Thumbs up

Everyone brought back totally empty boxes today (except for the stuff they should bring back) The adorable fish shaped bread was a total success and it has been requested for sandwiches from here on out. I let them know that it was a special occasion bread, it would show up now and again but probably not on a regular basis.

Ryan surprised me by asking if I would make him a sandwich this evening when I was making lunches. I did but he resisted all my efforts of cutting it, drawing faces on it or doing anything "weird" to it. Who is he calling weird? Both Ryan and Kaity asked me if I would get some whole grain bread for lunches. Sure!

You will notice that Kaitlyn's lunch is missing. When the kids get home, I become a broken record asking for them to put their lunch bags by the phone. I normally ask the smaller ones several times before the migration from book bag to counter begins. I asked Kaity to bring hers up since I was planning to start lunches. She did not. At 14, I am not going to hold her hand so I went on with my lunch making and she brought it up as I was setting up the photo shoot. I declined to make her lunch even thought she batted her beautiful blue eyes at me and said please. I told her to make sure it was up tomorrow since I am not going to get everything out again for her one lunch. I don't really think she is that in awe of my mad lunch making skills, I think she just likes not doing it herself.



Here is the line up for today (or tomorrow...depends on what you want to call it. I make it today, it is eaten tomorrow) This goes left to right
Iain: PBH, cheese bits, grapes, cookie, chocolate covered raisins
Rhys: PBJ, cheese, grapes, apples, carrots, cookie, chocolate covered raisins
Kierynn: PB, cheese, grapes, apples, carrots, cookie, chocolate covered raisins
Greg: PBH, cheese, grapes, carrots, cookies, pistachios

As you can see, I found some new boxes! I took Ryan to Grand Mart to look at the fruit and he got some canned jackfruit and magenstenos. While there, I decided to look around and found these boxes. Kierynn and Rhys said they would like to use them so we got them.



Once I actually started to pack them, I quickly discovered that they are HUGE! They don't look that big but there is a lot of room. I decided to put their drink in there and it worked out well. If you look under Kierynn's drink, you can see her cookie peeking out.

Yes, that is elephant and train shaped cheese. I am not sure if it will be eaten. Both of the two younger kids have said they don't like the cheese I have been using (mild cheddar) I went back to the even more mild Colby Jack and I will see how they like it. They do eat Colby Jack so who knows.

You can't see it but Iain got all the leftover bits from when I cut out the shaped cheese. Greg has bits left from a few days ago. I keep all the extra bits in a bag to use when I need shredded cheese. I also have a bag of crusts in the freezer from when I cut sandwiches so I can make breadcrumbs if needed.

Who knew bread could be cute?

I have used bread cutters for several years now, starting with the Pampered Chef cut n seal. It is just a round shape but takes the crusts off so the kids are happy. I have a load of different cutters for sandwiches, including hearts, butterflies, dinosaurs, stars and I recently got a 4-in-1 that has a bear, dog, kitty and heart.

Rhys really loves his Pokemon bento box but a traditional sandwich is not going to fit in there unless I cut it and really, his best bet is the 4-in-1 cutter. Lucky for both of us, he actually likes his sandwich being cut (and cute) Iain won't touch his sandwich if it is cut at all, no way, shape or form.

As I was shopping, there is always demo tables set up. One was being manned by a very nice German lady who was offering samples of some bread by Pepperidge Farm. Can you guess?? You betcha, it was goldfish shaped bread, complete with the smile!! Since it was new and there was a coupon, I grabbed one of the wheat ones. Even with a coupon, it is more than I would normally spend on bread ($1.50 for 8 pairs) but I could not pass up the cuteness.

I showed Rhys and Kierynn who gave me a thumbs up and even Kaitlyn asked if she could have a goldfish shaped sandwich tomorrow. When I took it out of the bag, I was a bit concerned that it would be too large for the Pokemon box. It is not, it fits in there nicely so tonight, I made his lunch and laid the sandwich on top. It worked like a charm! Have mentioned that I am impressed at how much food I can actually get into that box?




Greg (top left): Deli sandwich, grapes, apples, pistachios, cheese, 2 cookies. After this was taken, I put in a few leftover Pocky in there too.
Kierynn (bottom left) PB, brownie, 2 Pocky sticks, cheese, grapes, apples and a few cheese crackers
Kaitlyn (top right) pretty much the same as Kierynn but she got more cheese crackers
Iain (bottom left)) Ham, 2 Pocky sticks, grapes, cheese crackers, cheese, brownie
Rhys (bottom center) Same thing as Kierynn except no grapes

Monday lunches for the smaller crowd are a bit on the lighter side since they only have a half day. This means the short lunch time is even shorter. Once they get home, they all grab a snack anyway.

Little Debbie has made her first appearance in lunches. I really dislike how so many things are double packaged. I used 2 packets of brownies here and split them between 4 kids. I considered cutting the brownie into a star or something but then the trimmings would be tempting me to eat them so I left them as a square. Even though the Pocky has chocolate on it, it really is not a lot.

