Our Bitsy’s love and my list of things about Brooke I don’t ever want to forget.

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Brooke’s month/year was made when she received this box of goodness in the mail.  The packaging alone made her extremely excited.  She looked at each individual box/bag and giggled before starting to tear open each one to test them out.  We take our snacks pretty seriously over here and these ones take Brooke’s snacking to the next level.

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Between Brooke’s love for the Smart Crackers/Smart Cookies and my love for the ingredients in them—>  I have been super stoked to share Bitsy’s Brainfood  with you on the blog.

I love how this company came to be—> Two moms started Bitsy’s with the belief that healthy minds and healthy bodies are connected and that learning to eat smart should BE FUN.  “Let’s get kids excited to choose healthy.”  Also, Bitsy’s was just handpicked by Target as one of the 20 natural, organic, and sustainable brands in their 2016 Made to Matter collection!  Before they started Bitsy’s they started one of the first federally funded after school program to combat childhood obesity.  Super amazing women!

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One of the many things that I love about the Smart Cookies is that Brooke always let’s me know what letter she is munching on.  And then she asks me what words start with that letter and we go on from there.  She also loves using the Smart Crackers (they are baked in fun Tangram shapes!!) to build all sorts of houses/animals/signs etc.  They make it so that food really can be fun for her.

The alphabet-shaped Smart Cookies are baked with organic fruits and veggies + they are fortifed with vitamins and minerals + they come in delicious flavors that Brooke is obsessed with—> Orange Chocolate Beet, Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin and Zucchini Gingerbread Carrot.

Something I find really awesome about Bitsy’s is that they aren’t trying to just hide vegetables into kids foods for them to get in the nutrients.  The labeling is very clear that veggies are included in the product and I made sure to tell Brooke (she can’t read yet) what veggies were in them.  I think it is so cool that they call out that there are veggies included so kiddos relate deliciousness and vegetables together:)

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Luckily, Brooke has been good at sharing these ones with me;) The Smart Crackers are made with a half serving of organic veggies per serving!!! They are great sources for Vitamin A, B6, B12, D, and Folic Acid.  These joined us for movie night the other night.

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Just rocking our t-shirts together.

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The Smart Crackers come in Cheddar Chia Veggie, Maple Carrot Crisp and Sweet Potato Cinna-Graham.  PS I love watching the look on Brooke’s face whenever she is thinking.. like below she was trying to figure out how to make a stop sign with her crackers and it made me smile.

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Before I know it Brooke will be eating lunch at school and these will be a part of her lunchbox—>  both the Smart Crackers and Smart Cookies are baked in peanut-free/tree nut-free facility, so they are school safe!

Brooke, I get that same giddy look on my face too when I get into my snacks.

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Sometimes her sweet little face is almost too much for me to handle.

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While we are talking about Brooke today—>  I really am trying to soak up every minute these days with her because I am certain this is my favorite stage (I think I’ve said that about every stage of her life so far;).  We were at the park the other day and I was sitting on the grass and when Brooke came running over she all of the sudden looked 2 feet taller.  She was running in a way that had no resemblance of baby/toddler in her and when she got to me she spoke in complete sentences (something I still can’t always do myself;).  When she ran back to play the tears just started coming (I think my tear ducts are overactive).  I just can’t believe how fast it has gone by and I asked my dad that is an inventor (he really is an inventor for his profession) to come up with a way to be able to slow this whole growing up business down and bottle up every thing she does so that I can remember everything.

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Some things that Brooke does right now that I just really don’t ever want to forget:

*Soccer.  Her soccer ball has been her fifth appendage these days.

*She has become an expert at making up knock, knock jokes and gets all of my friends laughing pretty hard over them.

*Brookie loves animals and spends a lot of time being a dog.  She is the most realistic dog I have ever seen.

*She reminds me that we need to say prayers if I forget to do it with her before bed.

*Brookie makes sure everyone else is obeying the rules (her teacher told me this one;)  Maybe it is just the oldest child syndrome but she can be quite a little general at times.  I need her keeping me in line so it is probably for the best (I kid.. kind of).

*Brooke has a whole lot of compassion packed into that little body.  She can sense from a mile away if I’m sad and her first reaction is to give me the tightest hug she possibly can.  If someone gets hurt she is the first to stop whatever she is doing to see if they are okay.  She loves to hug people and gives her friends and family hugs whenever we leave them.  Also, the second she gets in trouble she runs over for a hug.  I want to be like her.

*She is generous… for example, she gives away our things without a flinch.  I did have to stop her whenever she tried to pass out all of our Christmas ornaments off of the tree last Christmas.

