remember me?

Its been a jam-packed fun and busy month. Which is why we haven't spoken. Sorry about that.

Getting back into the swing of things probably won't happen till school begins in a few weeks but here is a 'back-to-school' idea that I'm loving.

The always wonderful and incredibly organized Wendy of Wendolonia has planned all your lunches, recommends lunch boxes and provides examples of great packed lunches. If you check her out you are bound to love her as much as I do.

chocolate popsicles

Wow. I love finding recipes that list ingredients I already have in the house! A recipe that will be a sure hit this summer in our house comes from the wonderful 'Adventures in Crafting' blog. Click the link to get the tutorial!

reflection

I can hardly believe it but E's almost finished her first year at school. It's been wonderful. She's grown so much over the year. Her sense of humour, her sassy attitude, her need to spell everything she's thinking about.

I'm excited to have her home with us this summer so we can take trips and have tons of playdates with her friends. I'm also looking forward to next year and the fun she'll have when she heads into a new class and starts learning french.

When reflecting back on this year I see things I want to get better at next year. Among those I'm most excited about is snacks. I've been watching Wendy over at Wendolonia do Bentos for a year now and she is my hero. I've got to find some fun bento boxes in my area and I hear there is a big new Asian Grocery store in the city! Woohoo! So I'm planning a trip there this summer so E can pick out her favourite bentos. Here's one of Wendy's creations!

home made chocolate bars

Put whatever you are doing down.. and run to the nearest grocery store!! (okay, perhaps your car is faster) I found recipes for Chocolate bars!! Ahhhh!

Snickers Bars

Snickers Bar recipe can be found here.

Kit Kat Bars

Get the Kit Kat tutorial from Grandma's Desserts here. If your thing is Twix check out this site. Oh, you're a 3 Musketeers junky? I guess this is more your speed. Now I gotta go. Got some shopping to do if I want to win Mommy of the Year tomorrow.

Rockin' that lunch box!

If you haven't already see or heard about the Goodbyn Lunchbox then here I am to tell you about it!! I started seeing design blogs post about the design and practicality of this months ago and it seems to be taking the market by storm.
With lots of room to put all your child's snacks and food/drink for the day it's a hit with moms, and kids love that it comes with stickers so they can personalize there own byn. Check out at www.goodbyn.com or at www.bellylaughs.ca for more info.

loving family recipes

I've been loving moms banana chocolate chip muffins for longer than I care to disclose.. and now I thought it was time to share them with you:)

3 very ripe bananas (to make one cup mashed)

6 tbsp melted shortening or vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg well beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Turn oven to 350 degrees. Mash bananas. Add shortening, sugar & salt. Beat till well mixed. Add egg and vanilla and beat again. Sift a little flour, baking soda and baking powder over mixture. Stir in remaining flour. Add chocolate chips with a few strokes of the spatula (until moistened) Drop spoonfuls into buttered muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.