Healthy eating. . .

I have been trying to eat better and fix healthier meals for the family. I have recently purchased a juicer. I love fresh veggies. I think because Mark does not eat a lot of veggies I have gotten away from eating them so much. Not a good thing at all. This has been going on since we started dating. So over the last seventeen years my good healthy diet that I had in college and before we met has gone to the dogs. Now I was not on a super healthy diet or anything but I ate a lot better then than I do now. I would like to get back to my better diet, hence the juicer.

My mom always used to make this vegetable spread with carrots, cucumbers, onion and cream cheese. It was one of my favorites even as a child. I used to carry it to school in my lunch in kindergarten. Now that I have my juicer, I juice my carrots and cucumbers together and drink their juice then I make my vegetable spread with their pulp. The juice is really good and of course I love my veggie spread. Jack tried my carrot juice and he did not like it very much. Mark was not to keen on the idea either until I fixed him a fresh glass of grape juice. He really liked it. I got my grapes at the Farmers' Market and they were seedless. It did not take many grapes to get a 6 oz glass of fresh juice. You know you hear all about the great effects of wine on your health I think this way it is even better. A small amount of alcohol can slow your metabolism down by as much as 50%. I read that in one of my magazines. So by juicing you are getting the best of both worlds. Yeah!!

Since I have been changing every ones diet my kids don't know what to think. Thomas asked the other day if we were going to have any meat for dinner. I laughed because I had not planned on any meat. I told him it was meatless Tuesday. He replied, "but we did not have any meat on Monday." I told him that was because it was meatless Monday. No, I am not trying to make my kids vegetarians but I am trying to get them to eat a variety of things. Last night we did have grilled chicken. Mark is a master on the grill. The other nights we had fresh zucchini over pasta (Italian) and on Tuesday we had zucchini with snow pea pods (Japanese) along with bow tie pasta (from the Barefoot Contessa).

We have ballgames and ball practice these next few days so the healthy eating may be a little less than healthy. See you at the ball field.

Physical . . .

Ok, I went for my physical on Monday. Not the Gyn one but the regular blood, blood pressure, ect. . . The PA told me I was ok. I even had an EKG and it was normal. Now I have to schedule that ever popular mammogram. Or, as I like to call it the booby smasher. Sorry, that was childish wasn't it. We all have to have them done and with May approaching I guess it is as good a time as any. May is Pampered Chefs' Help Whip Cancer Month. We donate money to the American Cancer Society (ACS) every May for a special set of products that are pink. A $1 from each one goes back to the ACS for help with education materials.

More than 180,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Breast Cancer is considered a womans disease but nearly 1,000 men receive a diagnosis of breast cancer annually. I encourage all of you ladies to get your mammograms and your annual physicals even the Gyn ones. Early detection is the key. I feel very strongly about all this because I have several family members affected by breast cancer. If anyone needs help with paying for their mammograms their is help for that too. www.breastcancerrelief.org this group offers assistance to women in need.

We have a winner. . .

I have been trying new recipes out on my family the last several weeks and I think I found a keeper this time. I am trying to get my kids to eat something other than chicken nuggets (Jack) and cereal (Thomas). The poor little things have been made to eat zucchini, pasta, and regular old spaghetti. I was watching the foodnetwork the other night and the Barefoot Contessa was on. She usually is making something hard but this time it looked pretty simple. I am all about simple in the kitchen. She was making pesto pasta and something else I don't remember. I thought the pesto pasta looked really good. So yesterday I went to the Farmers' Market to get some fresh produce and some other goodies.

We played in the yard yesterday until 7pm. It was such a beautiful day I hated to be indoors. I ran in and began dinner. Here is what we had:

Bow tie pasta cooked per box
Knorr pesto sauce prepared by package

throw them together and top with fresh Parmesan cheese and there ya go.

The Barefoot Contessas' recipe was a little more complicated than that so I just adjusted it so it would be simple.

This makes a huge bowl of pasta. That was our dinner. The kids loved it. Yeah, I know I was shocked too. Thomas even talked about how much he liked the little bow ties. It was a big hit at my house. This can be eaten cold or hot. We ate ours warm. On the TV they were doing theirs cold with some veggies on top. I really thought I was pushing my luck with the pesto so I did not add the veggies. I will try that one next time.

If you like the foodnetwork you can go to their website: www.foodnetwork.com and find any of the recipes the hosts are doing on TV or find out what they will be doing later in the week.

Until we eat again. . .

Beth this one is for you. . .

I read your "Monster Spray" blog and had to laugh. I can beat that one. When Jack was younger, ok he is only 9 now this was when he was about 3. He got scared one night and did not want to go to bed. Now, this is when our bedroom is right across the hall from his. He still did not want to go to bed.

