Has it been THAT long?

Gee whiz, where does the time go?  Why don't we say that anymore?  The "gee whiz" part. There's no such thing as an "outdated" saying. Better than some other acronyms these days. Ok, so any how - it's been long - yes, I get it. My kids, as are most all of yours, have taken the front seat on my entire life for the past ...ummmm... two years, and I have been TIRED. Aren't you tired?

Did you know there is a Gee-Whiz Diner? It's in NYC - you know, the city that never sleeps.

When did we stop sleeping?  Goodness, we are so fast paced and going down a dark road of unhealthy, yet we STAY tired. We purposely stay up to watch late night TV, something other than the cartoons (that wild west song from that cartoon...make it stop!) - Jimmy Fallon - geesh, (yes, another) he is funny. And then we get to folding some clothes, or picking up toys in the house...oh and we finally have some motivation suddenly to do more because the house is quiet and Lord knows, it needs it.

That's the thing though, our body is already tired. When we get this extra kick of motivation, it is not good. It means we've already passed "our" bedtime.  Trying to squeeze a few more MBs on an almost full hard drive - day in and day out - is what's doing us in.

Oh and then the anxiety, right?  Laying in bed thinking......What if?  What do I do when? Oh, I didn't (insert excuse here) drink enough water today - I should just go have a glass.

Out of bed. Start again.

All this brings me to just getting to vent - that I know I am not alone. Blogs are great for that. However, that doesn't ease the pain.  It doesn't make it easier.  We are fighting against each other.  Pick up your phone...it's right there next to you. Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, 232 Unread emails because I signed up for all sorts of deals that I don't want to miss. I should go through these since I can't sleep - That will make me sleepy.
No. It. Won't.

Phone down, darkness.  Ok, maybe low music...really low.  Plug your charger in too so you don't drain it. Now, just shut it off. Close your eyes and think of your kids. Their smiles. Sleep comes.

Now, try to do this at 10....maybe even 930. PM.  Get there. I'm praying for you, and you can do it. We need to be great mothers - it's a lot of pressure.  Sleep.  Eat, good food. Teach, your children well. Love them with all that you do.  Just be sure and get some sleep. It is time.

Thanksgiving theme Lunch #7 (Turkey Bento)

My husband was recently out of town this week and I'm all messed up because schedules and routines were off.  We had a fun filled day yesterday and I meant to get a post in, only to realize I had to fix Tuesdays - and that made me distracted - so here it is Thursday and I've got posts to make up.

Plated Lunch:

 - Round turkey sandwich from Whole Wheat bread, edges are "stuffed" with Orange and Red Bell Pepper (no, my child did not eat all of these, but he did make an effort), and Cheetos.  Face is cheddar cheese, chocolate sprinkles for the eyes and a slice of strawberry for the "gobble" part.

 - Additional slices of strawberries make the "red" leaves and 

 - Nutter Butter snack size cookies with Hershey Kisses attached making two cute acorns.

Bento Version:

 - Smaller version of the round Turkey sandwich from Whole Wheat bread, edges are "stuffed" with Orange and Red Bell Pepper, and Cheetos.  Face is cheddar cheese, chocolate sprinkles for the eyes and a slice of strawberry for the "gobble" part.

 - Strawberry slices for "red leaves"

 - Toothpick of cheddar cubes

 - Nutter Butter snack size cookie with Hershey Chocolate Kiss attached making a little acorn.

Pilgrim Hat theme Lunch #6 (Thanksgiving Bento)

I missed Monday.  I apologize. Last week, I wasn't thinking that my dear Mr. Man was off work and so I had a day off. I went to the gym, did some paperwork, paid some bills - and he fed them and took them to the park.  Naturally, Mr. Man did not design a Veteran's Day theme lunch as I would have.
So, we'll put that out for later and focus on today's.

(*Update*) I usually visit the blog and make sure my posts are correct, but I was in a hurry, so it didn't update of course. My apologies!


Plated Lunch:
I found some adorable melamine plates at World Market that are Thanksgiving themed.  I was happy to add them to the plate instead of the paper white.
 - Pilgrim Hat Turkey Sandwich made of pumpernickel bread with Vermont Cheddar for the white strap and slices of a cheddar cheese stick for the buckle
 - 1 little pumpkin marshmallow
 - Whole Wheat tortilla (small 1/4 slice) rolled into cone shape with celery sticks to make a "cornucopia"
 - Small cup of Applesauce because that just fits with the season
 - Pilgrim hat of Reese mini PB cup with orange icing and stuck to a half of oreo cookie.

Bento Version:

  - Pilgrim Hat Turkey Sandwich made of pumpernickel bread with Vermont Cheddar for the white strap and slices of a cheddar cheese stick for the buckle

  - Small red silicone cup of applesauce

  - Red grapes 

  - Mellowcreme pumpkin

  - Whole Wheat tortilla rolled around carrot and celery sticks as a cornucopia

Thanksgiving theme #5 (Pumpkin/Leaf Bento)

  I have been trying to include little treats for the kids out of what is left in the Halloween candy bucket...that bucket needs to leave my house. I'm finding myself digging in it.  I know an easy way, but I just hate the idea of wasting candy and just throwing it away. And, I do love candy.  You could tell me that the next piece of candy in that bucket would make me gain 10 pounds...I would eat it. It. Is. Horrible. Candy has always been my weakness. Back in high school, when I could eat like a teenager and never show it, my lunch would sometimes be a Snickers and a Slurpee from 7-11. Oh, the good old days. What I would do for a Slurpee (Icee) right now.

