Dinner Time

 

Why is it that no matter what I cook my children don’t want to eat it? I make dinner and we sit at the table as a family every night and every night my kids turn their noses up.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  I feel like they conspire in the other room.

Noodle” OK mom made mini pizza’s and I know you like them but lets cry real hard when she puts them on the table!”  Goon “Yeah great idea, and I’m gonna throw the carrots at you when we sit down!”

 

I know that if I just made them fish sticks every night they would be thrilled but I just can’t be that irresponsible. I have invested in cookbooks full of “creative recipes for kids” yeah they hate them!  I have tried hiding veggies inside food they like and somehow they know and all of a sudden HATE that food.  I searched Pinterest for fun ideas and came up with what I thought would be a slam dunk!  Only to Foul out in the end.  Hot Dogs stuffed with Pasta what a great idea!  A little spaghetti sauce on the side for dipping and some puzzle shaped carrots a perfect meal. I mean how can I go wrong the kids ate hot dogs all summer on the deck and loved them!  Famous last words.  I told the kids they were having Octopus for dinner.  I even let them help me make them thinking that would get them excited.  It worked they were excited they loved helping me prepare the food. I am not sure what happened between the boiling water and the dinner plates but as soon as the Octopus was on the table the kids tag teamed me and revolted! What was suppose to be a successful dinner with my family turned into another night of crying, whining, making deals and threatening. Oh yeah and also resulted in my dinner being ice cold and my husband being frustrated that he couldn’t eat dinner in peace.  Yep welcome to Dinner Time!  Honestly when does this get easier?  I am so tired of hearing “I hate dinner!” every night. One of the reasons I am a stay at home mom is to make sure we have dinner as a family every night. I just wish somehow at about 5PM every night my little boys would magically sit like angels and eat everything on their plates without a complaint. Then at 5:30PM they can turn back into wild animals!  Hear me universe????

Listening is Genetic!

So everyone knows the stereotypical wife complaining that her husband doesn’t listen!  I get it, selective hearing and all that. Well I certainly could confirm a little stereotypical husband behavior over at my house.  But my goal today is not to husband bash or even complain. Mostly it’s to make a simple observation. See I live with 5 boys/men, just me and a house full of stinky socks, action figures and video games. So in my “Expert” opinion I think that males are actually born missing part of the Listening Gene!

I know my little guys, Goon & Noodle, are only 3 & 5 and I also get that according to my BFF they are still “Babies”. Even so I still have expectations that when I say PUT ON YOUR SHOES they will put on their shoes.  I expect that when I say STOP they will stop doing what they are doing.  Maybe it is foolish of me to hope that somehow when I ask them simple questions like HOW WAS SCHOOL that my little angels will actually answer me.  Instead I say it 3 (sometimes 5) times and it’s as if I were alone in the room.

I find that after several tries I have to actually squat down and look them right in the face and say it directly to their eyes.  If I didn’t know better I would think I should have their hearing checked. I am not sure how at the tender ages of 3 and 5 they have already learned to tune me out. Aren’t little boys suppose to love their mommies and do everything I say?  I am pretty sure that is what I read in What to Expect When You’re Expecting! Somehow I really thought I was going to be able to raise these amazing men who would grow up to do chores happily, to listen to their wives, play ball with their kids, go to church on Sunday and visit their mother twice a week. If I can’t even get them to put on their shoes and stand still how the heck am I going to get them to put up my Christmas Lights when I am 80?  I am so screwed!!!

Pumpkin Pie MM MM Good

So after 3 side dish alterations I have moved on to Dessert!  When you think about Thanksgiving the first dessert most people think of is the Pumpkin Pie. Now made the traditional way it is still usually the lowest calories option at our dinner.  A few months ago we took a cruise with my husbands brothers and one of my brother in laws Joey & Jerry mentioned that last year they altered a Pumpkin Pie and brought it to Jerry’s family dinner.  So naturally they were my first call as I started my Turkey Day experiments. The response I got back was um well there really isn’t a recipe we just made a few substitutions.  So I took their substitutions and worked up a recipe.  I hope you like it.

All the fixins!

