Lunch again, after two snow days

Actually, two ice days. We had a winter storm pass through Georgia on Monday that shut down the school system for two days. School was closed not due to snow, but rather due to ice on the roads. I can't believe it, but the state of Georgia has NO sand trucks or plows to deal with poor road conditions!

I know it doesn't snow that often, but it snows often enough to justify preparedness. I think so, anyway.

If "snow" days are tacked on to the back of the school year, we won't get out of school until June now. And we started August 6th.

Anyway, Fancy is bringing lunch today. Bayberry opted to use her own money to buy junky pizza from the cafeteria. She seems to be on a brought-lunch strike lately without coming out and saying it.

Oh, and by the way: Lately, a couple of rude comments have come across my blog, demanding that I post more frequently or else lose followers. I feel the need to respond to such comments (although they have been deleted from the blog, because negativity is not welcome here). This blog is a fun venture for me. It's not a business. It's not a job. I will only blog when I have something to blog about. Over winter vacation, I blogged only once, for my lunch. Obviously, the kids don't need school lunches when they're home. On snow days, again, there will be no postings.

Family will always come first.

I hope that my little blog gives you new ideas about your own lunches for your families, despite not being done 365 days a year. I do hope you'll stay, and read, and play with me. I write for you. But only when I have something to say.

With that said (and thanks for reading it), here's Fancy's lunch:

Top section: fresh pineapple chunks, clementine orange on a bed of baby spinach (yes, she loves spinach, raw and plain, believe it or not!), apple wedges (sprinkled with Fruit Fresh to preserve color).

Bottom section: sweet honey ham, corn bread, American cheese, and baby carrots.

To drink: blueberry, pomegranate & yogurt smoothie.

Lots of Fruit

We love fruit around here. That's a wonderful thing, too, because Miss Fancy Pants is really a fussy little diner. Eating fruit helps ensure she's getting lots of healthy nutrients. I'm glad she loves fruit. She'll eat almost all fruits -- just no blueberries. Yeah, blueberries! I thought those were the most kid-friendly fruits available!

Anyway, this morning, she had a banana with breakfast, and she's taking kiwi, grapes, and starfruit for lunch.

I just bought five fresh pineapples (on sale for a dollar each!) so those will be sure to make an appearance at our meals for the next several days.

Here's Fancy's lunch:

Whole wheat tortilla with cheddar cheese and ham; baby carrots; granola is in the heart-shaped container; kiwi; grapes; starfruit

School's Back in Session!

After a lovely Christmas vacation, school begins again tomorrow. It took me a while to put together the girls' lunches, which goes to show that practice really helps streamline things.

I hope your holiday was pleasant, too, and that your back-to-school goes smoothly!

Here are the girls' lunches for Tuesday:

Crepes with cream cheese and raspberries; kiwi; ham & cheese rolled up together; a mini candy cane left over from Christmas; in the cute little heart-shaped bins: cheerios and chocolate. Juice to drink.

School's Out...But Lunch is IN!

The kids are out of school until January 4th. But we still need to eat lunch.

And being that I'm actively trying to lose weight, eating out isn't really practical! Not to mention that eating out is expensive!

Here's my lunch for today. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite meals.

Oh, and if you're wondering if Weight Watchers works: Yes. It does. Well.

I've lost about 25 pounds since September 19th.

1/2 cup white rice, 1/2 cup refried fat-free black beans, 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a bell pepper sauteed in 2 tsp olive oil, a cup of shredded lettuce, a small tomato, 1/3 cup low-fat shredded cheese, and 2 Tbsp light sour cream. Also, two clementine oranges.

Mom-ables AND Where I've Been

I've been away for a while. I didn't mean for that to happen, but life happens, and I needed some time to adjust. In addition to volunteering full time seven days in a row (way too much!), I was busy Christmas shopping, getting my daughter ready for her winter ball, losing weight, wreath making, and dog getting.

Yes, we came home with a new dog last week. Her name is (now) Sacha. She's a German Shepherd that's about to turn a year old. She was underfed and undertrained but we're working on that. She's amazing!

Christmas is right around the bend, so it was about time we got our decorations up and running. I don't do much. I prefer simpler holidays. But here's our tree and the front yard.

Here's my wreath. It's a rag wreath. I love making them, but they're time-consuming.

Here at Fort Benning, there's an annual Father-Daughter ball. It's a time for little (and big) girls to get dolled up and experience a real Army ball: dining and dancing and toasts and everything. It was such fun getting her ready for this experience!

Also? I've been losing weight. Remember I started Weight Watchers on September 16th. Since then, I've lost over 20 pounds. It really, really works. I'm loving the results. I'm even loving the process. They have a new program called Points Plus and it's phenomenal! I encourage you to check it out if you want to lose some weight!

(It's time to take another picture! I'll keep updating them each month!)

Anyway, here's the real reason you come: lunch box time! Today, it's a Mom-able, my answer to those bad-for-us Lunchables on the supermarket shelves. Simple to assemble and fun to eat, these are becoming my busy day go-to meal for the kids.

Roast beef, mini saltines, American cheese, clementines, cucumbers, and kiwi. She's taking hot cocoa to drink.

Santa Shop Again Today

I'm volunteering at Santa Shop all week at my daughter's school. This is day two. Yesterday I was so busy that I didn't have time to finish my entire lunch. Today, I'm going to just bring nibbles instead of a meal. One of the kids yesterday was overheard telling his buddies that he was going to tell her (whoever "her" may have been!) that he went to Jarred. He was purchasing a necklace for the lucky lady in his life. Kids are awesome. But they watch too much television. :)

Here's Fancy's lunch. Would it just totally mess things up if I changed her nickname again? See, we have nicknames that we actually use for our children. Bayberry is our oldest's real nickname. But Fancy's real nickname is actually Tuna. I wondered about changing it to Tuna here. Yes, we call our daughter Tuna. It's a long story, but a very loving one. :)

Anyway, here's her lunch for today:

Turkey & cheese 1/2 sandwich; mini cupcake; cucumber sticks; mini rice cakes; kiwi; milk.

Weight Watchers Lunch

Weight Watchers just launched its newest plan, Points Plus. If you've been thinking about checking out Weight Watchers, now's the time to do so. Points Plus is the best program I've seen. It rewards folks for choosing whole, natural foods. Processed foods are discouraged and carry heavier points values. That's totally in line with my way of thinking.

I'm helping out with the Santa shop at Fancy's school today. The kids will all shuffle in with their money, and I will help them choose the perfect piece of junk present for Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, or whoever is on their list. I'm going to be there all day, so packing a lunch was necessary.

Fat-free turkey & 2% American cheese on 9 grain light bread with light mayo; mixed nuts; mini rice cakes with natural peanut butter; diet cherry Pepsi; clementine.