By Rachel Hoeing

We are two weeks into the school year and I have already had numerous friends telling me that they are worn out on the lunchbox packing duty. We know there are plenty of ways to make it easier like preparing the night before, preparing a week in advance, letting them buy their lunch at school, etc. But the bottom line is that I don’t think anyone I know truly enjoys packing lunches for their kids.

So to make you feel a little better if you, too, are feeling like it is Groundhog Day every time you pack their lunches, I thought I would give you a glimpse into our family’s lunch boxes.

At the beginning of the school year, my children’s lunchboxes usually look something like this:

Once we start getting to the holidays they usually start including a few more processed, pre-packed items and look more like this:


By the time we get to the end of the year, they usually look like this:

But they never, ever, look like this:

I am giving a BIG old applause and pat on the back to the moms who can pull off this amazing lunchbox feat above, but for me and mine .. it ain’t happening. #1 – I have seen what gets thrown away in that cafeteria and for my youngest it would be 95% of this box. #2 – I am lazy. #3 – I figure we’ll catch up on the food groups at dinner that night and for lunch I will just concentrate on what I know they will eat and not waste.Anyone else out there who’s with me? I hope I have given you a little comfort if so.  Good moms come in all shapes, sizes, and all have their own lunchbox packing habits right?  And if you are one of the crafty moms who can pull off the nutritious handy work above – keep it up ladies – we are loving you, too!