Ok, I only have six this week. I’ve been trying all morning to come up with another one, but I just don’t have anything funny for you. Unless you count when Natalie was organizing my spice cabinet today (yes, my sickness is apparently hereditary) and said, “Mom, you have the nicest things in here!” She was serious.
This was the longest week of my life. I can’t believe it is only Friday. I haven’t even done that much this week other than run back and forth from the hospital with two fidgety girls in tow to sit at the bedside of my sedated son.
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Speaking of sedated son – he is doing okay. He is stable, which is what we want. He seems a little agitated since Monday’s expansions (coupled with Wednesday’s expansions) so has received additional meds to keep him comfortable. He did spend two full hours with me on Monday, but has barely opened his eyes for me since.
He turned 6 months old in the hospital and I am opening my fist to the fact that he will not have timely 6 month portraits – something I have done with each of my children and by golly, wanted to do with him. However, having your picture taken for posterity with tubes coming out of your nose and tape covering your features, all doped up, is not the way to do it. Not to mention the amazingly large man-boobs my son is sporting as of late. So we will wait for posterity and revisit the topic of portraits (hopefully) next month.
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Natalie is officially enrolled in Kindergarten. That just gave some of you whiplash so I’ll give you a minute to absorb it.
Natalie, our first born, misses the cut off for public school kindergarten but shows an amazing desire to explore the big world and all it has to offer. We’ve been discussing the idea of private kindergarten (to get her started this year as opposed to ‘holding her back’) since she was 21 months. It was around this time she mastered her ABCs and what they say. After much discussion (2 and a half years in fact) we decided the only reasons we had for keeping her home another year has to do with us and not her. So, we had her tested at a nearby parochial school. She passed with flying colors.
After they told us they saw no red flags for her to start, they informed us we needed to be interviewed by the administrator. Oh great, I thought. So my daughter passed, but now we have to pass too. How embarrassing would that be if our daughter met all the criteria but we didn’t. Ok, it’s not really like that. The parent’s interview is just so everyone is on the same page and serves as a little meet and greet for the parents and the administrator.
So this week I ordered school uniforms from Lands End and started thinking about school lunches. Agghhh! The good thing is that the kindergarten is only three full days per week. This is a good transition for Mommy, er, I mean Natalie, to the five day a week schedule.
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In addition to school, the girls (Ainsley starts preschool this year) are also starting ballet. Another mother suggested this idea when I expressed that Natalie has a hard time dedicating herself to a task that doesn’t come easily. While this could be a function of her age, it is something that Henry and I struggle with as well so we are quick to want to teach her how to work hard at something to get a good result. This other mother said ballet might be a good jumping off point (no pun intended) since most little girls dream of dancing fairies and princesses anyway.
We took the girls to get ballet dresses and shoes. They tried them on in one of the empty ballet studios complete with wall mirrors. You should have seen how excited they were once they got the dresses on. They danced and twirled and said things like, “Look at this daddy.” Or “Watch me mommy.” It was so cute and they are very excited for ‘the fall’ when class starts.
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This past week I passed one of these parked on P Street down from Dupont Circle in DC. It is sporting a shovel on the front along with a major piece of rope. I looked up Land Rovers and they sell a kit with a shovel. As in, a shovel is one of the accessories you can buy with your Land Rover as an official Land Rover part.
I keep wondering what would not only necessitate a safari vehicle in downtown DC, but also a shovel and rope. It reminds me of Indiana Jones every time I pass it and all I can think of is the desert and elephant droppings and men in white flowing robes. Can anyone help me figure out why this thing is parked anywhere on the east coast of the United States of America?
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I am thinking a lot about lunches these days and what to send in the kids’ lunchboxes. I have two kids going to school three days a week. I could do the old standby of PB&J, but I’m trying to be creative.
I’m also wondering if it is more cost effective to get reusable containers instead of Ziploc bags. So, the question this week is… do you use a lunchbox with reusable containers; and, what do you put in your kids’ lunch?
Comments (20)
I’m glad Ryan is stable – hopefully he feels better soon. We’re praying for the Glenn procedure to go well next week.
