The letter "M" lunches

The Letter "M" Lunches

Big Sister did it. She went ahead, grew up and started Kindergarten. (sigh) This has been a busy and chaotic transition for us. No more getting breakfast going whenever I feel like it, staying in our pjs until noon and sleeping in after the baby has us up all hours of the night. We are on a tight schedule. Things need to happen no matter what happened throughout the night. I spend a LOT of time thinking about schedules and how to fit it all in. And I also spend a lot of time thinking about what to make for the lunch box. It is safe to say I am now obsessed with planetbox lunches.

This week my little lady is studying the letter "M" in school so I tried to find ways to incorporate the letter "M" into some of her lunches this week. Please keep in mind I am just NOT creative enough to make things that begin with the letter "M" like a mouse, a monster, etc. She gets the letter. Best I can do. :)

Here is the first. Sandwiches are rare for us since we don't eat many grains here at home. But honestly, I was desperate. That first day I couldn't think of anything except a sandwich to cut into the letter "M". Big Sister also had organic grapes, apricots and seeds, coconut, yuca chips and a yogurt pretzel for dessert.

The next day was a little more fun. I cut salami into "m"'s. I happily eat the cut out pieces. I also included rosemary pita chips, raisins, seeds and coconut, carrots & avocado and, yup, a yogurt pretzel for dessert.

This is a zucchini pancake turned letter "M". The first two pancakes did not cooperate. This one did but I have serious concerns about what it will look like come lunchtime. Also in this lunch are red peppers and baby portabella mushrooms, corn & chia chips (part of the non-GMO project), more avocado (a favorite) and dried cranberries for dessert.

I was told the zucchini pancakes were "AWESOME!" And had to be served again the next day. So I obliged. This time the letter "M" was a red pepper. Also in the planet box were edemame, a homemade oatmeal & cranberry muffin, cucumbers and a dried sweet prune for dessert. 

This was a popular one! In the parchment paper is a flax seed waffle sandwich with homemade blueberry jam, avocado, "M" carrots, chia seed tortilla chips (same as above) and spirulina chips made with banana and sesame seeds. 

So that is the week of the letter "M". If you use any of these ideas, great! If these ideas inspire something bigger and more creative, even better! No matter what, thank you for reading! I am glad you stopped by my humble little blog! 

Finger Painting Fall

Finger Painting Fall

Hooray for Fall! A great way to celebrate the changing of the seasons is with an easy fingerpaintng project.  

Here is a list of things I get together before I begin:

• plastic tablecloth
• card stock
• finger paints
• paper plate (great for easy cleanup)
• smocks
• baby wipes
• have a place designated for where wet artwork is going to sit to dry
• for the more enthusiastic kids, have a tub ready and waiting... just in case

To set up this project, I grab a plastic tablecloth left over from a recent family party or the few I have on standby from a local dollar store. I put some fall color fingerpaints on a disposable paper plate for easy cleanup. I also made a simple tree outline on card stock. You don't have to use card stock but I find it holds up best to almost anything. I pull back everyone's hair. Yes, even my own. Then get the smocks on.  All that is left after that is to let the artists do their thing! For this project, Little Sister invited her cousin in on the fun. 

While Little Sister was creating her fall leaves, I am repeating the name of the color she is painting with to help her make the connection to colors and their names.

Can you tell she kind of enjoys art time?  (Her cousin, it turns out, DESPISES the feel of finger paints and happily watched from 6 feet back. Too cute!) 

Little Sister loves this and any finger painting project. And the results are totally worth a prime spot on the fridge.

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL! Thank you for reading!