Freezer Egg Muffin Sandwich

Do your children enjoy those fast food muffin egg sandwiches?  Use this simple recipe from  Real Mom Kitchen to fill your freezer with on the go Egg Muffin sandwich's and save money.   Click here to read more from Real Mom Kitchen.

Freezer Egg and Muffin Sandwiches

12 English Muffins, toasted
1 Dozen Eggs, scrambled (I use a big electric skillet for this)
6 American Cheese Slices, halved
12 Deli Ham Slices

Scramble eggs; while eggs are cooking, split and toast muffins. (I cooked my eggs more like an omelet and then cut them into 12 squares) Once eggs are cooked, set up an assembly line of muffins, eggs, cheese, ham; assemble and allow time to cool, then wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze wrapped egg sandwiches in freezer bags or freezer boxes. I used a gallon size freezer bag to hold 4 sandwiches, these bad can be reused for each time I make them. Makes 12. To heat: wrap in a paper towel and microwave for 45-65 seconds. Be careful it will be nice and hot.

Freezer French Toast Sticks

Today's Breakfast feed the freezer meal is make ahead Freezer French Toast sticks they are handy to have on hand as not only are they  a quick at home breakfast but easily can be eaten on the go.

You can easily make a batch for your freezer with Taste of Home yummy recipe.  Click here for Taste of Home complete  recipe and how to freeze.

DIY Frozen Pancakes and Waffles

Today's Breakfast feed the freezer meal is DIY Frozen Pancakes and Waffles that you can easily create and freeze to simplify that morning madness in your home.

DIY Freezer Pancakes and Waffles

1. Make pancakes and/or waffles according to your box or recipe directions.  Leave pancakes and/or waffles to cool completely. ( We are a Bisquick pancake and waffle making family)
2. Place a sheet of wax or parchment paper in  a cookie sheet
3. Place the cooled pancakes and/or waffles on to the cookie sheet making  - do not allow them to touch each other.
4. If freezing  multiple  layers of pancakes and/or waffles, place another sheet of wax or parchment paper  to separate the layers.
5. Place the filled cookie sheet into your freezer. For about 4 to 5 hours allowing the pancakes and/or waffles to freeze .
6. When the pancakes and/or waffles are completely frozen, place them in a zip loc freezer bags or freezer-safe containers.
7. Be sure to mark the container/bag with date and contents using a permanent marker or freezer tape.

How to Reheat Pancakes and Waffles:

Oven re-heating:
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet or toaster oven tray with foil or parchment paper. Place  the  number of pancakes  needed on to  cookie sheet and cover with foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until they are no longer frozen and heated to desired temperature.

Microwave re-heating:
Place pancakes on to a microwave safe plate and heat on high for 1 ½ – 2 minutes or until the pancakes are  no longer frozen and are heated through. ( this does create waffles to be a little soggy)

Toaster re-heating:

Place frozen pancakes and/or waffles into toaster and toast as you would a piece of toast. You may need to toast a second time if they are not  done to your likeness.

Top with butter, syrup, jams or peanut butter. Enjoy!

How do you get your kids to eat healthy food?

With fast food establishments on every corner and pre-made frozen and packaged foods waiting for our kids to devour we moms often worry, fret and agonize over the topic healthy eating – How do we get our kids to eat healthy? Especially with our on the go lifestyles.

I have come to the conclusion the more appealing I can make it the better my chance is that my kids will choose healthy eating – or better said the more fun I make it the more they will eat it.

Ready to join me and make Healthy eating fun for your kids?

Choose one or more of these fun ideas to get your kids to begin making healthy eating choices:

Create a snack attack bin:Get a lidded bin preferably with a handle that you can label “Snack Attack” then fill it with healthy choices such as 100 calorie snack bags, individual bags of nuts, trail mixes, dried fruits etc. Now your kids can access healthy snack choices when their tummys are hungry.

For complete snack attack bin instructions click here

Colored fun - Add colored fun to your child's healthy lunch or snack by using colored plastic wraps to wrap their healthy foods in. Or during the holidays use special zipper-type bags, and napkins that are in holiday themes for serving up a healthy snack.

