School Lunches

I saw these cute lunch boxes really cheap on Pick Your Plum a while back and tucked them away for this school year.  The one on the left is Luke's, the one on the right is Hannah's.

I tend to pack boring lunches.  I lamented on Facebook recently that the trend of lunchbox art makes me feel inadequate as a parent, and slightly annoyed all at the same time.

My kids tease me about labeling everything, but the way they scatter everything about like pixie dust, I'd never see it again if it didn't have name stickers on it.

Here's Lukey's lunch.  He takes a boxed toddler meal or a leftover, depending on what's available.  The princess bag (I know, I know, I ordered him some boy bags) has crackers in it.  The school likes us to send something he can pick up as part of his meal so they can help him practice.  His drink is a generic similar to Pediasure.  And his cute turtle bib by Bumkins, I got at zulily.com (affiliate link).

Hannah's Tupperware sandwich keeper came from an adoption fundraiser.  I love these, because the lid is attached, so the kids can't lose it.  She usually takes either a sandwich, a bagel, or noodles in her sandwich keeper.  I'm liking the reusable snack bags.  We use them for crackers or pretzels.

I could use some suggestions on variety in the lunch box.  I'd love to hear what you pack for your kids.

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Cola Flavored Sweet Drops

We recently got the chance to try out cola flavored Sweet Drops from Sweet Leaf.  They're made with stevia, which means no aspertame, sucralose, or methanol.  They're all natural and gluten-free.

Sweet Drops can be added to any sparkling water to transform it into a flavored beverage without the added carbs or calories of traditional sodas.

Just add 2 drops per ounce of sparkling water.  It's fine to play with the amount a little to get the taste you like best.

My family gets a little nervous when I say, "Here, try this!" while holding a camera, but they're pretty good sports.

Of course, the kids see something new and want to try it, too.  Eli, in particular, liked the sweet drops, and wanted to have them with dinner.  I wasn't crazy about the cola flavor, but I'm picky about cola (I like one specific brand).  I think I would enjoy the watermelon or berry flavors.

Sweet Drops come in over a dozen flavors!  They also come in combo packs, so you can have 3 flavors on hand to appease everyone's differing tastes.

You can find Sweet Drops at their website, or on Amazon, as well as at local stores.  Connect with Sweet Leaf on Facebook and Twitter, for updates and specials.

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.  This post contains affiliate links.

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UA ArmourShield Flavor Blast Mouthguard GIVEAWAY

Football season is upon us!  Sam and his team have been practicing hard all summer, and had scrimmages over the weekend.  Now that they're playing in helmet and pads, that means mouthguards!  

And not just any mouthguards.  Under Armour makes flavored mouth guards!  There are flavor beads embedded within these mouthguards that deliver long lasting flavor.  "Way better than the taste of plastic!" according to Sam.

The mouthguard is actually 3 separate pieces; the green base, the clear inset, and the removable strap.  I like that you can wear this with or without the strap.  The base and inset are prepped (in hot water) separately for the best possible fit.

The Flavor Blast mouthguards are available in 5 flavors and 2 sizes.  Are you ready to win one??  Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Got Kids? Like Freebies?

As promised, here's a video of Hannah bowling with our Fruit Shoot bottles.  (We had 6 of them, but one disappeared before she came home from school.)  I tried to get Katie to do it, but that didn't work out.

Click here to find out how you can participate in the Fruit Shoot Have a Ball Stunt Hunt and get a coupon for a FREE BOTTLE of Fruit Shoot!  Are your kids always hamming it up?  Take a video of them and submit it for a chance to have it glammed up with Hollywood special effects.  See the winner's circle for examples.

Fruit Shoot is the perfect size to tuck in a lunch box, and as I mentioned before, it contains no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial dyes.

If you purchase a 6 pack of Fruit Shoot, or 6 individual bottles, you can get a free Waboba Surf Ball!  And when I say free, I actually mean free.  No shipping and handling charge.  This is a $9 value ball that bounces on water.

Thank you to Fruit Shoot for sponsoring today's post and this fun campaign!  Opinions on this blog are all my own.  

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End of Summer Fun with Fruit Shoot

When I was a little girl, there was this off brand soda called Tahitian Treat.  I don't even think they make it any more.  It was red and syrupy, and it was a huge treat when my dad would let me get one--usually for a special picnic lunch or something along those lines.  I loved it.  It was probably full of high fructose corn syrup and Red 40, but you know how it is with treats.  They make you feel good.  

Fortunately, today, we have better options.  Fruit Shoot is one of those.  You can find it in mini marts and gas stations and grocery stores.  But it has NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, and NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS.  In fact, the bottles are red (green, purple, orange) but the drink is not colored.  The red drink contains:  water, sugar, apple, strawberry, and raspberry juices from concentrate, malic acid, black carrot juice extract, potassium sorbate, natural flavor, and sodium citrate.

