Several Photos

I made the "cool lunches" Monday, Tuesday, and tonight.  Half the time, I just don't have the energy to look at a computer!  Last night, I simply needed a mani/pedi with my mom, and then after getting home, I just HAD to watch Glee ;-)  So, here are Hailey's lunches from Tuesday, today, and tomorrow, and a lunch of mine and Cailyn's from Tuesday! :)  At least I see they are getting some variety over the course of a few days....doesn't seem that way when I'm packing lunch!

A butterfly soynut butter and jelly sammie, flower cheese hearts, carrots and ranch, flower cucumber slices, cherry vanilla yogurt, strawberries, and grapes.

I'm fortunate Hailey will eat a simple (and healthy!) lunch like this!  Cantaloupe, grapes, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, ranch, cheese, and crackers.

This was my lunch from yesterday - salad (with tomatoes, cheese, and cucumbers), strawberries, and a laughing cow light w/crackers (sea salt and olive oil - omg so yummy!).

Soynut butter and jelly, cheddar slices, salad with a container of ranch, strawberries, and some vanilla mini cookies.

This one was Cailyn's from yesterday: Soynut butter and jelly, diced cheddar cheese, blueberries, applesauce (in the container), and some mini vanilla cookies.

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!!!!!

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.

Tonight I took pictures of both girls' lunches for tomorrow.

Cailyn's lunch: halved blueberries, cubes of cheddar cheese, peas and carrots, and smile fries, cut into smaller pieces.  She also has a vanilla pudding cup.

Hailey's lunch is cheese on bread (ahem, I used to LOVE getting this in my lunch!!) with a container of mayo, cheez-its, blueberries and strawberries, yogurt, and a fruit roll-up.

Monday!

"This is going to be a good week" is going to be my mantra.  I figure, if I keep chanting it, it is bound to be a good week, right?

Cailyn's lunch for tomorrow: half an open-faced grilled cheese, cut into bite sized pieces, grapes (cut into quarters), a few animal crackers, and applesauce.  I'm also sending some yogurt in case she is overly hungry.  She is feeling much better now, but is now unpredictable with how much she will (or will not!) eat.

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow: Half a grilled cheese, minus the crusts, with a little cupid pick, pirate's booty, pudding with sprinkles, grapes, and some animal crackers.



How Many Days of Work This Week?

The snow is comical at this point.  I can't do anything about it, so I had better just be able to laugh about it!  They weather icons are either snow, ice, or freezing rain for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday of this week.  Absolutely nuts!! 

Cailyn spent the weekend recovering from bronchiolitis and pneumonia...my poor baby!  Fortunately, she responded really well to the antibiotics, and she seems to be her happy, smiley self again.  The downside is that she still hasn't seemed to regain her pig-like appetite yet.  I'll see how she does with lunch tomorrow.

Cailyn's lunch is an open-face grilled cheese, grapes, pirate's booty, and applesauce (in the container).  I'm hoping she eats it all, though I wouldn't be surprised if more than half of it comes home.  I will certainly keep my fingrs crossed.

Hailey helped pack her lunch this evening.  She chose every item that went into this lunch - even the salad!!  Good choices, Hailey!! :)

Cheese and crackers, salad, a container of ranch, grapes, pirate's booty, applesauce, and a little chocolate candy treat.



Two Bentos

Cailyn and Hailey both have "cool lunches" for tomorrow.  I don't think they are cool, but if it makes Hailey happy (Cailyn could obviously care less), then I'm happy. :)

Cailyn is having diced chicken, diced cheddar cheese, cinnamon goldfish, and yogurt melts.  She is kind of throwing me for a loop lately, so we'll see if she appreciates any of these options!

Hailey will eat cheddar and leftover chicken on white bread, cheeze-its, yogurt, cinnamon goldfish, and peaches. No, I couldn't even bother to remove the peaches from the package.

Too tired...nothing to say!

Hailey's lunch: cream cheese and jelly Christmas tree, cheddar cheese presents, raisins, blueberries, applesauce, mini marshmallows, and a Rudolph rice krispie treat.

Cailyn's lunch: cream cheese and jelly on wheat, applesauce, cheddar cheese, and blueberries

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

Snow!

