Homecoming. Texas Style.

After learning that homecoming is fiasco-ridden marathon last year, Aidan said, "Never again!"  He decided he would spread the word that he was planning on "being out of town."

Then, he liked a girl.

And she liked him back.

So, here we go again, on the homecoming roller coaster ride that only Texans can do.

Last year, the "ASK" involved a small gift.  This year, the tradition seems to have morphed into a memorable event.  Things like many candles lit in the girl's front yard.  A scavenger hunt.  Convincing the teacher to add it as a question to a test.  Surprise is key.  Aidan hatched and discarded many different ideas, all involving varying degrees of props, supporting cast, financing and originality.  His final production involved half-naked men and body paint.

 

Just in case you couldn't tell, lying on your side to see the video, the boys all came out of the locker room of a swim meet and lined up in front of the stands where The Girl was sitting.  Some kind of tribal yell, and then they ripped their shirts off.  They each had a letter of H-O-M-E-C-O-M-I-N-G on their chests, with Aidan as a "?".  Definitely points for originality. Good thing she said "Yes!" with such enthusiasm, being a public event and all.

 

 

 

The next "event" on the agenda is The Ordering of The Mum.  There are all kinds of rules surrounding The Mum and it's best to get professional help.  The Mum Lady does a remarkable job and produces a quality product, no two alike.  Also to be accomplished is The Purchsing Of The Tie so that it will match the date's dress.

 

While all this is going on, the kids (and I suspect, the Mommies) start tossing around ideas for The Schedule of Events for the Saturday night of Homecoming Week.  Appently, "nobody" actually attends the dance anymore.  Each idea is more elaborate than the next, and all involve much carting of kids to and fro by weary parents who have been carting to and fro all week.  This year, somehow, the Saturday Night Events got moved to a town all the way on the other side of the lake.  Somebody wanted to take photos at the Botanical Gardens over there, even though several generous families all offered their very lovely (and local!) yards for this segment of the Festivities.  Also on the evening's agenda is dinner out, bowling, and an after-party at one of the kids homes.  Oy.

 

As we enter the homestretch, the events come fast and furious.  Next up is The Presenting of The Mum, which happens on Thursday, so the girl has the chore pleasure of wearing it all day at school on Friday, after which it gathers dust on her bedroom wall.  Mum Presentation takes place at someone's home and involves several couples.  The girls, all a-twitter, gather in one room, while the boys enter and conceal The Mum in another room.  Parents orbit in the margins of the room with cameras ready.  The boys enter and give The Mums to the girls and there is much "ooooh"ing and "aaaaahhhhhh"ing with exclamations of "It's so pretty!"  Everybody dons their Mums, poses for photos, then removes The Mums for intense examination of all the details.

 

 

 

Oh, the details!

 

THIS is why one hires The Mum Lady.  I sooooo could never pull this off myself.  All the bling, all the braids, all the special tassles, boas, sparkles.  Oy!

 

These are all the special braided ribbons. 

 

Various plastic symbols

 

The mum included a horse head (she rides), a jaguar jewel tassel,

and the teddy bear had a crystal tiara

 

Ribbons with their names, and even a whistle - in case she needs to get someones attention

A feather boa on a silken silver cord, and much artistry with the ribbons



 

There is even candy embedded in the Mum.  And bling.  Lots and lots of bling.

 

 Friday, the school halls and classrooms are filled with Mums.  There are students hiding beneath them somewhere.  One smart teacher made the kids remove them and hang them up on the wall.

 

 

Each Mum seems more absurd than the next.  I'll get off my Mum soap box, but will leave you with one last image, all from our local high school.

 



 

Finally, Saturday arrives, the day everything has been building towards.  Apparently, the girls all start getting ready about 10am.  There are hair appointments, mani-pedi's, and makeup parties. 

 

Since I had been a "conscientious objector" to the complexity and geography of the plans, my only role for the evening was to drop Aidan off at someone else's house where the first leg of the evening was to begin.  The Photo Shoot.  From there, they were taken to a restaurant for dinner, and then moved on to the bowling alley.  After bowling, they returned to Flower Mound to hang out at one boy's home for the "after party."  All transportation provided by parents with more generous spirits than I.

 

I know I'm being kind of snarky about all this.  I will add that Aidan and his very nice date had a great time.  This is an awesome group of kids and as a parent I want to be supportive of them since they ARE so great.  I know they get tired of hearing "Back in the day, we didn't expect all this rigamarole!"  I don't know how or why or when things got so complicated.