The brand is currently running a fun promotion, the Have A Ball Stunt Hunt.  Make a video and submit to their website featuring Fruit Shoot and any ball of your choice.

My kids haven't finished drinking all 6 bottles we picked up yet, but once they do, we'll get a video of Katie bowling with the bottles.  In the meantime, here's my boys enjoying their Fruit Shoot drinks on the trampoline:

Thanks to Fruit Shoot for sponsoring today's post!  I'm happy to be introduced to a new product and share our impressions with you.  

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A Grand Design book review and Kindle Fire GIVEAWAY

Quilts of Love is a really neat series of books.  Each book has a different author, and each story is wildly different, but they each feature a quilt.  So far, I've read A Stitch and a Prayer, Maybelle in Stitches, A Sky Without Stars, and my personal favorite, Rival Hearts.  Today's book is A Grand Design.

Alyssa, who is not engaged or even dating, for that matter, enters a bridal contest on a dare, and wins a romantic 2 week getaway for two to the island where her grandmother lives.  She spent many summers there as a child, but hasn't been back in more than a decade.  She takes her best friend, Libby, with her on the vacation trip.

When Grandma hears that Alyssa is coming back, she decides it's time to tackle a project she's long dreamed of:  a special quilt from members of her former island quilting guild that fizzled out long ago, when her husband was dying of cancer.

Alyssa and Libby are chauffeured around the no-vehicles island in horse-drawn carriage by the handsome Scott, who takes an interest in Alyssa.  At each stop, they collect another quilt square, and a few more stories, giving Alyssa a greater understanding of her grandmother.

Don’t miss this month’s Quilts of Love book, A Grand Design by Amber Stockton. Who hasn't struggled to let painful memories go and move into God's healing? You’ll be sure to love this heartfelt and encouraging tale set on historic Mackinac Island.

Celebrate August’s release by entering to win a Kindle from Quilts of Love and RSVPing for the "Fall into Fall" Facebook author chat party.

  One winner will receive:

• A Kindle HDX
• A Grand Design by Amber Stockton
• Hidden in the Stars by Robin Caroll

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on September 16th. Winner will be announced at the "Fall into Fall" Facebook party with Amber Stockton and Robin Caroll. RSVP for an evening of book chat, quilting tips and tricks, prizes, and more!

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 16th!

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Square By Square game from ThinkFun

Serious fun happening at our house!  Remember when we reviewed Rush Hour?  Jack still play that game at least once a week.  Well, the good folks at ThinkFun have asked us to play Square By Square and see what we think of it.  

It's harder than you might think!  It takes spacial awareness and foresight.  The nice thing is, it's self correcting.  The pieces all have to fit in the frame.

Square By Square is a single player game.  It comes with 14 pieces and 60 challenge cards, which store in the handy pull out tray.  The whole game fits into a blue mesh bag for storage.

Eli's favorite was the BAT card (one of his favorite shirts right now has a bat on it).

Then Jack got a hold of the game, and he really enjoyed it!

Designed for kids ages 5 and up, it still managed to hold the attention of all the older kids who tried it.

I like that the kids are working on thinking and reasoning skills... and they don't even realize it!  This would be a great puzzle to take along on your next road trip, or tuck away for a sick day.  (My grandmother had a special shoebox of "sick toys" her kids only got to play with when they were in bed for the day with a cold.)

Square By Square, as well as many other great ThinkFun games is available for sale on the ThinkFun website, and on Amazon.  And right now, zulily.com has several ThinkFun games on their site, too!  You can connect with ThinkFun games on Twitter or Facebook.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Boxcar Children DVD review & GIVEAWAY

Our family got to review the new Boxcar Children DVD!  Remember the Boxcar Children books?  We have a whole bunch of them.  Now there's a movie!  You can order your copy today through Walmart or Amazon, or you can enter to win the DVD below!

We enjoyed this movie!  It's Dove approved for all ages, and there's nothing in it that I wouldn't want my kids to see.  As the adult, there were a couple parts that were "predictable," but the kids didn't guess what was coming.

The four children in the movie were orphaned, and had nowhere to live.  They try staying at a bakery, but they overhear the wife making plans to send the youngest off to the orphanage and have the older ones work for them.  So the kids take off.  Through rain and dark and adversity, they eventually find themselves in the wooded countryside, where they happen upon an old boxcar that is sitting on an unused rail line.  This becomes their home, and they do an admirable job of fixing it up and living off the land.

The older brother gets a job in town, and is able to provide for the little family's needs... until the younger sister gets sick.  They take her to the doctor, and this becomes the beginning of the end of their boxcar days.

About the Cast

Featuring an all-star cast of voice actors, including Academy Award Nominee Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now), J.K. Simmons (Spiderman), Zach Gordon (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Joey King (Fargo), Mackenzie Foy (Twilight), and Jadon Sand (LEGO: The Movie), this is the very first full-length, animated feature adaptation of Gertrude Chandler Warner's best-selling classic!

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

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