lunch love

Something I am really loving right now is packing the boys' lunches so far this year. I'm getting used to their Planet Boxes now and it is getting so fun to see each lunch come together. The first few times I used these (still in summer and also right when school started), I was feeling pretty uninspired and I was wondering how it would all really go this year. After that, Dieter and I got a chance to go to Trader Joe's together and picked out a whole bunch of food for lunches. Ever since then I've been getting into the groove. I've found that I like to fill three of the compartments with fruits and veg, one compartment with meat/cheese, and the little "treat" compartment (in the middle) with dried fruit (and once so far I gave them Teddy Grahams in there). In the "big dipper" (the separate round container) I like to pack their crunchy treat (pretzels, chips, or crackers). In the lunch above they have dried cranberries as the center treat.
I was feeling so proud of this lunch: steak cubes, homemade wheat dinner role, dried apricots, strawberries and blueberries, plum slices, and popped chips on the side. Both boys refused to eat their roles for lunch! They liked them fine at dinner, but not for lunch . . .
This was Dieter's version of lunch that same day. His had homemade chicken nuggets (using this recipe), which were delicious at dinner the night before but which he didn't like cold for lunch. I thought it was such a good idea, but alas, the lunch like at the top is the most popular.

Basically what I am loving about this lunch system is that it makes it so easy to pack a healthy lunch with lots of little cut up fruit and veggie bites. My boys especially love fruit. I like that it doesn't all run together or touch each other. I love not having to hunt around for a lot of little containers. LOVE that. In the afternoon we eat whatever is left over in the kids' boxes (not much) and then run them through the dishwasher so they will be ready to pack up again in the evening. It is working really well. I kind of think every school child in the land should have one of these. Oh how much healthier the lunches would be, just for the pure ease of it. On the down side these are expensive and really heavy. I do expect my boys to use them all the way through 6th grade, so possibly they are economical in the long run. (Also maybe economical because I'm not tempted to buy a lot of little packaged products for the ease of just throwing them in a bag and being done with it.) I'm already sort of wondering/stressing out on what they will do in junior high and high school. I think it would be impractical for a teen to carry these around from class to class. I never did figure out a trash free lunch for the older kids and Ben still takes a waxed paper bag and a paper lunch sack to school every day.

inspiration board tidy up

I finally got around to freshening up my inspiration board and cleaning up my studio a bit. It had gotten to the point that I didn't want to go in there. What typically happens is I pull out piles of fabric--stacking them to see what goes together--and then never put them away, even though the projects for which I'm selecting fabrics could be months away. After awhile it is so crowded with fabric and the current projects that it is very uninspiring to say the least. So, last week, with the boys in school, I had a chance to clean up and put away. And I also freshened up the inspiration board. Sometimes just doing this kind of puttering in the studio, without actually getting around to any real sewing, can be so refreshing and just what's needed. I was really grateful to have that quiet pocket of time right before I go back to work.
Here are some of the pictures I put on the board. I love those gaucho pants from the anthropologie catalog--would like to make some. And the boys both adore that house shaped pillow. Wouldn't that be a fun project?



And here is a project I have now finally finished--it's my Soulemama inspired table runner. I made the log cabin squares quite awhile ago, then the whole project got stalled. Now I am so happy to have this done and prettying up my table.
Oh, and that little butternut squash? From the garden. They are small but seemed to be done growing, so I harvested them. I hope they taste okay . . . I have a whole bunch of them.
Here is my Flylady notebook, my current book (which I bought in Maine on my trip), and a carob bar. I have discovered that I really like carob. Not as healthy as chocolate, I suspect, but on the other hand, carob is naturally sweet so maybe it has less sugar?? I need to look that up.
Here is my next project--a fall-ish bag.

I've been thinking lately about producing rather than consuming-- how it makes us happier to produce something (a bag, a meal) rather than consuming all the time (zoning out on the internet, shopping). So I'm trying to see if there are ways I can get into my studio just a bit more here and there. It's always been my idea that I can sew a seam or two in stolen moments, but that never seems to happen. Maybe this year . . .

a potty party for Rainer!

