I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I don’t watch the news, and I don’t really read the newspaper.
I do read some on-line news, and I figure if it’s really important, it will be trending on Twitter. Living under a rock like this allows me to block out a lot of the negativity and keep my sanity. It also allows me to avoid reading all the latest studies of things like “Chocolate causes cancer” and of course “Chocolate cures cancer”.
My other source for news and information is... tea with my mom. My mom is always passing along tidbits she sees in the news. Todays gem was “You shouldn’t breast feed past four months old”... apparently, not enough Iron in breast milk.
I, of course, shared this info on Twitter, and there was an immediate response. Some people were really not happy, some were laughing at the result of the study, but most were up in arms.
I know you think I am either going to condemn or cheer this new “study”, but I’m not. I’m pretty sure test results vary depending on who is funding them.
Now, I didn’t breast feed my first baby. My milk never came in. I did try, but I didn’t go to any lactation consultants, nor did I run tubes from my nipples in an attempt to mimic breast feeding and hope it would work. I just went with bottles.
For those of you who did do all of those things, I commend you!
With my second baby, I told myself I would try again, and it worked! It wasn’t easy, and I was sometimes frustrated, but I was able to feed her. I did so for 5 months.
Perhaps not as long as some “studies” would recommend, but I was happy.
Both of my girls are happy, healthy children.
There is so much stigma that comes with whether or not you breast feed, there is so much judgement and pressure. I think being a parent already has so much pressure that maybe we need to stop adding pressure by passing judgement on one another.
I have written about judging before, and I maintain that it’s unnecessary to make others feel bad about themselves for their choices. I would like it if we could all adopt the mantra “To each their own”.
Then, maybe we could join hands and sing Kumbaya while conducting a study on how world peace can be accomplished through positive thinking... but who would fund that?
The slew of after-school activities at our house means dinners are not a leisurely event, rather more a sprint relay where I hand off food to kids as they run out the door.
In a typical week, our calendar looks a little like this: Hockey, hockey, gymnastics, singing lessons, hockey, swimming, gymnastics, swimming and ummmm… hockey.You’ll notice there are more activities than days, which means Tom and I are often both running in separate directions.
So, I was thrilled when I was introduced to the VH Sauces website because not only do they have super simple meals, but many of them can be made in under half an hour.
The site is really easy to use. You can search the recipe section by meal type, ingredient, which VH Sauce you are using and even by the amount of time. Each recipe tells how long it will take to prep and how long it will take to cook.
I found it was very helpful in getting me out of my day-to-day cooking rut. The flavours are a little more exotic than I generally cook with, and it makes it really easy to try something new because the Asian sauces, which can be a little daunting to make from scratch, are made for you.
I made the Stir Fried Chicken with Orange and Coconut the other day, and I was pleasantly surprised by how tangy and sweet it was. Not only did I absolutely love the meal, but it was beyond easy to make and was done in 20 minutes... even I have time for that!
Tonight, however, I was happy to have an evening where we didn’t have to rush out the door. It meant that we could have a nice family dinner and I didn’t have to rush to make it.
I decided to make something the kids would LOVE... ribs! I have never really had a good rib recipe. I’ve always just thrown them in the oven with whatever sauce I had in the cupboard... well not anymore! Not since I found this recipe on the VH Sauces website...Chinese Honey Garlic Spare Ribs.
As soon as the kids came in the door, they were talking about the smell in the house. Tom said “It smells like love in here”.
I like ribs too, but more than that, I LOVE a dinner the whole family will eat without complaint!
These ribs were easy to make, and they were absolutely delicious. You know how I know they were good? We practically had to hose down the kids after dinner.
It was funny because I made side ribs, so they were smaller than the ribs I usually make, and I want to leave you with this quote from Ethan: “These ribs may be little, but they are amazing!”
Check out more easy ways to express your cooking creativity with a little Asian flair!
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at VH Sauces.
www.vhsauces.com
I moved back to my home town about 4 years ago despite the fact that most of my friends moved away a long time ago.
Then, last year, one of my friends moved back! She and I have known one another since we were 3 years old, and our parents still live just a few doors away from each other.
I was excited that she was going to be so close and that our kids would get to grow up with one another. Her son Ethan is the same age as our Ethan, and her daughter is one year younger than Rebecca. Little did we know that the Ethans would end up in the same class at school, and little did I know that I would be taking care of her children once a week.
I was a little shocked when she asked me. Not because I felt put out, but because I didn’t know if I was qualified. My house isn’t always tidy, I sometimes have to search through laundry baskets to find clean socks for the kids, and I thought she might still remember me for the party girl I was growing up. I guess I was surprised that someone else thought I would make a good role model for their kids.
At first, I wondered if I could do it. I would actually have to be organized and plan things to do ahead of time, I would have to make sure I had good, healthy food and I would have to be responsible for someone else’s kids... it was a little daunting to be honest, but of course I said yes. I couldn’t let down my friend, and it was a great opportunity to spend more time with her kids. (Who call me Aunty Moe, by the way - I love that)
Once the older kids were at school, it would just be me, the baby and the 2 girls (ages 4 & 5), surely I could handle that.
If the task was a little daunting for me, it was all but upsetting for Rebecca. Tuesdays and Thursdays (and every other Friday) were our days at home together. So, having someone join us was not something she took lightly.
I figured once the girls were playing and the baby was napping, I would have time to do laundry and vacuum... piece o’ cake. Then, my worst nightmare happened. The two girls seemed like they were from different planets. Rebecca was loud and boisterous, Avery was quiet and demure. Rebecca wanted to one thing, and Avery wanted to do another.
I didn’t know what to do. How could I get them to bond?
I did the only thing I knew how to do, I baked. Rebecca and I loved to bake, and thankfully Avery liked to bake too. So, we got out the measuring cups and the flour, and we had at it.
The first day, we made cookies, the next week we made cupcakes, then chocolate peanut butter pie. Baking became our Tuesday ritual, and the girls started bonding. Soon, once the baking was done, they would disappear into the basement to play together... I’d like to say that my laundry and vacuuming are done as a result, but that would be a lie.
Once I started planning our baking for each Tuesday, I started coming across some really cool recipes. The coolest thing we have made so far, are these cupcakes, which I am going to call...
THE COOLEST CUPCAKES IN THE WORLD... or Rainbow Cupcakes, if you prefer.
Grab a boxed cake, I used lemon because I thought they should taste fruity, but plain white cake would work too. Make the batter as per the directions on the box.
Then divide the batter into 6 bowls. Add food colouring to each bowl to make red, orange, yellow, green and purple.
Line a cupcake tray, and spoon a layer of purple batter to just cover the bottom, then spoon blue, green, yellow, orange and finish with red, making the whole top layer is red.
Bake using the directions on the box, top with your favourite icing and voila: The Coolest Cupcakes In The World!
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