If this happened with my big kids, I’d probably add some milk to cool it off but my little guy makes enough mess with his lunch already – soupy, cheesy, pasta would only increase my clean-up later.  So I reached for one of my favorite cheap tricks.  Plastic ice cubes.

I’m not exactly sure what there were intended for (who would want a big hunk of plastic in their glass?), but at our house we use them as instant coolers.  When food is too hot I grab a few of these from the freezer and toss them in.  They don’t water-down the food like regular ice cubes and they offer an instant cooling effect that saves me from loads of “Mom, can you blow on this?” questions.

My favorite part is that they’re cheap – really cheap.  I bought a whole big bag of them at the dollar store for…well, a dollar.  They’re not just for hot foods, of course.  We’ve used them for lunch boxes, sport bottles, first-aid ice packs, and baby teethers.  Plus, they’re dishwasher friendly.  Just toss them into the utensil basket and you’ll be good to go.  It’s a cheap and easy trick that makes a big difference at our house.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

They’re baked just like regular graham crackers but they’ve got a sweet hint of ginger which makes them taste and look more like the real thing.  In my book, they’re the perfect building tool for all the trains, houses, and x-wing fighters my kids love to make.  All I need is couple boxes of these babies, a few tubs of white icing and a stash of sticky candy and I’m good to go.  No mixing, baking, or sharing required.

Speaking of gingerbread houses, check out this cool collection I stumbled upon last night.

I never thought to use gum as siding – so clever.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Today’s tip comes from many years of late-to-church experience.  If your family has a tendency to slide into the back row 10 minutes after the meeting starts – you may want to read on.

We have nine o’clock church each Sunday morning.  Now, if I were one of those Moms that spent Saturday night ironing white shirts and setting out shoes, that nine a.m. deadline probably wouldn’t be an issue for me.  But I’m not.  I love to squander my Saturday nights doing non-productive things like enjoying a late-night movies with my handsome husband.  The obvious result is a very sleepy Sunday morning where I hit the snooze button as many time as possible before crawling out of bed.  Consequently, I’ve had to come up with a few solutions to help my kids with get dressed for church in a hurry.  This one of my favorites…

I love to use these cheap pants hangers to hold church clothes.  Rather than keep all the elements of a church outfit in different places, I keep all the pieces together on one hanger.  In this case it’s my Son’s hanger – the clips hold his pants and shirt and the hook secures the belt and tie.  When Sunday morning rolls around he just grabs the entire hanger from the closet.  After church, he just snaps the clean stuff back on the hanger and tosses the rest in the dirty clothes (after I nag him a bit, of course).  I don’t have a picture but we use the same trick for the girls’ church outfits as well.

Trust me, if you’ve ever wasted time hunting down a clean pair of tights or searching for a belt under your son’s bed you should definitely give this easy trick a try.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Gross. I hate getting splashed with the dirty dishwater that hangs out in flipped cups. Don’t you? Thankfully, one Cook’s Illustrated (one of my favorite magazines) reader had a great solution. It’s a simple trick that works like a charm.

Next time you have a top rack full of flip-able plasticware just toss a cooling rack on the top. It’s heavy enough to keep the cups and bowls in position yet open enough to let the soap and water work their magic.

It’s an easy trick that will make your next dishwasher unloading a whole lot easier. Just thought I’d pass it on.

‘Cooler’ Cold Lunches Mini-Tip 5: Make Your Mark

You’ve probably been there.  You’re helping your child study for a test and find that the same spelling word manages to stump him over and over again.  You find yourself shouting out “don’t forget, coach is spelled with an OA and globe is spelled with an OBE ” as you drop him off at school on test day – hoping one last reminder will make it stick in his head.  Unfortunately for me, spelling tests happen at the end of the day and my morning reminders are long gone by then.  I could just leave a note in his lunchbox, I suppose, but that would be so ordinary.  It’s much more fun to write it on his lunch instead.

When my kids have a big test I try to give them an edible study sheet in their lunch.  I pick the two or three questions that they’ve been struggling with and incorporate the answers into their meal.  That way they have one more quick reminder before they take their tests.  Whether it’s the capital of Wisconsin or the name of the 16th president – a little bit of marker goes a long, long way.  Plus, since their classmates are usually taking the same tests that day it’s a win-win for everyone at the table.

