when ella was in kindergarten i packed her lunch nearly every single day (not grilled cheese day…the girl loves her grilled cheese). but after baby #4 arrived the packed lunches were few and far between. this coming school year i will have two kids in elementary school, so i am determined to pack their lunches as often as i can. i want to save money, and also, i want to control what they eat a little bit. when i pack their lunch i know that they will eat it, because i pack foods i know are good for them, and that i know they like. at school they pass over foods that they don’t like, and do not end up with a balanced meal on their tray.
i want to find more interesting things to pack for their lunches this year…not just your usual peanut butter & jelly and a banana. so i have been spending some time online looking for ways to spruce up our lunches, and i have been reading about this
“bento” phenomenon that is gaining popularity in the u.s. in japan mothers have been packing bento lunches for their children for years, they design these elaborate lunches that are healthy, and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. google the word
bento, you will see what i mean! these women are making rice balls shaped like animals, veggies that look like flowers, and more. there are
blogs all over the internet documenting these creative lunches. i like the idea of making my children’s lunch “cute” in an effort to get them to try new foods, or to be excited about eating good food. here is a picture of my first attempt at making “bento” lunches for my three kids.
not quite as fancy as those you see on the internet, but they got a kick out of them. i used baking accessories to spruce up the lunch. i have to admit though, that even a pirate flag was not enough to convince sam to try the celery, but i will keep trying and maybe someday he will decide to take a nibble. i doubt they will get fancy lunches every day…but they will be a nice special treat for them. another idea I had was to stick sweet notes in their lunches. i’ve done this in the past for ella occasionally, and she loves the surprise.
i think what i like best about these bento lunches is that they are environmentally friendly. that is my major goal this year, is to pack lunches that produce very little waste. ella’s school is having a fundraiser right now in conjunction with
easy lunchboxes. we bought some for ella, max and daddy for packed lunches, and i have to say, they are quite cool, perfect for packing lunches, and lots of space. if you are interested in purchasing these for your family shoot me an email and i will send you the code to use so that her school gets credit for your purchase: katie@cards-by-katie.com. i love these
lunchboxes; i was able to pack their lunch with very little garbage involved. next thing i need to do is teach myself how to sew those little reusable bags for sandwiches and snacks.
stay tuned for a giveaway here on the little things on monday…you can win fun things to spruce up your child’s lunch (or your own lunch!).
ps…if you are wondering what happens to the food scraps from this lunch, mama took care of them, they were not thrown away ;)
i realize i've spent quite a bit of time talking about ikea for the past couple days. i kind of love that store. the reason we drove 30 minutes to go shopping was to buy a shelf for the boys room. see that picture above? the before picture? it makes me twitch. this was what their room looked like...clean. such a disorganized pile of stuff. seriously, i'm cringing. it was hard to find a piece of furniture to fit this space, but thanks to the ikea expedit series i found the perfect shelf!
and this is what it looks like "after" the new shelf was put together by michael tonight. i'm so excited about the new look for their room. notice this picture only shows you one corner of their room...i still have some work ahead of me in the closet. and don't even get me started on ella's room. that will have to wait until she is back in school so i can bring in the bulldozer. i love organizing though, and was very excited to finally start organizing the boys' toys!
when we went to ikea yesterday we bought a big roll of paper (under $5!). ella wanted to make a mural like ramona and her father did in the book Ramona & her Father (and in the movie). so we gathered our supplies...markers, crayons, and pencils (i considered watercolors, but decided against it, we will try that another day!).
then all three kids set to work on the mural. we had decided to make our house, and the area we live in. ella gave the boys ideas and helped them figure out what to draw. it was so neat to watch them all be so creative, and to work cooperatively with each other.
ella drew the library, since we spend soooo much time there.
since it is our ten year anniversary this year we decided to splurge a little, and two nights ago we celebrated a wee bit early with a fantastic date night. we ate dinner at 
i wanted to give michael something memorable for our anniversary, so i had a portrait made of our home. it is the home his grandfather built over 50 years ago, and the home we lived in when we first got married. a friend of michael's from high school, 
we got this lovely 
...and a much-missed daddy came home from his business trip
Slice french bread, spread melted butter on slices & broil until slightly brown. cool and then keep in an air-tight container until needed.
Mix one package cream cheese with ¼ cup mayonnaise and an oversized teaspoon of pepper & an oversized teaspoon of basil.
Slice the tomatoes thinly and place in a container with olive oil and lots of pepper & basil.
flat stanley’s adventures: checking jet engines, having a meal at “ella’s deli”, ice fishing, hanging out with michelle obama, baking sweet treats, and long walks in ireland. 
there you have it folks...thanks for visiting our little blog & entering the giveaway. there will be more giveaways here in the future, because you all seem to like them so much! and in the meantime, please check back often for fun crafts, tasty recipes, and pictures galore of my little things.
