Being Right, Goals, Bum Trigger Finger

I took on the role of "that mom that makes healthy lunches" all too ambitiously, as I am discovering bento was not all it's cracked up to be. I am still sending cold lunch 2-3 times per week, but I am mixing it up by sending some regular, dull sack lunches too. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be sending bento style lunches every day but it is a drain on my time and effort to get the kids to eat healthy ha ha. It's frustrating to hear of untouched and/or discarded veggies. It takes a lot of time and creativity to stay positive through this process. Fortunately, I have those. Unfortunately, those skills when translated into food service aren't always appreciated by the little men. Just getting this out will probably be enough to motivate me for another week or two. Or I could just browse some bento porn to get me in the mood: http://www.flickr.com/groups/396900@N24/

Tyler has come home from school a few days this week upset to the point of tears. I really couldn't put my finger on what was wrong until Jason and I sat down to have a talk with him. He's in the gifted and talented ed class (I'll call it GATE from here on out) composed of other really talented and gifted students and quite frankly, he's not the top dog anymore. He's getting frustrated when he doesn't understand and upset when he's wrong. The kid does not like to be wrong. Gee, I wonder where he got THAT from? I see this class as a tremendous opportunity for him but he's such an emotional guy that I will carefully have to monitor the benefits the class gives him vs. the stress and emotion he feels on a day-to-day basis. Something as simple as being told the way he did a graph before was no longer going to be used put the kid into silent tears in the middle of class.

I can't remember if I've mentioned that I will be going back to school myself. The funding has come through for me (go Mom!) and that was the last push I needed to finish up. The longer I am away from books and studying and lectures, the harder it gets to go back. I've been caring for another 3 yr. old for about a week and this just solidifies that I want to run home daycare or work in a daycare or something of the sort. It was a long time coming, but I am finally getting this solid picture of what I want to do next. Once I finish schooling to get my early childhood education degree and get certified to do in-home daycare, I want to move into a place set up specifically with caring for children in mind. A bigger house for all of us but also cozy with plenty of room to be creative and run in circles and be well, kids.

A fall goal of mine was to pass on the torch of team captain for soccer. I am still completely devoted to playing soccer but am free of the work of team captain. I also want to score a goal this season, sort of hard to do playing defender but possible, entirely possible. I need to get back my aggressiveness. I had a minor injury that was a direct result of being aggressive and I noticed I've eased off my level of play since. I've even looked into roller derby!

Entering yet another poker tourney this weekend. My wildly unattainable dream would be to win the lotto and play poker professionally! I placed third in 2/3 of the last tournaments entered. Now that's not bringing home the big bucks but I am getting enough money back to continue playing without feeling terrible guilt.

If you can spare get well vibes, my Dad is fighting what the docs think is staph infection in his hand where he injured his finger. It was smashed at work but didn't break or cut the skin. A day or two after splinting it, he passed out at work while in a truck (thankfully not driving) and had to be taken by ambulance. He learned his finger was infected. He's got nearly a month off of work but that's killing him because it's hunting season and it's his trigger finger that's injured. How's that for irony? He's not responding to antibiotics quite like they would like to see. He should get results from the staph test back Friday.

I think that's about it. I'm happy to report that all is good in the marriage department! What seemed to be the bulk of my problems when I started this blog is without a doubt a thing of the past. Even with hunting season approaching, my love holds steadfast.

!@*&#% Small Towns

I wonder how long one can avoid running into a particular someone known to reside in same small town. Eluding violation by tumultuous 3rd party since December of 2006. Close call in February of 2007. Would it be better to just swallow this bad medicine? Ugh!!

For my Java-Loving Buds

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Bento Bust

Weston hardly touched his lunch shown in the post below. Tyler claims he ate 4 beans. So I guess that means edamame is a no-go. Does anyone have any good recipes using frozen edamame?

Edamame

The sneaky bento ingredient of the day is edamame, the soybean...A.K.A. "Beans on Branches." It's unshelled and straight from the freezer this time, as there should be sufficient time to thaw before lunchtime. Also, I know all three boys like bananas so I went with banana chips to see if we get results there. Wes' lunch is pictured above, along with ranch dip and a vanilla soymilk.

Mid-week Bento

Tried the Williams-Sonoma ice-cream sandwich molds I bought for hard boiled egg cow (top) and rice stars (bottom). The detail isn't showing on the cow-shaped egg but it's (hopefully) irresistibly cute in person. Both "new" foods I'm sneaking into the bentos today. We shall see how it goes. Wes mentioned that the substitute school principal was checking out his lunch last time and said "Well that's the coolest lunch I've seen today in the whole cafeteria!"

Comfort Foods

We all have them. It could be a dish of familiarity. It could be that special dish you save as a "reward" for a bad day or a job well done. When stressed, some of us turn to our comfort foods. Many of us associate our comfort foods with childhood or good home-cooking.

I had my comfort food today. Good ol' warm huckleberry dumplings with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. It just takes me straight back to childhood. After school I'd walk to Grandma's and she'd have a pot on the stove simmering huckleberry dumplings and the whole place smelled wildly of berry. She'd tell me how she lovingly picked each fresh berry in the mountains, all the while watching out for hungry black bears. Then she'd always serve us up as much as I wanted, with pure vanilla ice-cream that melted right as it touched the berry-and-dough concoction. It was like a taste of heaven by way of bowl. Then Grandma would sit down with me and I could talk about my day at school or complain about how strict my parents were or how hard it was having a brother. I always felt better after I left Gram's with an empty conscious and a full belly.

Grandma hasn't lost her touch. Her huckleberry dumplings still work like a charm today and I'm feeling rather peaceful and blessed she's still around to cook for us all and there to listen to me bare my soul when I need it most.