So, I'm Not a Bad Parent After All?

Or...this could be my last-ditch attempt at rationalization. ;-)

I've learned a very interesting fact about my kids the last few days. We are currently on day three of school being closed--way too icy out there--and the five of us (Hubby is out of town) have been hanging close to the house.

I am trying to think back to when *I* had a snow day from school, growing up. I don't really remember any. Maybe one. But what did WE do? Well, we PLAYED in the snow. For hours. Then, we stayed inside, and we made forts. We did little "plays." We did art projects.

So, what have MY kids done? Well, the first day, they played in the snow. For hours. Then, once the novelty wore off, they came inside, and played with their iPods. Asked me if they could get THIS game app, and THAT game app. And played with their iPods. And played with their iPods. And played on the computer. And played the Wii. Then the iPods again. Asked me for MORE apps. I said no. They played on the computer some more. I kicked them off the computer. They said they were bored.

Notice a slight difference?

Yeah. Technology.

Why? Because when I was a kid, we didn't have electronics to play with. HELLO!

My kids are addicted to electronic gadgets. What I have FINALLY realized, is it doesn't make me a "bad" parent, it's just this is an electronic generation. My three year old can maneuver my iPhone better than I can. He's lightining fast. My daughter can make a MOVIE out of photos (complete with music and graphics) on my Mac, and she figured out how to do it all by herself. I would need to take a class. My boys can beat a video game in under an hour. Kids these days are just hard-wired this way. When I listen to my kids' conversations with their friends, what do they talk about? How far they've gotten on such-and-such video game. And how far this friend of a friend of a friend got on HIS video game.

Sure, I still like to have my futile attempts at "unplugging" and spending QT family time together, but it's not like it used to be, when I was growing up, and we didn't have electronic stuff. Then again, if memory serves, I do remember when we got the Atari. WE stopped making forts and playing with toys. We played that thing till it broke. And then the Nintendo NES. I spent an entire summer playing Super Mario Bros. and I saved Princess Peach, more than once.

So, I can't whine and wail and bemoan my kids wanting to be on their electronic gadgets all the time. It is just the way it is. At this point, it's the norm. All their friends, and their friends' friends, are addicted to their gadgets. Quite frankly, I'm "resistant" compared to some of the parents around here. And no, I'm not judging. I just think I'm a little Late to the Party.

Then again, I walked in on Thing Three last night, and he was lying on his bed, nose buried in book 3 of the Ranger's Apprentice series. He had actually made the choice to read a book.

"You're reading?" I asked.

"Yeah--I got tired of my iPod," was his reply.

I'm okay with that.

And Now, We're...

It's 1/11/11 today! Make a wish at 11:11! You'll get two chances. :-)

School is cancelled again--all that snow that melted on the roads is now ice. I've been reading the reports and they say going out in a car is like "rolling the dice" today--because EVERYTHING is ice.

Thanks, I'll stay home. It's warm inside, we have plenty of food, and we can watch movies and hang out.
Here's the kicker: Hubby is currently in NYC, and they're supposed to have a storm the day before he's supposed to fly back home. Yeah. He packed extra underwear, in case his flight gets canceled. ;-)

I'm still sick. The aches and fever are gone, but now, my head is solid cement from the neck up. I want to kiss whoever invented this little Pump Spray of Salvation:

It is because of this stuff I can actually sleep at night. And yes, I know it can make me worse in the long run, so I only use it sparingly--not during the day, and only before bed. I discovered it a couple years ago, when I was DOG sick for my sister's wedding. It got me through the entire time. And I could BREATHE.

I hope everyone is staying safe and warm!

SNOW DAY!

Having moved recently from Wisconsin, I have to say I find it a little comical that a "few inches of snowfall" is enough to close the schools, here in North Carolina. We used to live in Pewaukee, which is just outside of Milwaukee, and let me tell you, can you say WELL-OILED MACHINE when it came to snow? We lived in a subdivision with only about 30 houses in it (the lots were one acre) that was off a main road but kind of isolated, and I remember by 4am the snowplows had already come through and plowed and salted the roads. Which was nice, because when we finally got around to snowblowing the driveway, we didn't have to worry about them coming later and "boxing us in" again.

Here, there aren't any trucks. At least, I don't believe so. So, be it snow or icy rain, you just STAY HOME. Back in good ol' WI, it had to be either A) SIX feet of snowfall, or B) Minus Forty degrees, for them to cancel school.

