Lalaloopsies in the Park!

Wednesday, 8/14/13 - One of the last of the Summer concerts in the park was with my favorite "Kindie rocker," Caspar Babypants! They happen at lunchtime, so a perfect excuse for a park picnic!

I just can't get enough of the detailed cookie cutters from Warpzone Prints! So I had to get the set of three Lalaloopsy ones. The neat thing about these is that Lalaloopsy only has 5 or 6 basic "heads," and they just change the hair, bow, and eye color for each one. So these could be any of a number of different characters!

Tippy Tumblelina

GF PBJ w/taffy, organic string cheese nibblets; organic carrots, spinach, English cucumber, strawberries, and blueberries

 

Since Tippy Tumblelina was Z's very fist 'loopsy, I went with that one for her lunch. It was veeery difficult working with the gluten-free bread, getting a nice imprint without shattering the crumbly slice. I think they turned out okay though.
To help bring out the details, I used some water and hot cocoa mix to "paint" in the eyes and mouth imprints. I now know that chocolate syrup is waaaay easier to use for painting. So make a note!

I used some naturally colored pink taffy to make the cheeks and bows. I started out kneading it in my hands a bit to soften it, then rolled it out between the wax paper wrapper and my cutting board. I then tried using the imprints in the cutters to make the cheeks and bows, but they stuck so badly and stretched when I pulled them away, I was having to re-form them by hand anyway. So I gave up and just free-handed the rest.

Crumbs Sugar Cookie

GF PBJ w/taffy, aged white cheddar; organic tomatoes, English cucumber, strawberries, and blueberries

I've already made a Crumbs Sugar Cookie lunch based on her second 'loopsy doll, but what's one more?

I gave E the sharp cheddar because Z hadn't been eating it, saying she no longer liked it. But then they ended up trading during lunch! Ha!

This was when I first got an inkling that I wasn't just intolerant to lactose, but to casein or dairy in general. We got this 4-year aged cheddar from Costco, and some reps were there from Cabot, and they reassured me that it tested lactose free (harder/aged cheeses like sharp cheddar and Parmesan have less (or no) lactose!) So when a flake of cheese fell off (this is a really flaky cheese!) I thought nothing of just popping it in my mouth. But later that day I had the same symptoms as with lactose. Hmmm.

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Musical Leftovers for a Picnic in the Park!

Wednesday, 7/24/13 - Starting mid-summer, several nearby city parks departments hosted concerts in the park with kiddie bands and attractions. Just for fun, for one of the concerts we were headed to, I packed the girls some leftovers with a simple musical theme... So naturally we didn't get out of the house in time, and ended up arriving at the park halfway through the concert. And E was asleep in her car seat. By the time I woke her and dragged them both all the way across the parking lot to the other end of the park, where the concert was, we'd maybe get to see the last 15 minutes...

So instead, I turned around and we went to a different park, which I knew wouldn't be crowded but would have some fun activities and toys provided by our parks department. So we still got our picnic in the park. We just took the long way 'round to get there...

Z Sharp

Leftover potato and sweet potato tots, organic Ranch and ketchup, leftover mac-n-cheese,
leftover GF Pizza Dippers; organic beans, sugar snap peas, cherries, and raspberries

Lots of leftovers for Z; a little bit of all of her favorites! We all love the "Mexi-fries" from Taco Time, and they're gluten-free, as long as crumbs from breaded items fried in the same oil don't float their way over onto our food. It's kind of hit-or-miss on that. But some days I'm just worn out enough to be willing to risk it!

I think the gluten-free pizza was from Domino's. Another of our very few lazy-day dinner options! Clearly I was running on empty that week! I cut them into smaller strips so she could dip them in the organic Ranch dressing.

And Annie's Homegrown gluten-free shells and cheese. Another Mama cop-out! Woo! 0 for 3 on the "real" dinner front for Mama! At least they were all from different days... Presumably I made a side of veggies each night too, yeah...?

E Sharp

Leftover mac-n-cheese and GF pizza; organic heirloom baby tomatoes,
green beans, zucchini, kohlrabi, raspberries, and grapes

More leftovers for E. No tater tots for her, since she wasted them the previous time I'd packed some for her. But I decided to try her out on some zucchini and kohlrabi wedges. And raw green beans. She wasn't ready for the green beans yet. Still too tough and chewy for her.