    

Plated Lunch:

 - Salami and Cheddar Cheese stick rolled onto a toothpick with some Potato Stix underneath as "hay."
 - Pumpkin shaped sandwich (peanut butter) with three fruit snacks on top. I've gotten my kids off of all fruit snacks, so this was a special treat.
 - Apple slices cut out with a pumpkin cookie cutter.

Bento Version:

 - Leaf shaped sandwich (peanut butter) I made two sandwiches and stacked them.
 - Salami and cheddar cheese on a toothpick
 - Apple slices cut out with a pumpkin cookie cutter
 - Mini silicone cupcake liner with raspberries
 - Fruit snacks

Happy weekend to everyone! See you on Monday!

Thanksgiving theme #4 (Turkey Leg Bento)

     Today's lunch features a sandwich shaped into a "turkey leg."  I thought it was a bit clever to make something that looked like it, but the pumpernickel bread made the picture a little dark.

Plated Lunch:

 - Watermelon and strawberry flowers on a small bed of lettuce leaves.  Also Carrot sticks and Halloween Kit Kats arranged around them. (Still trying to use up that Halloween candy)
 - Pumpernickel bread with cream cheese and turkey. Mozzarella stick as turkey "bone" leg.  Left over chicken nuggets I made the other night that I added onto tooth picks for mini turkey legs.

Bento Version:

 - Pumpernickel bread with cream cheese and turkey. Mozzarella stick as turkey "bone" leg.
 - Autumn flower (watermelon) with lettuce 
 - Red raspberry acorns and some grape acorns too, since my little one loves spearing things with those pretzel sticks.
 - Three Nutter Butter cookies for dessert

If you have a minute, leave me a comment and let me know what you think of all of these. Coming up with ideas surrounding the theme of Thanksgiving is proving to be tricky, but we'll get through this month with some repeats, but always keeping it fun and imperfect. Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving theme lunch #3 (Turkey Thanksgiving Bento)

    Today is one of those days where I fulfill my "I make no promises," approach.  We had a playgroup this morning, the kids were incredibly grumpy - and mommy included, so I rushed lunch preparation so I could get Thing 2 down for a nap as quickly as possible.  Therefore, the sandwiches and apples are super sloppy - they still ate well though. And again, it is about presentation to the kids, not an award show.

    I got this idea from Cute Food For Kids where she shows you how to do a turkey sandwich. Cute Food For Kids is also a great site with lots of fun pictures from all different sites and great ideas for just about everything.  For this particular sandwich, I did shred up some deli meat and stick it under the small circle too. My kids wouldn't be happy with just cheese. But you can always modify these things. That's what makes it so much fun.

Plated Lunch:
 - Ham and cheese sandwich made like a turkey.  The link to the pieces and instructions are above. My food marker did not work well on the dots for the eyes.  I believe that is mostly due to the oils in the cheese, but I tried.
 - Apple slice made like a feather
 - Two pretzel sticks with strawberry slices on them (like arrows)
 - Pumpkin mellowcreme for dessert.  Too much sugar from yesterday, so I cut down today.

Bento Version:
 - Ham and cheese sandwich made like a turkey.  The link to the pieces and instructions are above. 
 - Strawberry slices, apple feather slice
 - Teddy Grahams.  You could almost dress these guys like little pilgrims. (*hmmmm...) 

Thanks so much for visiting! 

Thanksgiving Theme Lunch #2 - Cornucopia (Thanksgiving Bento)

    The kids and I have been exploring resources online and learning about all things Thanksgiving.  Yesterday, we colored a cornucopia through a teachers pay teachers website that is really awesome (color by letter) and my son really enjoyed the activity.  We discussed things that might be seen in a cornucopia and that it signifies abundance - for which we give thanks.

Sticking to that theme, I decided to incorporate a cornucopia for lunch today.

Plated Lunch:

 - Two "acorns" made using snack size nutter butters, melt chocolate chips in microwave, dip one side of cookie in melted chocolate and then stick a Hershey Kiss on top. Let set - and add a little dob of chocolate on the other side for the stem
 - Turkey and a Whole Wheat Tortilla, rolled up in a cone shape.  Added in a piece of broccoli, watermelon, blueberries on a toothpick, some shredded red cabbage, strawberry, a piece of lettuce and one left over Mellowcreme pumpkin.  I don't usually have this much sweet stuff on there - but my little guy was quick to point out that the cornucopia was missing a pumpkin!
 - Small pie crust filled with orange colored vanilla yogurt. Supposed to look like pumpkin pie
 - Pumpkin shaped pasta

Bento Version:

 -  Small pie crust filled with orange colored vanilla yogurt. I made this by putting some left over pie crust trim into mini silicone cupcake liners and just baked for 7 minutes at 350. Supposed to look like pumpkin pie;
 - A small whole wheat tortilla rolled up with deli turkey and stuffed with kiwi, blueberries on a toothpick, a piece of pineapple, a raspberry, some shredded red cabbage, spinach leaf, and a strawberry;
 - One little acorn made from a Hershey Kiss adhered with melting chocolate to a NutterButter snack size cookie;
 - Pumpkin shaped pasta