Rockin' mama

If you see a woman driving a mom-mobile with autism bumper stickers on the back, listening to way-too-loud music while seat dancing and/or head-banging, just avert your eyes and pardon the visual. I’ve had a day and this is my therapy.  

When I’ve had a particularly terrible day, it’s not unusual for me to call my husband and pertly inquire, “Honey, what time do you think you’ll be leaving work today?” He knows to be wary of my superficially calm tone, and that my question is actually code for “Why the heck haven’t you already left work? Don’t you know I’m going to kill the kids if you don’t get here soon?”

Sensing that he should tread lightly, he might reply with, “What happened? Is everything okay?” If I answer his questions and launch into a summary of the offending events with a calm voice that eventually breaks into silence (due to me attempting to stifle the tears and forthcoming ugly sobbing), he has learned to wait for a moment to see if I begin to audibly cry or if I regain composure enough to finish my story. He knows that if he hears crying, it’s time to give me some gentle words of encouragement and begin to wrap up work and try to get home as soon as he can.

Being the good husband that he is, he generally calls me from the car when he is well on his way home, giving me a glimmer of hope that I will indeed have a moment of respite soon. If things continued to be awful between my original phone call to him and his subsequent arrival home, he can often find me doing one of two things. First, I could be in the bedroom taking a mommy time out. Crying may or may not be involved. Second, I could be taking out my frustration by cleaning. Dirty dishes, laundry, and sticky kitchen counters beware of the mommy cleaning machine.

After he’s arrived home, Titan takes a minute to assess how severe my funk is and then determines what to do from there. If it’s bad, he’ll often ask, “What should I make for dinner tonight?” I’ll reply with, “I had planned to bake some chicken and steam some broccoli, but frankly, you can make whatever you want.” This is generally followed with him asking me, “Do you want to go for a drive? You can grab some dessert or something.”

Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the most wonderful husband in your entire creation. He knows that on days like these I could care less about dinner, I need to take a moment to fully get away from the kids, and I need chocolate. Copious amounts of chocolate. Stat.

I hastily grab my stuff and escape to the car. First things first. Music. I need something with a beat that I can turn up and sing loudly with. Oh, and the car dancing. Think the Saturday Night Live Roxbury guys bobbing their heads to Haddaway's, “What is Love.” 

Once I have the music situated, it’s all about the drive. For me, driving is therapeutic. As a child, I used to enjoy going on long drives with my parents. It was my family’s way of relaxing and enjoying the weekend. We’d drive into the mountains, out to the coast, or take some back roads around town to see some different neighborhoods. I love to drive. There is a sense of freedom that comes with getting in the car and going somewhere, even when there is no destination in mind.

I usually start out my journey wandering around some of the roads near my house, weaving my way eventually to the grocery store. But while I’m in the car, I’m jammin’ to the music. I know I look ridiculous. I know my windows are vibrating. I know you can hear the music when you’re next to me on the road. You know what? Deal with it! I’ve had a bad day and I’m finally starting to feel better.

It doesn’t take very long for my mood to lift, especially when the music is really good. Then I head to the store and buy chocolate. There may be several different kinds. Yes, I feel like chocolate cake is in order for this evening. Ooh, and maybe some cookie dough ice cream, too. Oh yeah. I walk out of the store with a bag full of sugar coma-inducing junk and drive home with a smile on my face and a head that’s bobbing to the music. As I walk into the house, I am a fully-functioning mom again. And, I have chocolate to look forward to sharing with my husband after the kids are in bed. Yippee! This night is looking better and better.     

So, if you are out some evening and hear my music before you can see that I’m getting my groove on, just remember that I’ve had a craptastic day and that I’m starting to feel better. Rather than gawk, just give me a knowing nod (even though I know you think I’m a crazy lady) and I’ll continue working toward redeeming my evening so that I can return home as a mommy restored.   

  

Product Review: You Bar - customized nutrition bars

Recently I purchased a Groupon for You Bar. I thought it was a neat idea to make your own customized nutrition bars. This is especially true when you’ve got kids with multiple food allergies that require more specialized ingredients. So, I gave them a try. I created a bar for my kids and I just got the box a couple of days ago. Here is what’s in the bars:

Ingredients:
Organic dates, sunflower seed butter, organic clover honey, organic rice protein, cherries, organic coconut, crunchy rice cereal, cocoa, chia seeds, hemp seeds, all-in-one vitamin infusion, cinnamon.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories                145
Fat Cal                  53
Total Fat               6g
Sat Fat                  2g
Cholest                 0mg
Sodium                 36mg
Total Carb            19g
Fiber                     4g
Sugars                  12g
Protein                 5g

I have not been compensated for this review, but You Bar, if you're willing to pay me, I'm willing to accept! Here are my impressions:

Pros

1.       It’s a really cool idea!

2.       There are lots of ingredients to choose from so you can truly make a custom creation to your liking. For instance, you can try cashew butter as a base, organic soy protein as a non-dairy form of protein, add in organic flaxseed and organic goji berries, pump it up with a fiber infusion, sweeten with organic agave nectar, and make it fun with organic cacao nibs and granola.

3.       Their ingredients have redeeming nutritional value.

4.       They’re not too sweet and they have a respectable amount of protein and fiber.

5.       They have no preservatives and are made fresh, just for you.

6.       You get to name your bar and have the name printed on the labels. I called my creation Fish Food. 

7.       As you create your bar, the nutrition information is visible with each step so you can see what effects different ingredients have on the nutrition of the bar.

