Kidlet didn’t want to leave day camp yesterday. They have the half day option (9-1) that we chose, a full day option that goes until 5, and before and after care as well. Well, the full day kids were having a “field trip” yesterday to – of all places – a field (lol) where they were having a BBQ picnic. He really wanted to stay, but Baby L was still napping when I left to pick him up and although DH was home, he was working from his home office, and he needed us to get back before she woke up so he could actually get work done. Kidlet got pretty sullen, but he didn’t escalate into a tantrum which suprised (and pleased) me. We came home and played with the water table, had otter pops, and worked out the grumpiness.
PB and lemon curd sammy (BTW, I only use “100% peanut” peanut butter, not the regular stuff with added sugars and stabalizers and all that gunk), hard boiled egg with lemon pepper, bouquet of carrots. Red grapes, golden raspberries, blueberries and a “2 bite” mini lemon cupcake.
The cheese figure was supposed to be a sun but I couldn’t find my cutter with the pointy edges so it ended up looking more like a flower.
Baby L has been a little more difficult going down for her naps the last couple of days. After a few weeks of dream-like ease in getting her down, she is suddenly crying for 30+ minutes again. sigh. Parenthood!
Day 2 of day camp for the kidlet. It’s actually been nice weather for several days in a row, which is fortunate since his camp is all outdoors 😉
Yesterday I just sent a laptop lunchbox; things were a little crazy in the morning, I wasn’t exactly sure where we were going (and it was a good thing we left early; we ended up having to hike about 15 minutes on the trails to get to the camp location — today I found the way to drive to that back parking lot), baby L was super needy. Today I was a tiny bit more creative.
Pb and J sealed Sandwich, blueberries and yummy fresh local strawberries picked up at the Tigard farmers market on Sunday, carrots, babybel cheese. Cheese birdie with carrot beak and candy confetti eye. Ranch dressing and a small rice krispie treat cut into a flower shape packed separately.Â
I know today’s lunch is nothing special. I’ve done a similar bird before, but it looks so bright and colorful and something about it I quite like =)
Yesterday as we were headed off to the community center, Kidlet declared that he didn’t want to go to day camp, but I explained that it wasn’t like school, but more like recess all day, and he decided to give it a try. He had a great time. We also had an afternoon birthday party over at an inflatable jumping place. You’d think after all morning at sports camp and all afternoon running and jumping that he would be worn down and exhausted and ready to sleep like the dead. Not so much 😉
Baby L and I went shopping after dropping Kidlet off this morning. We stopped by Uwajamaya for quail eggs and found okinawan sweet potatos (the ones with the purple inside), which I’ve never seen there, although I always look. Sherimiya at Happy Little Bento uses them fairly often and I’ve always admired how colorful and fresh her lunches always seem to be. I also was drawn in by some really nice looking dragonfruit, despite swearing off them when the last time I picked one up it was 20$ :0 These were very fresh and plump and not at all withered looking, which they sometimes are given that they are sent via plane from some Asian country or another, and not exactly fresh off the vine. They were also about half the price this time. Still expensive but not nearly as hard on the pocketbook as the last one I bought.
I made up snack bento in the hopes that the weather would cooperate and we could get out and go somewhere. There was a single sunny day this week, and aside from that it continues gray, frequently wet and rainy. It doesn’t seem like summer – even Oregon summer isn’t usually this ugly. I think we have had maybe 3 or 4 days where the sun shows its face since April.
PB with whipped cream cheese flavored with a little no sugar added jelly on english muffin, blueberries, broccoli and carrot and babybel cheese.
One of the sites that I like to visit is Little Nummies.  Kellie has a brilliant way of looking at food, taking common kid friendly ingredients that most moms would have on hand and elevating them into something cute for children.  Her culinary creations aren’t usually something you can transalte directly to a bento, but I often leave there thinking “I wouldn’t have thought to use [food X] in that way”, with inspiration for making it my own and making it work in a bento lunch.Â
Since I am not making packed lunches right now (although we have day camp next week, so I’m planning on some cute summery or sports themed (its a sports camp) ones!), I’ve been trying to just make breakfasts and lunches a little bit fun and keep my hand in. Kellie recently posted Oscar the Oyster, and I thought I would make one as well.
