Well, Hello!

Yes, I know...it's been a while. But, the flu has struck our home, the mean laundry fairy came and dropped an unbelievable amount of dirty socks and school uniforms, plus it seemed like a {wonderful} idea to paint the front two rooms of our house....and the porches.

I. AM. DONE.

So, instead of sitting in front of the tv and catching up on football, I have decided to blog. Perhaps a bit of normalicy for the day? We shall see.

Do your kids pack their lunch? Do they bother you to pack their lunch? You want a new approach to lunches? I am with the majority of the vote which thinks school lunches are not what they 'should' be. However, I also do not have the time for creating anything better, so...most times, pizza dippers it is! (honestly, our school's lunches are not too bad. Check out other school websites and you will be amazed! For a while we had tossed the idea of relocating to another state, I checked that area's school lunch menu and I was shocked. Eek!)

 My BFF bought a really cool magazine for me back in August which had a section on bento boxes and lunch ideas. I found a great website and ordered one for each of my girls. You can google or web search bento boxes if you choose, but I just wanted to say, they are a hit in our house. It has cut down on the 'crap' you might normally be guilted in to filling your normal lunch box. Additionally, the reduced amount of waste is a big selling point to me and my girls as well. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! I pair up the boxes with a thermos for drinks (we don't normally buy juice boxes, but from the pictures, you can see dad did the shopping lol) and we also have a hot food thermos for soup, spaghetti o's or mac & cheese.

They all fit in their lunch bags, with no spills, no mess, no worries.   



My kids LOVE deviled eggs. So, to make them a fun packable item, I add cooked diced chicken or tuna. Fill the egg halves and make a little sandwiches. You could go so many ways with this, diced ham, veggies, cheese pieces. I was nervous the first time I tried this but my little red-headed curly girl said some one tried to trade for them and she said no way! {score one for mom!}



Those little silicone baking cups sweeping the fancy cooking stores really come in handy too. I picked a pack of heart shaped ones up at Goodwill for $2 a few weeks back. Put one in your bento box and fill with grapes or berries or freeze applesauce or yogurt in them for an instant ice pack. This is wonderful for kids that don't like their food to 'touch'.  



So, this is the final lunch. My kids do eat cheese sticks like they are going out of style. Yes, it produces waste. Yes, I hate it. But until I can carve mozzarella into the wonderful 'peel-y' strips that cheese stick are, this is what we get. The boxes have a rubber seal around the locking lid. We have not had a spilled lunch yet.
{I just think they are super cute}
; )



So, I hope I haven't bored you. I guess I was a bit wind-y today lol. Chalk it up to being locked in the house for a week! I do have a few ideas brewing for Halloween and looking ahead to Thanksgiving. I am praying we are on the upswing of the illnesses and can get back to creating soon. Do you have lunch ideas? I would LOVE to hear them! Leave me a message!

Love, Emily