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A true life fairytale

30 Jul

The day of my wedding, 8 years ago, I was anxiously
awaiting for that notorious last question… you know the one:

“Do you really
want to go through with
this?”

…well, when I never was asked that question from anyone around me
that day, I decided I would ask myself this famous question. It
was a huge decision I was about to make and I wanted to make
sure I was being honest to myself.

“April, are you ready to do
this? Do you think you are too young? Am I just
being naive? Are you just chasing a childhood
fantasy? Is it just something I was doing because that’s what
society makes you believe is the next step in a relationship? Do
you really want to spend the rest of your life with
this guy?”

My reply
was a bit different then what I had anticipated.

“Yes…. I think that 21 is a
bit young to get married. Annnd who am I kidding? I’ve
always been a bit naïve, especially about love. I really am
chasing a fantasy! But, what’s wrong with that? The only thing
I feel, is that I am owning my decision to get married. I am not
putting that idea of pressure from society on MY life
decision. I shall hold myself accountable for my own promises.
I don’t dare take this day
lightly.”

I didn’t have
to convince myself that what I was doing was the right thing.
I wanted nothing more than to go through with it and
after that, I didn’t think twice. I’ve learned that marriage,
your relationship, it should be a fantasy. It
should be everything you dreamt of and more. I know
for me, deep down, it is everything I ever dreamt of
and more. But, don’t get me wrong, it’s not an easy fantasy. It is
no secret that marriage is not easy and it’s not always sex, roses,
breakfast in bed and a partner who will gladly clean up your puke
when you’ve drank too much. It can be very shy of a “fairytale”
more often than not. It’s the challenge you accepted when you said
those “I do’s”. A challenge, indeed! My heart stood still the
moment I read my vows to my husband 8 years ago today. The
unknowing of what our future would hold was exciting and I was
ready to face whatever with him by my side. I have to say, I’m
pretty lucky. Don’t be jealous… well okay, you should be 😉 Happy
Anniversary to my man! A man who I loved then and continue to love
the man you have become. Every day with you is an adventure. Thanks
for taking the ride at 170° with me. full

Lasagna Grilled Cheese

11 Jul

Oh man, this is just too fabulous not to share! Even with a stomach bug….

I got this recipe from JOY THE BAKER, an awesome blog about everything yummy. Check her out!

 

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LASAGNA GRILLED CHEESE {yes you heard right}

makes 2 sandwiches

4 slices of bread that you love

2 tablespoons unsalted butter with a dash of olive oil

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

one 14-ounce can cherry tomatoes (you’ll have extra tomatoes left over)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

extra salt and pepper for seasoning

Lay out bread slices.

In a medium skillet or nonstick pan, melt butter over medium-low heat.

In a small bowl stir together ricotta, basil, salt and pepper.

Top each slice of bread with a bit of mozzarella cheese.  Top two of the bread slices with a few smashed cherry tomatoes.  Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.  On the remaining two slices of bread, dollop and spread the ricotta cheese.

Combine the sandwich halves and place in the warmed skillet.  Grill on each side until golden.  Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 3 minutes before slicing in half and serving.  Dang that’s good!

 

You can find this recipe and a bunch of others on her blog HERE. Tell her I sent you over!
*Recipe and photos belong to her*

I also give advice

8 Jul

I have discovered a new disciplinary action I can take on my “lets ever test mom” fruit from my loin, minions. Actually, It came to me in my “I have to come up with something better” brain storming session.

Well, maybe I can’t use it right now since where we live there aren’t any Seagull’s… but somewhere in the near future I see myself whipping this one out of my “mommy don’t mess around” pants pocket.

Seagull’s are from the Devil himself. I have reason to believe that they do most of his shitty work! {yes! pun intended} If you have lived or do live anywhere near these dreaded things, just move. Or in fact, just write this down under your list of PRO’s for these nasty, hateful doers.

