Some days he asks for plain boring sandwiches, especially if the discussion is at 6:30 in the morning while he's struggling to shovel cereal into his sleepy head. I rarely do that unless we're staying home and can show him all day in little ways that I love him. These lunches are my little hugs at lunch time to let him know I'm thinking about him, his likes and interests, or important events going on. He always loves them at lunch time along with our silly napkin notes. They just finished up the second 9 week testing period which is always stressful for students and teachers as there is a lot of work to accomplish. Though we know he's smart, communicating that in the way the school wants requires him to pay full attention and willingly participate...and that depends on the day. Happy to report he did great as and his only constructive criticisms are regarding behaviors like not talking during work time, and packing his things and putting them away in a timely manner, otherwise known as perfectly normal 6 year old boy-isms. :)
Some days I feel a bit like Alice, falling down the rabbit hole. Eat this it makes you bigger, drink that it makes you smaller. In fact if I run through all the emotions I experience in a week I probably tap into 95% of the characters in Wonderland. I'm not crazy, ok a little, but really his characters are just that relatable to just about everyone at some point in their lives. I think that's what makes his books classics, their ability to span all ages and environments. So this his 182nd birthday I made two fo my favorite bumbling goofballs for lunch.
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum - Peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with CuteZCute cutter
Honeynut Cheerios
Heart strawberries
Celery with peanut butter
A little clip from the classic cartoon for your Monday pleasure.
Last year we did a wonderful hop in celebration, you can see them all here. I made Alice, Cheshire cat, white rabbit, caterpillar, and a nod to the red queen and mad hatter.
Friday was National Peanut Butter Day. Yes I'm still on the "days" themes because they amuse me. Did you know it takes 540 peanuts to make a 12oz jar of peanut butter? Lately it has been a staple in our house. Especially with celery and if it gets my monkeys to eat a vegetable it must be awesome. Honestly I could eat it from the jar any day...but don't teach my kids that.
Angry Bird Sushi
In this lunch : In a Laptop Lunch Box
Upper left - strawberries
Upper right - Peanut butter and jelly sushi
Lower left - Celery with peanut butter
Lower right - Pretzels with nutella
Beginner chop sticks and Angry Bird rings made it a even more fun
Yesterday was Penguin Awareness Day. But of course you knew that already didn't you. I'm late to the party but not forgotten. as usual I have a back-log of lunches to post. I get them up in my own sweet time but I promise my children never go hungry or bored.
So right around mid-year we hit a creative wall. I ask kids what they want, they pretend to be deaf. So my fall back is the seemingly random national______day and famous birthdays. In fact my Bento Bloggers & Friends group keeps pretty fun list going, so anytime during the year when I have a lack of input or inspiration, I can find it there. While I may figure out how to turn a theme into a lunch based on the groceries and whims of my picky monkeys, I really couldn't do it without this supportive group, and for that I thank you.
The Nut Job
Adorable new movie that just came out. We went to see it as a family this weekend and the monkeys loved it. I made Surely and Andie fighting over a nut.
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Surely and Andie - Peanutbutter and Jelly with candy eyes
Acorn - Babybel cheese
Popcorn background
Leaf honeydew melon and grapes
Celery with peanutbutter
The Dark Side
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Darth Vader and Stormtrooper - Peanutbutter and jelly sandwich
Popcorn
Carrots with Darth Vader ring
Grapes and honeydew melon leaves with Clone trooper ring
I greeted the kids with a bag of popcorn at school pick-up today, it made for a very nice afternoon snack on the way to the pool. Happy Popcorn day!
Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Today we honor a man who's work brought light in a time of darkness. It is hard to imagine living under such conditions. To be treated as less than someone else. Today there are still prejudices that need to be overcome and I hope that some day everyone will be truly equal. As a teacher I get to see first hand that we are not born to hate, we are wired to love each other. At age 2 everyone is friends with everyone regardless of what may make them different on the outside, they are all the same on the inside.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
I Have A Dream
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Loving hand - I have a dream stamped on peanutbutter and jelly sandwich with 2 mini heart sandwiches
Celery with peanutbutter
Strawberries - Oops peace sign got turned upside down by little hands when I wasn't looking.
