Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him

The planting of roots is a process. I think it really takes more than just a year or two to grow strong roots. It is something we are constantly working on. The higher your tree grows, the deeper your roots grow, too.

We have been doing a lot of expanding, both toward Heaven and deeper into the ground. For that I am so thankful. It is our 3rd Christmas season in Fort Smith. Our 3rd home here, too. Our final home. Well, the last in our plan, anyway. Our trees are set up, our holiday plans are in place. There are gifts under the tree and two anxious kids that can't wait to see what Santa brings. This is my favorite time of year... time seems to fly by but it also passes at a very slow speed.. like slow motion in front of my eyes because I am trying so hard to savor each and every delicious memory we're creating. 

Last night we took the kids to see Santa and to dinner, and then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. We've never had Christmas lights on the outside of our home. We never really stayed anywhere long enough to do them, except when we lived in Tennessee, but Andy was never home long enough for that kind of thing to be a priority. I realized last night that we can do that now, we can decorate outside and invest in the lights because our house will be the same, year after year after year. It doesn't really seem like much but it was a huge wave of happiness over my heart because.. we're home. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season so far, and I hope you're all remembering what this season is truly about. For unto us a king is born... So much was given for us, let us remember to also give back. Give back to your family, give back to your church, give back to your community, give back to those that don't have anything of their own to give. 

I have clicked "start new post" probably 15 times since I last posted here.

My brother is recovering well, thanks for all that inquired and included him in your prayers!

We have been pretty busy with the girls' ballet classes, school, work, opening a store, traveling, enjoying this beautiful weather, and spending as much time as we can with our friends and family. Friends more than family lately, I feel like I'll never make it home to my family again! I'm happy to be so busy.

I haven't been lunching much. I made some homemade vegetable soup and Olivia has been taking it in a thermos for her lunches this week.. not much to photograph there! I've been trying to do more for my store's social media vs my own (go follow @BARfortsmith on all social media right now!). I am also not feeling so hot this week so I've been just watching a lot of netflix. It happens.

We had Sophia's birthday party 2 weeks ago, my family came up and Andy's mom came in. It was fun having all our parents sleep over! We painted pumpkins and had bobbing for apples, pumpkin juice & butterbeer. Yeah, just like in Harry Potter! :) Last weekend was fun too, Nikki & I had a booth at survivors challenge and then we had vino league at our house that night. Sunday, we didn't leave the couches all day. IT WAS AWESOME.

Aloha, Monday

Good morning!

I know I haven't posted in about two weeks. I don't want the internet lunch fan club to think I dropped the bento ball this early in the school year!

I haven't.

We had this family vacation scheduled

Then we had a family emergency. My youngest brother was hit by a car while he was riding his motorcycle home from work. Without going into all the details, it was a very close call and his helmet probably saved his life. He has a very long road to recovery ahead. I haven't even gotten to see him yet because Andy's been out of town for most of the days I've been able to go, and I think having the kids around would cause more stress than recovery for him.

But we are home now and things are getting back to normal (for us, but I would appreciate any extra healing vibes and prayers for my brother that you've got). I did pack a bento this morning, but I didn't photograph it because well, I'm not the best at Monday's and I had to leave rush rush early to go pick up my first Zaycon Fresh order, which I will blog about later! Great experience!

I hope you're all off to a wonderful start this week! I'll be back tomorrow! xo

Minion Morning

Good morning! I know it is Wednesday but today feels shiny and new like a Monday. I think its because my husband came home last night after being gone for 9 days!! We missed him!

My girls are huge daddy's girls, so they were glued to him yesterday from the time he walked in the door until bedtime. :) I love my little family!

So far each kid has been enjoying school! Sophia has cried and didn't want to come home from school both days this week so far! She's not feeling very well this morning unfortunately. 

In Olivia's Lunchbot Uno today she has banana chips, babybel, trail mix, tiny grapes, broccoli, carrots, gummy minions, and sixlets. Its a smaller lunch because she hasn't been eating all of her food the last few days. I don't want to over pack and waste. 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Monday Funday

Here we are, entering the second week of school! So far Olivia has enjoyed it. Sophia starts today, and she is beyond excited. We had her meet the teacher event last Friday, and she didn't want to leave when it was over. :)

Today in the lunchbot uno, Olivia has cheez-its, sixlets, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, pepperonis, a babybel cheese, and sweet petite grapes. She also has a small tupperware container with fresh pear slices. 

Glorious 55

This morning it is 55 degrees, y'all. FIFTY FIVE. In August. I think I'm in Heaven!

Since its the first week of school, I've been pretty on top of things, excited for a new year of bento blogging, waking up early. Olivia has been up by 0630 every morning so she can have time to straighten her hair (I mean, stop growing already please, miniature adult. Tweenager that she is!) I've actually been putting her lunches together in the evenings as I  put away dinner leftovers and clean the kitchen back up. Its easier to do it in the evenings when she's taking something left over from dinner; it saves me the trouble of putting it away and then getting it back out in the morning to pack her lunch.

