Cultural Sensitivity Epic Fail

I don't have many talents.   Really, I don't.   I'm really mostly passable at stuff.   I do have one super power that God must have known that I'd need . . . I don't embarrass easily.   I have pretty thick skin when it comes to what other people think of me and my brood.    My sister-in-law always was worried that her boys would yell "PENIS!" in the middle of Meijer so they learned that they have a "potty part."   They are now teenagers and next time one kicks the other I'm going to ask if it hurt their potty part.   I'm sure that will earn me a fantastic Christmas present!   I just never worry about that stuff.   I don't care if the old lady next to me squeezing melons (and by melons I mean . . .melons) thinks I'm a terrible mother.   Whatevs.    Until today . . . .

We were dining on our nuggets, waffle fries and sweet tea (Guess where we were?!?), Wyatt played in the play area.   I suddenly hear a crowd of small children belting out a very off-key version of One Direction. being led by Mr Personality.   I smile and shrug.   When you've got a teen sister, these things happen.   I'm pretty sure my brother knew every word to "Pour Some Sugar on Me" when he was 5.   I catch his eye and crook my finger to tell him it's time to come out.   He grabs his shoes, opens the door, and yells loud enough that the fry cook hears him  . . . .

"MOM!   I WAS PLAYING WITH BLACK FRIENDS!"

Cue the crickets.

Why Do These People Keep Asking Me for Food?

I'm back to talk about food. Glorious food. I love to cook.  I love to talk about recipes and cooking and ingredients and menu plans and all that jazz. What I don't love is impractical cooking. I have a family of six to feed three times per day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks per year . . . and so on. So while I certainly enjoy a meal of lobster bisque, spring green salad with pears and blue cheese, spinach stuffed fillets with a red wine reduction sauce, and creme brulee, that just doesn't fit with my life.  I need easy meals that are tasty and full of whole foods.   The rub with that is Googling "easy family meals" often gives me hits of "500 Ways to Cook with Velveeta and Condensed Cream Soups."     While I can handle a pan of Chicken and Stuffing once every few months or so, it's not what I'm looking for!    This frustration has fueled my quest.   (Insert suspense building music here.)   I have given up on   most of the cookbooks and recipe blogs and Food Network shows.   They just don't offer the perfect mix of fresh foods, quick meals, and budget-friendly that I'm looking to find.   

 So I have started my own list of meals and I'm on a quest to find the "perfect" version of each classic.   I don't pretend to be a chef.   I hate pretentious food.   I hate food drenched in anything grey . . . .well, except maybe biscuits and gravy.   Sausage gravy is a food when made well, can approach perfection!   I want to get a system down that encourages my kids to eat a while variety of foods but still fits with our 4-kids-in-3-different-schools-and-sports lifestyle.   I want to have tasty meal ideas at my fingertips so when it's 5:30 and everyone is screaming at me for dinner, I don't automatically reach for frozen pizzas or PB&J.  

I don't ask for much.  

Mom's Been Playing on You Tube Again

If you know any meaningless trivia about me, one item would be my ridiculous adoration of pop music. There's a song for every mood and moment.

Like this little ditty. . . perfect for playing out of your minivan sunroof on a 53 degree January day. In the carpool line at the Christian school.

Or this great tune that suddenly isn't so great when your first grader says she wants to be a member of the Mile High Club.



Or little tune for belting into your curling iron.



Or for those moments that you realize that you really like someone else's someone.



And finally for that moment when someone says STOP and you just have to finish it.