There was no snow on the ground when I left my house, so I was shocked when I saw snow on the ground in the town where I work!  I loved seeing all the flurries outside my classroom window today, and it made me really want to get hit with a BIG storm right about now. I will keep my fingers crossed. :)

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow:

Ham and cheese on sandwich thins, with an extra cheese santa on top, grape tomatoes and a container of ranch, a clementine, mini pretzels, and a marshmallow snowman.

Cailyn's lunch isn't colorful, but I know she'll think it is yummy!  She is having homemade mac and cheese, applesauce, clementine, cheese, and some animal crackers.  I'm sending some yogurt also.

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!

Oh Christmas Tree.....

I'm so excited for this weekend.  We are going to get our Christmas tree, decorate the house, maybe even get the lights up outside (Paul...yes??).  I absolutely love this time of the year - from the cold weather, to the smells of festive candles, to the hustle and bustle of the shops....so much more.  I'm loving making holiday themed lunches for Hailey.  I hope she doesn't get sick of them by the time Christmas is actually here!!!

Hailey's lunch:

A ham and cheese Christmas tree with a cheese star on top, cheddar cheese gifts, cherry yogurt, strawberries and blueberries, cinnamon goldfish, mini marshmallows, a teddy bear of raisins, and some chocolate candy treats.

Hailey asked for blueberries and strawberries when I went grocery shopping last weekend.  Those two items cost over nine dollars!!!  Hence, the reason Hailey has had strawberries and blueberries this week....every.single.day.

Cailyn's lunch for tomorrow:

Chicken and peas, cherry yogurt, cheddar cheese, blueberries, and some animal crackers.

December is almost here!!

I've been listening to the Christmas music for a few days, the nativity, stockings, and advent wreath are in their special places, and my shopping is just about finished.  I feel like I'm actually a bit late starting to get into the holidays this year!  Well, my husband said we weren't going to "get into Christmas" until December 1st.  Well, you can bet that my girls will be up later than normal tomorrow so we can start putting more Christmas in this house!! 

Hailey's lunch for tomorrow:

A cream cheese and jelly santa, a babybel cheese with a star cut out, some strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and carrots (I told her these were reindeer snacks!), a rudolph shaped rice krispie treat (even stuck on a little red "nose"), and some vanilla yogurt with holiday sprinkles.  There are some mini marshmallows for an extra treat.

Cailyn's lunch is much less festive.  Let's face it....she doesn't care.  As long as she has her favorites, she is happy.

Cream cheese and jelly, blueberries, cheddar cheese, vanilla yogurt, and some animal crackers

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.

Snow?!?

I'm sure it won't hit my section of CT, but it is kind of exciting to think snow (even just a little bit) is on its way!  I love getting all bundled up and going to work.  Well, I like the getting dressed in warm clothes, but I sure would prefer to cuddle with my little ladies at home. :)

Here are lunches for tomorrow.

For Cailyn: A 1/2  of a cream cheese and grape jelly sandwich (cut into bite sized pieces) on whole wheat bread, peach yogurt, and baby peas.

For Hailey: The other half of the cream cheese/jelly sandwich (just in triangles....but, I noticed I left the crusts on.  Oops.  I'll see if she notices....), a Babybel cheese (with a little heart carved into the top), grape tomatoes and a container of ranch, a little bear filled with raisins, whole grain goldfish, and two marshmallows and a mini kit-kat for dessert.

I also found this photo of Hailey's Friday lunch....

Cheese and wheat thins, slices of kiwi (...that also ended up coming home. She told me to send them to Cailyn instead). Heart shaped cucumber, and some grape tomatoes with a container of ranch, mini preztels, and some marshmallows.

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.

Determined to get back into this!

 going to try my best to post 5 bento lunches this week - for both girls.  Let's see if I can do it! :)

For Cailyn:

Diced chicken nuggets, cheese stick - cut into little pieces, grapes - again diced, and some vanilla yogurt.  Hopefully that is a decent lunch for her!

For Hailey:

Ham and cheese roll up, a few crackers, grape tomatoes and a little container of ranch, grapes, "s'mores" goldfish, and vanilla yogurt with a few heart sprinkles.