Happy Spring!

Well, I though if I left my previous post up long enough, I would get more comments.

I mean, I did ask a question! It wasn't rhetorical.

Hello.....Anybody there?????

VS.

Why is it that even when I have both of these types of food in my house, the food on the left always wins me over?

I'm getting to the point in my life where I'm becoming more concerned about my health and aging. I need to lose weight and get fit. I know that the food that I prefer and choose to eat most often is the food that can, and will, damage me.

Part of my problem is that I am so PICKY when it comes to vegetables. However, in my own defense, I only dislike the ICKY veggies! Unfortunately, it's the icky ones that are the healthiest. Why does it have to be that way?

I need to find recipes that use good healthy veggies and fruits, but they have to be recipes that don't contain onions, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, brussels sprouts, kale, okra, eggplant, parsnips, turnips, mushrooms, mango, papaya, kiwi, rhubarb, or any other unusual or overly exotic things.

If you have any good ideas, tips or recipes for healthy dishes that meet that narrow criteria, PLEASE SHARE!

I'm not getting any younger!

Carbecue

Ivan and Andre entered the science fair. Their experiment was to see if you could cook a meal on the car's engine.They wrapped up a hot dog and some tater tots tightly in tin foil. Jim put it down in against the manifold.

Then they took a drive.


After about a half hour, dinner was cooked and ready to eat!

YUMMY!!!

They took 4th place! Now they get to go on to the district level!

That was pretty good, considering we weren't even expecting to win. They were just in it for the fun of it.

Needed

When I was younger, I sometimes felt insignificant. I felt that I wasn't needed by anybody.
I felt that my existence didn't make a difference in anybody's life. Of course I was important to my parents and I knew they loved me. I didn't feel unloved. I just really wanted to make a difference to somebody.

Fast-forward 20 years.....
I am more needed now than I can sometimes handle.
Now I feel like there isn't enough of me to go around.

"Mom.....

...I need help with my homework!"
...what's for dinner?"
...there aren't any clean socks!"
...I'm hungry!"
...what's for snack?"
...my project is due tomorrow!"
...you need to sign this!"
...I need new shoes!"
...will you read to me?"
...the toilet's clogged!"
...he won't leave me alone!"
...where's my other shoe?"
...I stepped in dog poop!"
...we need to go look at Prom dresses!"
...can you fix this?"
...there's no good cereal!"
...where's my backpack?"

But the hardest so far...

Mom.....he lied to me. He's not going to take me to Prom!"
Dealing with heartbreak.....that's going to be tough.
But it's good to be needed.

Revisiting the Past

Lately I've been feeling very nostalgic for my youth. I'm sure it's because I don't have it any more, but part of it has been from watching my children grow up. I have such distinct memories of when I was the same age that they are now.
But I do NOT remember being quite such a dorky-looking thing:

That would be the dork on the left. On the right is the cute, older neighbor boy. (I was 13, he was 18!). He actually became my first boyfriend. He just sent this to me the other day. After 30 years, we're still good friends.

When you're feeling nostalgic, it's nice to have someone who shares your memories.

It's Not Fair!

Life just isn't fair, is it?
But how do you explain that to a child who has to go to school when his brothers get to stay home sick?
My kids don't get sick very often, but when they do, it's usually just a fever and a headache. It only happens about once a year, in the winter.
Andre & Ivan have been asking me when they were going to get their "yearly fever"? They'd gotten back into the school routine after the Christmas break and were already getting tired of it. They were ready for a sick day.
Well, sometimes you get what you want, but not when you want it.
Ivan woke up last week with a fever. He was so happy! Until he remembered that there was a birthday party after school that day. They'd been looking forward to it all week.
It looked like Andre was going to get to go without him.....No Fair!
Well, that had a happy ending. I kept giving him Advil, and his fever was down when it was time for the party. He got to go. Crisis averted.
The next day, Andre got a fever of his own. Then, of course, Ivan had to check his temperature because he wasn't ready to go back to school.
Well, Hallelujah! He still had a fever, although a low one. They were both happy that they could stay home together, since I had to work that day.
Well, of course, the weekend came and went without any thought of a fever.
Now, today, Monday...
Max woke up with a sore throat. Could be strep (he gets it about once a year). Better keep him home and have the doctor look at it.
Ivan and Andre get up. Ivan has a sore throat, and it is very red. Better take him in with Max.
But...Andre, the poor thing, is fine.
No fever, no sore throat, nothing!
He'll have to go to school all by himself.
It's not FAIR!
I had to practically drag him out the door this morning.
Now Max...
He found out that Andre & Ivan got McDonalds for lunch when they were home on Friday.
"What's for lunch? Where are you taking us to?"
I told him that was only because there was nothing at home for lunch since I hadn't gone to the store yet, I'd gotten a $20 tip, and it was on the way home.
"That's not FAIR!"
Yeah, I know. That's life.