First Grader Snack Rollups and a {Giveaway}

Thanks to Azteca for sponsoring today’s post, as well as today’s after school snacks!

Back to school has happened, and now I think we’re just in “school” mode. After 10 days, the shiny newness of their supplies and the routine has worn off, and now our goal is just not to be marked tardy each morning. That Back to School fever is nice while it lasts, but it’s getting shorter every year around this place.

We’ve also adjusted to the “school year” grocery list, which includes ample lunch supplies, snack-in-the-car supplies, snack-before-dinner-supplies, and snack-because-I’m-STILL-hungry-and-can’t-wait-til-six-o’clock-supplies. I’m making lunches every day, and feeding them non-stop from the time they get home until dinner time every afternoon. Learning seems to make them just as hungry as swimming, which is weird in my opinion, but so it goes. They don’t get to snack during the school day, and they can only drink water, so I kind of understand. But pre-packaged snacks, as easy and tasty as they are, can get expensive. And honestly, a little boring. “Oh look! It’s granola bar #48 from the 60 count box I bought on Monday.” And while the giant warehouse sizes look like they’ll last forever, they won’t. I make MaM do the math when she requests more than one of something- if there are 32 in a box, and everyone in the house has one per day, how many days will it last? is how I get her to see my side of the rationing. Of course I offer a good selection of fruit, and you know, there are always carrots, but that doesn’t always hit the spot either.

When Azteca invited me to share with you the goodness that is their no-preservative  tortillas, it gave me an idea. What if there was a snack the kids could make themselves with them? It would be more of a process than tearing open a wrapper, but it could be a good experience! Plus, it could slow down the mass consumption of everything within arms reach every week day between the hours of 3-6pm.

Now before you think my kids suddenly started making tacos or something crazy that involves vegetables and seasoning other than ketchup, let me explain. What I discovered is that peanut butter and/or  chocolate hazelnut spread  on a tortilla is easy enough for my first grader to concoct himself. That’s it. Nothing fancy, no knives or offensive vegetables required. I always have these ingredients on hand (Azteca no preservative tortillas can be found in the refrigerated section of Kroger), and it’s something they can orchestrate on their own.

Their favorite combinations include:

  • peanut butter and chocolate chips
  • chocolate hazelnut spread and raspberries
  • peanut butter and bananas
  • chocolate hazelnut spread and peanuts

 

snackrollupscollageWant to give this make-your-own snack idea a try? Azteca would like to help in that department!

{The Giveaway}

Azteca has graciously offered up the following prize pack for one lucky reader:

·         $50 Kroger Gift Card

·         Azteca Free Product Coupon

·         Meal Planning Notepad

·         Tupperware Containers

·         Dry Erase Wall Decal Calendar

 

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post, telling me how you handle the munchies- from your kids or even yourself. For additional entries- do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each action. A winner will be chosen on Friday, August 22nd around 9pm, and will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Additional Entries:

-go like my Facebook page:

-promote this giveaway on Facebook to

-promote this giveaway on Twitter

-pin this recipe on Pinterest

Good luck and happy snack making!

Disclosure: I received a prize pack identical to the giveaway provided for Azteca for the purpose of this post. All opinions, snack ideas and kitchen messes are my own.

Here are some other friends running the same giveaway- go visit them and increase your odds of winning!

Chaos Is Bliss

Mom 4 Less 

 

 

Ending Summer with Splash


Ready to make your own #StuntHunt video with Fruit Shoot? Find the details here: http://ooh.li/7d40fd7

What? Ending summer? Don’t get me started. Today was our LAST day of summer vacation. We went out with a splash- ok, a lot of splashes at our neighborhood pool. You may recall that our neighborhood is mostly older adults, who clearly don’t like to swim. We had the pool to ourselves again today, and we invited some friends over to join us.

The kids had a blast. It’s amazing what they can come up with when they combine one family’s pool toys with another. We had balls flying, squirters squirting, and inner tubes being used as row boats. We had Fruit Shoot bottles emptied quickly, and used as part of a some kind of water machine, and used for target practice as well.

When Fruit Shoot invited me to share with your their #StuntHunt video contest, I wasn’t sure what our own entry would entail. It turns out, the kids had it totally under control once I gave them the simple parameters:

  • 10-30 seconds long
  • include Fruit Shoot
  • include a ball

Check out what Meg and her friend came up with- turns out, my girl swings a mean noodle!!

Here are some other photos of the day- empty drink bottles, it turns out, make GREAT pool toys!

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Watch the contest video for complete details, and be sure to capture your kiddos using their imagination as they create their own stunts! Each week, a winning video will receive some high-tech styling that kids will love! It’s easy to enter, and how much fun would be to have a jazzed up video if you win?

The kids had a great time today, and it was fun watching them play in so many different ways. The pool’s open til Labor Day, so I’m looking forward to more summer nights there, even if our summer weekdays have come to an end.

Disclosure: Thanks to FruitShoot for sponsoring today’s discussion, AND for offering such a fun contest.

 

 

Need Relief from Pain? Try the Tomo Touch

It’s funny how your body and your mind can have two different ideas. In my head, camping is fun. In reality, I can’t comfortably sleep on the ground. In my head, it’s not a big deal to sit down on the floor to play a game with the kids. In reality, it takes me longer to get up and down off the floor than it used to. In my head, I get up and move around throughout  when I’m working at my desk. In reality, those two or three walks down the hall don’t do nearly as much good as I hope they do.

Last week, when  BgK and I were invited to learn about myofascial trigger point therapy, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s been obvious lately my body is aging, and perhaps rebelling against me.  Being unfamiliar with this kind of massage therapy, I was curious and excited to see what it was all about. We met at Tomo of  the Tomo Touch in Broad Ripple, for our primer on trigger point therapy and to try it out ourselves.

It’s funny- before our appointment I wouldn’t have said that my range of motion was limited or that I was in acute pain. But as I spoke with Tomo and she had me do some simple range of motion exercises, I realized that I am more knotted up than I think I am.

These posters show the trigger points for common ailments as Tomo discusses how muscles can contract and relax.
These posters show the trigger points for common ailments as Tomo discusses how muscles can contract and relax.

Tomo spent time talking about how myofascial trigger point therapy works. In the simplest terms, your body is completely connected. So a tense muscle in your hip might be caused by tension some where along your spine. Headaches can be caused by tension in the neck and back. You get the idea.

After the range of motion exercises, she pin-pointed the exact issues my chiropractor has been treating. She spent most of my session working on my hips and lower back, as well as my neck. She also spotted an old ankle injury, and worked on those muscles too. She worked by applying pressure to the areas that had tension, always asking how I was tolerating the pain. For the most part, it was a good hurt- the kind of pressure that makes you feel better when it’s over.

MaM was a bit concerned, but the pressure wasn't painful, honest!
MaM was a bit concerned, but the pressure wasn’t painful, honest!

 

When our session was over, she had me repeat the range of motion. It was obvious that there was improvement. As we finished up. Tomo gave me some exercises to do at home, to keep my new found agility. Tomo’s goal is to get patients moving, and to get patients to the point where they no longer need her services. Often, issues are solved after several sessions. She accepts FSA and HSA debit cards, as well was cash and credit cards.

Interested in trying a session yourself? The Tomo Touch is located at 6100 N Keystone Ave Suite 235, Indianapolis, IN 46220. She can be reached at (317) 306-5122 or at tomo@thetomotouch.com.

Disclosure: thank you, Tomo, for inviting us to learn about your practice, and for helping us be the best we can be!