October 26th, 2013
Yes I do realize it is still October and that Halloween hasn't occurred yet. And while this is my favorite month and time of the year, I am not a fan of Halloween so much as I am a fan of the pumpkins, the chill in the air, cute fall outfits, and the food that goes with it. No wonder my belly looks like Santa's...
Well the drama is still lingering if you are following along, if you aren't your loss. :) Monkey is still almost an emotional wreck. She is that odd child just like I was. I preferred being a loner sometimes probably because I as an only child. That and we moved a lot as a kid so I was never used to long term friendships until a teenager I became. I think the problem for her last night was mechanics, 2 is great fun...three is a crowd. It is not one persons fault just the game of dynamics and she got the short stick. Something is not right with that kid and I can't put my finger on it with all of this drama, she isn't herself. She has stopped being my adventuresome eater. She no longer wants to try everything. I know her allergies are playing a huge part as mine did when I was her age. You feel like crap constantly but not sick enough to be deemed "sick" and get anything done about it. We do get chiropractic which helps but I think she needs it once a week but I can't afford it unfortunately. I may take her in monthly instead along with her cocktails of claritin, zyrtec, and benadryl alternations. She keeps that kool-aid lip and of course they had school pictures this week when it was at its worse. I am pretty sure dairy is the culprit of that but I took her off of it and she still has it so I am thinking it is a combination of things. I may have given her so much vitamin supplements that I altered her body chemistry where texture and taste bother her where it didn't before. She is also the gassiest kid I know and I worry she has hubby's gluten sensitivity. I may have to take her off of gluten for a couple of weeks to test that theory out.
So, that alters my cooking extravaganza that I am embarked on today. I am making a gluten free lasagna that I adapted from the pioneer woman's recipe. I am hopeful the noodles will hold up and taste ok. I need to get both my kids back on to more homemade versions of their favorite boxed foods. It is hit and miss with some of it just like the gluten free products. Love all things King Arthur but Bob's Red Mill is very hit and miss. KA all-purpose GF flour is great, Bob's bleagh. It is disgusting. Bob's cornbread is fabulous and so is their pizza dough and brownies though. And then you throw in individual tastes. Lawyer won't touch it if she even THINKS it is GF so I have to hide packages and put things in ziplocks. Monkey will happily try it but her problem is she suddenly only wants cookies only. I think it is a comfort food because she doesn't feel good. I just need to be patient with her and get her feeling better. And I can easily adapt recipes for the most part and come up with an edible version of whatever it is that we love at Thanksgiving...like dressing.
Hubby's great grandmothers dressing was the bomb. I got the recipe which is cryptic in and of itself but managed to figure it out close enough to make hubby happy. And then he had to go GF. Well, that has certainly been a challenge but I have slowly mastered it and with better and better products on the market I think I have enough alternatives to make it work this year. Just got to get the girls to like it! I have begun giving ultimatums and yes rewards to bribe them to get them to try new things. Lawyer LOVES my homemade hashbrowns that I made this morning so we are making progress but I may ultimately have to have all of us go bread free or at least GF for various reasons. Hubby and Monkey for tummy and behavior, Lawyer for removing more sugar that tends to give her more of the daydreams, and myself for weight management. We eat great but hubby and I need to eat less of the great stuff and walk more. Life gets in the way and despite my hour long bike rides almost daily, I am just maintaining only. I need to kick start weight loss for both of us all the while trying to get a picky eater to venture out and a non-picky eater from becoming a picky eater!
I will start with GF spice cake muffins that is actually a cake mix but the girls love for breakfast. I am trying more ideas to jump start their mornings before school and keep the sugar exposure minimal. Plus this a great thanksgiving item to have on hand that all can eat. It has become a mission for me but right now is just a huge hurdle I must cross to get to my desired end result goal. Holiday madness is upon me although many would argue that is a year round sentence for me....
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Drama, drama, llama, llama, ramalama bing bong
October 24th 2013,
Well I think we have survived October but the month ain't over yet! We still have to get thru parent conferences and Halloween thought!!!
