Bunny and Me Lunch

This lunch made by request :)

Lils, lying in bed this morning, hugging her bunny,

 sleepily asked for a lunch

dedicated to her best bud 'bunny' :)

In This Lunch:

Carrot stars

Strawberries

Cheese whiz sandwich on white bread

Mozzarella Lily

Cheese slice bunny

Cheddar cheese string stick

These two have been inseparable 

since she was old enough to have a favorite toy!

Though these days he spends most of his time at home,

he does love his long road trips ;)

Good Bye March!!

So long, buh bye, 

don't let the door hit you on the way out...

Is it obvious that I'm not a fan of March?

Yeaaaah, it's not my favorite :/

Here where we live, 

it's a mix of melting dog poo, mud,

browny yellow lawns,

Pot Holes,

and freak snow storms 

that kill the plants that try to pop up too early.

It's a month where you dare not 

wear your favorite shoes, 

(unless they're rainboots),

and dressing in layers is a must.

Ugh, March :(

One more day to go, and it's April showers, here we come, haha!

In This Lunch:

Cheese whiz sandwich on white bread

Cheese slice letters and clover

Mozzarella March Hare

Fruit leather top hat

Chocolate chip granola bar

Carrot sticks

Strawberries and red grapes

EGPS Bento

In This Lunch:

Caught Being Good Card

Blueberry bagel bits with butter

Cucumber hearts

Carrot hearts

Strawberry hearts

Lily's school is closing :(

We have another year and a half before the big change,

but it's happening.

Monday night I attended an info session for parents,

and we were asked that if we could say something

to defend our school from being closed,

what would it be.

All I could think of, 

was how relieved we were to be starting here in September,

because she had been bullied so much

at her preschool, 

with little support from the staff.

I did my homework on this elementary school,

and based on two things,

decided she HAD to get in here,

even though we don't live in the area.

Thing one:

It's the only french immersion school in our area.

Thing two:

Their approach to behavior reinforcement.

Negative behaviors are dealt with immediately,

quietly, and strictly.

Positive behaviors are rewarded immediately,

and celebrated publicly.

Not to say bullying doesn't happen,

and it has, but the difference here is,

it doesn't last long.

Each time a child does something positive worth noting,

e.g. Help pass out class notes,

Help a classmate with their work,

Stand up for themselves or someone else...

they are given a 'Caught Being Good Card.'

One copy is sent home for the parents to see,

another is put in a bucket for the class,

and at the end of the month can be drawn for a prize.

Classes with the most get rewards,

Students with the most also get rewards,

and it's just such a wonderful example 

of positive reinforcement.

Here is one of Lily's from November,

along with one I made for today's lunch.

If I could say one thing to the school board members,

it would be that this school saved my daughter.

Saved her from 7 years of torment 

with no positive end in sight.

And for that, they deserve a

Caught Being Good Card.

We'll miss you EGPS ♥

Butterfly Lunch

In This Lunch:

Cheese whiz sandwich on brown bread

Mozzarella slice butterfly

Gummy butterfly

Cucumber butterflies

Apple butterflies

Snowy Tulip Lunch

Spring is sooo close,

and our garden is starting to come in,

and of course...

we'd get snow :(

Poor little tulips sure have some frosty tips this morning!

In This Lunch:

Green grape tulips

Apple slice snowflakes

Strawberry jam sandwich on brown bread

Mozzarella cheese slice snow

Gummy candy tulip (blue from the cold!)

Bunny Bento

The same day I found our nifty Easter tin, 

I also found this adorable box!

Gotta love the dollar store :)

In This Lunch:

Cheddar cheese bunny shapes

Parmesan and garlic triscuits

Chocolate chip granola bar

Green grapes

Carrot sticks

Sugar snap peas

Cheese whiz sandwich on homestyle white bread

Too Cute!

Bunny Lunch

We have new picks!

I found them at Walmart as part of a peg game,

but they work great!

In This Lunch:

Cracker clouds

Sugar snap pea grass

Gummy flower with spinach leaves

White cheddar slice bunny

Strawberry jam sandwich on homestyle white bread

Strawberries

Carrot sticks

Dancer Lunch

Feeling rather stressed out and uninspired this day,

led to this haphazard uninspired lunch :(

In This Lunch:

Apple sauce

Strawberries

Green grapes

Sugar snap peas

Raspberry granola bar

Strawberry jam sandwich on homestyle white bread

Spring Lunch

In This Lunch:

Strawberries

Green grapes

Strawberry jam sandwich on homestyle white bread

Sugar snap peas

Cheese string sun (plus leftover tucked beside fruit)

Gummy tulip on toothpick with spinach leaves

Easter Tin Lunch

Found another nifty tin!

This time at the dollar store :)

In This Lunch:

Cheese bagel with butter

Apple flowers

Green grapes

Cheddar cheese flowers

Parmesan and garlic triscuits

Sugar snap peas

The lid :)

St Paddy's Day Lunch

In This Lunch:

Whole wheat mini pitas (shamrock coins) 

stuffed with cheddar cheese spread

Assorted green fruit snacks

Sugar snap peas

Cucumber slices

Green grapes

Butterfly Lunch

In This Lunch:

Green grapes

Cucumber slices

Vanilla yoghurt

Cheese whiz sandwich on whole wheat

Gummy butterfly

Raspberry cereal bar

Multigrain cheerio skewers with cheddar cheese stoppers

(Cheerios for stirring in with the yoghurt)

Easter Egg Surprise/The Knee Appointment

The surprise being that egg shapes are seemingly

everywhere!

In This Lunch:

Cucumber eggs

Red grapes

Chocolate chip granola bar

Cheese whiz sandwich on whole wheat

Cheddar cheese eggs/leaves

Gummy flower on green toothpick

Today's lunch was eaten at the local children's hospital :(

Half asleep, I packed Lily's lunch, drove her to school,

then came home.  