Peace Puzzle
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Peace Puzzle - Swirled food coloring stamped on turkey sandwich cut with puzzle sandwich cutter, with Peace ring.
Cutie orange and heart strawberry
Peanutbutter and celery with heart pick
Last year we made a tribute lunch using cheese art. It is to this day one of my favorite posts, and lunches. To read the full post click here.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Some days you just make do with what you have on hand. Last Monday when we hadn't made it to the grocery store yet was one of those days. It turned out to be one of Green Monkey's favorite lunches. He has had a tough time finishing lunch lately and this snack tray was intriguing enough for him to finish it. If you can have breakfast for dinner why not snacks for lunch. Along with his milk and yogurt its a fairly balanced meal, with a bit of treats.
Dragonfly Snacks
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Nutella to dip the pretzels
Ranch to dip his carrots
Krave cereal
Grapes
Gogurt on the side
The dragonflies added color and fun. I am still impressed that all the picks and decorations come back
Today is author A. A. Milne's birthday. So we sent a Winnie The Pooh lunch honoring Christopher Robin's famous balloon, and some of his friends in the Hundred Acre Woods.
My friend over at Mamabelly's Lunches with Love is having a linky party. So head on over and see all the wonderful creations, and add link up your own. It's going to be a fun birthday day, come along.
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.”
―
A.A. Milne,
Winnie-the-Pooh
My son wished for a yellow M&M sandwich, and at first I said no because I have been making lunch in the morning and know I can't do a character justice through blurry morning vision. I was going to just pull out a cookie cutter, literally the first one I touched would be the theme of the day. Then I remembered it was "Make Your Dream Come True" day, so I drew what he wanted on his sandwich. He has not been a big fan of cheese lately so I tried to keep it to a minimum. He was very pleased at breakfast when I surprised him with it.
Yellow M&M
In this lunch : In an Easy Luncbox
Yellow M&M - Ham sandwich with provolone eyelids
Mini M&Ms (just a small portion)
Smiley carrots
Puzzle watermelon pieces
I may not be a morning person, but my kids whims are worth it.
Did you know there was a Bubble Bath Day? Me neither, but there is January 8th! So not only did the monkeys get a bubble bath before bed (ok that's kind of routine around here), but I made a bubble bath lunch for school. My son didn't quite get it while rubbing sleep out of his eyes at the breakfast table, but he came home happy. This lunch did actually go to school on the 8th.
Bubble Bath
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Cute-Z-cute bear in the bath - Ham sandwich with marshmallow bubbles
Oh boy another "who the heck is that?" moment, I hate these are getting more frequent as I pride myself on being quite a well rounded geek, but my cartoon hours are not what they used to be. So Green Monkey requested a new character, well new to me anyway, from a show called Uncle Grandpa. Looks pretty funny from the clip I watched while researching Pizza Steve.
Pizza Steve
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Pizza Steve - Ham sandwich, no cheese per request, so I had to figure out drawing on bread
Carrots
Watermelon shaped like a pizza slice with a "S" stamp
Man of Steel
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Superman - Ham sandwich, again no cheese per request, sigh
Carrots
Superman watermelon
So at least the little guy still watches the classics we all know and love, and for the big kid, well I'll just have to keep learning.
1st post of the new year as today is our first day back to school. Not that we don't eat while on holiday, but its not as fun as the packed lunches that go to school. So a little catch up on themes that would have been done had I been playing with their food last week instead of savoring sleeping in and being otherwise lazy. Last week was the begging of a whole new year, welcome 2014! it was also J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday so today I honored both of those events along with celebrating Sherlock Holmes presumed birthday today.
Happy Birthday Sherlock
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Sherlock's flat 221b Baker street - Mixed green salad, ham door, muenster address, knocker, and Sherlock
Smiley Face Sherlock - Ring in edamame
Happy Birthday - Orange slices
Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien (Jan. 3rd)
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
My Precious - Gold ring - Peanut butter with nutella scroll, jelly center
Happy Birthday - Carrots with pick
14 grapes for the new year and a stack of books pick
Happy New Year
In this lunch : In an Easy Lunchbox
Party around the clock - Ham and muenster with American arrows with party hat picks