Mini Food Fun- It is always fun to eat miniature bites of food.  From tiny sandwiches to mini veggies and fruits. Think small and begin your cutting and arranging to create mini food eating fun

Kabobs –Its fun to eat meals and snacks on a stick - Create both full size and mini kabobs for healthy eating by using full size skewers or tooth picks for mini kabobs.  Place various fruits, veggies or even meat and cheeses on your skewers or cut every thing tiny to fit on a toothpick.

Cut it shape it -have fun with your childrens food by cutting it into interesting shapes.  Cookie cutters are handy for creating fun shapes that children will love to eat.

Fill it up– Make various sandwich fillers and salads such as egg salad, broccoli salad etc. then fill an empty ice cream cone with you’re fillings and allow your kids to eat it right out of the cone.

Healthy Shopping– Take your kids out on a healthy shopping trip where you spend time wondering the isle discovering new healthy snacks and meal ideas they are willing to try out. Have your children look at food labels and discover for themselves healthy alternatives.

DIY -  Plant a garden with your kids and grow various vegetables and fruits that they are willing to eat.  Children not only are more willing to eat new things they have grown but also that they have cooked.  So get your children in the kitchen and have them assist you in preparing healthy options for them.

Be Prepared- keep healthy snacks ready to be eaten – bag them up in individual portions, have fresh veggies and fruits cut up and ready to eat to avoid your children from grabbing the pre-packaged not so healthy food items hanging out in your pantry. Don’t forget to fill your on the go mini ice chest with healthy snacks and water bottles to encourage after school or during activities healthy snacking

How do you get your kids to eat healthy foods?

WIN:  Share how you get your kids to eat healthy food below for a chance to win a $500 Mom’s Getaway Spa Day from BlogFrog!

SHARE :Want to exchange more healthy snacks ideas, money saving tips and back to school shopping advice with other moms? Visit the Horizon® Healthy Families Back to School Community! 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon.  The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the Horizon Organic brand.

Breakfast Burrito - Freezer Meal

When we think of feeding our freezer full of meals we often think of dinner meals. What about breakfast meals, could we possibly simplify the morning madness with ready to cook breakfast meals in our freezers?

This week we will share a daily Breakfast feed the freezer meal that you can easily create and freeze to simplify the morning madness in your home.

Today's featured recipe is Breakfast Burritos from Mom on Timeout 
a burrito filled with eggs, potatoes, cheese and meats that will fill those hungry morning tummy's from freezer to tummy in 3 minutes.

Click here for full recipe and how to create this freezer breakfast meal.

On The Go Breakfast Ideas

We all know and have head it over and over again that "Breakfast jump-starts the brain and keeps us alert throughout the morning". As a mom of 5 kids who often have various school starting times each morning I know how crazy trying to get breakfast into each childs tummy can be especially when they are racing out the door to make it to school on time and don't have time to eat.  End the skipping breakfast days in your home with these simple and tasty On The Go Breakfast ideas:

 

 Keep on hand grab and go items:

Juice Boxes

Fruit - Bananas, apples, grapes ( have fruit washed and bagged up ready to grab).

Yogurt - stir in granola and fruit.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with slices of banana

Granola bars.

Hard Boiled eggs.

Bagels with cream cheese.

Muffins or quick breads.

Scrambled eggs stuffed in a pita with toppings ( cheese, crumbled bacon, salsa etc.)

Homemade waffles and pancakes ( made ahead and placed in the freezer.  Re-heat in microwave or toaster).

Sweet breakfast wraps (banana, peanut butter and honey wrapped in a tortilla or cream cheese and fresh slices of fruit).


Here are two simple recipes that your kids will enjoy:

Kicked-Up Quesadilla
from Parenting.com

These healthy quesadillas get a bright, fresh kick from the addition of tangy Granny Smith apples. Prepped and ready in less than 5 minutes, it's the perfect meal to munch as you head out to the car.



What you need:
2 flour tortillas (regular or whole-wheat)
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar
several thin slices of a Granny Smith apple
Sprinkle an even layer of cheese over one tortilla. Scatter the apple slices on top of the cheese and top with the remaining tortilla. Microwave for 30 seconds or until the cheese melts. For a crisper tortilla, use a large skillet and crisp for 1-2 minutes on both sides, until the cheese is melted. Cut into 6-8 wedges.

