Week in Bentos - 12/16 - 12/20

I realize this is way far behind. What can I say? It's the holidays! For it being the week before Christmas these bentos ended up being a little lack luster, but the week flew by so fast, and there was so much going on, I wanted to say, "are you sure it's not Christmas break yet?!" Anywho...

Monday - Homemade whole wheat pancakes with chocolate chip eyes & mouth, carrot nose, cheese scarf and pomegranate buttons, served with syrup. Cheese stick bites, hard boiled egg bear with little Holly leaf and berry, and apple strawberry applesauce pouch.

Tuesday- Tomato star soup, carrots w/ ranch, apple slices, cheese and crackers with a little snowflake from edible paper, and snowflake jello. 

Wednesday - Soy nut butter and jelly sandwich Christmas tree with cheese star and ornaments, and pomagranate seeds, carrots w/ ranch, Christmas ornament jello, and apple slices. 

Thursday - Brown rice star and heart molds, with soy sauce in a little flying pig container from Japan (so cute), carrots w/ ranch, snowflake jello, cheese stick bites, and applesauce pouch.

Friday before school got out - I meant for this to be amazing, but it turned out more like, "yeah I'm ready for break" - Orange slices, cheese sandwich sticks, carrots w/ ranch, and raspberry tart with holiday sprinkles :) 

We still have all of next week off too, and I'm loving all the family time!!

Quick Tip - Christmas Skirt

I can never find a Christmas Skirt for our new bigger tree that I just love, and there is no way I'm going to pay $20.00 for a tree skirt! That, my friends, is a box of diapers in this house! So I went to our local thrift store and found this round plaid table cloth for obviously a round table of which we don't own. And just to be clear it really is cloth, not plastic, it's so soft, and I actually trust it more as a tree skirt than a table cloth that my sweet darling children would inevitably spill stuff all over. This table cloth cost me $1.99. I cut a slit half way down the middle, and wrapped it around our tree. Voila! 

Merry Christmas! 

Teacher Gift - Christmas 2013

My daughter's first year of school and what better way to spread holiday cheer and to say thank you for being such great teachers then to give her teacher and the other kindergarten teacher she sees all the time a little pampering Christmas gift. I didn't come up with this idea on my own, but my version of it. 

This is a "For your mistletoes" gift. And we included these plush aloe infused socks, lotion and a beautiful red nail polish. 

For packaging I used white paper sacks, some pretty ribbon, and white paper filler.

And downloaded a free Mistletoes printable, from here... 

http://www.dresdencarrie.com/2012/12/for-your-mistletoes-free-printable.html

I also added some ink edging around the edges, you may notice in the final product.

This is how I fit it all in the bag...

I folded the bag over and punched two holes, strung the ribbon through, finished with a bow, and then slid the tag up onto the ribbon, it's thick enough ribbon the tag won't slide off. 

And there you have it. A cute little Christmas gift you could give to any woman that deserves aloe infused socks! :) 

New Christmas tradition, the Christmas Eve box!

I'm doing a quick post before the kids see these pictures on my iPad and then the jig is up! This is a new tradition I'm starting where we, as a family, will open up this box and then let the Christmas Eve relaxation commence. This isn't a new thing, obviously. I'm not the one who had this brilliant idea, but this is my version. We have hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, candy canes, three Christmas themed books, and new Christmas DVD, and new Christmas socks for the kids. I was going to get them new pajamas like I have seen in other boxes but they already have quite a few, so many that my daughter has already picked out the pair she is wearing on Christmas Eve. So here ya have it... 

Week in Bentos - 12/2 - 12/6

This weeks lunches were a little lack luster due to the fact that this week ended up being insane. But today's lunch (Friday) I finally got my groove back and provided my daughter with something fun! 

Monday - A plain bagel with strawberry yogurt spread, cheese stick, carrots w/ ranch, and applesauce pouch, in our new vintage Alice in Wonderland bento box from Japan.

Tuesday - Chicken and cheese wrap roll ups on a whole wheat tortilla, carrots w/ ranch, veggie straws, Mott's fruit and veggies fruit snacks. 

Wednesday - Soy nut butter, banana and chocolate chip roll up on whole wheat tortilla, cheese stick, jello, and carrots w/ ranch. The cute little item on the left is a spoon in it's own cover, also from Japan! 

