It is that time of year, the time of year where I think about one of my favorite commercials, you know....the Staples one. The one where the dad is pushing the shopping cart with the music blaring in the background "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.". He is loading his cart with school supplies, dancing in the isles, the kids behind him with glum looks of school days. Boy how I can relate. If you are one of those moms dreading sending your children back to school, waiting anxiously for their return each day,missing their daily company, I am not one of you. Me....well , let's just say.... kids....don't let the door hit you in the butt. This mama is ready for a little ME time! If you need to know the reasons, here is my top ten list of why I am glad the school days are ahead:
1: Lunch time will be just that, ONE lunch time, not five different lunch times occurring exactly one right after another precisely when the previous lunch was just cleaned up.
2. I also will only be eating one lunch, not 5 thus (Hopefully) loosing the few extra pounds I gained this summer with all the food we had around here.
3. I will save at least $100 per week on gas for not being the taxi to all 5 every single minute of the day at their beck and call. I will reserve my strength and gas for the after school hours.
4. I may be able to actually sit down during the day other than the times I am in my car or in the bathroom.
5. Less kids, less laundry due to the fact that if they are at school, they cannot change their clothes 5 times per day.
6. Once I clean the house in the morning, it will actually stay clean for a few hours. Can't wait!
7. Only one little person home to yell "Mom!" like it was a cuss word and he can't talk yet so I'm home free. (although I would love to hear him yell anything)
8. My gym time will not be interrupted by the fact that said child has something much more important to do like going to the mall which means I must change my gym clothes for my taxi driver clothes. No more workout excuses.
9. I may actually have time to cross something off my to do list instead of just adding something.
10. I have 2.5 hours per day totally by myself unless I choose otherwise. Yipee!
Don't be mistaken, I love my little monkeys, we have had a great summer. But...it's just that I have loved them a whole lot these last few months and I am ready to let someone else love them for a few hours which will make me love them even more when they walk through the door. My husband says I am dreaming, that at the end of the year I am always excited for summer thinking it will be more relaxing than the hectic school year. Maybe so, but let me dream a little!
Anyways, for the question of the day..... WHAT DO I PUT IN THEIR SCHOOL LUNCHES????? Here you go in a nut shell.
Usually a sandwich on whole wheat with nitrite free lunch meat and spinach leaves. way better than lettuce. Then, a fruit or veggie. Some good chips like the natural line of lays or Sunchips, etc. A treat usually something home baked or a good cookie or snack from Nature Valley. Sometimes I put in chips and salsa or homemade yogurt with granola or some mini muffins. Sometimes I go a little crazy and give them a Zebra Cake or something horrible like that. Field Trips they always get to pick out what they want. I let them buy once or twice a week but they usually pick the salads. Crazy kids. We decide together what they will buy at the beginning of the week so they don't pick the popcorn shrimp or something in that genre. So, lunches are pretty simple. Nothing blue, nothing bright green, no lunchables or PB and J crustables. Homemade and preservative free. A little sugar, a little salt. They get enough treats at school so I want them to get some nutrition from me. I am sure the teachers appreciate keeping the sugar high down a bit.
So, happy school days ahead to you all. Let me know if you have any first day of school traditions or special things you do for your lunches. Share your ideas. I will miss them a bit, at least my daughter. I do look forward to seeing them after school. I do love them but I am ready to have a little peace. Are you with me? Who is ready for a celebratory breakfast come August 6th???
8 comments:
Very nicely said! I have a friend that every end of the summer I ask if she is excited for school to start and she says no she dreads this time of year. It used to make me really sad and I wondered if I was a bad Mom. But the last few years I have decided that I love the first day of school and there's nothing wrong with that. My girls love the beginning of school so I get wrapped up in the excitement with them. So count me in for a Mom's first day of school breakfast!
Paula
I too will be having a party on Aug. 6th even though only one will be gone all day! Where do you buy your nitrate free lunch meat and what brand is it?
I have bought Applegate Farms from Sprouts and another brand, Garrett something. From Fresh and Easy I buy Applewood and their brand. Some of the Boarshead meats are nitrite free, just check the labels. Many other stores carry nitrite free meat, like the health stores. You want also to get no hormones added. Read labels. They are more expensive, usually $8 per pound but worth it. Fresh $ Easy usually has the best prices if you live by one.
Amen Shari! I feel the same way every year by this time!
Shari, I have absolutely and thoroughly enjoyed your blog. I have gone back and read all your nutrition posts as well as many others. I also took your advice and got the mag oil from Nancy and we have been using it faithfully. Travis is home from the hospital and doing great. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the nutrition changes he's made the past couple of months. We have your list of "poisons" to avoid posted in our kitchen and I have become an avid label reader. Thank you!!! I have sent many friends and family to check out your blog too! Amen to your celebration on Aug 6th. I feel exactly the same way! Thanks again, really. Andrea
We have been crazy busy this summer, so it has gone by in a blink. There is one thing in particular I will not miss when school starts back up and that is the t.v. During the school year my kids rarely watch, but during the summer as soon as chores are done if there is nothing else specific we are doing, on goes the t.v. aarg. It drives me crazy. But its so stinking hot outside if they're not swimming or gone that seems to be the activity of choice. So, so long to summer break and the t.v.! As for the school lunches some of the things my kids like to bring are sugar snap peas, raw nuts (almonds,walnuts,and sunflower seeds) cut up red, yellow and orange bell peppers, and cabbage kidney beans or cumber slices all with lime and a little salt in a baggie. My youngest daughter likes to take rice crackers and hummus. Some of their friends think it's strange but others want to share my kids healthy treats and leave the less desirable snacks for the trash. My daughter did tell me one day she agreed to trade her tutoring skills for a hostess (were all human). Although I did feel a bit of pride when my middle daughter came home from kindergarten one day and said "Mom we had this greatest thing at school today a "tinkey winkey" , yes my daughter had never encountered a twinkie! Alas,...oh for the days when we got to choose everything our kids ate. Actually, I don't mind if they have those things once in a while at all, just keep them out of my house. As long as the bulk of the things they get are healthy. Also there is nitrate free lunchmeat at Wal-Mart, Frys, Target etc.. I think it's called Hormel?? Naturals, It's in a brown package (paper bag color), .
Thank you Johnsonsix. I have been buying the Hormel Natural when it is on sale and freezing it. I didn't notice that it was nitrite free, it just looked better than the rest! Thank you Shari, I will look for the other brands of lunchmeat as well. Your blog is so inspiring. I changed my childrens eating habits about 6 months ago and noticed a huge change in their behavior. They are less cranky and less hungry. My husband is slowly on board - I just need him to kick the soda.
Thank you!
Impressed..! Well, I really appreciate to you for your thinking about school supplies and back to school.
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