Menu Plan Monday

I used to plan a menu monthly. Yes, thirty days of different meals planned all in one day. I'm fond of the process and have written about it (although not here) quite a few times (I may create a page about this kind of stuff). I'm also fond of how easy it is. Shopping has a direction. We're not eating out every day. The dinner mystery is always solved. The food is so much better for us. However, my husband is not as fond of it as I am and I cannot comprehend why.

Since summer starts today (in a sense), I intend to get back into planning dinners. I don't know how this will pan out while we are on vacation, but I think everyone could certainly benefit from it. Especially if we intend to lose some weight.

Menu Plan Monday, here we go.

• Monday -- Memorial Day Bar-be-que (steaks, chicken & hot links) steak for dinner, potato salad, brown & serve rolls
• Tuesday -- BBQ Chicken, potato salad, b&s rolls
• Wednesday -- Hot links on bread, chips
• Thursday -- Shrimp fried rice
• Friday -- Graduation ceremony = eat out
• Saturday -- Pizza
• Sunday -- Nachos

Inspired by OrgJunkie.

From one food topic to another.

Ivy has been eating rice cereal consistently for a couple of weeks.
Since she's gotten the hang of it and she's 6 months old, we'll be starting real foods tomorrow. Sweet potatoes.

MMMmmmmm!

I had two classes make baby food this year. The parenting class and the foods class. We froze the leftovers and I told the principal it was there if he wanted it (he has an older baby) but he never took it. I finally remembered to take it home today. I don't know how much of it is any good because it looks like it might have freezer burn. So we'll see. If it is bad, I'm making more.

Two links for you today:

• Wholesome Baby Food
• Baby Food at OMM

Video after the cut!

Happy Meals

I Stumbled across this article on Homemade Happy Meals today. While I very much back up the idea that it certainly can be a low cost alternative, I have a few questions.

What are you really paying for at the fast food chain?

• The first image you see is of the standard receptacle - that brightly colored box/bag that kids everywhere can instantly recognize. The box alone draws so much attention and creates activities to keep little brains and hands busy and thinking.
• Alternative: Find online or make your own little activity sheets and have that along-side your homemade kids meal. Does the child focus more on the box/bag aspect? Create your own paper sack (a white lunch bag would work best here). You can add your own images or messages and make it personal.
• The next issue I see popping up (keep in mind, we're thinking form a child's perspective) should technically be the first addressed. The TOY. The toy is the first item that pops into a child's head. It is the draw of a miniature version of the media's current obsession that the child is allured to.
• Alternative: Scrounge garage sales, hit up your local Freecycle or Craigslist for gently used tiny toys or even old happy meal toys. The more expensive option is to hit up the dollar bins at the markets.
• Speaking of media, the fast food chain has a familiar, world recognized, icon for children. Everyone recognizes this familiar, fun-loving character. Why have something from someone only you can recognize when you can have something from someone that everyone knows? This is the child's way of keeping up with the Jones'. I know because I thought this way. I wanted kids meals because the other kids I knew got kids meals. Flashy commercials, colorful advertisements, catchy jingles and characters created specifically for kids creates another aspect of the want.
• Alternative: Have that recognized face send your kid a note saying he took the day off and designated mom/dad as a (better, more appropriate) replacement. Gain = the parent is the hero.
• The food is actually the cheapest aspect of the kids meal.

What are you sacrificing? Besides the money.
When the parent succumbs to the begging and pleading of their children's demand for the kids meal, said children are usually with the parent. We're keeping this scenario in mind. The child is with the parent.

How much time does it take to go to the grocery store, get home and prepare the homemade version of kids meal - kids kicking and screaming all the while. Keep in mind you have to travel through several departments to get all the necessities for said meal. Granted the grocery shopping would be a one time thing since you can buy in bulk and store the rest. But what if the kid wants french fries instead of apple slices? Or prefers a soda over the milk. We're only addressing the time and money right now, not the nutritious aspect. Both fries and soda more preparation time and more wallet strain.

It is certainly quicker and easier to hop in the car, drive to the chain and pick up a kids meal and let the kids eat in the car. You can't do that with your homemade version. The children won't see the end result of the homemade version - even with your secret stash of alternatives. They only see weird packages and healthy food that they just know they won't like in grocery bags.

Let's track back to the nutrition aspect. When it comes down to it, you're concerned that your kids are eating fatty fried food. You may also be concerned about the actual 'meat' product because you don't know what part of what animal and if there's anything else hidden in that tasty little nugget of fried .... I shudder. You want the alternative of something cheaper but similar and healthier too. You can bake those frozen nuggets instead of frying them. Same with the french fries if you're offering them. But the food industry is a tricky and secretive minefield. That brand name prepared chicken is the devil in disguise, even though it boasts all white breast meat. Just ask any animals rights activist - there's a whole world of wrong going on behind the scenes of the most well know chicken marketer. So you've done your research and want an even better option? Go organic (or even further, grow your own), go green and go home with even less money. We all know organics are expensive and everything else is cheaper.

Am I condoning the purchase and consumption of fast food? No. But until people (markets and firms) and stop focusing on their own gain and focus on the well being of the people at large, we will not find the quality and quantity we want and need at a price we can afford.

