My friend has gone through a lot these last three years.  Typical Americans, they have faced medical problems, job loss, foreclosure, moving due to foreclosure - right alongside trying to raise young children.

While we as parents try to keep our children stress-free, sometimes it will trickle down to them.  Children react differently to stress, but one result my friend’s daughter is experiencing is food obsession.

Her daughter is in the third grade, but has put on quite a bit of weight in the last year.  My friend was already concerned, but grew even more worried when she found food hidden in her daughter’s closet.  There were full bags of unopened potato chips, cookies, and other snacks tucked in the back under a pile of clothing.

Perhaps the top reaction a parent can have when they’ve discovered something like this or their children have started eating unhealthily is to not freak out.  A parent should approach the subject with a lot of sensitivity and in a gentle way, but more importantly - stop bringing unhealthy food into the house.  Concentrate shopping on fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods.

The biggest concern is that with economic stress, the most important thing a parent needs to do may be out of reach:  counseling.

For more information, visit the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.  The site offers links about who to contact for a variety of eating issues.

My 1-year old niece and 2-year old nephew are visiting.  We were bad and drove through McDonald’s for lunch to feed the whole family.

My brother reminded me about how a certain physical act rather dictates a parents day when he asked if we had any green beans or other green veggies the kids could eat along with the chicken nuggets.  The vegetables help their digestion and we like for the digestion to work properly.

Yes, I had forgotten that was always one of the first questions I asked when picking up my daughter from day care, “Has she gone Number Two?”  It’s very unpleasant when they don’t go for too long.

Ahhhh… those were the days!

Photo by iandeth via flickr creative commons.

I am not a pageant Mom, for sure.  In fact, the weekend’s festivities were highlighted with me reminding Erin how much she *hated* being on the baton twirling team - a requirement for any girl who wins a title.  Nevertheless, Erin was named a grand champion of twirling with the group with whom she twirls.

Rah rah blah.  Yes, I’m proud of her.  Yes, she was outstanding.  Yes, all the other Moms hate me because I didn’t encourage and nurture her through the process.  But NO they don’t have to be the ones to get her out of the house for every event and listen to her grumpy crabbiness and the verbal sparring that occurs EVERY SINGLE TIME we have to be somewhere.  If she loved it, I would too.

Back to the popcorn, though.  After all the congratulations ended and the meetings were over, we loaded in the car to drive home.  We stopped at a cute little “general store” type retail that had some of the old fashioned pecan rolls and stick candy.  I spied a bag of buttery popcorn and the temptation was too great.  For $1.98, I was all in.

The popcorn melted in my mouth and was so delicious.  Until.   Until I accidentally chewed on the left side of my mouth - a side I always avoided when eating because of a sensitive tooth.  I heard a crack and pulled a kernel out.  Then my tongue rolled over my teeth and there was something missing.  Part of my tooth.

Now I’m going to the dentist and am debating whether I agree to another $1200 cap or if I should just tell them to pull the whole tooth for $200.  My finances dictate the latter and since it’s not a front (or visible) tooth, my vanity won’t get in the way.

Will know more in about two hours.  Wish me luck.

PS - The kernel I pulled out wasn’t a kernel at all.  TMI!

Erin pictured “jumping” for joy. Ha.

Okay so Blackberry phones are pretty awesome, but blackberries the fruit is even better.  Sweet, juicy, and boundless uses for this bramble plant.  However, the large seeds can be a turn-off for many people.  If you can overcome the big crunches from the seeds, though, there is magic in a blackberry cobbler.

Rachel recently celebrated her wedding anniversary with a blackberry cobbler… cooked with lots of butter and deliciousness!

As a token of my love, I cooked. Baked rather. A blackberry cobbler. Wanna see? Here’s some progression pictures. Because when I cook, I wanna prove it actually happened.  The verdict? The Accountant says it tastes good. However, it is quite runny. Water comes to mind. Flour next time. Really. Oh, I didn’t taste it. What? Is that weird? I don’t even LIKE blackberry cobbler! This was a labor of true LUUUUUURVE people!!!

That’s true love, my friends.  Cooking something for your true love that you don’t even like. It’s why on my husband’s birthday and Father’s Day I grilled out… not that I didn’t like the steaks, but I hated standing in the heat… because that’s love.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to show someone how much you love them.  When you make something by hand - even when you don’t like doing it - it shows them.

Photo - even though it focused on the mulch instead of the blackberries - was taken by my iphone at my friend Michelle’s house.

Memorial Day is historically the first unofficial day of summer. Swimming pools around the country open, most kids are out of school (unless they’ve had a lot of snow that winter), and the mosquitoes are already biting (this I know to be true given the red bumps all over my arms and ankles).

As we celebrate the memory of fallen soldiers, we do it with family and friends over barbecue grills and desserts.  Lynnae over at Being Frugal gives us some menu ideas for this fun day.  Click through to see her succulent photos and recipes!

I don’t have a specific recipe for potato salad. I just cube some cooked potatoes and mix them up with mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, dill pickles, and pickle juice to taste. Sometimes I add onions, celery, and boiled eggs, if I’m in the mood for them.

I like to cook my corn on the grill. I shuck the corn and wrap each ear along with a pat of butter in foil and toss them on the grill while the meat is cooking.  Delicious!

I don’t have a recipe for potato salad either, but mine never turns out very well.  I hope you have better luck!

Photo by sebilden via flickr creative commons.

Call me a weirdo… I don’t care.  But I think this is hilarious! The sparkles are a nice touch!

From scenes from my hood via Brittney G.

Kids really are cruel enough without someone like PETA joining in on the verbal (or visual) assault.  From Vegansaurus, the new campaign against fat kids in Kentucky is paid for with promises of vegan burgers to a school system,

I know getting upset about PETA’s press releases is completely futile* but still I rise. Can you imagine a little fat kid (who, btw, is already teased mercilessly because kids are the motherflipping MEANEST) coming to the playground and seeing those teeter-totters? Stunts like this don’t turn kids vegan but I bet they could turn them suicidal. Further, how many fat kids do you know who venture near a teeter-totter anyway, it’s already ground for public humiliation. Way to know your audience, PETA!

Self image is so important to our kids growing up.  Heck even to adults, a positive self image is vital.  Big sigh.

According to the State-Journal in Frankfort, Kentucky, the ads may not be accepted,

The animal rights organization sent a letter to Superintendent Harrie Buecker Thursday morning, “offering to provide the district’s students with a free veggie-burger lunch in exchange for advertising space on school teeter-totters,” according to a press release.

But Buecker said Thursday that the Board of Education doesn’t support direct advertising to students. The board must approve any advertising from outside organizations that appears on school property.

Thankfully, the school system encourages teachers to discuss proper nutrition with students rather than assailing them with pictures of fat kids.

Thanks again for the H/T brittney.

If this isn’t the coolest idea since sliced bread, I don’t know what is!  From The Kitchn, these pie birds keep the hot bubbly center of pies from boiling over because they ventilate the sweet goodness while baking.  Now if only they whistled when the pie is done!

H/T Brittney’s Shared Items. Thanks!

I put cookies in the oven a little while ago, and decided to see what I could find when I did a search for “cookies”.   Look what I found!