Yes, I did in fact make Wyatt a bento for preschool every day this week — this week that also happened to be the first week we were home from the hospital with a new baby. If this doesn’t convince you all that bentos are easy to put together, I don’t know what will!

I tried to put as much of each lunch together the night before as I could and then just finish each one up in the morning, but a couple nights I was so tired that I had to do everything in the morning.

Tuesday I sent a chicken apple gouda sausage, catsup, a half banana, mini-blueberry muffin and frozen peas. Everything but the banana was pulled out of the freezer and defrosted in the box over night. And guess what the only thing he ate in this lunch was? The peas. I couldn’t believe it either.

We were completely out of fresh fruit on Wednesday morning, so I had to pull together stuff from the pantry. I filled baking cup with applesauce (a regular applesauce cup won’t fit in our bento boxes), then added frozen strawberries and some baked tofu.

Thursday I sent some noodles with butter, parmesan and garlic in the Thermos. I also sent some grapes, animal crackers and a little rolled up deli turkey.

The baby slept much, much later than Wyatt and me on Friday, so I had a little extra time to make his lunch and I cuted it up a bit. (I also used the time to play with my boy, eat breakfast with him and give him lots of cuddles and kisses — I have my priorities in order!) I sent blueberries, steamed green beans left over from last night’s dinner, and baked tofu strips. I wedged a couple of strawberries in too to give the box some stability. Then I added a teddy bear and a little man cut from fruit leather for cuteness.

Have a good weekend everyone! We are looking forward to having our big boy home from preschool with us.

Baby August  was born on August 31, 2008 at 2:21 a.m. He was 9 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long.

Yes, we make giganto babies in my family!

Things are going pretty well so far. Augie is a great eater and he caught on much more quickly to nursing than Wyatt did. We’ve all been adjusting to being a family of four. Wyatt is having a little bit of a hard time, but over all he seems pretty happy to be a big brother. I think he would just prefer that Augie didn’t take so much of Mom and Dad’s attention.

Since Tuesday was Wyatt’s first day back at preschool after his time off, so I decided to keep his lunch pretty simple and full of his favorites. There were blueberries, of course, chicken-apple-gouda sausage with catsup for dipping and half of a hamburger bun.

Wednesday, Wyatt really, really wanted me to send broccoli in his thermous so he could run fast and jump high at preschool. He had actually asked for it on Tuesday too, but we were out! Needless to say, when your 3-year-old is begging you to put broccoli in his lunch, you make a trip to the store to get some. The rest of the lunch consisted of: farmer’s market strawberries and raspberries, low-fat salami and saltines. I put the berries and salami together the night before, then added the saltines and heated the broccoli up in the morning. By the way, he only ate about half the broccoli. I still count that as a success.

Thursday I basically sent the same lunch as the one Wyatt took to school on Tuesday. More blueberries (frozen when I put them in the box) with a strawberry for color, chicken-apple-gouda sausage and a hot dog bun.

Friday’s lunch was also a repeat: Strawberries and blueberries, pretzel thins and salami.

No baby yet! But he should be here by the end of next week.

Yessiree Bob! I am super duper pregnant. Tomorrow is my due date, in fact.

I’ve been hecka sick with a head cold for the last three days. Saturday I was so miserable that I barely left my bed all day. I’m definitely feeling better today, but I’m hoping this kid holds off a few days longer before he decides to come so I can make a full recovery. I can’t imagine trying to do labor and delivery all stuffed up and coughing like I have been.  I’m thinking Thursday would be good….

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

A few weeks ago, on the way home from work, I heard this story about hanging laundry out to dry. I thought it was an interesting story over all, but the part that really struck me was the second half of the piece where they discuss how millions of Americans are banned from hanging their laundry out to dry by their homeowners associations because it looks “low class” and it’s “unsightly.”

Unbelievable.

I’ve written about hanging laundry out to dry before but that was before I fell totally and completely in love with it, so I think the time is right for me to write about it again.

I love hanging our laundry out to dry.

I love it.

I find it to be calming and pleasant and almost meditative.

I love being outside in the fresh air and sunshine when I’m doing a chore that should be drudgery.

