Some cool apps

For Christmas my husband got me an ipad mini, to keep me organized, and send me reminders of all the things I forget in one day. It has been so much fun finding apps that are helpful to my life as a busy mom. I will tell you of a few, since they go along with our goals for 2014.

Our main goals this year is to complete Baby Step 3 in the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It has been a few years since we have become debt free, and we have never reached the point where we have 6 months of income saved for emergencies (there always seems to be something that comes up that needs our money more!). So, if we have to save 6 months of Scott's income, we have to do one of two things...either we earn more money, or we decrease in our spending. We have opted to decrease spending, to see how much we can really budget (especially in the area of groceries, since this gets out of control)

My next goal is to watch my health (not to lose weight, or run more, or any other goal that I might not complete), but to simply track my health and make better decisions.

So, with these two goals in mind, I went app shopping.
Goal 1 - Save money - Apps: MINT and Grocery IQ
Goal 2 - Be Healthy - Apps: Seven and Lose It

Grocery IQ - Grocery shopping made quick and easy with the features you expect from the #1 grocery shopping list app. Build lists from our extensive product database using text, barcode, or voice search; sync and share lists with other devices and the GroceryiQ.com website

MINT.com-Not only does it provide a birds-eye-view of your income, spending and investments, but Mint also recommends ways to save money on bank fees, credit card rates and insurance. Best of all, it’s free.

Seven - * No workout equipment & just minutes a day
* Fun achievements and rewards to keep you motivated
* Based on the 7-minute workout featured in NY Times Magazine

Lose It - Lose It! helps you set a daily calorie budget, track your food and exercise, and stay motivated to make smarter choices and achieve your goal. We think it’s the best, most seamless weight loss system available.

If any of you know of some more excellent apps to use, please tell me. I am looking for a place to store my weekly food menus, and to collect my most favorite recipes too. 

More food from the boys

Meals brought to you by Zach, Tyler and Luke:

Poutine Dogs 

(yes...that would be homemade french fries, gravy and cheese on a hotdog)

Sausage, Eggs and Freshly picked garden vegetables 

(they even tried a parsnip for the first time)

Pita Pizza 

(Tyler made it easy for himself and had everyone make their own!)

Sushi 

(yes...made at home, from scratch...Zach is very ambitious)

Vegetable Soup

(all the boys want to do this one...because it involves a lot of chopping...but we have to spread it out)

School lunches revised

So, after a week of trying out our school lunch bins...we found that the boys will never choose a fruit or vegetable when given the choice. Hence, our revision. Now, we have three bins. One for dairy/meat, one for fruit and vegetables, and one for snacks (crackers, seaweed, pudding, fruit cups, etc). They can take up to two from each bin to help balance out those lunches.
Parenting has to be flexible. You have to be willing to go through the trial and error each day to find what works best for your family.
What do you do for school lunches?

School lunches...do it yourself!

As we begin the EXPERIMENT to get rid of youth entitlement in our home, the topic of school lunches came up. I have been in control every day since they started school. Sad, I know. It was just easier to do it all the night before, and then hand them as they went to the van. Ouch. I have really been taking away some great opportunities for learning.

Question is: Can they do it all by themselves? Should I expect that of them? In what way can I make it easier for everyone, and still have the kids be a part of packing themselves a healthy and balanced lunch everyday?

So, like always...we did a bit of research. 

There are tons of ideas, but knowing me...it had to be truly organized to work. Here is the best one in my books...we will see if it works!

There will be one see bin in the fridge (keep cold items), and one in the cupboard.

Every Saturday, we will shop for the lunch items (or at least they help me make the list, and I shop alone...oh how I love grocery shopping alone!). Then we cut them up..or make them (like hummus)...put them in bags and small containers, and then have them ready for Monday morning.

All they have to do it pick two from each bin and put it in their lunch bag each morning.

Sandwiches are tricky....but who says they need a sandwich everyday? Besides, that is easy to put together in the morning, when breakfast is being made. They already know how to make a sandwich, and they said I could help with the spreading. If they want something hot, they can help me make it in the morning...or we can heat up leftovers and put them in a keep hot container.

Here are our favorites..but there are tons of great lunch ideas out there.

Fridge Bin Ideas

Cut up veggies (carrots, peppers, celery), veggie dip, hummus, yogurt pots, yogurt drinks, cheese sticks and grapes, hard boiled egg, sliced meat, pasta salad and pickles. All other fruit in whole form (apple, orange, banana), they can grab from the fridge.

Cupboard Bin Ideas

Pudding, Fruit cups, Applesauce, granola bars (nut free of course), bear paws, fruit snacks, roasted seaweed, graham crackers, pretzels, beef jerky, raisins, sunflower seeds, muffins, mini bagels, pepperoni sitcks, and crackers.