 

But, as always, at the end of the day, I am grateful.  Grateful for my healthy kids and that they continue to make good choices, including surrounding themselves with great friends.  Grateful that we are able to provide them the evening they want.  And yes, I am grateful that it's over.

 

Until next year.  When I will experience this again, adding the perspective of my daughter!

 

 



Destin 2012

We had an absolutely fabulous week in Destin just before school started.  Seven straight days of beach time together - heaven!  Enjoy the photos!

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Building Character...

...Or TMI about swim meets!

It's a well know fact that swim meets are long, uncomfortable, and boring.  For most people.

Not for "swim parents."  See, while a swim meet LOOKs like just one race after another, with hundreds of kids who all look alike, there is actually a lot more to it than that, if you know the swimmers, and all the drama.

Not "drama" in a bad way, drama in the Wide World of Sports way.  The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.  What may LOOK like eight kids swimming the same stroke across the pool at the same time is really eight different stories playing out, sometimes over the course of a season, just the 3 days of the meet, or only that one swim, right there.

We swim parents spend the 3 days doing the zombie shuffle around the stadium.  Must.  Keep.  Blood.  Moving.  We are like leaves drifting in an aimless current, occasionally gathering in an eddy to exchange information.  "How's Nathan swimming?  Did you see Kiley get the meet record?  Wasn't that race with Carly and Lauren amazing!?  Did Stephen qualify for TAGS?"  We are like one, big, extended family and we love to celebrate the achievements of everyone else's kids.

To give you a feel for the ups and downs of a meet, here is how Aidan's story played out over three days.  You will see why I don't mind watching him swim.

Aidan recently turned 15, and it's time to start competing against "men."  No more being ranked by how old you are, either you qualify to swim based on time (not age), or not.  At this point in his swimming, the Big Goal for the end of the season is to qualify for a Sectional meet, which is about 1/12th of the country.  (There are 4 zones, and each zone is divided into 3 sections.  We are in the western section of the southern zone)  Aidan was close to achieving a few qualifying times for Sectionals, so that was his primary goal for this meet.  There are 2 levels of qualifying times, called "hard cuts" and "soft cuts."  You have to have at least one hard cut to qualify, and each hard cut earns you the right to swim two additional events as long as you have the soft cut.

This meet was run in what is called a championship format.  Meaning there are preliminary heats in each event in the morning, and if you finish in the top 16, you come back at night and swim it again in finals.  This format pits the very fastest kids against each other, and they all swim just a little bit better in these fastest heats at night.

Swimmer rankings are released a few days in advance of the meet, so you can get an idea of where you fit in the overall scheme of things and predict whether or not you will qualify for evening finals.

DAY ONE
Aidan's main focus for Friday was the 200 IM.  He was ranked 57th among the 95 entrants with ages 15-27.

He had a GREAT swim - and got a "soft cut" for Sectionals.  Since he moved up so much in the rankings, he had one more opportunity to get the "hard cut."

Here is a video of his swim.  I really like the 200 IM because you get to see all four strokes, but it only takes about 2 minutes, unlike the long slog of the 400 IM.

Since I hadn't expected him to make finals, we had no hotel room.  I found a covered parking garage at a church and we sat in the car for four hours with the AC running.  Aidan slept, and I monitored the engine temperature, occasionally going for drives to keep the temperature down.

Back to the pool for finals.  The good news is, he killed it again and dropped more time and wound up being ranked 12th overall.  The bad news is, he didn't quite get the hard cut.

Meet the Crabby Boy in the lobby when the meet is over.  "Great swim!" I enthused.  He glared at me.  Rolled his eyes.  "Dood!  You went a 2:20!! That's AWESOME!" I insisted.  He growled at me.  "I don't care.  That's like a consolation prize.  I wanted to go a 2:19."

Alrighty then.  It's gonna be a long ride home.

DAY TWO
Up at 5am to make the hour drive to the swim meet.  This time, we packed a change of clothes.  Just in case.  The main focus of the day is the 200 back, and he is ranked 21st.  He's one second off the soft cut and four seconds off the hard cut.  He is wearing an expensive "technical suit" and his legs are freshly shaved.  He is ready.

