Lack of Creativity

I hate packing school lunches. I really mean that. I like it as much as I like cleaning the toilets. Hate is a strong word, and yes...I HATE it. Know why? One kid will only eat pb&j sandwiches and the other eats pb&j, sometimes meat and cheese. How boring is that?!

Well yesterday morning I had an idea. We'd had pasta the night before and since I put the sauce on top as I serve the plates we had some leftover pasta. I dug around in the fridge, pulled out some random things and went to work. When I finished I placed it in front of Zach and said, "Wanna try it?" He quickly went from his eggs to the pasta. Then I heard, "Mmmmm! This is good!" What had I done? Not much. I tossed a little Italian dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and tiny pepperonis on top of the pasta, mixed and served. He ate it. Not only did he eat it, he ate it cold (which is huge!). Well as quickly as I placed it in front of him I swiped it away. He had passed my test. Then I said, "Want some for lunch at school?" He said, "I can have that?!" Well...yeah!

So away I went, digging around for something to put my little creation into so he could have it at school. I was just zipping up his lunchbox when I had two little guys flanking me asking if they could eat the rest. Seriously?! OK...have some pasta for breakfast! Well, then A was upset. "Mommy, it's all gone! I want some in my lunch too." Ok, ok. I'll make more. I'll gladly boil more pasta for their lunches if it means they'll eat something other than pb&j.

Tonight as I lay in bed, having made my third batch of "fancy" pasta in two days I got an email from a friend. It might be the answer to my boredom and hatred for lunches. Check out Another Lunch. What kid wouldn't want to eat these?! Kinda makes my pasta look boring...like pb&j all over again.