I love the system I’ve worked out with the best way to hang each type of clothing. Shirts are hung upside down so that there aren’t clothes pin pinches at the shoulders. Socks are hung by the toes so the elastic doesn’t stretch out.

I love giving each damp item a sharp snap to get the wrinkles out before I hang it. And I love that when I pull the clothes off the line they don’t need to be ironed. And don’t forget that fresh, clean smell.

I love that we save money on our electricity bill. That it usually takes less time to dry a load on the line than it does in our dryer. I love that it’s green.

I love the connection it makes me feel to the past. Whenever I hang clothes it makes me think of my grandma doing the same thing 50 or 60 years ago and all the other women who have hung laundry through the years. And though I know they would likely envy my electric dryer — especially in the winters and on rainy days — I kind of think that maybe this was one chore they didn’t mind so much because I don’t mind it so much myself.

And I love how it looks. I love to see the clothes drifting up and down in the breeze. I love how our porch feels like a cozy little room when we hang up big sheets and towels that make “walls” (as Wyatt calls them).  I love hanging like items up all in a row (yeah, I know it’s compulsive — I’m like that) and how it looks neat and orderly. I love seeing my family’s clothes hanging up like little pieces of their personalities. Caring for the clothes they like is one way I show my love for them. And how can I see a robot ninja t-shirt or a fuzzy monkey suit or a geek t-shirt without thinking about the fellas who wear them and how much I love them?

That woman who said that hanging laundry out to dry is “unsightly” must be cold and hard and miserable.

I do still hate the crunchy towels though.

My maternity leave began today.

I suppose if you want to get technical, it officially began on Saturday, the first day after my last day of work. But Saturday felt like a regular Saturday and it took a weekday to make me realize I’m really and truly off work for awhile. When you add in that Wyatt is on his preschool vacation and that Zach is working his booty off trying to rack up contract hours, I got a real taste of what life would be like if I was a full-time stay-at-home mom.

So here’s how it went:

8:00 am: We all got up at the same time which was odd, because usually one of us gets up with Wyatt and the other sleeps a little longer.

8:15 am: Zach fixes Wyatt a bun and some fruit for breakfast, then makes eggs and toast for us while I drink tea, read the comics and do a sudoku.

8:55 am: I read my email and realize that on a normal day, I would be rushing out the door right now to get to work only a little bit late.

9:00 - 10:20 am: Various play and getting ready for the day activities.

10:20 - 10:30 am: Drive to the park for playgroup. Wyatt shouts at me the whole time, telling me that I’m going the wrong way and that he won’t get to play with Little Rachel because I’m going to get us lost and everyone will go home before we even get there. I’ve got the GPS and I’m pretty confident that I’m going to the right place, but the three-year-old in the back seat actually manages to shake my confidence in my typically great sense of direction. I also try to ignore him repeatedly telling me, “I am right and you are wrong.” but I fail and start to argue with him. Sigh.

10:30 am: When we arrive at the playground, we are the first ones there. Wyatt says “I told you we are at the wrong park!” several times but is soon distracted by the slide.  Soon afterward, the other parents start arriving and I am vindicated.  I chat with the other parents about sleep, leaving the house with a newborn, sleep, weight loss and more sleep while the kids play. I feel my focus shifting from my stressful web development job to parenting and greatly enjoy it.

12:30 pm: Leave the park and head to Costco. On Zach’s advice, I buy Wyatt a slice of pizza and a lemonade when we first arrive and he happily sits in the cart eating his lunch and trying various samples as we do our shopping. I buy an insane amount of stuff in preparation for the impending arrival of a newborn, including diapers and wipes for the new baby. One more thing to cross off my pre-baby to-do list.

2:00 pm: Back at home, Zach laughs out loud at the amount of stuff I bought, but I assure him that you really need a 60-pack of taquitos when you have a tiny baby in the house (easy to eat one-handed and we can send them in Wyatt’s lunch).

2:30 pm: Zach and Wyatt build a blanket fort while I sit on the couch with my feet up and give advice on how best to ensure the structural integrity of their house.

3:00 - 4:00 pm: Wyatt and I participate in various relaxational activities while Zach does more programming.