Our kids are barometers of our lives if you haven't ever noticed. They take on our problems but they do not know how to handle or articulate their feelings...so they act out. Monkey has been all sorts of out of whack since my mothers surgery and our stressful trip out of town last week. Hubby and I have been a worked up ball of mess for one reason or another and it is showing in our kids!
Today was picture day because it is the school's red ribbon week for saying no to drugs so every day is an activity. Today...we had a major meltdown. Monkey did not like the shirt I picked out. She said I always made her wear the same shirt. Well, yes, yes I do...sort of. I tend to put her in red shirts or a darker color. She looks good in that color. Her problem this morning though was that she saw a previous picture of herself wearing a red shirt and pitched a fit that I always make her wear the same shirt for pictures. I had to point out that the picture in question was from preschool (she is in third grade mind you) and that the shirt in question had a V-neck and her current shirt did not....Thank Goodness! (chalk one down for mommy victory). I left her mulling that over and told her to come to my bathroom so I could attempt to wrestle with her unruly hair with lots of hairspray. She wanted a clip in her hair instead, which gives her the wallflower look I might add... Then she proceeds to have a meltdown about her socks as they were too thick making her shoes too tight. She is sobbing telling me this while I do the awesome mom thing of yelling at her to hurry up so I can fix the shirt issue. By the time I get her back to her room and give her two more shirt options, which she refuses both, I tell her to change her socks. At this point, I realize that we are now late for school. So in my best mommy growl I begin to yell at not one, but both my kids. Monkey realized in all her drama and dawdling, she has not gotten to spend her morning time playing for a bit, which is basically therapy for her.
Enter the car scene...
I get them both stuffed into the car while she is a sobbing mess. I give her a quick hug and then turn up the music in hopes that jamming will calm her and make her chill. This maneuver usually works, but not this morning! She sobbed and sobbed....AND sobbed. I grabbed the hand of Lawyer and give her a squeeze and told her thank you for all of her help but that she was going to have to jump out while I pulled up farther to park for a second. I managed to give her an I love you moment before she bolted from the madness that was our car. Our wonderful morning helpers came up and just shook their heads b/c apparently drama was in the air and I was not the only parent dealing with chaos. I calmly talked to Monkey while she at least stopped crying and switched to begging not to go to school. A wonderful angel came up and coaxed Monkey out of the car on the promise of helping her out that afternoon. I was able to close the van door and drive off only to look back while a dear friend, who just dealt with similar morning drama on her third grader, stop them and talk to Monkey and then proceed to walk her in to the classroom and help her get situated. I mean it takes a village people! Be thankful for those in your life that love your children and help you out so that you don't end up on the 6 o'clock news!
I got to get back to cooking dinners. I think I will try cooking and freezing meals so that my stress level goes down on days when cooking seems like climbing Everest.
Let me add that Lawyer was great during all of this today as she always seems to pull it together when her sister loses it. I think she had her drama by getting yelled at this week when she was more interested in her new book series than remembering her glasses, homework, coats, and lunchboxes!
It is days like these I am thankful for my hairdresser. She wonderfully covers up all the gray I have from daily life!
Well I think we have survived October but the month ain't over yet! We still have to get thru parent conferences and Halloween thought!!!
Our kids are barometers of our lives if you haven't ever noticed. They take on our problems but they do not know how to handle or articulate their feelings...so they act out. Monkey has been all sorts of out of whack since my mothers surgery and our stressful trip out of town last week. Hubby and I have been a worked up ball of mess for one reason or another and it is showing in our kids!
