What Real Kids' Lunches are Like

We had lunch with Leah at school yesterday for her birthday celebration which reminded me of when we had lunch with her at the end of January when she presented her chinchilla report (more about that later).

But, I digress.

You know how when you're on pinterest and you see these lunch box ideas for kids and there are pictures of 

• sandwiches that look like cats
• cheese that looks like angry birds
• fruit arranged to look like flowers
• a cucumber cut out like a snowflake
• a birdhouse constructed out of pretzels and a sandwich

I didn't make any of those up!  I searched "lunch box ideas for kids" and those pictures came up!

I've read things, too, where people say things like, "I just pop some gazpacho into a thermos and little Johnny loves having his soup at school."

I think to myself:  who is this Johnny?  Clearly he is not my child.

And I say, if you are the mom making cat sandwiches and gazpacho with a side of sushi and chicken and rice muffins, more power to you!  Seriously!  I'm glad you have the time and creativity for that.  

And, honestly, I'm jealous that your kid eats soup.

But, let's not kid ourselves here.  Every now and then, when I'm feeling fancy, I roll sandwich bread out flat, top it with pb&j, roll it up jellyroll style and slice it into wheels.  

That is as fancy and creative as I get.

I wouldn't say that I've felt bad about the lunches I make the girls, and I feel like they are pretty well balanced.

Sometimes you wonder, though, is everyone fancy but me?

Friends, the answer to that is a resounding NO!

When we were at lunch with Leah, a little girl at our table had Ritz Bits cheese filled crackers, pudding, a mini Milky Way, and some cookies.

She was dipping her candy bar in the pudding.

I thought it was kind of funny and didn't judge the mom at all.

Because, you know what?  The girl brought a lunch to school and she seemed happy.  

I know what mornings are like.  Sometimes you're just lucky to get everyone out the door with all of their stuff!

So, whether you send your kid to school with a Thanksgiving themed Bento Box or 4 Oreos and a bologna sandwich or a sandwich, fruit, greek yogurt tube, and a little treat (my go-to lunch), I'm here to give you a gold star.

Yep!  You are!

What you do is good and it is enough.