I grew up going to the beaches on the West Coast and nothing scared me more than those damned birds, okay seaweed and floating diapers were a close second, but the birds win it hands down. So why not put a little fear in your kids. It’s healthy. Even if it means they are scared of birds for the rest of their lives {annnd most likely will have to go to hours of therapy because they can’t get the imagine out of their head}, it’s a risk I am willing to take.

I have come up with a very tactful and most highly achievable way to get your kids to listen to you. Say, for instance, little “I wipe my own butt” wasn’t listening to you and nooooooooooooo matter what you did nothing stopped him from finding it OH SOOOO funny to pee in the bathroom soap dispenser {true story}.Well, no more, little “I eat my own boogers because they are salty”, NO MORE! The time to listen to MOM; MASTER OF ALL THINGS, IS NOW!!

Here’s how it can go down:

You pull your child close, just so you and them can hear the words seeping out of your confident, sturdy mouth. You say something like this to them:

“Listen carefully and carefully listen riiiiight now… I am going to give you one more chance to start listening or else boiiiiiiiiii, your butt is going to be on that shore line with a bag of Lays Baked Potato Chips begging to the Lord that those Seagull’s don’t bite your hand off, tooooo fast. I have nooooo problem with letting them peck at your hand until it bleeds or if they are hungry enough, chew it right off. Seagulls marvel at the happiness that they will encounter by little boys who disobey, like you. I. Swear. To. You! You only get ONE. MORE. CHANCE. Or sooooooooooo help me GOD, I will go to Costco and get the variety pack and make you stand out there forrrrrrr HOURS and you just HOPE TO GOD that they have mercy on you because right now, it’s all up to them. Go ahead and test me on that oneeeeeee. If you want to live a future with all your appendages intact, I would listen, and listen NOOOWWWWWWWW! Do you understand?! I hope to God that you do, because those Seagulls have been watching your actions, and they are ready to attack!!!!”

If just the mere telling them this prospected horror doesn’t do the trick, well then ACTUALLY do it. I don’t know about you, but Seagull’s are vicious birds that apparently are high on Potato Chip CRACK {where can I get some?} and will fight to the death for one morsel of salty goodness {can you blame them?}. They scare the crap out of me and I am sure they will put a little fear in your kid.

Use this to your advantage.

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You won’t regret it once you see the horror look on your kids face when the creature comes soaring down headed straight at your kids face squawking and screeching. Not just one, but a hundred will catch the attention of your chip-holding disobedient child, and once that happens, the plan has official been put into play. Make it even more interesting for onlookers and draw a circle in the sand and tell your child they can’t leave that circle and that they have to stand there holding out their hands full of chips until all the chips are gone. Once all the chips are gone, pour remaining crumbs in your child’s hand and set your watch to 3 minutes. Why? Because the birds are most aggressive once they find out that the food is almost gone. Threaten to set your timer for a longer period of time if they haven’t learned the lesson yet. Be strong even when your child starts to scream, cry, or bleed, it’s just the sounds and wounds of learning a hard lesson. Be patient.

And, maybe, just for shits and giggles, when you get home, show them the movie The Birds and see if that doesn’t seal the deal on your end.

Just see.

So there you are, say at the store, and little “I-pee-in-soap-dispensers” is acting up again. Merely threaten.

Do I hear seagulls? {hold your hand up to your ear} I believe that they are hungry today! Should we go seeeeeeee? ….. No? Okay, well then knock IT OFF before we magically end up in Seagull Hell!”

Their little heads will remember having Seagulls almost eat them, and they will almost immediately straighten up. I guarantee it. Then in the near future you should be on the path to just having to make Seagull squawking sounds to get them to be reminded of the horror and get in line. It’s really as simple as that.

But…

If you have learned that your child is not scared of Seagulls or birds, the probability of  you watching them get shit on by a couple of birds is hopeful and enjoying, which always makes me feel better about my kids not listening. So either way, it’s a win, win!!!! Winning!

seagulls_feeding 

Warning: please take my parenting advice with a grain of salt, in fact, take it with a grain of salty booger.
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