The Snack Tray

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Schreiber Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own.

Mommy’s attention is a precious commodity, no matter how old your children are. I knew that would become more of a thing as my kids grew, but lately I’ve been realizing how true that is with my four year old. I’ve taken for granted that she’s old enough I can tell her to go do x, y, or z while I’m trying to do something else – like cleaning the kitchen, fixing dinner, starting laundry, writing a blog post, making a grocery list, or just trying to SIT for a minute or two. And when do I sit down with her to play or read a book, her almost-2-year-old brother is climbing on my lap or just generally – and loudly – inserting himself into the situation.

Guys, it’s hard. Hard to just sit and play with my kids when the house is a mess and I could be multi-tasking and getting something else done. Hard to focus on a conversation with a four year old without checking my phone. It’s hard to forget about the to-do list when it’s constantly lurking and the kitchen is still not cleaned up from breakfast and Daddy will be home from work any minute. And the guilt. Oh, the guilt. Being a mom is hard. But you already knew that.

Photo by Amber Roy Photography from a recent family photo session – my mini-me and me :-)

So I’ve determined to be more purposeful about spending even just a few focused minutes every day with my daughter. I’m pretty sure one of her “love languages” is quality time – she seems to really get “recharged” and feel loved when she gets one-on-one time with Mommy or Daddy. The hard part is, I’m with her all day, every day (minus 3 mornings a week for preschool), so even though I feel like I already spend a ton of time with her, I had to figure out a way to be more intentional about it.

Here’s my plan. I’m lucky that my kids are good nappers and they both take afternoon naps at the same time, though usually my daughter will be the first one awake. I decided that when that happens, I’ll try to put together a quick “snack tray” for her and I to have together, before her brother wakes up. It’s not usually more than just 10 minutes at the kitchen table, but it’s a time when I can put away my phone, my laptop, and my to-do list and just have some quality time with my baby girl. This idea was initially inspired by a Facebook friend who posted about the after-school snack platter that she does for her teen daughters. She is actually a published author with a blog of her own, so you can read more about her “After School Snack Platter” here!

Of course, nap time is MY time, and I don’t want to be spending half of it putting together a snack tray for me and a 4 year old. So I picked up some Disney® Frozen String Cheese and Snack Cards at Walmart!

I love that I can just grab some packages of cheese, a few crackers, and some apple slices to put on a pretty tray and my daughter thinks it’s beautiful and fancy. Not to mention they’ve got Disney® Frozen characters on the package, which means my daughter is completely obsessed with them. Honestly, I usually skip the crackers and apples and she’s still thrilled.

My kids both LOVE cheese. I have no idea where they got that from ;-) And I love giving them a wholesome, healthy snack that’s a good source of calcium and protein. No mom guilt at all when I’m feeding them this! Plus it’s so easy to throw into my purse or the diaper bag when we’re going to be out and about.

Be sure to head over to CheeseAdventures.com to snag a $1 off coupon – plus kid’s activities and tips for moms! (coupon expires 1/15/2017)

Do you have any ideas for spending intentional, focused time with your kiddos? Or maybe some more quick and easy snack ideas? I’d love to hear them!

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