He didn't just get the soft cut - he killed it (again) and got the hard cut.  He made his goal in prelims.  Then he swam a solid 100 free and broke a minute, but that event is dominated by guys who have several inches and fifty pounds on Aidan, (we call them Zoo Animals), so a good time drop is the only prize.  He also swam the 400 IM.

So, back to the meet for finals, and since he lacked a clear goal, he did not swim as fast as he is capable.  Sort of a let-down after having such a great day.  But he finished 8th overall, which is a nice bump from being ranked 21st!  My pride in him is no consolation for him though.  He felt like tonight's race was pointless, and hated that he didn't do his best.

DAY THREE
Sunday dawns, and his last event of the meet is the 100 back.  That is his best event.  He is tired.  Worn down to a nub.  He also has to start the meet with the 200 breast.  Any 200 really takes a lot out of you.  He swam pretty well, but made a mistake on his pull-out and was disqualified.  That takes the wind out of your sails and he still had to wrap his mind around trying to get a hard cut in the 100 back.  He told me when I dropped him off that morning, "Mom, if I make the hard cut in prelims, I am NOT staying to swim it again at night."  I get that.  But that is a conversation he must have with his coach, and not an argument that is worth having at this moment.

I can tell by his posture that he is feeling defeated and has lost his fire.  He swims the 100 back and gives it absolutely everything he has to give.  He gets a soft cut.  Not the hard cut.  Ugh.  He wants to be done, and he's not.  He has to do it again.  I stand in the back of the stadium watching his every move.  Trying to discern what his coach is telling him, whether or not he has enough left to make hanging around for finals even worth it.  He hits the cool down pool.  That is a good sign, if you mean to swim again, you MUST cool down after every race or your muscles seize up.  He packs up his things in a desolutory manner.  I am waiting to see if he folds up his chair, which means he does not intend to return.  The chair stays.

I meet him in the lobby.  He has a face like thunder.  This is going to be a long afternoon.  "Food or sleep?"  I ask.  "Food.  Then sleep."  Off to iHop (for the 3rd time this weekend) where he wolfs down his usual in silence.  I keep my mouth shut.  Back to the car and the covered lot by the church, he has 2 hours to sleep.

Back to the pool, I have done my best to refrain from saying anything.  "Dig deep, buddy" I say as he exits the car.  "Swim it like it's 105 meters!" hoping to convey the message that he must not run out of steam in the last 5 meters like he's prone to do when he's tired.  He glares at me.  "I don't even know why I'm doing this," he mutters as he slams the door extra hard.

I stand in the back of the stadium watching his warmup like a hawk.  He talks with his coaches.  Do they know?  Do they know how utterly defeated he is?  My heart is breaking for him and I want to rescue him.  I want to go down on deck and tell the coaches that I am scratching him out of this farce.  I want to put this behind us and take him home.  I don't want him to have to fail.  But I am not raising a quitter.  I go back to my chair and try not to think about it.

It's a long wait.  3 1/2 hours from the time he had to report for warmups to when his event starts.  I am kicking myself for not realizing this and getting permission from the coaches to roll in late.  Coulda, shoulda, woulda.  Bad Swim Mommy.

Finally.  The Men's 100 back final.  I don't want to watch.  But here it is.  Can he do it?

What I missed on the video is once he got out of the water and made his way over to see his coaches, there were a whole bunch of swimmers waiting to congratulate him.  The swim parents all around me in the stands were as on edge about it as I was, and they were equally elated over what Aidan did.  I am so grateful that Aidan is surrounded with so many supportive friends.  People who "get" the "drama" of it all and understand the difference a few one-hundredths of a second can make to a dedicated swimmer.

Mostly, I am grateful for the lesson that Aidan learned.  He now knows that even when he doesn't think he has it in him, if he digs deep enough, he really does.

Aidan's story wasn't the only one at the meet though.  There were so many kids who did amazing things, who dug deep, who outswam themselves.  I love knowing these amazing kids and the excitement of watching them achieve their goals.  This is why swim meets aren't boring.

I meet him in the lobby.  I want so bad to wrap him in a bear hug and plant a big sloppy kiss on his cheek.  "Who are you and what have you done with that crabby kid I dropped off here this afternoon?" I ask instead.  "Mom!" he says, "Did you SEE Lauren swim the 50 free?  That was AMAZING!" he exclaims, and goes on to gush about all the accomplishments of his swimming family.

Suddenly, the drive home looks pretty promising.