I use reusable containers in my husband’s lunch – I just buy the cheap take n toss ones and throw them in the dishwasher (top rack) instead of tossing them. They work great and last forever (going on 3 years now). I think he actually prefers them over plastic bags. Thankfully my children are not yet old enough that I have to worry about packing lunches for them.
I pack a lunch 5 days a week for Avery, and it is pretty much all re-usable containers. I do little sandwich baggies for some things though, as they take up so much less space! Thankfully her school still does PB&J!! She likes rolled up lunch meat and cheese (no sandwiches), and often she takes a thermos which keeps stuff hot, so mac n cheese, nuggets, hot dog, soup, etc. Some kids also do the hummus thing with veggies, but that doesn’t fly here…
My daughter is too young for school but in packing my husband’s lunch I always used reusable containers when I could. For things like carrots and celery, or cut up fruits that aren’t juicy I used fold top sandwich bags. They’re the cheapest and you can get a box of 300 so you don’t run out too frequently 🙂
Congrats on Natalie heading off to Kindergarten!
Wow, a lot going on, I know she will do great with Kindergarten. Glad Ryan is holding his own,that little boy is a full fledged fighter like his mommy.
As for lunches I use the reusable lunch/sandwich box you can buy at target or even the supermarket and they are super cheap. A thermos also helps with hot food, not just soup, like Mac and cheese or a cut up hot dog or even pasta with a little sauce, as long as you send a little paper plate she should be able to spread stuff out. BTW I make everything the night before and if it calls for it to be reheated then I just microwave it before I put it in the container. Chicken nuggets and pizza don’t last too well in tinfoil but if they don’t mind eating it too cold you should be OK. Of course pb&j works quickly in a pinch, but if you want some variety, you have options.
I’ve never been great at ideas for what to pack in lunches. I’ve tried the sandwich bags and the reusable containers. In the end, the sandwich bags ended up being cheaper for me because my containers don’t always make it home or by the time they do there is stuff growing in them.
So glad Ryan is holding his own and that it sounds like you are too. Will continue to lift you all up.
Here’s my lunch tips…
www dot wrapnmat dot com
Bought one of these for each of my kids and they LOVE them. It’s reusable and doesn’t take up as much space as other sandwich sized plastic containers. It also serves as a mat for them to put their food on. They wipe them out each day when they get home with a damp napkin and that’s been enough of a clean job for them. Rebekah did leave hers wet over the w/e once and it came out moldy but a once through with a load of towels cleaned it up just fine. They’ve all been through the wash 2xs and are holding up well.
I use smaller 1 cup size containers for their fruit and a snack.
Another thing we do is snack-mix. They are each allowed to pick out something (goldfish-various flavors, pretzels, cereals-some sweet ones, etc) and then we mix it all together and store it in a lg plastic container. This allows them to have a fun snack with some sweet stuff as a treat but healthy stuff also.
I also freeze Go-gurt tubes and they are thawed enough by lunch to eat easily.
Have fun!
my mom got creative and did sandwiches, but in different cookie cutter shapes :)and there was always a note from my dad in my lunches if he made them that day. and I used ziploc bags, because otherwise the containers get thrown away too easily. They have new ones that are earth friendly.
I have been thinking of Ryan and praying for him and for all of you.
You all have been through so much! Hang in there and keep trusting God to carry you through.
It will be fun to see the girls pictures in Ballet clothes. (are both of them doing it?)
I hope all goes well with school and packing lunches etc. Not too may ideas for ya except I pack my food when we travel because I have so many food allergies and use both baggies and containers. I like string cheese, carrots, celery,fruit cups and teddy grahms as well as tuna sandwiches and salads, grapes raisins, etc. I am sure you will come up with many choices. I also put left over casserole stuff in a short thermos container.
God’s continued blessings!
Linda @ Truthful Tidbits
My children are off to college so I miss packing lunches for them. The one thing I always did, no matter what food they took (and trust me it wasn’t all nutritional) was to put a little note in their lunch box.
Enjoy each lunch you pack…the years go by quickly.
