That is it!
I try and try to make healthy foods for my kids and recently they have begun refusing anything that is remotely healthy.
It's driving me bananas.
Last night I made taco soup (little ground beef and onion, peppers, yellow squash, tomatoes, taco seasoning and kidney beans served with shredded cheese and taco chips). THEY REFUSED TO EAT IT. The baby had two 1/4 cup helpings. I took away dessert.
Today I made veggie abc soup from a can and toasted ham and cheese sammies with broccoli and cauliflower and carrot dippers in ranch and fresh peaches. The baby ate her weight in food. Again, refusal from the almost 5 and 7 year old. I am going out of my mind. I took away snacks. Nothing but water to drink is allowed until supper, which I am refusing to cook because I am stomping mad that I have thrown away enough food in the last 12 hours to feed a small underprivileged country...
We'll probably have cereal and they will each eat three damn bowls full. At least milk is healthy, huh?
Grrrr.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Hey, it's much better than a tent and an air mattress...
1. For 8 days, August 8, 2008 through August 15, 2008 (the Promotion Period), 800 room nights per night will be offered at a rate of $8.88 US/CAD at participating Super 8 hotels in the U.S. and Canada.
2. The promotional rate will only be offered on the Super 8 website (www.Super 8.com) from 8:00 PM EDT until 11:59 PM EDT (the Daily Offer Period) each day of the Promotion Period. Once the 800th room night is booked or the Daily Offer Period ends, whichever comes first, no more room nights will be offered at the promotional rate for that day. Only a total of 6,400 room nights will be made available during the Promotion Period.
3. To enter the promotion, participants must go to the Super 8 website (www.super8.com) and click on the promotion banner or copy which will link them to the promotion landing page. Once on the landing page, participants will be placed in a queue, and will be offered an opportunity to book a room at the promotional rate on a first come, first serve basis. If selected, the participant will be offered an opportunity to choose a Super 8 hotel using the Super 8 search engine and then to book a room night at that hotel. Exiting the queue to the Super 8 search engine or booking page does not guarantee the participant that he/she will receive the promotional rate. Only if he/she is one of the first 800 participants to actually book a room night during the Daily Offer Period will he/she receive the promotional rate. A participant will be deemed to have booked a room, if he/she completes all fields on the booking page, provides a valid credit card to pay for the room night, clicks the box to accept the terms and conditions, and clicks the Submit Reservation button, and the reservation is accepted by Super 8 Worldwide, Inc. issuing the participant a confirmation number.
4. The promotional rate is only valid for one room night, per person, per website address for hotel stays through December 30, 2008.
5. A valid credit card must be given to prepay for the reservation. Once booked, reservations cannot be canceled, changed, or transferred to another person. No refunds will be issued.
6. The sponsor is Super 8 Worldwide, Inc., 1 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey, whose decision on all matters related to the promotion will be final.
7. The promotion is governed by New Jersey law. By entering the promotion, each participant agrees that all disputes, claims or causes of action arising out of or in connection with the promotion shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the state or federal courts located in Morris and Essex Counties, New Jersey, respectively.
8. Super 8 Worldwide, Inc. shall not be liable for any technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to, the malfunctioning of any computer, server, cable, or network; the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions or any telephone or internet service; or any damage to any participant?s computer hardware or software as a result of participating in the promotion.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
Wisdom from my kids
We went to the library at the school the other day. My 6 year old opened the door and took a huge sniff and said, "I love the way the school smells." I wonder how long that will last?
More quotes from my six year old daughter;
"I was born to eat."
"Can I microwave my popsicle?"
"Maybe when I am big I will remember being little. Looking at pictures may help me get my memory back."
"I don't really want a lot of things, but I just like things SO much. Sometimes I wish I had a bigger house so I could have more things."
"Taking care of my baby sister makes me feel like a mom, does that make you feel like a grandma?"
"Mom, today I choose to help dad clean out the Blazer INSTEAD of cleaning my room...not both."
"I really want another little sister but then my brother won't get a bunkbed."
"I wish I could catch the kittens at Grandma's like I can catch gophers."
and one lone quote from the almost five year old;
(Praying at lunchtime the day after daddy told him about the raffle for the four-wheeler at the state tournament.) "Thank you God, for the 4-wheeler contest. I hope we win. Mom, if you win I will give you rides because you don't know how to drive."
More quotes from my six year old daughter;
"I was born to eat."
"Can I microwave my popsicle?"
"Maybe when I am big I will remember being little. Looking at pictures may help me get my memory back."
"I don't really want a lot of things, but I just like things SO much. Sometimes I wish I had a bigger house so I could have more things."
"Taking care of my baby sister makes me feel like a mom, does that make you feel like a grandma?"
"Mom, today I choose to help dad clean out the Blazer INSTEAD of cleaning my room...not both."
"I really want another little sister but then my brother won't get a bunkbed."
"I wish I could catch the kittens at Grandma's like I can catch gophers."
and one lone quote from the almost five year old;
(Praying at lunchtime the day after daddy told him about the raffle for the four-wheeler at the state tournament.) "Thank you God, for the 4-wheeler contest. I hope we win. Mom, if you win I will give you rides because you don't know how to drive."