Braggin' on My Kiddos

One of the "over the top" (in a good way) things about Texas is PRIDE.  Not just pride at being a Texan, but pride in anything worth being proud of.  And while everyone is proud of their kids, I've noticed that Texans have a few more ways to show it.  I'm sure this happens in other areas, but California is my only other experience and I didn't notice it to be as pervasive as it is here in Texas.  Things may have changed in the time that I have been gone - do y'all have a lot of this kind of stuff in YOUR area?

One way to show your pride is a yard sign...  doesn't matter if it's a sport, arts or academic team.  School-associated or private club.  The kids expect a yard sign announcing to all who pass by that they are part of something.

Then, there is the vehicle stickers.  I just keep adding to my back window as the stickers arrive.  Who knows how many I'll have on there after a few more years?

Like all parents, I'm proud of my kids and like to brag about them now and then.  Actually, that is one of the main purposes of this blog!  So, a couple of recent accomplishments from the end of the school year.....

Aidan lettered as a freshman.  Which presented a sort of unique opportunity, how do you order a letter jacket for a child that has only begun to grow?  Um yeah, it's a little big.  But if fits Ray perfectly, so we figure the sizing is pretty much spot on.

Bridget was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society.  She works really hard on her school work and gives every assignment and test 110% so she definitely deserves the honor!

Hopefully, my kids will continue to work hard, both at school and other activities.  Mostly, I want them to be proud of themselves.

Pictures of Food

It's no secret that I like to cook.  That's a good thing, because sometimes I have to make five meals a day.  Also, my kids train hard and need about 5,000 calories a day, mostly of GOOD food (with actual nutrients in it), and that isn't always easy.

Food experts say that first, you eat with your eyes.  Maybe that's why I always feel like taking a photo of my food - a way to preserve my accomplishment before it's been eaten.  They are bad photos because it's usually w/ my camera phone.  And I don't really cook "pretty" food - I'm just a plain, family cook.

But if I don't get something up on my blog, all 3 of my readers will wonder what happened, and my Klout score will fall below 50.  I think it's cool I have a Klout score that is a higher number than my age and I aim to keep it that way.

So....  here are a few photos of my culinary accomplishments and the reasons I took the pictures in the first place.

Eggs.  Eggs are a recently discovered condiment in my house.  This is a white bean and kale stew, and I've "gilded the lily" by topping it with a poached egg.  I've put poached eggs on salads, burgers, a plate of sauteed spring onions, a stack of grilled asparagus, into a bowl of tomato sauce.  Eggs just add that extra bit of luxuriousness (and protein!) and plus, when The Girls are in top form, I've got lots of them.

Tomatoes.  I sure wish I could successfully grow tomatoes because despite the fact that I don't much care for them raw, I cook with them all the time.  Below is a sheet pan full of halved romas dusted w/ a bit of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

A few hours in the oven and they are like candy.  I can remember my mother saying this about vegetables and I always thought she was crazy.  Now I know what she meant, or I've become crazy too.

More eggs.  This just makes me happy because it's an egg from 50 feet from my house, and deer sausage from 50 miles from my house, compliments of Boy.

Grilling.  I love to grill.  I don't care what time of year it is, I grill many nights a week.  I will grill the bread, the dessert, even the salad sometimes.

Yum.  This was a pretty tasty snicky snack, pulled together by a little dish of wine jelly, infused with lemon and rosemary.  Went GREAT with the fish and the tangy chevre.  Should have made more of it.

More eggs.  Mother's day breakfast in bed.  Eggs Benedict.  No further words are necessary.

And finally, more eggs.  One of the challenges of my household is to balance the needs of my calorie-consuming kids with the needs of my aging body.  One of my favorite meals is to make a red sauce (with all those lovely cooked tomatoes!) that is full of all kinds of veggies and love.  The kids get the sauce on pasta, and I eat a bowl of it with a poached egg (or two) tossed in.  Yum.

Morning Survival

My kids are competitive swimmers.  And generally, once they reach a certain age, morning practices are an inevitability.

Aidan started doing them a couple of years ago and it was a big adjustment for both of us.  It took at least a month before 4:15am didn't feel completely brutal.

Middle schoolers have time to come home after practice, high schoolers do not, especially given the fact that we live so far out of town.  So, this year Aidan had to learn how to be ready for his entire day at 4:15.  Me too - it meant adding LUNCH to the morning routine.  And a second breakfast that could be eaten in the car.

