Winter Wednesday

Mother Nature is really cooking up some wacky weather here in Western Pennsylvania.  We woke up to ice covered sidewalks, streets and cars this morning.  This afternoon, it was very sunny and in the mid 40s.  Now, we are expecting the current rain to turn into snow and possibly more ice.  Luckily for us, there was a 2 hour delay for school this morning and hopefully there will be another one tomorrow if needed.

Unless there is a snow day, here is Molly's lunch.

Our main entrée is a good old pb&j.  We used the new Wonder Smart White bread, a whole grain white bread.  We added peanut butter and then our good old Trader Joe's Cranberry Apple Butter.  YUM!  The star turned out okay but the moon split.  Oh well, it will still taste great!

Our vegetable side is edamame.  Molly and her little brother really enjoy edamame warm or cold.  It's a great snack and full of nutrients.

Our fruit side is cantaloupe.  We found these at the local grocery store for $1.50 each.  To our great surprise, they taste really sweet and flavorful.  Not something that we are used to in January.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt.  We added a few mini chocolate chips for sweetness and texture.

Final Friday!

It's the final Friday of school for this calendar year.  The last "Fun Friday" until 2011.  We are almost done with 2010 and as I look back, I can't believe how much my Molly has grown up.  Physically, I'd say that she's grown at least 4 or 5 inches taller in 2010.  Mentally, she is doing so much better with every subject in school and her intellectual growth is astonishing.  Spiritually, I can see an incredible relationship with God blossoming.  She is asking a million questions and learning how to pray. She has a better understanding and appreciation for the Bible and why and how things happened so that she can live life the way that she does.  This is such a fun age!

Now it's time for lunch that Molly's Daddy was AWESOME enough to help me with.  You Rock Daddy!

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly on white bread.  After all, they are cut out like snowmen so they needed to be white. ☺ We used Trader Joe's Cranberry Apple Butter as our jelly on these.  It's tartness and sweetness are such a great compliment to just about anything.

Our vegetable side is organic carrots cut into sticks.  We have these on hand almost all of the time in our house.  They are one of those great things to have around for a quick snack because they satisfy that crunch craving, and they are very good for you.

Our fruit side is a Clementine.  Molly really likes these.  Oranges of any type always remind me of the holidays because when I was young, we used to stud oranges with whole cloves to make the house smell good.  And boy did it ever!

Finally, our Final Fun Friday treat is S'More Pops!  We stuck a lollipop stick in a marshmallow, dipped it in melted milk chocolate and set them on crushed graham crackers.  We then sprinkled some Christmas-like sprinkles or Jimmies (if you are from the Pittsburgh area) on them to make them more festive.  We make these every year for teachers, neighbors and friends.  We then attach a note saying, "Have a Merry Christmas and many S'More!"

Do Over Lunch, Sort Of!

Well, despite a few tears this morning because she wanted to stay home, Molly made it.  I didn't get a phone call or an e-mail from a teacher or nurse telling me that Molly was having a rough day.  When I picked her up from school it seemed like she had one of the best days ever.  She got every single one of her sight words correct on her quiz this morning and she is getting more and more eager to read.  Whew!  This is one of those parenting moments when I feel like I'm actually doing something right.  Yes, we still have a long way to go, but this little baby step is a pretty big leap in the right direction.  Way To Go Molly!!!!

Now, on to lunch.  Molly made another request for her lunch.  She wanted the exact same thing as today, not that I blame her, but we've decided to make a few healthier modifications.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and "jelly" on whole wheat.  Again, instead of jelly, we have the Trader Joe's Cranberry Apple Butter.  We chose a butterfly cookie cutter to cut out Molly's sandwich because she loves butterflies and it kind of symbolizes how much she is spreading her wings and learning to fly.

Molly suggested strawberry yogurt as one of her sides.  So, we put some Dannon Light and Fit Strawberry yogurt in for her dairy side.

The request of potato chips was made for a side but we've chosen sugar snap peas instead.  This delicious veggie is not as salty or greasy, just much healthier; plus they are just as crunchy.

Our fruit/dessert is some sliced Honey Crisp apples with a side of Tastefully Simple's Creamy Caramel Sauce.  

