Food thoughts

Lots of randomness to blog about, but finding a common thread in food issues.

I am one step closer to not having to get up in the morning at all with this little invention. Now the kids can get their own breakfast and the chances of me having to get up and mop before breakfast have considerably lessened. Who says recycling is a selfless act. And I was kidding about not getting up with my kids in the morning. Sort of.

(He's pouring milk, not syrup, in case you were wondering)

Publix is having a buy1, get 1 sale on pasta stuff this week. I got six boxes of noodles, four jars of sauce, four cans of seasoned tomatoes, two packs of yogurt, and four boxes of Quaker (wheat-free!) cereal all for less than $20. As long as no one minds spaghetti variations for two weeks straight, we could live on that in an emergency. Hello food storage!

I stopped by Lenna's school Wednesday afternoon at lunch time. I still love the fact that I can totally make her day just by showing up to watch her eat a grilled cheese sandwich. I do have one question though- what doofus in the nutrition department thought that serving whole apples to kids in the lunch line was a good idea? At least take the time to cut them into wedges. I have never seen so much fruit go straight into the trash can. Especially in the first grade- do they not remember that 7 year olds have no front teeth?

(See? No teeth!)

Today Andrew discovered the joy of cracking and shelling peanuts (all over the living room rug) and is happily sharing them with his toy elephant. Because elephants love peanuts, of course. And Andrew loves the Dustbuster. Sometimes I wonder if he spills things on purpose, just to be able to suck them up again....

I lost three pounds this week without exercising. Want to know my diet secret? It's called the my-throat-hurts-so-bad-I-can't-swallow-anything-but-liquids diet. It works. And if you are in the no pain, no gain (or loss) camp, then it should be no problem for you. Just spend a few hours at your local preschool, primary, or doctor's office for a free exposure to the virus-of-the-week. Or come on over here, I am sure one of us is still a carrier. In the mean time, I am seriously considering an elective tonsillectomy.

Rebecca is a solid food junkie. She loves bananas and bread. Will eat pears if they are warm, and tolerates rice cereal. Maybe if I mix it with bananas? She is back to sleeping at night now that her tummy is full. The down side- I might need a new more effective diaper pail.

Even four year olds can learn to add and subtract and do CRCT test prep when peanut butter m&ms are the manipulative involved. Now he loves to "play the plus game!" in the car. He is still learning that you can't add letters and numbers together ("what is 2 plus d?") but is getting pretty good at counting on his fingers. He is amazed to discover that there is more than one number combination that will make the same answer: that 4+2 = 6 and so does 3+3, for example, is fascinating to him. I blame his dad, but will take the credit for his budding genius.

Oh, in case any of you are wondering: banana peels and pb&j sandwich crusts will flush down the toilet. CTR rings, race cars, and your big sister's toothbrush will just sink to the bottom. Thank you Andrew for sharing your research findings with us so freely. I really appreciate it.

Sick

I am sick. It hurts to swallow. My nose is stuffy. My eyes hurt. My ears hurt. My head feels like it is going to explode. I can't talk. I want to go to bed now.

Just thought I would share.

Not to be left out

Just so no one can accuse me of playing favorites.

We have hired a new housekeeper. She does floors, laundry, and cooking. All for an economical $5 a month.

Lenna is starting soccer this week. More info to follow, of course. She is excited to be making her theatrical debuet in the first grade play as "Bug 18" on March 10. She won a jumprope contest at school and went to the zoo. You can read all about in her words on her blog: I Luv Pink.

Last night while Mike and Andy were at the hospital she and I kept busy eating ice cream and watching the Amazing Race. She offered to go with me when she is older so we can sky dive and throw pies at eachother. Should be fun.

Growing by Leaps and Bounds

A shameless baby brag post, just so you are forewarned.

Rebecca has grown so much this past month. She is going through clothes faster than I can keep up with the washing. I just packed away a whole box of too-little's, from newborn to 3-6 month clothes. Thankfully, Shannon and Sandra have great taste and non-pack rat closets, so Rebecca will be well dressed for the rest of the summer.

She is settling into a nap routine finally and is staying awake for longer periods. I have almost figured out what to do with her while she is awake. She is no longer content to sit and stare at the ceiling or a stuffed animal. She wants to be talked to and played with and sang to. She has learned to laugh, especially at her big brother and sister and likes her swing, a stuffed cat, and patty cake. When the weather cooperates she likes to go outside. Generally she is a very good baby and doesn't do much crying, relatively speaking.

