I’m sitting here at Starbucks… with my laptop… and my latte… trying to get some work done. It’s nice and quiet… I’m the only one here and I have a nice table in the corner. Today, I came to get away a bit and focus on a book I’m writing. With three young ones at home - well, let’s just say the focus wasn’t there I actually come every week… one time I came and an entire girls soccer team showed up. The parents all gathered in the corner… talking and laughing… while their crazy (read: out of control) 10 year old girls were throwing and kicking a little soccer ball INSIDE Starbucks. I tried my hardest to ignore it and focus (that is why I was there after all…) - And, being a mom of three, I think I did pretty good tuning out the chaos.

UNTIL…

The ball came straight towards me and my laptop. Yep. The ball bounced off the table I was sitting at - just inches away from my computer (it would have broken my laptop had it hit it). The parents?… laughing and enjoying their time to catch up with each other. The employees? Oblivious to the chaos in their shop… Me? I probably should have said something… but, I just left. So much for getting any work done.

So… the other day, I visited that new idea site Starbucks has. It’s a great idea - customers can post suggestions and other people can vote and comment on them. I couldn’t believe how many suggestions there were for Starbucks to NOT make their stores more kid friendly. And, some of the comments were incredibly offensive, in my opinion. There were loads of people sharing their terrible experiences with children when they visit Starbucks… that they would rather the children not even be allowed to come there. And, they even suggested that parents should just take their kids to McDonalds instead. Hmf.

Now, I completely understand the frustration (see story above)… but, what about the time I took my (then) 3 year old son to Starbucks and had a wonderful time chatting about all the things that were important to him like bugs and dinosaurs. We had a great time… and I was very proud when a young man took the time to come up to us and complement how well behaved my son had been. I love taking my kids to Starbucks… or a cafe… it is like I’m bringing them into a grown-ups world… and they are expected to behave as such. (after all, it isn’t McDonalds!)

I guess this is a bit of a rant… to all those people who have bad experiences at Starbucks with out of control children… please don’t think all children are like that. Well, maybe they are (kids will be kids) - but, it is the parents who are turning the other way and not paying attention. Creating an environment at Starbucks that is kid-friendly should help the situation because it gives the kids something to do when their parents aren’t looking.

Now before anyone thinks that I am suggesting that my kids are always well behaved (at Starbucks or anywhere else)… they aren’t. They are just like other kids. But, they know what is appropriate ‘inside’ behavior… and if they choose to misbehave, I won’t hesitate to leave…

What about you? Do you bring your kids to Starbucks? Have you had a bad experience with kids there (or anywhere else?) … Do you think banning children from these places is a good solution?

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We went out to dinner last night… it was one of those salad places where you go down the line and build your own salads. I reached the register first and had my 5 year old and 3 year old standing next to me. My husband had my oldest (8) with him and they were still getting the last few things on their salad.

I told the cashier that we had 2 adults and rattled off the kids ages… then she asked me…

“Do you have a senior discount?”

WHAT?!?!?

Hello - I’m 37 - do I really look like I’m even CLOSE to 60? I don’t think so…

It’s kind of a silly joke between my hubby and I - usually people think we are younger than we are… but, although hubby is a year older than me, they always think he is youngest… like 10 years younger! When we were in Puerto Vallarta a few years back - the people there all thought we were in our early twenties (okay, we were in our twenties - but, I think I was 26 and my hubby 27). They were positive my hubby was 22! And it happens everywhere…

But, I couldn’t believe this lady asked if I wanted the senior discount. When we got to the booth I was going off a bit to my hubby - “the nerve… blah, blah, blah…”… and of course, he knew just what to say…

“Honey, she never even looked up at you! If she had she would have thought you were 28 ;-)”

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I am SO NOT a morning person… and I can’t wait until summer when we don’t all have to be out the door before 8am!!

I’m planning on implementing a new summer schedule for the kids - it’s going to look something like this:

Dressed, breakfast and teeth brushed before 9:30am. If they are ready before then (and I know they will be because they are early risers), than they can play until 9:30.

At 9:30 we do morning chores… I’ll have a chore chart in place for each of them. There are some great resources if you google chore charts for kids that list out age appropriate chores. Check out this one… www.ChoreCharts.com

We’ll do chores until 11am… and then it will be play time until noon - then we’ll have lunch. We might pack a picnic and take it to the park or something.

After lunch, I really want to enforce a quiet time. I use to do this when I just had my oldest two - and now that we have three kids… the noise level has gone WAY up - so, we need a quiet time. (Okay, I’ll be honest - I will be the one NEEDING the quiet to keep my sanity

After about an hour of quiet time… the kids can play for a few hours or so… and then will have some late afternoon chores that will likely be focused around getting dinner ready.

Now… ask me in a month how it is going… hehe… stuff like this always looks better on paper - doesn’t it? LOL…

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We’ve all heard it… and, honestly, it only takes about two days into summer before it starts…

“MOM… I’m Bored!”

This is the last week of school for my oldest who is in the second grade… and even though it is barely 60 degrees outside (will summer weather EVER hit the northwest?!?)… I’m already anticipating those days when my kids are wondering what in the world they can do to fight the incredible amount of boredom they are faced with.

