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Saturday 4 February 2012

For real

Well, I survived the first week of prep. And, while I know it was a big day for child number one to have started school, I really think that parents get left out. It was a huge day for the husband and I! Before the big day, I had to purchase a uniform, school books and lunch gear. Then, I had to cover books and pack the bag. Child number one "helped" but let's face it, I was the one doing everything.

Of course, the greatest test of any family's ability to be organised is doing the school run. And, to be honest, I was very nervous about the whole thing. So, what was I thinking would be so difficult about it all? Where do I start?

Lunch box packing; I knew that would be a challenge, especially when you throw paleo in the mix. Getting organised in the morning and leaving by a certain time was going to be another challenge. For too long, I had not had too many deadlines. And finally, I was concerned about the emotional side of things. Would I be upset? Would child number one be upset? Would this first week prove to be the most difficult week of my life, and then lead into a further twelve plus years of school kaos? No. No. No.

I wasn't teary when child number one was dressed for school and I didn't feel particularly emotional when I kissed my baby goodbye. And, strangely, each morning and afternoon went by without any hiccups. I am very happy with the running of this first school week.

As for doing a paleo lunchbox; I can't believe how easy it was! In fact, even if your child isn't a paleo kid, I would definietly recommend doing these lunchboxes. They were mega easy.

Before Christmas, I managed to find a food container, for children from Target, that keeps food warm. I had actually been searching the net for such an item because I was certain that they didn't exist. Well, I found one. Into that I popped meat. When I had veggies I included them in the thermo container. When I didn't have veggies I provided child number one with sticks of carrots. That made up the main meal. I then included a paleo muffin and fruit. It was so easy. And, what's more, it took me less than a minute to assemble the goods on the school morning.

Prior to the school week, I had made bite-sized meatballs and roast chicken. I divided the meat into lunch portions and put them in ziplock bags in the freezer. As you can imagine, I was able to make a stack of lunches this way; a fortnight's supply actually. The night before I needed it, I put a single portion in the fridge to defrost. I didn't spend anytime chained to the kitchen decorating sandwiches. In fact, child one and two helped me make the muffins, the weekend before, and those were also individually wrapped and frozen. With the prep done, all I needed to do was put the meat, veggies, fruit and treat into a lunchbox. Too easy!

I do tend to freak out about stuff so, a couple of months ago I was definietly nervous about how realistic it would be to do a paleo lunchbox. Wow, I can't believe it can be done. But also, how simple it was.

If child number one was a fan of boiled eggs, I would certainly have done that at least once this week as their protein source. That didn't happen. What I did do though was include some left over steak. One night, during the week, when we had steak, the husband fried a little extra for child number one's lunch. I cut the steak into small pieces and included some homemade tomato sauce for dipping. It was a hit.

So, week one of school is over. We passed. Forget about child number one, I made it. The parents got through it all.

Now, if we can just stay on top of all the paper work sent home from school...