Snow, 100th day of School and Valentines

So, we got some snow here! We had several days of bone chilling temps (like -20 with windchills in the -40 range). The kids were out of school for 2 days just for that. There was some snow, but not much. Then, the next week, we got a lot of snow. This picture was before the final snow, and it doesn't look like a whole lot, but we probably got at least a foot with 2 subsequent storms.

I ventured out on Monday (we were in between storms) and got totally stuck in our neighborhood. After we got 8 inches on Sunday, I guess they didn't see the need to send plows to the residential streets. Thanks to a nice neighbor I got home.

You know you are in Colorado when you have -20 degree weather, followed by a foot of snow, and then it's 50 degrees a few days later (the next day, it was mid 60s). It was perfect snow man building weather. We still had all the snow in our front yard, but it was warm enough to be outside without a coat.


So, because of the weather, Emma's 100th day of school party kept getting postponed. She finally had it on Feb. 9th and was very proud of the hat she made.

She brought in 100 chocolate chips to add to a trail mix and 100 pennies to count.

Valentines day was a little hard for the kids giving up sweets, but they survived. They are saving their candy for later.
I remember making these as a kid, so we made some for the kids' teachers. It's cocoa Rice Krispie treats that you press into a funnel to get the shape.

And then you wrap them in tin foil to make a giant "Hershey's Kiss".

It's a fun way to make a treat!

And here's Emma who just wanted to get in the picture.

Hope you had a fun valentines day too!

The great "no desserts" challenge

For the past few weeks I've been participating in a health challenge with my sisters and some of their friends to make getting healthy a little more fun (and to motivate me with a little competition!). Anyway, there are weekly challenges which you get points for participating in. This week the challenge was to not eat any desserts or sweets. My kids were asking me about it and I was telling Rachel about this family I knew that gave their kids $100 if they didn't eat candy for a whole year (but things like cookies, cakes, etc. were okay - just no candy). Rachel said that she could do it and wanted to know if I would pay her $100 dollars if she gave up candy for a year. I started thinking about it and realized that my kids don't really eat candy that often - mostly for holidays. I asked her what she would feel like not getting any candy in her Easter basket and she suggested that I just make cookies or something instead of giving them candy for Easter, Valentines, etc. I started thinking that wasn't really a big sacrifice and I suggested that she give up all desserts, like I was doing. She didn't think she could do it for a whole year. There was a little negotiating, but this is what we settled on - no desserts (candy, soda, cookies, ice cream, cake, etc.) for 2 months and I would pay her $25. Surprisingly, the boys wanted in as well. Rachel wrote up a contract and everything and made me sign it. We are going to have to go with the honor system on this one, because I don't always know what goes on at school, but so far, so good. So, 3 of my kids (except Emma - she wanted no part in this) are giving up all treats for 2 months. This is coming from kids who think they deserve a treat after eating every meal. First week went great! David even said that he didn't even really feel like eating treats. He got a piece of candy at school for doing well on a test and he brought it home for his little sister. Josh didn't pick up chocolate milk at lunch time because he figured it was a treat. I think the first major test will be Valentines Day - I'm sure they'll have parties at school with treats galore. We'll see how they stick with it, but I'm quite proud of all of them.

I was looking for some recipes that would make good "non treat" snacks and this is what I found:

Chewy Granola Bars (from allrecipes, modified slightly by me)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup honey
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup total cereal crushed
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup craisins

Mix all together well and press into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 325 for 18-22 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, cut into bars, wait until completely cooled to remove from pan. Makes about 20.

You could probably add any other ingredients that would sound good - coconut, raisins, nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. Hopefully they'll like them!