One of those days

One of my favorite phrases is "Poise in the face of frustration". We all face frustration daily, but we can learn to handle it better if we remained poised. I have used this mantra one too many times today!

1)When I got back from taking little girl to the bus stop, I found Molly (see Dogs of our lives) with her back foot stuck in the ring on her collar. She must have been scratching her neck and got her nails stuck. Poor thing looked all contorted and scared. I got her foot free but was thinking "What if I had left for work"?? She would have been stuck like that for hours. Not really a frustration, but I thought, if this is how the day is starting, it is going to be one of those days.

2)I was asked my my boss to go to a food show in downtown Columbus after I got off work today. Great, I thought! I had never been to one and I had a free parking pass. Got downtown and all the lots for the free passes were full. I drove around for awhile, hoping one would open up, but they didn't and my time was getting short. So I parked about a mile away, paid my 5 bucks and walked. Instead of being mad, I thought "At least I am getting some walking in today". Not exactly how I felt on the walk back in the rain and temp had dropped 20 degrees. But I digress...

3) Youngest comes home with another bad day under his belt. His behavior is worsening (or is it just normal 8 year old behavior?? Hard to say) and he feels so bad about it when he gets home, that he sobs for a good half hour. I have had it with the bad days but instead of blowing up about it, I told him what we always tell him: What's tomorrow? Another chance to have a good day. He is grounded from all his favorite things and I am still pissed about it, but I think I took the high road on this one.

4) I told the kids I would get the McD's tonight, which is a dangerous thing for me since fast food is a MAJOR weakness. I thought I would take Husbands car, so I grabbed his key and headed out the front door. As I am shutting the front door, I realize 1)his car key, for some reason, does NOT have the house key on it and 2) he does NOT have a garage door opener in his car. We are locked out. I don't think I have EVER been locked out of the house. Left the garage door up once or twice, sure. But not full on locked out. I panic, but thankfully my neighbor, who is a saint by the way, has my house key and bails me out. She will get some kind of gift for always keeping our spare key. Note to you: make sure at least one, if not more, neighbors has your house key.

Getting the McD's was really hard because I am stressed, tired, and want nothing more to crawl into a bag of fries and never come out. But I didn't. I didn't order myself anything (I can't see spending $5 on a salad there), came home and ate my grilled chicken.

I may or may not have had a fry or two, but that is between me and the bag.

5) As I was tucking Youngest in, we talked about how we both had kind of rotten days and that tomorrow we will try to do better. Kissed him goodnight and as I got off his bed, hit my head, really hard, on the upper bunk. Youngest stifles a giggle and says "You really ARE having a bad day!!" Truer words were never spoken.

I was glad when it was bed time for me. I managed to survive another day.

Poise On.

Cat

What your husband really wants

Thinking about my Husband makes me smile. He is a great father and husband, is funny, and would give the shirt off his back for anyone in need. I am lucky to have met him and tricked him into marrying me.

Sometimes, when I am bored, I think about what he wants out of our life, our marriage, what our future holds. I was making his sandwich for the next day's lunch, something I do every night, and paused to reflect on him, as a man. And the answer to one of the biggest questions, what does he really want, hit me like a ton of  pastrami on rye:

Sex and sandwiches!!

This man, who is somewhat complicated at times, really only requires two things from me to make him happy!! My god, all this time I thought I had to be knowledgeable about certain topics, share his views on world politics, hold his same view about Jennifer Aniston being a bore. Not the case! All I have to do to keep my man happy is make his sandwiches and throw in a side of sex. 

My good friend also confirmed my revelation the other night. She was frustrated with her husband because she felt all he did was sleep, eat, and want sex. YES!! I exclaimed, it is the Sex and sandwich theory! I shared my story, we got a good laugh at how simple our men really are, and got on with our lives.

Years ago, I would have been annoyed at the thought of my husband only wanting me for the aforementioned things. What about my mind? I went to college, I am smart, I can talk about all kinds of things. But, the whole revelation is kind of a relief. Most of my mind, as well as my ass, has turned to mush, so it is good to know I don't have to be up on all the current events. 

All I need to know is how to make a good sandwich and leave a trail of crumbs to the bedroom. 

Cat 

The House Wife of Hilliard

I know, not nearly exciting as the other Housewives series, but I thought I would share for you what a day in my life was. Seriously, those "other" housewives, they don't know what livin is.

