A Valentine' s Day Blog Just in Time for Mother's Day

You know the drill. Valentine's day. Class list. Candy. Spongebob Squarepants cut out cards. Etc, etc. I looked it over and thought, "Time to get crafty" 
But, as demonstrated by my two month delayed blog post, I am a wee bit short on time these days. Here is a quick and dirty craft idea that soothes the craft beast without being a time suck.

Bookmark Valentines

 

 A couple of old manilla folders

Some crafty scrapbook paper

Yarn

Glue stick

Hole punch

Optional but incredibly helpful

paper cutter

Stamp Set

Here we go.....

 Cut your manilla folders and craft paper to the desired bookmark size. A paper cutter makes quick work of this.

Kid time: glue the craft paper to the cut folder strips

Then punch a hole in the center of each glued bookmark.

 

 Pull the yarn through the hole and tie.

Fairy band-aid optional

On the back she stamped "to" and "from" and wrote all her friends names.

 It took about two hours and she was so proud to give them out. A fun craft project even when it's not Valentine's Day. 

All my supplies, including the paper cutter, were purchased at the local thrift store and cost under $10 for the everything!

Quick and Easy Sushi rolls

Ask my daughter what she wants to eat and it's usually one of two things: mac and cheese or sushi. I have solved this problem by not asking her what she wants, but occasionally I like to indulge her. However, I tire of spending the money taking her out to the DC Sushi bars. That's when I came up with the following:

Sushi Assembly Line all laid out

Pack of Seaweed wrappers: snack size ($.99)

One avocado ($.99)

One cucumber ($.89)

Scallions ($.50)

Smoked Salmon (ranges in price, used about $3 in rolls)

Microwave sushi rice bowl- making boiled rice is cheaper($2.99)

Soy Sauce for dipping

 Grab a wrapper, stuff it full of whatever you want, stick in your mouth. Easiest recipe I have ever come up with, but so fun that we sat at the table eating for over an hour. 

 

This is simply my take on the assembly line. The options are literally endless. The point is that it is a) cheap, b) easy c) kid friendly fun and d) super healthy

The bowls you see in the pictures are some tofu ochazuke I made that was cast aside for sushi construction.

Breaking News: Working Mom has no time to blog.

I know, I know. It's lame. Ever since I went back to working full time my blog has gone from everyday updates to quarterly postings. My deepest apologies. I am putting it back at the top of my to do list.

Revisiting the blog, I noticed in my intro I clearly state that I will write about other things besides what Zoe eats. Today is that day.

Thought #1: What I eat for breakfast.

I am hungry all the time. And when I don't eat enough, hungry turns into famished. So for those of you that don't need a big breakfast, this is going to sound disgusting. But for those of you who eat a bowl of cereal and still have growling stomachs an hour later. I offer you this:

MY DAILY BREAKFAST

Saute Dr Praegers Gluten Free Veggie Burger

(no oil needed, just toss and brown)

When both sides are browned,

put a sprinkle of shredded cheese on one side and then a big handful of fresh spinach

Flip it over so the spinach is pan side down

Let cook one minute, until spinach is all cooked down.

Addendum:

When I am starving I fry an egg at the same time and throw that on top for extra protein

And to drink I waver between:

V-8 (cause I looooove sodium)

Herbal tea (if the stress is high)

or my new favorite discovery: water spiked with chlorophyll

Thought #2- ChlorOxygen. I am a fan.

I first bought ChlorOxygen because I was having headaches and was always tired. Whenever I told my husband, he would say maybe it was barometric pressure. Men.

Anyway, I was reading about natural cures for altitude sickness one day (that's totally normal light reading for me) and it mentioned chlorophyll. The more I read about Chlorophyll the more I wanted to add it to the regiment.

Here are its highlights:

With a good source of iron, helps to build red blood cells

Increases red blood cells ability to carry oxygen

ie. more energy

Internal deodorizer (esp. good for stubborn funk mouth)

Safe for pregnant ones and little ones

Great for altitude sickness

Tasty

I like the one from Herbs, etc because its made from nettles

I give it to my daughter when she has a headache, I drink it while I workout, I drink it when I crave coffee and my stomach says no coffee. I think you get the idea. Enjoy. OK, next thought....

Thought #3- Something you can't eat

As my daughter gets older, her life is less about what I want and more about who she is. Amazing, really. Every once in a while our desires align and it is sweet. Lately, there is one thing we can agree on- a love of all things fashion.

I recently purchased the following:

These books are crazy fun. For me and her. A rare treat. When I am feeling low key and need to chill, we pull out our books and some fancy colored pencils, throw some Project Runway repeats on Hulu (be forewarned: language is awful on that show) and bond. Highly recommended.

So there you have it. The blog is back up and running. See you all real soon!