Yo Quiero Taco Bell!

MuaHaHaHa

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oh red riding hood, what big lunches you have

This weeks bentos I thought I would make it a themed event! I mean, the fun holiday is right around the corner and Maribel will be little for only a short time so why not make the most of it, right?  She picked out her costume on  her own this year, so independent.

Monday Witchy Bento

Monday:

I was feeling a little witchy and tried my hand at making some witches fingers out of a cheese sticks which later I found out that Maribel thought they were crayons. Fingers, crayons-I can see the similarity. the rest of the lunch included cracker sticks; rolled turkey slices; strawberries and pineapple people; skewered grapes; and witches brooms.

Tuesday: No Bento.
Lucky duck went to Disney with her Daddy while Mommy had to work. So not fair!

Wednesday's Ghostie Bento

Wednesday:
Ghosties: I went with a ghostie theme this lunch with some tombstone PB and honey sandwiches with a little message and licorice strings; grapes, a pumpkin orange, ghostie cheese sticks, and candy corn with a candy pumpkin. To draw the faces and messages I used black glitter icing. At the end of the day I found out that the icing on the pumpkin ran so it didn't look like a pumpkin so she didn't eat it. Oh well. I have my eyes on some food safe markers for next time.

Thursday Ghoulie Bento

Thursday:
Ghoulies: I've been seeing a lot of these mummy wrapped dogs in the toddler snacking circle so I thought that would make for a fun little lunch theme. I found instructions to make them here. The rest of the ghoulie parts include some carrot sticks for ghoul legs; pumpkin orange with no face this time; gummy eyeballs and licorice guts; ghoulie grape heads; ketchup and ranch for dipping; and cheese fingers. 

Friday Little Red Riding Hood Bento

Friday:
I thought it would be fun to send Maribel to daycare in costume so I themed her bento to match. After everything was made I realized it is a very yellow lunch. That's okay, I'm sure she won't notice...
Cheese crackers; fruit leather woodsman; pretzel 'chopped wood' sticks; Mandarin orange flower picked for Grandma;

Oh Grandma, what big ears you have. - wolf ear shaped PB and honey sandwiches
Oh Grandma, what big eyes you have. -gummy eyeballs for dessert
Oh Grandma, what big teeth you have. -apple slices dipped in lemon juice with almond slivered teeth.

Have a spooOooky Friday!

The spooky lunch ideas used are found here :o)

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i scream, you scream...

I've been craving some of this since it's been a little on the warm side today. Sorry but I can't help myself when I hear news about either snow or below 0 temps back home. I'm a stinker. I know ;o)

But I'm not the only one who loves ice cream...

With recent temps being in the high 80's, low 90's (that's high 20's low 30's in Celsius) we have been enjoying a little iced dream to cool things down a bit. Mmm just look at it melt down the side, so cool, so creamy, so refreshing...

This is another layout that I used everything from my stash. I have to justify my December Daily purchases somehow since I don't really have very much Christmassy stuff. What ever helps with the justification...

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incognito

Need a quick costume? How 'bout going incognito?

I already have a little complex about my upper lip as Maribel likes to draw me with a stache and my eyebrow waxing ladies continue to ask me if I'm sure I only want to wax my brows and nothing else. I still don't see it but maybe people will start to notice now...

Here's what you need:

Note: If you do not want to use the fake fur or cannot find any, you can use double felt and follow the same instructions.

 To start fold the chipboard (you can also use a cereal box) in half and draw your moustache pattern and cut out. Then trace and cut out the moustache in the felt. This will be the backside of the stache.

Next you will need to repeat the above step with the fur. Make sure you have the fur laying downwards or your stache will look a little wonky. Using fine tipped scissors, cut out the moustache along the backside liner only. Otherwise you will end up trimming your moustache hairs and we don't want that. I just fed the scissors and snipped little pieces at a time. When it's all cut out, just stroke the loose hairs away. We're almost done...

Now we will need to glue the bamboo skewer to the backside of the felted moustache. Be generous and also make sure you glue the pointy end so you don't end up poking yourself or someone with the stick. Then continue with the glue and attach the furry stach to the felted stache.

Other option: You could just keep it as a felted moustache and cut out two felted moustache outlines and be done.

