Last night while shopping at ALDI, I let my two year old help push the cart. It spared a lot of screaming for everyone in the store and she was having a blast doing it. At first she was standing on her tip toes trying to reach the handle so I was basically pushing, then she figured out she could push from her level and the cart would go faster. I was holding on to the cart to keep in under control... until we go to the watermelons. As I bent down to pick out a watermelon (letting go of the cart), my little 15th percentile pushed the cart into a lady who was looking at fruit. The lady made a face, but didn't look over, obviously very mad. I immediately picked up my girl and apologized to the lady, who still refused to even look at us. I got onto my girl and explained what she had done. She cried. She felt bad. As I pushed the cart around the lady I said, "Again, I am so sorry." And again, she didn't even look at us.
Well, it made me mad- to say the least. I get that my little girl nailed her pretty good with the cart and I should have been watching her more closely at that moment, but here's the deal- SHE'S TWO! It was an accident and if anything was my fault! But what upset me the most was how she didn't even turn to look at us. Never once acknowledged us. What did that teach my child? She could have said, "It's ok." (even if she didn't mean it) or she could have said, "Hey little girl be careful that hurt." or she could have said, "Hey lady get control of your kid." (which would have probably started a fight because it was an ACCIDENT!) I would have preferred some sort of acknowledgment over none.
Then, I got to thinking that this sort of thing is exactly what is wrong with our country. What ever happened to compassion and forgiveness?
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Crockpot Meals- Ain't Gonna Save Your Life, Sista
At some point I really hope to get on a regular schedule, but right now I am in survival mode with school starting back up and I haven't really figured out how to accomplish any more than I am right now at this moment. But soon, very soon, I will figure it out- I hope.
This post is dedicated to all my friends who have been posting their crockpot meal ideas on pinterest lately. Crockpot meals have taken over my Pinterest feed. When one starts posting crockpot meals this sends the message that this person is seeking ways to make life more managable. In my case, when I was searching for crockpot meals about a year ago, my ship was sinking and I was going down with it. I clung to crockpot meals like they were my life preserver in the storm. Sadly though, crockpot meals for me were an epic fail- but the good news is I managed to survive without them.
A little word to the working moms- hesitate to take meal advice from mom's who work from home. Working Mom and Working From Home are not the same thing! I am not saying stay at home or work from home moms do not work hard, because they do, but it is different. (More on this topic later.)
Crock pot meals do not work for me because I am gone too many hours. Crockpot meals usually require 6 to 8 hours of cooking. I am gone at least 10 hours a day. So by the time I get home, my crockpot meals have been cooked to their death and are no good. One time, my sister and I were hashing out life and the fact that there are too many things to accomplish during the hours in which we have to accomplish them. (this is a weekly conversation between the two of us) Anyway, we decided that crockpot freezer meals were the answer. We spent approximately two weeks researching until we found what we believed to be the best crockpot meals. We then dibied up our grocery lists and went to shopping. We spent about $80 a piece and an entire Saturday, but we prepared around 6 to 8 crockpot meals each. At the moment the last baggie was zipped we were officially the most organized mom's in the county- hands down. And then about two weeks went by and neither of us had put a single meal in the crockpot. See what happens is, you have these big dreams of crockpot meals and butterflies and rainbows, then reality strikes and you realize you have to actually put the meal in the crockpot. They should tell you that on the recipe, really. They say, "then you put the meals in the freezer until you are ready for them." This is very misleading. Mornings are crazy busy at my house (again, saving the topic of mornings for another posting) and I just wouldn't think of the crockpot meal until it was time to go out the door. On the one day I did think of it, I left the meal in the crockpot, on low, and went to work. I'm pretty sure I was walking a little lighter that day knowing dinner would be waiting on me when I got home. Well, dinner was waiting, but nobody wanted to eat it. My chicken was totally dried out and brown and the sauce had pretty well disinigrated. I left it for too many hours. I tried a couple of the meals after that on Saturdays when I was home to make sure the drying out didn't occur again, but I'll just be honest, they were not good. This leads to my second lesson, when you freeze food in baggies, the flavors and goodness stick to the sides of the baggie and never really end up in your meal. Today, the rest of the meals sit in my freezer, cold and alone. I will clean them out in all of my spare time. haha wink, wink
The truth of the matter is, if you are a working mom that still likes to prepare dinner for your family there really is no good answer. You just have to search for something that works for you. The thing that works for me the best is freezing actual meals that I have prepared- example, make a lasagna on Sunday in a 9 x 9 pan instead of a 9 x 13, prepare the leftovers in a 9 x 9 foil pan and freeze it. Another nice trick is cooking up a bunch of hamburger and chicken and freezing it. Then, on taco night your burger is already browned, you simply thaw it (because we know we will forget to put it in the fridge before we leave for work) and add the seasoning. This knocks a good 20 minutes or more off your prep time. Another helpful tip is taking time each weekend to plan your meals for the following week. Simply having a plan helps more than anything. Then, if you have time on Sunday, go ahead and brown your hamburger if you are going to need it or boil and shred your chicken and freeze it. You can also prep some veggies to keep in the fridge until you are ready for them. I don't always get this accomplished over the weekend, but when I do, life for that one week is a little less stressful.