Pop-Toast
from Parenting.com

Those sugary ready-made pastries are fun to eat fresh from the toaster. This homemade version is nearly as quick -- but with less sugar and no artificial colors or flavors. The sky's the limit when it comes to imagining taste combinations. You could make a different pop-toast every morning.

What you need:
2 pieces of whole wheat bread
1 tsp butter, softened
1-1/2 Tbsp. jam
Lightly butter both pieces of bread. Spread the jam over the butter onto just one piece of bread leaving 1/2 inch border around the edges. Top with the remaining slice of bread. Cut off the crust and seal the two pieces of bread together using the tines of a fork. Slide into the toaster; then *pop*, breakfast is ready.
Optional: Add thinly sliced fresh fruit such as bananas or strawberries for a fresh flavor. Try adding peanut butter or cream cheese for an added boost of protein. Chocolate fiends could even try a teaspoon of chocolate hazelnut spread instead of butter

Wake-Up Breakfast Message

Start the morning off with a encouraging and fun message by using scrabble pieces and holders.  I saw this idea over at The Frugal Girls being used to leave love notes for your husband but I thought another great idea would be to have one for each family member and use them as their Wake-up breakfast messages placed at each family members breakfast seat.

Waking up to a fun or sweet message will start the day off with a positive attitude.

So now I'm on the hunt at my local thrift stores for used Scrabble games to use each morning when my children arrive at their breakfast seats.

Free Breakfast Fun Printables

Make Breakfast time fun with these two free prinatbles

Breakfast Fun - Download and print these fun pancake activity place mats from Betty Crocker. Click here to get your table setting fun.

Breakfast Puzzle Fun - Print out these fun Pancake theme printable puzzles. Click here to begin the fun.

Frugal Breakfast Tips

Amy Hannold, 247Moms Frugal Living Editor

Choosing to eat a breakfast of wholesome, affordable ingredients is good for your health and your finances. Eating breakfast will help you avoid drive-through and take-out snacking later in the day. When you fuel up before heading out, you’ll be thinking more clearly; better able to make good decisions and work effectively. Good food choices will contribute to better health over the course of your life, possibly saving you costly medical expenses.

September is “Better Breakfast Month”. Explore recipes which include protein-rich, energy-packed food choices such as eggs, oatmeal, fresh fruit, beans, peanut butter, etc.

Here are a few steps to healthier, more affordable breakfasts:

Get ready for breakfast the night before: Set your breakfast table, slice fruit, peel hardboiled eggs, grate cheese, make waffles, etc.

Discover slow-cooker breakfast delights: Your crock-pot is the tool to use for cooking breakfast while you sleep. Oatmeal, fruit cobbler and egg casseroles ready by morning will save you time as well.

Invest in some re-usable breakfast containers: Avoid buying pre-packaged food items and be ready for mobile breakfasts all week. Divide the cream cheese into individual plastic containers, store tasty dinner leftovers, and make your own bags of “cereal trail mix”.

Buy oatmeal in bulk and prepare instant-oatmeal combinations from a variety of ingredients. You’ll save money and increase the nutrition of your oatmeal breakfast. For a great recipe – and a list of flavor ideas visit: http://everythingishomemade.com/2007/09/26/instant-oatmeal-packs/.

Blend up a Delicious Smoothie: Packaged yogurt and fruit smoothies are in stores – or you can create your own. Here’s a website which will keep you smoothie-slurping a new treat every morning: http://www.smoothieweb.com/.

Family participation: Preparation of this week’s “ready-breakfasts” can be a part of your Sunday family activities. Get the whole family involved in the finding of recipes, discussion of healthy foods, and the choosing of new foods to try. Create sliced and washed fruit bags for upcoming lunches – enjoy!

Use time and energy wisely: Prepare several breakfast-burritos or homemade waffles for your freezer during one cooking session. “Heat and eat” meals will help you keep your healthy breakfast resolution intact, even when you’re short on time.

School Paperwork Storage and Organization

In just a few weeks these piles will begin to reappear in our homes - you remember  those things our children pulled out of their backpacks sometimes it was daily other times they arrived home in what they call weekly folders and created mounds in our homes.  Yes, I'm talking about school papers.  We all have great intentions of keeping control of them and taming the school paper piles but it seems to be an endless job that quickly gets out of control and with 13 years of schooling for each child that is a lot of paper piles to sort and keep track of.