Grooming:

Now as you can see if it's left as is, your moustache will be a little on the fuzzy side. To tame the wild beast just add a few spritz of some hairspray to groom it to your liking and voila! You are all set a la debonair style.
  

Even Mr. Milo looks spiffy and dashing with his new fuzzy lip. Although, I guess when you think about it, he already has a fuzzy upper lip... hee hee 

I originally saw the moustache on a stick on MS a couple years ago and I'm linking this tutorial HERE. Check it out for some awesome inspiration!!
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broomsticks in hand

stirring stirring witches brew

Ooo Ooo Ooo Ooo

1 step, 2 step, 3 step,

BOO!

Did I scare ya? Ah well, I tried. Since Halloween is right around the corner I thought I would make some fun and spooky treats for little M's lunch.
To start you'll need a fruit rollup, pretzel sticks and scissors.

Carefully unwrap the fruit roll up and cut it into 3x2 inch squares. Then cut a few fringes and roll the pretzel and the fruit rollup together and you're done. If you want a few more bristles to the broom you can snip away. That's it. Easy peasy.

I gave one to Joe and his only comment was "Interesting combination." It's perfect for a kiddo's pallet.
Happy Monday!

>^..^<

so many hobbies...

...so little time.

The Hobby Lobby opened up in Orlando a couple months ago and I am just now getting around to checking it out. And I'm thinking maybe I should have continued on being oblivious because this store has strong potential of pinching my budget!

Just what I need, another hobby store I will frequent....

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honeymoon's over

Maribel comes home tomorrow from her week long trip at North Carolina and Joe and I will be back to our early morning wake up calls to "Hey Mommy, it's a sunny day!" I can't wait to kiss those cheeks and hear all about her grand adventures at Blowing Rock, NC.

One more sleep-in!

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my Daddy-O

You know having lived in Canada most of my life I have only ever seen a wild beaver a handful of times? It's true. There used to be some sloughs along the country road that had a few dams and every now and then you would catch sight of some beaver tail. They are super cute, just don't approach them. I hear they can be feisty little buggers. I'm sure there are some Canadians out there that have never seen wild beaver or moose.

Speaking of moose, on my drive to the airport to catch my flight back to Orlando, my Dad and I saw a couple of moose waltzing along the side of the road without a care in the world. Those suckers are H-U-G-E. And tasty ;o)

And speaking of my Daddy-o it was sketch time over at Skrap N' Chat and this month I decided to do a page about my Dad. I miss him so much. It was a little tough leaving him behind this trip. I don't think you are ever too old to be Daddy's Little Girl.

I had to give myself a pat on the back after completing this page because everything here was from the bellows of my stash. Well, almost everything... the 3D flowers are from a Sizzix die cut I had just received the same day that I couldn't wait to try out. I love how with the change of paper they can go from being girly to masculine. So perfect for my versatile tastes.

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happy as a clam

Have you ever been so excited about a purchase that you find yourself constantly checking your account status to see if there had been any updates? Only to realize that you have turned borderline stalker and had to look up what constitutes as a Facebook and Etsy stalker? Well it happened to me the moment I set my hazel eyes on StephieMc Design's Etsy site. I couldn't help it. I was in love.

I knew this was the one the first moment I saw it. But of course like any purchase I make I had to be sure before making the final decision. So I looked at every. single. necklace before hitting the seal the deal button just to make sure, y'know?

And like anything custom made I knew there would be a production time -hence the birth of the stalker. But it was absolutely worth every second of the wait. You can't rush perfection.

I love it so much.
I love that it has what I hold so dear my heart so close to my heart.
I love the personal touch that was put into each stamped letter.
I love that I received answers to my questions in wicked fast times with such sweetness.
I love that I get compliments on it where ever I go.
I love buying handmade.
I love StephieMc Designs!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Stephanie! I absolutely adore it!!

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stab, choke, drag, throw, repeat

Who knew that self defence could teach one to learn how to knit? I know, awesome right?

