April showers & some flowers

We've been spending lots of time outside enjoying the spring weather. Time for picnics at the park! After watching the Boston Marathon pass through our town, we walked to a nearby playground for lunch and some fun.I brought along a picnic bento of finger foods for everyone to share.

And here are some lunches from April:
Ryan & AJ's lunches: peanuts; cucumber slices; stir-fried broccoli over rice.

Maia's lunch was
similar: a strawberry;
a pickle; cucumber slices;
stir-fried broccoli over
rice.

It's trickier making a
complete lunch without
nuts for preschool.


Ryan & AJ's lunches:
cupcakes; sandwiches;
pickle; carrots.






Ryan & AJ's lunches:
Thermos' of tofu-herb
ravioli; pickle; carrots;
grapes; strawberries.





You can always tell when
the spring rains arrive--
my pics get dark & gloomy.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: somen
noodles with sesame tofu &
steamed broccoli; carrots;
grapes; apricots/raisins;
mini banana muffins.Maia's lunch: apricots; grapes; steamed broccoli; somen noodles w/sesame tofu; carrot; pickle; snap peas.
























Happy spring!

Blogousy

I owe someone 10 cents.
And I need to get baking.

I have been tagged with
the Kreativ Blogger award!
My friend recently received
the award for her blog and
has graciously passed it
along to me, and now I get to
choose 2 recipients...

1. Sandbox for my Inner Humorist...a simple, funny blog I found a few months ago, sorta randomly...maybe it's funnier because it's someone local to me, but I just laugh out loud a lot reading it. The guy is funny (and his wife's a vegetarian, pththth).

AND

2. fellow bento blogger Jewelmaker! No, she's not vegetarian, LOL. But her bentos are simple and beautiful, photographed nicely without expensive fanfare. And she makes beautiful handmade bento bags...I recently bought one to give to my husband for his birthday!

----Yesterday's absence of a post was due to a visit to my SIL's house...they already have 4 boys still at home (plus 2 older adult boys!), so they don't need our boys' help emptying their fridge and pantry.
In addition to a Luna bar each, a bag of potato sticks, and a 3-pack of Rice Dream drink boxes, this was lunch: pineapple rings; strawberries; purple grapes; rainbow rice balls, colored with beets, roasted red pepper, turmeric & nutritional yeast, finely diced edamame, & blue food coloring; edamame; cucumber slices; baby carrots; blanched spinach; meatless meatballs.

MIL and her boyfriend were
also visiting, and she kindly
helped me hack and dig a few
shoots from the massive
forsythia bush outside. No way
am I paying $25 at the garden
center for a few twigs of this
stuff that grows in everyone's
back yard (except ours)!














Back home, we packed all
the boys into a box and sent
them to Siberia...actually they
crammed themselves in here
willingly, while Dada slaved
over the construction of their
new picnic table, which they
later used to enjoy their dinner
on outside. I'm still working on
a spot for it. AJ picked me
some dandelions. And Maia
supervised...and dined on
wild dandelion greens, violets,
and a tape measure.