How can we begin the school year off ready to control the piles before they begin?

My answer is the School File box:

I began a file box for each child and placed 13 hanging files inside of it to hold each years of school papers we choose to keep - report cards, art, reports they had written etc. I used file folders in each hanging file to divide and file things according to various categories based on what I saved that year. You can purchase simple card board file boxes for fancy decorative ones.

Once you have your file box ready to go you can easily purge the papers that arrive home of what you will and will not file away as keepsakes.

I recently came across this same idea being used over at iHeart Organizing and she created a coversheet for each section that you can personalize with that years school photo and other details.  Click here to get your free Cover sheet printables.

iHeart Organizing also created labels fro each grade to use on the file folders.  Click here to get File labels.

Time to get organized and head out to purchase a file box for each child, a box of Hanging files ( 13 for each child) and a  box of files and get ready to simplify your children's school papers

Surevy Says - My Day School Day Was....

 My kids love when they open their school lunches up and find a note I have enclosed that reminds them I am thinking about the when they are away from me - now they will have even more fun with the Free lunch survey printable I discovered that June Pfaff Daley created for the family Fun magazine.  


This fun lunch survey will give you a peek into what your child's day was like at school and once filled out make a great keepsake to add to their childhood memories.


You can use these over and over again through out the school year.


Click  lunch survey  to print your FREE lunch surveys at Family Fun Magazine.  Click here to visit June Pfaff Daley's website.

MOM Tip: Free Homework Helper Videos

 Are you feeling lost when it comes to helping your kids wit their homework?  I recently had a mom friend share with me about this FREE website she found that has over 2400 FREE how to educational videos. The Khan Academy.

Their library of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with play lists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.

Students can make use of our extensive video library, practice exercises, and assessments from any computer with access to the web.

Coaches, parents, and teachers have unprecedented visibility into what their students are learning and doing on the Khan Academy.

Every time you work on a problem or watch a video, the Khan Academy remembers what you've learned and where you're spending your time. We keep all of this data private but expose powerful statistics to each user and their coaches. You get at-a-glance information about everything you've been learning and whether or not you've been hitting your goals.

You can drill all the way down from a bird's-eye view of your profile into each and every exercise problem that you've ever worked on. You'll see real, hard data about your increasing mastery of math. 

The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. They are a  not-for-profit organization with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.

Click here to learn more about FREE The Khan Academy.

A Blessing Party For Back To School

It has become a tradition - Thanks to Valerie our official celebration editor here at 24/7 MOMS. At the end of each Summer Valerie hosts a Back To School Blessing party for the moms in our mom group and their children.

Prior to the party Valerie asks each mom to decide on a scripture verse for each of her children as their yearly verse that will be framed for each child to then be able to place on their dressers, bathroom counters or desks to remind them of the verse their mom selected and is praying over for them as they go off to school each day.

During the party we eat appetizers and have fun chatting then we gather all the kids around a cake  that has one candle in it for the blessing celebration - teach child steps up to the cake and is asked how they would like us to pray for them  for the upcoming school year, we then light the candle let each child blow it out on their turn, pray and bless them and present them with their framed scripture verse for the year.

What a great way to kick off the school year to pray for our kids, give them their own scripture verse to remind them of God's love and how special they are to him.

This is a simple celebration with each mom bringing an appetizer to share and then serve cake after the blessing celebration.

Cereal Party Celebration

What do kids love about Saturday mornings?  Hanging out in their PJ's, eating cereal and watching their favorite cartoons.  Why not create a celebration using their favorite Saturday morning rituals.

A cereal party is perfect for an upcoming birthday, a back to school celebration or just a fun way to get friend together for fun.

Begin your planning with these simple ideas:

Friends:  Send out invitations. You can be as simple or creative as you would like from using cartoon characters on your invitations to using the single serve boxes of cereal with your party information attached to them.  Be sure to include date, time, location, attire ( PJ's) and to bring their favorite box of cereal.

Food: here are a few suggestions make it simple or extravagant as you choose:
Cereal ( the guest brought)
Juice
Milk
Baked goods - muffins, scones, donuts etc.
Create a topping bar including sliced fruits, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, raisins, mini marshmallows along with other toppings you choose.