Of course you could use the markers for other stuff too.  Write a joke, draw a picture, or give them a riddle to solve.  Anything goes.  It’s an easy way to add a little excitement to an otherwise dull, test-ridden day.

Just remember, the markers work best on smoother surfaces.  Here are a few things we’ve tried at our house with good success: bagels, tortillas, wraps, cheese cubes, pancakes, even the inside of Oreos.  I found my orange and black Wilton food markers at Michael’s on the halloween food end cap (by the cupcake sprinkles and cookie cutters).  The other colors came with a color-a-cookie kit I found at Target in the bakery section for less than $5 (complete with 4 hello kitty cookies to color).  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Want to see the rest of the posts in this series?  Click the links below.

Mini-Tip 1: Bite-Size Baggies

Mini-Tip 2: Sneaky Sandwiches

Mini-Tip 3: Stick It to ‘Em

Mini-Tip 4: Bring On the Breakfast

Mini-Tip 5: Make Your Mark

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  So why limit it to the morning hours?  My kids love it when I pack breakfast for lunch.  We’ve done bagels, pancakes, yogurt parfaits.  This is one of their favorites…

Yep, cold cereal.  Don’t ask me why they think this is so cool, but they love it.  I pack a big container of their favorite cereal and a spoon and then buy a cold milk carton from school.  Talk about easy.  My only rule is that they can’t have cereal twice in one day.  If they want a cereal lunch then they need to have a protein-rich breakfast like scrambled eggs or wheat peanut butter toast.

Here’s another popular breakfast for lunch option…

I simply toast up Eggo waffles or grab some leftover homemade waffles from the fridge and stick them in their lunch box containers with a baggie of syrup.  At school they tear the waffles into strips and dip away.  Again, I try to give them a little protein by packing some trail mix on the side or a few sliced apples with peanut butter.  See?  I told you these were easy tips.

Just one more mini-tip to go and it’s one of my kid’s favorite cool lunch tricks.  You won’t want to miss it!  I’ll try to get it up for you tomorrow.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Want to see the rest of the posts in this series?  Click the links below.

Mini-Tip 1: Bite-Size Baggies

Mini-Tip 2: Sneaky Sandwiches

Mini-Tip 3: Stick It to ‘Em

Mini-Tip 4: Bring On the Breakfast

Mini-Tip 5: Make Your Mark

What’s true for state fairs is also true for cold lunches…any food is better if it comes on a stick.  Don’t ask me why, but in the eyes of kids, skewering something with a toothpick suddenly changes it from humdrum to totally fun.  I think it makes them feel fancier somehow…like they’re having appetizers off a silver platter rather than ordinary foods from a lunch box.

In fact, to up the fanciness one notch, I use these crystal toothpicks in my girl’s lunches (my son is far too manly – he gets the regular sandwich kind).  My mom found them in the clearance section of Bed, Bath & Beyond ($6 for a pack of 48).  Aren’t they cute?  As a bonus, they’re made of plastic so they can be rinsed and reused time and time again.

I use them for anything from grape kabobs to mini sandwich skewers (cut with small cookie cutters).  Lately I’ve made a few Lunchables knock-offs and added toothpicks just for fun.  I cut a few slices of turkey and cheese into squares with a pizza cutter after dinner and had the kids skewer them.  I stored them in the fridge and then threw in some ritz crackers the next morning before school.  So easy!  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Two more min-tips to go (are you sick of this topic yet?).  Thanks for all your comments, guys.  It’s great to know I’m not alone in my efforts to kick my hot lunch habit.

Speaking of food on a stick…here’s a pic of me (and my little guy) enjoying a delicious ‘Ear of Carmel Corn’ at the Eastern Idaho State Fair last week.  I guess my kids aren’t the only ones drawn in by the “stick it to ‘em” strategy.

Want to see the rest of the posts in this series?  Click the links below.

Mini-Tip 1: Bite-Size Baggies

Mini-Tip 2: Sneaky Sandwiches

Mini-Tip 3: Stick It to ‘Em

Mini-Tip 4: Bring On the Breakfast

Mini-Tip 5: Make Your Mark

My oldest son, Jack, loves peanut butter & honey sandwiches.  He would eat them everyday if I let him.  He’s not a big fan of wheat bread, however.  To give him a little boost of whole grain but still give him the softness he loves, I meet him halfway.  I use one slice of wheat and one slice of white.

