Harry Potter and the Bento Blog Hop

We are huge Harry Potter fans here. We have been ever since Brick was tiny!

We first discovered Harry Potter when Brick was four. A friend mentioned that her son liked the books, and hey, did you know they just put out a movie? We bought the first book and read it to Brick and G-man (who was a tiny toddler, barely over a year old at the time) at night before bed.

We were all instantly hooked.

We went out immediately, before even finishing Sorcerer's Stone, and bought Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkahban from the bookstore. We also bought the first movie, which had just been released to DVD. It was an instant hit with all of us, and became a favorite. We blew through all three books in lightning speed, and then impatiently waited for Goblet of Fire to be released in paperback.... then bought it in hardcover, because we couldn't wait to read it!

We pre-ordered Order of the Phoenix so it was delivered fresh to our door the day it was released. I won the coin flip, so I got to read it first. I spent the next three days curled up in bed with Bean (who was brand new, just a few months old), burning through the whole book. Then waited impatiently for the Dude to finish it so I could read it again! Four year old Brick was reading the second book all by himself. Harry Potter was the first book he ever read independently.

When Half-Blood Prince came out, we took Brick, G, and Bean to their first midnight release party. Bean fell asleep on Dude's shoulder and Brick read the last few chapters of the fifth book while in line waiting to buy the sixth. G and I almost missed the unveiling because we had to potty - little fetus Lulu was playing a drum solo on my bladder in anticipation. A couple of months later Brick started first grade and the teacher didn't believe us when we told her that he had already read the entire Harry Potter series on his own.

But the best was when Deathly Hallows came out. We took Brick, G, Bean, and Lulu to a midnight release party in full costume. Lulu wasn't yet 2, and was so charming in her cloak and curls that she was featured on the front page of a local newspaper. Brick and G were old enough to really enjoy the games and fun events at the bookstore leading up to the release, and Bean had been learning to read with the specific goal of reading the series herself. It was a blast, and is still one of our favorite family memories.

We recently started reading the series to Beaker at night before bed, and seeing him fall in love with the characters the way the rest of us did is nothing short of magical.

Bean has been asking for a Harry Potter lunch for some time, and I finally got around to making her one for this hop. She was utterly thrilled (and has put in a request for a lunch from each of the books)!

This lunch is gluten free and also nut/peanut free, and is packed in a Planet Box Rover. Details:

Moaning Myrtle mini Baybel cheese

Baby carrots

Aragog's apple slices

Diary of Tom Riddle gluten free crackers

Gummy basilisk

Turkey and cheese sandwich on Udi's gluten free bread

Tom's giant snake pet is slithering around this tasty sandwich.

The (gluten free) Diary of Tom Marvalo Riddle...

...And a cheesy Moaning Myrtle.

This year Bean and Beaker were even Harry Potter characters for Halloween!

Beaker was an adorable little first year Harry Potter.

And Bean was a lovely third year Hermione Granger, complete with Time Turner necklace!

Now keep going to see what awesome Potter-ness Organized Bites has to share! And of course be sure not to miss the rest of the great posts in the hop!

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Caps For Sale

Caps For Sale 

A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business

Written and Illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina

Caps For Sale is a story about a cap-seller who settles in to rest under a tree, and wakes up to an unusual surprise. A bunch of silly monkeys have stolen his hats and won't give them back!

What is a salesman to do when monkeys get up to their business? You'll have to read it to find out!

"Caps! Caps for sale. Fifty cents a cap."

Monkey see? Monkey do!

I made this lunch for Beaker to celebrate National Reading Month. The sandwich is UDI's Gluten Free bread with lunchmeat and a vegan, soy-free mayonnaise (his favorite!). On top is a slice of cheese with the tired peddler painted on, using food-safe dyes and a toothpick. The leaves on the tree he rests against are made with cucumber peels.

Also tucked into the lunch are cucumber slices, snap peas, and baby sweet peppers. Peeking out of the cucumbers is a silly little monkey and the cap he stole away from the peddler. Another monkey and cap are hiding in a Halo orange with raisins. Rounding out the lunch are a handful of Van's Natural gluten free crackers and a little tub of Enjoy Life allergy-free chocolate chips.

The whole lunch is packed neatly in our Laptop Lunchbox. These boxes are great for packing several different items securely in one box. Everything stays together, right where it's supposed to be! Very convenient, and easy enough to use that Beaker can open them himself.

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It's National Read Across America Day!