Many times I thought I would never see this day, but finally it is time to celebrate because Rainer is all the way potty trained! Hooray! We had a little potty party for Dieter back in the day, so it was only fair to have one for Rainer too. Just a little backyard get together with the family.
Jacob is finally home from college! So happy to see that boy. He took a full load of classes in the summer quarter--that is why we are so late in seeing him.

I made the vegetarian chili again. So good! (And it feeds a crowd).




We also celebrated Gam's birthday. Happy birthday, Gam!
Rainer got a present. He didn't like it at first, and then it started growing on him. He loves trucks, but I think we chose the worst possible one (after much agonizing over which one to choose). Oh well!! (Next time I think I'll just let him choose his truck outright. So much easier).

I am so happy to have such a grown up, potty-trained, pre-school attending, only 10 more months of chemo boy! Congratulations, Rainer! We love you and are so proud of you!

the miracle of weeknight dinner

It feels downright miraculous to get a homemade dinner on the table mid-week during the school year. I'm not even back to work yet and it is already feeling that way! Yesterday I had many errands with Dieter in the afternoon--haircut (his request), doctor's appointment (for his kindergarten physical!) and a much needed Trader Joe's run (to stock up on supplies for the lunches--more on those later). And by the time we got home it was after five o'clock and I thought, 'oh my, I really hate starting dinner this late and without my afternoon routines completed.' I hemmed and hawed for a minute or two then just decided that I simply must drop everything and make the darn dinner, even if I didn't have the dishwasher unloaded or the table cleared or the laundry put away quite yet. And it felt good just to make it and feed the family.
I'm very much into the one-pot concept of dinner. Especially on a weeknight and especially during the school year. This is the zucchini pasta from How to Eat Supper. I like that book and really should make more recipes from it. The only change I made was to stir in a few spoonfuls of homemade pesto from the garden instead of adding fresh basil leaves. I loved it that way. I also felt so pleased with how colorful it turned out with using the orange and red cherry tomatoes. All the vegetables here are from the garden. I love the "homesteady" feeling I get when I can use our own produce.
The only side I served with this was cut up Elephant Heart Plums (also from the yard. Ken does all of the gardening--I think it's awesome that he grows so much food for us). I get less and less caught up in trying to serve side dishes or make a salad every night. I think releasing oneself not to worry too much about sides maybe makes it more likely that one will cook at all. At least that is true for me. So at this time of year it is nice just to cut up fresh produce and leave it at that.

That said, I still only manage to cook for us this way four nights a week. I struggle with this, but I keep coming back to the importance of sanity and family time. We still have nice routines on the other nights--pizza night we all watch a movie together, Subway night we all sit together in the shop. It's actually very bonding and it's amazing how much less work there is when you eliminate cooking, table setting, and especially clean up. I ease my guilt by reminding myself that we all take an healthy packed lunch to work and school every day, so no one is eating out or having unhealthy cafeteria food midday. It actually feels very rhythmic and balanced when I step back and think about it. It works for our family and that is what I love--choosing what is right for our particular situation and letting negative thoughts fall away.

back to school!

Today both little boys started school. Dieter in kindergarten and Rainer in preschool for the first time. Both were so excited! They've been talking about it for days. I, on the other hand, was a bit nervous and reluctant to let them go. This is the time of year that I always struggle with going back to work and not being as available to my little ones as I would like to be. Once I start I am fine, but this last week of vacation always brings up lots of questions for me. (I go back to school/work next week). Fortunately, the little boys were eager to go and had no trouble separating at all. That makes me feel good. And since I'm not back to work quite yet, Ken and I can do drop-off together and I can pick up the kids every day this week earlier than their normal schedule. That will be a nice transition for them, I think.