You will need the following:
1 Can 100% Pure Pumpkin (29 oz)
3/4 Cup Agave Sweetener
1 Container Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt (17.6 oz)
4 Large Eggs
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves
Nutmeg (to sprinkle on top)
2 Pie Crust (I cheated and bought one)

Ready for the oven.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and either make 2 pie crusts or open a package and pres them into 2 shells. (I know Mom and Sunny are cringing that I used a Pillsbury crust.) In mixing bowl beat 4 Eggs, add Agave Sweetener, Salt, Cinnamon, Ginger & Cloves. Mix together. Add Pumpkin & Yogurt mix together. Scrape the sides and bottom and mix thoroughly. Split filling into 2 pie crusts and sprinkle a little nutmeg on the top.  Put into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Pie Crust Shield

I have this really handy dandy pie crust cover upper from Pampered Chef.  It is the bomb!  It protects the crust from burning if you don’t have one then put a little foil around the edges of the pie or your crust will be black! Place on cooling rack for 2 hours before scarfing it down!

Ready to eat

I will tell you this pie was actually a little sweet for me.  My first try I used a cup of the Agave so I cut it down to 3/4 cup.  It also is not as firm as a traditional Pumpkin so my knife never came out 100% clean. I think it tastes great though and it got 2 thumbs up from my stepson and my husband so that is pretty good. It’s certainly a nice little twist on the traditional pie.  It certainly is loaded with protein!!  Thanks Jerry & Joey for the idea I think I will be using this recipe for Thanksgiving as well as the Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.  What could be next? I really need to brain storm.

Mashed Potatoes with a Twist!

Cauliflower Yum

Now I was never a huge potato fan, not that I don’t like them but they were never a huge priority. I actually don’t think I knew how to cook potatoes when I met my husband.  My husband and father in law on the other hand were raised on potatoes. Every meal has to have a potato unless you are eating pasta.  Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, fried potatoes, french fries, tater tots, roasted potatoes, and I am sure I am missing more.  Not only do they love their potatoes but they are very very particular about how they are made. I rarely “do the potatoes”, usually one of them will mash them and mix them or bake them so they are perfect.  I have tried to change the potatoes by suggesting we leave on the skins CRAZY!!!  How about a sweet potato NUTS!!! So knowing that I am trying to change up Thanksgiving Dinner by altering our staples with a few healthier options my guys are terrified that I will touch their prized Idahos. Well guess what I did!!!

Cauliflower, Potatoes, Salt Pepper, Butter

Now I would love to say I substituted mashed potatoes with Cauliflower mash but there is no way my husband would go for that.  I will tell you my father in law would not even try the Mashed Potato/Cauliflower.  So here is what I did in case you wanna try it.  I steamed Cauliflower in one pan and Potatoes in another when they were both tender  I just mixed them up and blended them like I would regular mashed potatoes.  The Cauliflower is much thinner, waterier so I did not need to add milk. They really turned out yummy and my husband ate a HUGE portion like he usually does pored gravy over it and said he would be happy to eat this instead of straight potatoes!!!  Hue win for me here.  I thought for sure he would say it was OK but that he would rather have the regular. So far I have 3 regular Holiday items tweak just enough to save us some calories.  Hmmm what to do tomorrow?

Finished product!!!

A Girl and her Underwear…

About twice a year I get annoyed with my dresser drawers and dump everything on the floor.  Then I wipe out the drawers, sort and fold all the clothes and bag up whats leftover for the Goodwill. I am known for throwing things out! When I am in a cleaning mood I am like a tornado, my husband has been known to say “Don’t sell the kids on Craigslist while I am at work!” My family knows to hide their favorite things when they see the cupboards and closets being emptied. As I organized my underwear drawer I realize that as a woman, wife, and mother I have quite an assortment of undergarments. If my husband is a normal male which I think he is then going by his underwear drawer I am either a crazy hoarder or all women like variety!

I remember being in elementary school and getting a package of Day of the Week underwear!  That was the bomb.  I remember making sure I had each day ready the night before and how cool I thought I was.  I also remember what a dork I felt like when I got the days mixed up.  Little girl underwear has cute pictures and cartoon characters.  I remember having underoos and thinking I was the coolest kid ever.

When I was a young woman they came out with Thong Underwear.  This was a Big Big deal they wrote a song about it women were wearing clothes that showed their thongs men were salivating everywhere.  The purpose of the thong is to have on a pair of underwear without showing a panty line. This was a great invention, a little uncomfortable sometimes but  great nonetheless.

I believe I bagged my husband in a thong! Of course any woman who has children knows that once you get pregnant the thong goes out the window. Unless I am alone here..but once that belly started growing so did every other part of my body and the stylish pregnancy undies somehow found their way into my skivvy drawer! Now I have to admit these panties were the most comfortable things I have ever worn. I will also say I think my husband cheered the day they went into the garbage. Not just because they were ugly but because it meant we had filled our bedrooms with babies.