Today was picture day because it is the school's red ribbon week for saying no to drugs so every day is an activity. Today...we had a major meltdown. Monkey did not like the shirt I picked out. She said I always made her wear the same shirt. Well, yes, yes I do...sort of. I tend to put her in red shirts or a darker color. She looks good in that color. Her problem this morning though was that she saw a previous picture of herself wearing a red shirt and pitched a fit that I always make her wear the same shirt for pictures. I had to point out that the picture in question was from preschool (she is in third grade mind you) and that the shirt in question had a V-neck and her current shirt did not....Thank Goodness! (chalk one down for mommy victory). I left her mulling that over and told her to come to my bathroom so I could attempt to wrestle with her unruly hair with lots of hairspray. She wanted a clip in her hair instead, which gives her the wallflower look I might add... Then she proceeds to have a meltdown about her socks as they were too thick making her shoes too tight. She is sobbing telling me this while I do the awesome mom thing of yelling at her to hurry up so I can fix the shirt issue. By the time I get her back to her room and give her two more shirt options, which she refuses both, I tell her to change her socks. At this point, I realize that we are now late for school. So in my best mommy growl I begin to yell at not one, but both my kids. Monkey realized in all her drama and dawdling, she has not gotten to spend her morning time playing for a bit, which is basically therapy for her.
Enter the car scene...
I get them both stuffed into the car while she is a sobbing mess. I give her a quick hug and then turn up the music in hopes that jamming will calm her and make her chill. This maneuver usually works, but not this morning! She sobbed and sobbed....AND sobbed. I grabbed the hand of Lawyer and give her a squeeze and told her thank you for all of her help but that she was going to have to jump out while I pulled up farther to park for a second. I managed to give her an I love you moment before she bolted from the madness that was our car. Our wonderful morning helpers came up and just shook their heads b/c apparently drama was in the air and I was not the only parent dealing with chaos. I calmly talked to Monkey while she at least stopped crying and switched to begging not to go to school. A wonderful angel came up and coaxed Monkey out of the car on the promise of helping her out that afternoon. I was able to close the van door and drive off only to look back while a dear friend, who just dealt with similar morning drama on her third grader, stop them and talk to Monkey and then proceed to walk her in to the classroom and help her get situated. I mean it takes a village people! Be thankful for those in your life that love your children and help you out so that you don't end up on the 6 o'clock news!
I got to get back to cooking dinners. I think I will try cooking and freezing meals so that my stress level goes down on days when cooking seems like climbing Everest.
Let me add that Lawyer was great during all of this today as she always seems to pull it together when her sister loses it. I think she had her drama by getting yelled at this week when she was more interested in her new book series than remembering her glasses, homework, coats, and lunchboxes!
It is days like these I am thankful for my hairdresser. She wonderfully covers up all the gray I have from daily life!
Monday, October 14, 2013
Battle of wills...
October 14th, 2013 Columbus Day!
Wow, what a whirlwind last week! Mother had surgery, stayed with her all day Wednesday, and night, and all day Thursday. Rough first night but not as bad as I expected. Her "inards" were a mess but the doctor got them all straight and stuffed back in with no leftovers!
I was able to chill and recoup this weekend and kids were out today for Columbus day...I don't think we ever got that day off, stinkers. The heathens were not too bad but the Lawyer is still pushing my buttons. I have about decided she just enjoys being annoying...to EVERYONE. She is super smart and dingy all wrapped in one...quite the interesting combo actually. That is until she turns on you and you want to call an exorcists and have her "cleansed". That child is going to send me to an early grave if she keeps at it! She pushes and pushes. Just now she came to ask something. She decided to give me a hug, but then kept hugging and hanging and began to sway. Makes you feel like parent of the year when you are screaming at the top of your lungs STOP HUGGING ME! Yeah that sends a great message! You must physically and literally prove to that child she is annoying or wrong...which can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. She keeps asking why she is grounded (refer to WTF post) and why can't she just go on her iPod? Really? It is like she thinks every day is a new day and if she asks the answer will change. (Ever seen Groundhog day????) Yet, she marked her "get out of jail" date on the calender!
In other news...Monkey has suddenly become a picky eater. I can't decide if she has so much snot from her allergies or our diet and food changes have suddenly caused her palette to change and now she can "taste" and doesn't like things. I am hoping it is just a phase..and the snot. It took two days for her to eat one full hamburger. I even squished it as flat as I could and used tortillas for buns to make it fun. Nope. She ate the first half ok Sun but today she barely got thru what could be argued as a fourth of the half...did I lose you? I may have lost myself actually.... Anyway, it was a struggle and usually she will just choke it down and be done. But lately she has turned down her favorite fish, rice, and other items. I really think she just doesn't feel well. Allergies are a lovely thing....said no one EVER!
