Rebecca Yahm is the parent of a five-year-old daughter and a homeschool teacher and consultant.  She has a background in progressive education and previously taught in public and private schools.  She has been providing support services, tutoring, and classes for homeschoolers since 2003, when she started Open Path Homeschooling Resources <http://openpathhomeschooling.com> to support homeschooling as an educational alternative.  She also teaches at Pacem School and Homeschool Center <http://pacemschool.org>.  

Dr. Heather Jerome is a chiropractor in Montpelier, Vermont.  She earned her undergraduate degree in humanities at the University of Vermont then completed her Doctorate in Chiropractic at New York Chiropractic College. She has been in practice in central Vermont for 8 years and lives with her husband Josh and their two young daughters, Sophia, 7 and Alyce, 3.

Liz Knapp lives with her husband, two daughters, one dog and one cat in Calais. After leaving her home town on Cape Cod, she bounced between the coasts for a decade before settling down in Vermont to start a small farm. The children arrived, the farm vanished, but the dream is still there, resting and morphing and waiting its turn to blossom again.

Emilye Pelow Corbett owns and operates EPC & Associates an eco-organization business specializing in green home and business makeovers and professional organization/productivity services in Vermont. Emilye often speaks on “green” topics like Green Kids, Toxic Free Living and Recycling. Emilye, her husband, son Colton, dog and two cats live in Williamstown. Comments? Contact Emilye at [email protected]

Honi Bean Barrett is a local stay at home/work at home mom of two young children. Her background in teaching, love of photography, and general creativity has inspired her to share many things on our new blog! Honi grew up in Vermont and has spent time in many other states and even enjoyed a few months on the beach in Guam. Look for her crafts, fun meals and snacks, and silly stories. Honi recently launched her own blog - www.tryvermontfirst.com. Check it out for local product reviews, giveaways, and more.

Sara Chase is a SAHM of one, living in the capitol of our beautiful state. She likes to spend her (nap time) free time reading blogs, pinning cool stuff to Pintrest, and going on some walks with Liam, DH and Corgi, Carlin.

Maria Rossi Noyes lives in Montpelier with her husband, two kids, a dog and cat:) Aside from Mamahood her day job is working with transitional age youth at WCMHS. Maria is passionate about learning about all things birth, baby, mothering. She’s an aspiring childbirth educator and post partum doula. Maria is a new Mama Says board member. She also love to garden, cook, and have family dance parties. 

Aubrey Boyles lives in Montpelier with her husband, 3 year old daughter and soon-to-be 7 year old son. Among other things, she's a gardener, knitter, and reader. She loves picking berries, listening to live, outdoor music, and eating tacos. She enjoys her work as a home daycare provider and recently became the web manager for Mama Says.

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Here's what we did last weekend! Has anyone ever read Not a Box by Antoinette Portis?

Here's a You Tube video version of the book:

A cookie cutter, a little tin cup, a lot of imagination and lunch is turned into something way cooler than a turkey and cheese sandwich! 

My 3 1/2 year old loves "special lunches". I try to create something special once a week or so. Often I will get on a kick and make a special snack every day for a week. Holidays are fun too.

Today I simply cut two slices of bread, a few slices of both turkey and cheese, and made them into a cow sandwich. I squished raisins for the cow's spots. The cow had a pail of "milk" which was really cottage cheese. And she stood on snap pea grass. My son LOVED this. 

Note that nothing goes to waste. I took the scraps of turkey and cheese and put them in the sandwich. You don't see those, so it doesn't matter. And little sister enjoyed the leftover bread pieces. 

Here are some sites that inspire me:
http://www.meetthedubiens.com/
http://www.anotherlunch.com/

Have fun with your food! 

I am really excited to share this recipe/link that I found for a variation of Larabars. We love the ease of grabbing a Larabar while out on the run and love the simple ingredients. 
 
Now I am in love with this recipe! It's MUCH more cost effective to make your own, and it's easy! Under 10 minutes. Under 5 if you are really organized.
 
I have made this recipe 3 times now. The first time we used dates, cranberries and almonds as the original recipe calls for. Plus a shake of cinnamon. They were great. We fell in love. My only note is that they were a bit sweet. Be sure to buy unsweetened cranberries. The second time we used dates, dried peaches and walnuts. I also added a tablespoon of flax seed. These came out a big dry (I'll make a note about why later). This last time I used dates, cherries, and almonds. Yum. This is my favorite! I forgot the flax seed this time, and I think it would have worked well because the cherries had more moisture than the peaches.
 
Note..... the recipe calls for using WHOLE dried dates. I had accidently bought the chopped. The original recipe's notes say to remedy this soak your chopped dates in a little warm water for 3-5 minutes. I did this the first and last time, and not the second time, hence, dry bars. I also preferred rolling my dough into bite size balls rather than forming it into a bar. I kept mine in the refrigerator and they lasted for a few days. (Not really, we ate them all in a day.)
 
There are so many ways to adapt and change and play with this recipe. I am excited for the new things we will try. Hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we have!
 
~Honi
 
http://enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com/2008/02/home-made-lara-bars-energy-bars-part-3.html
 

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Paper dolls were mentioned in a recent issue of Mama Says Zine. Download them here: