School Lunch

Happy Monday! We had such a great weekend here in Maine. B scored his first goal ever in his soccer game, and then another 4 goals after that. Talk about one proud mom. :) He was so excited, it was priceless. The weather was unseasonably warm on Saturday so we ended up at the beach. No surprise here. I am determined to pack in as many beach trips s I can before colder weather hits the northeast. Fall decorating is in full swing in our house, which makes me want to bake yummy fall foods. What did you do this weekend?

In this lunch:
Turkey, cheese, spinach wrap
Mango
Watermelon
Orange Slices
Bunny Snack Mix

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

 

School Lunch Penguins

Wow are we busy. I feel like the days and weeks are flying by a little too quickly. I can't believe it is Friday again. Sorry about the lack of posting lately, hopefully I will develop a better system and get back to posting regularly. This is a school lunch I made last week for B. As you can see this one really didn't involve much effort, and the lunchbox come home empty.

In this lunch:
Penguin sandwich
Mango and Kiwi Chunks
Watermelon
Popcorn
Havarti cheese animal


Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Breakfast for Lunch

Do you ever have breakfast for dinner? How about for lunch? B loves breakfast type foods. I had some leftover banana bread and hard boiled eggs, so I threw together a breakfast lunch for school the other day. He loved it. Sometimes it is fun to think outside the lunchbox. :) I try to be funny, but it rarely happens. ;) hehe. 

In this lunch:
Dry Cereal
Strawberries
Banana Bread
Hard Boiled Egg with Ketchup
Yogurt Tube
Havarti Animal Cheese

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Banana Bread

For some reason I have had an over abundance of bananas on my counter lately. Usually bananas do not last too long in my house, so this was a bit unusual, and the perfect opportunity to make some banana bread. Since I have not perfected an egg free or gluten free recipe yet, this one is your basic banana bread using all purpose four and eggs. My family loves it.

You will need:
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 c. half and half
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Method:
Mix dry ingredients, and set aside. Cream softened butter with the sugar in electric mixing bowl. Add mashed bananas, vanilla, eggs, and half and half. Add dry to banana mixture and pour into two small bread pans. Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

School Lunch Puzzle Pieces

Over the summer I ordered these fun sandwich cutters made by munchkin. They are made from plastic, and do not cut as well as I would like them too, but they are easy to work with. I usually end up cutting threw the bread all the way with a knife. B was really excited to try out the puzzle piece sandwich so here it is. I should also mention that B's lunches are coming home completely empty so far. Yay!!

In this lunch:
Puzzle Piece Ham Sandwich
Little Lads Herb Popcorn
Kiwi
Watermelon
Cucumbers with Balsamic
Purple Carrot Cracker from Annie's

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

Back To School

School is back in full swing, and we are transitioning from summer break quite nicely. Our beach days are dwindling, I still squeeze in some beach nights, soccer has begun, and so has the homework. If you are like me you will crave a schedule and routine right from the start. I have found a few helpful tips that help make our mornings, and evenings a little smoother.

• Lay out school clothes the night before. Bam! If B knows hat as soon as he wakes up he gets dressed in these certain clothes, it takes the struggle out of the morning routine. There is no scramble of what to wear, since it was decided 12 hours before hand.
• Set an alarm for your child.  I learned that my son responds well to having his own alarm clock. He feels a little more grown up, and it is a fun way to make sure he wakes in time to complete all of his morning responsibilities. I feel like he was less apt to listen to me when I go into his room and wake him over and over again.
• Let your child help make his/her own lunch. If your child is involved in choosing his own foods for the day, he is much more likely to eat them. Plus, this is a fun way to spend time with them before you send them off for the whole day. (I miss mine.)
• Allow for mishaps. This is a big one for us. I have learned to allow 10 extra minutes to our morning in case something unexpected happens. Usually the unexpected, (or annoyingly expected) is a last minute #2 bathroom break. My boys take forever in there. :) We also have the occasional spilled milk on clothes, or shoes that just don't feel quite right.
• Play before homework. This may sound backwards to you, but for us this method works the best. I feel like kids need some down time away from the structure of school before they jump right into homework. Let them run around outside for 30 minutes, have a healthy snack and then tackle the homework.
• Bedtime before 8pm. We actually aim for 7pm, but I know many parents who push bedtime later and later. If we want our kids to be their best in the morning, they need to have adequate sleep each night.

 

I am hoping for a fantastic 2014/15 school year. Do you have any other helpful tips to share? Please leave them in a comment below.

 

Thanks for visiting, Kayla

 

*Image from tvnewscheck.com

First Day of School Lunch

Yesterday was B's first day of 1st grade. He came home happy, and had a great day. He is so excited to be back in school with his friends and teachers. At this age, they love school and learning. :) I wanted to make a fun lunch for the first day so he had a little piece of home to bring with him. This year I have cookie cutter letters to play with so expect some fun lunches to come. Here's to a fabulous 2014/15 school year.

In this lunch:
Star shaped chicken salad sandwich with ABC cheese letters
Strawberries and blueberries
Cucumbers and Carrots with Ranch to dip
Horizon Cow Crackers
Mini watermelon hearts

Thanks for visiting, Kayla