'Twas the Last Snack Week Before Christmas...

Monday, 12/17/12 through Wednesday 12/19/12

'Twas the last snack week before Christmas and all through the house excitement was stirring, with nary a grouse. The snacks were all packed with a mom's loving care, and were all sent to school for her to eat there.
The foods were all nestled in their little "beds," to get eaten by Little Z - or so she had said. Carrying her snack bag, in her coat and her cap, she went off to school... then Mama took a nap!

Monday

White cheddar popcorn, apples

 Quick and simple!

Tuesday

apples, Colby Jack cheese, rosemary crackers

I had apple chunks and cheese slices left over from an earlier snack, so this was quick and easy to throw together as well! I threw in some rosemary crackers to go with the cheese, since she loves the rosemary bread we get at the farm, and I was hoping to entice her away from just filling up on Goldfish crackers. She knows they're "safe" for her, and tends to choose them over her healthier snack if they're available.

Wednesday

Pirate Booty, Unreal candy, gummy stars, carrots

Since we have an hour in between preschool classes for lunch, I usually just pack her snack then. So she has a lot more input than when I was packing them the night before with her lunch if we were going to be out and about all morning.
She requested more candies like had been on her Christmas tree sandwich that day for lunch, and more carrot trees. Since I didn't want to just give her a ton of candy, I sprinkled a few Unreal candy-coated chocolates and gummy stars on some Pirate Booty. Sneaky! And used my mini tree cutter on some more carrot coins. (They're hiding in stacks - there's more than just the three you see!)

(Box came from the Disney Store. It's an arrow shape with CARS on the lid, but I thought it was kind of tree-shaped, to go with her tree lunch that day.)

While technically not Baby's first Christmas, it was her first Santa picture! She was born on the 22nd, and we didn't leave the hospital until Christmas Day, so too late for Santa photos!

Santa pictures have always been an ordeal for us with Little Z (after her first one at 6 months. She was happy for that one!) Because of her sensory and social issues, she didn't like people she KNEW talking to her or touching her. Much less weird strangers in red suits! So we usually go on a weekday morning, so there are no weekend crowds to deal with. And no rush. We would stroll around and "stalk" the Santa area for hours, eating our lunch nearby so she could watch how other people interacted with Santa. And she would pick out a small toy to "earn" by getting her photo taken for Mama.
But this year I had two to wrangle, so when Hubby called in sick to work one day, I snagged him and we raced to the mall in between morning and afternoon preschool classes, and Z finished her lunch in the car. So we got the skeevy Santa, instead of the jolly fellow we've had the last three years (I find out his schedule in advance and we go on one of his days!) Oh well.

Tools of the Trade (stuff I used, or similar)