Cafe Mom

Lunch Ideas

Thank you for all of your wonderful lunch ideas!  Feel inspired by these wonderful ideas:

* Quesadillas - ham & cheese melted between two tortillas / cheese, tomato, black beans & spinach between two tortillas

* Meat, cheese, vegetable & fruit - roll up turkey deli meat stick in a toothpick, mini carrots, cherry tomatoes, cheese stick, grapes or blueberries

* Grilled chicken

* Meat & cheese crackers

* PB&J

* Soup

* Grilled Cheese

* Lunchables

* “Cheese Dreams” - ½ bun with cheese on it with cup up pieces (or any meat) broiled

* Scrambled eggs

* Tuna helper with extra noodles & veggie

* Ramen noodles

* Kid Kabobs - break up turkey, fruit (bananas, apples, grapes, etc.), cubes of cheese and have your children put them on the skewers

* Grilled peanut butter, bananas, and nutella sandwiches

* Spaghettios

* Little pizzas with English Muffins - can do anything: pepperoni, ham & pineapple tidbits, etc. with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. Put in oven at 350 degrees until everything is melted and toasted

* Hummus & pitas

* Fruit smoothies - yogurt, ice, milk, orange juice, fruit, “hidden veggies”

* Whole Wheat Spaghetti (or any pasta) with peas and a little feta cheese - no sauce, no mess, and yummy!

* Grilled ham & cheese with apple slices in the middle

* Baby carrots with ritz crackers, summer sausage, and easy cheese. To add a twist, I ask each child what they’d like me to make with the cheese on their cracker - the first letter of their name, the sun, a flower, clouds, smiley face, etc. Makes lunch fun and the kids like it.

* Frozen Grapes, String Cheese, Bagel with Peanut Butter on it

* Apples dipped in peanut butter

For Mom: pre-cut veggies, chicken, lettuce for the week and then you make a salad quick and easy!

 

What's Coming Up...

February 23 - Coffee Talk with the Couples Mentor Panel

March 1 - Swap 
    *You're welcome to bring 1-2 tubs of maternity clothes, women's clothes, children's clothing, toys, books, etc. 

March 8 - Coffee Talk

March 15 - No MOPS - Spring Break

March 22 - Cafe Mom "The Calm & Peaceful Home"

March 29 - Mom's Morning Out!

April 5 - Coffee Talk

April 12 - Cafe Mom "Patience"

April 19 - Messy Morning
    *We will be having a morning of making fun items to lead you into the summer.

April 26 - Last MOPS/Celebration Morning

This summer we will be hosting playdates at the Prairie Lakes Church park every-other Thursday morning.  Bring your kids, a sack lunch, and sit and chat in the fenced-in play area at PLC.  We will be announcing more of the details as the summer draws closer.

Happy Valentines Day!

To all you lovely mommies,

We are all so different. Some of us are raising old kids, others young. Some of us grew a baby in our bellies, others grew your babies in your heart. Some of us work outside the home while others stay home. We are all different. But we are all mommies. And we all love.

Valentine's Day can be a little overrated, yes. Hallmark loves it while the singles hate it. But I encourage you to take the special day designed for love to celebrate with your littles and adore your man. Also, take time to know that you are loved more than you can imagine by the very One who created you.

Practically speaking, we are celebrator of the home! It is our job to make certain days set apart from the other ones. Special heart napkins, pink milk, and construction paper heart décor can go a long way! You can make everything pink! You can use the heart cookie cutter to cut out their peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Make dessert; heart sugar cookies, a pink cake with pink frosting, or strawberry ice cream! Get out the special glasses and have pink punch! These all seem minor to us, but in the eyes of a little one this is a big deal. More than any food or napkin, give an extra amount of hugs and kisses. Love, love, love.

Give some extra attention to your husband. If you aren't able to go out on a date, no problem! Put the kids to bed early and focus on your love. It's easy to think, and know, that our children need our attention, help, and adoration. But our husbands need it too! I know (oh, do I know!) how it feels at the end of the night. You know, when you have been touched all day long and feel that if anyone or anything else touches you, you might just scream. But how do you think our husbands feel watching us kiss and hold our babies all day, with no kisses leftover at the end of the night for him? He wants, more than anything, to be desired. Please, stay connected with your husband, even in the busyness of life. Life will always be busy. If your children aren't young and demanding, they will be older and in sporting and musical events. It would be a shame for the children to leave the house at age 18, only to look at your husband and wonder, “who are you?” because we've been so wrapped up in our kids' lives, we've forgotten how those loves even came to be; because of the first love you felt with him. Love, love, love.

Lastly, relish in the love of our Father. Husbands are great; children are great; but even they don't compare to the love of your Maker. He loved you so much that He sent his one and only son to die for you. Can you even imagine; giving your very own child?

This is true love:

John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

I pray you know the love of Jesus Christ today. His love offers us peace in the chaos, grace when we daily make mistakes, patience when we are at the end of our rope, and the ability to love others beyond what we feel capable of. His sacrifice and willingness to die on the cross for our sins allows us not only this life full of love, but eternal life with the all loving One. It's love, love, love.

Hallmark doesn't get the benefit this Valentine's Day!

You do!

Your families do!

Celebrate with your precious cherubs, love your hunks of burning love, and know that you are a treasured daughter of the King. 

That, my friends, is love.

(Written by Marissa Wessels)

The Art of Marriage Conference

Just a reminder of the upcoming Family Life marriage conference in Osage, Iowa, on February 17 and 18.  Please go to Prairie Lakes website to register or check out The Art of Marriage website to preview a video of what The Art of Marriage is all about!  

Date Night Ideas at Home

Here are date night ideas that you can do at home after the little ones are tucked into bed and SOUND ASLEEP.

Have dinner in the backyard, patio, or your front lawn.

Re-watch the first movie you watched together.

Don’t cook and get your favorite take out.

Have a theme night. You must dress, eat dinner, and watch a movie with the same theme. Think ‘Western’ and dress like a cowgirl, eat bar-b-que, and watch "Tombstone". Think ‘French’ and put on a black and white top, make French onion soup, and watch "Amelie". It could be anything!

Put a blanket down and picnic in front of the TV.

Make a special dessert to indulge in. Bake chocolate chip cookies and right when you get them out of the oven put vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce on top. Even making brownies from a box can warm up any night.

Take a shower and get dressed up to go out, but stay in. One night I even put on my dress from my prom. I would never wear it out now, but I still love it and wore it on a night in.

Snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. I (heart) my Netflix queue!

Try to beat your all time record. (This was my husband’s suggestion for the list.)

Break out the board games. Play it so that the loser has to do the dishes.

Sit outside and read together.

Have a candlelit dinner in the dining room you rarely use.

Make a mix CD or playlist to enjoy throughout the evening.

Dance! Make room for our own private dance floor and have fun. Don’t worry, no one is watching you dance like Elaine Benes.

Splurge on delicious cheeses and add fruit, crackers, and wine.

Give each other a back rub.

Share your favorite dating memory with each other over dinner.

Set out candles around the room. (I know this is an old idea, but it is really nice to do once in a while.)

Work out together. Set up a circuit in the garage or in the back yard with a jump rope, dumbbells, push-up, and sit-up stations.

Cook together and try a new recipe for dinner or for a cocktail.

Play video games together.

Watch a sports game and eat stadium food like nachos and hot dogs.

Set up a pair of chairs and stick your feet in the kiddie pool.

Make breakfast in bed for dinner and watch TV.

(from www.themomcrowd.com)