4:00 pm: Wyatt and I decide we want to have a nap and lay down on the bed with a pile of books to read. Despite several attempts by Wyatt to steal my pillow (”Mama! You have to share!”), I manage to hang on to it, but neither of us fall asleep. Still, we enjoy reading about Frances and her adventures.

5:00 pm: Wyatt and I make banana bread, then do puzzles and have a blueberry snack at the kitchen table.

6:00 pm: I clean off the top of my dresser, my nesting activity of the day. Because you really need to have a clean dresser when you have a new baby in the house.

6:30 - 8:00 pm: Zach and Wyatt go to the gym. I finish cleaning off my dresser, start this blog post and make dinner.

8:00 pm: We all eat dinner. Wyatt is super good at the table, but we’re running late for bed time.

8:30 - 9:30 pm: Clean the kitchen and start the dishwasher. Bath, jammies, tooth brushing, “hot tea” and stories.

10:00 pm: Wyatt is finally asleep. Time for Generation Kill and a foot rub from my dearest.

All in all a good day. I think I could use a few more of these before the baby comes, though.

Since Wyatt’s school is on vacation for the next two weeks and I’m not posting about what I’m sending in his lunches, I thought I’d take the time to put together a round-up of the things I send in his bentos. I have to tell you — after making out this list, I was really surprised by all the different things he eats! I’ve also added a few extra things to the list that people have suggested to me or that other kids might eat as well.

Almost everything on here can be eaten cold or at room temperature. I always send his lunch with an ice pack in the box, but other parents swear by frozen juice boxes. I don’t like to send juice boxes myself because I like to dilute Wyatt’s juice with a little water (or just send water), so I send a little Rubbermaid container with a beverage in it.

Carbs/Tummy-fillers

• whole grain crackers
• pretzel sticks
• mini-muffins — Wyatt favors blueberry muffins, but I also send corn muffins or any other kind of muffin really. I try to make them myself so I can make them healthier with whole wheat flour, less sugar, etc.
• goldfish crackers, cheddar bunnies or other snack crackers
• pretzel thins
• mini-rice cakes/crackers
• rice balls
• pasta — I toss with a little butter, garlic salt and parmesan. You can also send warmed pasta in a thermous
• granola bars — I like to make my own but I send store-bought ones too
• banana bread, zucchini bread, etc.
• cereal bars — we get ours at Trader Joe’s but Nutrigrain bars are more widely available
• dried cereal — Cheerios, Puffins, etc.
• mini-bagels — Wyatt likes his plain, but other kids would probably eat cream cheese on theirs
• hot dog buns

Fruits

• apples slices or chunks (dip in pineapple juice to prevent browning)
• berries — strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
• cherries
• grapes
• bananas — I usually only send a half banana
• melon chunks — watermelon or cantaloupe
• raisins, dried cranberries, etc.
• canned peaches (or fresh, of course)
• applesauce
• pineapple chunks
• orange wedges or canned mandarin oranges

Veggies

• frozen peas — these will thaw by lunch time
• frozen corn — these will thaw too
• carrot sticks — I steam or parboil them because my son won’t eat them raw, but I know other kids will
• grape tomatoes — I cut them in half and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar
• steamed green beans
• broccoli spears

Proteins

• chicken or turkey sausage with catsup for dipping
• deli meats — turkey, ham, salami (I like to roll these up)
• beans
• peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• meat or cheese sandwiches
• peanut butter “sandwiches” made with crackers or graham crackers
• taquitos with salsa for dipping (Wyatt likes pineapple salsa from Trader Joe’s)
• baked tofu — a good one to cut into shapes
• quesadillas (I like to cut these into shapes)
• mini-burritos
• hard boiled eggs — my son wouldn’t touch these with a 10 foot pole, but maybe your kid will!