6:40 am the alarm goes off. I hit it twice to get an extra 12 minutes of mediocre sleep. Why do I do that? I should just get up and make coffee.

My friend brings her daughter here at 7:10am so I can get her on the local school bus. They live a half mile from here, on the other side of the road and can't get busing.  So it is my job to make sure she gets on the bus in the morning, on our side of the street.

Feed kids, pack lunch and make the same walk to the bus stop at 8:15 and 8:30. I spend more time on that corner than most LA hookers.

Dilemma: It is now 8:30am, I don't need to be at work until 11am, do I:
1) go back to sleep for an hour (this is my most popular choice as my night is riddled with visits from kids that are too hot, too cold, too thirsty, too hungry, too annoying, not annoying enough. You get the idea).
2) Go for a walk or run or do something productive with my time to myself.

Number 1 usually wins out, though with this new Paleo eating, I am less tired and more apt to do something productive.

I head to work at 10:40am. I am a lunch lady from 11-1 at a small, local high school. I love this job so much that it is a JOKE  that they pay me. I remember what high school was like, and this is NOTHING like it. There are MAYBE 400 kids in the WHOLE high school. I know most of their names, have formed friendships and feel like these kids are MY kids. Best job ever. I work with a good friend of mine, too, and that makes the time sail by. I wish the hours were more, that's how much I like it. And we dress up, and we mess with the kids. Seriously, how fun is that??

From there I come home or run errands and depending on the day, pick up Emily at her middle school 20 minutes away, do paper route with the boys. Paper route = me doing most of the work, the boys throwing the papers in the driveway. Guess who gets the lion share of the profits??

Throwing more laundry in. Why can't people in this house keep clothing clean for more than 5 minutes?

Dinner time! You know what it involves for the kids but now I am psyched that this Paleo diet is working for me. Lots of animals and things with fins and stems in our future. May take awhile to get Husband on board. But he is a meat eater, so maybe it won't be such a big fight.

I work in weight training into all this. I do several reps with 10lb weights to build strength.  And, like today, I can add "dream crusher" to my list of things to do. Seems the travel basketball team would not be good for Middle child and since Husband is gone all week, I got to be the bearer of bad news. Middle child still gets to do local basketball, just not travel. Tears ensue, for about three minutes, then he seems to be over it. Emotional much??

To quote Taylor Swift and my 9 year old "Why you gotta be so mean?"

Kids homework is done, I am done trimming the fat and weird things off a million pounds of chicken. Dinner should be ready soon...

Kids in bed, me firmly planted on the couch with magazine and remote at the ready. Go back upstairs to put Youngest back into bed, then back to the couch. This goes on several times. JUST GO TO BED!

Real Housewives, you have no idea what you are missing. I pity you. But I would take your cars and wardrobe in a hearbeat..

Good day to you and yours,
Cat

Paleo eating and travel basketball

Ok, those two topics really have nothing in common, just two things on my mind recently.

I have been reading Robb Wolf's book about Paleo eating. The nutshell of it is eating like a caveman: lots of meat, poultry, fish, nuts, veggies, some fruit. Though the concept sounds like it should be easy (less evolved man lived on it for millions of years) but I am finding it a little more difficult than I thought. I am still going to do my best with it for a couple weeks and see how I feel, though I know I will miss my boxed stuffing and instant potatoes. Maybe after a couple weeks, though, those things will seem foreign to me. Again, this is another situation of making it work for you. You can tweak plans to make it fit into your life, it does not have to be an all or nothing thing. Though I know his plan would work much better if I was 100% committed. Just not sure I can handle broiled salmon for breakfast. I will keep you posted on my progress. Tonight is lean steak with broccoli. Kids are having hamburger quesadilla's. Must stay strong and stay out of the cheese....

