Springtime, how does that make you feel?

What is it about spring that makes people feel great?  Is it just the warm weather and the ability to open the windows without freezing?  Doesn’t anyone love winter, I do.  I love playing in the snow with my little one.  I love making all different kinds of soup.  I love baking when it warms the house instead of creating a sweltering inferno.  And who doesn’t love the winter holidays.

But what about…gardening, birds chirping, running, bicycling, swimming, hiking,  farmers markets, open car windows, sunshine, outdoor exercising, green tree leaves, flowers, growing food, bonfires, grilling, patio sitting, warm breezes, baseball, soccer, camping, forest preserves, local parks, amusement parks, carnivals, kite flying, playing frisbee, dog walking, cat on an open window sill, fresh salads, fresh fruits, blueberry picking, peach picking, iced tea, lemonade, root beer floats, long walks at dusk, watching the sun rise, looking at the stars, full moons, backyard BBQs, vacations, weekends away, water parks, community pools, beaches, sun tanning, under umbrella sitting, sunscreen, playing with the neighborhood kids, drinking with the neighbors, bees, mosquitoes, squirrels & rabbits, cherry blossoms, lilac bushes, tulips & daffodils, barking dogs, hooting owls, local honey, homemade wine, sweating beer bottles, beach balls, pool toys, water rafts, planting seeds, growing peppers, harvesting tomatoes, thunderstorms, summer rain, cloud shapes, open garage, outdoor crafting, garden stones, gnomes, butterflies, lightening bugs, ants outside, picnics, lunch at the park, nature walks, mowing the lawn, watering the garden, cooing doves, bird feeders, old bread, trail mix, juicy oranges, tasty berries, water bottles, juice boxes, no school, more daylight, what could be better!

It’s My Party and I’ll…Eat Cupcakes!

Our “welcome home” party was great with only a few mishaps.  There was no banner or balloons, but we made our own cupcakes and frosting.  I have never seen a child so amazed and excited as I did when I put two drops of red food color and two drops of blue food color in a bowl, then stirred white frosting on top.  As I stirred and the frosting changed to a beautiful purple hue my little one’s eyes lit up.  “Wow mom, you are the best”, is the exclamation I received with my magical trick.

I showed her how to write letters, then I helped her write one.  After that she was a professional and didn’t need any of my help.  Along with the letters were various pictures, and an “I love you” for mom.  Not only are her artistic skills blossoming, but she is growing into a thoughtful and considerate person.  I was able to see this growth in her plan to save one of the cupcakes without frosting for our friend who is not fond of sweets.  What a doll.

There was also cooking, time at the park, and basketball in the dark.  We almost had a black eye from the basketball, thank goodness for frozen veggies.  All in all the party was a hit, and we learned the valuable lesson that adults should not play games in the dark.  Oh, and that as adults we are getting old (or we just need to eat more carrots).

Eating Healthy

The ultimate question of current times; What is eating healthy? For most of us it’s the opposite of how we are currently eating. If your current pattern of eating includes very monochromatic meals and the names of fast food restaurants then I doubt you are eating healthy. However, many fast food restaurants have improved their menus to include many healthier options. That’s great, but you have to order those items to benefit from them. In addition, even if you are ordering the healthiER options, it may not mean you are eating healthy overall. Eating out once a day at a fast food restaurant, or any restaurant for that matter, does not provide enough to be considered healthy eating. At least not in any beneficial sense, which is what we are looking for.

Although, I may only be speaking for myself, but when I eat I would like it to be beneficial, not detrimental to my health. Please share if you agree with me, or if you don’t. I like to hear what people think.

August is now “kids eat right” month according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) of which I am a member. In addition, I have a little one that I am very concerned for in regards to health and diet. The diets of our children are very important, unfortunately without the help from parents, no amount of change is going to do any good. You can get children to try new foods, and even like them. However, if they decide they like blueberries and their parents don’t buy them, or they are too expensive for the parents, the children are never going to enjoy them. I have actually witnessed a mother tell her child asking for the mother to buy blueberries, “are you crazy, those are too expensive”. The child was maybe 3 or 4 years old. Good job mom, don’t recommend something cheaper, just squash the child’s healthy choice and teach him that potato chips are much cheaper (and possibly the idea that they are just as healthy in doing so).

So parents with families of all ages, I ask you to make a pledge, or at least a half-hearted attempt, to make healthier choices. Berries are very expensive, but apples and bananas are not. Make trade offs with your produce. It may take some practice but it’s worth it, the health of your family should be. The worst thing about healthy eating habits, or unhealthy, is that you don’t see the damaging effect it has until later. It’s very hard to convince someone to do something healthy now to help them later. But I ask that you try! If you would like any tips and tricks I’ll be glad to share. I may even share without being asked as it’s in my nature.

Busy, I don’t like being this busy!

Don’t you hate when things get so busy you forget to blog?  Me too, and that’s why I haven’t written a thing in a few months.  I’m really upset with myself.  Now as the new semester looms over me with less than a week left, I feel compelled to write everything inside my head.  Funny how that works, I want to start a ton of new projects too, but I know I don’t have the time for that.  I did finish knitting a scarf for my daughter.  Hopefully she’ll actually wear it.  So this was just a little note to say I’m still here.  Very shortly I’ll be updating with some things to chat about at the dinner table.