most boring bento award

Slacker! Yes, that's me!! I didn't make an April Fool's bento, or even an Easter bento! Though admittedly bunnies and chicks and eggs don't have great appeal to a 7 year old boy...I'll have to wait until Maia is older.

I didn't even think Tuesday's
lunch warranted a large
photo!!

Ryan's lunch: Tofurky
bagel sandwich; cucumber
slices; baby carrots;
strawberries.

Wednesday...
Ryan's lunch: fresh pineapple & strawberries; blanched spinach; mini pita triangles w/peanut butter; mini gel cup; grapes; mini banana blueberry muffin; steamed asparagus; gherkin pickle; smoked Tofurky rolls.

There were a few birthday
parties to contend with, so
we all enjoyed some cup-
cakes...chocolate with
vanilla icing and melted
dark chocolate stripes.

Thursday...

Ryan's lunch: grapes;
dark chocolate covered
pretzels; brown rice w/
stirfry (bok choy, broccoli,
asparagus, snap peas, baby
corn, chik'n strips). I was
happy to find fresh baby
corn at the regular super-
market!

The rains FINALLY
stopped. Our county was
ultimately declared a
disaster area (giving every-
one an extra month on taxes)
and earning our town a brief
visit from President Obama.

So we moved the picnic table
up the yard a bit, above the
water level, and enjoyed a
dinner in the sunshine. We
had corn, rolls, roasted pota-
toes, salad, pineapple & straw-
berries, sauteed spinach, &
bbq tempeh.


So what did I do inside during all that rain?? Obviously I wasn't making fancy bento. I was busy with another creative hobby though. Here is one of the many stamps I carved:

backhoes & shark fins & snails, oh my!

Whew! Made it through the day somehow. We've been living with reconstruction of the water main on our street for over a year, and it's getting a little old. But today they were working right on top of us. They even nicked our gas line, so no cooking for me for half the day. But we got it fixed for free plus a new gas meter, so all's well that ends well I suppose...

Oh yeah...lunch!
Ryan lunch: Spongebob's pet snail Gary, made of vegan bologna, tomato, soy cheese, nori, and edible ink; Gary is sitting on top of some twirly wrap sandwiches made with Vegannaise, smoked Tofurky, soy cheese, & lettuce on flax lavash; steamed broccoli; Spongebob mac & cheez (my own cheez sauce subbed for the boxed crap of course).Some pics from the construction...





















We got access back to and from our driveway just in time for the cupcake stand as school let out, however the construction prevented many parents from parking in their usual spots along the curb, so most of the customers were construction guys!

AJ
wanted
to take
the
"long
cut"
home
from
school
to avoid
the
construc-
tion
(3-4
minutes
versus
the usual
2-3
minutes).
The
rail
trail
runs
conveniently between the school and our back yard.

AJ got things started while waiting for Ryan to walk home from first grade...
I think the most amusing
customer was the steam
roller driver who pulled
up, got out, and bought a
cup of iced tea. Other
customers included the
mailman and the NStar
gas repairman.

Today's goods were:
chocolate cupcakes,
pineapple skewers,
and iced tea. Luckily
there were enough
cupcakes left over
for us all...good thing
I made two dozen!

Choco-
late
cup
cakes
with
vanilla
frosting
and
dark
choco-
late
crisps.
Very
tasty
indeed!
And
don't
they
look
like
shark
fins?!

Nate was an excellent cupcake customer, but he wasn't all that in to watching construction equipment, actually the boys watched maybe 10 minutes total all day, go figure...









Nate was more
interested in
building with
blocks inside
or battling
bubbles in the
yard with foam
swords. But he did
help bake the
cupcakes, and
licked the bowl
very well!

Maia has become quite knowledgeable about cupcakes as well, freaking out if she sees one and you don't share immediately!

Among other favourite
things of Maia's are
balls, bubbles, balloons,
bananas, beans, berries,
her Blue Bear...she's
pretty good with her
B words obviously!

The boys gave it the
usual hour, then closed
up and enjoyed
cupcakes and tea for
themselves.

We'll see how long
they keep this up
into the fall!

Long weekend
approaching for
school...so I'll
be back with bentos
on tuesday, but
I have a product
review, cookbook
challenge log, and
recipes to fill the days!

Maia's 1st birthday!

Maia turned one on sunday.
She woke up to a Hello Kitty
balloon that Dada had bought
for her (which Nate popped
on purpose the next day,
grrrr).






We all went for a walk,
Maia in the jogger. She
wore her new birthday
clothes from Mountain
Aven Baby that a mama
acquaintance of mine
makes from home.

The boys all made pictures, cards & books for her.

left to
right:
Nate
(2 3/4),
AJ
(5 1/2),
Maia (1),
Ryan
(6 3/4).

The
weather
was
perfect
for
playing
outside.
The only
drawback
is the excessive mosquito population due to all the rain we've had this season.

I made carrot cake cupcakes
(minus the raisins) from
VCTOTW. AJ requested no
frosting on his, which he later
changed his mind about,
hence the one naked cupcake.

The birthday girl:

























And don't forget the new Hello Kitty socks!





















Maia's first cupcake:
























Before bed Maia enjoyed Hello Kitty Hello Numbers! It's a favourite and perfect for birthdays.












Happy Birthday Maia!