It’s been crazy in our house. We painted it.
Before:
After:
Oh, we aren’t done. There’s still two windows, a sliding glass door, and some trim work. Chris keeps trying to point out how much money we saved doing it ourselves. Which is true, but we wouldn’t be exhausted or sore if we’d paid professionals to do the job. It does look so much better now. We had wonderful family and friends helping us out. I am so thankful for all their help, I hate thinking about how long this would’ve taken without them. I grilled us up some beer butt chicken (amazing) green beans, rolls and baked potatoes. Great meal with great people.
My stepmama introduced me to a really cool blog, This Lunch Rox! I love it so much, I bought G a new lunchbox. It made me realize that we haven’t put enough emphasis on nutrition. Natural/organic doesn’t mean there isn’t junk food. Until the new one arrives, I’m using little tupperware cups to pack stuff. There’s a lot more washing involved, but it’s working good. Having Grace bring home the containers has brought another issue up, portion sizes. I know some days G won’t be as hungry, or will be more hungry, but I really want to keep food waste to a minimum. Tomorrow I’m sending her with a sandwich, strawberries, blueberries, grape tomatoes, almonds and some dark chocolate covered blueberries. This weekend I’m picking up some dried cherries and making her some cookies using almond flour. I’m also researching energy bar and breakfast cookie recipes. I really want to make Grace nutrition packed meals. Especially her lunches, she needs that brain food at school!
Before dinner, G and I went out hunting for milkweed and caterpillars. As it turns out, there is only one milkweed plant on our entire acre. Can you believe that? We still had a great time looking at leaves and chasing the pups. After, Grace went to her room to read while I made dinner and apple crisp. I made Grace a reading nook this weekend. It’s just the floor of her closet. I put up felt flowers, bought her a lovely pink pillow and put her green sleeping bag in there. The dogs drive her nuts when she’s trying to read, so I figured a quiet space that was for her and only her was just what she needed. Chris added a little touch light, and Grace was in love. She closes the doors and snuggles down. Grace decided she wanted to go to bed early tonight, she has a test and wants to make sure she’s well rested. How did I raise such a responsible little girl? Please tell me this will last!!
See Grace Shine 
The house looks great!
Packing lunches is not just kid’s stuff any more. A few years back, I realized that I was eating a lot of junk by hitting the fast food places near work. I noticed an immediate impact when I began packing my own lunches. Since I would look a little eccentric with a colorful lunchbox like Grace’s, I still opt for the the multiple serving size containers. Today it’s V-8, Kashi bar, tossed salad, and grilled chicken on whole wheat for me… of course, I forgot to mention the thermos of coffee. Now that’s something I learned from your Dad.
What a difference paint makes… looks great!
Yeah, you’ve gotta read those labels for sugar content. Have you ever tried Larabars? They’re mostly just fruit and nuts, and come in various flavor combos like cherry pie and cashew cookie [my fave]. I found a recipe online to make my own, but the store bought ones are better. Target carries the smaller sized ones in a box, and most good grocery stores have individual full size bars.
Thanks for sharing the website!
Oops! I meant this as a comment to Betty, not a reply to Mr. Up2knowgood.
I haven’t, but I will! I was thinking of trying Quest.
They have plain ones too! It’s hard feeding kids. I have to google ingredients before putting things in the cart sometimes.