O's lunch box - Chutney Sandwich roll-ups

We are off to India for a few weeks so this may or may not be my last post until we come back.  We're so excited as is kiddo - he's been looking at pictures from India and getting super fascinated. So far, his conclusion has been that we're either going to live with farm animals and not Zoo animals (I don't see any tigers on the road mommy) or that all we'll do is put colors on each others' faces (Holi) 

O's lunch box for this week: Chutney Sandwich roll-ups (Coriander chutney w/ lettuce, cucumbers & shredded carrots) with side of sweet potato fries and his usual nuts & fruits (not pictured)

O's lunch box - Pasta

A couple of people asked me to share what I pack for O's lunchbox so thought It was a great idea to share - Hopefully, this will help me get even more creative for blog's sake ;)

I usually like to provide a bit of everything for the kiddo - I usually pack veggies, fruit, some dry fruit and a main meal.

For lunch, He had cucumbers w/ apples, strawberries & blueberries  with some walnuts & almonds and Whole grain Pasta with (carrots, kale and tofu) in Marinara sauce.

Layered Nachos

Life has been nothing short of busy and hectic for the past couple of weeks - random work calls and guests took up a lot of my time + since I have so much free time on my hands, or so I thought,  enrolled O in various activities; so being a chaperone is a job in itself.

I have quite a few blogs lined up but haven't had a chance to put my thoughts down and publish them.  I'll start with this one.  

Few weeks ago, O and I were bored and decided to whip up this layered Nachos while hubby was away.  It was quick and fun since O got a chance to help me put it together.  It made me realize how much he enjoys the cooking process and has been a helping hand ever since :)

Early Halloween Fever

And it begins...

Tis' the beginning of madness - costumes, candies, nightmares, you name it :o)

O is super proud of his new Avatar that he picked all on his own - Power Rangers Samurai (in Red); once the costume is on, I'm suppose to forget who is behind that mask

Here's the Samurai himself, in action!

O's snack - Bread Uttapam

As a busy woman and more importantly a mom, It's always a challange to come up with new and healthy meals for the family.  While yogurts, cheeses, cereal bars, etc. make a nice and quick snack, they are still 'processed' and not exactly fresh - so while it's not possible everyday, I do try to offer up hot snacks to hubby and family whenever I can.  

One of O's favorite snack happens to be Bread Uttapam - thankfully, it also happens to be super quick and of course healthy.  The great thing is, this can be served as breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack because it's quite filling.  All that's required is your choice of bread, tomatoes, onions and green peppers (or any other veggies that cook fast) along with buttermilk and S&P.  Mix it up and make a thick batter and make it just as you would a pancake.  VOILA!

Misc.

Fall...

My most favorite season has finally arrived.  The first snow fall during winter is exciting, but the excitement quickly fizzles out once there's piles and piles of snow on the ground.  First few days of spring are exciting but then we get antsy about summer and then summer is fun until it gets super hot..you get my point.  

Fall is perfect because it offers just the right amount of chill with perfect sun light and oh so beautiful colors to look at.  There's not much to look forward to except for Halloween and a hot cuppa Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Starbucks ;)

Anyway, My mom gave me this small plant of Holy Basil (Tulsi) when she came to visit me over labor day weekend.  Look at how big and beautiful it's gotten.  The beautiful fragrance of basil is so refreshing in the morning

In other random news, My toddler who's almost 3 years old is turning out to be a typical boy with his ninja moves and constant obession with one superhero after the other.  A while back, it was all about spiderman - then we moved onto Power Rangers.  We might be moving onto Mutant Ninja turtles soon, but I think Power Rangers is still more fun..

For the record, he picked all this up at school during summer - He hardly gets to watch TV at home (even then it's only NICK JR shows)  Hopefully, this phase is over soon and we can resume our lives instead of constantly fighting the battles with invisible 'baus' (enemies) 

Small but significant

Kiddo and I went to the playground today just to run around and burn some energy.  He loves the big kid swings now so we always start off with that.  He kept pushing me to swing higher and higher and in the exciment, I kept doing it.  At one point, before I even realized, he got thrown off the swing and landed on the                mulch face down.  My heartbeat stopped for a second because of how dramatic it looked; I thought he would cry and cry but to my surprise, He stood up, cleaned himself up while giggling and asked if he could get on again.  All this while he's got his nose scratched up and a small bleed from his lower lip.  I naturally said NO firmly and wanted to ensure he was OK.  

He gave me a big smile a said, it's ok mommy, it was just an akisent (accident) - I b OK.. (I'll be ok); I'm a big boy..I'm not cared (scared)

This little statement, gave me a whole new perspective on a lot of things in just a spur of the moment!