shiny red apple

This is an 'upside down' or an 'inside out' sandwich.  I make the kids work for these!  The sandwich is open faced with a second layer of bread underneath that they place on top to make it.. well... a 'regular' sandwich.  Love this cause it is just a cut out sandwich, and is so simple to do!  If you have some cookie cutters, it is even easier.

He is going to think I am proving the 'easy to do' point by adding this, but truly that is not the case.  I just want to give credit... 

I was fighting a headache tonight and my husband jumped in and helped to make these!!  He cut the apple shapes freehand (awesome job, babe!), cut the stems and washed and cut the fruit and carrots.

Apple made with pb&j, carrot stem, cucumber leaf.  Also strawberries, carrots, grapes, noodles with a little Parmesan cheese.

Sharpen your pencils!... another back to school lunch

I believe I first saw the pencil idea in some sort of parenting magazine, but it may have been somewhere online.  I really am not sure who to give the credit to... just know this wasn't from my brain first!

I used a strip of cheddar cheese for the pencil, ham for the 'wood' and eraser, and some all natural fruit strip pieces for the 'lead' and the 'no.2'.

Carrot strips, spinach salad with feta and a 'heart' strawberry, and little turkey and cheese open face sandwich letters ( a GREAT way to use up the bread ends, btw!)

I also used fruit strip to make an apple shape that is laying on top of homemade  store bought ambrosia salad.  I picked this up as a special treat for the kids cause they both love it.  Thought it might make a nice treat for a 'first week' lunch!

I don't know if I was just not with it tonight or what, but this little pencil gave me one heck of a time!  I had intended to make a few, but as you see in child no. 2's lunch....   I quit the pencil making business!  I snapped this pic to 'keep it real'.  I gave up on fancy lunch tonight!

Back to school / first day of Kindergarten!

Tomorrow is the big day around here!  To celebrate, my parents called the kids and want to take them out to a special "end of summer" / "back to school" dinner at a local restaurant. 

We love this restaurant, but know it is usually has slooooow service.  I don't anticipate tonight to be any different.  With showers, books and an early bedtime on tap after dinner, I went ahead and got lunches out of the way now.

This year, both kids are in school everyday.  Most likely they will get the same lunches each day, but I am sure there may be some exceptions to that. 

The only difference in their lunches for tomorrow is that her lunch has a 'K' for Kindergarten and his has the number '3' for 3rd grade!  His strawberries are not cut to look like hearts either cause "someone might see."  oh brother.

Spinach salad (I'll add dressing in the morning), strawberry hearts and a cucumber 'k', a bear naked brand cookie, Kiwi and strawberry on a thin layer of yogurt, and the orange chunks that look like cantaloupe is actually ORANGE WATERMELON we found at a local farmer's market.

everything is organic but the cookie in this lunch.