food foddie facts

Kaza's place was hosting a little meme about the first five things someone would need to know about you, or should I say me, when it comes to food and drink. I am a simple girl with what I consider simple tastes. What are the five most important facts about me when it comes to food and drink in my kitchen? Hmmmmm, let's see.

First - I am a HUGE fan of red wine. It makes the world a better place and soothes my soul after a long day. I tend to be a Chianti or Merlot fan and have a favorite glass that hubby tried to take just to torment me.

My number two would have to be cheese to go with all that wine! I like to try new cheeses but after a really long and hard day I go straight to the Dubliner. Mmmm, yummy.

My third fabulous food fact is my obsession with doughnuts and brownies. I CANNOT pass up a doughnut or brownie to save my life. When they are out at work I am like a hawk on an injured mouse - I swoop in for the kill. I have no will power; zero, zilch, none. Now cake, I can walk right by and not think twice. But put a frosted brownie on the counter and it will be gone before you can blink a pretty eye. I can guar-un-tee!!

Fourth - I am not a seasoner. I do not add salt or pepper to my food - ever! Rarely to french fries but it is very, very rare. Hubby on the other hand has stock in Morton and salts thing before even tasting them. We are so opposite that way.

My fifth I am somewhat sad to admit. I had all these good intentions to make sure my kids ate so healthy all the time. Yeah, after the oldest one and a half that theory got thrown in the shitter. I really try but most days I am in no mood to battle over food, every, single. meal. I do have a pantry stocked with healthy snacks which they forage on an hourly basis. My hope is that someday they will be more adventurous with new foods but for now I am focused on survival. I feel like such a bad Mom admitting that...guess another Bad Mommy Star is in order!

So there you have it, some of my food foodiness facts. Be sure to check out some of the other participants like Jen and catnip and Adriane.

What are some of yours? Feel free to tag yourself and play along. I won't mandate people participate but would love it if you would!

the surgery

I had all good intentions to post this last night - right before I crashed on the couch at 7:30. The physical and mental exhaustion of the past week(s) took its toll and I lost. Not that I am complaining! I have not slept like that for days! So now I am back, refreshed and on my second cup of java. Strap your selves in!

Where to begin... hmmm. Well, I guess I will start here: Being the good mother that I am, cough cough, I decided I would wake Grady up at 11:30 pm to feed him before the 'no food after midnight' cut off. Yeah, that didn't work so well. Because he had spiked a fever he wanted nothing to do with the food I was trying to force down his throat. In fact, he spit it back at me. Isn't he a cherub? So back to bed he went. He awoke nice and early and thankfully, not hungry. I did get him to eat a popsicle before the 'no liquids after 8:00' though. You would have thought he won the lottery. A popsicle...AT 6:30 am?! Are you serious?!? SCORE!! The problems began when his brother came downstairs and wanted cereal for breakfast. I tried hiding Drake while he ate but darn how his voice carries when he asks for another bowl. Grady's ears quickly perked up and then HE wanted cereal too. I convinced him he could have whatever he wanted after he saw the doctor. He quickly chose doughnuts and not just any doughnuts, Krispy Kreme doughnuts. (I LOVE this boy) So the bribe was set. After another two hours of standing guard in front of the pantry we decided to leave.

We fielded the "Can I have my doughnut now?" question the entire way there. How many times can a toddler ask the same question in a 15 minute car ride - WAY. TOO. MANY. We had just registered and settled in the little play area when they called us back - sweet! As soon as the automatic door closed behind us we heard the dreaded words... the doctor is running behind. Joy! I will now mention that it wasn't just a little behind - it was TWO frickin' hours behind. Two hours that hubby and I were encapsulated in a small room (with no windows), with a three year old that would not stop chanting "I want my doughnut!" " I don't like this room. Mommy I want to leave" "I go now and get my doughnut?!" Oh the insanity of it all. To top it off we, being the good parents that we are, cough cough, opted to not eat breakfast as a way to help Grady with his not eating experience. That did not, however, include the nice piping hot cups of coffee we had just gotten. The ones we weren't allowed to bring back with us into the pre-surgery room. The ones that might have taken the edge off the chanting three year old and his obsession with doughnuts. Though, Young Hot Doctor or YHD, in scrubs was nice on the eyes and did ease the pain slightly. Even better was when hubby pointed out to YHD that a mutual friend of theirs wife thought he was hot. That made YHD blush - making him even hotter as he stood there in scrubs. sigh

Then the nurse brought Grady his surgery pajamas to change into - light lavender. Guess they try and give you ones you won't steal. As though the monstrous Children's Hospital Stamps all over them wouldn't be enough of a deterrent. Grady hated them and refused to keep the top on. I don't blame him. He looked like an over washed Barney doll. He finally stopped chanting/ screaming when he got the pre-anesthetic relaxer drug. He was a riot and we liked him again! Is it bad to be entertained by your three year old son in a complete drunk/stoned state? No, I didn't think so either. He insisted I was laying on the floor even as he was sitting in my lap. "Momma, why you on the floor?? giggle giggle Momma you on the floor!" All the while his head is drooping from side to side with that lackadaisical look of euphoria. Wish I had my camera to capture it cause I can guarantee the next time I see that face he will be grounded!