Then, Bridget started doing morning practices, and that meant another breakfast, and another body to roust from the bed, and a second pool to get to by 5:00am.

Our general routine is that I get up at 4:15 and head upstairs to wake the kids.  Aidan wakes up pretty quickly, Bridget not so much.  Aidan knows immediately what he wants me to fix for first- and second-breakfast, Bridget not so much.  They are both guilty of rolling over and going back to sleep, which I don't have time for, and that makes Mama cranky.

We have from 4:15 - 4:40 to get up, dressed, pack one lunch, make 3 breakfasts, and get whatever they need for practice (water bottles, clean towels, shoes, equipment bag, etc.) and get out the door.  You can see why any deviation from The Schedule makes Mama cranky.

I start the breakfasts (could be cereal, toast, bagel, oatmeal, or egg sandwich), and then start texting the kids to see if they are up yet.

It is generally known that if I have to stop what I am doing, and head back up stairs and wake up sleeping children, that Mama gets Extra Cranky.

Sometimes, it doesn't go so well.  Like when Bridget decided to curl up in a ball on the dining room floor and cry herself back to sleep.

It's times like those that Mama has to take a deep breath and decide whether the right approach is cajoling, yelling, or letting everyone go back to bed.

One of my biggest saviors has been making breakfast sandwiches in advance and freezing them.  Yep, took me about 3 years to figure this one out, I am slow that way.

I brown a pound or so of deer sausage, and crack a dozen or so eggs.  Ray bought this cute little pan that is perfect for an egg & sausage patty.

I crank out a dozen or so of these patties, and also put an equal amount of english muffins under the broiler to toast.

I assemble them all with a slice of cheese and put them into a zip top baggie, suck out the air and freeze them.

About 1:10 in the microwave and it's a good start to their day.

I actually don't mind morning practices.  It makes the evenings less crazy, and we often are all home at a decent hour for dinner together, which I love.

Chickens

One of my most pleasureable "chores" every day is heading out to the chicken coop to see what gifts The Girls have given us each day.  Sometimes, if the weather is nice, I even take a book and a beverage and just sit and watch them.  They hear me coming and get all excited, because I am The Bearer of Food & Treats.

I have six chickens of four different breeds.  Each breed lays a different color and size egg.  The dark browns are from the Cuckoo Marans (Ginkball and Tweetie Pie), the little white ones are from Queenie, the Silver Kraienkoppe, the slightly larger and slightly tanner ones are from Lacey, our Silver Laced Wyandotte.  I have two chickens that were sold to me as Ameraucanas which are supposed to lay blue eggs, but one, Mrs. Flores, lays pinkish tan ones so I think she is what is called an Easter Egger, and Bossy lays the pretty blue ones.

For those of you who are wondering about Big Bird, our Polish rooster....  he is no longer with us.  Every horrible thing you've ever heard about roosters is true.  It was a fun culinary experiment to find an archaic recipe for Coq au Vin, meant for the tough, testosterone filled muscles of a rooster, but I did and he was pretty tasty, what there was of him.  Mostly leg and thigh, not much breast meet on him like one is used to from store-bought chickens.

 This lovely hen pictured below is Tweetie Pie, one of the Cuckoo Marans.  She's a sweet bird, doesn't mind being held and very large.

These two are Lacey and Queenie - both definitely "rule the roost" and boss the other chickens around (and torture them a bit) quite a bit.  Neither likes being held and both are very hard to catch.

And here is where all the Chicken Drama starts.  Two of my hens have decided to go broody on me.  Broody is where they decide that it's time to incubate their eggs.  Left to their own devices, a chicken will lay one egg every day or so.  If these eggs are fertile (if a rooster has been shacking up with the hen; hens will lay eggs whether or not there is a rooster around), they won't actually start to turn into chickens until the hen decides it's TIME.  Once the hen has a good amount of eggs (like a dozen or so), then she decides it's TIME, and she begins to incubate them.  She will sit on them all day, every day, and her warmth is the signal to the zygote (or whatever it is) to begin cell division and become a baby chick.  That is how a hen can lay an egg every day, yet they will all hatch at the same time.

So.  Enough with the biology lesson.  I have two broody hens.  A broody hen doesn't lay.  She just sits around all day in the laying box with a warm bottom like Ginkball is doing in this picture.

