I made frozen pizza for dinner and nobody died!

Last night my menu plan said stir-fry vegetables with brown rice.  Instead I served frozen cheese pizza, pineapple chunks, cucumber slices and baby tomatoes.

Frozen pizza for the win!

As I sit to write this, I can think of quite a few rationalizations and justifications for the pizza dinner
- I'm 6.5 months pregnant and didn't feel like cooking
- I was tired
- Hubby is away on a work trip
- I had pizza on the menu plan for later in the week so moving meals around is "allowed"
- It was Monday and we had just had guests over the weekend
- My three kids and I were playing a rousing game of 'kick the soccer ball around' and it was already getting dark and I didn't want to shorten the fun by having to go cook

But here's the long and short explanation -- I fed my kids dinner and they ate it.

It doesn't matter what it was or whether or not it included a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, what matters is that I did my job of preparing and serving a meal to my family.

Last night was a win for me in the constant and continuous mom battle of living up to my own high expectations.  Tonight I may stick to my menu plan and serve a well-plated "at least two vegetables and a protein" meal but I'm going to try to gauge my success by the question Was my family fed and satisfied? instead of Was this meal pinterest worthy?

Keep up the good fight moms and keep pizza in the freezer!

Halloween Aftermath: What to do with all the candy?

The ghouls and goblins have all gone to bed and woken as tired, tummy-aching children who still have to go to school and you have to figure out what to do with all the candy that under NO circumstances can be kept around the house.

1. Remove and save actual food items and non-food items that you like-- goldfish, animal crackers, pretzels, pencils, erasers, etc.

2. Each kid gets to fill a sandwich size bag with whatever candy they personally want to keep and eat over the course of the next week.  Make sure to set a timeframe!

3. Decide what YOU want to keep
     - bag of parental prerogative goodies because we all have our favorites!
     - future baking ingredients: I now have a stash of plain M&Ms in my freezer ready for cookies
     - emergency tantrum kit for the car: I fill a bag with non-melting candy (Starburst, Skittles, Nerds) and keep in the center console of the car.  This is particularly handy for a) long drives or b) a child who is losing his mind

4. Donate the rest (and get paid!)
Find a local participating Halloween Candy Buy Back location and take your candy in to be weighed.  You get $1 per pound and the candy is then donated to military service members overseas and veterans in VA hospitals around the country.  Most of these buy-backs are hosted by dentist offices so you usually get a free toothbrush and toothpaste too!  Win-Win  To incentivize my children even more, I offer to double their money (if they sell back 2lbs and get $2, I'll give them another $2) so that they have a chance to buy something a little more pricey with their new found spending money.

Happy November!

Kids' Runs and the Daily Struggle to Set the Example

Parenting: full contact sport where an impressionable little person or persons watches, sees and emulates just about everything that you do.

Setting the example is HARD HARD HARD!  We see this all the time in the area of morals and ethics -- yep, I was speeding, didn't come to a full and complete stop, told the telemarketer that the other parent wasn't home when they are sitting right there, said I didn't have any cash on me when I just went to the ATM...the list goes on and on.

However, let me encourage you that there is one area of life that it can be easy less challenging -- Health and Wellness.  Do you want to be healthy?  Do you put a priority on working out and staying fit?  Notice: I did not say do you put a priority on being thin and beautiful.

Part of how my husband and I have chosen to help our kids in these pursuits is by involving them in our sport, running.  Kids' Run are great ways to teach the young ones that fitness can be fun and rewarding.  Sometimes they are an expense that seems a little hefty [$20 for a t-shirt and a run down the street?!] but think of the long-term dividends.  When we lived in New Mexico my kids were fortunate to have a running club at school that was sponsored through a local race organization, RunFit.  They are so proud to wear their race t-shirts and display their finisher medals and their memories are ones filled with positive associations between fitness and fun.

I'd encourage you, if you don't already have a fitness routine or if you haven't seriously considered your health and nutrition choices, consider the immeasurable investment you'd be making in not just yourself but your children.  Start by shifting your mindset, instead of saying, "I'm supposed to eat vegetables", say "I'm so glad that I get to eat vegetables to give me necessary vitamins and nutrients to be healthy and strong."  If you don't like running, try Zumba, go for a walk, watch yoga on YouTube.

It doesn't have to be expensive either!  Most nights, the vegetables on our dinner table were frozen and subsequently cooked in the microwave.  Don't feel like you have to shell out a lot of money for kids' races either.  Set up a course in your neighborhood, invite your friends and draw a sidewalk chalk finish line.  Celebrate the effort and accomplishment by your children!

Whatever you do, just be you, the healthiest YOU that you can be today because your kids want and need you, and your friends do too ;-)