lunchy, lunchy, lunchy

so, my name is heather and i have a confession. i am one of *those* moms. you know, one who makes cute lunches.

i know, i know. but i promise, i am not packing my kiddos' lunches AT you. i promise. it's just that i enjoy making healthy treats that my kids will eat- and i discovered that the cuter i make their lunches the more they'll eat. really. if i stick a cherry tomato on a stick, my tomato-phobe will ask for two the next day.

also, i love halloween. it's my favorite holiday ever. i mean, i love it more than christmas. more than arbor day. i celebrate from the first day of autumn until the first day of november. one way i celebrate is with the kiddos' lunchboxes. 

i can't resist. i dork out EVERY YEAR when the stores start filling up with halloween decorations. usually, it's right after school starts. because i am about as big a dork about school supplies as i am about halloween, i stay pretty excited from late july through november. it might be why autumn is my favorite season.

there is so much cute going on in these photos. the roll up thingies on the far left are homemade pizza rolls. i'm lazy, so i use the premade crescent rolls (immaculate baking co makes an all natural version, and i think trader joes does as well). unroll them in a sheet and cut into strips. then i put a spinach leaf and a pepperoni slice on the dough, then roll up. i don't put cheese or sauce inside, as i've found they make the roll ups soggy. i send in some sauce for dipping. kids love to dip.

kids love food on sticks. this mom loves cute. put those together, you get food on cute sticks. i made these (i graduated nursing school and have too much time on my hands now- must. find. job). aren't they cute? gosh, i need to come up with a better adjective. whatever- these are bamboo skewers with monster stickers on the top. i can't remember where i found these stickers- maybe at target? who knows. 

 

yes, those are little cauldrons of grapes. and yes, the dressing containers have googly eyes. because i want to. because i'm huge halloween geek. because sometimes i like to embarrass my 7th grader.

i am fortunate enough that my kids think salads are a perfectly acceptable meal choice. and see the cherry tomato? remember what i said about my tomato-phobe? yup, that afternoon, my 6 year old asked if i would put TWO in his lunch the next day. 

so. it works. i'm having fun. i am dodging some side eyes from other moms, but that's okay. my rule of thumb is that as long as your kid is fed and happy, then you are doing just fine. there are plenty of times the kids are instructed to make a pb&j and grab a water bottle for lunch- i just don't take photos of it. maybe i should do that once or twice. here guys, this is the time i packed lunchables! just kidding. i don't take photos of that, either. ;)