Meal planning time!

I've decided to try something new this week. Lately, I have not been doing very much exploring with menus and feel like I have been in a dinnertime rut of pasta, grilling, and baked chicken. I have also noticed that I spend WAY too many nights at the grocery store. Not that I mind that I know my grocers by name, but I know there are so many other things I would like to do every night then run to the grocery store! So here it goes. I have planned my menu for the work week. These recipes have been sitting on my Pinterest boards for a while, just asking for a chance. These are all new recipes, all seem pretty simple and quick and I even have a Clean recipe (Miss Janice you in for Tuesday?). I am hoping by posting these, I will feel morally obligated to follow through with these meals. Anyone want to join me?
Here it goes...

Monday: Crockpot beef and broccoli w/ steam rice

bsrecipe.blogspot.com

Tuesday: Balsamic Chicken, Asparagus, Roasted Tomatoes and Mozzarella
And the best part? Only 335 calories!!

maggiesbites.tumblr.com

Wednesday: Salmon with roasted fingerling potatoes and a green salad

thepioneerwoman.com

Thursday: Crockpot French Dip with baked sweet potatoes fries

pineapple-grass.blogspot.com

Friday: My family will be so grateful for the yummy food they will want to take me out or surprise me with a meal when I get home from my all day training!(:

Wish me luck! Happy Eating!(:

L

Cutting the cord

Since Lena started high school I have been to more meetings, received more emails, and spent more time at her high school campus then I ever spent at her elementary school or middle school. So my question today is WTH??!!! I am so confused!
As I try to explain to my kids, in high school for both me and my husband, we were responsible for getting ourselves to school, doing our homework, and keeping up with our schedules. There was no one there to remind, drive, or micromanage us. We both did what we did because it was important to us.
But here I am, sitting in yet another parent meeting hearing these parents talk about how we are going to plan and arrange to feed our kids because they will be at a football game from 4-8pm and we HAVE to arrange that for them. WHAT??!!! Why can't they just feed themselves?
Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter, I am here to support her, and I love spending time with her. But she's in high school now. It's time for me to start giving her more freedom and let her go and start experiencing this life for herself. Of course it is a gradual process. I loosen the strings and see how she does before deciding how much freedom I give her. If it doesn't go well, then I reevaluate. That's how I understand adolescence to be. But how can I do this when I am surrounded by parents who aren't doing the same?
So, tonight is Lena's high school open house which she says her teachers "strongly suggest"I attend. I am feeling guilty for not wanting to go and a little bitter that these teachers are making me feel guilty.

Am I the only parent out there that sees this level of involvement as wrong?

Ok, let me hear from you! Don't hold back, I can take it.

L

A Special Guest Blogger

As most of you know by now, Lena is graduating from 8th grade today! Over the weekend, I took her out for some pampering and girl time. It was a great day and my favorite part was our lunch together. During lunch, Lena asked if she could read me something she has been working on (yup, Lena is a writer just like her auntie!) . While I was reading them, my anxiety over her next steps was taken over with a sense of pride and excitement. And the best part? She asked me to post them on my blog. So here you go, my first guest blogger, Lena!!!


Risk
Every person takes risks, every day. When you look back and reflect on life, can you say I regret nothing? My mother says " I try and live my life with no regrets, I have made mistakes, but I regret none." Mistakes, some big, some small help us develop into people, I have made mistakes, but I learned, I think I would only regret them, if i had not learned from them. I like to think that teenagers are the best risk takers, and why is this? you may ask, it is because whether subconsciously or not, we understand that if we fail from the risk, well at least we know not to do it again. For some, you need to fall a few times before you understand that what your doing is not working. Sometimes you need to take risks to make life better, whether it is telling your crush you like him/her, or even finding one moment of complete, idiotic courage, the courage to fight for what you want. Of course in some cases , risks are not advised, like stealing, or even worse. These risks, I like think are not risks, but a lapse in judgement. That is also another thing to think about, am I doing something brave, or just plain stupid. Although it seems that from the bigger mistakes we learn, and learning is something you never stop
doing, no matter what the age.


Growing Up
There is a point in your life when you grow up and began to become the person you chose to be. When you realize, you are not a little kid any more. I am growing up , it is not easy, but as soon as you let yourself grow, life gets better. New opportunities open up for yourself like dating, staying alone at home, and so much more! When you tell yourself, and realize, that your growing up, and that your freaking awesome. It is not easy growing up, with new opportunities, comes new challenges, and these challenges you will face will be the most difficult thing you will ever face in life. Maturity, you need it to grow, but it is ok to let yourself have fun, make friends, listen to music, go out, and live! Perserverence, a big word, but it deserves it. It's the will to face a new day, pick yourself up after being knocked down, to keep on keeping on. To try the hardest you possibly can even when the universe throws you curve balls. Despite my little experience, I know that life will keep throwing you curve balls but the real challenge is standing back up, dusting yourself off, and batting again. All the challenges and curve balls you deal with and recover from, make you grow. So this is what i say to those challenges , " Bring it on!"


Hope you enjoyed them! 


L

This is MY Mom

Let me keep it real, this year I have felt like such a crappy parent! With my change in hours at work, I haven't been able to volunteer weekly in David's classroom like I did for him in kindergarten and like I did for Lena every year from K-6th! Of course my guilt is enhanced whenever David comes home and shares how EVERY parent but me has been volunteering! With my availability so limited, I tried to overcompensate by sending class treats and school supplies but it still wasn't enough for David.