*Brooke is quite the backseat driver and if the GPS is on in the car she makes sure to repeat the directions to me (for example—>  mama, turn left in 200 feet).  She also asks me if I am sure I am going the right way whenever I am driving somewhere at least once a day.

*Any child that she sees under the age of 10 she refers to as her friend and then my entire heart smiles.

*She falls asleep as she is telling me how she is not tired in the slightest.  She also loves to fall asleep by my computer while I work at night and I love hearing her breathing while she sleeps.

*She makes up games to go along with everything… like rolling a dice and then chasing after it (while raising their hand… it is part of the rules;) and whoever has the highest number wins has been a fan favorite lately.

*Brooke’s other favorite foods right now—> rice, roasted broccoli, sprinkles (she would eat a bowl of them at a time if she could), the frosting side of frosted mini wheats, eggs and plain pasta.

*Whenever we drive by a hotel she asks if we can stay there that night.  She is big into the whole hotel thing of a pool, continental breakfast and jumping on the bed.

*’Mama, you’re my best friend.” Another heart melter.

*She loves to have her little arm tickled and holds it up in the air for me to rub it whenever we watch a show.  She also asks grandma to rub her feet.  She has quite the life.

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Thanks for listening (ehh reading) to everything from our world.  One of the things that I have loved the most about blogging is that I’ve been able to keep a journal of pictures and funny things that Brooke does on this blog says since the very beginning of her life.  You wouldn’t believe how many times I go back and look at all of her pictures and stories on the blog over the last few years.

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Use this coupon for $1 off Smart Crackers at your local Target this week!  Find Bitsy’s Smart Crackers available exclusively at Target in 2016!

Also, Bitsy’s is on a mission to make healthy eating fun for kids and they need your help! Join their Smart Cookie Community and become a brand insider.  You’ll receive exclusive information and coupons, learn about fun campaigns and even get samples from time to time.  GO HERE to get in on the good stuff! (US Residents only).

Sponsored by Bitsy’s!! Thanks for supporting me, the Brookers and our incredible sponsors!

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What are some things that your kiddos have been doing lately that you do not want to ever forget? 

What sorts of things did you have in your school lunches as a kid?  

What is your EARLIEST memory of life?

Are you a big snacker or more of a three meals a day person?

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41 comments

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Ahhh, my kids will just love these!

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My kids have been playing “vacation” lately and acting/dressing like they’re at a resort! Every meal is at “paleo running momma restaurant” and they’ve been raving about it so I really like this game. They’re having more fun than they do on actual vacation! Hope they keep up the good mood for Boston this weekend!

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I don’t have any kids, but this is seriously one of the sweetest posts ever. And even though I don’t have kids, I still want to try all of those snacks myself. :)

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I remember the best days were when I got a Lunchable in my school lunch. It didn’t happen often (probably because it isn’t the greatest meal out there!) but when it did, it was the best!

I definitely have three meals a day, but I have to include snacks in there too. I can’t go 6 hours in between my meals!

I remember when my little sister was young when my mom would tuck her in, they would say their prayers together every night. My little sis would remind my mom when they didn’t do it. It was always so sweet! (I’m sure she prayed with me too, I just don’t remember it as clearly!)

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Brooke is so sweet!! School lunches were pretty simple: sandwich, a snack like pretzels or cheese-its, and then a little dessert. The school catered lunches from Wendy’s and other local food places…not the healthiest! I am a huge snacker but less so now that I’m not training for a race – my appetite is actually under control which is really strange!

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Awe that’s cool and that’s great she is well behaved. My first memory was going to a playground overseas in Japan.

My lunches consist of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which have kept me happy so I don’t complain.

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I’m definitely a snacker. I pack my “lunch” for work but it’s usually just a collection of snacks. I am always looking for healthy snacks to include. Thanks for recommending these!

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My little lady is growing up. She used to love to cuddle and now it comes and goes. I miss it!
I graze throughout the day. I like food too much to just eat three meals a day! :)

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I was always jealous of all the kids that had Lunchables. All I can remember are sandwiches that had olive loaf…that is the most disgusting lunch meat ever and my mom though I loved it, so she always made me olive loaf sandwiches!

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My birthday in kindergarten I brought in cupcakes but couldn’t reach my teachers desk so I put one on her chair and she sat on it. Yup. My first memory!