Decorate:  Use bright colors and big cereal bowls

Fun:
Cartoons: Time the party around your kids favorite cartoons or have them on DVD to show during the party.

Games:  - Guess the number of pieces of cereal in a jar ( pour cereal in a clear jar).
- What cereal is it - Pour small amounts of cereal in a muffin tin and have the kids guess what cereal it is without touching or tasting it.  Be sure to number each muffin cup using a sticker or painters tape.
- Play a Trivia game using cereal facts from  the Breakfast bowl. Click here to go there now.
- Give the "what kind of cereal quiz are you".  Click here for quiz.

Crafts: - make cereal necklaces using fruit loops.

Favors To Take Home:  Give out cereal bowls and spoons along with a single serve box of cereal or provide Chinese boxes or zip bags to allow kids to create their own take home cereal mix to eat at home.

Have fun and enjoy your kids favorite Saturday morning rituals celebration style.

Free Lunch Chart For Back To School

 Got picky lunch eaters?  When we get our children involved in choosing, making and packing their school lunches they are more likely to eat the contents.

Martha Stewart created a simple  magnetic lunch menu to create and use.  This will save you time, money and make your grocery shopping simple knowing what you buy they will eat.  This menu allows a weeks wort of lunches to be planned.

Click here to get your FREE printable magnetic lunch menu.

Fall Express Meal Planning

By Trisha

When my children head back to school and all the fall activities begin, my life can get crazy. And putting dinner on the table each night can easily become a frustration.

Rather than being frustrated this fall, I created a list of eight theme nights to assist me in creating an express meal plan, quick and simple.

I will rotate these eight theme nights over the fall choosing a variety of meals from each theme to feed my family without a lot of work.

You can create a fall express meal plan with my eight themed nights ideas. Click here to read about them now.

Be sure to leave me  a comment over at SC Johnson

*Each week Trisha Blogs on SC Johnson Family Economics website as a paid writer be sure to read her weekly articles

Dress Your Best, For Less

Amy Hannold, 247Moms Frugal Living Editor

Looking your best, from head to toe can be done affordably.  How we look communicates a whole lot about us.  When we spend wisely to dress well, it feels good to us and our wallets.

Here are some budget-friendly tips:

Buy Quality, Not Quantity:  Utilize coupons, seasonal clearances, loyalty program discounts or other store sales to buy the best for your money.  Choose well-made items, on sale, which are more “classic” than “trendy” in style.  Less expensive accessories and tops can complement a suit or outfit separates you’ve invested in.    Buy quality once or twice and you will avoid the cost of more frequent replacement.  When you find good shoes, pants or other frequently worn favorites at a great price, buy two.  You then have a ready replacement or can alternate use of them.

Find Unadvertised Deals, Replacement Guarantees and Other Money-Saving Options:   Purchase an Entertainment (Coupon) Book for your area.  These books contain mall/outlet coupons.  Ask for teacher/student/military/AAA/birthday discounts or price-matching promotions.  Look for brands which offer life-time guarantees such as Lands End, REI, L.L. Bean and Sears.  Shop for less when you earn gift cards for shopping/web-searching through Ebates, Mypoints, Swagbucks, RecycleBank, and other sites.   Compare credit card offers, as some may reward you for shopping. Do use restraint and caution however to avoid multiply debt for a “discount”. 

Shop Second-Hand:  Consignment, Re-Sale, Thrift Stores and Garage Sales are great opportunities to buy quality at a fraction of the retail price.  Children grow quickly out of clothes, adults change clothes sizes and other are looking to make some money from their stuff.  Choose carefully, thoroughly looking for any signs of wear or damage.  Look for stores that are the most particular in what they sell and you should find the best for yourself.  (Note the brands you rarely find in second-hand stores – these are the brands you want to buy new, using the above money-saving discount options!)

Don’t Browse – Focus!  Overspending happens when we’re buying with the wrong emotions or less than our full attention.  Buying for “retail therapy”, boredom, or while distracted should be avoided.  Online shopping can be a better choice, if you don’t fall prey to using all the “great discounts” offered to you.  Use the “Review and Reconsider” option.  Wait a day or two before buying.  Give yourself time to find an adequate item in your own closet or another alternative to buying.  If you need a little help in restraint or style choices, ask a friend for their opinion. 

