School Time!!!!

School starts again on Wednesday and we have been getting all geared up for school. I know Ariana and I are excited for school to start but Will hasnt said much Im thinking he isnt ready. On another post, another day, I will share with you Ariana's choice new school clothes. So Ariana is going into 1st grade!!! She is going for almost a full day. Before and after school she will be attending the Boys & Girls Club which is unfortunatly being held at her old school so she will be bused there. By the time she arrives she will only be there for 30 minutes after school. So with the preperation of all day school we have been shopping shopping shopping and more shopping, along with planning for school lunches. School lunches are daunting. First we have to figure out what to buy because lunches at our house have always been last minute and freshly made. Now we have to think of several things- she has to have a thermos to keep food either hot or cold- she cant have help opening up anything for lunch, and I dont believe in giving her the same redundant thing every day 5 days a week for 9 months. So over the past week I have been on a hunt for wonderful lunch ideas and thanks to friends on facebook and pinterest I have found some 1st grader approved lunches that I am excited to share with you!!! Too bad I dont have any fun pictures to share so this post can be shared on pinterest, oh well, maybe for another post :) In our school district lunches are really expensive, I think about $2.50 per lunch and the milk is $1.50 or so. Not only are the expensive but the lunches are made off site and is packaged like TV dinners. I have heard they look good but taste gross. So we have decided to make our own lunches. Plus, by the time she stands in line with all the other kids to get hot lunch she has wasted most of her lunch hour. So these are ideas we have come up with, and if your like me, tired of the old and wanting to bring in the new: Main Lunch: sandwiches- peanut butter & Jelly, Peanut butter and banana, Peanut butter and honey, meat and cheese, lunchables (crackers, cheese, sandwich meat) Roll ups- tortilla filled with chicken & cheese, plain cheese, meat and cheese, pepperoni & mozerella cheese Hot items- Cup of Noodle, Spaghetti O's, Mac & Cheese, left overs. I have found out thru friends on facebook that there are hot/cold thermos. I got a kids size thermos for $5 at Walmart. Ariana's lunch box is insulated and has 2 pouches one for hot and one for cold. So she can have an ice pack for cheese or veggies along with something hot. Side items: Kid friendly foods such as chips, your childs favorite crackers like Cheez-Its, Ritz, Saltines, goldfish. String Cheese, Cheese strips, or squares. pudding cups, jello cups, pasta salad, granola bars. Fruits and Veggies: Ariana loves her fruits and veggies. Chocolate covered banana (individually wrapped, put out by Dole), mixed fruit cups, apple sauce, manderin or Cutie oranges, pineapple, Ants on a Log (celery with peanut butter and rasins), rasin boxes, nuts, grape tomatoes, carrot sticks, olives Kid friendly desserts: I think all kids, except for mine, love anything from Little Debbie and Hostess. So instead we got her animal crackers (glazed, frosted, and plain), fruit roll ups, snacks, or Fruit by the Foot. There are also Mini Oreos, Andy Mints, vanilla wafers. Hope this helps with ideas. I got my list from a variety of places like pinterest, friends, facebook, and memories of my childhood box lunches. One more thing I wanted to share. The only thing we had to finish doing to get ready for school is get Ariana's haircut. She has a friend who cut her hair very short in July and her friend donated her hair to Lock of Love. Ariana LOVED that idea and for the past month has been wanting to donate her hair. So yesterday I took her to the salon and she cut 12" of hair and put it in the mail. Someone will be the owner of georgous 6 year old red hair. She loves loves loves her new style and it is simply adorable on her.