Most days I can't remember my own name. But for some reason this particular night I was thinking on my feet, pretty quick I might add. I told Jack that monsters did not like loud noises and parents. I told him I knew of a dance that would get rid of the monsters. As parents it is important to be quick on our feet and sometimes do silly things in the name of a good nights rest.

This particular night I was in desperate need of a good nights sleep. I told him I knew of a chant to get rid of monsters. He said, "Oh Mommy please get rid of the monsters." So I began to hop on one foot around in a circle and yell at the top of my lungs, "All you monsters get out of my house NOW!!!!!" I twirled around and continued the chant. I clapped my hands really loud too for emphasis. Jack looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Wow, mommy that was good."

We had a good nights sleep from that point on. So Ladies and gentlemen sometimes in the name of sleep we have to be silly for our kids. If that means our house smells like a country garden or if we have to dance and chant a little it is ok. Your kids will use the same tactics when they have kids too.

Happy Easter!

We went to several different Easter programs this year at Church. We went to our Churches' Good Friday Service and it was very moving. We had different people in the Church that read scripture of what happened on that Friday. There were twelve candles lit on our main table at the front of the Church and as the folks read the snuffed out the candles. This symbolized the twelve disciples turning their backs on Jesus. We had one big candle and it symbolized Jesus. After all of the readings and all of the candles except the big one were extinguished they blew out the big one and the sanctuary was dark. This was very sad. It showed in a simplistic way how the disciples must have felt after they had turned their back on Jesus.

On Saturday one of my neighbors Churches did their Easter program and I went to that one too. They acted out the last days of Jesus. It was very touching. I cried through most of it. You do not realize what Jesus went through for us until you see it acted out in front of you. It went from the garden where Jesus was arrested, to Pilate having him flogged, and then crucified. I have read the story many times but to actually see what they did and how they did it. It really touches my heart that he loved us so much that he suffered so much for us. It is really something to see this acted out.

This was on my heart this morning.

Easter Eggs

Ok, so I am late doing my eggs. I boiled them yesterday and we dyed them today. I did 13 eggs and Jack asked, "Mommy why did you do so many?" I told him usually they crack in the boiling and I only get half of what I boil. Well, this time I did it a little different. I put the eggs in cold water and put them on the burner on low. I let them gently warm on low then I gradually increased the heat this way they do not crack. I am usually rushing around and I hurry my eggs to boil and they crack and usually make ugly deviled eggs.

Today we dyed all 13 eggs. None of them cracked. Yeah!!! The kids each got six to dye and Mark got one. He is such a big kid. When we were getting the dye ready he reminded me of the times before we had kids and we still dyed eggs. Yes, we dyed eggs before we had kids. We are still just kids at heart.

Happy dyeing to you all. Happy Easter

The News. . .

Ok, I just saw on the news that the NC Department of revenue is holding tax refund checks because they want to make sure the budget balances before they send them out. I am all for a balanced budget because I don't think they have ever had one. My question is: Would they wait 3-6 months while I balanced my personal budget before I paid them what I owed? I don't think so. I think they would probably send the law after me. Yet I have to wait to get what is rightfully mine to begin with. Yes, I am on my political high horse this morning. This business about waiting to balance the budget is a lot of you know what.

If you or I ran a business the way the government is run today they would all go under. Maybe that is the problem with the car industry. Maybe they have been running it the way the folks in Washington and the folks in Raleigh are running things. Hummm???? Kinda makes you think.

I am not pointing blame on anyone. We did not get this way overnight and it is not going to change that quick either. We did not get this way in 8years either. This has been a long line of miss management. I don't think throwing good money after bad is the answer either. I am referring to the bail out. When the company that was bailed out spent a whopping amount of money to "treat" it's CEOs', the ones that got them into the mess to begin with, to a spa retreat. Now how stupid is that?

I ask you, If you got money from your grandma to bail you out of a bind would you go and treat yourself to a beach trip? I hope not or grandma would probably come and get you.

Sorry for the rant but I had to get this off my chest.

New recipe. . .

I am always trying new recipes but they generally do not come out the way they should. This one is the exception. I got this recipe from Southern Living Decmeber 2008. Yeah, I know it took me long enough huh. Mark fusses so when I leave magazines laying around so I tear out things I want to keep like recipes and file them away for later. I decided I wanted something different for supper this week and picked this one. This is not the exact recipe, I tweaked it just a bit for my taste and ingredients.

Hot Tomato Grits:

2 cans (141/2 oz) chicken broth low sodium
1 cup uncooked quick - cooking grits
2 tomatoes chopped
2tbsp green chiles (canned chopped)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3tbsp. butter

I used my Pampered Chef 12 inch skillet and melted butter the added chicken broth slowly and some salt (just a bit) let this bubble then add your grits and stir. I used medium high heat. Add your tomatoes and chiles return to boil stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes be sure to stir often. Add cheese and let it sit on low then stir and serve.

