Friday, September 13, 2013

Back to School

A new city hasn't been the only change around here. My kids are going off to school this year; we are taking a break from homeschooling. It's different and weird, and I haven't fully wrapped my head around it yet. It has been good overall, so far. We have always said that we will play it semester by semester and do what we think is best for our kids and our family at the time. For now, this is best. I do not know what the future holds.

A little Night-Before-School-Starts party with root beer floats. (Baby got plain ice cream.) My oldest son doesn't like carbonation, so he had a "milk" float.

Also new to our lives: Planetboxes. I've been eyeing them ever since they came out. They are very expensive, which is why I never bought them before. They were a little gift to myself in honor of this new phase in life when I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do with myself and my time.

A few of their school lunches, so far:
Annie's bunny fruit snacks, Garden of Eatin' multi-grain chips, grape tomatoes, Starlite Cuisine taquitos cut in half, and guacamole with bell pepper strips. They also like it when I put an "after dinner mint" in the middle hole. It's also hard for me to leave a space empty.

Another kid that day had a similar yet slightly different take on the taquito/guacamole meal with mandarin oranges and mango slices. One kid leaves before the other two, so his lunch is sometimes a little different. She also had to share a baggie of fruit snacks with her other brother. (Not fair!)
 
Mandarin oranges, blueberries, bell pepper strips, half of a Tofurky/lettuce/avocado/mustard (with some hemp seeds thrown in) sandwich, and Veggie Straws. She has since let me know that she is still hungry if I only give her a half sandwich. One thing I often do for her is give her 3/4 of a sandwich (because the sandwich compartment is a little snug) and give the other 1/4 to her baby brother.

Edamame, baby carrots, grapes, gardein sliders, trail mix, and a Justin's pb cup. My daughter sometimes sweetly asks for TWO mints when she sees me packing her lunch.

Cheezey kale chips (which I put inside the sealed container to keep them crisp), fresh mango slices, bean/olive/palm hearts salad, baby carrots, and Tofurky slices. (If it looks like I rolled up the carrots, I did not.) And of course, a mint.

Bell pepper strips, peanut butter pretzel pillows, pistachios, a sandwich with tofu and veggies, mango slices, a Nibmor chocolate mint square...and a mint!

You can pick the magnet set you want for the outside of your lunch box. You should remove these when you wash it. My oldest son chose the Andy Warhol art set. I had no doubt that was the one he would choose.
 
My 8 year old son chose dinosaurs.
 
To be honest, I had no idea how he would embrace the Planetbox. He is so weird sometimes. He is my child who gets embarrassed about everything. (The other two kids are extremely confident in themselves and their choices.) I thoroughly questioned him before I purchased him one because I didn't want to waste money. He is too embarrassed to bring grilled or baked tofu in his lunch. Once at our home school co-op he was so embarrassed by what I had put in his lunch, he immediately zipped it back up and just didn't eat that day. He will take tofu if it is hidden on a sandwich and all other forms of meat alternatives are acceptable. 
 
He is the same way about a lot of things in life - clothing choices and family PDA, etc. His older brother is very affectionate, and it's the end of the world if he tries to hug his brother in public. Oh, and I put little notes in their lunches on the first day of school. He said he hid his immediately, but he is afraid someone saw it. So no more notes for him. I am understanding, though, because I was very self-conscious when I was young, too. I mean, I try to include a nice mix of fresh and processed in their lunches. His lunch does sometimes look slightly different than theirs. (No salad. There are certain veggies that are acceptable, and some are sooo embarrassing.) He does like his lunchbox, though. For now.
 
My 6 year old daughter chose fairies.
 
I'm going to get them each a different set of magnets (which are only a few bucks) for Christmas. What I like about these boxes: they're cute, they have compartments which are fun to fill, and I only have to clean one object, not lots of little containers and cloth baggies. We have a Laptop lunchbox and like it, but I was constantly misplacing all of the containers or realizing one piece was dirty as I was trying to pack a lunch. Each Planetbox comes with two sealed containers, one small and one larger for liquid items. We don't use them too often, but they are nice to have.
 