These music note picks were the perfect way to make these "plain old lunches" fun!

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E was thrilled to have a pick just like Big Sis. She carefully picked up each piece of food, placed it onto the pick, then ate it. Hilarious!
...until she lost my green music note pick. *sadness* My first bento MIA. Still. It was worth it for that smile!

Mousy Mama

Dairy-free garlic dip; organic carrots, zucchini, and kohlrabi; organic salad (butter lettuce,
kale, beets, carrots, sunflower and chia seeds, hemp hearts, raisins, and raspberry vinaigrette)

 

I used my flower veggie cutters on some carrot and beet coins for fun, and a fancy mouse veggie cutter on a carrot slab.

The garlic dip was left over from 4th of July. I made some crackers and tortilla chips, and we brought dip for them. We discovered this dip at a fair or trade show or something, at a booth that sold their own special dry dip mixes. This stuff was goooooooood! You just add your choice of mayo, sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, or a combination. I picked up some dairy-free sour cream and egg-free mayo, and we were good to go! We always buy a packet or two whenever we see their booth somewhere, since it's my go-to for when we host a party or to bring to potlucks - it's just that good!

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My big girl has been terrified of the poles at playgrounds forever. She's fearless when it comes to running around on the top level of a play structure, way above Mama's head, or trying to climb ladders and such in various configurations. But reaching out for that pole was always a no-go. She would usually have me hold her up then sliiiiide her down the pole. Until I'd get bored of that and cut her off. 

This park visit was the first time she was willing to try it on her own, after asking me to come "spot her" a few times first. I gotta say, I was busting with pride. And tears. My little girl is growing up! *sniffle*

She was also proud of her new skill, and showed it off roughly a bazillion times.

Simple Concert in the Park Picnic Lunches

Wednesday, 7/10/13 - Our city Parks Department does a summer concert series with kiddie bands and attractions each week for roughly 6 weeks. We were only able to make it to a few this summer, due to timing issues with summer camps, but I made sure to pack us picnic lunches when we did get to go!

We were watching a band called Tickle Tune Typhoon. They have some great music, but are a little more hippie-feel good-Earth child than I usually go for. But they have dancers and lots of fun costumes, and lots of audience participation. Very fun for the kids. If you have "normal" kids, like everyone else. Mine just kind of sit there like zombies (kind of like when other kids watch TV!) and yell at me to stop singing or swaying to the music. 

Lunch for the Toddler

GF PBJ, Annie's gummy bunnies, yogurt tube; organic sugar snap peas, strawberries, and cherries

 

Both girls had very similar lunches, which I hardly ever do, due to different tastes, not enough of any one leftover, or just because I get bored easily.

Little E's sandwich was cut into thinner "fingers" because she is more likely to eat the bread if her sandwiches are too small to just lick off. And at this time, she was the only one willing to eat the pea pods, so I gave her the freaky big ones with tiny peas inside.

Lunch for the Kindergartener

GF PBJ, Annie's gummy bunnies, yogurt tube; organic sugar snap peas and cherries

 

Sitting right next to us was a mom and her two boys. They had brought their own picnic - Lunchables. I couldn't resist snapping a pic to show that even these "Mamamamamamama pleeeeeeeease?" products aren't all that appealing once you open them up!

While none of the kids completely finished off their lunches, mine ate most of their fresh fruits and veggies, and some of their real-actual-dairy-product (and they shared one packet of fruit snacks, and I stashed the second one away for another day.) 

The boys left some meat and cheese and a few crackers. These things only come with, like, 6 crackers/meat circles/"cheese" slices, which really isn't all that much. So leaving a few behind is a large portion of the "meal." Plus these ones came with some cookies. Which, somehow, both boys managed to make room for...

My girls were able to work on the rest of their lunch some more later, on the way home and as an afternoon snack. It's hard to salvage the leftovers in the disposable lunches, since you can't seal them back up. And you probably wouldn't have an ice pack handy, to keep them fresh if needed.

And even with the fruit snack and yogurt tube wrappers, we still had less waste than 90% of the people who'd brought a lunch there!

E finally did get up and dance near the end, which was stinkin' adorable! She's a crappy dancer, just like her Mama!

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