We had her 504 meeting last Friday. Mostly, she struggles on taking tests in the allotted time. Even in small groups and one on one where allowed. She wants to talk to the admin of the test and chat. That kid is a socialite! I have resorted to having her read a short book and then write the main characters, what happened, and why ( a short retell of the story) in her journal and doing it while timed. Of the three times we have done this, she beat the clock once. I am going to have to do this every day to get her used to it and break her bad habits. I really think a lot of her issues is manipulation. If she can get you to do it or delay it, she will. I have laid down rules at home where I no longer remind to clean up plates after dinner, you don't clean up, you sit in time out. We even time her in the shower too and she does fairly well on that but we have been doing it longer. My goal is to get that kids to believe she is smart and not a bad kid (her words to me exactly) and break this habit. With her you have to outsmart and out wait her. Which ain't easy!
It is a battle of wills between our kids and us and hubby and I are not backing down!
Wow, what a whirlwind last week! Mother had surgery, stayed with her all day Wednesday, and night, and all day Thursday. Rough first night but not as bad as I expected. Her "inards" were a mess but the doctor got them all straight and stuffed back in with no leftovers!
I was able to chill and recoup this weekend and kids were out today for Columbus day...I don't think we ever got that day off, stinkers. The heathens were not too bad but the Lawyer is still pushing my buttons. I have about decided she just enjoys being annoying...to EVERYONE. She is super smart and dingy all wrapped in one...quite the interesting combo actually. That is until she turns on you and you want to call an exorcists and have her "cleansed". That child is going to send me to an early grave if she keeps at it! She pushes and pushes. Just now she came to ask something. She decided to give me a hug, but then kept hugging and hanging and began to sway. Makes you feel like parent of the year when you are screaming at the top of your lungs STOP HUGGING ME! Yeah that sends a great message! You must physically and literally prove to that child she is annoying or wrong...which can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. She keeps asking why she is grounded (refer to WTF post) and why can't she just go on her iPod? Really? It is like she thinks every day is a new day and if she asks the answer will change. (Ever seen Groundhog day????) Yet, she marked her "get out of jail" date on the calender!
In other news...Monkey has suddenly become a picky eater. I can't decide if she has so much snot from her allergies or our diet and food changes have suddenly caused her palette to change and now she can "taste" and doesn't like things. I am hoping it is just a phase..and the snot. It took two days for her to eat one full hamburger. I even squished it as flat as I could and used tortillas for buns to make it fun. Nope. She ate the first half ok Sun but today she barely got thru what could be argued as a fourth of the half...did I lose you? I may have lost myself actually.... Anyway, it was a struggle and usually she will just choke it down and be done. But lately she has turned down her favorite fish, rice, and other items. I really think she just doesn't feel well. Allergies are a lovely thing....said no one EVER!
We had her 504 meeting last Friday. Mostly, she struggles on taking tests in the allotted time. Even in small groups and one on one where allowed. She wants to talk to the admin of the test and chat. That kid is a socialite! I have resorted to having her read a short book and then write the main characters, what happened, and why ( a short retell of the story) in her journal and doing it while timed. Of the three times we have done this, she beat the clock once. I am going to have to do this every day to get her used to it and break her bad habits. I really think a lot of her issues is manipulation. If she can get you to do it or delay it, she will. I have laid down rules at home where I no longer remind to clean up plates after dinner, you don't clean up, you sit in time out. We even time her in the shower too and she does fairly well on that but we have been doing it longer. My goal is to get that kids to believe she is smart and not a bad kid (her words to me exactly) and break this habit. With her you have to outsmart and out wait her. Which ain't easy!
It is a battle of wills between our kids and us and hubby and I are not backing down!
Monday, October 7, 2013
WTF??