I put ketchup in one of the small containers the other day, and my son and his teacher couldn't open it. Somehow it got sealed up tight, maybe with ketchup. I still can't open it. I have no idea how to get that lid off; any ideas? I hate wasting a solid stainless steel piece.
 
Happy
 

13 comments:

  1. I love the planetboxes — it almost makes me wish I could send my kids to school again. I wonder if my granddaughter would like one.

    That's quite a change from a full house and full teaching responsibilities to having them gone all day. Not to mention dealing with the 'joys' of public school and all the food and other issues that entails. It's probably really exciting for the kids, though. Two of my boys really liked school but the third saw it as something he just had to deal with.

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    1. I'm sure she'd like one! I really liked school, but my husband did not like school...so far my kids are fine with it. The middle one doesn't love it, but he didn't like homeschooling, either, so what can ya do? He's just got to do it. It is different having them gone all day, but it goes by fast, fortunately and unfortunately.

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  2. These lunches are very enjoyable to see and I hope you continue to share them with us. It would be great to be able to buy them somewhere for myself locally.

    That being said: my sentiments are with the child who doesn't want to stick out. Not that you asked, but if I were a vegan child eating lunch at a public school, i'd want a Phony Baloney Sandwich with Newman's Own Sandwich Cookies in a plain brown bag.

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    1. I get it. I truly don't want to embarrass my kids. The other two just don't get embarrassed about a thing, though, so sometimes I'm taken aback by him, like "Whaaattt?" I want him to be as vegetarian/vegan as possible in his life, and I don't want to treat it in a way that will make him resentful. He is pretty straight up about how he feels, though, and I hope he continues to be honest about how he feels to me.

      The other two would be very unimpressed if I packed them plain lunches. Having kids is still a big mystery to me.

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  3. I'm pinning these lunch ideas for Jackson because I tend to fall into a rut and then realize I've sent the same PB&J/applesauce/baby carrots combo for three weeks straight. The Planetboxes look like a good investment. Right now Jackson only goes twice a week, so it's not a big deal to wash the separate little compartments and lids. But next year when he goes every day, it would be great to have something more streamlined.

    Kids are funny, it's amazing how different siblings' personalities can be!

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    1. Yes, it is funny. I never realized until I became a mom how there is so much of who they are that I have no control over! ha. I do definitely like the streamlined aspect - there is a day every now and then when I forgot to wash the tray, and we are running late - so I can still just throw baggies, etc. in the carrying case, no problem.

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  4. You guys are so freaking cute I can't even deal. The root beer float celebration sounds like a fun way to prepare for school :) The lunchboxes are adorable! The different magnets to personalize them is kind of brilliant as well. Everything you packed looks so delicious and I would be very jealous if I saw their meals at school. Very creative and definitely made with love!

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    1. Thank you! You are very kind to say so! I think their dad is jealous of their lunches...

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  5. You weren't kidding when you said they were expensive! Do they complain about the size?

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    1. They are the perfect size. I imagined they would be larger than they are. They are a nice, discreet size.

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  6. Wow, that is a lot of changes! Is your baby still at home with you? If so, that will definitely keep your hands busy. I understand about finicky kids, believe me, and I think most parents would get it, too. Funny you have a pic of root beer floats. I have one in my queue that I'm going to post a "recipe" of! :-)

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    1. Yes, he is at home with me and is plenty to keep me busy! He is almost 2 and into everything. Yay to rootbeer floats!

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  7. What a fascinating post, Jenny! I love your lunch boxes with their cute, personalising magnets on top! I know what you mean about one son being easily embarrassed. My son, 28, and a STAUNCH vegan, refuses to mention it at work as he can't be bothered with the 'third degree' he'd get! Maybe your fellow feels a bit like that!
    It must be weird not to have them around. When my two were both at university, the house was far too quiet! But I guess your wee-est one makes sure yours isn't! :)

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