I want to share one last handy idea with you before I go take care of the toddler that is currently emptying all of my kitchen cabinets. Rotissary chicken. If you are going to be running behind and need something that doesn't feel totally like a take out meal, stop by the store and pick up a family size rotissary chicken and a bag of ready made salad. This will be dinner for the evening. Save the leftover chicken for the following night and make enchiladas or chicken tacos or ranch chicken, whatever your heart desires!
Best of Luck! You are doing great!
This post is dedicated to all my friends who have been posting their crockpot meal ideas on pinterest lately. Crockpot meals have taken over my Pinterest feed. When one starts posting crockpot meals this sends the message that this person is seeking ways to make life more managable. In my case, when I was searching for crockpot meals about a year ago, my ship was sinking and I was going down with it. I clung to crockpot meals like they were my life preserver in the storm. Sadly though, crockpot meals for me were an epic fail- but the good news is I managed to survive without them.
A little word to the working moms- hesitate to take meal advice from mom's who work from home. Working Mom and Working From Home are not the same thing! I am not saying stay at home or work from home moms do not work hard, because they do, but it is different. (More on this topic later.)
Crock pot meals do not work for me because I am gone too many hours. Crockpot meals usually require 6 to 8 hours of cooking. I am gone at least 10 hours a day. So by the time I get home, my crockpot meals have been cooked to their death and are no good. One time, my sister and I were hashing out life and the fact that there are too many things to accomplish during the hours in which we have to accomplish them. (this is a weekly conversation between the two of us) Anyway, we decided that crockpot freezer meals were the answer. We spent approximately two weeks researching until we found what we believed to be the best crockpot meals. We then dibied up our grocery lists and went to shopping. We spent about $80 a piece and an entire Saturday, but we prepared around 6 to 8 crockpot meals each. At the moment the last baggie was zipped we were officially the most organized mom's in the county- hands down. And then about two weeks went by and neither of us had put a single meal in the crockpot. See what happens is, you have these big dreams of crockpot meals and butterflies and rainbows, then reality strikes and you realize you have to actually put the meal in the crockpot. They should tell you that on the recipe, really. They say, "then you put the meals in the freezer until you are ready for them." This is very misleading. Mornings are crazy busy at my house (again, saving the topic of mornings for another posting) and I just wouldn't think of the crockpot meal until it was time to go out the door. On the one day I did think of it, I left the meal in the crockpot, on low, and went to work. I'm pretty sure I was walking a little lighter that day knowing dinner would be waiting on me when I got home. Well, dinner was waiting, but nobody wanted to eat it. My chicken was totally dried out and brown and the sauce had pretty well disinigrated. I left it for too many hours. I tried a couple of the meals after that on Saturdays when I was home to make sure the drying out didn't occur again, but I'll just be honest, they were not good. This leads to my second lesson, when you freeze food in baggies, the flavors and goodness stick to the sides of the baggie and never really end up in your meal. Today, the rest of the meals sit in my freezer, cold and alone. I will clean them out in all of my spare time. haha wink, wink
The truth of the matter is, if you are a working mom that still likes to prepare dinner for your family there really is no good answer. You just have to search for something that works for you. The thing that works for me the best is freezing actual meals that I have prepared- example, make a lasagna on Sunday in a 9 x 9 pan instead of a 9 x 13, prepare the leftovers in a 9 x 9 foil pan and freeze it. Another nice trick is cooking up a bunch of hamburger and chicken and freezing it. Then, on taco night your burger is already browned, you simply thaw it (because we know we will forget to put it in the fridge before we leave for work) and add the seasoning. This knocks a good 20 minutes or more off your prep time. Another helpful tip is taking time each weekend to plan your meals for the following week. Simply having a plan helps more than anything. Then, if you have time on Sunday, go ahead and brown your hamburger if you are going to need it or boil and shred your chicken and freeze it. You can also prep some veggies to keep in the fridge until you are ready for them. I don't always get this accomplished over the weekend, but when I do, life for that one week is a little less stressful.
