A well-balanced diet

I am not a picky eater. I eat fruits, vegetables, seafood, ethnic foods etc. I am willing to try just about anything at least once. (Except for sushi--I do have a preference for cooked food). However, I do have a few idiosyncrasies when it comes to certain foods, mostly revolving bread choices. Rob is well aware of these. For example, my mother used to make "meat cakes" for dinner on occasion. A "meat cake" is a hamburger with no bun. I do not like "meat cakes"! A hamburger is only properly eaten on a bun with condiments, not with a fork. Also, a hot dog goes in a hot dog bun, not wrapped in a piece of bread, and certainly not cut to fit onto a hamburger bun. I would rather eat a hotdog cut up on a plate than to eat one without the proper bun.

When it comes to breakfast foods, I like toast with my eggs. English muffins, bagels, and biscuits are also acceptable forms of breakfast bread.

Last night we had breakfast for dinner. I went to get the bread for my toast and *Gasp* we didn't have any. Not even a heel piece. I checked the fridge. No English muffins either. Rob said we have hotdog and hamburger buns. THE HORROR! I checked the pantry, I could make Bisquick biscuits but there wasn't enough time. No refrigerated biscuit dough. I was frantic. I didn't even want the dinner anymore, but I was hungry.

I reluctantly toasted a hamburger bun. BLECH! My dinner was ruined.

War of the Sexes

In general, I do not want to raise Bobby that this is "for girls" or that is "for boys". He has dolls and stuffed animals. He has a set of plastic dishes and tea cups for our living room "tea parties." He watches Rob cook dinner most nights (during the week)...he helps me with laundry, and I'm going to make sure he can do his own laundry someday...Rob works in a predominantly "female" occupation, while my career choice is dominated by men. You get the idea. We don't want to stereotype gender roles. Bobby is a rough and tumble boy with bruises, cuts, and dirt under his fingernails, all covered in a fine layer of grime and muck (well, at least until tubby time every night)...He is an all-American boy. I don't have any problem with Bobby wearing character clothing or fun things on his clothes, but I do want it to be boy's clothing. He could wear Dora the Explorer, but just not a shirt with ruffles and pink or flowers...

So, all that aside, yesterday my mother pulled out the new sandals she got him for his birthday. I took one look at them and said, "They are girls' shoes." When I pointed out the pink accents and the flower on the side, she refused to admit I was right saying, "They are brown sandals."

You be the judge:

These are called "Li'l Sunshine" sandals. Here's the description from the store website:

Shine on. Brighten her look with these girls' sandals. In a
variety of fantastic colors.

Score: Mama-1. Grammy Pat-0.

So, the conversation continued, and being a smart-ass, I asked, "Is the bathing suit you got him trunks or a 1 piece?" (implying she bought him a girls swimsuit). My mom responded, "No, I got him Mickey Mouse swim trunks." So, again, not letting it go...I asked, "Are you sure it's Mickey or is it Minnie Mouse?" She was visibly annoyed.

Score: Mama-2. Grammy Pat-0.

Feeling victorious, I took a swig of my vitamin water. Simultaneously, my father who was quietly enjoying the discussion added, "No, we got him Mickey Mouse trunks with a Holly Hobbie swim shirt."

*PHEWWWWW* *COUGH* *COUGH* *AHAHAHAH* *CHOKING* *GASPING*

That is the sound of me laughing so hard I choked, causing the vitamin water to come out my nose burning my sinuses...

Score: PapPap-Winner!

A Former Teacher's Rant...

Today is National Take Your Son/Daughter to Work Day. I don't know when this tradition started, but it was certainly not in place when I was a child. I think in theory it's a great concept. Exposing kids to different careers and getting a sense of what a real day at work is like is always going to be beneficial.
That being said, ever since I was a teacher, I often wondered why this day was held in April. I taught 5th graders and usually about 1/2 the students would not come to school on this day. So, 50% of the students missed a day of school and maybe had an out of school learning experience but the other 50% who did come often had a "wasted" day of "fillers". I tried to enrich their lessons with fun activities that would just support something we'd already learned. We couldn't move onto new concepts with 1/2 the class absent. Also, I didn't want the kids who came to school that day to feel punished for doing so...
Schools are off approximately 3 months a year. Why can't parents take their kids to work during June, July or August?!?!?!