I'm a mean mom. I made my kids go to bed at 9pm last night, because as of then, the schools were still "open." Oh well. I'll let them sleep in this morning. And I'll make them waffles. They'll forgive me. ;-)

Yesterday was pretty harrowing, because Hubby was scheduled to fly out Tuesday morning to New York, and his boss texted him yesterday afternoon, recommending he try and get out last night, instead. Hubby called the airline, and there were still a few seats available for the direct flights at 8 and 9pm. Hubby texted his boss back, and said he could do it. Then he called the airline back, and in the 10 minutes it had taken him to get back with his boss, everything had sold out, and the ONLY available flight out of Charlotte was a non-direct, leaving at 6:55. Which gave us exactly ONE HOUR AND SIX MINUTES to get him packed up for the entire week and off to the airport!

Now, I'm completely CERTAIN, that when I woke up Saturday morning and despite feeling like crap (I've been dealing with a nasty flu-like virus) I ventured out to pick up all his dry cleaning, it was inspired. Because luckily he had all his suits  and dress shirts ready to go--so he could just throw them all (well, ok, pack them neatly) into his garment suitcase and GO. We got him out the door with 15 minutes to spare. It was pretty miraculous, actually.

I am now Hubby-less until the weekend, but since I'm still feeling sicker than a dog, it's not like I want him to see me like this anyway.

On the agenda for today? A whole lot of nothing. Except I plan on getting some writing in on my new story idea.

Stay warm, everyone!

Hummus, Where Have You Been All My Life?

I am sick. Achy, chilled and fevery. Viruses suck, can I just say? I was curled up in bed most of last night and this morning. I'm taking EmergenC and lots of water. Gotta be a Mom. No time to get sick!

 So, HUMMUS. Yes, it's not new. It's new to "me." So, all you people out there who feel tempted to roll your eyes can just stop it now! ;-)

We went to Brixx last week, and on the menu was "Wood fired pita chips and 3 dips." As in 3 different kinds of Hummus. Hubby was all for it, and I grudgingly agreed. The appetizer came out. It had regular Hummus, black-bean Hummus, and roasted Red Pepper Hummus. We dug in.

Oh my Gosh YUM!!!

I hate to admit it, I have never tasted Hummus. I had a roommate in college who loved to eat garbanzo beans (a.k.a "chickpeas") and I was super sicked out by them. And grinding them up and eating them just seemed...gross.

Then I heard about Hummus being "the rage" a few years back. I figured it was for types who did Yoga and Recycled and ate organic food--which is funny because these days, I do all those things!

Needless to say, I very much enjoyed the Hummus, and I'd totally eat it again. I was at Harris Teeter yesterday and I was shocked to find that a teeny tub of Hummus was $4.99, and a bag of Pita chips was $5.99. Wow. Expensive! I'd rather just go buy a can of chickpeas and spices and make the darn stuff myself! So, I'm on the lookout for a good basic Hummus recipe...

Thing One is finally feeling better today. I'm forcing her to go to school. She's missed all her basketball practices this week, and she's probably going to be too weak to play in Saturday's game, but we'll cross that bridge if and when. I need to get her some good basketball shoes. The shoes she's currently wearing are getting tight in the toe (they're from last year) but she loves them so she only just started complaining. I just hope they have them in her size--a woman's 10. We had a DEVIL of a time finding volleyball court shoes for her last season--I had to order online!

I hope everyone has a good weekend. Hubby is flying out to NYC on Tuesday morning, and we're supposed to have snow that day. Well, RAINY snow, which means he may not be going anywhere. North Carolina is NOTHING like Wisconsin, everything shuts down in mere anticipation of snow. Which is kinda funny, but nice, too.

Stay warm, everyone!

Comfort Food.

It's raining outside, and I'm enjoying my morning cup of Pero. (Closest to the now-defunct Postum I can find, thanks to my friend Aimee!) I've been mulling over what to fix for dinner tonight, when it's cold and rainy like this. Of course if it was ten degrees colder we'd be buried in SNOW, which would be awesome, but I digress...

I have dishes I only fix in Winter. Like most of you do. Summer is too hot for hot casseroles and homemade soups and double chocolate carmel brownies, so I actually cook and bake more in Winter. I have a really yummy (and easy) Chili recipe, which I make with sweet cornbread. I have a clam chowder recipe that is SO yummy, but I have to get the bread bowls at Panera. I'm no good at making them. ;-) Although I imagine they're not that hard.

The kids and I love Stroganoff, but Hubby would rather stab his eyes out than eat the stuff, so I think I'll fix it when he's in NYC next week. My neighbor informed me it starts becoming "shorts weather" in mid to late February, here (CAN YOU SAY HALLELUJAH?????), so I don't have a whole lot of "comfort food" nights left.

Anyone have a fantastic and easy comfort food recipe? I've pasted my chili recipe at the end of this post, its so easy it should be CRIMINAL. Yet so yummy!