A Little Love

We had a great weekend.  Molly got one on one time with both Mom and Dad.  We've been working on reading, sounding out words and memorizing sight words all weekend.  Plus, we've been reading for fun but pointing out the words so that Molly recognizes the different ways things are spelled and pronounced.  I have to hand it to her.  She's really working hard on this and not giving up.  You don't realize how difficult reading the English language is until you try to teach it to your child.  There are so many rules and just as many, if not more, exceptions to the rules.  For example said and laid; spelled very similarly but pronounced completely differently.  Then we have sail and sale, cent and scent and of course to, too and two.  No wonder these kids are overwhelmed a bit.

Molly said that she'd rather stay home with me tomorrow because she misses me when she is at school.  I know that she wants that one on one time with her teachers as well but with 20 students, it's next to impossible.  To show her a little love from home, I asked her what she wanted for lunch and I honored her request. (Plus, I made sure to blow extra kisses on everything that I'm serving her so that she might feel how much she is loved.)

Our main entrée is a good old pb&j on whole wheat.  We used Trader Joe's Cranberry Apple Butter instead of jelly again, but it was by request.  It really is a good tart and sweet flavor that compliments the peanut butter nicely.  We made sure to cut out as many hearts as we could to show Molly how much she is loved.

We have some vanilla yogurt because Molly said that it would taste good to her belly.  She had complained about some tummy issues tonight, but we are pretty confident that it is just some separation anxiety creeping up on her.  We agree that it will probably be nice and soothing on her stomach.  

Molly requested some pretzels to go with her sandwich.  She likes the crunch and salt, plus they are pretty nutritious.  

Finally, we have some home made chocolate chip cookies.  We made these classic favorites today.  Molly didn't have school and we always try to do something special on her days off.  Molly and her sister had a blast helping to measure out the ingredients and mix them up.  Plus, it is fun to watch them bake in the oven since we have a light in there.  

I know what you are thinking.  What about a fruit or vegetable?  You are carb-loading your kid!  Chocolate chip cookies, nutritious?  

Well, I think that it's fine to break from tradition every once in a while to honor a request lunch.  My friend Adam will be so pleased since he thinks that I only feed my kids twigs, wheat germ, veggies and trail mix. ☺

Back at it!

After two days off, we are headed back to school tomorrow.  Molly can't wait to get back into the swing of things.  She is one of those kids who really likes school.  We didn't have school Monday or Tuesday because of parent/teacher conferences.  I went in today and I was so pleased with what I heard.  Molly has been struggling a little bit with reading but she really is giving it her all and it has been recognized by her teacher.  The teacher gave us some great tips on helping Molly at home and included web-sites and games to try.  We are so blessed that Molly has such an incredible First Grade teacher who really cares about her students.  Teachers don't usually get the recognition that they deserve so I just want to put it out there; thank you to all current, former and future teachers, you are so important to the future of our world and we very much appreciate you.

Our main entrée is not the average pb&j.  We've decided to mix it up a little and use Trader Joe's Cranberry Apple Butter instead of jelly.  This tart and sweet condiment is definitely a favorite at our house.  We use it on sandwiches with cream cheese, we use it on turkey and now on peanut butter.  Trader Joe's only sells it for a short time so if you have the opportunity, give it a try.  We used a cat shaped cookie cutter for the large sandwich and the heart micro cookie cutters for the little sandwiches.  Molly loves cats!

Our vegetable side is seedless cucumbers.  We peeled and cut the cucumbers into sticks.  Most cucumbers are cut in circles but the sticks seem to go over a little better with Molly.  We also figured that the cucumbers would be a good palate cleanser since we are serving peanut butter.

Our fruit side is strawberries.  We keep finding these little gems and they honestly taste great.  Molly says that strawberries are like dessert because they are so sweet and juicy, just like ice cream.  Plus, they remind us of summer.  Since it was in the 30's here in Pittsburgh this morning, we need all the reminding we can get. ☺

Finally, for dessert, we have Peanut M&M's fresh from the Trick or Treat bag.  We usually don't do candy unless it's Fun Friday but we've made an exception because of the plethora of candy at our house.  Plus, Molly has been very good and exceptionally helpful over this small break from school so she deserves a little reward.