School Lunch!

Can I just tell you about something that excites me?  First off, having a baby five days into summer vacation can hamper a lot of the normal things you may do in the summer, like being outside a lot, swimming, etc.  I am just not down with taking a newborn in the sun for a few hours, so a lot of my summer has been inside.  I also got tired of CONSTANTLY being asked "mom whats for dinner"  "EWWW!!! Gross!"  and "mom, whats for snack?"  "when am I getting my snack?"  repeat a million times.  Sooooo, a month ago, I started doing a menu that included breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack for each day.  It took a bit of time to do, but the effect was marvelous.  I knew what I was making, and was so much more prepared than I had been before doing the menus just for dinners, and even better, the kids knew what I was making.  Now, they just look at the menu to know what we're having instead of pestering me (and I didn't know half the time either!).  I also instituted a rule that no one is allowed to criticize the meal made BEFORE trying it.  A certain somebody was always grossed out every night by whatever I said we were having, and then would usually end up eating it just fine, so now, that is simply not allowed!  You have to try it first!  

Now, with school starting on monday, I decided to make a meal calendar for the entire month.  Another big decision was to make the snack the SAME every day for a week instead of coming up with varied things--too complicated!  So now, there is the same snack each day, and it changes each week.  I do choose something that everyone will like, like a cereal/pretzel snack mix, popcorn, etc, so that no one is miserable all week!  I have found this simple thing has also made my life slightly simpler.  They know what to expect, and it calms things down a little around here!  Also, I am sending Cora to Kindergarten, and she is a total foodie, so I know she will not be okay with a pbj every day, unlike Bryant who basically ate a turkey sandwich every single day happily last year.  He is okay with variety as long as it's bland (seriously, the boy does not like a lot of flavor, I think he is what we in the psychology world call a "super taster") So, in making the menu, I've got some fun new ideas that I am excited to try, and most of them can be made in advance and stuck in the freezer.  On Saturdays when I come home from shopping I've started making the foods like muffins/ pancakes and just freezing them for the rest of the week (very exciting weekends around here!  But like I said, newborns do not equal lots of crazy activities! And I actually really like baking).

To simplify the lunches, they will eat the same lunch twice each week (so two lunches) and then buy lunch on Fridays.  And, no, there is no treat in their lunch.  I'm so mean.  But they get so many treats shoved down their throats from parents (myself included) bringing in stuff for birthdays, etc. and we make a dessert once a week.  I'm not worried about it and don't want to set a precedent.  I do throw in the occasional treat, but kids typically just eat what you give them, and they can buy an ice cream with their lunch on Fridays.  Last year I actually made Bryant take fruit every day for his snack, but this year, I'm doing different things...I'm trying to compromise (fruit will be their afternoon snack). Finally, I know I am weird that this stuff excites me, but it simply does.  Sams club also excites me.  I take joy in the simple things, I seriously do.  These are the things that make up my life. I spend a lot of time making food, eating food, and cleaning up food!  So I think it's a good thing I like it!

Anywho, for those who are curious, here is my Sept lunch menu:

The first line is the snack item.  

September 2012

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
						2
3	4 crackers/chz	5 crackers/chz	6 crackers/chz	7 buy lunch	8	9
	Hard boiled egg Mini bagel sandwich Apple slices	Home made pop tart Cheese stick grapes	Hard boiled egg Mini bagel sandwich Apple slices	Crackers/chz snack
10 snack mix	11 snack mix	12 snack mix	13 snack mix	14 buy lunch	15	16
Pin wheels Triscuits Apple slices	Pumpkin muffins Cheese stick grapes	Pin wheels Triscuits Apple slices	Pumpkin muffins Cheese stick grapes	Snack mix
17pumpkin muf.	18 pumpkin muf	19 pumpkin muf	20 pumpkin muf	21 buy lunch	22	23
Pickle roll ups Apple sauce Ww crackers	Pizza bites Grapes yogurt	Pickle roll ups Apple sauce Ww crackers	Pizza bites Grapes yogurt	Pumpkin muffin snack
24 crackers/chz	25 crackers/chz	26 crackers/chz	27 crackers/chz	28 buy lunch	29	30
Turkey sandwich Grapes Apple sauce	Pizza bites Apple slices yogurt	Pbj sandwich Grapes Apple sauce	Pizza bites Apple slices yogurt	Crackers/chz