On to travel basketball. Middle child brought home a flyer today about a local youth travel basketball program. We had plans for him to play to local basketball league anyway, but not the travel. You have to try out for 4 hours for the travel team. He has never played a legitimate game of basketball in his life. He reasoned that if he does NOT make the travel team, he can still do the local team. Her comes my momma bear: I don't want to see him try out and not make it. He has a HUGE ego and this would not be good for him. Or maybe it would? I am torn. Part of me wants to see that ego knocked back a few notches and part of me wants him to be good at a sport that is not ice hockey (we are in that now. EXPENSIVE). Protecting him from failure is what is causing most kids his age, older and younger to feel entitled to everything. They don't keep score in soccer or baseball until they are in like middle school. No wonder our kids don't know how to lose and expect to be the best at everything. So maybe this will be good for him. Oh. And did I mention I am inherently lazy and the the thought of TRAVEL anything makes me want to curl up into a ball??

I hope this blog finds everyone doing well. Season's are changing here and while I like it, I would like to freeze time sometimes and just have stuff be the same for more than 10 minutes at a time.

Thanks for reading!

Cat

What to do when your kids don't like to eat good for them foods

The title isn't a statement, it is an actual question. Though I strive to eat as clean as I can (very limited process foods, lots of veggies and protein), my kids, by my own fault, will only eat chicken if it is "crunchy", mac and cheese and pizza. I once threw like a tablespoon of peas into two batches of mac and cheese and anarchy ensued. To this day, they still talk about the "peas" like it was a nuclear event. They like some fruits and veggies, but are hold outs when it comes to trying new things. Though, I will say, they older they get, the better they are at least at trying something new.

I know, I know, every parenting book out there says you make one meal and if they don't eat, they will eventually when they are starving. Here is my problem with this: when I was a kid and we went to my grandparents house, we always had ham. I hate ham. I hate the texture, the smell, the taste, everything about ham grosses me out. I love all kinds of pork, but ham is NOT on that list. Nor will it ever be. But I was forced to eat it. "Don't eat and you get nothing else". Now at long family gatherings, that is a daunting thought to a kid. No food until tomorrow morning and it is only 5pm? I would eat the ham against my will. Here lies my willingness to make meals my kids like and then make a meal for me and husband. I don't ever want to force my kids to eat something they don't like. It will lead to food issues down the line, I can almost guarantee it.

So now my kids are picky eaters. Unless, of course, if they are at a neighbors house and will eat camel if offered. But here, it is the land of pickiness. Here is how their pickiness breaks down:

Oldest and only daughter: LOVES carbs of any kind. Known to polish off an entire bag of oyster crackers in a sitting. Will eat pasta for every meal. Does not eat enough dairy, meat/chicken, fruits and vegs. Nor does she drink enough water. She breaks bones very easily. Enough said.

Middle child: adores anything with syrup on it, not enough, if any, veggies. Not enough water. Does eat some meat and chicken if breaded the way he likes it. Loves to snack on snacky stuff and would do so all day long. Does not like lunch meat (unless Subway) or peanut butter (unless on his waffles, with syrup). SOO hard to pack lunch for him. He does like applesauce so that's something. Not much, but something.

Youngest: he will literally eat ANYTHING if you put it in a hamburger bun!!! Pork? Yep. Chicken? Yep. Pepperoni? Yep. Even lettuce. He will eat a lettuce sandwich if it is on a bun. Drinks plenty of water and gets so hungry that he will eat whatever I am willing to cut up for him. For snack today, he ate a small green pepper. No joke. Followed by a box of shells and cheese. That was SNACK. Not sure how to top that for dinner??

Husband will eat anything I make, thank me for dinner and be satisfied. He is clearly my favorite :)

I love to cook, so the two meals a night is really not a stressor for me. Husband used to work 2nd shift so it was just me and the kids for dinner. This meant way more than should have been allowed dinners in front of the tv, but it is hard to hold kids interest at dinner time when you are the solo entertainment. I do not know how to juggle or have a bevy of kid friendly jokes.

My bottom line is this: I want my kids to eat healthier and need to get my butt in gear to have stuff cut up and ready to go for them. If any of you out there have recipes or ideas, PLEASE let me know. We are all friends here, please share.

Cat

A boy who gets what he wants

Though my Youngest struggles with having some developmental delays, he was blessed with an unbelievable amount of humor, cuteness, and impeccable comedic timing. I do not know any other kid his age that has such good timing with one liners. He has, in his almost 8 years, figured out that making people laugh, along with patting their hair, will get him anything he wants.

