5 Parenting Hacks to Save You Time on Busy Mornings

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

This post is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company, but all opinions are my own.
Every parent has been there. It's morning and you are trying to get yourself ready, get the kids dressed in clothes that you won't be judged for, put something in their stomach, and also break up seven sibling fights without having to set a new land speed record in order to make it to the school drop off on time. Let's face it, mornings can be just plain nuts.

The good news is that I have some tips so they don't have to be. I'm not saying mornings won't be busy or you won't ever leave the house with two different pairs of shoes on, but I am saying that I am giving you these five hacks that will make mornings much easier. Take each hack out when you need it and see how much easier it makes your morning. Go ahead, test me. Try these and let me know how it goes.

1. Use your shoe holder as an outfit organizer.

At the beginning of the week, or on whatever day you do laundry, match up your kids' outfits and place them in a hanging vertical closet shoe organizer. This way your kids can easily take out a pre-approved outfit and dress themselves while you catch your naked toddler who is trying to escape out of the front door.

2. Make this easy and delicious Overnight Quaker Oats recipe the night before.

Overnight oats are perfect for busy mornings and when the weather warms up. I call this concoction

Golden State Warriors Game-Time Snack

Monday, May 23, 2016


My kids are out of school so I thought it would be fun to make a snack instead of a lunch. We are big San Francisco bay area sports fans in my family, and the Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Playoffs, so I figured, "Why not a Warriors themed snack?" They are the best team in the league and have set all sorts of records. My kids always make sure to find out the score of the games when they get up in the morning.

The Warriors logo is pretty simple and I thought the snack should be simple as well. It is lemon

Ocean Bento Lunch

Monday, May 16, 2016

fish lunch

To get set for summertime I decided to help my kids think of the beach with this ocean themed bento lunch. This one is seriously easy to make and will help your kids get through the end of school and start summer off right. My family will be visiting California next month so I know they can't wait to visit the beach again. We've had some great times there and it is one of the things my kids miss since we moved out to Oklahoma. Until next month, this will have to tide them over. See what I did there? I couldn't help it, I'm a dad. I made this in an easy lunch boxes container.
fish lunch
Ingredients: sliced bread, meat, cheese, blueberries, raisin, blackberries, mandarin orange slices, granola, hard boiled egg, sharpie markers.

Directions: I won't go step-by-step through this lunch because it is pretty self explanatory. I did use circle cookie cutters and heart shaped vegetable cutters to make the shapes for the fish. That made it so much easier. I used Sharpie markers to make the beach ball.

summer lunch
#lbdbento

Little House on the Prairie Pioneer Lunch

Monday, May 9, 2016

pioneer themed lunch

If my daughter were to choose a favorite book series of the moment, it could very well be the Little House on the Prairie series. She has been reading it with her Grandma, and my wife, for months. We have also moved to Oklahoma City in the last few months, and my daughter's school celebrated the Land Run. This is an event that celebrated important things happening in the pioneer days here. She even dressed up for it. You can see her outfit in the picture below. Because of all this, I made her a Little House on the Prairie Pioneer bento lunch!
pioneer themed lunch
It is complete with a covered wagon, corn bread, and applesauce. For those not familiar with the series, apple sauce and apple butter play an important role in the food of Little House. Also, corn

Top 10 Star Wars Lunches of All-Time

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Star Wars Day May the 4th

My family goes crazy for Star Wars. This isn't really a secret. I took my kids to go see The Force Awakens, we have dressed up for Halloween, we own clothes. We might be a little obsessed. Ok, there's no "might be" about it. Here are my top 10 Star Wars lunches of all time.

These are in no particular order. Some of these are found right here on Lunchbox Dad and some are from my brilliant friends so make sure and click on the links to their sites. Just maybe you might be inspired to make some for your kids. They might just say, "I love you." Of course, in response you would say, "I know."

10. BB-8 Lunch from Lunchbox Dad


star wars day may the 4th


9. Jawa Lunch from Organized Bites

Teen Titans Go! Robin Bento Lunch

Monday, May 2, 2016

Robin superhero

There isn't much more popular of a kids' superhero cartoon than Teen Titans Go! The leader of the super group is Robin of course. My kids are very much into superheroes so it wasn't very hard to be inspired by the show. They play super heroes, dress up as superheroes, and read about superheroes. They might be a bit obsessed. Robin's main weapon is his staff so I had to have that represented in this lunch as well. Overall this is filled with simple ideas that your kids will love.

I made this lunch in an Easy Lunch Boxes container. Make sure and follow me on all my social media channels so you don't miss out on any of the great lunch and parenting ideas that I share
 
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