When I did my shopping, I looked at things differently, trying to think of how they could work in the bento style lunches. I still have 2 hold outs on me and since they are a 15 and 16 year old boy, I am not too upset that they make their own lunches still.

Nifty things

Today was a day for nifty things. No, not the IEP meeting or the kid dental appointment (2 fillings needed) but other stuff I found or had mailed in.

First, I got a couple of skeins of cotton yarn for only .79 each. Between the 2 skeins, I can get 3 dishcloths made. Then, I found wooden candle holder tops that are just perfect to be made into doll bed legs. It is currently drying overnight in the garage. I will post a picture of the bunk beds when they are completed. I found some super cute cupcake papers for .50 a pack, which is good since Iain can toss them.

I found these little beauties! Each pack was only .79 so I got one of each pack they had. They are supposed to be for clay but as you will see below in the lunches, they work just fine on cheese.



Rhys was super excited when I told him his Pokemon lunch box came in the mail today. I used a guideline I found and got him a 450ml box, which is what was recommended for his age. It was smaller than I expected but it works and he is in love.



And finally, the complaints today were: Can I not have any picks in my fruit? What was the green thing on my cheese? (My attempt at a shamrock) and I don't want any berries of any kind...blue or straw. How did I get these picky kids? Lucky for them, they are cute and I love them bunches so I am willing to accommodate them (to a certain point)



Kaitlyn, top left: PBJ, cheese stars (see how nicely they cut?), cherry tomatoes, clementine, grapes, chocolate chip cookie, pretzel snaps
Iain, bottom left: Ham rolls, cheese, crackers, grapes, chocolate chip cookie
Kierynn, upper right: Ham rolls, cheese, crackers, apple slices, chocolate chip cookie
Rhys: bottom left: See Kierynn's lunch. Now, what is interesting here...they have almost the same amount of food. Kierynn has more apple slices because she will eat them, Rhys will more than likely bring a few home.

No lunch for Greg since it is Friday tomorrow and his office usually provides lunch.

Getting Easier

It is getting easier (and thus faster) to make lunches. I tend to do it in a set order. I do the three younger kids first, all the stuff that is not a sandwich. Then I do Kaitlyn's sides. I do all the sandwiches for the kids and put the lid on the box. Next, I do all of Greg's lunch at one go. After his lunch is done, I take the lids off and take a picture. The lids go on to keep the bread from drying out while sitting on the counter. I know it is only about 10 minutes, maybe a bit longer but I got a complaint about dry bread.

Kierynn said her cheese tasted like cantaloupe...which is odd since it was no where near her fruit. I think she just didn't like it cut into strips, she prefers chunks. Iain was not too pleased to find some bread crumbs on his cheese strips. I had just tossed them in there with his sandwich, no separation. Silly me. You will notice that in the latest batch of lunches, his cheese is not touching his sandwich.

'Member how I told you that Iain tossed my cute lil picks I put in his lunch? I sent plain ole wooden toothpicks today and guess what he brought home? ::facepalm:: He throws out the cute stuff that I wanted brought back and brings back the stuff that was okay to put in the trash.




Top left Rhys: PBJ rolls, cheese crackers, cheese chunks (see my attempt at a shamrock?)baby carrots, clementine, 2 grapes, teeny oreo cookies and 3 gummy hearts
Top right: Iain Ham sandwich, cheese chunks, cheese crackers, baby carrots, oreos, gummy hearts
Bottom left: Kierynn Peanut butter rolls, cheese chunks, cheese crackers, baby carrots, clementine, oreos, gummy hearts
Bottom right: GregBPH, baby carrots, cheese chunks, pistachios, grapes, blueberry/strawberry mix and 2 chocolate chip cookies

Where is Kaity's lunch??! She was home from school today and since her lunch was just in the fridge, she can bring it with her tomorrow.

Oh, a note on the portion sizes here. Each kid got 1/2 a cheese stick. They got 1/2 a pack of the little snack sized bags of Oreos, 1 bag of gummy hearts went between all three. Kierynn and Rhys have a whole sandwich there (2 slices of bread) but it is just cut differently. I did Kierynn's first and she has 4 pieces. I decided that they are just a bit big so when I did it for Rhys, I cut his into 6 pieces. 1 clementine went between the 2 kids (Rhys got 4 pieces, Kierynn got the rest) If they actually watched me make their lunches, I would get complaints that there is not enough there and if I put everything in separate baggies, it would look dinky :)

Kierynn went to Activity Girls tonight and loved it. She showed me the bunny she made, the jelly beans inside and the special chocolate heart she got for finding trash to throw away.

Greg, Tinsel and I went out and did a 3 mile run. It was a bit breezy but a nice evening for a run.

All gone!

Woo hoo! Success! Rhys was very excited when he got off the bus today so he could tell me he ate all his lunch. If it has a pick in it or it is bite sized, he seems to do better with it.

No more cute picks or silicone cups for Iain, he threw them away! I asked him why he threw them out, he told it "it got buried under my trash" Uhm, nothing was in your lunch that goes in the trash. Eat the food, put the picks or cups back in the box and don't go near the trash....that is why the box has a lid. He was not happy when I told him I was not going to give him any thing that I wanted back. He was very much relieved when I told him that I would still use the Ziplock box, just no accessories I want back.