Last year, I went on a field trip with his first grade class. As the kids were lining up, they were getting their coats on. A very nice little girl brought Youngest his coat, waited for him to put it on and ZIPPED it up for him. Last I checked, he could zip his own coat. I asked the little lady why she did that and she said "I always help him his coat and whatever else he needs". A hair pat ensued. Huh. Seems Youngest is a player.

Got a note home from his teacher on Friday that said he lost recess time because he had someone else do his class work for him. When asked about this he said "She offered to do it for me so I said yes". I am sure there was some hair patting involved, too.

I am somewhat tickled that he has figured out how to manipulate people. This is a good skill to have. We just need to make sure he uses it for good and not evil.

I suppose that goes to show us that a nice smile, a funny word, and a hair pat can get us what we want. Pat on people.

Cat

I didn't get fat over night

 When this picture was taken, I was 187 lbs. It is hard to type that, though I am very open about my weight. Why didn't anyone TELL ME I was fat???? That still bothers me but that is not the point of this blog. Here I will, as briefly as I can , discuss how I got THERE and how I got HERE.

THERE:

1) Depression after my last child. Doc did NOT tell me that the anti depressants slow my metabolism to NOTHING.

2) Eating like a Sumo Wrestler. Know how the Sumo's gain weight? They eat huge meals and then they sleep. I was on that diet. Would stop at McD on the way home from work for a double cheeseburger, fries, and chicken sandwich. Consume, then nap. Huh. My pants are tight. Weird??

3) Husband and kids love: chicken wings, Chinese take out, pizza, fast food..you get the picture. We probably ate out/ordered in 3 or 4 days of the week. Then sleep (see Sumo above).

HERE:

1) Saw my family pic from a Thanksgiving pic and I didn't know who that was. It was me. And I was sad and fat.

2) You have to really want and know that this is your time to change. We all get tired of feeling fat , but it is when you are tired of the PROCESS that makes you fat is when you are willing to change. I was ready.

3) www.sparkpeople.com saved my life. It is a FREE on line weight loss forum that helps you track everything and meet more people doing the same thing you are doing. It is one thing to write down what you eat, it is another to actually look up the statistics on calories and fat. Turns out wings and McD are not so good for me! I love Sparkpeople and will be a member for life.

4)www.fitbit.com It is a $100 pedometer that is really small and tracks calories burned, miles, steps, etc. You can even wear it at night and it will track your sleeping patterns (how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you woke). I love this thing and feel lost if it is not on me 24/7. It has a great, easy website, too. Check them out. I strive for 11,000 steps (5 1/2 miles) a day or 77,000 steps a week.

5) I met a gal on Sparkpeople and you can find her on FaceBook. Her name is Rachel Mac and I think you can search for her under Rachel Mac Fitness. Her story is amazing. Simply amazing. I will never have the dedication she has for eating clean but she is smart, funny and knows that in order to succeed, you have to be willing to try different methods.

6) I have read a TON of books about people that lose weight, their tips and tricks. The best compliment I have received so far is from my teenage daughter: "I am so glad you are not using liquids and powders to lose weight and you are doing it the healthy way". This coming from a girl that worships the Kardashian's was a big WIN in my column!

It is not easy. You have to rethink how you look at food and you also have to know yourself. No carb is not for everyone. You have to experiment with your body to see how you feel and what works for you. No one plan is the Right plan unless it works for YOU.

Ask me anything. I am very open about my struggles. I want everyone to know it is possible to eat and live well. It is not as expensive as you think and I can help you break that down, too. Believe me, I am a miser and will not spend more than I need to for anything.

Cat

The Dogs of our Lives

I am a cat person. Not because Cat is my nickname, but because I like cats. I like their independence, the way they sleep on your head and purr all night, the way they sit and look like toasters.

My husband hates cats.

Meet our two dogs. Teddy is the black lab mix, pictured first. When we first thought about getting Teddy and the rescue group brought him to our house, I said NO WAY. He is big, 65 lbs of fur, head, and legs. My Middle child, then about 3, opened the front door to see the gigantic dog and Teddy licked him right on the face. Middle child squealed in delight but I was not sold. I sent them away, with Teddy in the back of the car. But darn it if I didn't keep thinking about those beautiful soulful brown eyes and how gentile he was with Middle child. Shortly there after, Teddy came to live with us. That was about 5 years ago. He is a delightfully quiet dog but is terribly afraid of thunderstorms. Regrettably, we get a lot of storms here in central Ohio. He had a rough spring and seems to be more afraid of storms than usual, but he is a gentle giant and so glad he is in our lives.