Dairy

• yogurt
• cheese cubes
• cheese slices (cut into shapes)
• cottage cheese — Wyatt won’t eat this but other kids might
• Laughing Cow cheese wedges — open the wrapper if your kid can’t do it herself
• string cheese — again, open the wrapper — or start it — if your kid can’t
• Babybel cheeses — I like to cut a shape out of the wax

How to “cute things up”:

• Cut things into shapes! Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches, cheese, tofu, etc. into various kid-friendly shapes. I use animal, star, heart, gingerbread man and circle cutters. You probably have a few cookie cutters in your cabinets already, or you can buy some fun new ones. Also, remember that you don’t need a cutter to cut shapes. Use a regular knife to cut sandwiches into strips or triangles. Cut cheese and tofu into matchsticks or cubes.
• Use mini-versions of regular foods (or cut them smaller). Mini muffins, bagels, and crackers seem to go over better with preschoolers than regular size.
• Add sprinkles to chopped fruit.
• Add cute bento dividers to lunches.
• Use lots of color. I try to have at least three different colors in each lunch I send. It’s appealing to the eye, but it also is a good way to ensure that your child is getting lots of fruits and veggies.

Did I leave something off this list? What do you send in your kid’s lunch?

Monday night, I finally made some home made blueberry muffins. I subbed in whole wheat flour for a quarter of the flour called for in the recipe and they came out sooooooo good. So of course Wyatt got a mini-muffin in his lunch on Tuesday. I also sent a rice ball, turkey roll-ups and a bunch of grapes.

Wednesday I sent crackers (hidden under the salami), salami, strawberries and another muffin.

Thursday’s lunch was super fruity. I sent some fresh peach chunks, a bunch of strawberries and a strawberry jam sandwich cut into a little man shape. I was going to send PB&J, but when I pulled out the peanut butter jar, Wyatt announced that he doesn’t eat peanut butter any more. Great.

I’m probably not going to be posting any bento photos for the next couple of weeks because Wyatt won’t be going to preschool, but I do have a couple of bento related posts I’m hoping to pull together during that time that illustrate some answers to questions I get asked a lot. Stay tuned!

1. I’ve been feeling the need to stock-pile frozen dinners so we can easily fix food when the baby is born.
2. Since our regular freezer is pretty full already, I decided we needed our deep freeze back so we have a place to put the dinners I’m going to make.
3. Erin and Bryan helped us move our deep freeze from their house to ours yesterday. We decided to put it in the storage room downstairs.
4. To get the freezer into the storage room, we had to move a shelf with a bunch of boxes of stored crap on it.
5. Once I saw all the boxes of stored crap, my nesting instinct kicked in and I wanted to get rid of it all.
6. I made Zach carry a bunch of the boxes upstairs so I could go through it and post stuff to Freecycle.
7. One of the boxes was labeled “Quilting Fabric”. I figured it would be funky stuff that I’d never use because it wasn’t packed in with my regular fabric stash. But to my surprise, it was all awesome-ness manifested in cloth from top to bottom.
8. Seeing all that awesome-ness made me want to make something right away and I decided that cloth napkins were the way to go.

Because if there’s one thing that will make life easier once a newborn is in the house, it’s cloth napkins.

Anywhoo, this is how I made them:

Step 1: Cut four 16 1/2 inch squares from each of two coordinating fabrics.

Step 2: Line up two squares of fabric, right sides together.

Step 3: Sew the two pieces of fabric together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. This particular picture was a bad choice because one of my squares wasn’t exactly square and so I couldn’t match the edges up precisely. (You will probably be more careful than I was though and your edges will all match up.) No matter, I just sewed a 1/4 inch from the inner edge of the smaller piece and it all worked out OK.

Important! Don’t sew the seams all around the edges.  You will need to leave a 2-3 inch gap on one side so that you can turn the napkins right side out.

Step 4: OK, now turn the napkins right side out by pulling them through the gap you left. Try to make the corners as sharp and pointy as you can. I clipped a little of the excess fabric of the corners of mine and that helped.

Step 5: Once you have a nice square of pretty fabric turned right side out, iron the seams flat. You will also want to turn under the edges of the fabric at the gap and iron it as flat as you can with a nice sharp crease.

Step 6: Sew a neat hem about 1/8 inch from the seam. Be especially careful as you go over the gap. If you stay 1/8 inch from the edge, that will close the hole up and your napkin will look real pretty there.

Step 7: Sit back and admire your lovely new napkins. Attractive, environmentally friendly and perfect for use when there is a new baby in the house!