Unfortunately, after the pregnancy panties came the Mom panties. These are the roomy cotton Hanes Her Way undies. I tried to go back to the thongs but I just couldn’t do it.  They just got pushed farther and farther back into the abyss. It took a long time for me to give up on the comfy cotton panty, between you and me I still have some I wear to the gym.  Mostly for my husbands sake I invested in some “Classy” mom undies. They are still full coverage but they look a lot better!

So now here I sit with a drawer full of rarely used Thongs, overused Cotton Gym panties and some shiny new Calvin Kleins.  Each one a necessity in my world, each with it’s own place and function. There is only one time that I ask the question  What do I wear?  That would be when I get dressed up in “real” clothes to go out for the night with my husband. This is when I am torn, do I break out the Thong do I slip into some comfy Calvin Kleins or do I suffer through the Spanxs? Since the beginning of time women have been sucking it in and pushing it up.  No matter what you call it, girdle, corset,  body shaper, or spanxs they are all the same thing. I own 4 of these items they also sit in the back of my drawer.  They are the tools of most women who want to suck it in for a night on the town. Smooth all the rough edges and make you feel fabulous even though you can’t breath or eat and it’s hard to sit down.

Somehow I can weed through all the other clothes and I know right away what to keep, toss or donate but when it comes to the undergarments I just stuff them all back in the drawer and give up. So here I sit my underwear drawer bursting at the seems and all I want to do is go underwear shopping!

Crusin!

Cruisin!

So after 6 1/2 years of marital bliss my husband and I finally went on a vacation “alone”. Yep “alone” in this case means a cruise to Mexico with my Father in law, 4 brother in laws, 1 sister in law, and 1 family friend! After months of emails back and forth with several different ship and date options we finally decided on the Carnival Destiny. My brother in law Joey had been on a few Carnival ships and had a great time, I had been on Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.  My husband had never cruised and he was over the moon excited!!!!

Planning for a vacation for a man is not really that hard..throw some clothes in a suitcase print your boarding passes and head out the door.  Planning a vacation for a woman who is a mother and who runs a business is exhausting.  It took 2 weeks of preparation for this vacation.  The amount of lists made from the day we purchased tickets to the day we actually left filled 2 notebooks at least. Any mother out there who has left her kids for 5 days knows what I mean.  The look on my mother’s face when I gave her the kids itinerary which was broken down into 3 different colors showing 3 different schools, 2 different karate classes, 2 different bedtimes, doctor appointments plus dog instructions was priceless. By the time I left for the airport I was pooped!

I wont even get into the stress of the airport and the connecting flights!! But I will say that by the time we met my brother in law from Cleavland at the airport in Florida my husband was in full vacation mode.  We made it to the ship and the rest of our group who live in Florida.  Only half of the booze we tried to smuggle on the boat actually made it to our cabins, my brother in law Matt was pretty excited that his sneaky internet discoveries actually paid off! It took less than 30 minutes on the ship for me to get tipsy!  I am a real cheap date. My only big mistake was taking a Boot Camp Class at the gym my first morning of the cruise. It was a great class and somehow I ended up hurting myself so badly I could hardly walk the entire trip. Yep maybe I did 100 too many lounges.

If you want a review of the actual ship I am sorry to say it wont be a great one.  I felt the food was bland and not that exciting!  I am not complaining that much since I didn’t gain any weight which for me is a HUGE bonus. There was also this really smelly area on the ship near one of the restaurants and honestly it kind of killed my appetite.  Although my buddy Beau seemed to be fine with it since he managed to walk through it every time he hit up the Frozen Yogurt machine (every meal including breakfast!) The rooms were fine and the staff was GREAT but the rest of the ship needed a major overhaul!!!  The entertainment on the ship was hit or miss!  The bands scattered everywhere were great and people were dancing everywhere you turn.  My father in law and my husband really enjoyed the casino and if they had just stopped going there the day before we disembarked the ship we would have come out much farther ahead!  The main stage shows were pretty corny and the ensemble just lip sinked everything which was disappointing. But the costumes were great and the dancers fantastic. This might come off a little snobby but I felt the clientele of this ship compared to my previous experiences was not as classy! But they were all having a great time so who am I to talk.

