Sick Day Slippers

My little peanut is feeling sick and is home from preschool today. It's actually a little chilly here in CT this morning and so the peanut wants his flannel pj's and blankie. He has set himself up on the couch with his monster trucks to watch TV. He doesn't like to wear socks around the house but it's a little chilly to be going around barefoot so I knitted up a super-quick pair of slippers for him. It took less than an hour...

I used Tahki Baby that I had in my stash and followed Imagine's Zippy Little Slippers pattern, designed by Melissa Mall. It took less than an hour and he loves them. They are a little goofy because I followed the cables on the first foot and ignored them halfway through the second foot. I like them better without the cables. Luckily you can barely tell because it's a dark wool.

Today's Bento Box for Big Sister
is PBJ sandwiches with mandarin oranges,
carrots, and a brownie muffin treat:

I manage to keep the mandarin oranges from leaking by using Glad Press n' Seal on the section. The brownie muffin is made with lots of beet puree--it's surprisingly good! I followed the Beet Bundt Cake recipe from Allrecipes.com, as submitted by Vermadel Kirby. I made a total of 24 mini-muffins and 12 regular muffins with the batter. I also made the following substitutions: used half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour (instead of all white flour) to add whole grain, reduced the sugar to 1 cup, and added 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for a richer chocolate taste. Be careful not to overbake them and they will stay moist and rich like a brownie. The kids LOVE them. Even my husband loves them! I can't imagine any other possible way of getting my family to eat beets, proving once again that chocolate can just about fix anything.