Mine didn’t turn out nearly as cute. Her pancakes stayed nice and flat so the top “shell” didn’t sink down on the sides like mine and it looks more mollusk like. I made an oat bran pancake for the extra healthiness and they were just too thick and soft to maintain a crisp edge when propped up. My banana eyes are out of proportion with my cake too. And my chocolate chip eyes wouldn’t stick so I melted them a little and they smeared all over.
I added the blueberry “sea”, which I made by heating up fresh blueberries in a little bit of water and white grape juice until they popped, then I tossed in some new berries at the end for texture and a little squeeze of lemon for some brightness in flavor. I thought that I might need to add a little cornstarch to thicken it up, but I left it cooking a little bit too long (caught it just this side of burning, eep!) and that thickened it up enough to make a nice syrup without any added thickeners.
Despite the flaws that I see, Kidlet said “Awwww, that’s so cute ma!” and gobbled it right up. That’s what counts in the end!
There are times when feeding the kidlet can be a trial. I get quite tired of hearing “I don’t like that” at dinner time (usually referring to some kind of non-processed, non-ground meat). On the other hand, when I asked him what he would like for lunch today he asked “Well, do we have any broccoli? And carrots?” I said “That can’t be all you want, that doesn’t sound like a filling lunch” and he responded “I want some mango too, mom” (with a tone that suggested “Duhhhhhh!” ;)). It’s hard to get too irritated and to complain about a picky eater when the first thing he asks for at meal time are vegetables and fruit. He may not be open to every food out there, and his diet might seem boring to me, but the fact that he eats fruit and veggies (even if its the same ones) every day puts him far ahead of some.Â
Baby L is becoming quite a good eater as well. She has 12 teeth already at not quite 13 months. She actually prefers things with more texture to things that are gooey at this point. She shovels in diced chicken, happily crunches on lightly steamed veggies. It takes a little coaxing to get her to eat avocado, banana, mango, etc. Once I get her to taste it, then she’ll keep eating it, but if I don’t help some into her mouth so she can see how good it is, she will touch it and recoil and leave it on her tray, heh.
She is also starting to communicate and you can see a real little person with her own personality developing now. She says “DaDa” and “MaMa” and “book” (well, its more like OooK). She says “ess” and nods her head once sharply for “yes” and is signing “more”, “done”, and “milk” — although to be fair, her signs aren’t what you call precise, and she tends to use them even if they don’t quite fit. She’ll do “more”, when she is hungry before she has had anything, so technically its not really *more* its just *some* 😉
Sleep training Baby L has been a total dream compared to what we went through with the Kidlet. Of course he had a lot of other issues given his early life. I put off the sleep training for as long as I could, partially in dread, but mostly because I’m a believer in co-sleeping and attachment parenting. Still, within a couple days her agitation at being put down was down to minutes. After two weeks it is down to a few seconds of fussing. She is also sleeping through the night and not needing feeding at all, so, in theory, I should be getting more sleep.Â
Except of course I am not getting my naps. Today when the baby went down, Kidlet and I cleaned out the homework corner. It’s amazing how much junk accumulates in our drawers there. We also culled out all the materials that were too easy for him. I’ve always supplemented his out of the home education. Much of it is a bit of the “unschooling” approach – “sneaking” in education while playing. He doesn’t realize the mathematical applications of baking muffins, science experiments are just cool fun, he loves art projects (today he was doing some coloring and he says to me “I think I’ll do this one like Marc Chagall and use crazy colors”, it gave me a little glow :)), helping me write shopping lists for the foods he wants, etc.  But we also have file folder games and workbooks, piles of reading materials and so forth. Most of what we put away was actually geared for first graders, and he is beyond it already =0 I kept out a grade one reading comprehension workbook (flash forward reading) although only the second half looks worth using, and one on maps (from scholastic); the rest of it is now shelved and waiting for the baby to get there.
Seriously, where does the time go? Just a minute ago I had this itty bitty baby and a sweet little preschooler, and the next thing you know, one is a toddler with 12 teeth and a ravenous appetite, and the other will officially be a grade schooler come fall. A grade schooler!
