Those Dreaded School Lunches

I signed Big Bro up for a four-day camp that met from 8:30am through 2:30pm. I got three of his buddies to sign up with him so he would feel more comfortable with me dropping him off for such a long day. I figured it would be good practice in advance of Kindergarten. Going from three mornings of preschool a week to five full days of school is a huge change.

While I thought what good practice it would be for Big Bro to try a new routine, I didn't realize it was going to be good practice for me as well: getting up and out the door early, and packing those dreaded school lunches.

I have read blogs about packing school lunches and they all like to describe what a pain it is. The endless containers, the wasted food, the preparation time, planning and shopping, limited menus due to kid's picky palates, and of course, food restrictions due to the nut-allergy epidemic. Just like Big Bro's new elementary school is nut-free, his camp is also nut-free. So much for endless peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches.

I bought a YumBox last Christmas (an impulse, sale purchase). It offers compartments that seal shut with just one lid. Each compartment is labeled with a food group to help you plan a balanced meal: protein, grain, vegetable, fruit, dairy, and even a tiny one for dip. In addition to filling his YumBox, I also sent him with a breakfast bar and granola bar for snacks.

Here's how the week went:

Day 1: ham slices, Parmesan goldfish crackers, cucumbers and ranch, 2 cherries and a strawberry, slices of cheddar cheese.

Result: He ate everything but the ranch. He was hungry when he came home but that's not surprising, after school snacks are typical. He informed me he was so hungry before dinner and he "never had real lunch today."   Uh oh.

Day 2: buttered bread (I ran out of ham, shoot), hard boiled egg, cucumbers and craisins, slices of cheddar cheese, chocolate caramel kiss as a bonus.

I sent him with two breakfast bars and 2 granola bars and told him to save at least one for the ride home with his friend and his mom. 

Result: He had a good ride home and ate 2 bars when he got back here. He ate everything in his YumBox minus the bread crust, a small cucumber and a few craisins. He even ate the egg (yay!) and said he wasn't hungry during the day, nor did he say he had no real lunch.

Day 3: buttered bread (crusts removed this time), goldfish, an egg (why mess with success?), ham, carrots (a change from the cucumber) and cherries, plus another chocolate caramel kiss (his favorite part, surprise, surprise).

Result: he didn't touch his buttered bread or ham (it wasn't the usual brand so he didn't like it). He left behind goldfish and even cherries. He said he wasn't hungry. He didn't eat any of his granola/breakfast bars either until he got home. Weird.

Day 4: final day! I had a late night meeting so he ended up with cheese, strawberries, crackers, egg, carrots, and a slice of ham even though it's not his preferred brand (it's all "Black Forest" ham!?), and the beloved chocolate kiss.

Result: the ham came back half-eaten so that's some progress. The carrots came back because "he only likes carrots with ranch."

After only 4 days of lunches I already felt the monotony of this packed lunch thing. There were two nights in the week when I felt like I should have gone shopping, but only made a store-run on one of those nights. I'm glad Kindergarten will have hot lunch options for purchase to break it up a bit. The YumBox compartments really did help with packing a varied lunch. 

What grains, proteins, dairy, fruit and veggies are packed lunch favorites in your house?

Field trip Fallout

Yesterday Big Bro came home from a birthday party feeling under the weather. That night he fell asleep unusually quickly at bedtime and had a fever and cough. Unsurprisingly, the next morning he wasn't feeling that much better. Regretfully and reluctantly I told him he better stay home from preschool today.

 It was a bad day for missing preschool because his class was going to the Flynn Theater to see "Harold and the Purple Crayon." Around the time that his class would be getting on the bus to the Flynn Big Bro started to perk up and I seriously questioned my decision. He was aware of what he was missing and feeling quite sad about it.

So if he couldn't go to Harold, I decided I would bring Harold to him. We started by reading the book, twice. Then I taped white paper to the wall so he could draw Harold's adventure himself. He happily told me the story as he explained his picture, even getting some of the book phrases perfectly. 