Happy Birthday...Snip Snip!

My little Bobby will be 2 years on old on May 21. And how will he celebrate his special day? Well, he's scheduled for surgery. It's not for any major problem(THANK GOD!) but to me, anything involving anesthesia and referred to as "surgery" inpatient or outpatient--is major. Especially when it's my baby!

Bobby is tongue-tied (medically, his condition is Ankyloglossia. Try saying that 3 times fast!). Basically, his tongue is tightly connected to the bottom of his mouth. It's really connected near the tip of his tongue, and he can't really stick his tongue out too far. He'll be having a Lingual Frenectomy under general anesthesia.

I know it's better for him in the long run, but why does it have to be on his birthday?

The Universe is Conspiring Against Me...

Although I have only gone a few times, I love Drive-In Movies. The last time I went I saw Harry Potter (not sure which one) because I had recently had Bobby and I was able to see the movie and have him with me. Perfect.

I had Rob all gung-ho for a family Drive-In movie night tomorrow. The Double Feature was:

Adventureland AND

Gran Torino...Perfect.

Rob would agree to this. He has been wanting to see Gran Torino since it came out and we both want to see Adventureland.

I checked the website today to see about admission prices and what times the shows start...and the movies are NOT playing on the same screen starting...TOMORROW.

CURSES!!! Foiled again!

Another milestone

We made it almost 2 years before taking Bobby to the ER. Thank goodness for the miracle glue--it wouldn't have been a pretty sight if he had to get stitches.

Fun Family Rituals

It's that time of year again--time to dye Easter Eggs! I have fond memories of this childhood ritual: fighting over who gets to use the official egg dipper and who is stuck with a regular old spoon, making sure that my brother, sister and I had the same number of eggs to dye, trying to use the dye before my brother started mixing them up to try to make a black egg, looking for a crayon to write on the egg...Ah yes! Fond memories, indeed.

We always used Paas dye, and we always got just the basic colors, no glitter or sparkle eggs in our house. One year, I convinced my mother to let us get the Egg shrink-wraps, I just wanted something a little more grandiose than the fizzy tabs in vinegar. This was not the fun time I anticipated. You had to put the shrink wrap around the egg and then submerge it into boiling water so the wrap melted around the egg. If you don't know my mother, let me assure you that she was not ever going to let us put our own eggs into the boiling pot of water. We were lucky if we were even able to stand next to the stove and watch.

This is the woman that used to let us get sparklers for 4th of July but then instructed us, "HOLD YOUR ARMS OUT AS FAR AS YOU CAN, NOW, LOOK AWAY!!! LOOK AWAY!!! DON'T LOOK AT THE SPARKLER, YOU MAY BURN YOUR EYES!" I wish I was exaggerating. My sister and I would have to hold our sparklers out away from our bodies and we never got to see our own sparkler designs. We could look from a distance at each other's designs. Here's how that would go:

Me: Erin, do you see mine? What does it look like?

Erin: It's really cool, make circles...Write my name!

Me: Ok. Do you see it? Does it look like your name? Can you see the letters?

Erin: Yeah, alright, now look at mine.

Me: Yay! Cool. Ok, now write my name so I can see!

Pat (our mother): Ok, that's enough, you're going to burn yourself...LOOK AWAY!

Fun, right?

So, anyway...back to the eggs.
Last night Bobby and I dyed our eggs. Rob didn't want to be involved. Must be a dad thing. My dad never seemed interested in joining the fun, either. We had a great time--I loved being able to share this tradition with Bobby--without the fighting and petty disagreements of my youth! And I even kept the egg dipper so next year, we'll each have our own!!!

April Fool's Day

I haven't thought of any good pranks to pull today. Ho hum. This day needs spiced up with some silliness...