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Oh my goodness everything! My daughter just started shaking her head no, and no to EVERYTHING. It’s so stinkin cute that I oblige. ;-) Plus she did this crazy monkey dance last night that I have NEVER seen, she was slapping her legs and shaking her booty, my husband and I were rolling…she’s 1. ;-)
These snacks are RIGHT up my alley! I love that they’re organic! I’ll be using that coupon and signing up stat! I was the kid with the “healthy” lunch. An apple and crunchy natural pb sandwich on wheat bread. I hated it, I was so jealous of everyone’s Lunchables. Now, of course, I am grateful my parents cared about my health. But man….that natural crunchy pb, I still can’t.

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Brooke sure is a sweet girl! I love that she gives hugs when she’s in trouble. That would make me forget about why she was even in trouble in the first place.
My mom always put gushers in our lunches. That was one of our favorites!
I’m generally a 3 meals a day person but I like to snack on fruits throughout the day.

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We tried their products a few years ago when I received a bunch of sample bags and boxes from a healthy food expo. My son really likes them! I’m not a huge snacker, I prefer meals!

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My girls love Bitsy’s brainfood. I am not sure about anyone else….but I am still dying to know the story behind the police in your apartment!! Can you talk about it yet??? And when are you getting a dog? Maybe the pup can help scare people off…if it was a home intrusion.

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My daughter sounds a lot like Brooke. I think it has something to do with being the first kid too. She’s very worried about rules and being kind to others and she’s always been a sympathetic crier. She hates when someone else is feeling bad.

School lunches were pb&j with chips a drink and sometimes a twix bar

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That girl is the sweetest thing ever! Totally enjoying my early 20s right now, but I also can’t wait to be a mother- definitely not all sunshine and daises, but I feel like it will be worth it :)
School lunches were PB&J but some rare days we got Mac and Cheese and let me tell you, it was LIT on those days.
Snacks on snacks on snacks over here, and I always keep some in my purse because emergencies happen (aka hangry= emotional = crying while talking about judicial review in class)

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My step son and Brooke would be good friends! That are a lot a like!

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Brooke is so sweet. My earliest memory is of my sister being born… I was 2.5 yo!

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I am SUCH a grazer! These look yummy, thanks for the coupon :-)

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Brooke is absolutely adorable. But what is more beautiful is the way you look at her. I’m a 22 year old girl, not ready to have children yet, but I’m working hard on getting superhealthy for that incredible phase in a couple of years. I got into reading your posts because of running (+ you’re funny ;) ) but I find I really enjoy looking from your mom perspective. It’s new to me. It also makes me appreciate my mom and everything she does for me even more. Discovering these feelings and then spreading the love is really nice. Thank you for sometimes being the katalysator to this!

In school I used to have the most normal lunch possible: slices of bread with cheese, and maybe a waffle afterwards. On the one hand it makes it seem like I did not care much about healthy living. But I find now that it just meant I was busy living my life, enjoying my time, playing sports and playing cards and talking to friends. Simplicity can be a great thing.

Now I’m more of a snacking person. It’s easier as a student when I think of food, to just make it or get it. There’s no waiting untill school breaks or untill after school is done. It’s nice :)

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Reading through your blog makes me SO excited for my little girl to arrive!! Brooke is just the cutest thing!

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Brooke is definitely a sweet pea. I used to always pretend to fall asleep in the car so my parents would stay at a motel. (Um, yeah, that never worked btw).

My earliest memories are riding the bus to the ferry, then taking a ferry ride so I could play in the park on the other side. And then we would reverse it to go home. It was an inexpensive way for Mom to take me out and I loved every part of it. My other memories are staying with my grandparents when my parents were at work. I loved spending time with them.

I don’t have children but I do have clients ask me about snacks for their kids. These are good to know about!

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I would always have Capri Suns and Gushers/Fruit Snacks/Fruit by the Foot in my lunchbox as a child … I wish someone would still bring me fruit snacks at lunchtime !

Definitely more of a snacker … I could forego meals completely and be perfectly content. Snacks are so much more fun!

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Your daughter is so cute!! Enjoy this time. Kids are pretty awesome when they tweens too (my kids age). I love that my 10 year old still wants to snuggle with me at bedtime, and my daughter (12) likes to go shopping with me :) And they create the best birthday cards for me… and my daughter is making my birthday cake this year!

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I’ve never been a snacker… just three meals.

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My baby is only 4 months and I feel like she will be moving away to college if I blink! Right now my favorite thing she does is whenever she sneezes, she immediately smiles and giggles. Apparently sneezing is really fun haha. Also, we just started transitioning her to her crib and she is so tiny in it. It reminds me to cherish how little she is. I know she won’t be small forever.

