school mornings - the easy way

Monday can't come soon enough. Here's my plan to a scream-free, catch the school bus morning - girls only get to eat breakfast after they have their school clothes on and hair done. Very simple concept and will bring gobbles and gobbles of structure to very complex, time-driven hectic morning. Keep you posted. Please share your morning tips!

hydrogen peroxide

Lucky me. Got the stomach flu. Too much time on pinterest led me to an article on the benefits of hydrogen peroxide. Here's my favorite ones:  mix with vinegar as a disinfectant, use to remove stains, mold, clean mirrors. Read more tips here. 

123 magic

Here's the best tip I have ever given. Ever.  Start timing the good behavior and counting down the whining, attitudes and fighting.  Start the good. Stop the bad.  123 Magic has changed how we parent. We no longer negotiate for better behavior, we just send them to a time-out. "Clean your room!" I used to yell say.  Now I say in a firm but pleasant voice..."Please put away seven things in your room. You have 5 minutes. Let me know when you are done."  Buy the book on Amazon, get it for free at the library or buy it from them directly along with tons of other books.  Only read this one, if you want some serious change in your casa.  And let me know if it works!

pumpkin seeds

Picture taken by The Girl Who Ate Everything

Oh, they are addicting.  I snagged a pumpkin for 17cents a pound (that's cheap people), had the kiddies dig out the guts and seeds.  I didn't wash the seeds just tossed them and some of the slimy innards (trust me on this) with seasoning salt (no MSG), garlic salt and wee bit of olive oil.  Then I placed them in one layer on a cookie sheet with 1/4 cup olive oil and baked at 350 for 30 minutes.  Toss every 10 minutes to prevent burning and sticking.  The pumpkin flesh mixed with the salt will make these puppies sing in your mouth.  Ahhhhh-dicting. 

Blueberry pickin'

www.Blueberrycouncil.org

They are blue and oh so tasty...and...it's not too late to pick em.  Yesterday, I took the girls to pick blueberries and they loved it.  Here's a website listing all the farms in America and some tips on picking.  We made a blueberry crisp and a smoothie.  These yummy round bits of joy are also high in fiber, vitamin C, manganese and have antioxidant properties. 

bulk baby

I had a duh moment the other day...why buy expensive, yet oh so convenient, cute containers of yogurt, when I can buy larger containers of the same thing for less and then place them in small Tupperware containers for lunches.  And why cook five servings of spaghetti sauce when I can cook 10 servings so we have leftovers?

Soooo....now I'm buying the following in large-in-charge quantities:  applesauce, spaghetti sauce, almonds, trail mix, cold cereal, graham crackers, baked fish crackers and yogurt.  What do you buy in bulk or in large quantities?

Berry crisp cones

Forget ice-cream in a cone, how bout shoving blueberry crisp in that puppy? I snagged this triple berry crisp recipe from www.allrecipes.com and made some adjustments since I didn't have three kinds berries or enough to make the full recipe AND I wanted it gluten free.  I baked as directed  and then at the insistence of my soon to be kindergartner, threw some of the tasty crisp in a ice-cream cone; your kiddies will love it more! Here's my gluten free recipe: 

• 3/4 cups Marion berries
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/3 cup flax seed
• 1/3 cup semolina flour
• 1/3 cup soy flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 stick cold butter

Here's what it looked like after I took it from the oven.  As you can see, I just used a pie pan.  This cone was not g-free but you can buy them.