School Lunches

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been a combination of a couple of things: a) there's nothing really exciting going on, and b) if there were, I wouldn't have had time to blog about it anyway!

If you know me or you read my profile, you know that I teach preschool part-time. It's a good arrangement, really...I get out of the house and do something I love, yet I'm still close to my boys, and the boys go to school at half-price tuition! (Stuff like that really matters when you have as many kids as we do.) We have school on Mondays and Fridays, so Sunday and Thursday nights are prep time. That means loading up backpacks, gathering nap mats, and packing lunches. The task of making school lunches is daunting to me. It ranks right up there on my list with scrubbing toilets or folding laundry. I hate deciding what everyone will eat and I'm always wondering if the teacher will think I'm a terrible mother if I send a cookie for dessert or a CapriSun instead of bottled water?!?!? To complicate matters, Goliath can be described as a picky eater. For the first 5 years of his life, he would not eat sandwiches. Or pizza. Or corn dogs on a stick. Think about it...what else IS there for a kid to eat? Chicken nuggets: check. Hot dogs (minus the bun): check. Fish sticks: check. That's about it.

Almost overnight, though, his tastes have changed. Suddenly, it's, "Mommy, can we order pizza tonight for dinner?" "Mom, I'll make myself a turkey sandwich for lunch." "I want a bun for my hot dog, please!!!" This pleasant turn of events has opened up a whole new world for me on Sunday and Thursday nights. Tonight, I made 2 lunches that were identical: PB&J sandwiches, carrot sticks, Cheetos, and gigantic marshmallows. It was so much easier! Now, if I can just get Picky Eater Baby to try something besides strawberry yogurt and fruit snacks...