Birds

I've come to realize that I have a thing for birds. Love them. If I could have a superpower, it'd be flight. If I could be an animal, I'd be a bird (dog is second runner up). I'm always looking to the skies to see the hawks and vultures circling. I make jewelry and I didn't realize it at the time of purchase, but all of the pieces were of either birds, wings or feathers. I'm also on an identification spree. I have seen a few blue birds, a few blue jays (I used to see these all the time. Not so much now though), cardinals, humming birds, barn swallows and roadrunners. I had never seen a blue bird until this year. It's such a brilliant blue! The roadrunner is also one that I had never seen until this year. I didn't realize just how big those were. I've always seen cardinals and am always taken by surprise just how red they are.

I put out the humming bird feeders today and put seed in the regular feeder. I know we have a male and female cardinal that visits regularly and makes a cacophony! The barn swallows built a nest under the eave at our front door last year. They had a nest of 4 or 5 chicks and a snake got to them one night. We tried to get rid of the snake for them before it got all the chicks. The family moved out the next day. The nest is still there and we've seen one swallow perched on the eave a couple of nights.

We have the standard visitors of mourning doves (such a horrible noise they make!) and sparrows and one type of bird that I cannot identify. We sometimes get grackles too. We find it funny when the males "scoot" (mating dance). Last year was the first time I had hummingbird feeders. We were walking Polly last summer and I saw one or two feeding at another person's feeder. One came up pretty close to us to check us out - they're know for being curious little birdies. I immediately decided to get my own feeders. Ryan was skeptical at first thinking they wouldn't find the feeders. Last year I had three humming birds at one time at the feeders. However, one was territorial and shooed the other two away when they all were wanting to feed.

In my younger days, I've seen a lot of baby owls - screech owls in the wild and rescued barn owls. I have also seen woodpeckers at my parents' house. Another I've seen are scissor-tails.

Other "standards": sea gulls, pigeons, mocking birds, sandpipers, herons, spoonbills, ducks, geese, cormorants, crows, brown pelicans, white pelicans ...

Okay, this is all over the place. BIRDS.

(Oh, and sometimes when Ivy is whining, she sometimes sounds like a bird ^-^ and she has earned a nickname.)

My First Mother's Day

Last year, I was pregnant. But a few people sent me mother's day cards anyway.

But for my first real, official Mother's Day this year, I got a few cards from family. Ryan and Ivy came into the bedroom to wake me up, but I fell back asleep for a while. Ryan woke me back up and said "OPEN your gift." He cooked me breakfast (egg in a basket) while I read my card and opened my present. He got me a very lovely vase by Fenton. He found it in an antique shop in Dallas. We went to Dallas and tried to eat at Babes - but the line was long, so went to Brooklyn's instead. Then we went to Central Market for some cheese for fondue.

This year, my very first present was actually from a student! She gave me a lovely mommy necklace - it's in the shape of a heart and through the middle, there's a profile of a mommy holding a child. That was very sweet of that student.

And that was that. ;)

Last time on Lunatic's Landing ...

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of action.

For starters, my student organization was celebrating their week. FCCLA has a nationally recognized week. We were late in the game and decided to do it last week.We donated the money to the crisis center, had a couple of parties, tie dyed... there's more but I can't remember.

Also, the majority of the days that week were for state standardized tests. I had the pleasure of administering to a group of kiddos that needed to be in a small group. And one of those kiddos is habitually the last student in the school to finish. I spent three days telling everyone to stay quiet for four hours straight.

This past week has been full of food and teacher appreciation. FCCLA was asked to cook a lunch and a breakfast. No problem. A teacher requested my room and resources to make punch for a "world class" famous so-and-so. A day later, one of his students asks me to provide snacks, refreshments, my classroom and elbow grease (to clean for him). I quickly told him off and he had his students do this. Uh, that's what his organization is for in the first place. NOT ME. Anyway, I heard some teachers saw the punch and helped themselves. And this teacher pitched a hissy and squirted some tears. Oh my.

Anyway... FCCLA went on to prepare and serve the teacher luncheon. I had the smart plan to create a two page time table to make sure that everything went smoothly. And it did. The following day, FCCLA made pizza (and delivered it) to the class who donated the most shoes benefiting the crisis center.  The kiddos also helped make pancakes and bacon for the teacher breakfast. They served it this morning.

Another thing that FCCLA and foods class did this week was to organize all the lab equipment and get rid of the old stuff that we don't use. I've been a huge bitch about the labs - making the kids use bleach on all surfaces, putting everything away where it's supposed to go. There's an enormous insect infestation and the only way I can figure eradicating it is to clean like nobody's business.

On top of all this, I was out of my medication. So I was even more stressed and angry. But I finally got to see my doctor. He emailed my prescription to the pharmacy. I went to pick it up and they said they had to have it verified by the doctor (hello, they sent it to you!) and to see if insurance will pay for it. It could take up to 3 days to fill it. I basically flipped out and hauled ass back to the doctor for a box of samples. I was really lucky too because the nurse was about to leave. All I have to say about that is that my insurance had better pay for this or I'm shoving a couch through someones throat.

And then there's Ivy. She's finally learned how to roll over. She mostly flips from back to tummy and just learned tummy to back. But when I put her to bed, it's on her side. Sometime in the middle of the night, she'll roll onto her stomach and wake up. We thought that since she always cries while on her tummy that she'd want to be on her back or side. We would roll her back over and within 5 minutes, she'd be back on her tummy whining. All. Night. Long. And we wouldn't get any sleep. Well, last night I had it up to my eyeballs with everything (above) and said screw it. I'm not rolling her back over. She can cry it. Not two minutes later, all sound stopped. She'd fallen asleep on her stomach and she didn't get up until around 6 am this morning. Moral of the story: she needed to be left the eff alone. Here's to hoping this is what she really wants and a good night's sleep for all of us.