Thing One has been sick. I took her to the dr. yesterday. It's viral. She's had a high fever for three days now, and she's a total snot-sucking zombie. (I know, GREAT mental picture, right?) I'm sure she'd appreciate me telling you all. But the poor thing really has it bad. Luckily she can get most of her homework online with MOODLE, so she's not behind. Gotta stay on the honor roll! (And yes, I won't go so far as to put a bumper sticker on my car but I am proud of her honor-roll student status--so indulge me the occasional shout out.) ;-)

And now, folks, I have officially run out of time. Gotta get moving! Happy Thursday!

Lara's Quick and Easy Crockpot Chili: (Serves four, I usually double it for our family of six!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pound Ground Beef, 1 can dark red Kidney beans, drained, 1 can light kidney beans, drained, 1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomato, undrained, 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce, 2 small onions, chopped, 4 cloves garlic, minced, 2 Tb. Chili powder**, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 cup water

Brown beef, drain fat. Pour into crock pot, add rest of ingredients, stir well and cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Ten minutes before serving, remove crockpot lid (keep heat on) and let thicken. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese. Yum!

 **If you have kids with "weenie mouths" like mine, cut the chili powder to 1Tb. It still has a "little" heat, but not too much for kiddos. Also, if you're low on fresh ingredients, minced garlic in a jar and dehydrated onion (reconstitute it first) works just fine.

Workout Insomnia!!! Waaahhhh!!!!!

**Caution, lots of Whiny, Woe-is-me Complaining Ahead**

Let me just say, I do NOT work out at night. If/when I do work out, it's at 11am. That's my best time. I've gotten the kids off to school, had breakfast, digested it for the most part, and I'm an hour away from lunch. In other words, Perfect Workout Time for me. Thing Four is pretty easy--I either have him in the workout room with me with an iPod to keep him busy, or I put a movie on for him, and I have a good hour to do whatever I need.

Hubby works out at night. Religiously. He comes home from work, scarfs down dinner, and at 9pm, after we tuck the kiddos in bed, he's on the treadmill or elliptical for a focused workout. He says it keeps the stress at bay, and is a great way to blow off steam. Fabulous for him, I say.

Except for one little hitch--we've started our weight training again (darn those New Year's resolutions!) and we have a pretty good rotation system where we do weights together. Problem is, the only time he can do weights, is yes, you guessed it, at NIGHT. And our routine is not some quick routine. It involves two repetitions each of four to five different exercises in a set (and we're talking two to three sets) then ab work. In other words, it takes a Long #&*!#!! Time! Usually about an hour. Since it's the new year, I committed to doing weight workouts with him, three times a week, and cardio on my own. Which means I get to work out with him on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

You can sense the complaints coming, I'm sure. Last night was the first night of our "night workouts." First off, we had church activities and Scouts (Thing Three earned his Bear, woo!) and by the time we pulled in to our garage, it was 8:30. The kids were still wound up, and when we finally got them in bed, it was 9:30. Hubby and I didn't start our workout until 9:45.

FREAKING 9:45.

I hate to admit it, but I whined a little. I complained a lot. And I even pouted a bit. Hubby wasn't having it. We were DOING THIS. So, we did, and finally, at 10:55, we were all finished.

Another inconvenient little hitch is I generally turn into a pumpkin after 10pm, lately. Maybe it's because I'm in my late 30's, or because I've always been more Morning Person than Night Person, but I was DEAD. And I was all sweaty and still had to stretch and it was going to be another half hour before I was all back to normal and cooled down. It was nearly midnight before we were in bed.

And then, I couldn't SLEEP. Hubby was asleep pretty quickly, but he is used to sleeping after a workout. I am not. I tossed, I turned, I huffed and puffed. No sleep. Finally, at 2am, I passed out, and then woke up at 4am with a headache. I've been up since. Can you say Z-O-M-B-I-E????

And I get to do this all again tomorrow night?

I think I'd rather drop a bowling ball on my big left toe. And I am SO not joking.

Got Picky Kids???

I still marvel that all four of my children are so vastly different, yet they came from the same two parents. And I'm not just talking about personalities, I'm talking about FOOD and PICKINESS.

As far as I know, we all eat the same thing at our house. I don't fix one thing for one child, and something different for the rest of the family. At our house, I fix one meal for everyone, if you don't like it, you starve.

(Well, I wouldn't say starve, exactly. Since I am a "mean" mom, if you don't like it, you get to suffer through the humiliation of being force-fed a few bites by yours truly, and THEN you can be excused from the table. ;-)

ANYWAY, my kids always keep me guessing. Thing One, who before seventh grade was a virtual garbage disposal, now eats next to nothing. Red meat is "gross." (Yet she loves steak fajitas, go figure.) The mere mention of fast food sends her over the edge. She prefers what I like to call the "Rabbit Diet." But she'll eat Chick-Fil-A. (Only because the nuggets have some addictive ingredient in them that makes you crave them like mad.)

