Muffin Tin Meal Playdate

My neighbor's oldest child (and one of Z's "sister-friends" - her name for the friends she really likes) had a no-siblings parent-child event with her Kindergarten class, so all of my neighbor's usual sitters (the other mommies from the class) were unavailable too. So my neighbor asked if I could watch her almost-3-year-old son that evening. It was Z's birthday, but I hoped she wouldn't mind. She'd much rather have had her 2-years-older "sister-friend" over, but she's actually closer in age to Eli.
Since he's a huge CARS fiend (and I'm a terrible sitter,) we watched CARS 2. (I checked that it was okay with his mom first. Some parents didn't like all the guns in it.) He told me he had eaten dinner, so I made them little snack trays to munch on.

Z's Snack

Goldfish/Pretzels mix, strawberries, apples, Ginger Cat cookies, kale chips

I let her have the fancy heart-shaped tray, since she's particular about that kind of thing. 

 Eli's Snack

Ginger Cat cookies, string cheese nibblets, Goldfish/Pretzels.
apples, blueberries, strawberries

Since I also made a Muffin Tin Snack the last time he was over, this kid probably thinks I don't own any plates!
Eli got a plain Dollar Tree pan - not good for cooking, since the one time I tried the paper liners got stuck to the bottom and tore apart coming out! (And there's still liner residue on that one. Bleah.) But can't beat $1 for use as a segmented tray or plate! Also great for crafts and sorting activities. Last time he didn't do as well with a silicone one, since whenever he tried to pick it up or move it, it would bend in the middle. So I figured a nice rigid metal one would give him the freedom to pick it up if he chose.

They both got some Trader Joe's Cats cookies in ginger-cookie flavor (Z's choice for me to sub for her Little Gym camp snacks instead of their artificially-flavored cookies. And since I'll be packing her substitute snacks, I can also sneak in some fruits and/or veggies in a little snack bento!) And I had some Goldfish/Pretzel Mix-Up mix to use up.

Z hasn't been eating blueberries lately, so instead of those, I tried to get her to eat the "birthday strawberry" again. Without success. And since she loves kale chips, I figured they'd be a safe choice. I figured he'd already had a nutritious dinner, so I didn't worry about trying veggies on him.

He ate the apples like a watermelon, leaving the "rinds," and he left half the cheddar Goldfish crackers, but ate everything else, and had seconds on the strawberries. Z ate everything but the strawberry with a birthday hat pick. Still the strawberry's birthday, I guess.
Turns out he had been served dinner, but had hardly eaten any of it! So I'm glad I didn't pile on too much junk food!