Brown Bags vs. Reusable Bag

Am I the only one who has the inner struggle on whether to "go green" and use a reusable lunch bag, or stick w/ easy and use brown paper lunch bags?

So this is my thought process:

Brown vs. Reusable

Brown:

+disposable-just throw it away

+you have to have them anyway for field trips, so you might as well just use them

+inexpensive-100 for $.99

+can't forget it at school

+if something spills, just throw it all away, no need to wipe it out

Reusable:

+"green" -improve our carbon footprint

+can use gladware or tupperware containers, then kids just put it back in lunch box and bring home

+can fit more in it than a brown bag

+some are insulatable

What are some of your thoughts? I need some help w/ this decision and school starts SOON!

Fight the School Lunch Boredom!

If I make another peanut butter and something sandwich, I am going to scream!

All last year my first grader only asked for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, my fourth grader asked for only peanut butter and honey and my 6th grader asked for just plain peanut butter sandwiches. Seriously! Everyday!

So this year I am going for it....peanut butter as seldom as possible, maybe not at all!! Well, let's not get too crazy.

So as I googled for some ideas today, I stumbled upon The Hillbilly Housewife blog. I'm from the south, so that title cracked me up! So here is her list for school lunch ideas to beat the boredom of pbj:
*Tuna salad w/ celery
*Egg Salad w/ pickles
*Chicken Salad w/ raisins
*Baloney and cheese w/ mustard, may
*Turkey and cranberry sauce
*Fried spam and cheese
*Fried canned corned beef & sauerkraut
*Meatballs in hotdog bun w/ marinara
*Meatloaf w/ tomato slices
*BLT
*Bacon and fried eggs
*Fried Baloney and fried eggs
*Sloppy Joes
*Turkey and Bacon and bean sprouts
*Sliced cucumbers and butter
*Sliced Cucumbers and cream cheese
*Cream cheese and jelly
*Sausage and Egg biscuit
*Egg and cheese sandwich
*Pork bbq and coleslaw
*Roast beef and horseradish
*beef and swiss cheese
*beef and cream cheese
*Roast beef and fried onions/mushrooms
*Fried hamburger and onions and cheese
*burritos w/ beef or beans and cheese
*Tacos
*Quesadilla
*Baloney, mayo and pineapple ring
*cream cheese and minced peppers
*baked beans w/ pickle relish
*hamburger w/ fixings
*corn dogs
*hot dogs w/ chili
*hot dogs w/ cheese
*hot dogs w/ coleslaw
*chopped chicken and bbq sauce
*ham salad w/ pickles
*fajitas w/ beef or chicken
*baloney, mustard and sprouts wrapped in tortilla
*fried chicken
*leftover pizza
*chef salad
*pasta and meat salad
*bbq chicken
*ribs
*chicken teriyaki
*boiled eggs

Now some of those my kids would love and some might get a raised eyebrow...

But we all need some help thinking outside the luchbox sometimes.
So for now, I'm stocking up on ideas, brown paper bags and containers that the kids could throw away at school, like butter tubs, cream cheese tubs, etc.

Can't wait to see what Margie posts tomorrow...she finds the BEST deals!
See ya!

Back To School

August marks the beginning of a new school year!! This year I will have a 7th grader and a 4th grader. (Plus a little peanut who is only 17 months old so he doesn't count when it comes to "back to school".) It seems with each passing year I find that school shopping gets a little more in depth and considerably more expensive!

We still have three weeks until school starts here in central Florida, so I'm in the "preparation" stage. Here are our goals for this week:

• Purchase any deals that are "better than tax free" (which is in two weeks).

• Make a list of clothing items that are "needed".

• Take inventory of what supplies we can reuse/recycle from last year or the summer.

Last week we took advantage of Staples "free backpack" week, so we'll have a Staples card for the full price of the backpack on it's way soon. I'm thinking we can use that for extra printer cartridges so we're not scrambling in the evenings.

Also, I'm adding tri-fold project boards, foam board and poster board to our school supply list this year. It always seems that we need one of those things...right now!! (Your kids probably don't do that. What IS your secret?!)

The one "must have" purchase of the week?

Target. Memory sticks. Love 'em.

USB, dude

Portable USB drives make saving homework, documents, and photos easy. And fun designs such as surfboards, skateboards, and snowboards make these USB drives all the more unique.

USB Boards, $14; available in Target Stores.