Since Rainer is starting preschool he had to bring a bunch of bedding for his cot, plus extra clothes and stuff. That is why his bag is so big. I have a similar picture of Dieter with the big bag when he first started daycare. Oh how the years have flown!

I'm home today, filling in my planner and thinking about healthy routines I want to establish for the new school year. One thing I know I want to do is cut back on my internet time. I love the internet and the world of blogs, but what a time suck they can be! So one of my goals is to post a bit less on this blog and hopefully go online less overall and lead more of an "unplugged" life in general. Just a bit less would be good. As with everything, I am striving for balance. So hopefully I'll be posting here 2 or 3 times a week (rather than aiming for daily or several time a week posts).

Happy back to school to you all!

popsicle party!

We had a neighborhood popsicle party at our house yesterday afternoon. I wanted to get some of the families from the neighborhood with young children together--I wanted to meet them, ya know? It's so easy to go through life without really knowing your neighbors. I was really happy that people showed up and seemed to have a good time.
I set out some activities for the children--painting, bubbles, pool.




The most popular activity was pounding into these colored ice blocks that Ken had made ahead. They also had little plastic sea creatures frozen in there, which the children got to find and keep. Oh, and the trampoline was super popular too.
I bought popsicles at the store (which was a really fun treat because we never normally buy them. It was fun to go to the store and just buy a bunch of different kinds) and we put out water and orange slices. A really easy party to accomplish! It was so fun to see the neighborhood children interacting and to get to know some of the grownups. I'd love to do something like this again sometime!

my favorite natural cleaners

I've been meaning to update you on my favorite homemade cleaners because I've been using them so much more lately (since I've been doing Flylady). I love love love making my own cleaners. There is something so "potions and concoctions" about doing it this way. Here are my favorite recipes:

Tub and Tile Cleaner
The important thing about this is not only that it's very effective and fun to use but that it smells FANTASTIC. I like to apply this to the shower, scrub it around a little bit, leave it for awhile, and then, when I'm ready to take my shower, get in there and scrub a bit more and rinse it thoroughly away while showering. The peppermint smell is like an aromatherapy treatment in its own right. (By they way, this is very slippery, so I don't recommend doing what I do, but if you do get in the shower, rinse a portion away before you step on it).

1 2/3 c. baking soda
1/2 c. Dr. Bronner's castille soap (peppermint scented)
1/2 c. water
2 T. vinegar

Mix first 3 ingredients (I use an old plastic container that no longer is used for food). Take it to the area where you are cleaning and then add the vinegar (which will react with the baking soda). Apply and scrub. Rinse.

All-Purpose Spray Cleaner (for everything but windows)
Again, the wonderful thing about this is the smell, which you can change up with every batch if you want to. I started with lavendar, then later I was using peppermint, but now I'm crazy about tea tree oil.

1 t. baking soda
2 t. borax
1/2 t. liquid castille soap
2 c. hot water
several drops of essential oil of your choice, such as lavendar, sweet orange, lemongrass, eucalyptus, rosemary, or tea tree (or whatever you choose).

Combine baking soda, borax, soap, and essential oil in a spray bottle. Pour in the hot water
mixing well to dissolve the minerals, screw on lid tightly and shake well. (I actually mix this in a glass measuring cup then distribute amongst spray bottles as needed).

For windows I just combine water and vinegar in a spray bottle and wipe with a microfiber cloth. Works great.

I use a lot of baking soda these days and it is wonderful to buy the gigantic bag of it from Costco. Mine cost a bit under $6 (but I suspect it might be cheaper in your area? since the cost of living is so high here?). I love having a huge quantity of it so I can mix up the tub and tile cleaner anytime and not have to worry about running out.

