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.

It's Back to School Again!

After a week off for Thanksgiving, the girls are back to school tomorrow. So, it's back to lunch packing for me. And what am I going to put in their lunch boxes? What else? Turkey!

I made turkey salad with turkey, feta, walnuts, and mayo, and added shredded carrots for color and texture. The salad is on Flat Out wraps. They both have caramel corn and half a small orange. Bayberry has a couple of small tomatoes and some apple crisp with whipped cream.  Fancy has crustless pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Both girls are taking raspberry lemonade to drink.

Saturday is Bayberry's Birthday

My firstborn child turns twelve on Saturday. We're having a slumber party tomorrow night.

Since her birthday falls on a weekend, I'm sending her birthday lunch a day early. Here it is, followed by Fancy's lunch:

Can you read it? The main compartment has round peanut butter sandwiches, topped with Nutella and marshmallows. The marshmallows spell out the word HAPPY. I wrote on the mini bananas with food coloring pens. And there's an oatmeal cookie. She also has yogurt, and is taking juice to drink.

Fancy has bread rounds topped with peanut butter and marshmallows spelling out I (heart) U. I also wrote on her banana. She has a pumpkin pecan bar cut in half. She's taking a yogurt and juice to drink.

I feel a little guilty when...

...my kids' lunches aren't something spectacular to share with you. A lot of the time, they're just ordinary. I would like to be more creative. I think I'm going to set a goal for myself to make artsy lunches at least twice a week. For now, here's Fancy's not-so-fancy lunch:

Peabut butter & Nutella, grapes, popcorn, and pudding, with milk money tucked away in her box.

PS If you care to, please check out my new, personal blog. I've only posted there twice so far but it will be my off-topic, ranting, raving, sharing, fun blog. I'll share some of my photography, too. I'm trying to improve it. :)