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.

Cookies!

Last day of February, and I've met my goal of finding 20 followers!  I think for March, I'll look for 5 more. :)

Cailyn has mastered a word - cookie.  It was originally cute: every time she would pass through the kitchen, she would say in her cute little angel voice "cookie?".  She was obviously good....we all gave in every.single.time.  Well, then it became funny.  Each time the pantry would open, no matter where she was, her little feet would come running, no longer asking for a cookie, but demanding "Cookie!".  I stopped giving in, but Paul wouldn't.  I found it was becoming a problem when I told her no one day, and she flopped on her belly kicking, banging the floor, and crying while panting the word over and over.  Who would have thought I would have a 15 month old terror!  The final straw came just last week, while in the grocery story, she screamed the word in every aisle we were in.  

I never thought I would have to do the "cry it out" method over a cookie.  The pediatrician's office said it would be a rough couple of days (um, yes, very!), but then the habit would be broken.  Well, it is.  She is perfectly satisfied with a few animal crackers after dinner.  Occasionally, I will catch her looking at me with that coy smile as she walks by the pantry.  Now, when I hear "cookie?" it is followed by a little giggle as she walks away.

Cailyn's lunch for tomorrow: peas and carrots, quartered grapes, chicken nuggets (diced), and mozzarella cheese.  There are a few animal crackers in there, too. ;-)

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: wheat thins, a cheese stick, goldfish, chicken nuggets (with a turtle pick), a container of ketchup, celery, grapes, vanilla pudding with sprinkles, and some Toy Story gummies.

Can it be??

Two days of school in a row???  I'd better not jinx it......

This past weekend, I took Hailey to Barnes and Noble.  Her Uncle had given her some money to buy a book as part of her birthday gift.  So, Saturday morning, Hailey got her little purse, put the money inside and off we went.  She found these "Step Reader" books that she wanted to get, buy 2 get the 3rd free. Perfect!  We then went to Stop & Shop, again Hailey walking in carrying the brown purse with the blue stripe.  The change from the books was clearly burning a hole in her pocket.  She was psyched when she found these little chocolate Tinkerbell Valentine's candies...for $1.29.  I hope she gets excited when she opens her lunch tomorrow afternoon.  I wouldn't be surprised if she tells her teacher all about how she bought the candy (and the books - with the money from Uncle Bryan!) "all by herself.":)

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow:  Cheese and crackers, grapes, pirate's booty, applesauce, broccoli and a container of ranch, and a mini Tinkerbell chocolate candy :)

No Bentos Today (for the girls anyways)

I've been sick all weekend, and truly had difficulty having enough energy to make lunches at all.  I love my Easy Lunch Boxes, but I can't heat leftovers in them (well, not if I have cold items in there as well).  Tomorrow will be a leftover day for my little ladies.  Baked rigatoni (from dinner this evening), grapes, and pudding.  I have my lunch ready to go in my ELB container.

Cheese and crackers, celery with a container of blue cheese, grapes, and a 100 calorie pack of chocolate covered pretzels.  Yum!

Is anyone looking at this?

To an extent, I'm doing this for myself.  I like getting some ideas when Hailey says "I don't know what I want..." or just putting this bookmark down as a time when I was somewhat creative (well, in this manner anyways!).  I figure, Hailey won't like these lunches forever.  Quite honestly, she may decide that she hates them as soon as she enters kindergarten.  But, for now, she loves them, and I'm going to continue making these bentos, taking pictures of them, and posting for the whole world (umm....me?) to see. 

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: Cheese and crackers, grape tomatoes on a bed of baby carrots with a container of ranch (the carrots can't really be seen in this picture), vanilla yogurt, pineapple cubes (frozen...will thaw in time for lunch, of course), a small container of raisins, and a mini candy for a treat. 

Crazy week

So THIS will be a crazy busy week due to Hailey's 4th birthday and the shortened holiday week.  I'm SO excited!!  Truly, this week can take its sweet time.  I'm going to savor every moment.

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: ham and cheese Santa crackers, mini pretzels, peach yogurt, blueberries with a Santa pick, carrots and a container of ranch, and a rice krispie Rudolph resting on a red of snow (mini marshmallows).

A Gift for Hailey

I bought some cute holiday cookie cutters (made by Wilton), and thought I would try them out (well, the present shape anyways) for tomorrow.  I started to giggle as I made Hailey's "cheddar gifts".  I thought back to the year that my mom, claiming she didn't have any Christmas ideas for me, presented me with a huge basket of cheese and crackers.  A variety of different cheeses.  I was in heaven.  My mother certainly knew that this silly gift would make me smile.  The cheese basket wasn't the only gift I received from my mom that year, but I absolutely loved it.  My girls have inherited my love of dairy.  Maybe one day, I will give them a cheese basket too.

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: Cheddar cheese presents, wheat thins, veggie sticks, applesauce with a pinch of cinnamon, strawberries and blueberries, and some marshmallows. 



I think this lunch looks yummy - and colorful!  I'm hoping is brings a smile to my cutie's face tomorrow.

Hailey's lunch: Wheat Thins, a babybel cheese with an H cutout in the center, blueberries, pirate's booty, a few carrots and grape tomatoes (the ranch is in the little yellow container), marshmallow halves held in place by a little pick, and some vanilla pudding with "fairy dust."

A Rainbow of Color!

What a warm week it has been so far! I don't think I mind the rain that has come along with it either.  After last weekend in NH and VT, the warmth as been so nice!  I decided I would send Hailey as many colors as I could tomorrow....did I succeed?

Hailey's lunch: grape tomatoes, a container of fresh pumpkin seeds (...that Paul made today), heart shaped mango with a little pick, crackers and a cheese stick (cut into circles), raspberry yogurt, and s'mores goldfish.

For Cailyn: Diced cheese stick, peas and carrots, raspberry yogurt, a couple of crackers, and some fresh mango.

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!!