Late Summer

School/Work begins for me in a little over a week, so I'm doing my best to cram as much as I can into these final days of summer vacation.  The kids and I are playing in the park a lot, consuming way too many popsicles, and splashing in the water whenever we can.  We're even attending a Wiggles concert tomorrow (Excedrin Migraine is already in the purse), and we're taking the twins to their first Phillies game in two weeks.

Believe me, I count my blessings every day to be able to work in a profession where I have my summers free to spend with the kids.  But that doesn't make it any easier (or make me feel any less guilty) to go back to work.  Charlotte and Gavin really seem to thrive in daycare.  This year they will be in preschool, and I know they will continue to astound me with their ability to learn new things quickly and adapt to any new situation with ease.  (Case in point:  at a playground recently, I observed Gavin walk right up to another little boy and say, "Hi.  I'm Gavin Michael.  Let's play!"  And off they went.)

But again, it doesn't make me feel any less guilty.  I've been thinking a lot lately about how I will never get to see them off on their first days of school, because they are my first days of school as well.  Sure, Michael will be there.  Probably my mom will too.  But I don't think it's the same.

One of the things I do that makes me feel a little better about working is to pack a special lunch for the kids.  A lot of the other kids are get Lunchables or something of the sort, so I go out of my way to pack things in a cute container and arrange the food in a interesting way.  It sounds silly, I'm sure, but I hope that as the kids get older they realize that this is a little gesture of love that they can count on in the middle of their day.  For the past few weeks I've been experimenting with different recipes that will hold up well in their lunchboxes.  Yesterday, I tried my hand at homemade granola bars.  I needed a recipe that didn't use peanut butter since their day care is peanut-free, and this one from another lunch fit the bill.  It was DELICIOUS!  The kids gobbled up three bars each today.  

The bottom photo shows how Melissa at Another Lunch suggests wrapping the bars since they tend to crumble.  It's just a bonus that they look so cute!

Wow, this blog sounds more and more like a food blog lately, huh?  Trust me:  it's not! :)