Mediterranean Chickpea salad, 2 byntos, and a sweet almost 6 month old!

 First off, I'll be completely honest. My boys would not touch this salad with a 10 foot poll! I made this for me. My husband and I ate this with pasta added to it, while the boys ate homemade mac and cheese. I tend to make a box of pasta and then two sauces, so this salad was our sauce.

I don't love chickpeas, but this salad disguises them really well.

It's packed with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, mozzarella cheese (I didn't have feta), and chickpeas (rinsed and drained). I added salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, Z'ataar seasoning, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was really tasty!

 Here is sweet Madeleine. She will be 6 months old on September 10! I can't believe it. She is showing off the dress her Ludee made. I'm determined to learn to sew. I'm also determined to start running and lose nursing weight. Yes, I lose baby weight, then gain nursing weight. It's so frustrating and stresses me out, so I'm hoping to run when the big boys are in school and perhaps Saturday mornings too. Wish me luck!

 My big first grader gets the more civilized lunch:) He has an English muffin ham and cheese cut in half to accommodate the little dipper filled with craisins. We watched a movie Sunday night and had veggie straws mixed with potato chips. He has some from that bowl. The bottom container is filled with cut peaches and a lion pick.

My crazy sweet handful of a middle child Drew starts tomorrow. 

He will be 5 in October, so he is still with Mrs. Elliott in her pre-k class. 

I hope you have your best year yet. He is excited about learning to read. 

His box is filled with carrot sticks, ham and cheese skewers, goldfish (in a Star Wars cup) with an ABC pick, a Darth Vader Easter egg filled with craisins, and grapes with a light saber pick.

Happy 2nd week of school, Adrian!

Happy 1st week of school, Drew!

Happy quiet week, Madeleine!

I hope and pray you all have a great week with your kids too!

First Day of School for my BIG first grader

My big first grader asked me for a Star Wars lunch for the first day of first grade! It's filled with applesauce (covered with a cupcake liner), orange crescent moons in a star cup, half a ham and cheese sandwich topped with stars and a rocket ship. Right next door is a handful of goldfish topped with a few cheesy moons. The cut up cheese is inside the sandwich=no waste!

In the bottom section is some cut up peaches with a light saber pick. 

If you have any extra cupcake liners hiding away, get them out! It's that easy!
Enjoy, sweet Adrian! I hope you have the best school year yet!

First Day of School

 Today was the first day of school for my big boy, Adrian. My how time flies. I hope he has a really great day and makes new friends!

He has two toasted ham and muenster sandwiches, a couple extra cheese school buses, strawberries, marshmallows (in the box) and wheat thins. 

Happy First Day of School, Adrian!

Daddy has spaghetti with mushrooms and meat sauce and salad!

When it rains, it pours.

  We went on our summer vacation last week. We took a short trip down to the Texas Coast and visited Rockport / Fulton Harbor and Port Aransas. The boys had a great time seeing the beach and waves, making (and tearing down each other's) sandcastles, and hunting for shells.

Apparently 3 year olds don't do well post vacation. We played at the beach and the pool all.day.long. Who has time for grocery shopping with Mommy??? While shopping for the lunches below, we had a royal tantrum. The kind where people smile slightly and walk away quickly. It was lovely. Can't we just go back to the beach? School starts next week for my boys, but in the spirit of other schools starting here, I made some super simple back to school lunches. I found the material at Hobby Lobby and my sweet mom sewed them for me. 

 The boys had apples and strawberries with an ABC pick, salami and colby jack to top their wheat crackers, a couple slices of mesquite smoked ham rolled up and marshmallows tucked into the little dipper. 

 Mommy had strawberries and blueberries, trail mix,

 mesquite smoked ham and muenster cheese sandwich, and wheat crackers.

Happy Back to School week to you!

You'll be my Valentine!

 My two Valentines took a sweet lunch to school today. 

Ham and white cheddar sandwiches with cheddar hearts.

Heart strawberries with skewers made from Target Dollar spot stickers! I saw this technique on a few blogs.

Pumpkin Bread cut in a heart shape with pretzels and cheese crackers.

A Perfect Snowman

 I LOVE Christmas. 

I think it's a magical time of year. 

The history of Jesus born in a manger to save the world 

from all its sin still amazes me. 

He sent his Son to save a wretch like me.

We celebrate Christmas in all its capacity. My boys have a Jesus Advent Tree (pictured above). We read a devotional each day and hang an ornament to represent the waiting time for Jesus' birth, how each story leads us to Jesus and what he came to do.