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
The painful path...
I completely lost it this morning at the breakfast table. I broke out into full blown slobbery cryingness. I had to hide my face for fear of scaring the youngsters so I hid in the bathroom for awhile.
My emotions are crazy these days. I'm up, I'm down and I am both at the same time. I could blame it on the pregnancy, I could blame it on the spilled apple juice that made my kitchen all sticky, or the fact that in 9 weeks I will have another baby and my 9 month old is still in my bedroom, the fact that school starts in 14 days and so does my sub job, I could blame it on a lot of things. But the truth is I think I bring it on myself.
I can't get my head on straight these days. The tiniest thing makes me go completely berserk. I fly off the handle and it takes me days...weeks to get over it. I suffer, punishing myself for my stupid childish behavior, making excuses for why I am the way I am and then I just wear myself so thin that I can't even complete a simple daily task like serving breakfast to my children.
It is one thing to pray, but without the Word of God I sometimes get lost and confused and end up digging a deeper hole for myself. Some people go to the horoscopes but I go to the Bible.
And you know what? BOTH of my devotionals had a serious message for me today. It's like the Lord knew exactly what I needed to hear and he put in on the page in black and white for me. I am so glad He has a plan for me. I don't like to even think about where I would be without Him.
Fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Romans 12:2
Sin is ugly, isn't it? My favorite part of my church service is the confessions and absolution. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders after that. I can confess my sins at home, too. But, there is something to be said about saying it out loud and hearing the pastor say, "As a called and ordained servant of the Lord I hereby forgive your sins..." I feel clean for a few moments anyway. My sin separates me from my Father. I don't like that feeling. If I can focus more on Him and not on sinning I know my life will be better.
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. Mark 11:25
If it feels so good to be forgiven and I personally know that feeling, why can I not forgive others? Jesus wants me to let it go and for some reason I hold on to this awful feeling that I am owed something from someone. How ridiculous am I? I want things my way. I ask for God's help but no matter how much I want it I will only receive it when I become willing to do things His way. The path of forgiveness is a rocky one. It is not easy.
So I read the Word and I feel renewed. Now, don't get me wrong any self-respecting woman would have colored her hair, ate some chocolate and called her sister, too. So I did. I feel much better now.
My emotions are crazy these days. I'm up, I'm down and I am both at the same time. I could blame it on the pregnancy, I could blame it on the spilled apple juice that made my kitchen all sticky, or the fact that in 9 weeks I will have another baby and my 9 month old is still in my bedroom, the fact that school starts in 14 days and so does my sub job, I could blame it on a lot of things. But the truth is I think I bring it on myself.
I can't get my head on straight these days. The tiniest thing makes me go completely berserk. I fly off the handle and it takes me days...weeks to get over it. I suffer, punishing myself for my stupid childish behavior, making excuses for why I am the way I am and then I just wear myself so thin that I can't even complete a simple daily task like serving breakfast to my children.
It is one thing to pray, but without the Word of God I sometimes get lost and confused and end up digging a deeper hole for myself. Some people go to the horoscopes but I go to the Bible.
And you know what? BOTH of my devotionals had a serious message for me today. It's like the Lord knew exactly what I needed to hear and he put in on the page in black and white for me. I am so glad He has a plan for me. I don't like to even think about where I would be without Him.
Fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Romans 12:2
Sin is ugly, isn't it? My favorite part of my church service is the confessions and absolution. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders after that. I can confess my sins at home, too. But, there is something to be said about saying it out loud and hearing the pastor say, "As a called and ordained servant of the Lord I hereby forgive your sins..." I feel clean for a few moments anyway. My sin separates me from my Father. I don't like that feeling. If I can focus more on Him and not on sinning I know my life will be better.
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. Mark 11:25
If it feels so good to be forgiven and I personally know that feeling, why can I not forgive others? Jesus wants me to let it go and for some reason I hold on to this awful feeling that I am owed something from someone. How ridiculous am I? I want things my way. I ask for God's help but no matter how much I want it I will only receive it when I become willing to do things His way. The path of forgiveness is a rocky one. It is not easy.
So I read the Word and I feel renewed. Now, don't get me wrong any self-respecting woman would have colored her hair, ate some chocolate and called her sister, too. So I did. I feel much better now.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Mommy's Hot Pockets
My kids love those store bought pockets with eggs and cheese or pepperoni and cheese in them. I bought them once years ago and they ask me every time I go shopping to get more. The problem is the price and the lack of nutrition, I just can't put them in my cart again.
So I have been searching and trying recipes so that I can find one that is easy and freezes so on school mornings or afternoons I can pop them in the oven and have a quick, healthy meal for the kids and myself.
I love the mommysavers site. It has lots of great recipes and I peruse them weekly. A few weeks back I found this pocket recipe and finally had time to try it this morning. Admittedly it took me much longer than I had hoped (but I had an awesome almost 5 year old helper) and we ate them for 'brunch'. YUMMO!
I am not good at wrapping things so instead of her neat pirogi style I folded each pocket burrito style. It worked and held together nicely. There was about twice as much 'crust' on the bottom as on the top, but it was fully cooked after only 20 minutes and very tasty.