8.       When you have ingredients you like, they taste good. Prince Charming loved them and Monkey thought they were just okay. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

9.       You can easily re-order your custom creation or you can sign up for their recurring order program and have the bars automatically shipped to you at specific intervals.

10.   They guarantee their products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. They will make you a brand new order for free if you are unhappy with your bars.

Cons

1.       They are not allergy-free. It says right on the package that the bars may contain traces of milk, eggs, soy, wheat, tree nuts and peanuts. This is a big problem for lots of people. Since my boys do not have super severe allergies, we decided to give it a try anyway.

2.       They are expensive. This is why I didn’t buy these prior to using the Groupon. They are convenient and nutritious but are expensive, especially when you add in shipping costs. For example, I pulled information from their Popular Bars section to give you an idea. A medium box of their Variety Pack bars (quantity 13) costs $32.37. When I added this item to the shopping cart and put in a shipping address, the cost was $8.22 via their cheapest mode of transport. That brings a total cost per bar to $3.12. That’s a bit steep for my budgetary comfort, especially when the bars are only 35 grams in size and may have trace allergens in them.

As you can see, there are lots more positives than there are negatives. However, for me to do repeat business with them the cons would need to change significantly. If they could develop an allergy-free manufacturing process and lower the price while they were at it, I’m sure I would buy them again. At this moment, I can’t justify another purchase. It was certainly a fun experiment and was worth the reduced price that I paid. What do you think about You Bar?   

Prince Charming couldn't wait!

Monkey trying the bars.



Fact & Opinion

The following is a completed assignment that Monkey brought home from school, and I just had to share it!

Fact & Opinion

List 2 facts about yourself.

1.       My age is 8.

2.       I love soccer practice.

List 2 opinions about yourself.

1.       I think I’m smart.

2.       I think I’m the bestest.

J

A mother's guilt

I feel guilty. I know I didn’t do anything wrong. At least not intentionally. Ever since we got a diagnosis for my boys, I knew that they were born this way. I didn't cause it from my actions. That’s what we’re told. Autism is genetic, right? Over the past few years, I learned enough to no longer believe that autism is purely a genetic condition. Rather, I believe that in most cases it is an immunological response to an environmental assault, which triggers the cascade of symptoms into autism.  

As I sat enjoying my morning cup of coffee and scrolling through Facebook, there it was. A friend posted a status update about her son and their recent findings from the doctor. Her words gave me pause. Things suddenly started to click in my brain. What it this? What about that? Feverishly I pulled up Google and began searching for more information. There could be something to this. As the morning progressed, I felt my head dizzily spinning with the information and possible implications.

Then I found this scientific case study. It pierced my heart. Autism may have started from me. And, I’m not talking about my genes. From me, giving birth. Yeah. That’s it right there. I feel it now, washing over me. Guilt. Did the cascade into autism start on the day of their birth?

Calling all gardeners!

It’s March! That means that all the stores are stocking garden supplies. I can’t resist! Never mind that it was just snowing here 2 days ago… Why, yes! I do need more seeds. I just bought seeds. For the third time in 3 weeks. I may have a problem.

Want a look into my gardening neurosis? So far this year, I’ve purchased:

·         Carrot seeds

·         Beefsteak tomato seeds

·         Loose-leaf lettuce seeds

·         Sugar snap pea seeds

·         Bush bean seeds

·         Broccoli seeds

·         Straightneck summer squash seeds

·         Cylindrical beet seeds

·         Spinach seeds

·         Garlic starts

·         Blue and red seed potatoes

·         Asparagus starts

·         Blueberry shrubs

From last year, I’ve already got:

·         Strawberries

·         Boysenberry canes

·         Thyme

I still want to buy:

·         Yellow onion seeds/starts

·         Basil

·         Sage

·         Dill

·         Oregano

I’m sure there’s more, but I know I’ve already gone overboard. I don’t have enough room for what I’ve got.

Almost everything I grow originates from organic seed and I use organic soil and fertilizer. Last year I installed a new 4' x 8' raised garden bed. I’m going to need about 2 more of them and don’t have any money to buy them, much less room to install them. I have a feeling that I’m going to be doing lots of gardening in pots this year. The soil in my yard is awful, and gardening attempts prior to the new raised planting bed (with all new soil) yielded pitiful results. Last year was my first real success and I'd like it to be bigger and better this year.  

I just bought a huge new pot that I will grow potatoes in. I read an article about using a barrel or large pot to grow potatoes, so I’m going to give it a try. Basically, you add some soil in the bottom of the barrel, add the seed potatoes and let them grow about 6 inches or more, and then add another layer of soil, not covering the leaves of the existing plants, and add more seed potatoes. Keep growing, layering and planting until you reach the top and then at the end of the season, dump the whole thing over and collect your bounty. I can't wait to try it.

I think I may also attempt collecting my own seeds this year, too. I really have no idea how to do it, but I’m sure Google will offer up some great suggestions. Do you collect your own seeds?

My biggest flop from last year was growing carrots. All of my carrots were short, tiny, fat and funky. I’d like them to actually look like carrots this year so that my kids will eat them. How do you get carrots to grow properly?

I’m fairly new to the gardening thing and I have a lot to learn. As for now, I need to figure out when to start the seeds so that my little plants are all ready to grow out in the big, bad world after the fear of frost is gone. When should I start the seeds?    

Do you garden? Do you have any tips? I’m all ears (well, I guess it would be eyes…)! Please, feel free to comment below with your favorite gardening tip. I’d love to hear from you!