I have to give Norby the credit for the title. This is what happens when a bento goes terribly wrong! Annie told me she thought it was cute though (hmmm, mentally checking my past bentos she thought were cute) and still thought I should take a picture. So here it is!

This bento is loaded with fiberful veggies, which, ahem, get things moving! Annie loves cauliflower, who knew? So I blanched the veggies in the bottom tier and dunked them in soysauce again. The tomatoes are fresh actually, not blanched. The cloudy face in the cauliflower smiled big at me so I figured he should smile at Annie too. The middle tier has two types of Tomagoyaki (Japanese omlette thing). Both are seasoned with salt, pepper and dill but half are stuffed with cauliflower and the other half with asparagus. The fruit tier is pretty straight forward. I'm hoping the orange isn't overripe. I tasted it and it was awful but then I remembered that I had just brushed my teeth, haha. Well, that's all for this bento!

It just yells at you, red! Red strawberries and raspberries in the top and red tomatoes all over the bottom. The top also has some blanched broccoli and cauliflower that have been dipped in soy sauce. The bottom has a mushroom onigiri (pressed, shaped rice) flower and some pieces if chicken under the tomatoes. It was a long week and weekend filled with woes (stolen brand new iPhone, Annie's overbooked schedule and sickness) and joys (Annie's new Kung Fu class and Chinese ribbon dance at MOA as well as my amazing happy family). Here's to another Monday!

I'm not a super patriotic person but one of those kind of oddballs who prefer to think of the whole earth as my home, however, as this bento took shape, it started to look like a small scene in American life. Cookie cutter houses with similar cars driving to and fro, all taking place under the red, white and blue. Kind of makes me giggle, I don't know why. Annie helped a ton this morning, which is great because I had us running late as I tried to get a little on top of the mound of housework that has accumulated in the past few weeks. She put the whole wheat organic sauced with local organic grass fed beef spaghetti and the organic raspberries and blueberries into the bento. She left the small tin open between the berries (her idea) and I added some bites of organic cauliflower. It was as I was adding the organic local havarti cheese landscape that I noticed the red, white and blue of the top tier, funny. And I think I overused the word organic in this post. Every once in a while it's like something inside me bursts out and forces me to let the world know we are organic people, lol. Next post, I'll be back to my usual self, I promise.

Buds are bursting on the trees which means two things; 1. Summer is nearly here and 2. Allergies! But, I still am excited for the change so this bento is leafy. I'm a bit sad (not as sad as Annie is to lose her favorite tooth but that's an entirely different story) because my maple leaf cutter is coming apart at the seams. It was my second set of cutters I ever bought for bentoing. I guess it's telling me I've been at this a while now, so that's good. The top tier is kiwi and grape filled with a couple of sunshine bear picks tucked away. The middle tier has three fish cakes with cheesy springy leaves. The bottom one is filled with steamed and buttered broccoli and carrot leaves. Eat up, Annie!

So many bunnies and one hello kitty. It's fairly obvious that I love rabbits and so, with the insanely warm weather today (that is not a complaint, seriously), it was time for a springy bunny bento. The top tier has Annie's Cheddar Bunnies crackers, half a bunny egg sitting on some bunny food (carrots), kiwi rabbits and some grapes. The other tier has another half bunny egg on bunny food and a soba noodle salad with a carrot rabbit on some chive grass. Finally, we made it to Tomidachi yesterday and got a couple of these cute little hello kitty containers. This one is filled with some pirate booty. It will forever remind me of the night I "lost" my new iPhone 4 in less than 30 minutes of it's purchase. I sure hope that busgirl really needed the money for a good cause. Anyway, here's to Monday and smiles!

Nissa's 2nd bento on her own. Now, when I make a bento, she wants one too. She doesn't mean for lunch the next day, she wants it right then. And I say (again), why not? It's a Good evening snack! She cut up her own banana and kiwi, then used the rest of the dressed soba noodles I used for Annie's lunch. She sat at the tall table in the sunroom and ate while watching Annie do some homework. Maybe she'll be making her own bentos for school in the fall.

Today, Nissa turned five and claimed she feels no different than when she was four. She wants to know why. I have no good answer except that I honestly don't feel older on my birthdays either, I just feel like me! Anyway, once again, Nissa requested a bento when she saw me making Annie's and I thought 1. better get used to making two, kindergarten starts in about four months and 2. it's her birthday, how can I say no? So here's her mini bento with some apples, mandarin orange pieces, a wedge of apple and two cheese bears full of heart. Of course, she just ate it all up as a snack, silly kid. Happy Birthday Nunu!

Thanks Dragon City for such large portions! We had plenty of fried rice leftover and luckily, it's loved by the girls. It makes bentos a lot easier when there are tasty leftovers. So, house fried rice (chicken, shrimp, & pea pods) with a heart container of kalamata olives and another of cherry tomatoes. Did you know that there are companies that make organic american cheese (or pirate cheese as Annie named it years ago... long story)? I'm so happy! Don't know if it's any better for me but I'm going to say, "yes, yes it is" right now. Anyway, there's a cheese bear with a nori heart protecting the fried rice from anyone eating it not named Annie. The other tier has the last of the mandarin oranges and a couple of apple wedges also protected by bears with cheese and nori hearts. Here's to Monday and the start of another week!