I broke my own rules yesterday and she had her first solid foods. Pancakes and mashed banana. In contrast with Andrew and Lenna, who were strictly no solids until 6 months, no mixed foods until all ingredients had been tried separately, only natural jarred made for baby foods. I guess it is true the more you have, the more you have to let go. Anyway, we don't even have a high chair or anything set up. I had her on my lap during our breakfast for dinner and she was very interested in what we were doing, leaning in and trying to grab at my food and making eating motions with her mouth. So I just gave her a taste of the pancakes and she kept crying for more. I thought I better give her something more baby-foodish so mashed up a banana instead. She managed a couple of teaspoons before she was bored with it but did very well otherwise.

Some pictures- giggles and grins, plus meeting the spoon!

With a Crash and a Bang.....

Last night, Andrew made his first visit to the ER as a patient (he has been several times as an observer). I guess he thought that being treated for strep throat and starting a new allergy medicine was not enough adventure for the week.

He was playing some sort of pretend game where he was required to run full speed away from the bad guys who were chasing him. Unfortunately, he did so wearing just socks on the hardwood, while looking over his shoulder to check for previously mentioned bad guys, and grossly underestimating the distance from one end of the hall to the other. All of this resulted in a rather forceful crash head first into the wall and door frame at the end of the hall after he lost his footing.

First sound: thump
Second sound: Andrew, wails
Third sound: Lenna, "I didn't do it! It had nothing to do with me!"
Fourth sound: Mom, deposit baby on couch, rush down hall, expecting hole in wall and bumped head and instead finds son with blood running down his face
Fifth sound: Lenna, "He's bleeding! He's bleeding! He's actually really hurt this time!"
Sixth sound: Mom, "Crap! He's gunna need stitches." (I know, not my proudest mother moment. I should have been much more compassionate. That came later after we survived the first 30 seconds in crisis mode.)

By this time Lenna was crying louder than Andrew ("He's going to the hospital! He's going to get a shot! He's bleeding all over the bathroom!"), he was sobbing because he didn't want to go to the doctor (No concern over the head injury or gaping gash, just didn't want to go to the doctors office again), and Rebecca had enough of the sofa and wanted to be part of the action, so she started crying as well. I was so glad Mike was home, or I think I would have started crying, too.

We were able to stop the bleeding pretty fast and just held it shut with a band aid. I had to convince Mike he needed stitches, not just a band aid. He even called from the car to make sure I still thought he needed to be seen. I felt slightly vindicated when he called from the hospital and said he was getting two stitches. I would have felt like a typical paranoid mom had he just been given a butterfly band aid and sent home.

Here is the result:

And finally, a happy shout out to the pediatric ER at MCG. They were seen by a triage nurse in about 10 minutes, waited less than an hour to get back to a room, and were given a stuffed animal to hug, a popsicle, and a DVD player with Veggie Tales to keep Andy distracted while they waited and did the sewing.

So much better then when I made the mistake of taking Lenna to the ER on base, where we waited an hour to see the nurse, were sent to Xray, then waited six more to be told to go home and come back in the morning, because it would be at least three more hours before the 1 doctor on duty got around to seeing the 6 yr old with the broken ankle.

So there is our Sunday night adventure. Here's to a great week!

Hanging in There

We are still here. I have been busy playing nurse.
Mike had his scope procedure done this morning. All went well and the test found nothing new or unusual. He spent the day sleeping off the anesthesia. The kids were troopers, getting up and going to the babysitter at 6am. I am grateful to a visiting teacher who was willing to get up that early, feed and dress my kids, cart one to school, and tend the other sick one until I got back.
Andrew has been on the couch with a fever the past two days. All TV rules go out the window when it comes to sick time. If you have ever wondered what 104* looks like, I can tell you. It is scary. He buried his head under the covers each time I tried to take a picture, so no visuals. He hasn't eaten in two days, but has been obediently downing a glass of juice every hour or so. We are going in for a strep swab tomorrow. He got to spend a whole three days healthy between the allergy attacks and the fever, just long enough to attend the holiday parties and church.
Lenna is the healthiest, as she had her sick days last week. I got a note from the nurse Monday, a phone call Tuesday, and Wednesday we finally gave up and kept her home. She was fine that afternoon, of course. She started the week with pink eye, but was well enough to go to school today.
Rebecca is so far untouched by the illness but keeping me busy in her own way. She is entering another growth spurt. I have just retired another batch of clothes, this time 3-6 month sizes. She has wanted to nurse constantly the past two days and has even started waking in the night for an extra feeding (she had been sleeping through since about 6 weeks). We are both counting down the weeks until she is old enough for solids. She seems to need the extra food and has begun watching me eat very intently, making "MMMM" noises with each anticipated bite. Too bad she will have to start with the yucky paste cereal instead of the yummy french toast she was eyeing this morning.