I was not feeling well today so a sweet friend came over bearing a bag full of goodies; raspberry tea, all the fixins for a manicure, some knitting needles and yarn. You know, food for the soul. :D

I'm not about the 'fuzzy bunnies peeking out of holes and looping around frollicking about' teaching method. It never works for me. I'm about keeping it real. So after casting off(??) you 1) Stab your attacker (insert the stick through the loop. opps not a stick, needle. it's a needle) 2) Choke the mo (wrap the yarn around the stabbing needle) 3) Drag the dude away (drag the needle and looped yarn through the first loop pulling towards you 4) Throw the punk away (slide the stitch off the cast off needle onto the new needle.) It's self defence and knitting all wrapped in one. Ta daaa.

Isn't that fun? I have until the end of October to finish this scarf for my teacher. I hope she likes it.

>^..^<

Happy 1st Thanksgiving of the year

Being Canadian rocks!!! Especially living in the states because I get 2 Thanksgivings! Woop Woop! :D
I cheated this year by cooking the bird in the Flava Wave instead of the way my mom taught me. That's okay, it still turned out juicy.

Happy Thanksgiving, eh?

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tennis anyone?

Doesn't she look like she's getting ready for a round of tennis? She dressed herself if you couldn't tell. ;o)

Well it was another week of Bentos and another week of Maribel telling me that she doesn't like rice, cheese, pickles, kiwi, and egg which is kinda surprising because she eats all of these things all the time. I'm not sure where this sudden dislike for foods is coming from but I'm ready to nip it in the butt. Variety is the spice of life, or so I'm told. Not the same ole, peanut butter and honey sandwich with grapes and turkey meat over and over and over and over and over and over again. *sigh*

Monday

Monday:
I went to bed early Sunday so Monday morning I slapped this lunch together in record time. Only to find out that there is no Miss Patty's. Oh well, she got to eat it anyways. This lunch included Juice Plus gummies, celery sticks, turkey rolls, grapes, cheddar cheese bears, peanut butter and honey bear stamped sanwhiches, and tulip fruit leathers.

Tuesday

Tuesday:
Another rushed morning so lunch included grapes, a cut up cereal bar, Birdy cheddar cheeses (untouched and later wilted *sigh*,) vitamin gummies, peanut butter and honey dinosaur sandwiches, and ants on the log that I later found out that she only licked out the peanut butter and ants and left the log. That stinker. 

Wednesday

Wednesday:
Another simple lunch which included grapes, carrots with ranch dip inside the cute girl monkey sauce container, iced animal crackers, Juice Plus gummies, peanut butter sandwich that I could have decorated or something but didn't, and applesauce with sprinkles.

Thursday

Thursday:
Felt a little creative and tried my hand at making Octodogs. At least I *think* that’s what they are called,  left over stuffing, carrots with ranch dip in the boy monkey sauce container, pretzels, Noah’s ark and animals fruit leather, and Juice Plus gummies. 

Happy Octodog

Maribel doesn’t like buns with her wieners so this is a nice alternative to giving her a plain dog straight up. To make Octodogs you basically cut the hot dog in half and carefully slice halfway up the wiener shaft *stop laughing* four times to give eight tentacles. Using tongs, hold the Octodog by the “head” in boiling water and watch the tentacles curl. It’s super neat and easy to do.

Friday: no bento.
I did not need to make a bento today because Little Miss Stinkerella is spending the day at Disney with her Grandpa. Lucky duck!  

You may have noticed some new bento boxes..well Vic sent me this link for cheap bento boxes and stuff so of course I had to expand my supplies. I already know I'm obsessed but Miss Patty gave me an A+ for presentation so that was enough justification right there...


Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up. I'm so looking forward to it this year with the breath of fall's cool air on my neck. Ahhh. 

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feeling off

I'm feeling a bit off today.
Not sure if it's because I'm feeling the weight of the world right now with my little world full of uncertainty or if it's because I haven't had breakfast nor lunch today.
Either way, I'm thinking I better stop and get my brows taken care of.
Yikes.
Those puppies must have sprouted over night.
I swear they weren't there yesterday.
And I think I better grab something to eat on the way or I might whither away.
Which wouldn't be so bad.
Would it?

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cheap cheap

My mother in law has always said that my husband was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I never really understood what that meant until recently. For the past several evenings Joe has been so eager to fix dinner. Now I understand why...

Introducing the Flavor Wave.

It went from frozen to cooked in just 2 hours. That's right. 2 hours. And it was so moist and full of flavour and lower in fat because all the fatty drippings are collected and discarded in a tray below. And all that for get this.............200 pennies. Uh huh, you read that right. $2.