I have a couple of ideas… we are going to strictly enforce daily chores (WHOOHOO!!) - and, of course, balance it with play time outside and inside… and I’m planning on taking lots of trips to the library to keep those reading skills growing. But, I still know I’m going to run out of ideas… so, a couple of years ago, I put together a list of things your kids can do this summer to keep the boredom from settling in.

You can check it out here…
www.ImBoredMom.com

And, if you have an idea that keeps your kids from being bored, please comment below - I’d love to hear about it…

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Last week we had our usual family favorite… “Built Your Own Soft Taco/Burrito Night” - The kids love it… and I love it because they always seem to eat best when they make the food themselves

I made sure to cook some extra ground Turkey — that we spiced just enough to make it have a great mexican food flavor. (You can even use one of those Taco seasoning packets from the store!)… Two nights later, I pulled the leftover meat from the freezer - and heated it up along with a jar of spaghetti sauce. It simmered for about 30 minutes before we poured it over the noodles… YUMMY! Just enough kick… everyone loved it!

We did this a couple of years ago when we made dinner for a couple of nights while staying at my brother’s house… everyone wondered what my secret ingredients to the sauce (they knew we had used jar sauce). They couldn’t believe that it was the left over meat from the taco night that made it taste so great!

Do you have a secret way to make something ordinary have some zing?

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Okay - so the economy sucks right now… but, you can still carry or wear your baby with style at a reasonable price! Zolowear has great pouches (and slings) that are absolutely beautiful! I just got an email with their newest designs and it almost makes me want to have another baby just so I can get a new sling! Actually… I still have my zolowear pouch from my youngest - but, was going to sell it at a yard sale next month… haven’t been able to part with it until now (my youngest is THREE!). I bought the sage pouch for $29 in the Zolowear outlet - but, I just noticed that they have it now for only $20! Plus some other incredible designs… AND, excellent customer service and video tutorials!

If you have thought about getting a sling or pouch for your little one - zolowear is worth taking a look at!

Here is a picture of what my pouch looks like…

(this isn’t me… it’s Darien - the creator of zolowear)

Check out these other beautiful designs:

OR…

These are pics from the OUTLET… just wait until you see what is in the regular part of their store!!

Happy shopping!
www.zolowear.com

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Along the same lines of the Macademia and Cashew Butter change I made a few weeks back…

I was thinking about how I can make changes to other favorites my kids have. One favorite is yogurt… but, they get tired of it. So, I’ve been buying different varieties of yogurt… not flavors - but, for example… in one shopping trip I’ll get a bunch of regular yogurt cups, yogurt drinks and go-gurts to go. The kids love to ‘drink’ their yogurt… and I freeze the gogurts. They can either eat them out of the tube or I’ll put it in a bowl and my 3 year old still thinks he is getting ice cream

Of course another way to make little changes to regular favorites for kid snacks is with fruit. Try freezing, putting it in a smoothie, serving with yogurt - or even whipped cream for a little treat.

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All year I have been trying to be creative as I plan my children’s lunches for school. My oldest is in 2nd grade and goes to a school where there are a few students with severe peanut allergies - so peanut butter isn’t allowed. The only problem is that my son absolutely loves peanut butter and jelly - and trying to get him to eat any other type of sandwich or creative alternative just seems to stay in his lunch box.

I don’t know why it took my so long… but, I finally decided to try Macademia and Cashew Butter from Trader Joes… he LOVES it! Finally - he is eating his sandwiches at school and enjoying it! Now, he doesn’t get it every day… I have found that it makes a huge difference to not get into a rut with lunches - but, every single time I’ve made a sandwich with this Macademia and Cashew Butter - he eats it! (too bad it’s $10 a jar!!)

Lesson to learn… we can go crazy trying to come up with something NEW for our children to eat - but, sometimes we just need to make a small change to one of their favorites to make it fresh.

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Since my car accident in late February I have been going to the doctor almost 4 days a week… not an easy task when I need to shuffle three little ones around to accommodate these appointments.

So, I’ve been keeping an eye out for easy, healthy, on the go breakfast ideas… and just yesterday I heard some great suggestions on the radio.

If you are rushing out the door in the morning… and need to bring a healthy breakfast for your kids - check out these ideas.

1. Pour cereal and milk into a zip lock bag. Bring along a straw and spoon and you have an instant breakfast without the bowl
2. Fill an ice cream cone with yogurt, fruit and granola and eat the whole thing! You could even fill the cone the night before and put it in the freezer A HUGE hit with kids!
3.  Make a smoothie - throw frozen fruit, yogurt, apple juice in a blender and pour it in some take-along cups with straws for the kids!

Have anything to add? What is your secret to a quick, healthy breakfast for your little ones?

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I’m curious…  Do you have a favorite dinner staple you can pull out when dinner doesn’t turn out as planned (or never GOT planned)??

Here is mine…

Soft Tacos - Whenever I cook ground Turkey, I cook extra with Taco seasoning and stick it in the freezer for a quick ‘unplanned’ meal. We also make sure to always have these items on hand:

tortillas
cheese
beans
sourcream
salsa
tomatoes

If the meat is cooked ahead of time, this meal can be ready to eat in less than 10 minutes! We just heat up the meat and beans - then put everything on the table for a ‘build-it-yourself’ taco night! The kids love it… and I love it because it is so quick and easy!

What favorite meal do you fall back on in an emergency?

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