Thing Two is trickier. He's my "texture" kid. We gave him one teensy bite of Sushi, once, and we might as well have stuck needles in his eyes. He runs screaming from anything that grows--I used to joke when he was younger he was going to end up with Rickets, because he wouldn't eat anything fruit or vegetable unless I tricked him into it. Basically, if it isn't Pizza or Tacos (WITHOUT LETTUCE), he will whine and complain and yes, get force-fed by his mother. And yes, he is ELEVEN YEARS OLD. Highly entertaining for his younger siblings to watch him getting fed by me, let me tell you. I rejoiced the day they invented V-8 Fusion--with ground-up veggies in it. That's a staple at our house.

Thing Three is my Angel Eater. As in, he doesn't complain, he just eats it. He liked "adult" food at a young age, he was eating salad and cooked sushi at age six. I will admit recently he's decided cooked peas are From The Devil, other than that, he'll eat pretty much anything in front of him.

Thing Four is my Non-eater. I have to remind him it's time to eat, or he'd skip it. He's just too busy wanting to play, color, run around, etc. . Otherwise, he's a typical three-year old. Loves fruit, HATES vegetables, thinks grilled-cheese sandwiches are the best. Oh, and playing with his food? BEST FUN EVER. (**Mom sighs heavily and rolls eyes.**)

The other day, at Panera, Hubby and I were standing in line, and when it came our turn, I rattled off a list of foods (all carefully tuned to each kid and what they like) and when I deferred to him to tell the lady what he wanted to order, he looked at me for a minute and grinned. I felt smugly triumphant. Because although my kids are picky, I at least know what they like. Even if I sound like Meg Ryan ordering food in When Harry Met Sally.

I'm the Mom, after all. ;-)

Back To The Grind...And Then Some.

I always have this sense of loss, when everything goes back to normal after the holidays. No more trees and lights (well, after today, heh heh), no more holiday music, no more anticipation, no more palpable "spirit" in the air.

Everyone trudges back to work, back to school, the house looks bare again, and it's still cold and gray. Granted, now the stores will soon look like someone threw up red and pink hearts and easter eggs in them, but it's just not the same.

Everything just feels like...pppphhhhbbbbtttttttt.

Although I will say, I have a renewed sense of determination. A new year means new goals and a less jaded attitude. For a while, anyway. ;-)

And I always get into Organization Mode. I go room-to-room and organize, purge, minimalize. Because we accumulate so much stuff during the year.

Time to take those trees down! Happy Monday, all.

My Favorite Things of 2010

So, if I had to narrow the year 2010 down to a few favorites, these would be them. In random order:

The Tide To Go stain stick. I'm in love. Complete and absolute. This little tube of loveliness got me out of SO many near-disasters and mishaps. And it fits nicely in my handbag and car! WOO! Even better!

Aveda Damage Remedy. I got highlights this summer. As in, LOTS of them. And my hair turned to straw in the North Carolina sun. This stuff single-handedly saved my hair. Well worth the price tag.

The Vampire Diaries. The SHOW, not the books. Don't read the books. Just watch the show. (Sorry L.J., but it's how I feel.) Seriously. This is the show that had me saying "Twilight WHO???" Yes, it's a guilty pleasure, and yes, there are 93756395 other things I could be doing with my time, but I'm sorry, sometimes I just need me a little Stefan and Damon Salvatore! ;-)

THE PEAS. I don't know anything about them personally, but my workouts were infinitely better, because of their music. Black Eyed Peas rock!

Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate. I'm NOT a coffee drinker, let's just clear that up. But Starbucks has won me over with a confection of carmel and sea salt and foamy hot chocolate that is To. Die. For. Try it before the weather warms up. You'll be glad you did! (Of course, I get mine non-fat, no-whip--or I'd be drinking back all the calories I burned working out. But it's still tasty!)

 
The Apple iPad. Never thought I needed one. Now I don't know how I lived before without it.

Popsugar. Of all the gossip rags out there, it's the cleanest. A tad saccharine, and sure, I prefer the humor of Dlisted, but Michael K. is a little "much" for me sometimes. When I surf Popsugar, I'm not afraid for my kids to be in the same room as me and my computer screen. ;-)

The "Henry VIII And His Six Wives" Bracelet. Only because I am an unabashed Tudor History fan and I really really really love it, and I so can't afford it. ($150 at TartX.)

Pull-Ups. 'Nuff said.

There are so many other things I liked/loved in 2010, so maybe I'll do some more roundups. For now, Happy 2011!!!

The Ball Has Dropped!

Happy 2011 Everyone!!! And a great big shout out to my parents, Rich and Ana, who celebrate their 40-year anniversary today!!! Love you guys! Happy Anniversary!!!

2011 is so going to rock. I have decreed it. Thus it shall!!

Woo HOO!!!