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After my father died (unexpectedly), we had so much food that we had to take some over to the neighbor's fridge. A few friends got together and made a "necessity basket". They lent a few coolers- to keep drinks and extra food, coffee/filters/cream/sugar/tea bags, paper plates/napkins/plastic silverware- so we didn't have to worry about doing dishes and toilet paper (incredibly unexpected- but nicer than you think- lots of guests and who wants to run to the store for tp at that point). Since then, I usually fill a cooler with paper goods and coloring books/colors if there might be kids.

Late entry but when I lived in Florida (that kind of explains it, huh?), the grocery stores sold toast- yes, toasted white bread! Even better? the brand name was Bimbo!

I do some convenience foods- my kids love to help cook, but I would rather not let my kinderkid chop carrots, so he gets to pick shredded or sliced from the salad bar. We have done the frozen pbj sammies- they are great for field trips- they are an edible ice pack! And quite honestly, I make a lot of my "convenience" foods- when I make waffles, I make a double batch and pop them in the freezer- the sitter is more likely to pop a whole grain waffle in the toaster than cook fresh ones, and I make tons of homemade chicken nuggets to freeze- they are great for lunchboxes and thaw just in time for lunch . We also buy spring mix salad because it has 6 types of lettuce without buying 6 heads and tossing a lot of it.

My ex-husband used to say that since he was male, he had better spacial skills, so he could load the dishwasher better than me. He would lay 4 plates across the top rack (because they were too tall to stand up on top) and then 3 or 4 plastic dishes in the bottom, say he was done and leave the rest of the dirty dishes in the sink for me to wash! So much for the Y chromosome theory of dw loading.

I, however, tend to carry my coffee cup around with me, set it down and then can't find it. I am notorious for this- to the point that I have a friend who will keep track of where I am when we talk on the phone, so he can tell me to go get the cup I left on the back patio before he hangs up!

Raiders757..................want the mayo scoop? use it instead of butter on the outside of the bread, then when it is grilled you get a tangy crust---think "my wheat bread tastes kind of like sourdough?!?" I know it sounds crazy, but I had a scrumptious grilled cheese at a diner and asked what kind of bread- they told me the mayo secret and you would never guess guess it was mayo!

so far this year, we have been on a marmalade binge...but I just bought many pints of blueberries and my kinderkid is begging to make pinapple jam....gotta love him!!!

I have kids, so I bring LOTS of snacks. A bag of crackers, a bag of fruit snacks, a bag of granola, a bag of grapes. Lots of bags to keep them busy opening and eating and closing (and NOT whining or kicking or annoying other passengers). Then we already have bags to fill with dirty clothes or treasures we find or snacks for the return. I do try to avoid anything that involves more cleanup than a napkin, though.