 We also LOVE snowmen. 

I've been collecting snowmen since I was in college. I found this book at Cracker Barrel and thought it perfect for my boys. My sweet friend Lisa invited us and 100+ other people to her friends and family 45% off sale and regular priced items last night. 

We'll read it tomorrow since my boys are home with me on Fridays and eat another snowmen lunch!

The Christmas tree silicone cups were in a baking set a couple years ago, but you can still find them online. The snowglobe picks are from bakeitpretty.com. The ornament picks were from Target a couple years ago.

A couple Fall lunches

The boys received cheddar popcorn from one of out neighbors Halloween night. They were both super excited to eat it for lunch the next day. Along with a couple cookies and candies from Halloween, cheese bites with an acorn pick and an acorn and little bear sandwiches.

Today, I changed it up a bit with rockets...

A rocket shaped sandwich with rocket cheese, surrounded by marshmallow martians and galactic fruit snacks,

cheese and chex mix and apple slices!

Halloween Muffin Tin and Giveaway Link!!!

 I've been so busy with school outings, church festivals and soon to be Halloween parties, so this MTM is from last year. 

Salami skewered on a bat, PB & J sushi, apple, marshmallows with a bat pick, cheese bites with a jack-o-lantern pick and a chocolate chip acorn!

 Last week, the boys took these to school!

Giveaway ends tonight. Here's the link!!!

I'm joining in

Halloween Byntos and GIVEAWAY!!!

 Both boys had jack-o-lantern sandwiches

ghostly marshmallows, oranges and pretzels or crackers. Andrew got some cheese bats flying over his pumpkin and Adrian has some Halloween fruit snacks near his.

Here's the rafflecopter for the giveaway I promised. I've reached 100 fans on Facebook. 

Continental US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pumpkin Banana Muffins & a Spooky Bynto

 I use this recipe. It makes 4 dozen minis and 1 large loaf of bread!

I add 3 bananas and only 1/3 cup of water. I sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar before I bake it. I got these cute paper cups last year after Halloween, probably 25cents for 100!

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Adrian had a pumpkin muffin, crackers with Halloween cheese shapes and salami, grapes and Halloween fruit snacks, strawberry apple sauce and Simply 7 Bruschetta chips.

My little boy is getting glasses. We went to the eye specialist yesterday. No patch yet. We go back in 2 months.

Happy Fall, Y'all!!!

 I love Fall! I pulled out my scarecrows and pumpkins last week and separated all my Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving Bento supplies so I would be ready and not searching for that cute something...

Adrian had a ham and muenster cheese sandwich on 12 grain bread with 2 pumpkins a top and applesauce with Fall sprinkles on the side.

Popcorn and goldfish in the middle and 2 pumpkin shaped pumpkin bread bites below.

Sweet Andrew got a PB& Fig jam sandwich on multi-grain rounds with Colby Jack pumpkins atop, grapes and carrots, Simply 7 hummus chips and a pumpkin bread bite too. We just received a box of Simply 7 chips from a giveaway through Family Fresh Meals! Yum-o!!

Used in these lunches

Two if by Sea

  I've had these cutters for a couple years or more...the dolphins are sandwich cutters that I got for a dollar at the time. The angel fish is from a sea creature set, probably from Marshall's or Home Goods.The sea creature picks are also an older set from a cake supply store.

The jellyfish pods (actually from a space cutter set) and little boat are from allthingsforsale.com.

I've seen a handful of blogs make an octopus from string cheese, but I can't remember which one I saw recently. It was probably a picture on Pinterest.

They each got grapes and yogurt. Goldfish for my non pretzel eater and carrots and apples for my less picky 2 year old.

Day at the park

My five year old ate most of the top lunch and the bottom was shared by my almost 3 year old and me.

I packed PB&Fig jam trains, goldfish, grapes, strawberries and clementines, cheese elephants and fruit snacks with raisins. There were some extra carrot and cheese sticks in the Goodbyn and some cookies tucked into the little dipper (in the top) and the green frog (in the bottom). 

New Cutters and a Giveaway coming up!!!

 Rockets!

Elephants!

Bears! 

Oh my!

  And a cute school bus, to boot!

The boys took these lunches to school yesterday. Andrew had a PB&J with Rocket Cheese.

Adrian had ham and cheese elephants and bears.
The picks and cutters can all be found at Allthingsforsale.com

I'm gathering some stuff for a great giveaway coming soon!!! It will include some of my homemade kids' cloth napkins! 

used in this lunch