Thursday - Kya loved dinner on Wednesday night so much she wanted it for lunch the next day. Alfredo Tri color pasta, Red Lobster cheese biscuit, apple slices, carrots w/ ranch, and jello.

Friday - Soy nut butter and jelly snowman sandwich, turkey pepperoni and Mozz cheese kabobs, jello with holiday sprinkles, veggie straws, and an applesauce pouch. 

Have a great week! See you next Friday! 

Week in Bentos - 11/18 - 11/22

I realized I am way behind on posting these bentos when I started planning bentos for next week after a whole week's vacation! So thankful for so many things but also that my daughter got a whole week off of school! The week before, she was so sick she only went to school for two days, and the only cute lunch is as follows: 

Teddy bear shaped soy nut butter and jelly sandwich, teddy grahams, jello, carrots w/ ranch, and apple slices. Ironically my daughter lost her second tooth eating this sandwich! 

On to the week...

Monday - Flower shaped cheese Sammies, carrots w/ ranch, Cinnabon cereal, and an apple, banana, and tangerine kabob. She scarfed this lunch! 

Tuesday - Mozz cheese stick and turkey pepperoni kabobs, ritz crackers, apple slices with soy nut butter and chocolate chips for dipping, and Mott's fruit and veggie fruit snacks.

Wednesday - Breakfast for lunch! Homemade mini wheat pancakes with syrup for dipping, banana slices, applesauce pouch and hard boiled egg.

Thursday - Squanto lunch! Corn cakes with soy but butter, with fruit leather accents, candy eyes, and Mozz cheese stick "feathers", carrots w/ ranch, leaf shaped apple slices, Tri color pasta noodles, and 3 candy corn. 

Friday - Last day of school before vacation! 

Cheese turkey sandwich with apple slices and tangerine slice feathers, Mott's fruit & veggie fruit snacks, popcorn w/ candy corn, carrots w/ ranch and a hard boiled egg pilgrim. P

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!! 

Week in Bentos - 11/4 - 11/8

In this week's bentos....

Monday - Tri colored cous cous, cantaloupe, homemade pumpkin mini muffin, carrots and Hello Kitty fruit snacks.

Tuesday - My little princess stayed home from school with a fever and all sorts of miserableness. 

Wednesday - Turkey pepperoni and cheddar cheese kabobs laying on ritz crackers, pumpkin mini muffin, pumpkin marshmallow, carrots and ranch, and bananas & cantaloupe. 

Thursday - Shells and cheese, carrots w/ ranch, cantaloupe, bananas, mini muffin. 

Friday - Pepperoni pizza quesadilla, carrots, apple slices, mini muffin, Hello Kitty fruit snacks, and ranch to dip carrots and quesadilla in.

This weeks lunches don't seem all that grand, especially compared to the fun Halloween lunches I got to make last week, but we were all feeling a little icky this week, but everyone is getting back to normal in The Sunshine Home. See you next Friday! 

Week in Bentos - HALLOWEEN

This is my first year of Halloween Bentos, and it was so much fun! I apologize to my Facebook friends who have already seen all of these! ;) 

Monday - Soy nut butter, banana, and choclate chip roll on a whole wheat tortilla, jack o lantern candy (vines drawn with edible marker), Jack o lantern orange jello, turkey pepperoni and cheddar chees kabobs, and applesauce pouch. 

Tuesday - Soy nut butter and jelly ghost sandwich, surrounded my Pirate Booty, ghost banana with choclate chip eyes and mouth, carrots, and spider jello. 

Wednesday - Jack o lantern cheese sandwich, carrots, pretzels, grape witch, skull jello, turkey pepperoni and cheese kabobs, and pumpkin candy. 

Thursday - HAPPY HALLOWEEN - Pepperoni and cheese mummy sandwich, carrots, Pirate booty and candy pumpkin, jello bat, and apple pear pouch. 

My daughter totally lucked out and she didn't have school on Friday! I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween with their little ones! I know I did! See you next week!

P.S. - I have this amazing cousin who is currently living in Japan, and sending us all this super awesome bento stuff! Thank you again, Melanie!! 

Week in Bentos - Oct 21st - 25th

This week was a real scrounging around type of week for lunches, because we are in desperate need of a shopping trip to resupply all the lunch goodies. So I like to call this week, "Fly by the seat of your pants week". 

