What's for lunch Wednesday?

My daughter LOVED her bento so much yesterday. She said all her friends were impressed by her big lunch! When really it was no bigger than any other day, apparently it all being in one container just made it "appear" more interesting and large. :) I'll take that as a win for this Mama, lol.

Today... well, this Mama got up about a half hour late. (Seriously, 4AM should be an illegal time of day to hear an alarm! It gets old Mon-Fri. lol) Sooooo little miss's lunch was comprised of some quick grabs from the fridge: