Three Bentos for a Monday!!

I love making Monday lunches. I love that - on Sunday - my refrigerator is full of good healthy, fresh produce.  Heck, I love that my fridge actually has stuff in it!  By Friday, it seems so bare!!  I'm hoping to start sending ore fruits and veggies for myself in the upcoming weeks.  I get those things in there for the girls, so why not myself?  I'm actually quite excited about MY lunch for tomorrow. ;-)

Hailey's lunch: Cream cheese & jelly, cucumber and mushroom (can't say I've ever had a mushroom, myself!!) slices with a container of ranch, cantaloupe, and a few mini vanilla cookies with a sprinkling of M&Ms.  

Cailyn's 1st "toddler room" lunch: Cream cheese & jelly, mini pretzel rods, diced cantaloupe, and diced kiwi.  She has a few extra things thrown in her lunch bag also!

Mommy's lunch: Cheddar cheese, sea salt & olive oil crackers (omg - SO yummy), cucumber slices, carrots, a container of blue cheese, kiwi, and 2 peanut butter & fudge cookies.  Mmmmm!!!!!

A Bunch o' Lunches!

I take the photos, but I can never get on the computer to update my blog (blame Paul).  Here are some of Hailey's lunches from the past week.

A wheat and cheese palm tree, some goldfish, carrots and ranch, yogurt with blue sprinkles, strawberries, and a few jelly beans.

Peaches, carrots, ranch, cheddar cheese, crackers, grapes, and a cookie.

This was the start of T week at school.  I thought I'd have Hailey search for T things in her lunch. :)

Cheese on wheat (like mommy like daughter!) in triangle shapes - with a little turtle pick to hold it together, cheese-itz, a teddy bear container with mayo, grapes, toy story gummies, and some vanilla pudding with the letter T spelled out.  

Beano

Just kidding!  That is for Angie who can never remember the word Bento. ;-)  I wanted to stick with a "rainbow" type lunch for tomorrow.  The pre-schoolers are having a Pizza Party since they filled their marble jar - I hope Hailey has room for lunch (we were told to pack one anyways!!).

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow:  Cheddar cheese and wheat crackers, applesauce, broccoli, carrots, a container of ranch, strawberries, grapes, and a sugar cookie.

Tomorrow, I was going to send Cailyn with leftovers from tonight's dinner: pulled pork.  I had never made it before, but was excited to try.  The girls loved it, but I thought it was a bit dry.  I have no idea what I may have done wrong (not that I'm surprised), but I figure I'll try it again another time.  Cailyn has leftover mac and cheese, yogurt, animal cookies, and something else....but I'm too tired to think.

I don't send Hailey with items that need to be reheated, but she seems fine with that. :)

Hailey's lunch: half turkey and cheese (other half from yesterday - I was going to eat it myself tomorrow, but Hailey said she really liked it today!) on  sandwich thin, a container of mayo (the green spoon is for her to spread the mayo on herself), white cheddar cheez-its, blueberries, vanilla yogurt, and two oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

A New Year!

I can't believe how quickly the past week has come and gone.  We had a fantastic holiday and a wonderful, relaxing break.  I'm sad to see my loves go back to school tomorrow - they were so much fun to hang out with this week!!  It pulls at my heart to see how close they are....I truly hope they maintain this bond forever.

I didn't take a picture of Cailyn's lunch, but I did snap one of Hailey's.

Two mini heart sandwiches (soynut butter and jelly), pomegranate Craisins, a cheese stick, strawberry yogurt, "Scrabble" cheeze-its, and a couple shortbread cookies.

Last full week of work!!

Last week was beyond crazy.  I was out too many late nights due to work events and my birthday (happy birthday to me!!).  I was lucky I even had time, or the desire, to make lunch.  I did have bentos for Hailey each day, but didn't have the energy to take a photo or blog.  Anyways, I'm back for (hopefully!) another full week this week.  Hey, December is crazy for most, right?? :)

This week is another "full week" of work.  Next week will be only 3.5 days before the long Christmas break.  Can't wait.

Hailey's lunch for Monday:

Ham and cheese on homemade bread (in the shape of a present, under a Christmas tree pick), blueberries, peach yogurt, a clementine (I tried to get another present cutout, but it didn't quite work....), mini shortbread cookies, and scooby fruit snacks.

Cailyn's lunch for tomorrow:

Blueberries (sliced in half), cheddar cheese cubes, garden tomato snacks, peach yogurt, and cinnamon goldfish

It's the holiday season!

This week will be a busy one.  A full week of work, my 29th birthday (ok 31, but is anyone actually reading this?), my Winter Concert with school, and a night out with my bestie.  Too bad the weekend couldn't have lasted an extra day.  We ended up cutting down our tree for the 1st time this year (fun!), decorating with the girls, finished up most of the holiday shopping, got Cailyn's 1st birthday pictures/family pictures done (finally!), and more.  Seems like the weekend FLEW by, and I'm just plan exhausted.  I wish I could just go to bed right now, but it is only 7:30.

Anyways, here are Monday lunches for my cuties!

Hailey has two candy cane sandwiches (cream cheese and jelly), a babybel with a candy cane cutout, goldfish, yogurt, and two mini sugar cookie presents under a Christmas tree.  I also sent reindeer snacks with ranch (think she will eat them if I refer to them as reindeer snacks?  We will see!)

Cailyn will have cream cheese and jelly, cheddar cheese, peaches, and yogurt.  I may send her some vanilla pudding also.  Hopefully, I will remember!

Nice holiday break with the family

It was so nice to have the extra time home with my family over Thanksgiving break.  I've decided the work stress just isn't worth getting worked up over.  I was determined to have a relaxing 4 day weekend, and boy did I!  It got to the point where I just sat in complete silence reading a magazine for a good hour and a half on Saturday. I can't remember the last time that happened!!  I also did get some shopping done, visited with family, ate lots of yummy food, and spent quality time with the best little girls one could ask for.  And, yes, I did manage to get a teeny bit of work done too. :)

Lunch for tomorrow:

Cailyn will have a half of a cream cheese and jelly sandwich, strawberries and blueberries, vanilla pudding, and some animal crackers.  

Hailey's lunch is ham and cheese on a mini bagel, veggie sticks, a container of raisins, vanilla pudding with some heart sprinkles, strawberries and blueberries, and a couple of shortbread cookies.

How is my baby going to be ONE tomorrow??

Hailey is so incredibly excited for Cailyn's 1st birthday tomorrow.  It totally makes my heart melt to see my two girls playing, laughing, and showing each other so much love.  Hard to believe that one year ago, Cailyn was not even here yet!

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow has a little love from mommy: Half a ham and cheese sandwich on Arnold's Sandwich Thins - with an extra cheese heart on top, blueberries with a little turtle pick, pirate's booty, vanilla yogurt with heart sprinkles, and a few fudge cookies for dessert.

I forgot to take a picture of Cailyn's lunch.  It isn't anything "birthday" related, or anything "special" for that matter.  I did manage to send her with her favorite (grilled cheese), diced blueberries, and yogurt.  I also baked some sugar cookies (compliments of Betty Crocker - LOL) for her little playmates at daycare.  Where does the time go??  I'm feeling so sad that she is already through her first year...but I'm so incredibly happy that this sweet little lady is in my life. I love her more than words can say.  We are very blessed.

Midweek!!!!!

Not much to say today - it's been a looooooong one!!

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow:

Soynut butter and jelly on a potato roll (her request.....), grape tomatoes (and I'm just realizing I forgot ranch.  Maybe I'll add some later!!), mini pretzels, raisins, strawberry yogurt, and some mini fudge stripe cookies.

Catching Up

I have been good about making the bento lunches, and even good about taking pictures.  However, then I forget to update my blog!  So, here are my lovelies lunches for Tuesday, Wednesday, and tomorrow.

Hailey Tuesday: Peach Yogurt, grapes, a cheese stick (cut up with a penquin pick), crackers, grape tomatoes and a container of ranch, two shortbread cookies, and a little container of raisins.

Hailey Wednesday: Soynut butter and jelly squares, heart shaped cheese, grapes, peaches, animal crackers, and a container of raisins.

Cailyn Wednesday: Grilled cheese, cheddar baby goldfish, vanilla yogurt, and grapes

Hailey Thursday: A cheese sandwich "ghost" with raisin eyes, black olives and grape tomatoes, some blueberry yogurt, grapes, half an orange jack-o-lantern, and a few indian corn.

I'll be honest, I have NO idea what happened to my photos of Cailyn's lunches from Tuesday and tomorrow. So, I'll post one more from a week or so ago that, of course, I uploaded and forgot to post on here.  

Mini flower sandwiches, goldfish, raspberries, cucumber flowers with ranch, some dried apple, a homemade chocolate chip cookie, and a strawberry-apple fruit twist.

A Couple of Bentos

I know I've been extremely lazy about posting.  I realized just this past week that I had a 1st birthday party to plan - and what didn't seem like a lot of time to plan it!!  I said I would be "as good" about planing/organizing/doing things for Cailyn as I was for Hailey.  Well, that is obviously not true (seeing as how my pregnancy scrapbook for C isn't even halfway done!).  Anyways....I digress.

Even though I haven't posted lunches, I have certainly been continuing my project....most of the time.  At least one of the girls received a bento lunch each day since I've last posted.  Unfortunately, I forgot to post the pics, and deleted a number of them from my phone.  Oops!!!

Here are two from the past week (both Hailey's lunches) that I DID manage to save.

In this bento, a grilled cheese sandwich (no crusts), baby carrots w/ranch, mini pretzels, homemade cinnamon applesauce, strawberries, and a few mini fudge cookies.

This bento contains a cheese stick (cut into pieces), some crackers, cucumbers with a container of ranch, raspberries, peach pudding, and cinnamon goldfish.

Hopefully I'll be 5 for 5 in posting next week!!! :)

First Day of School Bento

So here it is: my first blog entry.  I've decided to begin to document the beginning of my Bento making.  I started trying experimenting with Bentos a bit this summer so Hailey would eat more of a variety during lunch.  She now asks for "cool lunches" each day, and gobbles them right up.  Boring? Maybe to some. A waste of time? I've gotten that also. However, Hailey LOVES them.  Let's face it.  If I'm putting a big smile on my little girl's face as she eats her lunch during her day at pre-school, then this little "experiment" is totally worth it.

This summer, I bought food containers and lunch bags from Easy Lunch Boxes.  So convenient, easy to pack, and big enough without being too bulky for my 3 year old.

I'll have to take some better pictures (the first two are taken with my cell phone), and of course will have to update on a regular basis, but here is Hailey's 1st Bento of the school year.

Hailey's lunch: turkey, and cheese on wheat bread (cut into heart shapes), baby carrots with a container of ranch dressing, strawberries and grapes, vanilla yogurt, and a few animal crackers for dessert.

Day #2

Hailey's Bento today is mozzerella cheese in mini heart shapes with wheat crackers, grapes, applesauce, grape tomatoes and baby carrots with a container of ranch dressing, and two mini chocolate chip cookies.

The rest of the week I'll be on a bit of a hiatus!  Pipe leak at work = no school until after Labor Day!!