Then there is Molly. Husband and I got Molly soon after we wed in May of 1999. Molly is part beagle part Jack Russel and all kinds of crazy! We never socialized her much with other dogs because she likes to bark. She barks when you pet her, she barks when you stop. She barks at the leaves, she barks at the air. Middle child said "If Molly was a show dog, her name would be Miss Molly Barksalot". Couldn't have said it better myself. Husband and Molly have an incredibly tight bond, but the older Molly gets (she turned 12 Labor Day), the less she can see and hear. I have noticed, too, that she is starting to get confused and is moving a lot slower than usual. Though she has put us thru over a decade of endless barking, she is the first dog Husband and I have together so that makes her super special.

Pets are like having kids as they are an awful lot of work but one tail wag or lick on the face makes it all worth while. If you have four legged friends in your house, take a moment to scratch them where they like it the most and be thankful they are in your life.

Have a great day. Woof!

Good friends and bullying

Thanks for coming back. Hoping to make this not so serious, but some of it may be. A little insight into me and my friendships. Bitter but sweet, just as promised.

My family moved around a lot when my brother and I were kids. My dad had a great job with a great company but to get ahead in those days meant relocating. Kindergarten thru 8th grade were pure heaven. Great place to live (CA) and great friends. In the middle of 8th grade, we moved to upstate NY. My brother fared well there, me, not so much. A "friend" that I had just met was not at all pleased with the attention the nice, tan, CA girl was getting at her school. She befriended me and quickly stabbed me in the back. Months and months of rumors had me home "sick" for quite a bit. I did have a scrappy group of friends (Ron, Mike and Kelly) that pulled me thru the end of that time, but boy it was rough going. We moved a little after that, to a Chicago suburb, and I met the most amazing group of people I have ever met. The girls and boys I met in high school were by far the best group of people I have ever met. Shout out to St. Charles!!

I made friends easily in college but I was still so cautious with my friendships. I hadn't stayed in touch with any of my high school friends bcz I didn't see the value in it. Surely they had forgotten about me and our friendship.

Fast forward to 1999 and moving to where I am now. When husband number 2 and I moved into our place, we weren't married yet, my divorce from husband 1 wasn't final yet. I found it really hard to tell neighbors about our situation so I held back a lot. But the more and more I got to know these women, I was in love. This was the most diverse group of gals I had met and though some of us butted heads, we still were friends. That was UNHEARD of to me. You can argue and still be friends?? Nope, not possible.

Guess what? POSSIBLE. The core of us, though some in different neighborhoods and even states, still make time to see each other or connect via FB or email. And I have found my high school friends on FB. Even after all these years, they still care about me and my family.

Listen to your kids, don't blow off anything they say about being sad or scared.

Friends are the foundation for strength. Bullies be damned.

Cat

Hellloooo!!

I hope this post finds you doing well on this rainy Wednesday night! I started this blog for a couple reasons:

1) Over the last 4 years, I have lost almost 40 lbs. Yes, you read that right, it has taken me 4 years but the food and exercise knowledge I have gained, is worth more than 4 years of my life. I have 13 pounds left to lose. Join me, won't you??

2) I have funny kids that do and say things that make people laugh. Out loud, belly laugh. I am here to share some of those moments. We all need a good belly laugh every now and then.

3) My youngest son (I am married with three kids: girl 14, boy 9, boy almost 8) has some developmental and behavior issues. Learning this years ago sent me into a spiral of binge eating and depression. Thru the love of family and friends, I am out of that black hole. Back into the land of the coherent. Well, most of the time I am front and center. I want people to know it will and does get better, no matter what you are battling. And you are NOT alone.

4) I like to write. I was 2 credits short of minoring in English in college. Guess I should have taken that Composition class instead of Canoeing. Live and learn.

I am hoping to stash away enough cash to buy a new camera so I can post some good pics of what goes on around me. I have a camera that will do well enough so you will see pics soon.

I will keep my blogs short and sort of sweet. I prefer bitter to sweet but I know most of you are sweet-a-holics.

Thanks for stopping by. I know there are tons of blogs out there, I appreciate you taking the time to read mine.

Cat