The great thing about this recipe is that it is mucho tweakable, AND it makes a ton. I made kid sized pockets they were little 2x4 inch rectangles. I used only half the dough and came up with 16 pockets. I put the rest of the dough in the fridge and will make pizza tonight with it. I ran out of the egg mixture after about 12 pockets and then I put pepperoni and cheese and sauce in the last 4. I can use those for after school snacks. I want to make some chicken and veggie ones next time. I think they will work out nicely.
Pocket recipe:
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons molasses (I used honey)
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
Put on dough cycle in the bread machine.
Filling:
1 small bag of frozen hash browns
6 slices bacon
1 cup diced ham
6 eggs
3 green onions
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
(You may add other fillings for lunch or dinner pockets. I use pepperoni and cheese, chicken with broccoli and cheese and a big slew of different ones for my family)
This recipe made 11 really BIG (adult sized) breakfast pockets so you could divide the dough even smaller for munchkin sized ones.
I had my bacon already cooked so all I had to do was fry the hash browns and scramble the eggs. Mix everything except the cheese together and let cool. Once cool mix in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide dough into sections. Roll until about the size of a pita it will be VERY thin. Brush dough with melted butter and put approximately 1/2 c. of filling in the middle (I used a 1/4 cup for the kid sized ones). Now bring up both the sides and pinch together. It will look kind of like a big pirogi laying on it's back. Gently turn it over into your hand and place on greased baking sheet pinched side down. Tuck the ends under.
Let rise for 10-15 minutes. Mine didn't look like they changed shape at all, but I let the yeast do it's thing anyway...
Bake at 375 for 25minutes
Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter and I sprinkled mine with fresh cracked pepper and cracked sea salt.
Move to cooling wrack so that they don't get soggy.
When cooled wrap in paper towel and put in a freezer bag.
TO HEAT:
Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes
So I have been searching and trying recipes so that I can find one that is easy and freezes so on school mornings or afternoons I can pop them in the oven and have a quick, healthy meal for the kids and myself.
I love the mommysavers site. It has lots of great recipes and I peruse them weekly. A few weeks back I found this pocket recipe and finally had time to try it this morning. Admittedly it took me much longer than I had hoped (but I had an awesome almost 5 year old helper) and we ate them for 'brunch'. YUMMO!
I am not good at wrapping things so instead of her neat pirogi style I folded each pocket burrito style. It worked and held together nicely. There was about twice as much 'crust' on the bottom as on the top, but it was fully cooked after only 20 minutes and very tasty.
The great thing about this recipe is that it is mucho tweakable, AND it makes a ton. I made kid sized pockets they were little 2x4 inch rectangles. I used only half the dough and came up with 16 pockets. I put the rest of the dough in the fridge and will make pizza tonight with it. I ran out of the egg mixture after about 12 pockets and then I put pepperoni and cheese and sauce in the last 4. I can use those for after school snacks. I want to make some chicken and veggie ones next time. I think they will work out nicely.
Pocket recipe:
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons molasses (I used honey)
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
Put on dough cycle in the bread machine.
Filling:
1 small bag of frozen hash browns
6 slices bacon
1 cup diced ham
6 eggs
3 green onions
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
(You may add other fillings for lunch or dinner pockets. I use pepperoni and cheese, chicken with broccoli and cheese and a big slew of different ones for my family)
This recipe made 11 really BIG (adult sized) breakfast pockets so you could divide the dough even smaller for munchkin sized ones.
I had my bacon already cooked so all I had to do was fry the hash browns and scramble the eggs. Mix everything except the cheese together and let cool. Once cool mix in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide dough into sections. Roll until about the size of a pita it will be VERY thin. Brush dough with melted butter and put approximately 1/2 c. of filling in the middle (I used a 1/4 cup for the kid sized ones). Now bring up both the sides and pinch together. It will look kind of like a big pirogi laying on it's back. Gently turn it over into your hand and place on greased baking sheet pinched side down. Tuck the ends under.
Let rise for 10-15 minutes. Mine didn't look like they changed shape at all, but I let the yeast do it's thing anyway...
Bake at 375 for 25minutes
Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter and I sprinkled mine with fresh cracked pepper and cracked sea salt.
Move to cooling wrack so that they don't get soggy.
When cooled wrap in paper towel and put in a freezer bag.
TO HEAT:
Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes
Sunday, August 03, 2008
It ain't really over...
Friday night the Muckdogs got beat. That ended the season for the team as a whole. It was a blow-out. It wasn't pretty.
However, several of the guys got picked up to play with other teams for the state tourney. So, the neverending saga of baseball continues. My hubby got picked up by PBR. I am not sure when he plays but I can guarantee the only view of Mt. Rushmore we will be seeing this summer is someone else's photos.
Sigh.
However, several of the guys got picked up to play with other teams for the state tourney. So, the neverending saga of baseball continues. My hubby got picked up by PBR. I am not sure when he plays but I can guarantee the only view of Mt. Rushmore we will be seeing this summer is someone else's photos.
Sigh.
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