Praying for Ryan and the Glenn procedure.
-Laurie
I’m glad to hear that Ryan is doing well! That is exciting to start school and ballet! As for lunches – I like the reusable containers but I also use the zip log baggies for some items. You can make smiley faces out of the PB&J sandwiches, or ham/cheese sandwiches, you can also get the little goldfishes that are colorful and the new ones that are pretzels if they like those. I, too, enjoy the little notes in the lunch boxes like short and sweet notes.
OK, my neck hurts from the whiplash after your announcement of Nat going to school. Where did that time go?? We started Lexi early too and so far…it has worked out great. (I think for both our sakes.lol)
I am glad Ryan is stable. Hope he remains that way til thurs. I get nervous everytime I think about it. Praying hard for him and you and the docs on thursday.
Don’t know if you want to know what I do for kids lunches. But here goes. I use generic ziploc bags and wash them after their use. I suppose it would be as easy to use containers. But what if I didn’t get the container washed before the next day. With ziploc bags, I have a whole box of bags. The frugalness is hereditary I think.
As far as food in the lunches, I use the standard sandwich, fruit, sweet and chip. I think mom must have packed that in ours. Not much creativity here. Sorry!
Can’t wait to see pictures of the ballet girls. I imagine they are too cute. My kids did gymnastics and really liked it. What a busy momma you will be. School, ballet and Ryan. Any of those activities alone take a chunk of time. I’m sure you will do great.
Love ya sis.
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hi just stopping by
as far as sandwhiches, they do better i think in plastic containers. they would just get all squished in ziplocs from my experience
Glad to hear that Ryan is stable. I just keep thinking about how hard it has to be to put so much effort into getting you and the girls to visit Ryan and have him sedated. I’m praying for endurance for you this week.
I love all the lunch options. I’ve been wondering what to pack in Sarah’s lunch this year.
I love the reusable kind! You can get sandwich boxes fro $1 at Target in the dollar section.
Remind the girls not to throw them out!!
lunch box with reusable container with pb&j’s, ham & chs and turkey &chs. Sometimes pb&honey! With that they also each take yogurt and granola! This year for their pudding and jello I am going with reusable containers as well and making it all on Sunday night for the week…. doing this for fruit cups 2! Saves money and the enviorment. Oh and wait… I told the dear hubby that I want to stop buying plastic forks and spoons adn send in real stuff! I have an old set not being used… saves more money and again no plastic throw away.
You will read about it on the blog and you will see how it all works out with hubby gone all the time it is more work for me but hopefully well worth it:) The kids are thrilled for some strange reason.
Let’s see, we do fruit with a variety of dips: yogurt, peanut butter, fruit dips, etc in reusable containers (the take and toss are great-we just reuse) We also like dry cereal, with all kinds of stuff in it, crackers, raisins and craisins, graham cracker sticks, yogurt covered nuts, etc. Then we like veggie straws with hummus, yogurt, ranch dressing. WE do regular veggies with dip. (mykids LOVE dip! And are small so we need the calories). They also love left over pasta with seasoning- dill, parmesan cheese, pepper and garlic.
Praying for your family, especially for Ryan
Target has reusable containers in the $1 section, and I bought them for mine. You know Obama wants us to go green 🙂 Also, they have tons of Hello Kitty stuff there (I couldn’t help but think of Ainsley 🙂
Heidi
Check out this website for fun sandwich ideas…http://www.funkylunch.com/gallery.htm. Kidding! Can you imagine preparing lunches like these every morning?
I hope you hear everyone’s prayers for Ryan resonate this week. Thank you for the updates. And good luck in school, girls (and mom).
Praying for you guys is such a privilege–especially today with the Glenn. This is an exciting day!
I use reusable containers for my husband’s lunch and he usually takes leftovers and can reheat them at work.
Noah starts preschool this year and I am already sweating the lunch options because he eats a lot of leftovers for lunch too and I don’t think that is going to fly at preschool. Thankfully he is just going two days a week, surely I can come up with two packable meals a week!
Would love to know where Natalie is going to school, sounds like the one we are considering for Noah when he starts kindergarten.