How to make S'mores Pops

Fall weather has arrived, and even though we often find ourselves roasting during the day, the temperatures drop at night, so it's too chilly for a more enjoyable kind of roasting: roasting marshmallows for s'mores, that is.  But only wimps let a bit of cold weather get in the way of an ooey, gooey s'more, so we make them in the microwave instead.  I recently discovered an even better way to enjoy s'mores -- S'mores Pops -- so I decided to try them out myself.

What's for lunch?

I wish I could say that all my kids' lunches are this healthy -- garbanzo nuggets, broccoli spears, Snappea Crisps and dried pineapple -- but the truth is, I sometimes pack fairly junky lunches.  Leftover pizza.  Cookies.  Cupcakes.  Halloween candy.  Even (gasp) Lunchables!  Sometimes I was too lazy forget to stock up on healthy foods at the grocery store.  Sometimes I oversleep and resort to prepackaged foods.  Sometimes I just feel like surprising my kids with a treat.  When that happens, I just try to include a fruit or a vegetable, and tell myself I'll make up for it with a more nutritious dinner. Unless we go to In-N-Out :)

Overscheduling The Pea

Overscheduling.  All the parenting magazines and parenting experts and parent groups say it's bad for kids. Everyone says loading up on too many organized activities leads to too much stress and not enough family time.  Everyone yearns for the carefree childhood of long ago, when kids simply played in the yard all afternoon.

Everyone, it seems, except my daughter.

How to make a Halloween Treat Bag from Duct Tape

Halloween is just around the corner, so I'm keeping an eye out for fun, fab Halloween craft and decor ideas. This year The Pea is all about patterned duct tape -- she has been using it to create everything from wallets to hair ribbons.  So when Scotch duct tape sent me some Halloween-themed rolls, I decided to try my hand at creating a craft of my own.  I came up with cute Halloween gift bags.  Here's how to make them:

What's for lunch?

The kids aren't the only ones I pack lunch for; most days Alfie takes a packed lunch to work as well.  He likes it because he can eat while he works through lunch, which lets him leave the office earlier, and I like it because it saves money!  Most days I pack exactly the same lunch for Alfie as I do for the kids -- the only difference is that I leave the juice boxes, yogurt tubes and Dora the Explorer ice blocks out of Alfie's lunch.    One of his favorite lunches is  Branston Pickle and sharp cheddar cheese on buttered white bread; in this photo I served it with cucumber slices and plain chocolate McVitie's Digestive biscuits.  It's a very English lunch, and in case you need translation, "plain chocolate" means dark chocolate, and "biscuits" are cookies.

Things I must have for my next party

Last night I attended a friend's birthday party, and even though I didn't know too many people, I had an amazing time.  The celebrant really went out of her way to plan the perfect party -- people were entertained and well-fed, the conversation kept flowing and the smiles were in full force.  She thought of everything!  I made lots of mental notes about all the cool stuff that went on at her party, and added them to my wishlist of attractions for the next party I throw (whenever that may be). Here's my list of "party-tractions" that I think would make any party memorable:

What's in our lunch?

It has been a while since I've done a post about what we're having for dinner.  Although I'm happy to note that I've been really good about making most of our dinners from scratch, and about keeping us meat-free most days of the week, the truth is that I've found myself too lazy lacking the inspiration to post about it week after week.

A room of their own

When we first began thinking of adding a second story to our bungalow, The Pea was an only child.  3Po and Jammy weren't even a twinkle in Alfie's eye, let alone two.  So our plan was to add 2 upstairs rooms, one for The Pea and another for us.  I suppose we could have changed our plans once the boys were conceived and born, but we didn't really have the space or the money for the third room, so we decided to let all 3 kids share a room.

That's how it has been for 8 years.

Restroom signs at Legoland Windsor

I didn't think any theme park could compare with Disney for witty, cute restroom signs, but I was proved wrong when we visited Legoland Windsor in July.  This was our third visit to the park, but on our previous two visits I hadn't started photographing restroom signs yet (I guess I was too preoccupied with changing diapers before they exploded or getting a potty-training kid to a toilet before he ended up spending the rest of the day with wet clothes, to notice cute restroom signs).  I dare anyone to say they are not as adorable as the ones at Disney (is it too weird to use the words "adorable" and "restroom" in the same sentence?):

Why don't our public schools have uniforms?

Today was the first day of school, and it's one of those milestone First Days of School, because The Pea is now a 6th grader. I feel like we've entered a whole new world, and in a sense, we have.  Now that she's in middle school, The Pea bikes to school on her own, she'll be moving from class to class, she has her own school locker, and she has to follow a dress code.  

Having to deal with The Pea's dress code has brought about a fresh wave of longing for school uniforms.  I wore uniforms as a schoolgirl, and all schoolchildren in the UK (where we spent 5 weeks of our summer vacation) wear uniforms as well.  Schoolwear in the UK can cost as little as £2 for a top, £3 for a pair of trousers, £4 for a cardigan, and £5 for a pinafore.  I honestly don't understand why US public schools haven't adopted the practice.  I dug out a post I wrote a few years back for the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, and I found that my post is just as relevant today as it was then.  

To celebrate the First Day of Middle School, I'm reprinting my post: