In a School Daze

We're late to the "starting school" party--I know, I know!!

We're in Minnesota and around these parts MOST kids don't start school until AFTER Labor Day!  The "Great Minnesota Get-Together" ended today and school begins tomorrow!

The Girl is starting THIRD grade (time flies!) at a new school because of our move.  She's excited and nervous...  I'm excited and nervous...  I know it's going to be a great year for her but it's always hard to be the new kid.  She hasn't met many kids in our new neighborhood either so we're hoping, REALLY hoping, that she'll make some great friends quickly at school.

I admit--I LOOOOOOOVE the start of school!  

I love shopping for school supplies!!!  (a strange quirk that my older daughter certainly inherited from me)

I love the routine that the school year brings.  I'm a BIG fan of routine (hah.... imagine that!!!), and order, and stability in general.  I like planners and schedules and calendars (Oh My!).  The school year just brings with it a consistent routine--everyone knows what to expect and when to expect it.  Everyone has their own responsibilities and obligations to get it all done and make it all work.  Yes, I'm a sucker for routine!

Lastly, I LOVE fall!  Crunchy leaves, crisp air, sweatshirts, pumpkin patches, apple crisp, Halloween candy (I'm not a huge fan of Halloween--I know, I'm sorry!), apple cider, CARAMEL APPLES, bonfires and s'mores....  Oh My Gosh people I have to say it again...  I LOVE FALL!!!!!

So, the past couple of weeks have included a bit of preparation for start of school and the beginning of fall!  

We went through old clothes for the Big Girl, donated those that she has skyrocketed out of height wise, and found jeans that will fit her this year!  Yeah, that took a few stores and a LOT of trying on.  

In an effort to become a little more "green", and to send lunch with the Mister & the Girl more consistently, I purchased Easy Lunchboxes for both of them.  The Mister got a black box & the classic lunchbox colors.  The Girl got a pink box and the bright lunchbox colors.  Both of them will get four home lunches per week and one floating "meal-out" based largely on the school lunch calendar and what sounds good to the Girl.  

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Four of our Easy Lunchboxes ready to be packed!

The Girl loves Gogurt so we're trying DIY "Gogurt" using these silicone popsicle pouches.  She's pretty picky about types of yogurt...  Boring, predictable, plain vanilla!  So this weekend I spooned some yogurt into these new pouches (after washing by hand and in the dishwasher--just my preference with silicone prior to first-time use).  We decided to freeze them, knowing that they will thaw before the Girl's lunch (which isn't until ONE O'CLOCK!  Eeeek!) and this way they can serve as a small cold-pack.  I love, love, love the colors, but I feel a little bad for the Mister should he take them to work...  heh....  they're just a little girly!  

Silicone popsicle molds are perfect for DIY yogurt-to-go!

We really slacked this summer on meal-planning.  We didn't have anything going on though, I mean really, what with moving, and surgery, and the Toddler's Big First Birthday.  So, I took some time and whipped up a new weekly meal planner for the 5-day week (Monday through Friday).  I mainly did it this way because we will be packing lunches only on school/work days, and we seem to end up running a LOT on the weekends!  In any case, here's a glimpse at that!  I will add a free printable in the next couple of days if anyone is interested. 

Weekly Meal Plan

This meal plan is based on how we live and eat, and how the Girl's schedule is at school.  It's very important that she have an AM snack because her class is assigned the last lunch period---at One.O.Clock.  I'm an early lunch eater so that seems suuuuuuper late to me, but with a good breakfast and a good snack, she'll be just fine!

Finally, I made some yummy stuff today....  I had great plans to accomplish more than I actually did, but in my defense, Home Depot was calling...  and I answered!  "That's the power of the Home Depot" I guess....  I just can't pass up a trip when the opportunity arises!

That being said, here's what I made today (with more cooking and baking fun to be had tomorrow!)

Chewy Granola Snacks

Good Mornin' Strawberry Muffins

So, the chewy granola treats resulted from my attempt at this recipe for No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars posted by Carole at My Kitchen Escapades.   They were too adorable NOT to try!  Truth is, I'm not even sure what I did wrong--I could have salvaged several "bars" but decided to break them apart into bite-sized "snacks" because several broke apart on their own.  They may be bite-size instead of full-size, but they are PURE yum!!!  

Though the photo only shows 6 of these lovelies, I actually froze a whopping EIGHTEEN more for an easy breakfast for us to take out before bed and have ready to eat first thing in the morning!  I doubled the recipe knowing I had a lot of berries and I wanted to use them all with one recipe!  I haven't tried these yet, but I plan to try and thoroughly enjoy them tomorrow morning!  I followed this recipe from Acceptance with Joy.  It appears the original recipe comes from the Rainbow Children's cookbook by Gold Medal.  While I haven't tried any yet, the smell wafting through our home while these were baking was absolutely heavenly!

I did some scouring of Pinterest & the interwebs for free lunch note printables.  I'll share those tomorrow.  And, I may just have been inspired to create my own!  I love sending notes in the Girl's lunchbox, but they're usually handwritten on notecards with an envelope that I draw on.  Not so exciting, perhaps, but she seems to appreciate the thought.  I'm hoping she'll think these are pretty fun and silly--lighten things up for her as she's feeling a bit nervous starting this year.  

Happy First Day of School Friends!

Until Next Time,

Nic