First 5

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! Scary, I know! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations.
I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
What I create will be just for you.
It'll be done this year.You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be a cool photo or an article that I think you will like. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? So, here is the catch. You must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment, will get a fabulous homemade gift by me! Be sure to post a picture of what you get when you get it



OK. I totally admit to posting this just so I could sign up to get something from my cute crafty sisters, but you may be pleasantly surprised!

Time Out Again

Remember this post? About the Time Out for Women event in Columbia on May 8&9.
Just to make sure no one gets left out I thought I'd put it up here again. There is a group from our ward buying tickets together so we can get the group discount. I am giving my money to her just to make sure we get tickets in time and at the cheaper rate. I believe the deadline she set was Feb 22. Email me or comment if you want in and haven't been getting her (CS) emails.

If I had to pick a fight

If I had to pick a fight to referee, this would be the one.

Yesterday I bought this (except mine is green):

Today, I spent an hour re-setting the timer to 15 minute intervals, to keep my children from arguing over whose turn it was to clean the floor, the couch cushions, the counters, and any other dust- or crumb-covered surface they could find.

I am s0 never sweeping again.

Amazing

Nothing new to blog about. I just wanted to bump that post down one.

Until then, I will leave you with Andrew the Amazing. We are in good hands!

To Friend or Not To Friend

I have a Facebook Account. I don't do much on there as far as all the little games and quizzes and such. I find it an interesting challenge to try and sum up my day in the two line limit they put on your status report. I like reading other people's and lurking through their photo albums, esp if they don't have a blog and that is all I get to see of them.
When I first joined all of my friends were buddies from church or my relatives (the typical email contact list friends). I recently added my maiden name and my high school name to my profile to see who facebook would randomly generate as my potential friends.
I have been invited to add lots of old acquaintances as friends. Because that is what they are, really not friends just people who recognize my name from high school. I haven't confirmed yet.
See, here's the thing. I am not so sure I want to reconnect with anyone from high school. I HATED middle school and high school. I was the biggest dork ever. Total loner- not the cool "I don't care what anyone thinks I will do my own thing" loner, the "who is that person who has been in my class for two years but I have never bothered to ask her name" loner. I was too smart, too shy, and too tall. I was depressed and had no self-esteem and spent most of my time trying hard to be invisible. I had bad hair, bad clothes, bad acne, and bad teeth. No, I will not share a picture. I do not have any on purpose.
I went to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade in a small k-8 school with a graduating class of 25. I was the tallest, wore clothes that didn't fit, was the only one who could write in complete sentences or do long division, didn't drink, smoke, or kiss boys, and had untreated social anxiety disorder that made me have panic attacks on the school bus, during class presentations, or trying to talk on the telephone. Not exactly a recipe for social success.
High school was just as bad. I went to three different ones with no success. I floated from one group to another trying to find a good fit. I never did. I coped by trying to disappear at lunch and being a perfectionist in the classroom. I found an outlet and small relief on the basketball court or the track team, which probably is the only reason I made it out in one piece. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.
Why, I ask you, Why would I want to reconnect with anyone who ever knew me like that?
Well, here is the dilemma. I could just ignore them all. Forget they even exist or that I am that person who they knew. And continue in my happy life with no evidence of the shaky past.
Or, I could friend them all, even the ones who never said two words to me in high school. Then bombard them all with the current me, just to prove that high school is not the great predictor of future success.
The cheerleader with all the boyfriends and no brain is a single mom in her parents guest house. The football star is a crash and burn after jr college because he couldn't get accepted to a college to play. The nerdy guy with bad hair who knew about computers when no one else did is a tech genius. And the invisible girl with no social skills has a strong marriage, a great family, a college degree, a good job, fabulous kids, and all the things I hated about myself have sort of just went away. I grew out of the acne, long legs are good, I can dress myself, I grew out the bad bangs, reading is not a nerd hobby, my husband will kiss me whenever I want, I am not invisible, and people think I am talented and funny and smart and responsible.
So I guess that is it. I just thought I would share. I think I am going to go confirm a few new friends now.