Well, on Wednesday nights I take a yoga class, so there isn't any good light leftover to photograph the lunch when I get back home. So this morning I made her lunch and photographed it in the gorgeous, cool misty 55 degree morning. It was quite nice!

In the lunchbot we have peanut butter sushi, marshmallow twists, a babybel, dehydrated raspberries, and trail mix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries). She also has an apple sauce and some blueberry crackers packed separately.

Yubo Wednesday

Good morning! Today it was so hard to get up and get moving! It is pouring rain, thundering, and lightening.. perfect sleeping weather! I'm so, so excited because the low tonight is 54 degrees. In August. Beyond giddy, actually! 

Today's lunch is packed in one of our three Yubo boxes! Yubo is probably my favorite. Ok, its a tie between Yubo and Lunchbots. They're my favorites for different reasons! :)

Olivia has 2 BBQ Chicken Rolls (same as yesterday, and recipe from 2 days ago), a couple of marshmallow ropes (found those at TJ Maxx the other day), banana bread from our so so sweet neighbor, gummies, strawberries and mini chocolate chips, and metallic sixlets, and a grapefruit. Those containers might LOOK small, but that is almost an entire grapefruit! Only one slice wouldn't fit. And, if I'd squished really hard, it probably would have.

The only thing I don't really love about the Yubo is there isn't a place to put a drink. I think they make an attachment drink carrier for the box now, but we don't have one and for the life of me I never think to order one until I'm sending the kids off to school with their drinks in their backpacks. Which is a lot, since we have 3 of these cute boxes!

Easy LunchBoxes Bento

Here we have in the Easy Lunchboxes container, our BBQ Chicken Rolls from yesterday, chocolate chip stuffed strawberries, 3 mini cookies, cheez-its, and spicy cheetohs. Not pictured Olivia has an apple sauce. I need to go buy more fruit! ;) 

Have a fab day! xo

Garlic BBQ Chicken Rolls

Hello there!

Its #MealPrepMonday and since school is back on, I did a little meal prepping for the kids', too. I'm always looking for fun recipes and creative, easy ways to get them to eat. Especially Sophia, she's so, so incredibly picky- like pretzels are her main food group kind of picky! I was going to make pizza rolls (again), but I had chicken in the crockpot for my meal prep and decided to go a different route.

You will need:
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Shredded chicken (or beef, or pork)
Mozzarella cheese
Crescent rolls
Garlic Powder

Super super simple.

My chicken breasts were already seasoned- they'd been in the crockpot all day with green enchilada sauce and green chiles.

These are pretty self explanatory, add the BBQ sauce to the roll, then cheese, then chicken. Roll up and place on a non stick baking pan.

I put a bit of mozzarella on the tops of the rolls and then sprinkled them all with garlic powder.

Easy for packing in lunches, and easy for a quick dinner, too. I wish I had put more cheese on the tops, they would look prettier with crispy cheese sprinkles! 

Check back tomorrow for our cute lunch!

Facebook | Instagram #PoiriersPlantRoots

Back To School :: BENTO!

Well, its here, and I can hardly believe it. It is the end of summer, "officially" officially. Ok, I know the calendar year doesn't declare the end of summer until later, but the start of school for the kids really does signify the end. I can't say I'm sad about it… with the beginning of school we welcome cooler weather (almost, anyway), a buzz of autumn activities like ballet and vino league, football (I'm just here for the food, y'all), and so much more!

So, you probably know by now, but….
TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Both my kids are excited for school and bentos. I am, too!

For the first day of SIXTH GRADE, Miss O has a cute lunch in a LunchBots container.

In the Lunchbot Uno we have a leftover BBQ rib with cheese letters (my husband is the GRILL MASTER, and these ribs were so good!), ritz crackers and a babybel cheese, strawberries with edible glitter, and a trail mix I threw together of sixlets, almonds, sprinkles, and mini chocolate chips. There are also tiny m&m's cookies our sweet neighbors brought over for us earlier today. In the "fit & fresh" tupperware container, there are sliced peaches. This lunch is a little heavy on the sweets, although I didn't really think about that when I was packing it. We'll just say its a special treat for the first day of school. I will send along a bottle of water with fresh lime slices as well. I wrote a cute little first day of school note on a blank note card from LunchboxLove.

Olivia chose a new lunch bag last week at TJ Maxx, and it is so cute. 

That's our first day of school bento. If you created a bento style lunch, post the link in the comments! Make sure you like my page on Facebook, /PoiriersPlantRoots

xo
kP

Dear Erin, Take My Money!

Yeah, y'all read that right. She can just take my money. Erin Condren, that is. I finally did it, I finally, finally purchased an Erin Condren Life Planner. I'm so excited! It doesn't even ship to me until August 13, lightyears from now, surely!

I got the leopard print planner, with the rest of 2015 added in. I mean, I saw the cute stickers and accessories and I just couldn't wait until 2016 to have that gorgeous planner in my life!! I'm so, so pumped. So in honor of my super adorable new planning habit, I'm going to share with you some of my favorite ECLP accessories!

I love everything gold so these stickers were an obvious win! You can buy these for your ECLP here!

