Here Comes the Crazy Circus

Holy moly school starts next week!!!! Well it does for those of us at Greenville Christian. But the rest of you are just around the corner too!!!

This summer wasn't long enough. I am not ready to be away from my babies 7 hours a day again!!! But more importantly, I am not ready to pick my crazy circus juggling act back up. Our summer allows for lazy mornings that consist of cartoons, coffee and working on my laptop. There are no arguments in the morning when getting everyone ready to walk out the door. I don't care that Jack's hair is going a million directions or that Addie is wearing a dress tucked inside a different, non-matching skirt with two different types of socks inside her wedges. I get to work while listening to them giggle about their disgusting jokes about toots and take breaks to build Lego houses for the kid's much wished for baby Marmoset (not gonna happen.) Our afternoons consist of CrossFit classes for me while the kids play with their friends and then a stress-free late dinner because bedtimes are pushed off to squeeze every ounce out of our summer day.

But all of that loveliness is about to change. Next week will require alarm clocks, fixed hair, matching outfits, driving from one after-school activity (with all the proper shoes and gear included) to the next, homework, rushed dinners, showers (because I won't be able to count pool time as bath time anymore), and the much dreaded packing of lunches!!!!!! 

Did you just shiver? I did. It wasn't the fall breeze...it was fear! Like the kind that makes you wake up in the middle of the night from a dream where you still need one more math class to truly graduate....and you're naked...without a calculator.

I have a plan this year though. I am going to be prepared...well at least for a little bit. I'm not going to lie, I am so good at the beginning of school. I lay the kids clothes out for the next day. I leave love notes in their lunch boxes. I have homemade snacks waiting for them when they come home from school. I seriously am super mom for the first three days of school...and then it gets old. Suddenly I'm digging through dirty clothes hampers to try to find PE clothes the morning of, telling the kids that we don't have time for them to brush their teeth...just rub some toothpaste on your tongue, and packing a mixture of whatever food has survived the week (we are talking a lunch of pickles, ketchup packets, jerky, and dried bananas.) and just praying my kids can convince one of their friends to trade the ketchup packet for something worth eating.

But this year is going to be different! Well...I really really want it to be different! And by golly I'm gonna do my darndest to make it happen...until I get tired or crazy.

I've created a menu that is varied enough that my kiddos won't get too bored with it too quickly and is a healthy mix of protein, carbs and fats. I've come up with 10 meal combinations that will give me 5 week's worth of lunches. As regularly as I ate ramen noodles and PB&J sandwiches for my own school lunches I really think this will be enough variety for the entire year. By already knowing what is planned I don't have to drain any extra energy by trying to be creative. Plus I can make large batches of things such as meatballs and pull out individual servings as needed.

Each week I will choose two meals. So for instance the first full week of school I will make meals 1 and 2.
Monday: Meal 1
Tuesday: Meal 2
Wednesday: Meal 1
Thursday: Hot lunch at school (Chick-fil-A)
Friday: Meal 2

Sunday evening I plan to pack all 4 lunches at once. This way I have all of my ingredients out at once and I don't have to pack lunches again for 7 days!!!!

MEAL 1:
All beef or bison hotdog
Steve's Paleo Ketchup (I store these in plastic jello shot cups and they freeze well.)
Bubbies Bread and Butter Pickle slices
Sweet Potato Chips (My new favorite brand is Jackson's Honest...it is made with coconut oil!!)
Sliced Pears (tossed with lemon juice to keep crisp)
1 TBSP Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chips

MEAL 2:
BLTT Rollups (Bacon, lettuce, tomato rolled up in a slice of deli turkey)
1/3 cup roasted chickpeas (I store leftovers in the freezer)
Celery slices
Sliced strawberries and cream (take a can of refrigerated coconut milk, scoop out the solid cream and mix with a little bit of honey)

MEAL 3:
Meatballs (I have lots in the freezer so I will just pull from there)
Marinara (Divide into Jell-O shot containers and freeze remainder)
Sliced raw zucchini
Blueberries
Coconut flakes

MEAL 4:
Ham cookies (I get thick sliced ham from the deli and cut with cookie cutter shapes)
Raw spinach leaves
Cherry tomatoes
Mandarin oranges in juice
Almonds

MEAL 5:
Grilled chicken (Buy chicken on sale and grill all of it, cut into bite sizes and then freeze)
Black olives
Cucumber slices
Red bell pepper slices
Hummus (freeze any extra for the next time)
Lara bar

MEAL 6:
Lettuce fajita wraps
Beanito chips
Guacamole (I love the 100 calorie Wholly Guacamole packs)
Pineapple

MEAL 7:
Chicken salad (I will use the breast from 2 rotisserie chickens and save the legs for meal 8)
Boiled egg (Boil a dozen eggs at once and store in the carton to grab on your way out the door for a quick breakfast.)

Raw carrots
Trail mix (dried fruit, raw nuts, coconut flakes) (Make a huge batch and store in freezer)

MEAL 8:
Rotisserie chicken leg
Raw brocoli
Blanched asparagus
Steve's Paleo Maple Mustard dressing
Banana

MEAL 9:
Cold or hot Zucchini Soup (It is always good to have soup in the freezer.)
Egg muffin (I make tons of these at once and freeze...are you seeing a theme???)
Apple slices
Almond butter

MEAL 10:
Shredded chicken burrito (use this recipe for the wrap)
Coleslaw tossed with Steve's Paleo Ginger Cilantro Lime Dressing
Grapes

Let me just say that I am not a food prepping fan. It has just never worked for me. I don't have an entire day to cook...nor do I want to!!!!!!! So the foods such as meatballs, chicken burrito, soup, etc., I will be sure to make for dinner the week before and I will double or triple the recipes so that I have plenty in stock in my freezers.

Between creating our lunch menu, school supply shopping (which resulted in hours of Addie deciding on the what folder had the best puppy to kitten ratio) and my favorite fall Bath & Body Works candle coming back out I think we are ready to go back to school. I hope you all enjoy the last days of your lackadaisical bliss!!!