How to feed your Kids

I don't claim to feed my kids nutritious well rounded meals every day.  I do my best to start their day off right with oatmeal or homemade whole wheat pancakes.  I make sure they come home to plenty of fresh fruit & nuts to snack on.   I try to put some effort into a healthy dinner they will enjoy.  But inevitably ice cream, dinner without veggies and too much candy (thanks to Halloween lasting a whole week nowadays) gets the best of me sometimes.

But guess who did a really great job?  My mom.

I will be the first to say there are times my mom drives me absolutely nuts.  I will also be the first to say thanks to her I never had an eating disorder.  When it comes to the template of how to feed your kids, I have to say she did everything right.

We came into the kitchen every morning to see a big ol' pot on the stove.  It was filled with oatmeal or rice.  Lunches were packed with sandwiches and tortilla chips.  Dinner was meat & potatoes, enchiladas, lasagna or hamburgers.

It was all real food.  Bread was baked, cookies were homemade and the milk was whole & bought 6 gallons at a time.  We ate as a family and vegetables were always involved.  My mom lived half her life at that stove.  She loved feeding her family.

Cold cereal didn't come along until I was older, and then it was always unsweetened.  When a box of Life was found in the kitchen my little brother Adam was known to hide it so he would have it all to himself.

Processed food rarely made an appearance, but it wasn't off limits, nothing was.  My parents loved ice cream and it was usually a weekend treat.

The best thing my mom did was something she DIDN'T do.  She didn't talk about losing weight, she didn't put herself down, she never once went on a diet and weight was never ever an issue. 

I work out and eat right, and although inside I have a nagging voice telling me I can do better and look better, I will never utter a single sentence out loud in front of my kids about the way I look.

It's one of the best things my mom taught me.  And she never even said a word.

The Internship

continued from  Jeannette

Knowledge is Power.  If that's the case then my sister needed to hit the books because she desperately needed a little power in her corner.

Step one was moving from Florida to Utah to live with my parents and regroup.  Step 2 was getting a job.  Step 3 was mapping out how to finish up that almost forgotten internship.

Steps one and two were quickly accomplished.  She settled in with my parents and got a job waiting tables at a friends restaurant.  Step 3 however took a toll mentally as she hit roadblocks at every turn.  She was on the computer and phone for hours on end figuring out the seemingly impossible task of  gaining acceptance into a Diatetics Internship.


Some schooling had expired and before she could even be considered she would have to redo a series of Nutritional Therapy classes.  These classes seemed overwhelming and impossible as her only experience with science in the last dozen years had been trying to find natural solutions to rid her carpet of playdoh and helping the kids make volcanoes erupt with baking soda.

                                                 Jeannette & Margo 2010

To compound the problem school was expensive, but she needed to make it happen whatever the cost.

After a year of living with my parents in Utah, my parents decided to move to California.  Jeannette of course needed their support and picked up her kids and moved again.  She started redoing all those classes she needed and spent many a days at the Temecula Library studying her heart out.  She didn't have the luxury of only concentrating on her studies as she also had 3 kids she longed to be with. 

In the midst of all these classes she was also working on gaining admittance to an internship.


She was accepted at a College in Colorado where she would set up her own rotations through local hospitals, agencies, offices and schools.  This proved tiring and frustrating as many hospitals were fed interns directly through the local colleges.

It made my head spin to see how many hoops she had to jump through for each and every rotation.  At the 11th hour she got everything in place and started.  Some were a 30 min. drive, some so far that she would leave for 4 days and come home for 3.  Of course there was still homework, studying, and the raising of her kids.

 In the middle of all of this she was working on putting the pieces of her marriage back together.

Through it all she remained positive and upbeat.  Too positive for me actually.  There were may times when I would actually scold, scream, cry and throw fits, because she wouldn't.  I guess I felt that if she wouldn't do it, I would. 

As of this month, she is done.  The Internship is finally over.

I don't know how she did it.  In the midst of a chaotic home life she  persevered and focused on the end goal.

November 2nd is her RD Test day.  One more huge hurdle to pass.

Her husband is out of the picture for now, not for lack of trying on her part, but due to circumstances out of her control.

My sister & I grew up under the same roof & slept in the same bed.  We walked to school together and she taught me to swim.  We loved so hard it hurt, and laughed until we ached.   We learn from each other every day and will continue to do so.

I hurt and pray for her but also cheer and relish in all she has and has yet to accomplish.

She's lived a lifetime already, but at the same time, is starting anew.  A new and wonderful journey is literally a moment away.

Jeannette

                                                     Jeannette & her son Nathan 2010

Or Netty as I usually call her.  There's 3 of us girls, Margo, Jeannette, & Marie, tres French I know.  Margo is the oldest, with Jeannette 16 months younger, and then me coming almost 4 years later.  Of course there's also those 6 brothers in mix.  But this is about Jeannette.

Growing up we were super close.  We played barbies and babies and even slept in the same single bed up until we were teenagers.  In the middle of the night when Netty went to the bathroom I followed along telling her how tired I was.  Hmmm, maybe I just should have stayed in bed, but where she went, I went.