I barely had a schedule that worked for me with just Baby L at home; now with the Kidlet in the mix for summer, I’m struggling to find time for anything. I’d been getting caught up with regular daily chores and even finding time to tackle some of the big jobs that need done, but now I’m floundering and flailing again. And I miss my daily nap! 😉
It would be some consolation if it were actually summer-like. However, we’ve had a terribly wet spring, with maybe 4 or 5 warm sunny days in the past couple of months. It continues gray, wet and rainy as June moves on.
I can’t beleive that Kidlet’s kindergarten year is over. Things were a little teary all day!
No bento today. I woke up slowly to a gray day and couldn’t get myself up until the waking of kids compelled me to.Â
Not much on the agenda for today. I did pick up some art literacy forms from the school that I want to re-do. The person that has been running it is done this year, and, to be honest, isn’t exactly known for her organizational skills. I’m hoping that her assistant chair person will be staying on to teach the volunteers, but I’m planning on being a bit more involved in the back end. The materials are a mess. The information in the bins for each artist refer to sets of slides and specific examples that we don’t have. In fact, from what I can tell, the school doesn’t have reproductions for most of the artists at all. I’m planning on looking into that and the budget available and hopefully can rectify that a little each year until all 36 bins have what the parent volunteers need to actually introduce the artists to the kids without borrowing library books or picking up thier own materials (which is what I did most of the time). Somewhere there has to be organizational information that I need to track down as well. There’s a six year revolving curriculum — someone must know which artists are grouped together each year and thier order. I’d like to get a jump on next year’s set. Guess I’ll send out another batch of emails.
Today is also my birthday. 40 years. When did I get so old?!
Here comes summer! Who is ready?!
First, choose a container that suits the personality of the person who will be using the kit. It might be a traditional basket, since there are pie baskets made by hand to carry around pie and other foods, a large canvass bag, or even a small backpack.Â
Next, use the list below as a guideline for what to keep in your kit. Maybe you won’t need all of the items, but these are good essentials to have on hand so you’ll always be prepared for spur of the moment picnics.
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A blanket or sheet to spread the whole thing out on, should you need or want to sit on the ground
Utensils — forks, knives, spoons, plates
Cloth Napkins
Corkscrew (if serving wine) and can opener, or better yet, multi-tooled Swiss Army knife.
Cutting boards for slicing or assembling foods
Sharp knife
Anti-bacterial gel to clean hands before handling food is also useful
Non-perishable foods — dried fruit, peanut butter, crackers, nuts, etc.
Beverages – bottled water, juice boxes, etc.
Salt and pepper, either small shakers or disposable packets.
Basic condiments – ketchup, mustard, relish – collect extra packets from trips to fast food restaurants or look in the grocery store for small non-glass containers of your favorite condiments and sauces.
Flashlight
If you like to grill, you’ll also need a lighter or matches, charcoal, lighter fluid, and grilling utensils
A large trash bag to clean up the mess later.
A small plastic bag containing sunscreen, lip balm, insect repellent, band-aids, wet naps and a bandana.
If you bring your dog along, don’t forget a bowl, water, and food for the pooch.
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Options:Â You might also want to pack some fun extras, depending on the amount of room in your container:
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CD Player
Single use camera
Inflatable beach ball
Frisbee
Small bottle of bubble mix
Deck of cards, crossword puzzle book, etc.
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Kidlet picked out colby-jack cheese this week at the deli counter and it made me think of a mottled goldfish we watched the last time we went to the pet shop, so it became a fish for todays lunch.
Fish shaped tuna sandwich with cheese topper (I just got these new hat picks, so cute! ;)), hard boiled egg, cherries (halved and pitted) and blueberries and a few carrot and zucchini sticks hidden under the fish, propping him up.
I can’t believe that the kidlet’s kindergarten year is almost over! Most likely there will be fewer bento, although I did buy a nice picnic sized box for taking snacks for all of us when we head out to the park, zoo, etc.
This is the box that I bought — although the meal is not mine, but was packed by An American in Bento, who hopefully doesn’t mind that I’ve snagged her photo, as I couldn’t find a photo of the empty box and was too lazy to go downstairs and dig it out to take a picture.