Lil Sis and I made our own version called "Harriet and the Brown Crayon" in which Harriet and her puppy go on an adventure. They are following the sun when they come upon a big scary dog. Harriet's hand starts to shake with fear and creates water. She quickly draws a canoe for her and her puppy to get in and paddle to land. Then she discovers she is hungry so draws a peach tree and peach pie. She and her puppy eat their fill, then she draws a bear to finish the rest. Next she draws a mountain to climb but falls off when she is looking at the bright sun. Similar to Harold's balloon, she draws herself a hang glider for her and her puppy to get safely back to the ground. Then they decide they want to go home so they draw their house and then play with another dog named Peppy.

The next activity was to make a pie like Harold's 9 pies and Harriet's peach pie. I had an old piecrust in the freezer from Thanksgiving. We had the ingredients to make a chocolate cream pie, a first for us. 

Then Nini graciously went out to get heavy cream so we can make whipped cream to serve with it. It's now cooling in the in the fridge and I haven't heard any more sad remarks about missing the field trip. Parenting win.

We sampled it with fresh whipped cream after lunch. It was still a bit warm, so not as pudding like as it should have been, but it was still delicious.

Master & Legend

Just like his dad, Big Bro loves Legos. For his 5th birthday we got him two Lego sets that he had been begging for since Christmas.

Big Bro started building right away in the 20 or so minutes he had between opening the gifts and having to get out the door to preschool. When he got home he went right back to building. Occasionally he would ask questions about the directions but he really built them himself. He is becoming a Lego Master.

Here is the "SUV with watercraft trailer" after he finished it:

And here is the tow truck after completion with minimal help from me (I tied the string and answered questions):

He was so happy and busy working on his Legos all day, it was a beautiful thing!

So last night we all started playing Legos after dinner. Big Bro and my husband were trying to find all the pieces to one of his old spaceship Lego kits. It occurred to me that if we sorted the giant bin of Legos from my husband's childhood collection we could actually put most, if not all, of the sets back together. Then Big Bro would have lots of sets to keep him busy and happy.

It was no small feat to go from this:

To this:

But the whole family was involved and having fun sorting. Lil Sis sorted the Lego horses once she tired of the colors. Big Bro even declared it more fun than building because he got to move around a lot. And he did move around a lot scoping out Legos and running to the kitchen to find more Tupperware to put the colors in.

After the kids were in bed, my husband and I started the laborious task of finding the specific pieces that went with old instruction booklets. The gray and black bins were by far the biggest and the hardest to sift through to find the exact piece we needed. At times it made our eyes swim. We both looked for 20 minutes or more looking for one black door hinge piece.

By the end of our night we had 4 kits reassembled and then broken apart again to be neatly stored in plastic baggies.

Here's one that I put together:

Here's a big, fancy one my husband (Lego Legend) put together.

This sorting task will keep us busy for many evenings to come since husband estimates he has about 40 old kits. But we had fun doing it, and I can't wait for Big Bro to see each kit. Big Bro and I have also been talking/working on being organized so Legos don't get lost. Maybe, just maybe, our hard work will be (at least somewhat) preserved.

-------

3/28/15: Well it took 2.5 hours including searching for pieces and improvising for pieces lost or dog chewed but here it is folks: rescue plane. I also made the medic female because both the pilot and medic don't have to be male! #positivefemalerolemodels

Solution to Screaming

Big Bro has never been that excited about preschool. He has fun when he's there and gets glowing reports, but at home he pitches a fit each school morning.

I was getting really tired of his tantrums every time I would have to tell him, "it's a school day, please go get dressed."

Nooooooo! It isn't! I'm not going!!!! Cry. Scream. Whine. Pout. Stomp. Repeat.

Over the Christmas break I read Vicki Hoefle's book "Duct Tape Parenting." In it she talks about making kids take on responsibilities for themselves in age appropriate ways to make mornings run more smoothly. She talks specifically about kids having an alarm clock to get up for school so that it's not mom doing the all the wake up calls and insisting, "no really, it's time, I mean it, you have to get up and dressed for school."

I had an alarm clock for school days when I was little (my mom laughed when I explained Vicki Hoefle's methods because they are so similar to what she did when I was growing up), so this wasn't a parenting leap...merely a recognition that it's time. 

I asked if Big Bro would like to have an alarm clock to get him up on school days. He was very excited by this, so we went to the store and he picked out his own clock. It barks when it rings.

I told him that on school days his alarm will bark and that's his cue to get dressed, brush teeth, and eat breakfast. If he does all those things with time leftover, then he can watch a short show before school.