It looks like one of those rotisserie chickens you buy at the grocery store. Of course I had to pick a little off the thigh, my favourite part. :P

I don't know how Joe does it but I'm sure happy he does.

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the aidanator

This kid makes me laugh all the time. During my visit he was constantly talking. Seriously, I don't think he even paused for a breath. He would talk about future inventions he will create, favourite robots, his crazy adventures, and his favourite TV shows. You know, typical boy things. The only time he was quiet was when he was eating and sleeping. Even then, there were moments of convo but I didn't mind one bit.

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm soaking in the messages from this year's General Conference. So many important messages that I really need to hear. I need all the help I can get.

>^..^<

bento beginnings

Maribel had her first full week of Bento lunches and I have to say I am getting faster-ish at making them. I found that if I make her lunches the night before that really cuts down our morning time hustle. I’m all about less stress these days. 

Friday 

Last Friday: I finally got a chance to try out the cute egg molds and I like it. I made this lunch Thursday night for Friday's lunchtime so that I had enough time for the eggs to cool off in the little molds. It worked great!!

Bunny egg mold

At lunch time, Miss Patty (her daycare teacher) opened it up and set it out for Maribel. Because the egg was very "egg" smelling, Maribel leaned into her lunch and took a couple wiffs, then leaned back for an assessment. She leaned in again for a couple more sniffs and leaned back again and said very serious like, "I think it's dead."
*sigh* That's my girl.

sorry, no photo :o(
Monday: I cheaped out and just rolled up some lunch meat and used the food picks and I used a cute bear mini cookie cutter to cut out a fruit leather. I stacked the bears and set them aside to put everything else together and when I went to add the bears I noticed they were gone. Maribel was standing there with some full cheeks so I asked her where the bears went. She just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. Little sneak. I didn't add any "dead" things this time and everything else was prepackaged stuff so no photo. It was boring.

in a rush so *again*, no photo. sorry :o(
Tuesday: I hadn't learned my lesson from yesterday to make her lunch the night before so I scrambled to make her lunch and head out the door on time. Tuesday's lunch consisted of little chicks cheddar crackers, drinkable applesauce, turkey rolls on picks, cereal breakfast bar, elephant punched fruit leather and a yogurt. I also added a sliced Kiwi for the first time and I was so happy she likes Kiwi. She has such a picky pallet these days.

 Wednesday

Wednesday: I felt creative and punched out several little guys from a fruit leather and used the butterfly punch for the peanut butter and honey sandwich. I wasted nothing on the fruit leather and punched as many little circles as I could get to decorate the sandwich and the cheese. I tried making a little crab from the cheese but it ended up looking like whiskers to me. So whiskers it was. Does it look like whiskers to you? yeah, me neither. Nummy grapes, cute up breakfast bar, and of course some rolled up turkey meat. Her fave. 


Bad Mom Award. No Bento :'o(
Thursday: No lunch because I am a negligent monster. I stayed up so late preparing for my office Multicultural day and I forgot to make her lunch; then woke up late and had to rush out the door. I know, I know. I'm a terrible mom. Poor thing was so sad she didn't have a lunch. When I came home Joe told me that Maribel cried when it was lunch time because "Mommy didn't make my lunch!" It broke my heart and I felt even worse!! 

Friday

Friday: She has daycare all day today instead of her usual half days so I packed a phatty one to include snacks along with lunch. Notice I used a "ph" instead of an "f" to be sure that I'm not mistaken for packing a high FAT lunch. Not that it matters too much as she's a ball of energy and would burn it off after 5 minutes of play. Oh to have that energy... Her lunch includes peanut sanny's, bunny fruit leathers, yogurt, grapes, Juice Plus gummies, Kiwi (this is new and she loves it. Yay!!) and roasted leftover turkey roast.

To ensure success I ask Maribel what she liked in her lunch that day and I try to add variety for the opportunity to try new things. If she doesn’t like something I won’t add it again. I'm really enjoying making these little lunches especially when she likes them! I hope to get more creative and daring and try some molded rice sculptures. I just want to make sure M will eat them before I go through all the effort. She loves rice but after the hard boiled egg incident I'm not going to risk her not trying something that I know she likes.

Happy Friday!!
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