Wow, 10 days without cooking, I was really starting to enjoy it.
The other day I overheard Taylor telling Mike, "Dad, I really don't KNOW HOW to make Mom feel more appreciated."
I have been asking them if they even want me to cook because the kids enjoyed several days of freedom. Mike even discovered how to make pizza dough..however by the 4th night of pizza, the kids were asking for something different.
Cereal, sandwiches and pizza do get old after awhile, plus we did go out to eat once.
Then I started asking them if they wanted me to cook and it was "YES!" and suggesting all sorts of things to make. I grilled them if they were going to complain or not show up and they were quick to say "NO"!
I think that I too have learned a lesson on expectations. If I don't have a homemade dinner 5 times a week on the table, my family will be okay.


A New Approach
So last night we enjoyed chicken cordon bleu, rice, fresh corn and a big salad. I made little sticky buns in a muffin pan for dessert and we were all happy.

This made me realize that things will be different from now on. I am going to have the kids participate a little more in meal preparations, and I am going to start making some dishes I LIKE. I love to eat a little healthier and a little less "meaty', but for years for the sake of the family, I compromise my wants for theirs. We have a society that thinks you must feed kids "kid foods", and mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets here we come. Well I really differ with that, and have made compromises over the years with my own kids and am now suffering because of it and they are used to it. When Taylor was a baby, he never got a bottle or formula, had homemade baby food and did NOT get sugar. As a result , he enjoys salad, fruits and really doesn't like candy that much.

Mom's choice
So, once a week, I am making "Mom's choice" and stir fry, tofu, beans and rice, salmon, quinoa, soups and lots more veggies, here we come. My years in Seattle has my palette used to more "granola" type foods as my husband would put it but I never enjoy them. My kids will get an opportunity to try or be exposed to much more healthier foods and I will get what I want, which sometimes doesn't happen when you are a Mom.

To be inspired on some 'natural' cooking here are some links:
Cookus interuptus
Catherine Newman's yummy cooking (look what her kids eat!!)
Good Eats

The whole couponing routine is work, but sometimes things just turn out well and you end up paying $38.xx for a whole bunch of groceries....catalinas, doublers and good sales. Wish I could manage this every week!
BTW: we now have 42 boxes of honey bunches of oats and yummy post selects to see us through the next 6 weeks, and I only spent around $.35 per box for the selects and $.50-1.00 for HBOO.

Taylor came to the conclusion that the lizard is too much for him. It actually came out after he returned from a three day trip at Great Grandma's. I asked him if he had a good time and the first thing he said was "it was really relaxing not worrying about Rex and feeding her crickets and taking care of her all the time. I had no responsibilities". Because you know, being 9 and having that kind of responsibility is HARD. Oh, so funny.

He put dead crickets in her aquarium the other day and stank up the entire upstairs (after he had been told not to do it previously), and we are on him constantly to make sure she is fed, watered and has a clean tank, and he should be handling her twice a day to get her used to him.

Mike and I discussed we would give him a 2 week period to show us he can take care of her. So we rounded up Taylor and had a talk stating previous conditions to keep lizard. We said it was a big responsibility and if he wasn't ready for Rex it was no problem, we took a chance giving her to him for his birthday. He bursts into tears and says he doesn't want her and it is too much to take care of her but he LOVES her. Oh, it was so sad. So I said that sometimes knowing we can't take care of something and finding someone who can, really shows our love for that person..er..animal. So he cried for another 15 minutes and got Rex and held her (like we were shipping her off then). I got out my camera to take pictures of her so I could post her on e-bay and he was so pitiful. Didn't want to keep her, but felt really bad. A lesson hard learned at 9.
Goodbye Rex.

I'm not sure what is happening to me...it's like my gentic code this time of year says to store food. My mom, grandma and great grandma (and back further in the family tree) were found this time of year with their elbows deep in corn, tomatoes, pears and peaches and whatever else they could cram in a jar from their garden. While I haven't done much canning yet, I have been cooking like crazy. I did some freezer cooking two weeks ago, partly to give my sister some casseroles and I thought while I was at it I would do some for me. 7 casseroles, extra rice, spaghetti sauce and pizza dough later I was happy with what a couple of hours on Saturday can do. It is SO nice to open the freezer, pull out a casserole and fix a side dish and dinner is done.