So far the system is working wonderfully and we have had much happier, smoother, and timely mornings. Let's hope it continues even after the novelty has worn off.

Growing in Bursts, master builder

It's amazing how kids grow in bursts. Big Bro (4.5 yo) had a big burst this Thanksgiving break in his Lego building skills that I wanted to share. Here are his creations that he built all by himself:

Crocodile with moving mouth

Jail with bad guy

Horse merry-go-round that really spins

Helicopter with ladder. Looks just like the one in the Lego game app we have.

Snowplow dump truck

Super strong snowplow

Frustrated by losing the "mistletoe" (missile) on his Dino-helicopter, he built a new one out of Legos.

Not to be totally outdone, Lil Sis made her own creation too:

Mr. Independent

This morning I told Big Bro to go get dressed for school. "It's picture day today," I said. "Do you want to surprise me and pick out something to wear?"

Big Bro started to do his normal whine but suddenly stopped short. He ran into his room and actually got dressed. He came back a couple minutes later with a proud look on his face happy to show off his new shirt and jeans.

Who is this kid? I asked myself. I don't know, but I like him.

We went downstairs. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast. He answered yogurt.

Before I could do anything he asked me, "Mommy, is the dishwasher clean?"he had already looked in the basket for our very limited collection of kid bowls. Yes it is I answered.

He got his bowl out with a small assist from his father. He got out the yogurt from the refrigerator.  He even got two spoons, one for him and one for Lil Sis. He scooped his yogurt himself, then he got a cup by himself and went to fill it with water in the bathroom sink.

After eating breakfast he asked his father "can we go to school now?"

WHO IS THIS KID???

I don't know, but I hope he sticks around.

Kratt No More

"He's not wearing his Wild Kratts today!?" 

This is a statement I have been hearing often from friends and family.

It's true, and let me assure you it is not by choice. After nearly 6 months of wearing the same two shirts and two shorts every day (and even wearing them both at the same time  in a few silly moments), Big Bro has officially worn out both his Wild Kratt shorts. 

Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

His green Wild Kratts shirt even has a tiny hole in the front as well. You can see my fingertip through it below.

Exhibit 3:

Only his blue shirt has remained unscathed.

Exhibit 4:

Pre-school has started up again so the agreement is he can wear his hole-y pants at home but not to school. He has reluctantly agreed. I even offered that he can wear his Wild Kratt shirt and different pants. His reply? 

"That would be silly."

Too bad no one is selling cargo shorts in fall.

And by the way, as soon as he gets home he changes back into his hole-y cargo shorts (exhibit 2 only) and Wild Kratts shirt.

A Childhood Obsession

Ever since his fourth birthday party, which had a Wild Kratts theme, Big Bro has been wearing his green Wild Kratts t-shirt non-stop.

It got to the point where he got super upset if he got a trace of any dirt or food on it. I was washing it overnight so he could wear it the next day. We decided we better buy him another one. This time we got the blue Wild Kratts shirt. The blue one was upgraded to the best one. He would wear it and alternate with the green one for messier activities.

All those pictures were taken on different days even though Big Bro looks exactly the same in each one.

This past Wednesday his preschool had a "water day." The kids showed up to school in their bathing suits and had to bring clean dry clothes to change into. I sneakily put a pair jean shorts and a red shirt in his backpack. He had no choice but to wear them! When I picked him up at school and saw him in something other than a Wild Kratts shirt, it was like a breath of fresh air.

I gushed over how handsome he looked, but he changed back into his green Wild Kratts shirt as soon as we got home--which is why I made sure to snap the picture while I could.

If I mention this phase to my mom, she just likes to point out that I wore my Toto (the dog from the Wizard of Oz) halloween costume everyday for ages.

Well, I better go do some laundry. These Wild Kratts shirts (and matching cargo shorts) don't wash themselves!

Big Bro Sleeps Over: the Morning Report

After an unceremonious departure from dropping Big Bro off at Grandma's house (Mommy, you can go now!) I didn't think I would hear from him until morning. My husband got home from work and asked, "So this is it until tomorrow ?" 

"I guess so." I replied.

The house was quiet, things were simpler-- no sibling fights to break up--kind of a relief, but it was weird.

After Lil Sis was asleep we got a call from a teary, sniffly Big Bro. My husband and I distracted him, reminded him to get Doggie and Baby Pepper from his overnight bag while Grandma got him some water. Then he was good to go. Thank goodness for FaceTime.