Mrs. Flores actually "went broody" first.  I think she is way down in the "pecking order" because the other chickens got mad at her for taking up realestate in the laying box and have pecked her pretty bad.  She's a mess - missing feathers on her neck and back.  She's the one on the left in the picture below.  They seem to be leaving Tweetie Pie alone, and now since Tweetie Pie is broody, she won't let Mrs. Flores into the henhouse and now Mrs. Flores is running around all nervous and skittery because she wants to sit in a laying box and nobody will let her.

I have tried to let them work it out, but egg production is low and so my neighbors haven't been able to buy much from me lately. 

There are many remedies for broodieness to be found on the Interwebz, so I am now trying one that makes the most sense - I've put Mrs. Flores into a wire bottom cage that is raised up so there is plenty of air flow underneath.  Apparently this keeps her from getting her bottom nice and warm and up to incubating temperature and she will soon not have the need to sit in a laying box incubating eggs that aren't there, and hopefully begin laying them again.  Or so the theory goes.  If it doesn't work, I am supposed to try things like dunking her in cool water or putting ice cubes on her bottom.  The phrase "madder than a wet hen" comes to mind and I hope I don't have to resort to that.

Social Media Killed My Blog

I am a bad, bad blogger.  I know it's been ages since I've posted.  All three of my readers are probably wondering if I've fallen off the face of the planet.  Since I started using Facebook and Twitter a few years ago, I haven't been paying enough attention to the blog and both of you who don't follow me on Twitter.

I'm here.  No excuse really.  Just the reason:  anything I could post would sound exactly like a post from this time of year last year.  And the year before.  March starts the busy season.  Aidan did a triathlon.  I drive a lot.  I have chickens.  The kids have swim meets.

I'm going to try to do better.  Two of three of you out there in the blogosphere will appreciate that, and I appreciate you.

So.... what's up lately?  I drive a lot.  The kids both swim at 5am every day at two different pools.  I am tired all the time.  I have chickens.  I gave up on the diet after not losing any appreciable amount of weight.  I cook a lot and take bad pictures of my food with my phone.  Texas springtime is spectacular and we had a bumper crop of bluebonnets this year.  Bridget got in to National Junior Honor Society and was way happier about it than Aidan ever was.


So.  Over the next few days I promise you the following:

• Update on the chickens - there is drama.
• A post about the middle school talent show - there is drama.
• How I manage to make 4 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and drive to 4 different locations between 4:30am and 8:30am with no drama.  Ok, well a little drama.
• Pictures of food.
• Pictures of kids.
• Pictures of chickens.

Check back soon!  I expect to log in to Google Analytics and see that all three of you have hit the blog.

Nutrition Overhaul

They say when you set a goal, one of the things you are supposed to do it be public about it.  It's harder to fail if you tell people about it instead of keeping it to yourself.

Well....  I want to lose some weight.  No surprise, it's New Year's Day, I'm approaching 50, I love to cook, eat and drink.  I don't exercise.  Duh!  No brainer, and I'm hardly unique.

But it's a little bit more complicated than that.  This isn't just a "smoothie for breakfast, salad for lunch, and avoid the pasta at dinner" kind of diet.  It's more along the lines of helping my body age more gracefully.  Transitioning my palate and cooking habits to the "less meat, more fiber" a woman of my *cough* advanced years should have.

And, it's even more complicated than THAT.  I have kids.  Very active kids.  Growing kids that train hard and have some pretty hefty nutritional requirements that don't necessarily jive with the requirements of the lady that does their cooking.

So.  I'm putting it out there to the Universe.

Yes, the challenge is to lose weight.  But more than that, the challenge is to make changes and learn something.  And not just me - the kids too.  If Aidan had his choice, he'd exist on tortillini, cream sauce and garlic bread.  Bridget would exist on mashed potatoes.  None of which is good for Ray and I.  If Ray had his choice, it would be something a little more exotic than the usual "kid-friendly" fare I mindlessly sling to the table each evening.  And if I had my way, there would be a lot more vegetables and nobody would grumble about it.

So.  Here we go.  A new Food Adventure for me where I attempt to keep everyone happy.  Dinners that give Ray and I plenty of flavor but also meet the caloric requirements of the kids.  More vegetables for everyone, new sources of protein like legumes and quinoa.  And acceptance of the notion that what once may have been considered a side dish now serves as an entire meal.

Change is hard.  I only hope that I can stand the grumbling of my table mates.