Muffin Tin Monday: Big/Little

So, we did our Muffin Tin for Breakfast this morning! For the Big/Little theme, I busted out the Big Muffin Tins and the itsy bitsy muffin tins. Okay, they aren't tins. They are silicone cups. But so what, right? Anyway, since the grocery fairy hasn't stopped to see us lately, I didn't have a lot of things to choose from. So I had to get creative. I decided that it was oatmeal and fruit in the big tins and the stir ins for the oatmeal in the little cups. The kids helped put it together. This muffin tin meal required math (dividing the toppings into half in order to get equal amounts in each cup of oatmeal) and fine motor skills (pouring and stirring). Yay!

Donut's meal... it's still sitting on the table here at lunch time. She was too busy throwing a big fit to eat. Sigh.

He-Man's meal.

Hemp seeds, coconut flakes, raisins, cantaloupe, blueberries, cantaloupe, plain oatmeal, earth balance, and more oatmeal.

He-Man finished his off in record speed though. He says it was, "Good".

Draykie enjoyed attacking the bag from his Kroger manager's special Seventh Generation Diapers ($2.99/bag... we got them all).

And what did mommy eat for breakfast? This:

Ezekiel sprouted grain English muffin, sliced tomato, green peppers and cucumbers, organic mustard, and an organic breakfast Sunshine patty (they were on sale).

Go here to submit the link to your own Muffin tin meal!

Family Fun Fridays

I don't know about you guys, but I find that my blog is one of my main motivations for me to follow through with things. If I know that I can show something off on my blog, I'm much more likely to make my kids a creative lunch, or get out the supplies and help them make a craft. I know, I know, just seeing their happy faces should be enough but somehow it's just more fun when I can take pictures and share it with the blogosphere. So, one thing I've been having trouble following through with has been family nights. Or special family time. The kids are constantly badgering me to pop popcorn and have movie night. Or maybe they want to have a picnic in the front yard or lay on the trampoline and look at stars. Whatever the case may be, I simply cannot get motivated to actually agree to these activities and then follow through with doing them. So that is why I've created this new meme... Family Fun Fridays. Each Friday I'll be joining up with my kids (and occasionally the Captain as well) for a special day or night of fun for the whole family. I'd love to have you join me. I'll be using Mister Linky and you'll be able to grab the button for the meme to place on your sidebar as well. I look forward to reading about how you and your whole family are enjoying your Fridays and hopefully we'll be able to inspire other families who are struggling to find the time for fun in their weeks!

I'll try to come up with a button for this meme! :)

BBQ Tofu "Recipe"

I'm not big on recipes. I don't measure things. But here are the steps for making my awesome, amazing, fabulous bbq tofu.

First of all, get the tofu in the tubs of water that you will find in the produce/refrigerated section of the grocery store. When you get it home, put it in the freezer. A person I dislike greatly did give me that tip many years ago and I've been forever thankful. Once the tofu has been frozen and then thawed, it takes on a new texture. It's chewier and is just simply easier to work with. Trust me, you won't be sorry. I keep a few containers of tofu in my freezer at all times.

Next, when you are thawing your tofu, either keep the container intact or put it up somewhere that your 3 year old is unable to reach. Or else you might end up with a few oddly shaped pieces of tofu like you see here in my pictures.

After the tofu is thawed, squeeze it. A lot. To get out all of the liquid. Then slice it.

On one plate, put a bunch of bbq sauce. I like the sauce from Trader Joe's.

You can dip the tofu in the sauce. Then you will coat it with the breaded topping. All of ingredients for the breaded topping can be seen here:
(that's garlic powder, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, oregano, onion powder, bread crumbs, pepper, and salt)
Make lots of the breaded topping. Whatever doesn't stick to the tofu will bake, get crunchy and make a fantastic topping for the salad you might serve with the tofu.

Cover the little pieces of tofu with sesame seeds. Or you could put them in the topping. Whichever!

Bake at 350 for a while. Don't ask me how long. Keep an eye on it. When it's nice and brown, it's done.

Enjoy!

Encouragement Works

I can't even imagine being one of those moms whose child refuses to do chores. I'm constantly racking my brain to try and come up with new things that He-Man can do safely in order to help around the house. He so enjoys being a little helper. I think that the main reason that he's developed such a sense of pride in being helpful is because I use encouragement instead of praise to help motivate him. There is a very slight difference between the two concepts and I feel like, for the most part, I've mastered the art of being an encouraging mother. Lately, I haven't even had to ask or remind him to do his chores. He just jumps in. I say something like, "Wow, I got that done a lot faster with your help. Thanks." or "I sure do appreciate it when I don't have to do all of the work myself. You are a helper." Well, he can't get the work done fast enough. His jobs are to put away the silverware from the dishwasher, put his dishes in the sink, help put away the dishes, and sorting the recycling. He's even gotten pretty good at being careful when he picks up a tin can and careful to gently place the glass into the bins. I'm very impressed. Yesterday I knew that I'd done a great job in the parenting department when I thanked him for putting away the silverware and he said something to the effect of, "I like to do things to help you and dad. If I can do them then there is no reason for you guys to do them." Amazing. I mentioned to him that his desire to take some of the load off us is a great sign of respect and that he should be proud. Just look at him beaming.

I didn't really do chores when I was a kid. I remember that I fed the dog. Most of the time. I put away the laundry occasionally. I dried the dishes and helped put them away. But I don't remember being encouraged for doing them. My parents often stated that my job was to go to school and learn. And well, I don't even have to tell you what I think about that! When I think back to my fragile self-esteem and how much I just needed to feel worthy, accomplished, and appreciated, I can't help but imagine that maybe a little bit of responsibility would have gone a long way.

What are some of the chores you have assigned to your children? Any ideas on chores that are appropriate for a 5 year old boy?

Snapshot Sunday

What's for lunch? Tuna salad sandwich, salad, and watermelon.

Compost plate. Whenever I freeze my bananas for smoothies, I always have a giant pile of junk like this!

Umm... where I intended to do this craft. Intended being the operative word.

New pajamas for the growing guy. Courtesy of his grandma.

Green smoothie, Method cleaner for disinfecting the house, two small blank books for the purpose of recording all of the cute kid sayings, a jar of all natural fruit spread and two slices of Ezekiel toast ready for the fruit spread. And that little green thing? A Mike Wazowski Weeble.

Go here to play.

Quick bloggy update

Been sick this week. :(
Been working on my homeschool home makeover mission. :)
Look for my new meme on next Friday: Family Fun Friday. (More to come about that over the weekend).
Expect a fun tofu recipe and some rantings on my cd collection in the near future!

Have a happy 4th of July, dear reader!

Muffin Tin Monday: Patriotic Theme

Blueberries, Mozzarella cheese, Trader Joe's Potato Lentil Curly snacks, Raspberries, and Super Cranberry/Pomegranate Snack blend (also from Trader Joes) and Cherry Juice in Blue cups!

I love fun memes like this. Head on over to Her Cup Overfloweth if you would like to participate!