The kids did not like it but Mark loved it. I liked it too. It was different from our usual meal. This was our side dish to Marks' wonderful grilled chicken. Since only Mark and I ate this we had a lot left over. Mark ate it the next morning with his eggs for breakfast and said it was wonderful. I ate it for lunch the next day. It was good after sitting overnight in the fridge.

Little Compliments. . .

We had enrichment at school today. I volunteer at our elementary school and teach PE to the kindergarten classes on Wednesdays. I dressed a little differently today because it was also Honors Assembly. The assembly is where they recognize the A and A-B Honor Roll kids. I went to it first so I did not wear my typical t-shirt and yoga pants. I guess the kids were shocked to see me in street clothes because I had more compliments today than I have had in months about my appearance. The first class I went in to the little girls ran up to me and said, "you look so pretty." I told them thank you and went on my way. The next class, again the little girls were telling me how pretty I looked. I thanked them and we went on our way. My last class was Thomas's class and one of the little girls ran up to me and said, "you look beautiful!" I am not exaggerating several of the other mothers heard her. It took me back actually.

I must look really bad the rest of the time or I looked exceptionally good today. I don't know which one I prefer. It may have been that I had on their favorite color. I was wearing pink.

Maybe I should wear pink more often. Those kids made my day. Sometimes the little compliments mean the most.

It's fun to be a kid. . .

Yesterday as the wind blew like crazy we were cooking out. Thomas decided he wanted to play with his bubbles. So he took his bottle of bubbles out and was blowing them everywhere. I decided it looked like fun and I was between things cooking in the kitchen so I grabbed a bottle of bubbles and joined him on the deck. I don't think I have laughed that hard in quite some time. I did not even have to blow to get my bubbles going. I just held my little wand in the air and the wind blew my bubbles for me. I had so much fun just being one of the kids.

Sometimes I think we need to be a little silly every now and then. It is good for our kids to see us that way too. It is also a good way to blow off steam. I must have filled the neighborhood with bubbles. You can get your bubbles at the dollar store in a three pack and they are scented too. It's a cheap thrill.

My challenge to you is be a kid this week sometime with your kids. Let them see you be silly and have some fun on their level. I would recommend the bubbles.

Ball field Mom. . .

Yes, I am a ball field Mom. My kids are in to all the sports and I am glad of it. It keeps them away from the idiot box at home. And no I do not mean my husband. I love watching my boys play ball no matter what the sport. We are of course in baseball season now so that is the sport I am loving. Thomas (the 6 yr old) had his first game last night. He plays a modified t-ball. The coach pitches three times and if he does not hit the ball he gets two swings off the T.

Their team won, Yeah!!!! I was so happy for them. Apparently though I got too excited during the game and embarrassed my husband. Yes, I am one of those moms. I can't help it. I try my best to behave but I get so excited watching them play I lose myself in the game. I got a little loud and yelled and whooped and hollered some too. I will try to be on better behavior for the next game. All the kids did really well. Thomas was playing short stop and he had never played that spot before. He did ok for his first time out. He and the second baseman, his best friend, made an awesome play and got an out. There was some issue at the plate and they called it all back and so the out did not count. It will still go down in these books though because it was an awesome play for two 6 year olds to make and make well. Yeah team!!! If you are at the ball field and you hear someone yelling and screaming don't scowl at them just remember it is just a proud parent or grandparent getting excited at what their child or grandchild is doing. You never know it might be me.

Even if you don't have kids you should check out a local t-ball game. They are a lot of fun to watch. If you do have kids get them involved in sports. It teaches them team work and it gives them confidence for their later years. Kids can do anything until someone tells them they can't.
They do not know fear until "you" tell them to be afraid.

Love'em and enjoy them they grow up fast. My oldest is in player pitch this year. I remember his first time playing t-ball he floated around the bases like a butterfly flapping his arms. I will always remember that.

Garden Update. . .

Ok, I have some onions popping through. I think all the rain we have had is doing some great things for my little garden. I may have some spinach coming up too. It is a little harder to distinguish. No lettuce yet. Lowes Hardware has blueberry bushes on sale this week if anyone is interested. I love blueberries. We had two last year and I think one of the neighborhood kids killed one of them. So now I only have one. Mark is going to get me two more. They are really easy to grow. I never really had enough to put in the fridge. Every time we had any one the bush we would just pick them and eat them right there. I hope if I do get two more bushes that I will have enough to put some in the fridge. My fig tree was the same way. I always ate them as they got ripe on the tree. I never had enough to put in the fridge. I love fresh figs. If nothing else I will have onions and figs this year, Yummmm.

I have to brag a little about my kids today. We got report cards. Jack made the A honor roll again and Thomas got all M's. That means most of the time. For Kindergarten that is good. I am so proud of my boys. Jack also got an S in conduct which is good too. We have had issues there due to talking. Wonder where he gets that? I bet it is from his Daddy.