Puyallup Newborn Photographer | Tacoma WA
7 months ago
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Where's the Beef?
I posted a while back that we were going to start going meatless at dinner twice a week. Ryan informed me that Sundays would count as one of ours meatless days: we have a family tradition of eating popcorn, fruit and cheese in front of the TV while watching AFV every Sunday evening. He also informed me that chicken and fish were borderline vegetarian to him as well. What can I say - the man likes his beef.
So, I planned our dinners accordingly last week.
He had band practice Tuesday evening and found his own dinner between work and practice, so I made vegetarian pizza for me and the kids. Their half was plain cheese pizza and my half was spinach and artichoke pizza (and no, we didn't eat it all in one sitting - Sydney and I ate leftovers for lunch the following day):
To avoid too much sugar, I didn't use jarred or canned pizza sauce. Instead, I combined half a can of tomato paste and a tablespoon of canola oil (Dr. Oz says to use olive oil, but I'm allergic to olives).
Wednesday was our official vegetarian night. I made lentil or "healthy" hamburgers as Sydney likes to call them. I found the recipe on allrecipes and we all scarfed them down. Sydney had American cheese and ketchup on hers while Ryan and I had Swiss cheese and fresh spinach leaves on ours. I couldn't find sweet potato fries (a healthier alternative to regular fries that we usually bake in the oven) at the grocery store, so I opted for veggie chips instead for the side:
This recipe is definitely a keeper despite the fact that the patties tend to fall apart a lot more easily than beef ones.
Thursday was also semi-vegetarian. My friend Tory suggested that we give spaghetti squash a try instead of eating traditional wheat pasta. I'd tried it before and Sydney turned her nose up at the "crunchy spaghetti", but this time she gobbled it up. I made my own spaghetti sauce, again from allrecipes and made meatballs to appease my carnivore husband.
Two thumbs up for this one, too, especially since the sauce recipe made enough for two meals. We now have a canister of yummy sauce in the freezer for another night. Score.
So, the experiment is going well so far. I haven't decided what we'll do this week - perhaps a spinach quiche. I can't wait for it to cool off a bit more so I can break out the soup recipes!
So, I planned our dinners accordingly last week.
He had band practice Tuesday evening and found his own dinner between work and practice, so I made vegetarian pizza for me and the kids. Their half was plain cheese pizza and my half was spinach and artichoke pizza (and no, we didn't eat it all in one sitting - Sydney and I ate leftovers for lunch the following day):
To avoid too much sugar, I didn't use jarred or canned pizza sauce. Instead, I combined half a can of tomato paste and a tablespoon of canola oil (Dr. Oz says to use olive oil, but I'm allergic to olives).
Wednesday was our official vegetarian night. I made lentil or "healthy" hamburgers as Sydney likes to call them. I found the recipe on allrecipes and we all scarfed them down. Sydney had American cheese and ketchup on hers while Ryan and I had Swiss cheese and fresh spinach leaves on ours. I couldn't find sweet potato fries (a healthier alternative to regular fries that we usually bake in the oven) at the grocery store, so I opted for veggie chips instead for the side:
This recipe is definitely a keeper despite the fact that the patties tend to fall apart a lot more easily than beef ones.
Thursday was also semi-vegetarian. My friend Tory suggested that we give spaghetti squash a try instead of eating traditional wheat pasta. I'd tried it before and Sydney turned her nose up at the "crunchy spaghetti", but this time she gobbled it up. I made my own spaghetti sauce, again from allrecipes and made meatballs to appease my carnivore husband.
Two thumbs up for this one, too, especially since the sauce recipe made enough for two meals. We now have a canister of yummy sauce in the freezer for another night. Score.
So, the experiment is going well so far. I haven't decided what we'll do this week - perhaps a spinach quiche. I can't wait for it to cool off a bit more so I can break out the soup recipes!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Twitter Meme
I was tagged by Mommy Daisy for the "Six Things About Me Twitter Meme." I'm supposed to list six things that you probably don't already know about me. No one is really sure why it's called a Twitter meme (really short statements maybe?) and I'm not actually on Twitter, but this meme will let me pretend that I am. :)
1. I've never dyed my hair.
2. I love dried cranberries and put them on/in anything I can think of.
3. Green is my favorite color.
4. I think it would be fun to be a meteorologist.
5. I like playing games, but I'm overly competitive and a sore loser so no one will play with me. Although, I would like to add that I think I've gotten better about both of these things over the years.