Monday - Left over cheese pizza, cheddar cheese and turkey pepperoni kabobs, carrots, raspberry tart, pear applesauce, and ranch to dip both the pizza and carrots in.

Tuesday - My daughter had a pumpkin patch field trip and was allowed to bring little brother along. In these bentos we have pumpkin shaped cheese sandwiches, mixed berry yougurt with Halloween sprinkles, pretzels, carrots w/ ranch, applesauce pouches, and green olives for brother, raspberry tart for sister. 

Wednesday - Spooky ghost cheese quesadilla, corn, pumpkin shaped apple slices, and a watermelon fruit roll that my daughter begged me for. ;) 

Thursday - Cheddar cheese and turkey pepperoni kabobs, apples with soy nut butter and choclate chips for dipping, carrots w/ ranch, and a grape pumpkin shaped jello jiggler. 

Friday - Hawaiian roll with cheese, grape spider jello, apples, carrots w/ ranch. 

Super exited for next week where every lunch will be Halloween themed. See you next Thursday, (because there is no school Friday! ) 

CRAFT - Luminous Halloween Jars

I love to decorate for any holiday with light. I made these light jars to brighten up my windows on All Hallows Eve. They look amazing from outside, and for now I have them on a shelf in my house. 

To begin: Supplies - 

- Various clean glass jars. (Pickle, Spaghetti, Ect.)

- Various colors acrylic paint. 

- Brushes, and sponge brushes

- Cut outs on black card stock, or construction paper for best lighting effect. 

- Mod Podge 

Step One - Clean jar. After washing with soap and water, I soaked mine for about 10 minutes in very hot water in my sink, and the label and glue came right off. 

Step Two - Paint the inside of your jar. Let dry about 10 minutes and add a second coat. Be careful because the paint can come off on the slippery glass surface. I got lucky as some of my jars only needed one coat of paint. 

Step Three - Lightly coat your black cut out with Mod Podge on the side that will be pasted face down onto the outside of the jar. Then adhere it to the jar, like so...  

              

Step Four - Coat your entire cut out in Mod Podge. Let dry for a good 15 to 20 minutes. The Mod Podge will leave a white film, but once it dries completely it will be clear, and will never come off.  

Now Enjoy!

I got many of my cut outs from the Dollar Tree in the Halloween section, and they come in a pack of birds, owls, rats, or spiders, so if those look familiar that's why. The pumpkin and the Frankenstein, however, I cut out of black card stock, and pieced together myself, so the possibilities are endless. You can use white lights, candles, or electric tea lights in these. They are as cute during the day without light as they are lit up! I'm thinking of doing a Christmas version of these this year as well. Happy Crafting! 

This week's Bentos - Oct 14th-18th, 2013

Here are this week's bentos, and I apologize for the picture quality. I take these photos on my iPad to save time. 

Monday - A light lunch because Lil Woman wasn't feeling well and ended up staying home sick anyway. In this lunch, crackers and cheese cut out in leaf and pumpkin shapes, watermelon jello, homemade energy bites, and carrots with ranch. 

Tuesday - First real Halloween themed lunch without too much effort*. Apples with toasted soy butter (this replaces peanut butter for my nut allergy girl), and mini chocolate chips. Totally stole this idea from my friend, Amanda, over at Despicable Bentos (http://despicablebentos.blogspot.com). Chicken and cheese roll ups on whole wheat tortillas, veggie straws, and homemade energy bites. 

*To add the Halloween touch, this is simply a cupcake package I got at Walmart for 97 cents, that came with cupcake toppers and wrappers. The toppers are holding the roll ups together and the apples and energy bites are in the cupcake wrappers themselves. 

Wednesday - Left over fried rice with tofu, cheese stick, mandarin oranges, pretzels, and one energy bite. 

Thursday - Soy butter and jelly mini sandwiches, cut out with tiny flower cookie cutter, mini turkey pepperoni and cheese stick, carrots with ranch, apple berry sauce in pouch, and an Oreo cookie with Halloween sprinkles on top. 

Friday - TGIF! Mini Nachos, (small tortilla chips with melted cheese), with sour cream for dipping, apple slices, carrots, and two energy bites. 

Hope everyone had a great week. See you next Friday for more bentos! :) 

P.S. - Here is my bento drawer finally organized!