After a day and a half at sea we docked in Cozumel Mexico.  After much deliberation about excisions we ended up taking a cab to Carlos’n Charlie’s this was a great choice. The beach was beautiful the water was clear and the staff was wonderful!  We were the first ones there and we got a great table on the beach. Again within 10 minutes I was tipsy! The guys all went snorkeling and my father in law and I sat on the beach.  Actually I think Papa was babysitting me as I had already downed a HUGE Margarita in a glass shaped like a palm tree but it really just looked like a penis. After the first drink my brother in law Joey and I had several laughs over its phallic nature, yep I was drunk on the beach in Mexico. I was finally on vacation.

The 5 days went by too fast! The great thing about the cruise is that everyone was able to find something to do that they enjoyed. Drinking, eating, gambling, music, movies, games, sun, exercise and more than enough people watching to go around.  I highly recommend a family cruise, maybe not the Destiny. For the price and the fun it’s a great deal!!!!  Although I did really miss my little monsters at home. Of course right now the Goon is screaming in my ear “PUT ON TOM AND JERRY MOMMY!” and all I can think of is how blue the water was in Mexico and how quiet it was sitting on the deck of the ship reading my book. Oh well maybe in another 6 1/2 years I can go on vacation again.

The Husband Surprise

So my 6 year wedding anniversary is coming up in a few weeks and last night my husband and I got to talking about that fact. We reminisced about the years we have been together like we usually do every February as it marks the anniversary of our first date and our wedding. As we were joking and being silly my husband asked a simple question along the lines of “Did our life turn out the way you thought it would?” or “Am I the way you thought I was?” and much to BFF’s chagrin I answered him.

I told my husband that I thought he had far exceeded my expectations. That when we first got together I didn’t think he was very ambitious. I guess that was kind of a shock to him Oops? Just so you know I really lucked out! My husband is an incredibly hard worker and has excelled at work far beyond my wildest dreams. But truth be told I kind of thought he would float job to job and always be searching for the next big thing.

In my husband’s defense I grew up in a family of women who didn’t think very highly of their men. Well if they did they certainly didn’t show it. I had very few if any solid marriage role models. I kind of figured that men were suppose to be funny, mow the lawn, watch TV and hang out and drink a beer. I kind of always thought I would always work and run everything. That I was always going to be the boss. I also thought it was normal when women got together they would bash their husbands. It took me a long time to realize that I could either dwell on what my husband did wrong and be miserable or concentrate on what he does right and be happy. I mean lets face it we can all make a list of what we don’t like about our partners. Nit picking is easy.

I remember about a year into my marriage I was at a family function and I heard everyone complaining about their husbands and sons. I made a conscious effort to break the cycle. I made a promise to myself that I would never say anything bad about my husband to anyone else. I would never talk about a fight we were having or something he did I thought was wrong. The reason for that was #1 it’s none of their business and #2 if I repeat those frustrations they become bigger in my mind. No one is perfect (Lord know I am not at all). What do I gain from complaining? Nothing! What am I losing? A lot!

At the end of the day I have a great husband the man is not perfect but he loves me and he loves our kids. He is a great provider and he is funny and charming. I really lucked out 6 years ago I married a man who had more potential than I dreamed. I also have learned to share responsibilities with him. What a wonderful realization that I did not have to do it all alone. That he isn’t my dependent but my partner. We have mutual respect and shared dreams. When I followed him 8 years ago leaving my single life behind I had no idea what I was getting into. I followed my instincts and jumped in feet first. I waded my way through lots of emotional obstacles and together we knocked down walls of insecurities. I am so grateful to say that my life is nothing like I thought it would be it is infinitely better.

You can teach an old dog…..

UPDATE!!!!!

I am excited to tell you that my 4 year old Noodle has woken up every day for almost a week without crying. This is HUGE!!!! I guess my little talk about how the way we act affects everyone around us really worked! I can not even tell you how the atmosphere in my house has changed just from the lack of screaming in the morning. He has actually followed directions. he gets up out of bed and walks quietly to my room and says “Mom I am up!” Oh happy day!!!!! He has also eaten all of his dinner without complaint for 4 nights in a row! I honestly feel like this is a miracle. Maybe I just had to throw it out there how frustrated I was and somehow the universe heard me and zapped him. No matter how it happened I am thankful it did!!!