I got both of these sticker sets, I LOVE them! They're perfect for keeping up with my gym schedule, running with Nikki, and keeping me motivated! They're going to be especially awesome when BAR opens up! You can buy these sticker sheets here!

I also got all these stickers! I LOVE the gradients! And the coffee date stickers are adorable, and probably going to be my favorites. I'm the queen of coffee dates, just ask my friends. You can buy these stickers for your ECLP here!

I seriously love these hydrate stickers. I didn't get them yet but they are on the list! You can buy them here!

These will probably be my next sticker purchase! Because its almost fall, y'all! I love them! You can grab these for your ECLP here!

So those are my favorite stickers right now. I haven't even started looking at washi tape! I did join a cute Facebook group for planner buddies. You get a buddy and then send ECLP accessory care packages. How adorable is that!? Starting with a new planner feels so fresh, and its refreshing to be facing a "clean slate" in the middle of the year. ;)

So, of course you love what I just showed you!! Right!? If you want $10 off your planner purchase, click my referral link right HERE! Happy shopping!!

The Most Epic Road Trip

Hey there! Its been a while! This has been a pretty crazy 3 weeks, and I'm so excited to share about it. I turned 31, I got to go to Santa Claus Indiana, spend time with Andy while he was away for work, hang out at the lake with my mom and kids, and then do a cross country road trip with the love of my life!

So Santa Claus was pretty much the coolest place I've ever been. Christmas all year 'round? Sign me up!

I seriously love their Chamber's approach to social media, and the Chamber Selfie Stick. While I was there, I bumped into someone that worked at the chamber and she offered to take my picture. So sweet!

On the way home from Indiana, I stopped off at the St. Louis galleria and did some shopping.. can't complain!

Once I made it home, it was time for birthday celebrations. My bff Nikki & I ran a birthday 5k (she has a June bday too!) and then we threw ourselves a joint birthday party. It was perfect aside from the fact that Andy had to stay behind in Indiana for work… its not the first time he's missed my birthday though and I'm sure it won't be the last, either. Such is life!

its amazing how different we look pre-and-post 5k haha

So the 5k committee didn't put up the proper markers for the course, and they let a LOT of us run an extra mile before telling us we went the wrong way. It was hilarious, and I'm so proud of us!

Nikki made me the most ADORABLE harry potter mug!! 

It was so much fun! The next morning I headed to central Arkansas to pick up my kids from my parents' house. They stayed there for the week so I could have some time to myself, bless them!

Reunited and it felt so good!

We spent a couple of days at the lake. While I was there, we found out Andy's dad had a stroke, so we made plans for my parents and grandparents to keep the kids for another 9 days while we drove out to Portland to see him. Of course it was a sad circumstance but we did make the best of the drive there and back. We also got to meet a lot of Andy's family that he hadn't seen since he was like 4 years old. Last week was only the 3rd time I've ever met my father in law, and I'm so glad we got to spend that time with him.

Andy's Uncle Jon and Aunt Janelle opened their home to us and they are the most kind, lovely people! We ate like kings the whole time, Jon is a wonderful cook. I even discovered I like salmon and ribs, but probably only because he's a master chef. We are so thankful for them and I look forward to spending more time with his family.

We stopped at every state sign between here and there, except Arkansas and Oklahoma. It was so much fun. I'm going print them with PostalPix and make a map of the United States to hang them on. It was Andy's idea, he's so creative!

We made a pitstop in Colorado to meet up with my friend Dan and his wife Teresa. It was AWESOME to meet them in real life after so many years of being friends from brightkite to Geoclique.

Andy took me to the bridge of the Gods, which was beyond amazing. It is the trailhead for the Pacific Coast Trail and that is on my bucket list!! Not to go to the bridge but to hike the entire PCT. I would love to take time off from life the year Sophia goes to college (a long ways away!) and hike it with Andy. It would be such an amazing life experience for us!

So one of the days we were out there, two of my favorite people from the land of interwebs drove down to Portland from Seattle to meet up with us. This was a super cool experience and it really made the whole trip for me.

I finally got to go to Voodoo Donuts at the end of our week there. It was amazing. I had the captain my captain crunch donut. HEAVEN for this cereal lover! It was a fun experience, and even though we were all tired, my sweet husband and my sisters in law were good sports about us going. 

Because who doesn't love super trendy donuts!?

On our way out of Oregon we stopped and had brunch with Andy's Uncle Chuck, cousin Josie, and her kids. It was super fun, and I love Uncle Chuck! Actually, I love Andy's whole family out there on the West Coast. They were all so kind and hospitable. 

Our first stop along the coast.. I could have sat on the beach and listened to the waves for hours. West Coast Best Coast, y'all. I miss California so much.

 Just me and my soulmate. :)

 The Redwood Forest was majestic. I can't even think of a better word. I'll live there. No problem.

Might be my favorite picture from the entire trip. :) 

The drive home was beautiful, and if you read all this you're probably ready to go on your own road trip. I'm going to leave you with a few landscape shots.. you won't be disappointed!

Windmill farm in Kansas

Coming out of Wyoming into Utah 

California coast.. I'll love you forever

Sunset from the California Arizona state line over the Colorado River

Petrified Forest