6. I've made Christmas stockings for Sydney and Liam, but haven't even started on Evan's.
Consider yourself tagged (if you want to be)!
The Rules: If you’ve been tagged with the meme game from Twitter, you must post 6 things no one knows about you on your blog. Then you tag 6 more people. (don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged.) Leave me a message letting me know that you’ve accepted the tag. Let me know when you’ve posted your list. Have fun!!!
1. I've never dyed my hair.
2. I love dried cranberries and put them on/in anything I can think of.
3. Green is my favorite color.
4. I think it would be fun to be a meteorologist.
5. I like playing games, but I'm overly competitive and a sore loser so no one will play with me. Although, I would like to add that I think I've gotten better about both of these things over the years.
6. I've made Christmas stockings for Sydney and Liam, but haven't even started on Evan's.
Consider yourself tagged (if you want to be)!
The Rules: If you’ve been tagged with the meme game from Twitter, you must post 6 things no one knows about you on your blog. Then you tag 6 more people. (don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged.) Leave me a message letting me know that you’ve accepted the tag. Let me know when you’ve posted your list. Have fun!!!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Political Gripe
I don't talk about my political beliefs here to avoid stepping on toes, but I just have to get some things off my chest.....
Let me start by saying that I'm one of the "undecided white women" that the pollsters keep talking about on the news. I tend to make my decision just a few days before the actual election, so I definitely will not be telling you who I'm voting for or trying to convince you to vote for that person because I have no idea at this point.
So, here goes:
The electoral college should be abolished. It's simply not fair to those of us who live in either very conservative or very liberal states. Case in point: if I were to vote for Obama, my vote would not matter. More people vote Republican than Democrat in my state (seriously, my state is so red that the political map makers ought to draw flames around the borders) and since whoever gets the most popular votes gets all of the electoral votes, then my vote truly does not count. For five years I preached the importance of voting to my students using the "every vote counts" line knowing that it's not true for all Americans when it comes to presidential races. BUT, I still vote every year and I take my kids with me when possible just to ingrain the importance of it into their memories.
Despite my gripes with the electoral college, I am kinda glad that we're not being bombarded with political ads, mailers and phone calls. I feel sorry for the poor people in the swing states who will be spending the next month throwing out half of their mail and screening their phone calls.
Also, I don't understand why people can't separate their feelings about a candidate and their feelings about a candidate's beliefs. I really admire both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. Both of them are excellent role models for today's girls, proving that you can be both a mother and a leader. I don't necessarily agree with their positions on all of the issues, but I still admire them for their strength and courage.
And what is up with the media? They seem to focus on the outward appearance of the female candidates more than the issues. Palin (and Clinton during the primaries) gives speeches day after day, focusing on the issues, all while having idiots in the media focusing on and making fun of her clothes, hair and accent. I don't hear the media criticizing Joe Biden's (icky looking) hairdo or John McCain's (boring and blah) suits. Just another example of the double standards that exist in our country.
Anyway, I just had to vent a bit. And now I feel much better.
Do you have any political gripes?
Let me start by saying that I'm one of the "undecided white women" that the pollsters keep talking about on the news. I tend to make my decision just a few days before the actual election, so I definitely will not be telling you who I'm voting for or trying to convince you to vote for that person because I have no idea at this point.
So, here goes:
The electoral college should be abolished. It's simply not fair to those of us who live in either very conservative or very liberal states. Case in point: if I were to vote for Obama, my vote would not matter. More people vote Republican than Democrat in my state (seriously, my state is so red that the political map makers ought to draw flames around the borders) and since whoever gets the most popular votes gets all of the electoral votes, then my vote truly does not count. For five years I preached the importance of voting to my students using the "every vote counts" line knowing that it's not true for all Americans when it comes to presidential races. BUT, I still vote every year and I take my kids with me when possible just to ingrain the importance of it into their memories.
Despite my gripes with the electoral college, I am kinda glad that we're not being bombarded with political ads, mailers and phone calls. I feel sorry for the poor people in the swing states who will be spending the next month throwing out half of their mail and screening their phone calls.
Also, I don't understand why people can't separate their feelings about a candidate and their feelings about a candidate's beliefs. I really admire both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. Both of them are excellent role models for today's girls, proving that you can be both a mother and a leader. I don't necessarily agree with their positions on all of the issues, but I still admire them for their strength and courage.
