Quick & Easy

Today's lunches were relatively easy. With one kid home sick, I only had to make two lunches. My husband's lunch was pretty simple: a can of soup (which fits in the box quite nicely), a sandwich and some celery sticks (visible below the sandwich).
Usually I throw in a small container of ranch dressing to use as dip, but this morning I discovered we're all out of ranch dressing -- in our house, this constitutes a small emergency. However, to avoid wide-spread panic, I kept our shortage to myself. I'll replenish our supply later today, and with any luck, no one will be the wiser. If hubby notices the conspicuous absence in his lunch, I'll fall back on the tried and true "Mommy Brain".

The healthy kid (as opposed to the one that had to stay home because of non-stop nasal discharge) got a bit of a treat today in the form of a Hallowe'en size Hershey bar (nut-safe, of course). He also got some melon chunks, grapes, mini Ritz crackers, carrot sticks, peas, and a yougurt drink. He also got some fruit punch and a ham & cheese sandwich (his favourite!).
Both kids always have a separate bottle of water that goes in the outside pocket of their backpack, for easy access. The Lock & Lock box fits perfectly in their lunch bags, which are actually different sizes. I bought new ice packs last night, and they seem to fit in there quite well too, without adding too much extra bulk. At less than $1 at Walmart, you can't go wrong!