Loads of Lunches - What the girls ate for lunch...

I am 2 weeks behind I think, but don't worry - I have been taking the pictures, I just haven't been good about posting the pictures.  So, rather than try to go back day by day, I am just going to post them all here and describe the contents. 

First up - This was Monday, October 19 - cinnamon roll (made from pre-made cresent roll dough), for Tara - yellow bell pepper strips, blueberries, and strawberry yogurt; for Savannah - baby carrots, strawberries and vanilla yogurt.

Tuesday, October 20 - honey baked hams slices, wheat thins, baby carrots and broccoli, strawberries (with some blueberries for Tara) and mini pretzels dipped in strawberry yogurt coating.

Friday, October 23 - half a mini pita, orange bell pepper strips, apple slices, vanilla yogurt for Savannah and strawberry yogurt for Tara.  Oh, notice the yogurt containers - I posted before about wanting a reusable mini container for snacks and such.  Well, I found the perfect solition at One Step Ahead.  They are 2oz containers with twist on lids - meant for homemade babyfood, but perfect for snacks on the go or yogurt and such!  Yay, me!!!













Monday, October 26 - bow tie pasta with stroganoff sauce and sour cream, foccicia toasts, for Tara - blueberries and yellow bell pepper strips, for Savannah - raisins and orange bell pepper strips.

Tuesday, October 27 - "Fairy bread" - mini bagels with butter spread and sprinkles, apple chunks, pepperonis and mozzerella chunks and red bell pepper strips.

Thursday, October 29 - boiled egg, apple slices, red bell pepper strips and pretzel goldfish.

Friday, October 30 - spaghettie with sauce and cheese sprinkles, banana and mini pretzels with strawberry yogurt coating.

I am learning this year that I can no longer just pack whatever I want and know that it will be eaten.  Savannah eats much better nowdays when she helps choose what will be in her lunch. So, we are more interactive this year, but that can only be a good thing!

Catch up post - AKA - more shameless showing off of the kiddos...

What better way to catch you up on everything going on with me than to say it with pictures...

First up is my little cowgirl...yes, I realize that is a dog she is on and not a horse, but hey, we improvise around here...

YEEHAW!!!!

The 16th was my 37th birthday and the girls (and Dan) made cupcakes for me...heck, who am I kidding...for them...

ALL DONE - YUMMY!

Just silly girls...

Our first every Halloween Pumpkin - the girls picked a kitty cat design...

Last Saturday night, I took the girls to Zoo Boo - an annyal thing at the Memphis Zoo that Savannah has been begging to go since about this time last year.  So, we went.  Cost was $37 for me and the girls; we had to park way out in the middle of BFE, there were hardly any exhibits open - all the animals were asleep.  It was so crowded and cold...  But the girls had an absolute blast.  I guess that makes it all worthwhile.  My mom made thier costumes - they turned out so cute!

My pink cowgirl princess...

My Little Pony...  (Savannah was really not having the pictures for some reason...)

Her swishy pony tail...

Why is this little guy important?  Tara loves to play with Play Doh.  This little elephant is the first thing that Tara has ever made that actually looks like what it is supposed to be... 

Just cuz she is cute...

This last picture is special becuause it is Savannah showing off her pearl whites...including a very, very loose one that is about to fall out.  Seriously, any day now my first baby will be minus 1 baby tooth.  I don't know who is more excited - me or her!  I am a little sad too...from now on out, all her firsts will be about bras, periods and boys...  I don't think I will ever be ready for all that - thankfully, I have a few years to psych myself up!!!

All done!  Ha!  Suddenly the crazy day I had a work seems faded away...  I love my girls...but you knew that already...

Does a video clip count as a post?

I know, I know, where have I been?  Life has been so completely crazy lately that when I finally get the girls to sleep at night, clean up the evening dishes, make lunches for tomorrow, get myself something to eat, pick up the living room, fold any clothes that are in the dryer, feed the dogs and get the girls' school bags ready for tomorrow, I am just too zonked to do anything other than collapse on "my" chaise and catch up on what I have TIVO'ed.  I am sure that you agree that finding out who is being booted from Dancing With The Stars or America's Next Top Model or Top Chef or Project Runway is more important that what my girls ate for lunch or anything else in my life...

But, I am going to try to do better, I promise, so don't give up hope!!!

In the meantime, here is a clip of my youngest showing why just looking at her sweet little face makes me smile...

What the girls ate for lunch #'s 8 & 9 - w/e 10/9 & 10/16

Another 2 week post because the week before last was fall break so there were only 2 days of lunches that week. This past week was a regular lunch week for us though. 

Monday - Grilled chicken strips, cheddar cheese cubes, red bell pepper, brocolli, strawberries (and some blueberries for Tara), wheat thibs and 2 strawberry-dipped pretzels.

Tuesday - For Savannah - half a mini bagel with butter and sprinkles, celery sticks, strawberries and vanilla yogurt; For Tara - half a mini bagel with strawberry butter and sprinkles, blueberries, celery sticks and strawberry yogurt.  Savannah came home and announced she did not like the celery sticks.  Everything else was a hit, so pretty good overall.

Monday - ham roll-ups, smiley potatoes (mustard for Savnannah, ketchup for Tara), pretzel goldfish, blueberries for Tara, apple chunks for Savannah.

Tuesday - half a mini-bagel with cream cheese and sprinkles, baby carrots with ranch dressing, ham and turkey slices and applesauce.

Thursday - ham slices, baby carrots with ranch, wheat thins, blueberries for Tara, strawberries for Savannah and an organic fruit strip.

Friday  - Pig-in-a-blanket, red bell pepper strips, string cheese and an applesauce. (Today was a lazy lunch - I could not get motivated for some reason - the PIB's were leftover from the night before and I went from there...)