Swap for “New to You” Finds:  Start a clothing exchange between friends, groups, or  your community.  Locally, we have a “Great Giveaway Day” twice a year.  Our “Clothing Swap” has grown into an anticipated event.  Everyone loves to shop for free and share their “treasures” with others.   We use the local VFW building, advertise, recruit volunteer hosts/sorters, and organize the room with tables.  It costs nearly nothing to bless everyone with some “new” items. 

Craigslist, Local Classifieds, Ebay and Freecycle:   Locally or online, you can find deals on good stuff.  Buy from reputable sellers.  Facebook and local bulletin boards may also have “garage sale” or “for sale” ads offering you the chance to buy from someone in your community.

Free Labels For Back To School - Books, notes and more

With kids heading back To School these FREE printable labels that can be personalized  from Paper Glitter are perfect for labeling school books, making name or bus labels or even a fun lunch box note.  Click here to go to Paper Glitter to get your FREE labels.

DIY Personal Yearbook Keepsake For Kids and Classmates

 Have you ever come across something and wish you would have found it years ago?  here is one I wish I had found years ago - so easy and fun to record your child's school memories.

FREEbie: Create a school year keepsake with this FREE down loadable School Yearbook Memory from Beck Higgins.

This is an ongoing project designed for students to complete themselves – no matter if they're in public, private, or home school. This will work with children as young as preschool and can even be used for older kids. The end result is a very basic month-by-month look at their journey and growth in a single school year.

Click here for instructions and FREE printable download.

Simple 1st Day of School Celebrations

Summer has come and gone and now school is about to start.  Talk about stress!  Depending on how many kids you have but there is the evil school supply lists to go get.  I keep it in my purse so I don't forget anything but I am constantly pulling it out of my purse because I am forgetting what I got and what I still need to get.  Then there is getting all the school clothes and shoes, dealing with the kids shopping with you, keeping the house clean, sports, grocery shopping, cooking meals...  oh, that list just goes on and on.  If you are a working mom I give you kudos because I don't know how you do it.  You earn double the mommy awards!! 
But in the mist of all the chaos is the 1st day of school.  Your children are either going to be very excited, scared or just plain not looking forward to it.  So as a mom its our responsibility to put them at ease and to celebrate that 1st day back to school.  We are celebrating them growing up and enriching their lives!  We are also celebrating our times to ourselves again too.  :)  YAY!  Our daily schedules are almost on track again! 

Growing up I remember my mom doing special little things for me for the 1st day back.  Special little breakfast and always got a cupcake when I got home and balloons with signs saying "BIG 3rd Grader!", etc...   Now I am passing that on to my children and it is so much fun to watch them get so excited for the first day back. 

So I wanted to put together some of our traditions and some that I thought would be great new ones too that you can do with your children that are simple but your children will remember them.  But the most important thing is the smile that you bring to their little faces. 

Morning:
*Balloons
*Signs ("Good Morning 5th Grader, etc...)
*Their favorite breakfast food
*A small gift at the table for them
*Decorated table
*Both parents home to say goodbye, walk them to bus or drive them to school
*Flowers
*A path of pencils leading them to the breakfast table

*Pancakes in the shape of ABC's
*Write them a note to take with them on the bus

Afternoon:
*Balloons on mailbox
*Big sign on front door
*Cupcakes
*Snack platter ready when they get home with all their favorites
*Signs all over the inside of house ("So proud of you", Happy 1st Day Back", Big 3rd Grader!", etc...)
*Small gift left on their bed with a personal note from you and daddy
*Take them out for ice cream
*Dinner of their favorite food (at home or at their favorite place)
*Decorate table with Congratulations things

*Shopping (if Tween or Teen girl...  take them shopping for more clothes)

You don't need to over do it.  Pick one or two things to do.  Maybe one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Don't forget your camera and take lots of pictures!  You could always put together a album of all the years and lay that out on the table in the morning or for dinner and have a great conversation about all the years.  Save those signs too or decorating pieces to add to your album.  They grow up so fast, take time to enjoy all those 1st days back to school before they are gone.