It was then that I realized that she had 

a long-awaited doctors appointment 

with the specialist for her knee...

about 1 hour from that moment, 

and it's a 30 minute drive to get there.

Long story short, we made it just in time, phew!

Doctor ran every non-invasive test she could,

then ordered some more to be done at the hospital.

X-Rays, blood and urine.

Poor munchkin had a hard day :(

We never did make it back to school,

since the tests took up the whole day, 

so after blood work, 

she was finally allowed to eat her lunch.

You see, the going theory is

Juvenile Arthritis :(

And it started back with this unexplained "injury"

of a swollen knee that was hot to the touch:

http://lilyslunch.blogspot.com/2010/11/hearts-and-bears-lunch.html

Until that day, it was just another medical term.

Now, it has her dad and I worried sick.

Being that it's classified as an auto-immune disease

I'm now second guessing every thing I've done as a parent

and scrambling to find answers.

We still have more tests to go 

before we get a diagnosis.

I'll keep you posted!

Muffin Tin Monday

So, there's this whole community of moms online 

who participate in this thing called 

"Muffin Tin Monday"

And each week, they have themes, 

and the lunches are just downright fantastic!

Since my munchkin is at school most Mondays,

we generally never get to participate :(

However, today was an inservice day!

I had no clue what the theme was, 

and the only baking related display device I had 

was more of a mini loaf tin...

but I was so excited, I just didn't care!!

So here, is our first...

"Muffin Tin Monday!"

Ta da!!!

In This Lunch:

Peanut butter and jam sandwich on homestyle white bread

Chocolate lady bug for dessert

Cucumber slices

Carrot sticks

Ranch dressing

Apple ducklings

Green grapes

Spring Lunch

In This Lunch:

Cheddar bunnies

Sociables crackers

Raspberry cereal bar

Green grapes

Carrot sticks

"Spring chicken" (and cheese) wrap

on a whole wheat pita

Eastery Lunch

In This Lunch:

Oatmeal squares cereal

Strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat

Raspberry cereal bar

Cheese slice egg

Havarti egg decorations

Snow peas

Green grapes

Carrot sticks

Butterfly Lunch

Spring is so close!!!

In This Lunch:

Macintosh apple butterflies

Strawberries

Sliced turkey and cheese slice sandwich on whole wheat

Cheese slice butterflies

Sliced turkey butterflies

Chickie Lunch

With all this rain, even the chicks need help to stay dry!

In This Lunch:

Red seedless grapes

Strawberries

Strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat

Cheese slice foul

Strawberry fruit leather umbrella w/ toothpick handle

Spinach and snow pea foliage

Bunny Lunch

Day 6 of the flu, and my fever finally broke!

I'm still not myself, but getting there at least :)

I picked up some adorable Easter accessories 

at the Bulk Barn the other week, 

and it's such a warm day out (+14c and rainy)

that I couldn't help but do some sort of springy theme :)

In This Lunch:

3 Bite brownie (baked by my sister Dee Dee)

Carrot sticks

Strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat

Cheese slice bunny

Strawberry fruit leather tulip

Snow peas

When creative momma's get sick...

Having the flu is no fun :(

Thinking clearly when you can't regulate your body temp

and can hardly stand up...

is just not an option.

And being creative... well

it didn't happen :(

In this Lunch:

Strawberries

Cheese whiz sandwich on whole wheat

Cheddar cheese stick

Fruit snacks

Juice box

Follow-Up:

Sadly, 

Lily somehow didn't notice that she had a sandwich this day

and it fell out of her bag at school along with her water bottle

(not shown).

The water bottle came home from school today (Monday)

But no sign of the sandwich.

Poor kid ate some of the strawberries for recess

then finished them along with her fruit snacks for lunch.

Some lunch!

:(

Sick AGAIN!!!

This time, it's me, thankfully, and not Lily :)

I've got a cold/flu

and my biggest wish all day 

was just to be able to regulate my body temperature :(

This morning, I just couldn't get my bum in gear to get her out the door,

and drive her to school, then walk her across the melting tundra to the door,

so she stayed home with me.
She has a cold now anyhow, and doesn't need to give that to everyone!

I made her lunch,

but it's pretty sad looking, so I'm not even going to post it :(

I have to work regardless tomorrow

(ah, the lovely obligations of a family business)

So we'll be back at it tomorrow.

See you then!

Tulip Lunch

"You must be the change you want to see in the world"

-Mahatma Gandhi

One of my favorite quotes to live by :)

Right about now, I see snow, and freezing cold temperatures :(

I'd like to change that to beautiful greenery and flowers :)

While I don't think this is quite what he had in mind,

it's the quote that came to my mind

while I was making a little bit of Spring ♥

In This Lunch:

Green grape tulips

Strawberry tulips

Strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat

Snow peas

Butterfly and tulip gummy candies

Dino Lunch

Because our visit with Sue was so much fun,

I wanted to extend the fun with a Sue-themed lunch!

Lily LOVED it!!

She was super excited when she came in the kitchen

and saw the finished lunch :)

In This Lunch:

Rice cereal treat Sue head with candy eyes

Cucumber triceratops's

Prehistoric fishy crackers

Cheese whiz Apatosaurus sandwich on whole wheat

Chocolate chip granola bar ground

Romaine lettuce prehistoric foliage

I Love U Lunch

Getting back into the swing of things after a long break :)

In This Lunch:

Cucumber slices

Fruit snacks

Teddy Grahams

Fruit leather

Chocolate chip granola bar

Pita's filled with cheese whiz and grated marble cheddar,

(heated for 15 seconds so the cheese melts together)