Cause sometimes they just do cute stuff...

Okay, the only point of this post is to share something my littlest diva has taken to doing... 

As part of our bedtime routine, I climb into bed with Tara and we have storytime.  Every night she picks a book and I read it to her and we spend some time talking about the pictures, just spending some time together just the two of us.

So, onto the cute thing.

For the past week or so, this is the conversation that takes place right after I finish reading the book of the night.

Tara: "Okay, Mama now I read the book to you!"

Me: "Okay, you read to me."


Tara takes the book and settles herself importantly - she does everything but clear her throat as she gets ready to begin.

Tara:  "Okay, Mama, I read to you.  Now you tell me the words, because I don't know them."


That girl - she cracks me up...

That sucks!!!

Fingers, that is. 

As in the issue that I have been hoping and praying would resolve itself has no - Savannah still sucks her fingers at nearly six years old.  I swear, the child came out of the womb with her fingers in her mouth.  She has sucked the same 2 fingers - her middle and ring finger on her right hand forever!!!  Those fingers are wrinkled and callused and the nails are almost non-existent.

I have always taken the position that the problem would resolve itself - but so far no luck. For about the past year, Savannah has been taking speech therapy for some speech issues that, according to her speech teacher, are exacerbated by her sucking.  So, we have embarked on a campaign to help her quit.  We took the laid back approach, we took the positive reinforcement approach, we did reminders, incentives, you name it with the single exception of negative consequences (which I don't want to do for this issue) - we have tried about everything.

So, about a week ago, we decided on the ultimate incentive.  We told Savannah that when she stops sucking her fingers, she will get a Nintendo DS.  And she wants one - BAD!!!  She is trying so hard!!!  But, it is such an unconscience habit that she does it when she is not thinking about it - including when she is asleep.

So, after talking with Dan and also with Savannah - I ordered a finger guard from One Step Ahead.  It is a plastic piece that fits over 2 fingers to serve as a reminder not to suck.  We are only going to do it at home - her teachers say she is doing really well at school - I guess she stays busier there and is less apt to fall into an unconscience habit.  And the point is to help her kick her habit - not draw more attention to it!!!  So, she will wear it at home including while she sleeps and we will see how it goes.  She is open to it - she sees it (as she should, I think) as a way to help remind her to do something else other than put her fingers in her mouth.

I really hope we are doing the right thing.  She has 2 loose teeth now and I know it is really important to get this licked before her permenant teeth come in.

Are we doing the right thing?  What would you do?

Seriously?!!!

In what world is it ever appropriate to say to your co-worker, "You have a tail..."  Seriously?!?!  And have you never seen a dress that ties in the back?!?

Things I learned as a Mama #3

It is cosmically impossible for 2 little girls to agree on which DVD, snack, book, to have at a time.  You will know when it happens because the skies will part and angels will sing.

What the girls ate for lunch #7 - w/e 10/2

Savannah was sick for most of this week, so the last half of the week there is only 1 lunch each day.  Thankfully, both girls are fine now and so we are off to school tomorrow.  It will be a short week though - Fall Break starts Wednesday! :-)

Monday - Identical lunches except for the fruit.  Mini pepperonies, cheddar cheese cubes, Smore goldfish, and strawberries for Savannah and strawberries and blueberries for Tara.

Tuesday - Cheese quesasdilla cutouts, smoked turkey roll ups, baby carrots with ranch dressing, blueberries for Tara and strawberries for Savannah.

Thursday - teriaki chicken meatballs, rice and veggies, baby carrots and sliced Granny Smith apple.  The teriake chikcen meatballs are from Costco - Yummy!

Friday - teriaki chicken meatballs, animal crackers, red bell pepper strips, and blueberries and strawberries with an organic fruit strip.

Twice as nice...

All the hype over the last few weeks about the flu and the swine flu...errrr, I mean, the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu has everyone around here a little....ummmmm...freaked out.  I am talking handwashing instructions in the bathroom and a symtoms sign at the entrance gate to my job (I wonder if anyone has ever stopped and read that sign and went, you know what?  I do have fever - I better turn around right now and go home!).  And hand sanitizer EVERYWHERE -  work, the girls' school, stores...  And I am vigilant about flu vaccines.  Both girls had thier vaccines about 3 weeks ago and I got the flu mist yesterday (by the way, the flu mist ROCKS!!!  I am never getting a flu shot again...well, except for the H1N1 one.)

So, who would have thought I would get a call from Savannah's school Tuesday afternoon saying that Savannah did not feel well and had a slight temperature.  GREAT!!!!  I should have known it was coming - she had not been eating much and Sunday night and Monday night, she fell asleep on the couch way before bedtime.  Sure enough, I get her home and she has a mild temp, but I give her some Tylenol and leave her with her daddy and head off to ballet class with Tara.

Then, that nightm when I am sounds asleep in my bed, I hear her.  I go to her and she is BURNING UP!  Poor thing!  That starts us off on about 36 hours of doing all we can do to keep her fever down to a managable level.  I made several calls to the pediatrician's office, but, we opted not to take her in - treatment was going to be the same either way - rest, fluids and lots of ibuprophen and tylenol.

So, yesterday seemed to be the turning point - she was still having an occasional mild temp, but nothing major.  Thinking we have made it through this one...Yay!!!

So last night - I am thinking that Tara is acting kind of whiny and clingy. Dum, dum, dum, dum......

Sure, enough, the whininess and clinginess continue this morning - no sleeping in for mama...grrrrrr.....

And, lo and behold (what the heck, does "lo, and behold" mean anyway?), I am getting them rounded up for rest time and notice that both girls feel warm...

Oh, yes...

They BOTH have fever!!!

Shoot me now!!!