Since it's summertime, and school's out, I thought it would be the perfect season to try to make some fun smoothie bowls. I've seen smoothie bowls all over Instagram but I have never made one. Of course we've made healthy smoothies before but they are pretty standard. I figured it was about time to up my game. Mike Wazowski and Sully from Monster's Inc. have been on my mind lately so I decided to make them my test subjects.

These definitely weren't as easy as I thought they would be but they also weren't super difficult either. The hard part is making the faces quickly before the smoothie melts. So I recommend making the two smoothies first and then putting them in the freezer to stay thick and icy. Still interested? Here is how you make them.

Ingredients: Yogurt, banana, ice, green matcha, blue matcha (thanks to match.blue for sending me some to try out), apples, chia seeds, dried cherries, cream cheese.

Directions:
1. Blend ice, yogurt, peeled apple (or any other white fruit), and banana. The amount you put in really depends on how thick you want your smoothie so I would start out with a conservative amount and go from there. After it's blended, drop in some matcha. You will want to start with a little and then add more to get the desired color.

2. For Sully's eyebrows and nose, and Mike's eye, you will want to separate a small amount of smoothie and add more blue matcha to create a deeper color blue. Then, put some small globs on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and stick in the freezer. This will help you create the facial features. Once the globs are frozen, proceed to the next step.

3. Pour smoothies into each bowl. Cut out Sully's frozen features and place them on his face. Sprinkle chia seeds on top for his mouth and horns. His teeth and white's of his eyes are apple. Finish Sully by placing a dried cherry on for each eye. Cut a few tiny cherry pieces out for his nostrils and put them in place.

4. To finish Mike, sprinkle chia seeds on top for his mouth and chin. The white of his eye and horns are made from apple. Place the frozen blue smoothie circle that you made earlier on top of the apple and then top with a dried cherry after that. Finish with a little drop of cream cheese on top of the cherry.

Pin this Smoothie!

#lbdbento

5 Quick Tips to Clean Your Car for the Next Family Road Trip

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Swiffer. All opinions are my own.

As parents, we know that our car can quickly become a science experiment. Whether it's carpooling to and from school, the fun drive on a holiday weekend, or the week long summer road trip, our family cars can get disgusting. If you are like me, I don't even want to look at what the backseat looks like, much less clean it up.

This is where these cleaning tips come in. They don't take long to do and and your kids can even help out. As you can see from the video below, even my four-year-old loves using the Swiffer Duster! Speaking of which, you won't need many supplies or complicated steps to accomplish these. Just a few minutes and probably tools that you have laying around the house anyway. So watch our short video below and let me know what your favorite tips are!

How to Make a Snow White Lunch

It's the last week of school so I had to do something really special for my daughter's lunch. She has loved Snow White ever since she was a few years old but I have never done a Snow White lunch for her. I've made Rapunzel, Elsa, and Belle, but not this original Disney Princess. I still remember when, during our first trip to Disneyland, my daughter dressed up like Snow White and then met her. My daughter was stunned and couldn't take her eyes off of her. It was the kind of moment that as a parent you remember forever!

I based the sandwich and poison apple on Disney's Snow White. However, the gemstones were inspired by riding the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train at The Magic Kingdom in Disney World. I made her hair out of black olives because my daughter loves black olives. Like she could eat a can at every meal type love. I made the whole lunch in an Easy Lunch Boxes container.

3 Ways That Your Kids Can Easily Clean Up Dog Hair Around the House

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Swiffer. All opinions are my own.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see the photo above? I can tell you for me it's the loving way that my son looks at our dog. After all, we've had Shasta longer than my son has been alive. In fact, we adopted our dog so long ago that even my oldest child wasn't around yet. We figured our new puppy would be fun, loving, and good with kids. What we never thought about was how much he would shed. Call us naive, but it never really crossed our minds. Looking back, when you have a dog that has pretty much half his body weight in fur, then you should probably know that some of that will end up on the floor...and the carpet...and the furniture...and your clothes.

The thing about that is having everything covered in fur doesn't have to become the way that you live. We have tried many things over the years, but these are our best tips for picking up that dog fur. Because this is a blog based around parenting, and #ShedHappens on a daily basis, we also wanted to make sure to give you tips that your kids can also do to help around the house.

Not only that, but I want to save you money as well by giving you a coupon code from Target for Swiffer to help you pick up that dog hair while staying within your budget. You can also use it within the cartwheel app. Just CLICK HERE to save $2 on a Swiffer starter kit and keep reading for the tips!

Guardians Of the Galaxy Star-Lord Happy Birthday Lunch

It's my son's eighth birthday this week, and if there's one thing he can't get enough of, it's super heroes. He is dying to see the rest of the Marvel movies, but we are moving a little slower than some. We just watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and he thought it was hilarious. So I thought a Star-Lord (also known as Peter) lunch was in order. We've already done a Groot lunch so this was next in line. I've never done a birthday/character crossover lunch, so this is a first!

I went with Star-Lord's mask, cassette tape with a birthday mix instead of awesome mix, and a cupcake with a candle. It was all made in an Easy Lunch Boxes container. It has a few more treats than normal, but since it's his birthday I think it's okay this time. I hope it makes his birthday a little happier and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Disney Pluto the Dog Lunch

Is there any cuter Disney character than Pluto? I mean, he's always ready to play, is continually happy, and seems to constantly be up for an adventure. Sure he gets himself in the occasional jam but Mickey Mouse can't stay mad at him. It's just impossible not to love this dog. It's for these reasons that I thought my kids would love to get a Pluto lunch for school.

This Pluto sandwich lunch is basically just a few cuts of cheese, similar to my Donald Duck lunch. I also like that I was able to include a good amount of fruit and vegetables. I created it in an Easy Lunch Boxes container. See below for all the ingredients and directions!

How to Make a Disney Donald Duck Lunch

Icon. Legend. Hero. Cranky duck. If you don't love Donald Duck how can you even call yourself a human being? I think he sometimes gets forgotten in, or at least ranked lower in, Disney lore. Don't make that mistake. If you have ever been to Toontown in Disneyland you know he has the coolest house by far. How can you beat living on a ship? Sure he has a temper (what duck doesn't), but I thought it was about time that I recognize the genius that is Donald Duck.

From his dapper way of dressing, to his intellectual vocabulary, I had so many options to highlight. I ended up landing on a simple footprint and his uniform, and put it all in an Easy Lunch Boxes container. I hope my kids enjoy it and I hope you will as well. It is pretty easy to make once you see what I used in each container. To see the ingredients, scroll down to read the recipe below!