After that all went well. He came out of surgery like a trooper. His first words were, of course, about those damn doughnuts. I swear that boy has a one track mind. As soon as YHD gave us a prescription for oxycodone (HELLO MOMMA!!) and discharged him we were off to Krispy Kreme. Before we could pull away from the drive though window Grady woofed down three doughnuts without breathing. When he finally came up for air and asked for a fourth I had to say no. This was met with lots of tears and discourse. I persuaded him to wait until we got home so that his tummy could rest but the chanting continued until we got home. Ironically all the chanting about doughnuts did not deter me from partaking in their soft and sweet goodness - yum.

Now he is up and about riding his big wheel around the house like nothing ever happened. Deep down this was how I knew (and hoped) it would be. I am glad this is all behind us and hope that the surgery fixed everything it was supposed too. Guess we will find out when we go see YHD in a month for Grady's follow-up. Wonder what I will wear...???

the night before the knife

Here is a brief visual - be prepared - it is a scary, scary scene. To my left is my snoring hubby, useless to the state of mind I am functioning in right now. Though his sleeping state is allowing me to balance my wine on his leg - score one for me! To the right is a quickly disappearing pint of Ben and Jerry's "Imagine Whirled Peace". Mmmm, mmmmm, goodness. On my lap is my beloved laptop, soon to be replaced by a newer and shinier version. shiivvver And to numb my mind I am entertaining it with the newest edition of the Real World. I am curious as to what will sustain my attention throughout the evening as I am sure there will be no sleep for this lassie. Grady spiked another fever tonight before going to bed but did so without eating dinner. Now I definitely have to wake him up to eat in an hour or so. Don't even want to start thinking about the monster child he will be tomorrow if I don't. Yaaawnn. Maybe I actually will sleep from my food and beverage induced coma. Lucky me,and of course, lucky you! Off to feed a monster!

science fair

Drake decided to participate in his school's Science Fair this year. I was all for it until I heard the topic he chose - Which Cheese Molds the Fastest. Great! Can't wait to see what all that entails. Thankfully it was geared towards young children so there wasn't too much work and research involved. The worst part was having the moldy cheese in my cupboard for two weeks. Drake had originally wanted to place the cheese on plates. I saw my chance - how about putting them in Ziploc bags?? He agreed and we were good to go.

You can see from the picture how delicious things got by the end of week two. He was excited that the hypothesis he thought of was true and all his friends liked the grossness factor of his experiment. As for me, I am proud he took the initiative to try something different and extremely happy that the cheese is now out of my house!!

i am off the wagon

This is the time of year I love and dread most. I love it because it begins the season of food, I hate it because it begins the season of food. From October 31st till just after January 1st our house is filled with treats, sweets and other things that are not nice to one's waist line. My work place is also infiltrated with things I have no will power to say no to. Now, one would think, as a grown adult, that I would be able to self monitor and not indulged myself on every little sweet that cropped it's pretty little head up in my direction. But I am weak...oh so very weak. I even admit to searching out treats in times of desperation and sugar withdrawal. And if I walk by the counter at work, the one with the beautiful tray of frosted brownies, I hear their pleas. They NEED me to eat them. (Yes I hear them talking and it is what they are truly saying) Even with my current "over the summer" weight loss of the last child's baby fat and the fact that I am fitting back into my old clothes I am still enticed by the wrappers and smells. So off the wagon I have leapt, face first into my son's Halloween bowl. Maybe I can use the left over duct tape from Grady's diaper debacle to stall gluttoness behavior? But I am suddenly having visions of the heavy mustache it may leave behind....scary!

But for fun and giggles this Halloween I have included the in-depth analysis of me answering 5 questions on blogthings. Spooky!!

You Are a Haunted House

You are a deeply complicated and sometimes deeply disturbed person. You can't help but be attracted to the dark side of life - even when it's pretty gruesome. In relationships, you are honest and real. So real that it's definitely a little scary. You don't fake it or play along just to get along. And people either respect this... or deeply resent it Your life is thoughtful, deep, and even philosophical at times. You see the world as it is. You don't sugar coat anything. Facing and fighting your fears is important to you. You believe that too much of life is whitewashed. You're not too morbid... you just believe that you can't enjoy life without exorcising a few demons first! At your best, you are brave, intense, and fearless. Not only do you face the abyss head on - you challenge your friends to do the same. At your worst, you are depressed and morose. If you're not careful, your thoughts take over your mind... and they aren't pretty!