Here are the lunches going out tomorrow: Kierynn (top left), Iain (middle), Rhys (bottom left), Kaitlyn (top right) and Greg (bottom right)



Kierynn: Peanut Butter (by request), cheese slices, mixed fruit, pretzel snaps, 3 girl scout cookies (Dulce De Leche), 3 pretzel snaps, marshmallow bunnies
Iain: Ham (ham and bread only...nothing else. Bleh!) The rest is the same thing Kierynn got
Rhys: PBJ and what Kierynn got
Kaitlyn: PBJ (Chunky), cherry tomatoes, what Kierynn got except the bunnies
Greg: PBH (Chunky) pistachios, grapes, mixed cantaloupe and grapes, cheese, carrots and 2 chocolate chip cookies

Yes, I do tend to make the same things over and over. There are several reasons for this.
1. I know they will eat it
2. For all that I am willing to make minor changes, I am not a short order cook and I am not willing to make 5 totally different lunches
3. I get my fruit at Sam's Club so I have a lot of it at any given time. If I don't put them in lunches daily, it won't get eaten before it goes off


Tomorrow is an exciting day for Kierynn. She turned 8 a few weeks ago so this is her first week that she is able to go to Activity Girls. She has been watching the calendar since January, waiting for this week to arrive.

Too much food!

Rhys is making me nuts, trying to pack his lunch. He is bring the majority home and telling me I am giving him too much, that he doesn't have time to eat it. Now, I am not really giving him more food, I think it is less. It is just spread out. I posted his lunch for today...it was 6 crackers, 6 pieces of cheese (about 1" shaped), maybe 10 thin slices of pepperoni (he likes pepperoni), 10 grapes, 1 strawberry (cut in half), 4 pieces of cantaloupe (1" or less), 1 cookie cut in half and 3 gummy hearts. He ate all the pepperoni, 3 pieces of cheese, half a cracker, 4 grapes, the cookie and the gummies. Everything else came back.

So, for my Rhys man, we are going to have to rethink his meals a bit. I think he is not overly thrilled with the fruit although he does like fruit. Still, no one has complained about the lack of Little Debbie.

Here are the lunches going out tomorrow, top left to right: Kaitlyn, Rhys, Kierynn, Iain and Greg



Kaitlyn: PBJ, cherry tomatoes, grapes, cheese chunks, graham crackers, cookie
Rhys: 1 PBJ cut in 4 shapes, 4 grapes, 1 strawberry, cut in half, cheese (1/2 cheese stick, 2" slice cut in 6 pieces), 1/2 graham cracker, 3 marshmallows (I used a food safe marker, didn't work out so well on bread) I know, it looks like more but really, this is less than I would have packed 2 weeks ago. I would have given him a full cheese stick, more grapes AND a Little Debbie snack!
Kierynn: Cream Cheese, grapes, 1 strawberry, cheese, graham crackers, 3 marshmallows
Iain: Ham, grapes, cheese, graham crackers, 3 marshmallows and after I took the pic, I threw a handful of pretzel snaps above his sandwich
Greg: PBH, grapes, cheese, pistachios, blueberry/strawberry mix, cookie

We went out running tonight, Tinsel enjoyed it. It was the first time in awhile that Greg and I went out together running. GW Parkway Classic 10 miler in April!

Another week

This week is the first full week where I am doing all the lunches bento style.

Last week I learned: Rhys doesn't recognize grapes unless they are green OR I specifically tell him they are grapes. On Friday, when I asked why he didn't eat his grapes, I was informed I didn't give him any grapes. I pointed out the red grapes in his box and he said he thought they were tomatoes. Same boy will not eat a strawberry with the pretty green leaves still attached. I also discovered Kaitlyn does not like marshmallows and despite me seeing Greg eating marshmallows, he really didn't want the sweet lil bunny marshmallows in his lunch. Kaitlyn also told me next time I put chicken nuggets in lunches, she would like some.

Here are the lunches for tomorrow. On the left is Kaitlyn (top) and Rhys (bottom. Right side is Kierynn (top) and Iain (bottom) Greg's lunch is in the middle. Why is his sandwich in plastic wrap? He likes peanut butter and honey and the honey tends to get drippy so I put plastic on it to contain the ooze of honey.



Kaitlyn: PBJ, cherry tomatoes, cheese bits, chocolate chip cookie, cheese crackers, cantaloupe and strawberries
Rhys: Whole grain crackers, cheese, pepperoni, grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, chocolate chip cookie
Kierynn: Whole grain crackers, cheese, pepperoni, grapes, cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe, strawberries, chocolate chip cookie
Iain: Whole grain crackers, cheese, pepperoni, grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, chocolate chip cookie (I am not sure he will eat the cantaloupe so he has a few extra strawberries)
Greg: PBH, pistachios, cheese bits, cantaloupe, grapes, chocolate chip cookies