I want to share one last handy idea with you before I go take care of the toddler that is currently emptying all of my kitchen cabinets. Rotissary chicken. If you are going to be running behind and need something that doesn't feel totally like a take out meal, stop by the store and pick up a family size rotissary chicken and a bag of ready made salad. This will be dinner for the evening. Save the leftover chicken for the following night and make enchiladas or chicken tacos or ranch chicken, whatever your heart desires!
Best of Luck! You are doing great!
Sunday, August 10, 2014
I found the coveted Blardigan's Cousin!
Olivia & Jane posted this daily deal! It is much like the Blardigan PTMT posted on her website, but a little less & STILL AVAILABLE! I just ordered the grey & white- I should also add that it is free shipping! Only 17 hours left, don't miss out! (The blardigans at Nordstroms are currently $99)
Saturday, August 9, 2014
You're Fine- Trust Me!
I see these blogging moms making their lives seem so perfect and their followers drooling at their every post all the while thinking to themselves why can't I be like them? I will admit I follow certain mama blogs and I catch myself doing that very same thing. And the thing is, that is just simply not reality for most of us; especially working moms! So, with that said, this blog is my attempt to show REAL life. My goal is to make you laugh and realize you are doing just fine!
My husband is always saying to me, "it's fine". Ugh! Nothing aggravates me more because he always says this at a time when in my mind things are not fine! Maybe it WILL be fine eventually, but right then in that moment THINGS ARE NOT FINE! In that moment I am FREAKING out! (Anyone lucky enough to watch Peg + Cat with their babies? "I am totally freaking out!" - if you are not lucky enough to watch this very repetitive PBS show, please ignore because you have no idea what I am talking about.) Anyway back on track- my husband likes to tell me "it's fine" in moments when I am freaking out. What am I freaking out about you ask? Everything. Like for example, my baby is coughing! Coughing! MY BABY! What if she is sick? This then generates a whole mess of thoughts- what will I do about work? Who will watch her? I have way too much going on at work to miss work? What if J has to stay home with her? What will they eat for lunch? Will she need to go to the doctor? Yep! Total craziness, then my husband says, "it's fine" and I totally come unglued.
So, after typing my very first paragraph, I realized that I was doing just what I hate my husband doing to me- telling me everything is just fine. But, even though I get totally pissed off at him when he says that (because he does in fact pick the absolute worst possible times to say that), most of the time, I have to admit that he is right. Whew that was no easy to say- so hard in fact I think I gagged a little. Bottom line here, ladies- please don't let these famous blogging moms make you feel like you are inadequate or pathetic. They are not a majority rule. They have great ideas, I read them as I have coffee almost every morning, but I have stopped letting myself feel bad because I don't seem to have it all together like they do. They have a normal side too, we just don't see it often. I am here to show you my normal side. Please join me as we laugh our way through this silly life.
My husband is always saying to me, "it's fine". Ugh! Nothing aggravates me more because he always says this at a time when in my mind things are not fine! Maybe it WILL be fine eventually, but right then in that moment THINGS ARE NOT FINE! In that moment I am FREAKING out! (Anyone lucky enough to watch Peg + Cat with their babies? "I am totally freaking out!" - if you are not lucky enough to watch this very repetitive PBS show, please ignore because you have no idea what I am talking about.) Anyway back on track- my husband likes to tell me "it's fine" in moments when I am freaking out. What am I freaking out about you ask? Everything. Like for example, my baby is coughing! Coughing! MY BABY! What if she is sick? This then generates a whole mess of thoughts- what will I do about work? Who will watch her? I have way too much going on at work to miss work? What if J has to stay home with her? What will they eat for lunch? Will she need to go to the doctor? Yep! Total craziness, then my husband says, "it's fine" and I totally come unglued.
So, after typing my very first paragraph, I realized that I was doing just what I hate my husband doing to me- telling me everything is just fine. But, even though I get totally pissed off at him when he says that (because he does in fact pick the absolute worst possible times to say that), most of the time, I have to admit that he is right. Whew that was no easy to say- so hard in fact I think I gagged a little. Bottom line here, ladies- please don't let these famous blogging moms make you feel like you are inadequate or pathetic. They are not a majority rule. They have great ideas, I read them as I have coffee almost every morning, but I have stopped letting myself feel bad because I don't seem to have it all together like they do. They have a normal side too, we just don't see it often. I am here to show you my normal side. Please join me as we laugh our way through this silly life.
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