I also use big cookie cutters to trim off the crusts.  I know what you’re thinking - a good mom would make him eat every crumb of that crust because there are starving children somewhere who would be grateful to have it (can you hear your mother’s voice in your head?).

This bugged me for a while too…until I realized that by cutting off the crusts my kids were about 99% more likely to actually eat the sandwich.  Since my goal is to get the food into my kids and not into the trash – the cookie cutter compromise works for me.  Plus, I can use the shapes to send a message.  This ‘good luck’ shamrock sandwich went with my daughter on the day of her big vocabulary test.

If you can’t bring your self to pitch the crusts you can still make a cool framed sandwich.  Just flip the shape over and wedge it back into sandwich.  The white side will act as a border for the wheat shape.  I found a huge selection of big cookie cutters at Hobby Lobby for just under $1 each.  More tips to come soon…just thought I’d pass it on.

Want to see the rest of the posts in this series?  Click the links below.

Mini-Tip 1: Bite-Size Baggies

Mini-Tip 2: Sneaky Sandwiches

Mini-Tip 3: Stick It to ‘Em

Mini-Tip 4: Bring On the Breakfast

Mini-Tip 5: Make Your Mark

Remember, if you’d like instant access to the links I love and a few other tips and tricks, you can sign up to be a follower on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon at the top of the page or by following this link and then clicking the Like button. Here are the links from last week…

Peppertowne

I have loads of great memories of my childhood tree swing. If I had a sturdy tree in my yard I’d whip up something like this for my kids to enjoy. Such a smart and simple idea!

Angry Chicken

Are your kids a little stir crazy this summer break? Grab a moving box, roll of tape, and a paintbrush and let them whip up a whole new world with this great tutorial.

Smashing Magazine

Hey all you font lovers out there. Check out the beautiful freebies listed on this inspiring design site.

How about riding down a huge water slide in this?

Does the idea of popping one of these into their mouth make their nose wrinkle in disgust?

If so, I can relate.  My kids were scared of all of those things and more.  So last summer we began a new tradition – our annual Fear Factor Challenge.  It was inspired by a clever ‘try new foods’ program at my kids’ school.  Each month they provided a new food for the kids to sample at lunch.  Anyone brave enough to try it signed their names on a poster and got to shout out ‘Fear is Not a Factor for Me!’ in the lunchroom.

My kids were pretty picky eaters so I decided to try it at home as well.  It worked beautifully.  Any new food they tried (without complaining) earned them a point.  Once they earned 10 points, they got to choose the next Sunday’s dinner and dessert.  Totally simple and effective – I loved it.

After a month or so, I started realizing that the fear factor concept could help out in other areas too.  Anytime my kids were nervous to try something new I would give it a fear factor point value and offer it to them like a money job.  For example, jumping off the dock at the lake was worth 3 points for my son.  Riding the big roller coaster at our local amusement park was worth 5 for my oldest daughter.  Instead of earning custom meals, they’d save up their fear factor points to earn prizes – like a trip to the gas station for a treat or a Redbox movie.

Honestly, I was amazed at how differently my kids approached new things.  They looked at everything like a challenge to be conquered rather than an insurmountable obstacle.  They jumped in lakes, rode scary rides, ate terrible-looking veggies, you name it and they tried it.  They were still nervous, of course, and they didn’t conquer everything (my son swears that no amount of points will get him down the big water slide) but they liked it because they were in control.  I didn’t have to persuade or plead – I just offered the points and let them work out whether or not it was worth it.

Most of the time, it was.  Consequently, I’ve got quite a few video clips of last summer’s adventures where my kids are triumphantly shouting “Fear is not a factor for ME!”

We generally kept track of the points in our heads or on the big board but I thought it might be fun to make an actual chart this year.  It’s nothing fancy, but if you’ve got kiddo that’s a little hesitant to sleep with the door closed, try out the high dive, or ride a bike down the big hill, this chart may be just the thing you need.  You can find the free printable below.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Download: Fear Factor Scorecard