What's in your lunchbox?

This is the first year my kids are taking pack lunches to school. In the past I had been pretty impressed with the variety of lunch choices including some incredible salads a couple times a week that Collin couldn't get enough of. I think as Arizona's budget sank, so did it's school hot lunch quality. It could just be me but it seemed the salads were all but gone and there were more and more processed and re-heat items than what I typically refer to as "real food". Another problem we had was timing, by the time the kids got their lunch and sat down the monitor was already calling for the "2 minute warning" for them to leave. Who can eat in 2 minutes?! So, now we pack a lunch each day and it seems to be a success so far. I'm actually kind of excited to take on this new challenge for their lunches; I remember the joy of finding a little something sweet in a lunch box from my mom and wanted to do the same for my kids.

My first take on this is the cupcake. Cupcakes however present one big problem...frosting. Being a HUGE fan of frosting, it's rarely considered a problem in my world, but when it comes to packing it in a lunch box there's the challenge of not losing all the gooey stuff to the container.
For simplicity's sake I started with a box carrot cake mix. I'd like to tell you that substituted applesauce for the oil (but I was out) and that I grated up some real carrot to boost the nutrition. I can't tell you that, well I could but I'd be lying; instead I can promise that I'll be doing that NEXT time! I also decided that instead of making the standard sized cupcakes, that I'd go for the mini muffin size, they seemed to be a little easier to pack.

Then something magical happened and I felt pretty darn clever when I decided to put the frosting on the inside of the cupcake. It worked like a charm and was only made better when i then decided to freeze the cupcakes, so then they help keep things cool but are completely thawed by lunchtime.

Just watch that filling, too much of a good thing can become messy. Other than that, all I have to say is "yeah me", something yummy and clever for the kids to find at lunch!

First Day of School 2010

Can it really be back to school time again?! This was such an unusual summer for the Gardner family that it seems to be a bit of blur: but the proof stands there before me in all it's new school clothes glory that the first day of school is indeed upon us!

Bailey will be taking on the challenges of 7th grade, no change of schools this year since it's a K - 8 school, but the year is sure to bring on many more new experiences. Collin starts 3rd grade and was very happy to find some of his best friends are in his class this year, including the girl whose held his heart for the last year of so, Miss Morgan.

So, in addition to new classes, our family also decided to skip the school lunch program this year and go for a pack lunch approach, which should definitely keep mom on her toes and will certainly challenge Bailey to eat more of a variety!

Speaking of Bailey, look at how much my little girl has grown up! I can't believe she's starting 7th grade. I completely remember 7th grade (go Irving Bears)!I could practically shed tears over my baby starting 3rd grade. We had a tough time shopping this year, he's at that "in between" size but he decided the Shaun White gear was cool enough for the 1st day.

So they're on their way for the first day, I'll be excited to hear how the day went and about all the new changes in their routine. See you in a couple hours kiddos, mom loves you!

First Day of School 2010