October 7th, 2013
So by now you have read my title....the Lawyer was chatting with her sister on MineCraft an online game via an internal network and told her sister these three little letters....Apparently being 9 doesn't mean you aren't figuring things out quickly due to nasty foul mouthed 13 y/o's thinking they are big boys on the internet and typing these phrases in kids online games. WHICH we thought we had monitored better. So this is where my 9 year old got it even though she says she does not say these words...as if typing it was ok???. But she SURE did know what it meant and she SURE found out what being grounded for a month means! Yep, she will not be joined one with any electronics for one month thanks to that little stunt. And yes she DID know what it meant...
I am not ready for puberty....ever since she sprouted "buds" she has turned in to a night mare. I mean she got her nickname honestly but she is making that name look tame these days. And hormones haven't hit yet! I may have to lock her on some mountain until she gets done...no, better yet lock ME on a mountain until they BOTH get thru it. Yeah, I don't think hubby would go for it either.
Meanwhile, on other hair pulling matters...Have you ever looked at all the home-school stuff out there? I am glad I have a year to peruse things b/c I am going nuts trying to make sure I have all my bases covered! Thankfully, I know a few people who are doing it and have done it...and lived to tell about it. In some ways I am looking forward to it, but in other ways I am completely and utterly terrified. I like the ease of letting it be someone else's problem right now, but this wont soon be true for either kid. I just need to really wrap my head around it better but I can't right now. You ask, Why not right now?". One word...surgery.
My sweet mother is having surgery, electively, on her gut. She has diverticulitis and has had several bowel obstructions over the past two years. She is going to have her gut put in a sack/membrane to protect it from adhering to her abdominal wall since part of her obstructions have been it sticking itself to the walls. If you ask me, it sounds a little like early sausage making except reversed as the gut wall is on the inside instead of the outside...you won't ever look at sausage the same now will you...
Soooooo she is on my mind. She will be 69 this month and they are celebrating their 31st anniversary together tomorrow. Some anniversary present THAT turned out to be! So this means that I will be at the hospital all day, normally no big deal except we are using a hospital some 40+ miles away from home this time. I get the first shift and will stay with her Wed night and all day Th. Dadster gets the rest until she comes home. I do NOT mind helping but since hubby and I both have corporate jobs and busy little girls this is a bit of a shuffle. And I will admit I am a control freak...there I said it. I like control and I do NOT like change and this disrupts my routine. I am apparently a creature of habit and am like an ant with no trail to follow. I get a bit frustrated and stop being effective. Oh, the kids will be fine and hubby does a wonderful job, it just is a disruption to my nice routine. I am a bit more pathetic not that I am older I am afraid...
Regardless, she needs me and my kids and hubby will be fine. I might resort to a stiff drink after and have a possible tic if the Lawyer keeps up her part though...
So by now you have read my title....the Lawyer was chatting with her sister on MineCraft an online game via an internal network and told her sister these three little letters....Apparently being 9 doesn't mean you aren't figuring things out quickly due to nasty foul mouthed 13 y/o's thinking they are big boys on the internet and typing these phrases in kids online games. WHICH we thought we had monitored better. So this is where my 9 year old got it even though she says she does not say these words...as if typing it was ok???. But she SURE did know what it meant and she SURE found out what being grounded for a month means! Yep, she will not be joined one with any electronics for one month thanks to that little stunt. And yes she DID know what it meant...
I am not ready for puberty....ever since she sprouted "buds" she has turned in to a night mare. I mean she got her nickname honestly but she is making that name look tame these days. And hormones haven't hit yet! I may have to lock her on some mountain until she gets done...no, better yet lock ME on a mountain until they BOTH get thru it. Yeah, I don't think hubby would go for it either.
Meanwhile, on other hair pulling matters...Have you ever looked at all the home-school stuff out there? I am glad I have a year to peruse things b/c I am going nuts trying to make sure I have all my bases covered! Thankfully, I know a few people who are doing it and have done it...and lived to tell about it. In some ways I am looking forward to it, but in other ways I am completely and utterly terrified. I like the ease of letting it be someone else's problem right now, but this wont soon be true for either kid. I just need to really wrap my head around it better but I can't right now. You ask, Why not right now?". One word...surgery.
