Last thoughts on stopping writing

For the past four months I have written many posts, 55, to be exact, and clearly, I am a bit of a thinker.  Those of you who know me intimately are probably laughing- a bit of a thinker is the understatement of the year.  I am downright OCD.

AND I APOLOGIZE TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE HAD TO HEAR ABOUT STOPPING WRITING, STARTING WRITING, WHAT THIS BLOG SHOULD BE ABOUT, ETC…BLAH, BLAH, BLAH pretty much since I started writing- I can see all your faces and I promise – no more blog talk.

A friend of mine was like “Well you write because you feel better, right? Your just venting, getting it out, right?” Someone else suggested it gives me a sense of purpose.

This blog has done neither, but I have found that I like sitting down and writing.  Writing focuses me and makes me feel like I am doing something other than park, playdates, and playdough.  The comments from readers are nice too. Makes me feel connected to the outside world.

So I am just going to keep going with the Girly Reports until I don’t feel like writing about mom stuff anymore.  I will write about whatever, the boring, the silly, the adventures, but keep my anxiety “issues” for another blog.  Contact me if you want find that blog.

I don’t want to “emerge” anymore as my previous blog description stated.  I just want to complain about the annoying, share the good stuff, or maybe confess that I drank a lot of wine and housed four pieces of pizza because I was so stressed out – And finished it off with some chocolate!

Life is hard enough, right? I’m closer to 40 now – I think I am pretty much cooked in the changing personality department and learning about myself and quite frankly, who cares!

So I leave you with this picture—I wanted to be mad but she made me laugh!

giaspag

 

Oatmeal Squash Muffins

Every time I opened the fridge, I stared, uninspired by the yellow squash (and might I add organic)- yes, sort of getting on the organic bandwagon.  I personally don’t like yellow squash, the kids don’t like any vegetables lately.  Ari throws them on the floor saying, “Disgusting” and Gia just moves them all over her plate- typical kids, hating their veggies- actually squash is a fruit- Did you know that? I just learned that from the Internet.

But hubs bought the annoying squash- he sometimes does the grocery shopping, which he should really stop – I just got back from the second trip to the grocery store to get all the stuff he didn’t get…he goes on Sunday, when I am not in “work mode.” Too lazy to write a list, head a bit foggy from a slight hangover from usual Saturday night fun- oh yea- this mom still parties…granted the party scene is a bit different these days, my wingmen, are actually girls and they’re not super helpful with helping me score…they are more like the blocker types…with their late night crying and refusal to go to sleep.

So, sick of looking at squash, I decided to make these muffins.  I found the recipe on modernbeet.com.

Gia saw me cutting the scorned fruit and said, “Ew, squash, I hate squash!”  She really does.  I tried pureeing it and mixing it in with macaroni and cheese (one of her faves) but to no avail, she detected it. I have scattered, smothered, covered, and chunked this fruit among other miscellaneous produce (I knew my college days would come in handy- thank you Waffle House!) mmm – Waffle house, remember those late nights my southern friends…

Here’s a pic of Gia and what she thinks of the muffins.

Image
“Yuck! Where are my oatmeal cookies?”

But I did get her to eat one and she said she “loved them,” but only with a bit of jelly, of course.  She is my sweet tooth. It’s funny because Gia doesn’t like chocolate and Ari does, but Ari rather have a salty snack and Gia prefers a sweet snack… Just goes to show you we are all so different.

Anyway, I feel proud of my healthy muffins and use of yellow squash- See, I told you we were moving on from cookies and donuts!

Here’s the recipe

1 c. all-purpose flour*
1/2 c. whole wheat flour*
1 c. rolled oats
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon

1 egg

1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. honey
1 1/2 c. grated summer squash or zucchini

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and mace in a medium-large bowl.

In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, oil, and honey. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Gently fold in squash.

Fill lined or well-greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

*Note: feel free to use whatever flour combination you want — all whole wheat, all AP, whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat — just make sure it adds up to 1 1/2 cups in total

Hours of Fun with Kids- Kinetic Sand

sand

I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve left a store with some toy or trinket the girls begged for, or just because I was in a bribing kind of mood.

Cheap blinking rings and bracelets from the dollar store that stop working the minute you get home, light up bouncy balls that become light- less, and end up hiding underneath the couch collecting dust.

Barking puppies, neighing unicorns, and cheeping chicks that only serve to annoy the hell out of me – most presents serving as the root of a “That’s mine” fight.  Stickers, crayons, dot paint, chalk, and pencils have added color and interest to my freshly painted walls.

This wall was lacking a little pizazz
This wall was lacking a little pizazz

Yesterday, upon strolling into Michaels to pick up crafting supplies for Easter decorations, I saw these boxes of Kinetic Sand.  I usually don’t look twice at gimmicky type of products, purchase anything from an infomercial, or have a burning desire to buy anything different.  I am an old fashioned, hard to change, do not like to try anything new kind of person (got my Dad’s genes).

I was in an unusually relaxed mood…it was gorgeous out, we hadn’t had any morning activities to rush off to (love a free morning without the stress of getting the little one dressed on a time constraint) and we were headed to the park after.

I decided to buy this product.  It looked so cool, exactly like sand.  The package said “Your hands stay clean, clean-up is a breeze, and it never dries out.” I was sold.   When we got home, we tried it and it was awesome.

Gia says, “I’m so glad we got this, it feels so weird.”

Arianna played with this Kinetic Sand for a little more than an hour- which is a record for her snappy attention span.  She put her feet in it, happy as a pig in mud….Yup- I just compared my daughter to a pig…

So relaxing...
So relaxing…

I feel like I am writing a product review but I really liked this.  I think I will be more open to trying new things in the future.