He had a great time and stayed until morning. We called again in the morning to see when he was coming home. The sleepover was a success and a victory for building Big Bro's confidence.

Big Bro's First Sleepover

My husband and I got married on 7– 7–07. This year we will be married for 7 years. Going with our theme of 7s, we figured we would make this anniversary a big one. Big for us means going somewhere by ourselves. It will be our first time that we are both away from our kids overnight.

Big Bro and Lil Sis will stay with Grandma and Grandpa for the two nights that we are gone. They live next-door so it's not a big deal for them to stay at our house or stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house to sleep. Still, it seems fun that the kids could sleep at Grandma's.

Tonight Big Bro is doing his first test run. At first he wasn't so sure and bargained with us that he would sleep at Grandma's when he was five (he just recently turned four). When I mentioned how we could pack a special overnight bag and he could bring his travel toothbrush and toothpaste he got excited. We agreed to pack his bag when he got home from school. He said to me, "Mommy, I have my own sleeping bag. I should pack that too!"

We packed him up and then I agreed to walk him over to Grandma's. "Mommy." He told me very seriously. "I can walk to Grandma's by myself."

"Okay," I answered. "But your sister is there and I need to go get her anyway." (He and I had been out at an appointment beforehand).

He hoisted his bag on his shoulder and set out to Grandma's house with me dragging behind so he would feel more like he was on his own.

Once we were at Grandma's he said, "Mommy you should go home now."

I told him it was still early, and Lil Sis was still having fun. We would leave soon and he could just pretend I wasn't there before I actually left. He eventually bought it.

I can't wait to hear his report in the morning.

Big Bro & Take Your Kid to Work Day

Today was Take Your Kid to Work Day at Dada of Ma'at's work. I wasn't there, but here is what I gathered from stories from Dad and Big Bro.

Big Bro was so excited he was practically giddy. He ran right into the building where he got his badge (it's a secure building), a goodie bag filled with swag, and a rubbery, squishy sunshine that looks part stress ball, part yo-yo. From there they got their breakfast in the cafeteria. Big Bro kept calling it his favorite birthday pie, aka apple pie. It wasn't really pie, but it was a pastry. He ate his treat in Dada's office with his artwork that he made as a backdrop. He did some of the mazes found in an activity book from his goodie bag.

After breakfast Big Bro and Dada went to the Science Room. First they played with a giant air bazooka made from a 5 gallon bucket to make paper cups fly around.Then they saw the Efficiency Vermont booth where they had lots of different kinds of lights for the kids to see and switch on and off.

Then "Firedog" (a man in a fire dog suit) was walking around. Big Bro had been running around giddily since he arrived. He was so excited he went right up to Firedog and gave him a high five.  Then they played some of the 9 hole mini golf course was set up on the other side of the cafeteria.

Next came bottle cap art. It was quite a cool idea to use different colored bottle caps to make a pretty picture of a flower. Big Bro was very excited that he "got to glue stuff!"

After a quick trip back to the office, Dada and Big Bro went outside to see a firetruck and a police car.

As we were preparing Big Bro for going to work with Dada we pointed out that it would be a lot like one of his books, "Caillou Goes to Work." In the book 4 year old Caillou goes to work with his mom for the morning. At one point the phone rings and the mother says the phone is for Caillou. It's Daddy calling to say hello!

Coincidentally, I was waiting in the cul-de-sac to pick up Big Bro and couldn't reach Dada of Ma'at on his cellphone like I normally do, so called his work phone instead. The office phone was ringing just as they returned from seeing the trucks. Dada picked up and happily told Big Bro, "It's for you! Just like when Caillou went to work!" Big Bro loved it.

As Big Bro walked out the front door with Dada of Ma'at he looked so tiny, but he was so happy. I picked him up early so we could go to a birthday party at the local arcade. He had a great time at the party, but on the way home he just asked when he could go back to Daddy's work and stay for the whole time. Then when Dada of Ma'at came home hours later he again asked when he could go back to Daddy's work.

I think he liked it!

The funniest part was as he got in the car he told me matter-of-factly "there were a lot of kids there who had to go to the dentist and they have their own dentist there."

Dada of Ma'at and I were both bewildered until Dada realized he was actually referring to the long line of kids waiting to get their faces painted!