School Picture Day

Today is picture day at school for my youngest kids. Also known as the day that mom and dad shell out big bucks for mug shots. That was the last few batches looked like - Jr. facing straight into the camera with a blank expression against a lovely bright rainbow background.

It reminds me very much of the elementary school photos of yore. Mom would get my brother and I all cleaned up. She would have my hair done just right, have my brother's red curls tamed as well as she could. We wore uniforms back then, so what could go wrong?

Well, let's see. There was the photo of me with my hair all sticking up on end, the tidy ponytail from that morning a sideways shrub on the side of my head. I had pulled my sweater off over my head. Who has time for zippers when you're six? Then there's the year I fell on the playground and had a nice fat lip for my photo. That was a keeper.

But the masterpiece belongs to my brother. I wish I had a copy to show you. I think it was his first grade photo. His hair is a mess, the collar of his uniform shirt is all twisted and sticking up on one side. He has chocolate milk all over his mouth and spilled down the front of his shirt. To finish the effect, he has a glazed duh look on his face. Best. Photo. Ever.

In the high school it's a different story. Those photos all turn out lovely. How could they not with the touch-ups, and fancy backgrounds and soft focus. They are really good photos, and my oldest daughter is usually really happy with them. I don't know. I sort of miss the days when her school pictures had messy hair and toothless smiles.

Paper Trail

Hello friends, remember me? I'm sorry it's been a while, but you see I've been busy trying to dig my way out from under the mountains of paper that are the back-to-school notes. I'm a little tired from the sorting, and a little cranky from the paper cuts, but my living room is starting to look less like a land fill and more like a stationary store.

Let's see now, I've got this pile here that is for elementary school newsletters (I got the "welcome back" newsletter not once, but three times). This heap over here is from the high school. They request our cooperation in saving paper by signing up for email updates. It took them five pages to say this. I have signed these forms for three years now and I have not yet received one email newsletter.

This stack over here is for registration forms. Careful, it topples easily. It took eight volunteers to get me out from under that pile on Monday. Health forms, school registration, after school permission slips, drama club, choir, running club, basketball, canoeing permission form - it's all stacked right here. I'd move them, but it's hard to do with these bandages on my fingers.

These papers spread on my desk are the student handbooks and school policy updates. You can push those aside and have a seat. Careful there. That dark smudge? Oh no, that's not from the paper cuts. That's Merlot.

I'm just about done with all the signatures. I have writer's cramp and a huge blue smudge on my hand that's either ink or a bruise. I'm not sure yet.

Well, I'd better get back to the sorting. I hope your back to school transition is going smoothly. Happy reading!

The Book of Lunchbox Fails

The first day of school is only 2.5 weeks away, and my inboxes are overflowing with back to school tips. The best of these are the lunchbox recipes. With three picky eaters, I’ll take all the help I can get.

Now every year there is at least one recipe in each bunch that includes peanut butter. This surprises me. Is there a school on the planet that still allows peanut butter? I thought the stuff was only to be handled by hazmat teams.

No matter, I skip the peanut butter crunchies and peanut brittle and focus on the other suggestions. But this year I got a booklet with 5 lunch box ideas your kids will love. Each one of them contained an ingredient guaranteed to send my kids to the principal’s office by way of the decontamination area.

Here are the offending suggestions:

Tuna and Veggie Sammies

Pro: Tuna is fish, and fish is brain food
Fail: Tuna is fish and fish is forbidden

Sesame Seed Chicken Strips

Pro: Healthier than the cafeteria strips, and easy to make ahead

Fail: Did you say sesame seeds. Yep, they’re on the list.

Egg Salad on whole grain crackers

Pro: Again, easy to make ahead and have ready for lunch the next day

Fail: Eggs are high on the list, a big no-no at this school.

Peanut Butter Banana Rolls

Pro: Peanut butter and a banana rolled into a tortilla. What’s not to love?

Fail: Peanut butter and bananas are both on the forbidden list, so this one is a double whammy.

Fresh Fruit Skewers

Pro: Fun, healthy, and easy to make.
Fail: The recipe contains watermelon and kiwi. Another double whammy, but at least this one can be replaced with less fatal foods, like grapes or other kinds of melon.

In all, these lunch box tips were a bust, but I might tinker with them to create versions that don't come with a side of anaphylaxis for some poor child.

How about you? Do you have any lunchbox favourites for your kids? Are your schools strict when it comes to appropriate lunches?