So this saturday after reading a fellower bloggers ideas, I did a baking day. 3 loaves of pumpkin bread, 4 dozen cookies, 3 dozen blueberry muffins and some extra pizza dough. I figured I needed some extra baked goods to put in the kids lunches for their treats.

Here's what else I have been stocking away in the freezer or plan to:
Applesauce-we eat tons of it!
blueberries-I love them so I keep buying and freezing, along with strawberries
freezer raspberry jam-3 containers of that
freezer corn-making that tonight-just blanching corn, slicing off the cob and enjoying later
apple butter will be coming
pears might be happening

For many people back in the "old days" they survived on this food, but for me in the dead of winter it so wonderful to open a jar of sun-ripened peaches or enjoy summer fresh blueberries.

BTW: I found a seriously funny website about a family that has home cooking videos. The recipes actually look delicious, but it's the weird interruptions that make it fun to watch.

PS: Since this is a foodie type post, I just made steel cut oats for the first time-DELICOUS! Added some ten-grain cereal, cranberries, a little brown sugar, salt and butter. A great way to start the kids day off with all that fiber and protein! Next on my list is Quinoa, a grain which has all amino acids in it.

Hannah discovered hot lunch and thinks it is fabulous but the reality is I won't pay $4 for my kids to eat lunch at school everyday-ripoff!! Especially when it is mostly junk. So we are finding creative & healthy things for cold lunch. I prepared a menu for them to pick their lunch items-they like that. We started off the first day with lunchables and capri suns-a treat for them since I NEVER buy that stuff. They have also had pop rocks and oreos. Back to reality and healthy eating! I am looking for some little containers to hold salad dressing and stuff for them to dip-kids love to do that. Any other good ideas??

I have not gotten a lot done since they have been back to school, but told myself I deserve a little break! I have managed to get to the gym and workout and do some house cleaning and finish some work.

new backpacks filled with school supplies. Check.
Lunchboxes cleaned and ready. Check.
New shoes and clothes ready. Check.
Meeting new teachers on Tuesday night. Almost check.
Happy dance from Mom. DOUBLE Check.

Ok, I'm gonna admit it-I am really GLAD summer is ending and BOTH...(did you hear that??) both of my wonderful children will be in school all day!! For 7 hours a day I will have freedom. Don't get me wrong, we have had a wonderful summer,lots of family time and I can't believe Hannah will be in 1st grade, but this momma is ready for some breathing space. The constant sibling fighting is starting to drive me nutty and I think we are all ready for a change of scenery.

A WHOLE DAY OF NO CHILDREN?
I can go to the gym more often (and hopefully see the spare tire less). I can concentrate on my business and will have lots more time for client meetings (without having to run home to be there when Hannah is home or figure out where for her to go so I can get work done).

ALSO....
There are many projects around the house that need to get done: I have already made my much-needed cleaning list to start on Thursday, donation piles are started and a messy office closet that needs MUCH organization is waiting.

Both kids plan on taking cold lunch so I am going to save myself some time (since I'm not a morning person AT ALL) and start stock-piling my freezer with baked goods that I can pop in their lunch box. I can see a couple baking days a month to do this and freezer dinners-it really makes life much more easier. BTW: I cooked 7!! casseroles, pasta sauce and pizza dough this Saturday in about 4 hours!! If you have a family, freezer cooking will save your sanity!

I am really looking forward to a new phase of no daycare and some independence during the day, so when my babes get home from school I will be excited to hear about their day and have a good snack waiting.
On a side note..I didn't know parenting would take so much food preparation-especially in the early years when feeding them took much of the day (especially when you exclusively breast feed babies til they are one and make your baby food!) and they ate non-stop.

Of course the cons to all this starting school is earlier mornings, trying to get kids to bed earlier, dealing with homework everyday, schedules, schedules, schedules and..... did I mention getting up early? I bought a big tub of coffee to help with that!