So today I finally volunteered in David's 1st grade class. Even though almost a year has passed since I volunteered, I was pleasantly surprised to see not much has changed. David still had that grin as he walked me down the hallway and I was still treated like a rockstar getting introduced to all his friends with pride as he said, "This is MY mom!" I also got to finally match the stories with the faces. I met David's crush, David's bf, David "mortal enemy"(his words). I also got to see him flirt with the nurse (yup, my son has moves!) and interact with his teacher (yup, he is the teacher's pet). It was so much fun just to watch him. He really is the best mix of me and his Dad.

When it was time for me to leave, David gave me a great big hug and I felt my feelings of guilt finally go away. David is just fine and I need to stop being so critical of myself! My boy is a happy, smart, well adjusted, well behaved kid who just enjoys showing off his mommy.

And yes, I'm going back again next week!(;

Hugs and Raspberries,

L

A Mommy's job

Ok, so let's get real. A major part of a parent's job is cleaning up the messes. I'm not talking the shoes in the family room. I'm talking about the messes no one ever discusses! The messes that REALLY could be on fear factor!! The stuff which makes you question if your kids are even human!! Yesterday, it was so bad I was waiting for David's head to spin all the way around with the stuff that was projecting out of him!!!
But it's in these moments when a mommy super power activates and you just react! Somehow you find the stomach, the patience, and a few extra set of hands to make everything ok! Now, this may sound crazy but its in these very moments when I love my kids the most!! Why?! Because It's in these moments that I am reminded what is truly important. I am such a lucky girl! My kids are my everything and my hubby is the best copilot a girl could ever ask for!!(; And yes it is while I was figuring out how to dig out the vomit from the carseat buckles that I couldn't help but realize this!!(;
Hugs and Raspberries!
L



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Holidays

I remember when I first moved out of the house, the holidays were the hardest time for me. Why? Because no one makes comfort food like MY family. I was SO home sick one year I called my grandpa (shout out to up above, I miss you Guppy!) and asked him just to describe the amazing food I was missing! That year, my grandpa actually mailed me some turkey and stuffing to make me feel better. No, there is no refrigeration in regular postal trucks but I never told him that!(;
This is why for me, the holidays are like a 2 month long love letter to everyone in my life. I started this tradition while JC was going through Medical School. Every holiday, I would cook the foods I loved for our friends, hoping I could make everyone, including myself, feel a little less homesick.

Now that we have our own family, the tradition continues. It's a bigger group (about 30-50) but I really do love every moment of cooking the holiday meals. You see, these foods ARE my family! I roast my turkey in a roaster just like my grandpa roasted his turkey. I baste my turkey with champagne, just like my dad did. I make my mom's corn bread stuffing and my aunt Irene's ham. And Christmas? That's my cousin's brittle, my grandma eva's cookies, my aunt's pumpkin bars, and my grandma Lorenza's tamales (last shout out to the original L! I miss your laugh AND your flying chanclas!).

Over the years I have changed these foods to make them my own, but every time I cook these meals I think of those who mean the most to me and remember the years of family memories that I hold dear. And the best part?  Watching my daughter make the cookies her grandma taught her to make! The legacy continues!(; For me, food is love and the holidays are a time to share this love.

So if anyone needs some extra love, come on over! The kitchen is open!

Happy Holidays!

L

Do kids need personal days?

Figuring out if your child should stay home from school is something I struggle with pretty regularly. Both me and my husband come from the mindset that personal and sick days are only to be used if you have just lost a limb or have been hospitalized. But all this changed for me a year ago when David's kinder teacher called me and said "David just wasn't himself".  I jumped in my car and rushed over to see a smiling kid flirting with the school nurse!! But since I was there I followed the usual routine of asking him to jump ten times, he was laughing and jumping, so I sent him back to class. 15 minutes later I get another call from his teacher, David had returned to class only to throw up on the playdough table!!! That is probably my worst parenting moment ever!! I was so embarrassed!! I had just traumatized not only my own kid but an entire kindergarten class!!! Since that day, I am overly cautious, frightened of making another mistake.

So, this morning I needed to make that decision again, but this time it was Lena. Yesterday, Lena came home with a fat lip after being elbowed in the face while playing basketball. At first, it didn't seem that bad but by the time bedtime rolled around my poor baby's bottom lip was HUGE! Now, for anyone this would be embarrassing, but for an 8th grade girl this is the end of the world! This morning when she woke up, the swelling had gone down, but it still was noticeable. So do I send her to school? I didn't share my struggle with her, but I really didn't know what was the best thing to do. At one point she came out of her room with a pink fan and said she was going to ask all her teachers if she could put it over her face during class!! OMG, am I a terrible mom if I send her? Will I traumatize her for life by making her show up with a fat lip? I can't have 2 kids with Playdough stories!!!

I started to drive them both to school, even though I hadn't fully made up my mind. As we are driving, Lena starts to explain to David how she can't even eat because of the swelling. I silently decide today is a good day for a personal day for Lena and start to figure out how I'm going to make it happen when Lena says..."Hey mom, can I stay after school to help out the book fair?"

At least for today, Lena does not need a personal day...

Hugs and Raspberries

L