So, it's back to school time. And the kids are really excited. But I'm in panic mode...over school lunches. My kids eat peanut butter all the time...in a smoothie, on a sandwich, on a banana. Almost every meal contains peanut butter. So when school rolls around, I struggle to find food to fill the lunch boxes and the bellies (the school has a no nut policy). I'm starting to get a handle on it, but it really does stress me out!
In addition to finding yummy alternatives, I've also been coming up with ways to incorporate a little bit of home into the kids' lunches. Our mother used to put notes on index cards in our lunch boxes; I still have the one she wrote me on my first day of kindergarten. I loved getting those notes. But my kids can't read yet, so a note would be lost on them. Instead, I've decided to put a picture in their lunch boxes. My kids have lunch at school only one day a week, so every Sunday night, I pick pictures of the kids doing something fun over the weekend. I laminate each picture, stick a piece of Velcro on it, and stick it to the Velcro I put in the lunch box. Easy.
It's a fun touch; the kids have something to talk to friends about during lunchtime, and afterwards, they have a durable picture to carry around the house. I'm going to hole punch a corner on each picture and tie all the pictures together with a ribbon...their own little photo albums.
I've even started printing and laminating pictures for my husband and sneaking them into his work bag. A little something to let him know I'm thinking about him.