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Oh my gosh this was the most adorable post!!!!! It is hard to soak up every moment when life keeps moving! I’m definitely a snacker. I don’t like having a full feeling in my tummy. I think my son is the same because he lets you know when he wants food, which is often, but doesn’t want a lot. I’ve asked my siblings with kids and they say some of their kids prefer that and some prefer to eat a lot in one sitting, so no worries! Wooh!

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Reading this is the sweetest thing ever. Brooke sounds amazing:)

My earliest memory was when I was 2 and my sister was born. The main thing I remember was that there was a gift to me “from my new baby sister” that was a little Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal and a book. My 5 hour-old sister sure did pick out a nice gift for me! Haha.

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Oh my gosh your child sounds like a winner. What a cool little human you are raising. :)

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My earliest memory is playing with my Grandma. We were singing and dancing together in the kitchen while making chocolate chip cookies. I miss her every day.

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My earliest memory of life is probably my first day of preschool when I didn’t want to go and clung onto my mom’s leg until I was forced to go inside.

I am 3 meals per day plus 2-3 snacks. I am always hungry so 3 meals wouldn’t be enough!

I always had juice boxes, fruit snacks, and some type of sandwich. My mom made me the best lunches!

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Oldest (10 yo) and I are nerding out to Star Wars and Supergirl. Middle child (2 yo) has taken to running to the door when I come home and greeting me, which is pretty cool. Youngest (<1yo), well he's just stinking cute, looks like his Dad ; )

My earliest memory is of a stuffed animal dog and my blankie, but they may be remembrances from pictures.

As for school lunches, certainly not healthy but it has to be those rectangles of cheese pizza. During my college years a peer pruchsed a big box of those pizza rectangles and he practically lived on them for months. Ick. Still those pizzas seem better tasting than the stuff my oldest gets at school these days.

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Something I love about this post is how you describe your daughter’s character. The kinds of things you are proud of, like her compassion and friendly nature are the kinds of things that actually matter, but kids aren’t always told. Kudos to you for raising such an amazing kid who is going to grow into an incredibly strong woman!

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My never forgets…. My 4 year old argues with me that marshmallows are actually called smarshmallows. Even though I point out that they start with an M, she points to the S and says, “there IS an S, so they are smarshmallows.” Instead of saying yes, she always responds, “yepper doodles.” Her made up knock knock joke: “Knock Knock, Who’s there, Banana Pants!” And there is no more to the joke. She cracks herself up over Banana Pants. As for my 7 year old, I love the way she cheers on her teammates in sports, how she begs me to do math drills and how she loves trivia.

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She is so cute!! What a sweet little girl!! I am a huge snacker…like all day long. I always had a sandwich, pretzels, apples and a dessert.

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The sweetest post <3

Omg, in my lunch as a kid: dunkaroos, fruit roll-ups, fruit-by-the-foot, sodelicious, and lunchables (the cheese/meat/crackers) <—food when I was a kid was truly the best :)

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What color are your Bed Stu sandals? I love you! Thanks! ?

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Thank you for talking about “Bitsy’s Brainfood” on your blog today. I just wanted to give my two cents about the products. This is what I would like to call a good case of “health washing” and creative marketing. Yes, they may be organic, fortified with vitamins and minerals and made in a nut-free facility. However, if you take a look at the ingredient list, in which ingredients are listed by weight (higher on the list, higher the amount found in the product), you will see that the top few ingredients include pastry flour, brown sugar, palm shortening (a derivative of palm oil, which is high in saturated fats), oats …. and somewhere near the bottom are the dehydrated vegetables. Given that nutrition professionals largely discourage the promotion of “kid foods”, and rather encourage that families eat the same foods, I don’t see a need for Bitsy’s Brainfood as an everyday food. Rather, I would argue that the better way for a child (or adult for that matter) to get in their veggies and fruits is to eat whole veggies and fruits – vitamins, minerals, fibre, phytochemicals, etc etc and enjoy the bounty of the earth!

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I recently heard about Bitsy’s from Nicole Culver’s Blissful Bites podcast and loooved hearing their story and how their mission came to be! They really are doing such great/big things and I know that’s going to be so important to me when I have kids.

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My 6 year old son is in cub scouts….. we go on all kinds of adventures, for instance, my latest blog is about our hiking trip! So fun! I am learning a lot about survival in the woods….LOL!!!! Gotta love boys!!!! :)

I may need to try out these snacks! Wonder if my son will too?!?! …. cmmmmmmm

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Is Brooke good about playing by herself? I have a 3 year old and he is not good about playing by himself much and always calls for me if I leave the room making it hard to do anything and I have a 1 year old too who obviously needs me around too.

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