Wednesday, September 7, 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year!



Or is it??? And for who???

Although Pickle Pants (right) said he was excited to go to school and learn multiplication, of all things, he was a reluctant customer when I pulled out the camera on the way to the bus stop. :) I loved Chester's comment upon returning home - "Mom - the bus driver rolled through like THREE stop signs!!!" Spoken like the true son of a driver instructor!!!

Poor guys - it was a balmy 5 degrees celcius when they headed out to catch the bus and about 28 degrees when they came home - how do you dress for that kind of weather!?!? These are the days that you hope they don't lose TOO many sweaters!!! lol

And then there are the forms, forms and more forms. Lists and more lists....and LUNCHES, oh the lunches! I'm sure many of you are dealing with the same thing....this year we cannot send peanut butter, nuts or fish. Yikes, that eliminates so many healthy things! I completely understand the need to be safe for the children who have life-threatening allergies, but gee it keeps me on my toes when it comes to creativity! And of course, just when you think you've found a great thing, they get bored and they won't eat it anymore.

I am always chatting up other Moms to find out what they are sending. Here are a few of the things that have worked for us:
  • pea butter sandwiches - I do write a note to the teacher at the beginning of the year to assure him/her that it is not peanut butter - thankfully, my boys love pea butter as long as I don't send it too often
  • apples sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon - tastes fab and the cinnamon covers up the brown spots - also a great way to send only half an apple if a whole one is too much
  • veggies & dip - if you can find tiny containers for the dip, this works well. Tupperware has some great ones, I also use mini jam jars, the kind you get with your room service at a fancy restaurant (not that I had any room service, I found these at a yard sale, lol)
  • pasta salad - a total break from the boring sandwich - my boys love this - we usually keep it pretty plain, rotini (usually whole wheat), some cucumbers, maybe red peppers and cheese with Italian dressing on top
  • quinoa salad - this recipe has red peppers, cucumbers and homemade sesame seed dressing - this was a big hit when I tried it this summer and the boys cannot wait to have it in their lunch at school. I feel good about this one for sure since quinoa is packed full of good stuff. If you haven't tried it, go and find some, it's very healthful and is faster to cook than brown rice, so is becoming a popular hot side dish in our house. It looks like tiny pasta - Pickle pants calls it "baby food," but loves it with a bit of soya sauce.
C'mon, I want to know what you are all sending in the lunches..... please share! In a couple of weeks, they will be bored of everything and I will be looking for new ideas and it's hard to be creative under pressure!


Enough about lunches, I did make a card. I'd been playing around with this fab imaginisce line and the new "School Rocks" set from CTMH and came up with this which will probably go to the bus driver at year's end - one less to do when the end of the year rolls around - what can I say - I was in the mood to play with school stuff! lol

And here is the inside. I think I had as much fun with the inside of these school cards - check out that fab graph paper!!!

I would like to share my card at "If the shoe fits" where the challenge is none other than "Back to School". I shall share at the Ribbon Carousel Challenge blog as well since the challenge is "Anything goes".

Oh well, off to school they went today for their official first day back. I think it's time to get back to routine and have a definite focus and the stacks of forms should slow down after the first week....

Enjoy what's left of the week - we are half way to the weekend! I'm looking forward to your lunch ideas!

Shanna :)

7 comments:

  1. Cute card!!

    Ideas for foods . . .

    For the apples, if you soak them (after cut) in water with lemon, they won't turn brown (so I've read, you might want to make sure there isn't supposed to be anything else! LOL)

    wraps for sandwiches
    bagels with cream cheese
    soups
    yogurt parfait (well, the ingredients so they can make their own)
    burritos (keep warm in a soup thermos)

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  2. Love the photos of your boys! Your youngest definitely did not seem thrilled LOL

    My kids hate sandwiches, which makes things difficult. I usually send things like Cheese bread sticks, sausage cheese & crackers, or sometimes cut up fruit and vegies and a can of flavoured tuna (I can't believe you can't send fish!)

    Occasionally we do tortilla wraps with ham & grated cheese and roll them up nice and tight. We wrap them in wax paper and tape it shut. No need for ziplocs, and they can just tear it off as they go.

    If mine had access to a microwave, they would get more Bento Box style meals with home-made Chicken Teriyaki and the likes. I love Japanese food! :)

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  3. Girl, use your thermos! We've got a schedule going...
    Monday = Sandwiches (since i've been to the grocery store and we have luncheon meat)
    Tuesday = Alphagetti/Ravioli
    Wednesday = Soup or Salad
    Thursday = Sandwich or Pizza (if the school is offering Pizza again this year)
    Friday = Homemade lunchable (pepperoni stick, cheese, crackers etc)

    Love the pasta salad thing, but like your guys my girls get sick of it after a while. The great thing about a thermos is that you can send leftovers and no microwave is required...meatloaf heated with warm mashed potatos on top...cut up cold chicken breast and some greek dressing for dipping...spaghetti and meatballs...you name it!

    Thanks for coming over last night...a few minutes of kid free chatting is always welcome at our house!

    Danielle

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  4. Great ideas for school lunches, I am going to try the pasta salad, only got one needing packed lunch this year and already she is fed up with sandwiches!
    great card, good idea to make a start on the end of year cards, I am in school mood too!
    Have a great day, happy crafting, Debxx

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  5. What a cute project! I love the colors and the pretty ribbon! Thanks for playing along with us at the Ribbon Carousel Challenge!

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  6. My kids are definately picky eaters and afraid to eat school food. One year they cracked down on peanutbutter but didn't eliminate it. They just required all kids eating it to go to restroom to wash hands well after they were done. My oldest DD (now 7th grade) has eaten Peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches EVERY SINGLE school day since Kindergarten!! She won't eat anything else. Plus she loves fruit, so I just buy those fruit cups and send one of those or banana. My other DD takes lunch meat (turkey usually) and cheese sandwiches. She's not so picky but is afraid the other kids might make fun of her so she sticks to what she knows. LOL. Poor kids!

    Cute card though Shanna!! :)

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  7. adorable card! great back to school ideas for food...mine prefers to buy hers at school! Thanks for playing along with us at the Shoe!

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