My sweet mother is having surgery, electively, on her gut. She has diverticulitis and has had several bowel obstructions over the past two years. She is going to have her gut put in a sack/membrane to protect it from adhering to her abdominal wall since part of her obstructions have been it sticking itself to the walls. If you ask me, it sounds a little like early sausage making except reversed as the gut wall is on the inside instead of the outside...you won't ever look at sausage the same now will you...
Soooooo she is on my mind. She will be 69 this month and they are celebrating their 31st anniversary together tomorrow. Some anniversary present THAT turned out to be! So this means that I will be at the hospital all day, normally no big deal except we are using a hospital some 40+ miles away from home this time. I get the first shift and will stay with her Wed night and all day Th. Dadster gets the rest until she comes home. I do NOT mind helping but since hubby and I both have corporate jobs and busy little girls this is a bit of a shuffle. And I will admit I am a control freak...there I said it. I like control and I do NOT like change and this disrupts my routine. I am apparently a creature of habit and am like an ant with no trail to follow. I get a bit frustrated and stop being effective. Oh, the kids will be fine and hubby does a wonderful job, it just is a disruption to my nice routine. I am a bit more pathetic not that I am older I am afraid...
Regardless, she needs me and my kids and hubby will be fine. I might resort to a stiff drink after and have a possible tic if the Lawyer keeps up her part though...
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Great Googly Moogly
October 3rd, 2013
This has been some first week into Oct! The Lawyer is really in the early beginnings of puberty and I AM NOT READY. She is 9 and a half! And she is way too fascinated with her sudden sprouting of "buds" and has found uses for some of her orifices that a lady does not discuss...Yep and mom has her head buried in the sand like an Ostrich because nobody's home! Natural events, yes; dinner topics, no...
Between that, her attitude (hence her nickname), complete defiance of obeying hubby and I, constant picking at her sister, and forgetting the glasses she just HAD TO HAVE I am about up to HERE this week. Work stress with last minute scrambles and responses, an upcoming 4.5 hour presentation and the slides won't go via e-mail, an upcoming trip to do that presentation that is a 6 hour car ride that causes me to get a headache from sitting so long, a mother having an elective surgery in the middle of this...it is a wonder I have any hair on my head. I am getting tense and I have already had my massage this week.
Every day is nuts and making dinner from scratch plus having original ideas and not many repeats becomes hard. I had a hodge podge on Tues b/c we had an after school activity, piano, then a school function to go to. And hubby and I had to tag team it. While I am thankful for him willing and able to do this, you want to be there for both your kids. But we make it work. Dinner was a bust, grab something from a box in my freezer, not my favorite thing to do b/c of all the chemicals to get it box and shelf stable ready, and slap it in the toaster oven. Poor Monkey has to eat hers at the school b/c it was too hot and we had to leave to be at the school on time! But my kids have to eat so it had to work. Hubby and I ate leftovers, actually I don't' think hubby ate at all...
Wednesday was just as crazy with after school Spanish, then Art for the Lawyer so dinner has to be flexible this night. I feed the Lawyer the beloved chicken flavored sticks and drop her off. I go back and decide it is Fried GF chicken, b/c Monkey will eat that; Green Beans, at Monkeys request; and yukon potatoes boiled until soft, Monkey refused these. The Lawyer came back home and declared she was still hungry so she got fed the extra potato. I call that a success b/c of the limited processed things they eat. And I had leftovers!
Lunch has been eaten out almost every day I think...not so good for me. Today I had Chick-fil-a and decided tonight would be a lighter affair. Lawyer had bagel bites (I did try homemade ones and she ate them and thought they were ok but that lost its fun quickly and then she refused to eat it. This kid would make fasting look easy the way she jumps into it when faced with a food she does not like/want!) Monkey had sliced ham from the meat counter, cucumbers, and two pieces of wheat bread. This was her idea of a ham sandwich...not that any of those foods actually touched each other until they were firmly in her stomach! I had leftover chicken and pinto beans and hubby had soup. I call these nights, my fridge and pantry cleaning nights. Makes for less drama and each is happy and I get to clean out the extras.
