Why I Want My Kids to See Me Peeling Potatoes

Let me begin by saying that I am an old school mom. I have 2 adult kids already, so they grew up with out cell phones, computers (excessive use) and all the technology of today. I am planning on raising my kids to play outside, do simple math without a calculator (or calculator app) and I always encourage them to be kids. This time of their lives does not last that long and I want them to enjoy it.

That being said, this is why I want my kids to see me peel potatoes, cut up veggies, and do prep work for dinner. I also want them to see me cook dinner as well. Mainly because I do not want them to think that the ‘dinner fairy’ is real, as much as I wish she were. I want my kids to know that there is work in everything you do. Making dinner for them is no exception.

I want my daughter to know that it is okay to be a mom and a homemaker even in this age of women getting to train for combat infantry jobs, running for President, being astronauts, and even being teachers. I want her to know there is absolutely no shame is taking care of her family as I am taking care of mine. I want her to see me gladly putting in so much love to feeding, caring, and even disciplining her and her brother. I also want her to understand that when she is old enough she will be in the kitchen with me learning all things I was never taught and had to learn on my own.

I want my son to know that cooking and making dinner can be fun and is not a chore. I want him to understand that my love for him and sister extends to the meals I make for them and that cooking is cool. So, when he is old enough ( I have actually started with him helping me with some recipes) that cooking is not just for girls. I also want him to understand that I want him to learn these skills so when he is on his own he will never starve.

For me, cooking and prepping is an act of love and I want my kids to see and understand that. I want them to experience that love for themselves and know with every single meal I sit on the table, from the most simplest to the most complicated that they all came from my heart and that they are filled with love and caring. I want to send both of my kids out into the world with skills to take good care of themselves and eventually their families.

In this day and age, it is so easy to push a button on a computer and order dinner, I have done it many times myself, but I want my kids to know how to cook and bake so that they have a choice in life and not just have to eat junky fast food. Oh, do not get me wrong, I love, absolutely adore junky fast food, but I love to make good, home cooked meals for my family too.

News and Other News

Last night or even yesterday, I totally failed. I forgot to take out the pork chops from the freezer for dinner. I swear the baby is just sucking all my brain cells right out of my head day after day! So, instead we had Chinese for dinner, which I love! I always get Jeff their chicken fingers appetizer and honestly it is like a couple of meals for him. He tried fried rice for the first time and absolutely loved it! The baby even liked it because I got to eat a full dinner. Although I did not finish it.

I got myself chicken and green beans, a pint of won ton soup, and fried dumplings. The fried dumplings are my favorite actually! I try to get them all the time when I can. I ate those first, LOL. I have the soup and the rest of my dinner left today for lunch. Jeff has a lot of chicken left for his lunch, so we are good to go for today.

The issue is that I woke up at 5:30 am with heartburn. Again. Ugh. I took some antacid and I am waiting for it to work. Which it seems to be taking it’s sweet time. I have a doctor appointment on Monday, they will do another sugar test on me to see if I am diabetic. Ugh. I hate those! I get horrible headaches after this test because they are dumping a whole lot of sugar into my system at once. Then, I have to sit there for an hour and wait, then they take my blood. Ugh.

Normally I would only have to do this one time, but because I am 40, it is a whole different set of rules. Don’t get me wrong, I know they are being cautious, but this really puts a lot of stress on me because I get the migraine from hell and in relation, puts a ton of stress on the baby too. So, I will take my migraine meds with me to take afterwards and M said he will get me some real food to eat after the test which will help counter all the sugar that will be in my system.

M’s parents are renting a house not far from us while they are here. They will be here for about a week and will leave after my birthday. I am looking forward to their visit and Jeff meeting them for the first time!

So, M has a 3 day drill coming up in September, but is not sure if he has to go. They will be back the day before his knee surgery and honestly I do not want him to go because they will be in the field and there is such a high risk that he will hurt his knee even more than it already is. If that happens, all the higher ups in the unit would be in trouble for letting him go. So, on Tuesday he has to talk to them and see what they want him to do. It seems kind of crazy to me that Tuesday is already September 1st! Holy cow!

Of course we are waiting on Amazon to get their butts in gear and fill out the paperwork for M’s leave and pay while he is out for surgery. Sigh. If this is not done in time, he will have to put the surgery off I fear. So,it is a waiting game and I am not good at that game when the deadline is so close!

I think I am going to go back and lay down some more.

-Ciao!

To Eat or Not To Eat, That Seems to be the Issue

Being pregnant I know that I was going to have some issues with food. It has happened every time, with every child. So, I thought I knew what to expect. In the beginning, I was actively craving fresh fruit and cold water. Now, not so much. I see stuff on Facebook (I follow a number of cooking and recipe pages) that looks good. My mouth will water and when I get to have it, the baby is like, NO! LOL. 

Case in point, a friend of mine went to Disney and posted a picture of a delicious looking cheeseburger and I was like OMG, YUM. Fast forward to last night, my wonderful hubby made me yummy cheeseburgers and I had a few bites and the baby was like, um, no. Sigh. Really?!?

So, now I am trying to figure out what to eat and let me tell you, it is not easy! I am so envious of those women who have cravings now. Yes, as sad as it seems, I have food envy right now. We had BLT’s the other night and they were good. I actually got to eat a whole sandwich that night. It is getting so bad that I lost a pound between doctor visits. The weight loss is not bad, they did not even say anything, but I know it is because I can basically only eat about maybe half of anything I am trying to eat. 

This is worst than having to share my food with a toddler! At least the toddler will let me have some.. I am tired all the time and I know some of it is from not being able to eat enough lately, which of course makes it hard to keep up with the toddler! It is a vicious circle! Tonight I have pork chops out for dinner, not really sure what I am doing with them yet, but they are thawing.. it is also M’s birthday.. So, I will try to eat tonight and see what happens. I need to try and get lunch down here in a bit too.. sigh. Wish me luck!

–Ciao!! 

Ugh.

With all my kids, I never ever had any issues eating. Until now. Which is really sad for me because well, I love to eat! I will go to the kitchen and see something that looks really good, so I will start to make it (reheat it, whatever) and by the time I get it made and sit down with it, nope can’t eat. Now my son Jeff thinks he hit the jackpot all the time because he will gladly eat what I don’t. Well, at least it does not go to waste. 

All I want to be able to do is to eat something almost anything without getting sick or feeling like I am going to be sick. Seriously. I am so tired. I got to eat just enough to take my antibiotic so I would not get sick from that at least. I will try again later. I have a Lunchable and a REV wrap that I can eat. Oh yeah and a TV dinner that I might be able to eat when my stomach settles in a bit. 

Discussing all this with my friends on Facebook and they are all saying the same thing, ‘ OMG you are having a GIRL!!’. Now I am not sure of all that, but I have heard that if your pregnancy is totally different from the one before it you will be having the opposite of what you had. Since I had a boy, by this reasoning I should be having a girl this time. However, there is one thing I learned over the years, ALL pregnancies are different! All I know right now is that I am so tired and over emotional all the time. 

One of the good things is that my new migraine medicine is actually working. It did take 3 days but for once I woke up this morning almost totally headache free! First time in almost a month that has happened, so I am happy and will definitely take that!

However, with Jeff whining at me about everything I think I might just get that headache back real soon! Is it nap time yet?!? Cause I need one and so does he!! Well, this binkie hunter has to go find the binkie he put somewhere… 

-Ciao!