 Nielsen, Margo, Sis.in law Sheralyn, Ty, Dad, Mom, Marie, Jeannette (stuck like glue)  in front row,
Aaron, Kyle, Adam           1991

When she went babysitting, I came along.  When she went to friends homes, I came along.  And believe it or not, when she was older and went on dates, guess who came along?  Yup, I did.  Looking back we realize this was not normal behavior, but we just loved being together.  Or maybe I just whined and cried until she took pity on me, my memory is a bit fuzzy.

I remember so many times laying by her while she studied.  I would just wait for her to finish so we could play.  Isn't that what every teenager wants to do with their kid sister?

She made me feel special and loved and I was proud of my big sister.  She was beautiful and smart and still is.  She is actually the one we deem 'the smart one in the family'.  When it comes to her education, she has a natural ability to do well.  She graduated college and went on to serve an LDS mission in Thailand for 18 months.

Upon returning home she dated lots of cute boys (men?) and I just knew that whoever she picked (because really she was the one doing the picking) he would be the smartest, most handsome, most successful and brilliant man out there.  Men fell completely under her spell and always fell in love with her.  Always.

She picked someone.  They were married and happy.  She worked and planned on doing an internship to become an RD.  She was accepted to a prestigious internship, 1 out of 300.  No one was surprised that they chose her, why wouldn't they?  She found out she was pregnant and decided more important than the internship was focusing on her pregnancy and baby.  Besides, another internship would surely come along, that just seemed to be the pattern of her life.

They built a home and a family.  They had a daughter Kylee then a son, Nicholas.  When Nicholas was 2 he drowned.  It was horrific.  I found out at 9pm, waited an hour for Margo, then we drove all night to be with Jeannette.  She was lying on a bed, still.  Her fists were tightly clenching some of Nick's clothes, holding them close to her heart, clinging to his scent and memories of the little boy who only hours earlier was smiling and clinging to her.  She was silently crying and then bursts of  the deepest, guttural, heart wrenching animalistic sobs wailed from her soul, the pain from a literal broken heart.

She never healed from that. She couldn't.  But you go on because you have a life.  A new one, different.  She had another son Nathan, and a little girl Kiera.  Being a mom was what she most wanted in life.  She loved playing and reading with them.  Swimming and going to the park.  She spent hours making them magical birthday cakes every year.  She enjoyed nothing more than being with her kids all day.  She worked hard at her marriage because of this family, these children that brought her more joy than she ever imagined.

  


Many things in her life and her in marriage became difficult.  There came a point when she realized she had to position herself to solely provide for these 3 kids.  She then put in motion what would become some of  the hardest years of her life.........

part 2 - the internship - 12 years later

Helpful

Contrary to popular belief, kids are like a maid and money manager all in one.

They gently remind you that you don't have to buy artwork.  They put their creations right next to existing pieces so you can easily compare and realize that sure enough,  theirs is the true masterpiece.

 They also make their own toys.  You will find these petshop homes ALL throughout the house.  Including but not exclusive to: the garage, your bedroom, all hallways, and even in the bathroom.  It's so precious.

They will use all your makeup (their favorite being the one expensive blush you own) and lose your pricey tweezers.  But really it's just to remind you how beautiful you are and that you really don't need it. 

They will spill  gallons of milk and whole bags of flour on your floor to remind you that it's time to break out the ol' broom and mop.  And to remind you that it's time to spray for ants?  They will happily leave suckers under their bed.  Bonus, this also reminds us we need to shampoo the carpets.

No need to install a doggy door.  And if you accidentally forget and fix the screen?  Don't worry, it will be back to normal within the year.

They help you in your quest to eat healthy by digging in the back of the freezer, under the peas and frozen chicken to find that Ben n' Jerry's you weren't saving for yourself.  They gladly take that temptation right out of your life.

Thanks kids, you guys are the best!

Saturday by the hour

6 am - Glenn wakes to go to day 2 of 3 of his motorcycle licensing class.  I am half asleep, but remember that I wanted to do this hour by hour post today so I reluctantly grab my camera and take a pic while in bed.

7 am - still sleeping

8 am - the little ones & I wake.  I toast them rolls, jam for Lila, honey for Ethan. I eat oatmeal while reading blogs, they drink juice and read in my bed.

9 am - Emry arrives home from a sleepover at her cousins.  They went garage sale-ing and she got this shirt.  I am not a fan of my daughter wearing a shirt with soda on it, but she does have a bubbly personality.  We get to work cleaning the whole house.

10 am - Emry goes with a friend to her horse competion, I make banana peanut butter chocolate smoothies for the little ones & Ethan does some homework.

 

11 am - prep sweet potatoes for lunch & fold laundry while the kids play outside.                                         

 

12 pm - hop on the stairmaster for 30 min. and hope the kids continue to keep themselves busy.