And what is up with the media? They seem to focus on the outward appearance of the female candidates more than the issues. Palin (and Clinton during the primaries) gives speeches day after day, focusing on the issues, all while having idiots in the media focusing on and making fun of her clothes, hair and accent. I don't hear the media criticizing Joe Biden's (icky looking) hairdo or John McCain's (boring and blah) suits. Just another example of the double standards that exist in our country.
Anyway, I just had to vent a bit. And now I feel much better.
Do you have any political gripes?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Money Matters
No, this post isn't about the economy, although I think I'm just worried about it as everyone else even if I don't quite know what is going on. Despite the fact that I am certified to teach economics to high schoolers, I only had two economics classes at the local community college's summer school session. Isn't that scary?
Anyway, back to topic. Ryan and I have been toying with the idea of giving Sydney an allowance to help her learn money management. She was salivating over the latest American Girl catalogue and just had to show us all of the teeny tiny outfits she wanted for her doll. As she flipped through the pages making her desires known, Ryan added up the cost of all that she wanted: a whopping $245. We had her pull out her piggy bank and count out it's contents: $12.46. I showed her the prices of the things she wanted and we determined that all she could afford was a pair of tights for her doll. She began to cry.
We told her that she could start saving her money so that she could buy what she wanted for her doll, but she accumulates money so slowly (birthdays and holidays are few and far between), it would take her five years to build up enough to buy anything substantial. So we thought about giving her an allowance, but we're not quite sure how to go about it.
I didn't get an allowance. I was expected to do my regular chores without payment, but if I wanted to buy something I could do extra chores and earn some money. Even without a regular allowance, I learned the value of a dollar. This is certainly an option, but I wanted to hear from those of you who had allowances.
So, I guess my questions for you guys are:
1. Did you get an allowance when you were growing up?
2. How much did you get?
3. Did you have to do chores to get it?
4. Did you actually learn the value of money by getting an allowance?
5. Did you have to use your allowance to buy clothes and such or was it just "fun" money?
6. Did your parents make you budget your allowance (10% to savings, 10% to church, etc.)?
Anyway, back to topic. Ryan and I have been toying with the idea of giving Sydney an allowance to help her learn money management. She was salivating over the latest American Girl catalogue and just had to show us all of the teeny tiny outfits she wanted for her doll. As she flipped through the pages making her desires known, Ryan added up the cost of all that she wanted: a whopping $245. We had her pull out her piggy bank and count out it's contents: $12.46. I showed her the prices of the things she wanted and we determined that all she could afford was a pair of tights for her doll. She began to cry.
We told her that she could start saving her money so that she could buy what she wanted for her doll, but she accumulates money so slowly (birthdays and holidays are few and far between), it would take her five years to build up enough to buy anything substantial. So we thought about giving her an allowance, but we're not quite sure how to go about it.
I didn't get an allowance. I was expected to do my regular chores without payment, but if I wanted to buy something I could do extra chores and earn some money. Even without a regular allowance, I learned the value of a dollar. This is certainly an option, but I wanted to hear from those of you who had allowances.
So, I guess my questions for you guys are:
1. Did you get an allowance when you were growing up?
2. How much did you get?
3. Did you have to do chores to get it?
4. Did you actually learn the value of money by getting an allowance?
5. Did you have to use your allowance to buy clothes and such or was it just "fun" money?
6. Did your parents make you budget your allowance (10% to savings, 10% to church, etc.)?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Firsts
We've had a week of "firsts" around here.
* Sydney had her first experience with homework. Her teacher said at Parents' Night that she didn't like to give homework to kindergartners, but I guess the two week Ike Break put the kids a little behind and now they have to play catch-up.
*Evan had his first cereal. He was not all that thrilled by the experience.
* I got to use our new Sit 'N Stand stroller to take the kids to the bus stop this morning. All of us are loving it!
* I took the boys to their first SongPlay class this morning. This is a class for moms and kids at our church that meets once a week to sing little songs and dance. Liam had a blast doing the hand motions and clapping. He even made a little friend during snack time. I'm so glad he enjoyed it.
* And, Liam got his first of what I'm betting will be many black eyes in his life. He was climbing on a box trying to reach something when the box slipped and he hit his eye against our built in entertainment center. He looks so pitiful, but he seems to feel just fine, unlike his mother who is still skips a heartbeat every time she sees it.
* Sydney had her first experience with homework. Her teacher said at Parents' Night that she didn't like to give homework to kindergartners, but I guess the two week Ike Break put the kids a little behind and now they have to play catch-up.