My 2 year old Goon on the other hand is still struggling with the terrible twos and he still wont eat anything for dinner but hey 1 kid out of 2 is a HUGE improvement! I have a feeling that the fact he east breakfast 3 times before 10am and then a good lunch and then a snack when he wakes up from his nap might have something to do with it. But for now I am going to try not to stress about it.

Honestly if Noodle eating and not crying wasn’t enough my biggest kid, my husband, is actually putting the butter away in the morning after toast! I know I know don’t fall over and don’t tell him I said that!!!

Gotta be happy for the little wins!!!!!

Alone with my Kids

I am a Stay at Home Mom so the idea that I am alone with my kids this week is almost comical. I spend every day alone with my kids but usually at dinner time my husband comes home and for 2 1/2 hours before the kids go to bed I am a part of a team. This week my husband is working out of town. He left Monday morning and he wont be back until Friday night. So here I sit on Wednesday morning listening to the kids playing together in the playroom. I am halfway through my week alone.

When he told me he was going to be gone all week I admit I was pissed. Not that he had to work because thank God he works so hard or I would only see my kids for 2 1/2 hours a night. I was pissed that I would not have that relief at the end of the day. Not just the relief of the kids but the relief of talking to an adult. Talking to my husband and telling him all the things that I did in my day. Passing on the funny things the kids did and relaying the trying points. I mean who else wants to hear every detail about how great, funny, smart and rotten I think my kids are. NO ONE. Even my Mother gets tired after 5 phone calls a day.

So far this week my kids have been great. They are calm and enjoying all of Joseph’s birthday presents. We went to the mall last night and saw Santa we road the carousel and ate submarine sandwiches. We have cuddles and played board games, read books and played with Hot Wheels. All the things we usually do every week. The difference is that I don’t have anyone to share it with at the end of the day.

I am so grateful that I have a husband. Mostly I am grateful that he is a man who loves his family, loves to come home to us. Works hard so that we have a nice home and food on the table. He loves to read to the kids and give then baths. He plays with them and takes them to the park. He dances with me in the kitchen in the morning when they are having temper tantrums and laughs with me at the end of the day when they are sound asleep. He worries that we are teaching them correctly and that they will grow up to be good men. He is a wonderful example and a perfect partner to me.

I miss his company even though I don’t miss cleaning up after him!

My Husband Bought me an E-Reader!

So yesterday I half jokingly texted my husband and said “Hey what do you think about me getting an E-Reader?”

A little back story……my husband is a very avid reader and he saves every book he has ever read. I have 5 bookcases in the spare bedroom 2 rows deep containing his books. This of course drives me nuts. So much so that the measly 2 boxes of books I had lugged around with me my whole adult life I quickly sold as soon as I realized he would not part with his. Just the idea of having more books hanging around made me sweat! before having kids I cruised the bookstore at least every other week, I loved to buy new books it was one of my indulgences. Just spending the day at the bookstore reading the backs of 50 or so books until I picked the 3 or 4 I was taking home was a great day to me. Especially when I lived in NYC my roommate and I both loved to read and we would pass books back and forth and get excited about what new books we bought.

Somehow I lost the ability to spend time in a book, there were just too many other distractions and responsibilities. Not to mention I was so exhausted by the time I crawled into bed at night there was no way I could read a page let alone a chapter. In the past 6 months I have somehow gotten the desire to read again and I am not talking about GO! DOG GO!but the idea of buying and having books everywhere is just not appealing to me, 1 more thing I have to get rid of. Not to mention I have no time to go to the bookstore and spend an hour or even go to the library when my kids aren’t screaming.

So I started googling SONY Reader, Nook, Kindle and everything else. Looked at the prices and thought never mind. Then we went to the mall last night and my husband had to look at every single one and read the back and check them all out. Then he looked online and read all the reviews and then he went to his best source for all things computer related his brother Matta. After a lengthy conversation with Matta on his way to get milk he decided to go with the SONY Reader and he came home last night and surprised me with one. Yippeeee

The best part is that within 15 minutes between my husband and my brother-in-law I had 25 FREE books loaded on my Reader and Todd had almost 100 more in his email. Matta rocks! Not only am I completely satisfied with this decision but my husband who is seriously attached to those book downstairs is seeing that he can have almost all of his books as e-books something he had assured me was impossible since so many of his books are “really old”. Is it possible that in the near future I could not only be happily reading again but dare I say be sitting in a spare bedroom with empty walls? Is it possible that he might get rid of his stash? Oh man if that happens I will owe Matta Big Time. I guess I should start thinking of a good gift now just in case my dreams come true.