I think I'm becoming a muffin tin meal convert.
I started following Muffin Tin Mom a few weeks ago, thinking that the meals were very cute, but nothing I would ever have time (or be creative enough!) to do.
However...
As I mentioned the other night, Charlie is a very picky eater. He might be happy eating chicken nuggets, PB&J or mac & cheese all the time, but I get bored feeding it to him! I've been trying to come up with other creative lunches (any suggestions are welcome!) and I was also looking for something that might entice him to take a nap (an ongoing battle for about 2 months now). One afternoon, in hopes of getting him to stay in bed, I promised that I would have a special lunch ready for him when he woke up. When he did wake up that afternoon (woohoo!), I had a muffin tin meal ready to go and he was so excited!
I've been making Charlie a muffin tin meal once a week or so now. (It does take some time and creativity to put together and those are two things that I don't often have.) I've put together a few breakfasts and a few lunches and if Charlie has any leftovers, they end up as snacks later that day. I don't have any special tins, nor do I use special liners or toothpicks. I've been using a regular 6-muffin tin and Charlie loves it. He lights up when he sees his meal and he requests them often. He's even dug in my cupboard for the tin while I was still in bed and carried it into me with his breakfast request. My first tin was nothing special - just different items in the different holes. In putting together my past few tins, I've forced myself to get creative and it's been fun.
Last week, our theme of the week for school was stars so Charlie had a MTM with a large star PB&J, several small PB&J stars, cheese stars, apple stars, some yogurt with sprinkles and some of Isaac's puffs that were shaped liked stars.
This week, our shape of the week is stars (our theme is the sun), so I dug out my large star cookie cutter, my mini star cutter and a mini crescent moon cutter (to spice things up a bit). Today's MTM consisted of a large star turkey, cheese and hummus sandwich (he ate the WHOLE THING!), star and moon cucumbers (he tried them), star and moon cantaloupe pieces (ate almost all of them), blueberry yogurt (too full at lunch, so it became this afternoon's snack), one moon and one star brownie, and some goldfish (didn't want to give up any more of Isaac's puffs - they're expensive!).
It's been fun to come up with different foods to cut up and it's been nice using my cookie cutters for something other than sugar cookies! I can't wait to do a Halloween tin! I've been forcing myself to get creative and I'm enjoying it. Unfortunately, I was in a such a hurry to get lunch on the table for Chris and myself that I didn't get a chance to take any pictures today before Charlie started digging in (and it's too bad 'cause it was pretty cute!). I plan to with the next meal. :)
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Something More
Lately, I've been wrestling with a feeling of wanting more in my life. I want to be something more than a mother and a wife. I want to be something. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't see anything wrong with my current role. It's working very well for me and my family right now. However, I've always envisioned more for myself. Even when I was working, I wanted more. I'm a smart woman and I don't think I'm living up to my full capabilities. Growing up and playing with friends, I pretended I was a lawyer or doctor. I went through phases of wanting to be an archaeologist, a vulcanologist, a heart surgeon, a lawyer, a teacher, and so many more things. I love to learn and there is so much in life that I want to do.
Now, it's not really possible for me to continue my schooling at this point in time, but I can always dream, right? We don't have the money for more school, nor do I have the time for classes or homework. I do dream about it often (especially in September when school is starting up again), although I can't decide what exactly I'd like to do next. I'm toying with a few ideas but I don't know if anything will materialize from it.
My newest dream is getting a Master's in library science. I giggle at the vision of myself as a librarian (I picture glasses and a bun in my hair), but I also think it'd be perfect for me. Organization is one of my strong points and I don't leave the house without some sort of reading material - libraries are a mecca of organization and books. It'd be a perfect combination for me.
For me, the sensation of opening a brand-new book - the smell, the feel of the crisp pages turning in my hands, the anticipation of making a new friend with the characters within - brings an immediate sense of happiness. I'm learning to enjoy the sensations of used books, too. They have their own antique-y smells and a history outside of their pages. Imagine all of the people who enjoyed (or despised) the story you're holding in your hands!
I've come to realize that reading is the perfect escape. For just a little while, I can have that something more that I'm wanting in life. I can experience a life that I wouldn't normally be able to experience. I always return to reality, sometimes reluctantly, but I was able to experience something outside of my world for the time the pages were open before me.
Sharing the new worlds within books with someone else is a wonderful feeling, and I'm enjoying making little readers out of my boys. For school, Charlie and I read at least two books together every day. He enjoys listening to the stories and it makes me so proud to find him sitting with a book and working his way through the story - either remembering what I've previously read or creating his own story from the pictures. Isaac is also quite interested in reading material. He enjoys listening to me read, but at the moment, I think his tastes lean more towards eating. Every time he's near me when I have a magazine, I end up tearing out a page for him to munch on!
When I'm relaxing, it's hard to find me without some sort of reading material in my hands or at least nearby. I love language and seeing the different ways that letters and words can combine to create a great story. I enjoy sharing my literary finds with other people, especially those who aren't normally readers, and I'm always on the lookout for new material. Who knows? Maybe in time, I'll make this my dream my reality.
Now, it's not really possible for me to continue my schooling at this point in time, but I can always dream, right? We don't have the money for more school, nor do I have the time for classes or homework. I do dream about it often (especially in September when school is starting up again), although I can't decide what exactly I'd like to do next. I'm toying with a few ideas but I don't know if anything will materialize from it.
My newest dream is getting a Master's in library science. I giggle at the vision of myself as a librarian (I picture glasses and a bun in my hair), but I also think it'd be perfect for me. Organization is one of my strong points and I don't leave the house without some sort of reading material - libraries are a mecca of organization and books. It'd be a perfect combination for me.
For me, the sensation of opening a brand-new book - the smell, the feel of the crisp pages turning in my hands, the anticipation of making a new friend with the characters within - brings an immediate sense of happiness. I'm learning to enjoy the sensations of used books, too. They have their own antique-y smells and a history outside of their pages. Imagine all of the people who enjoyed (or despised) the story you're holding in your hands!
I've come to realize that reading is the perfect escape. For just a little while, I can have that something more that I'm wanting in life. I can experience a life that I wouldn't normally be able to experience. I always return to reality, sometimes reluctantly, but I was able to experience something outside of my world for the time the pages were open before me.
Sharing the new worlds within books with someone else is a wonderful feeling, and I'm enjoying making little readers out of my boys. For school, Charlie and I read at least two books together every day. He enjoys listening to the stories and it makes me so proud to find him sitting with a book and working his way through the story - either remembering what I've previously read or creating his own story from the pictures. Isaac is also quite interested in reading material. He enjoys listening to me read, but at the moment, I think his tastes lean more towards eating. Every time he's near me when I have a magazine, I end up tearing out a page for him to munch on!
When I'm relaxing, it's hard to find me without some sort of reading material in my hands or at least nearby. I love language and seeing the different ways that letters and words can combine to create a great story. I enjoy sharing my literary finds with other people, especially those who aren't normally readers, and I'm always on the lookout for new material. Who knows? Maybe in time, I'll make this my dream my reality.
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