Lunch Basket

All three of the girls take cold lunch to school- everyday. We get up around 5:45am and things are still crazy- trying to get everyone showered, dressed, hair done, lunches packed and bags ready- then out the door by 7:05am to catch the bus. Not to mention I like to get my shower and stuff done before we leave too...not a must, but its nice! And John's up and getting ready too.

So to make things run a little smoother- I've set up a few things like setting out clothes the night before, putting school stuff in backpacks the night before and usually having pucca take her bath the night before to help cut down on the bathroom congestion the next morning. One other thing that I've come up with is the LUNCH BASKET...



Its a basket I have sitting out on my counter filled with lunch items for the kids' cold lunches.

The girls know they need to pack a drink, a sandwich, a carb (chips, crackers or pretzels), a snack item (granola bar, twizzlers, almonds, fruitsnacks) and on occasion I let them pack a dessert (cookies, little debbie snack, muffin).

I make the sandwiches and they pick out the rest and pack their lunch bags.

The girls also take carrots and dressing, pudding, apple sauce- things that require refrigeration, but this just helps them along. That way I'm not having to decide...probably picking something they don't want resulting in them not eating their lunch OR them standing at the pantry door for 15 minutes trying to decide what to take. SO for us its win-win!