I always think of that old commercial that Snickers used to have about the old man painting the end-zone before a football game and misspelling the Chiefs (to Chefs) and him saying Great Googly Moogly when it was pointed out. That is where I am this week. After the week I had and the next two coming up, and my constant overload of deciding to home-school, and what stinking curriculum to use...PLUS trying to make sure the family gets a decent meal not full of junk, I am frustrated. I likened picking curriculums to telling a car salesman you want a car and he wants to know what kind, what make, and model and all I know to say is, "I just need a car! I don't know what kind I need!" Decisions, decisions....great googly moogly.
Watch Snickers commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmgice3ieZ4
This has been some first week into Oct! The Lawyer is really in the early beginnings of puberty and I AM NOT READY. She is 9 and a half! And she is way too fascinated with her sudden sprouting of "buds" and has found uses for some of her orifices that a lady does not discuss...Yep and mom has her head buried in the sand like an Ostrich because nobody's home! Natural events, yes; dinner topics, no...
Between that, her attitude (hence her nickname), complete defiance of obeying hubby and I, constant picking at her sister, and forgetting the glasses she just HAD TO HAVE I am about up to HERE this week. Work stress with last minute scrambles and responses, an upcoming 4.5 hour presentation and the slides won't go via e-mail, an upcoming trip to do that presentation that is a 6 hour car ride that causes me to get a headache from sitting so long, a mother having an elective surgery in the middle of this...it is a wonder I have any hair on my head. I am getting tense and I have already had my massage this week.
Every day is nuts and making dinner from scratch plus having original ideas and not many repeats becomes hard. I had a hodge podge on Tues b/c we had an after school activity, piano, then a school function to go to. And hubby and I had to tag team it. While I am thankful for him willing and able to do this, you want to be there for both your kids. But we make it work. Dinner was a bust, grab something from a box in my freezer, not my favorite thing to do b/c of all the chemicals to get it box and shelf stable ready, and slap it in the toaster oven. Poor Monkey has to eat hers at the school b/c it was too hot and we had to leave to be at the school on time! But my kids have to eat so it had to work. Hubby and I ate leftovers, actually I don't' think hubby ate at all...
Wednesday was just as crazy with after school Spanish, then Art for the Lawyer so dinner has to be flexible this night. I feed the Lawyer the beloved chicken flavored sticks and drop her off. I go back and decide it is Fried GF chicken, b/c Monkey will eat that; Green Beans, at Monkeys request; and yukon potatoes boiled until soft, Monkey refused these. The Lawyer came back home and declared she was still hungry so she got fed the extra potato. I call that a success b/c of the limited processed things they eat. And I had leftovers!
Lunch has been eaten out almost every day I think...not so good for me. Today I had Chick-fil-a and decided tonight would be a lighter affair. Lawyer had bagel bites (I did try homemade ones and she ate them and thought they were ok but that lost its fun quickly and then she refused to eat it. This kid would make fasting look easy the way she jumps into it when faced with a food she does not like/want!) Monkey had sliced ham from the meat counter, cucumbers, and two pieces of wheat bread. This was her idea of a ham sandwich...not that any of those foods actually touched each other until they were firmly in her stomach! I had leftover chicken and pinto beans and hubby had soup. I call these nights, my fridge and pantry cleaning nights. Makes for less drama and each is happy and I get to clean out the extras.
I always think of that old commercial that Snickers used to have about the old man painting the end-zone before a football game and misspelling the Chiefs (to Chefs) and him saying Great Googly Moogly when it was pointed out. That is where I am this week. After the week I had and the next two coming up, and my constant overload of deciding to home-school, and what stinking curriculum to use...PLUS trying to make sure the family gets a decent meal not full of junk, I am frustrated. I likened picking curriculums to telling a car salesman you want a car and he wants to know what kind, what make, and model and all I know to say is, "I just need a car! I don't know what kind I need!" Decisions, decisions....great googly moogly.
Watch Snickers commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmgice3ieZ4
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