*Evan had his first cereal. He was not all that thrilled by the experience.
* I got to use our new Sit 'N Stand stroller to take the kids to the bus stop this morning. All of us are loving it!
* I took the boys to their first SongPlay class this morning. This is a class for moms and kids at our church that meets once a week to sing little songs and dance. Liam had a blast doing the hand motions and clapping. He even made a little friend during snack time. I'm so glad he enjoyed it.
* And, Liam got his first of what I'm betting will be many black eyes in his life. He was climbing on a box trying to reach something when the box slipped and he hit his eye against our built in entertainment center. He looks so pitiful, but he seems to feel just fine, unlike his mother who is still skips a heartbeat every time she sees it.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Odds and Ends
Another post of random things that do not warrant a post of their own....
* Sydney bought her lunch at school for the first time today. She was so excited, especially since she had to wait out the two week "Ike Break" to do it. She had rectangular cheese pizza (just like I did growing up), a fruit cup, veggies dipped in peanut butter (ick) and chocolate milk (a huge treat for her). She gets to buy her lunch once a month (because it costs $2.25 and we consider that highway robbery for a school lunch) and she's already excited about doing it again next month.
* We had the state child development agency come out today to evaluate Liam's speech. He'll have a more formal evaluation next month to decide whether or not he needs speech therapy. I'm thinking he will need it because he's just now mimicking sounds and making animal sounds consistently. He'll be two in November and has a working vocabulary of about 12 words which is not enough according to the "standards."
* Evan's eye is still goopy. The poor boy has had the goopy eye since he was a week old and the series of antibiotic drops we've been giving him just didn't do the trick. So we're headed to the pediatric opthamologist next month to have his tear ducts surgically opened. Needless to say I'm a bit freaked out, but Shelly over at Scenic Overlook eased my fears by sharing her daughter's tear duct opening experience with me. Thanks Shelly!
* We might go to Disney World next summer. We haven't taken a family vacation in what seems like forever and we really want to go there before Sydney completely outgrows her love of princesses. Anyone have any $$$$ they want to donate to the cause?
* I just finished the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer. Between it and the new HBO show "True Blood", I think I've had my fill of vampire lore.
* Halloween update: Sydney wants to be a bride (which is apparently one step above princess in her five year old mind), Evan is going to wear the same pumpkin outfit Sydney did when she was six months old, and Liam? We have no idea. We're going to see if the dragon costume Sydney wore when she was 18 months will fit him.
* We've decided to go "meatless" two nights a week at dinnertime. It saves money and is healthier. Anyone have any great vegetarian recipes to share?
* Sydney bought her lunch at school for the first time today. She was so excited, especially since she had to wait out the two week "Ike Break" to do it. She had rectangular cheese pizza (just like I did growing up), a fruit cup, veggies dipped in peanut butter (ick) and chocolate milk (a huge treat for her). She gets to buy her lunch once a month (because it costs $2.25 and we consider that highway robbery for a school lunch) and she's already excited about doing it again next month.
* We had the state child development agency come out today to evaluate Liam's speech. He'll have a more formal evaluation next month to decide whether or not he needs speech therapy. I'm thinking he will need it because he's just now mimicking sounds and making animal sounds consistently. He'll be two in November and has a working vocabulary of about 12 words which is not enough according to the "standards."
* Evan's eye is still goopy. The poor boy has had the goopy eye since he was a week old and the series of antibiotic drops we've been giving him just didn't do the trick. So we're headed to the pediatric opthamologist next month to have his tear ducts surgically opened. Needless to say I'm a bit freaked out, but Shelly over at Scenic Overlook eased my fears by sharing her daughter's tear duct opening experience with me. Thanks Shelly!
* We might go to Disney World next summer. We haven't taken a family vacation in what seems like forever and we really want to go there before Sydney completely outgrows her love of princesses. Anyone have any $$$$ they want to donate to the cause?
* I just finished the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer. Between it and the new HBO show "True Blood", I think I've had my fill of vampire lore.
* Halloween update: Sydney wants to be a bride (which is apparently one step above princess in her five year old mind), Evan is going to wear the same pumpkin outfit Sydney did when she was six months old, and Liam? We have no idea. We're going to see if the dragon costume Sydney wore when she was 18 months will fit him.
* We've decided to go "meatless" two nights a week at dinnertime. It saves money and is healthier. Anyone have any great vegetarian recipes to share?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
