Lunch Notes - Behind the Scenes

Partway through Emily's junior kindergarten year, I started making her lunch notes in attempt to cheer her up at school and to let her know that I was thinking about her. She enjoyed receiving them (and I enjoyed making them) so much that it became a normal part of the lunch time prep. I made Emily a note for every school day in senior kindergarten, and now that I have two girls in school, I'm making twice as many this year!

The notes can be anything from a favourite tv/movie character, to a recent family moment/event, to something holiday or birthday themed. As the girls get older, assuming they still want lunch notes, I'll probably start adding more text/special messages than drawings.

With time and practice, my notes and skills have really improved (I've especially noticed a difference from year to year). I've developed good systems for storage, materials used, and time spent. I use white 3" x 5" cue cards (purchased at Staples) to make the notes, as well as pencils, erasers, and a variety of artist markers. I keep all of these supplies in plastic containers that I pull out of the cupboard when it's time to make the notes.

Workspace

(Almost always using web images for inspiration)

My Christmas gift to myself:
fun colourful markers!

Useful chart

Note storage in kitchen cupboard

Typically I make the next day's lunch note from 9:30am to 10:00am every weekday, though often I spend closer to an hour on them. Sometimes I even get a bit of help with my lunch notes, like when Emily stayed home sick from school. She was pretty excited to be using Mommy's special markers to colour in our Mario/Princess Peach wedding note:

I certainly don't think I'd be making these notes if I didn't enjoy it so much (and if I didn't have the time!). But I do look forward to sitting down with my materials, thinking of something that I think would make my kids smile, listening to music, challenging myself, and making art.

That's it for the behind-the-scenes tour! Here are some of my favourite notes so far this year:

Enjoy your lunch!

xox

Bonne Fête Grand-Papa!

Last weekend we celebrated Papa Garry's birthday, and this weekend it was Grand-Papa's turn!

Eager helpers

Family pic! 

 

Turning 66

The candle blowing was shared with Grand-Papa's friend Gerald, since Gerald's birthday was the following day.

Bonne fête les vieux!

New Recipes 6

Here is the next installment of new recipes. They were mostly mediocre this month, with a couple of decent ones mixed in. I'm glad it's starting to be light outside around supper time again -- my pictures will soon look much better!

1/5 - Terrible. Couldn't finish.
2/5 - Not good.
3/5 - Ok. Would not recommend.
4/5 - Good! Would recommend.
5/5 - Amazing! Love it. Add it to the list.

New Recipe #31
Smashed Feta Potatoes - 4/5

This is a recipe from Sarah Richardson's book: At Home, Sarah Style. I'm not sure why, but my feta cheese ended up much more browned than the recipe's picture. The potatoes were tasty nonetheless; I think it would be fun to make these for a special occasion.

New Recipe #32
Short Rib Stew with Caramelized Kimchi - 3/5

This meal had interesting components and flavours, but our beef ribs were not tender enough after 2.5 hours (it was very hard to get any meat off the bones). I also didn't buy or make traditional Kimchi; I just used this 30-minute Kimchi recipe, which was ok but had a pretty intense flavour! I doubt we'll make this meal again.

New Recipe #33
Vinegar-Based Coleslaw - 3/5

I had high expectations for this recipe because I liked all the ingredients. The dressing sounded great: cider vinegar, grainy mustard, honey, olive oil, celery seeds, salt and pepper. But I found the coleslaw to be quite bland! Maybe that just means adjustments need to be made, but I'll probably keep looking for a different coleslaw recipe.

New Recipe #34
Quick Spiralized Zucchini and Grape Tomatoes - 4/5

I'm in a "using vegetables as noodles" kick, using things like spaghetti squash and now zucchini for a healthy alternative to pasta. I found a decent handheld spiraler at Dollarama, so I can easily make some zoodles. This recipe was tasty! I will definitely be trying more recipes from this site.

New Recipe #35
Apple Mustard Pork Burgers - 3/5

These pork patties had an interesting flavour, but it got lost once they were put in a bun. I noticed after making the meal that the recipe says to let the burger mixture sit for at least 30 minutes before cooking, for better flavour. Oops! The leftovers I had the next day (with pan juices and no bun) were a lot tastier! I would recommend having these as meat patties instead of burgers.

New Recipe #36
Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast - 3/5

I couldn't decide between two stuffed chicken breast recipes, so I decided to combine them! (Both recipes linked above). I really enjoyed the flavour of the dish (more like 4/5), but I felt that the proportions weren't right (there was too much cheese!), and the aftertaste was not so pleasant (probably from the raw garlic). Here's the combined ingredient list that I used:

For one chicken breast:

1 oz cream cheese
1 oz feta cheese
1 clove garlic
dash salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes
1/2 cup spinach, packed

I think with a few adjustments (less cheese; cook the garlic with the spinach), this could be an enjoyable meal!

New Recipes 1 , New Recipes 2 , New Recipes 3 , New Recipes 4 , New Recipes 5

Snow Day

We had quite the snow day yesterday! It snowed non-stop from the time we woke up to 6:00pm that evening. No school for the girls, and several shovelling sessions for me and Steve. By the end of the day the  snow hills were as tall as me!

Emily in her snow bed

Jessi resting and having a snack 

If we weren't shovelling, then we were staying inside and doing a whole lot of nothing. Both girls are still battling a cough/cold, so it's just been pyjamas, playing, and resting.

The deck

Steve is tired

Our last shovelling session was at 8:00pm, after the snow plows finally cleared the streets. Unfortunately that meant they left a huge wall of snow at the end of our driveway. Fun!

Happy Birthday Papa Garry!

Our Valentine's Day was pretty special this year -- we hosted a birthday gathering for Steve's dad (whose birthday is on Valentine's Day!). The guest list included Papa Garry's brother, sister, cousin, niece, and their families.

Jessica's birthday message 

Emily's birthday message  

We chatted, ate yummy snacks, played crokinole, and topped it off with dinner, cake, and presents. Fun for all!

A good crokinole match

(I'm the fourth player)

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

Happy 74th! 

Delicious!

Family 

The evening ended with a skate on the rink! The girls' second cousin, Brandt, loves hockey and showed us his moves on the ice.

Thanks for coming, everyone! We had a great time.

Today is Family Day, which means no school and all rest. We'll be enjoying our quiet day at home!