I’m going to take advantage of Alan being out in the garage late (our mudroom is really coming along!) to do one more blog post. One I’ve been thinking about for awhile but haven’t found the time to write. One about lunch boxes.

When Lex started kindergarten I sent him to school with a great bento box from Laptoplunches.com. Within a few short weeks I learned the lunch process and realized I needed to get him a carrier as well. Once we had the carrier, the lunch box, and the water bottle all was well. He brought it all to school. Brought it all home. Took the front, small container out for his snack each day and returned it to the case afterwards. I used to write little notes for him, or jokes. Sometimes I’d write “Today’s Menu” and list out what was in his lunch box. He loved it and I got several comments from teachers, staff, and other students about how fun it was. All was good.

I assumed things would be the same when Eve started school as well. I got them both new boxes and I got her a carrier. I packed up nice little lunches for them both.

First day of school lunches. Eve requested that I write her little notes like I often wrote for Lex.

I quickly discovered that she does not operate quite the same way he does. She takes whatever cup she wants for snack, which isn’t awful but isn’t ideal. She doesn’t put the containers back. The very first day she chewed on the water bottle top, causing it to leak all through her backpack and causing me to have to get her another bottle top! She has already left her cloth napkin at school twice. Her lunches come home looking like this.

There are pine needles in her lunch box! How does that even happen!?

It’s also difficult coming up with notes to write when she can’t really read much. I need to put more effort into that. I found some funny jokes that I put in their lunches sometimes. When I do, I read Eve’s to her in the morning. It’s not a cute surprise at lunch, but at least she knows what it says and she says she tells the joke to the other kids at her lunch table.

In her defense, she does seem to be trying. She seems to be making more of an effort to get all of the containers back into the lunch box and she says she is taking the snack container out for snack. She hasn’t chewed on her bottle again and we’ll keep working on the napkin thing.

It’s interesting having two kids. You think you have things figured out with the first and then, surprise, the second child is totally different! :) They keep you on your toes, that’s for sure!