 

1 pm - Lunch brought to us by the Halloween color of orange.  Yams topped with leftover tikki masala for me, grilled cheese on rolls with carrots and juice for the kids.

2 pm - I do Lila's and mine hair and give her a pedicure while my vacumn reminds me I still need to use it.  Ethan hangs out near us and reads because heaven forbid he ever be alone.  Ditto for Brutus.

3 pm - snack of frozen cherries, cottage cheese and homemade granola for me.  Not sure what the kids are doing.  Take a few glamour shots of my new hair.  I went dark for the first time in my life.  I do a double take every time I look in a mirror.  I feel serious and smart, like I should move to New York and work on Wall Street.  The bummer is I feel the need to wear more make up. 

Every year I get the itch to do something drastic, whether it's cutting bangs, putting red in my hair, perm it, or chopping it all off.  I remember looking through a friends photo album and her whole life her hair never changed.  Nothing wrong with that, but it struck me that I didn't want my kids flipping through the photos of my life and always seeing me the same.  Sounds a little silly, but it motivates me to change things up.

4 pm - Glenn & Emry arrive home and the kids play outside with an art paint spinner Emry got garage sale- ing this morning (free since they didn't have change for a $20).  My kids went through 2 of these when they were younger.  I ordered 10 sets of overpriced paper from the address on the back of the box, and then had to order more (it's impossible to cut it to just the size you need, and you have to use heavy paper, don't think I didn't try to cheapskate my way out of it and cut my own paper).   It involves paint, it's messy, and they get to create works of art, definitely kid approved!!

Emry also got a little baby bee to match Lila's pillow pet for 50 cents.  I think it is so adorable and  tried to convince Glenn how adorable it was too.  He thought I was a little crazy.

5 pm - Run to Walmart to return this curling iron & a Redbox and pick up some straws, nail polish remover, yogurt and pull ups.   My son is 6 and still wears pull ups.  We ran out for 2 days and he managed to pee his bed one night and Emry's the next.  Both beds were also part of my laundry extravaganza today.  The girls wore pull ups for about a month, I need to figure this out.

This curling iron doesn't work.  I so want beachy waves but this is the 2nd curling iron I have taken back in the past 2 weeks.  I have straight hair.  I don't comb or condition it but it continues to be straight as a board.  I am thinking when my hair gets a little longer I might have to try another perm.

6 pm - Say goodbye to Brutus & Eclipse (my sister's dog) and go to our friends home for dinner.  Glenn helped them make large closets for their garage so they owe us.  Try to take a cute pic of the kids but they obviously make that impossible.

7 pm - Did I say home?  Correction, they live in a mansion!!!  Would have taken pictures of their lovely and spacious abode but seeing how I just met her that night I decided to make a good impression and not be creepy.

The wood-fired oven in their backyard where we cooked our individual pizzas.   

 

8 pm - Dinner time!  My pizza with red sauce, pesto, mozzarella, goat cheese, onions & mushrooms. I ate it all it was soooo good.  After dinner the kids made dessert pizzas with chocolate and powdered sugar. I ate some chocolate and then we had root beer floats.  Can you say stuffed?

9 pm - had to get a pic of the girls with the kittens they are enamored with.  They are trying to convince us to take one.  

10 pm - My camera is mysteriously full of kitten pictures and my battery is dead.  That's O.K., I have no more pics to take anyway, we're all just going to bed.  It's been a good day.  Goodnight.

Chatterbox

I made Tikka Masala  for dinner last night and we sat around the table like a family should. We ate, we talked, we told Ethan he had to have more than rice and if he would just try it he would like it.  He tried it, he liked it, we rolled our eyes at how reluctant he can be to try new foods.

Dinnertime really belonged to Emry.  She chatted on & on about what silly boys at school said, about 'the beat on the street' what her answer to 'beat on the street was', how much airtime she got on 'beat on the street' (weekly broadcasted school news program, I guess "what's your favorite dance move" qualifies for news in junior high).  And about her upcoming away track meet.

Kids are interesting.  Sometimes you can't get them to open their mouth, and other times they chat away like there's no tomorrow.  After a day spent cooking, cleaning, shopping and shampooing carpets, it kind of boggles your worn out mind to hear your child talk for 20 minutes straight without seeming to take a breath. 

But I am grateful for her excitement of life and her willingness to share it.  I hope it is always like this, her being so open.

Glenn was gone last night and as I felt a headache coming on I told the kids to put themselves to bed.  I went and read for an hour and when I checked on them this is what I saw-

Ethan was reading and the girls were coloring and making a portfolio of their work.  I was exhausted and they were ready to pull an all nighter.

As I watched them play I couldn't believe their stamina when the sun had set hours ago. They are young and full of energy.  I am old and tired.  How am I going to enforce a curfew in the future when I am dead asleep at 9 pm? 

I guess I will just have to raise righteous kids who never want to make a bad choice and always obey curfew.

It's a good thing Glenn's a night owl.

1st Grade Fire House Field Trip

Then we came home and made cookies cause it seemed like the thing to do.