Thanks for all your good wishes for Rainer. He did great and did not even cry when he got "accessed" (basically they stick a needle in his chest to access his port/central line). He is such a little trooper! One more month down and only 11 more to go.

off to clinic this morning

We are readying our things for a trip to Santa Barbara this morning for Rainer's monthly chemo. As you can imagine, the clinic visit doesn't thrill him, but we have made these days into fun family outing days in the summer. Today we will all go and we plan to visit some of our beloved Santa Barbara spots: CrushCafe, Alameda park, and even the zoo! I took the boys to the zoo last week too, and they didn't get a chance to play on the anthill, so we will do that today (and take our own cardboard for sliding, and extra to share too). And did I mention that Rainer hit a small milestone in July? He hit the "only one more year of treatment" mark. Next year, on 7/9/11 will be his very last day of chemo. Hooray! So each trip now is the last for that particular month.

Thanks to all who left such awesome lunch suggestions and links! I'm planning on making a list of your suggestions and I already started a new "lunchbox" category in my Google reader with all your lunch blog links. Suggestions that I am liking right now: flatbread, frybread, hummus, healthy bread & butter with meat on the side, meatloaf cubes, meatballs, chunks of healthy sausage, soy nuggets, pasta salad, tortellini tossed with a little pesto or oil. Do scroll through the comments if you are looking for back to school lunch ideas, as I am; they are wonderful.

lunch ideas, please!

Here are some more views of the new lunchboxes I bought for Dieter and Rainer. Rainer will be starting preschool and Dieter will be in kindergarten. (Wow! I have loved these early years with the boys so much, I am a bit hesitant for Dieter to start school! But on the other hand I do know, from having raised the older ones, that everything will turn out okay.)

About the lunchboxes--I bought these because in packing the lunches (last year) I found myself forever casting about for this or that container or lid and packing the lunches very heavy with a million stainless steel or glass containers (because I refuse to use plastic for both ecological and practical/aesthetic reasons). This is still a heavy option, but much more convenient, I think, and I'll never go searching for a particular container again. Each food has its own compartment. Hopefully the whole process will be very simplified. These are Planet Boxes. If you are interested in the system I highly recommend watching the video, which explains it all very clearly.
I also bought the boys new water bottles. I wasn't planning to at all, but when we got the Planet Boxes we discovered that their Klean Kanteens were just too fat to fit in the drink pocket (I'm still a huge fan of Klean Kanteen though). These are Earth Lust bottles. They are gorgeous! (And also nice and skinny, which is what we needed). I ended up getting a sports top for Rainer, which is easier for him to manage.
Here's how they look all packed up.
And here is how the food fits in the container. The square compartment is for the main dish (sandwich), there are two rectangles for fruit and vegetable, and the long skinny compartment at the top is for crackers or whatever. I probably will just pack a second fruit in there a lot of the time because I have noticed that my boys instantly go for the fruit (we've been trying these out in the park lately). The little "dipper" container can hold cream cheese or ranch for dipping.

Now I need your suggestions for lunch main dishes. Last year I packed a ton of PB and J sandwiches but I really want to get away from that because I'm just realizing what a very sugary lunch that is (when I ate one myself this summer). I'm also not a huge fan of buying a lot of sliced lunch meats (although that is what is pictured here. I noticed Rainer just picks off the turkey and eats it, leaving the cheese and bread behind). I just need healthy ideas (and easy)! Thanks so much for any lunch inspiration you have to offer.

little knitted capelet and other scenes from the weekend

I finished this little knitted capelet for Dieter and he loves it. I had intended it to be a longer play cape (a "merman's cape" since the colors are all oceany), but as it turns out I had to bind off early because I hated working with the acrylic yarn so much. This yarn is from when I was first starting out, trying to teach myself to knit, and apparently I did not know better than to buy acrylic yarn. Dieter doesn't mind the short version and I am very happy to be done with this. All remaining acrylic yarns will be donated to the thrift store.

Dieter chose that yellow button and I think it's a nice complement to the blue.

Other scenes from around the house:
These pillow covers got a good soaking and washing.

The mantle.

Playdough play.

We made a little bake shop.

Grains replenished.

Breakfast.

Dieter's treasures, all laid out. He keeps these in a box under his bed and likes to go through them occasionally.

Hope you are all having a happy weekend!