The Chaos household is full of big book fans. The walls in nearly every room of our house are lined with shelves of various sizes, all overflowing with books. So of course we can't let Read Across America day go by without notice!

Green Eggs and Ham is Beaker's very favorite book right now. He loves to curl up together on the couch to read with me, and he almost has this one memorized now. I don't know whether it's because he likes the rhythm of the rhymes, or if because NO is pretty much his favorite word, but either way he dearly loves this story. And I am happy to read it with him!

Green Eggs and Ham is about Sam-I-Am and his unnamed friend, and how sometimes even if you're absolutely certain you won't like something you should give it a try, because you just might be surprised.

To celebrate Read Across America day, and the anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest authors, I made Beaker a special lunch based on his very favorite book. Of course, it needed to be made safe for his allergies. This lunch is completely dairy, egg, soy, wheat/gluten, nut, peanut, and garlic free.

This pair of green eggs are actually egg free - and free of dairy and soy, too! They are made with plain coconut milk yogurt and an avocado, which makes a pretty tasty Beaker-safe guacamole when mixed together. Perfect for dipping carrot slices!

Curls of ham (peppered Canadian bacon, actually) rest on a bed of mixed greens.

Sam's stubborn friend is sketched with food safe dye on slightly crisped corn tortillas, great for smearing with that guacamole. Tucked into the side is a handful of diced sweet red bell pepper.

To round out the lunch, he has some green grapes and peeled Cutie orange segments, and also a scoop of delicious Enjoy Life allergy safe chocolate mini chips.

So what is your favorite book?

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Runaway Bunny

One of our favorite books to snuggle up ad read with little ones is Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown. A little bunny dreams of running away to be something else and his mother follows.

For Bean's lunch, I used this scene from the book for inspiration:

When Little Bunny says he will run away and become a flower in a garden bed, and Mama Bunny says she will follow and become a gardener.

Easter Italian pasta salad is the main dish, made with Easter themed organic pasta (eggs and chicks and bunny shapes in three colors), mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, marinated garlic, and Italian salad dressing. Mama Bunny in a sun hat sits up in the corner with some chocolate chips (bunny droppings *heh*), while Little Bunny runs across a flower garden. Bean also has crackers and a granola bar tucked in for snack.

Little Bunny's flower garden is made of apples and blueberries with sweet flower picks. The little dish holds Sunburts, candy coated sunflower seeds.

These Annie's Organic crackers and pretzels have always reminded me of the bunny from Runaway Bunny. 

More bunny themed lunches from this week:

For Princess, a little bunny with turkey-spinach wrap rolls, watermelon balls, and apple slices. The little baggie above holds Annie's Organic pretzel bunnies and a few Pocky sticks.

For Bean, similar foods tucked into a different dish, with little Easter Bunny picks.

A double lunch from a day when I was in a rush:

Yogurt with sprinkles, watermelon and blueberries, Annie's Organic pretzel and graham bunnies, leftover grilled chicken, and animal cookies.

These lunches are unusually cracker-snack heavy, for a reason which I will address in a later post. I generally don't feed the kids that many crackers and cookies in one meal.

Have a great Spring weekend!

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My Favorite Love Story

It has everything. A fair maiden princess, a swarthy pirate, a true love in disguise. Sword fights and giants, vengeance and escape, harrowing death and miraculous recovery. And also, a young Cary Elwes. Not to mention some of the most memorable and quotable lines ever written.

What am I talking about? Um, if you don't know already go watch it right now! You are missing out on a great experience.

The Princess Bride ranks high on my list of all time favorite movies. One of the few movies based on a book which I truly enjoy, and one of a few movies which I could watch over and over and never get bored. The Dude is nearly as big of a fan as I am, and actually introduced me to the movie many years ago, long before we were married and were both still two geeky, awkward teenagers.

The teen years are well behind us, but we're both still pretty geeky. And we both still love The Princess Bride, and quote it often.

For my geeky Valentine:

He has a roast beef and provolone sandwich on a buttery croissant, with spring greens and tomatoes. The letters spelling out Westley's quiet declaration of love to Princess Buttercup are cut from havarti cheese, with a pair of red heart picks and grape tomato hearts on the side.

He also has a cup of blueberries and strawberries, and a heart shaped container filled with toasted almonds, with a macaroon tucked underneath for dessert.

Have a lovely, happy Valentine's Day!

Now, hop over to Bent On Better Lunches to see the next Geeky Valentine lunch!

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