Adorable Little Monsters

Getting the boys ready for school has really been a lot of fun.

I finally found lunch bags to replace the backpacks that the school says they can't use.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I'm hungry!!!!

They're not as adorable as the animal backpacks, but somehow the motif -- funny little monsters -- works quite well where Cary and Dean are concerned.

Also, they are easy to open, easy to wipe clean, they fit their thermoses and two snacks, plus an ice pack. AND, they were $8.  To that I say, SCORE!

I also had to decorate the boys' leave-behind bins, which are intended to hold two sets of change of clothes. I don't have an artistic bone in my body, so instead of trying to really decorate them, I decided just to find things that represent who the boys are and what things they like.

So Dean's has a picture of a cookie and popcorn and fruit (he loves snacks!), trucks, blocks, a lawnmower, the beach and Cookie Monster, among other things. And Cary's has a picture of books, trucks, a lawnmower and Elmo, among other things.

I had a lot of fun sitting at my dining room table, clipping things and sticking them on the bins, attempting (as best I could) to make them look halfway decent.

 It's mostly just stickers and clip art and glue, but there's a lot of love stuck on these here bins.
<3

Question for the Mommies: I have purchased reusable snack bags, Tupperware with built-in ice packs (for yogurt and cottage cheese and stuff) and thermoses, so that the boys are creating as little trash as possible at snacktime. But I honestly don't see how I get around buying plastic spoons.
I can totally envision washable spoons getting tossed away or left behind, and I have absolutely no desire to buy a million "real" spoons. I think I'm going to just buy a huge party pack of plain plastic spoons. Does anyone have a better idea?

Happy 6-months Clair!!!

My baby girl turns 6 months today. A half a year has gone by like THAT.

AS I think back on the last 6 months, the most overwhelming thing I feel is grateful, because she is a pure joy to have as a daughter. Truly.

Check out this video of her with her Dad the other night. She's SUCH a happy girl.

 I'm blessed to have her. Our family is blessed to have her.

In other news, Lester and I went to Parent Night at the boys' new pre-school (which starts in just 11 days!!)
Among other things, we learned that the school does not want the children using backpacks, but instead wants them to use tote bags, which they provide.

So those adorable little zebra and elephant backpacks I bought? Useless.

See what happens when I stop procrastinating for one second?!

So, now I need to buy lunch bags, instead of backpacks, to keep their snacks in. I started looking last night and it's hard to find what I want. Which is:

• Relatively inexpensive
• Insulated
• Easy to open
• Easy to clean
• Small enough to fit in a tote bag
• Big enough to hold snacks and a thermos
• Kid-cute, but not covered in cartoon characters

I haven't found all that in one spot just yet. But I'll keep looking.

Also, please know that  I am focusing on these seemingly-inconsequential things to keep from thinking about the fact that my babies are going to SCHOOL. In 11 days!