When we moved into our neighborhood three years ago, I would have never thought that I would have found a bond and a strength in the friends that I have made around me. I am blessed to live in a neighborhood and surrounding 'hoods' that are full of stay at home moms, and I am even more blessed to have gotten to know them in the ways that I have. They mean everything to me for many reasons, but mainly because we all share similar lives and can walk through the hard times, the fun times and laugh as we raise kids and go through marriage together.
It started out with some of us expressing that we were interested in play groups through our neighborhood Facebook page. This got a few of us together and we seemed to hit it off. Slowly, but surely, by meeting new moms that moved in next door or across the street, we all started pulling in more moms. Right now, we have a pretty steady group of 5 and sometimes more of us with 1-2 kids (ages 4 months to 5 years) each that try to meet up once a week for a play group. Our children have bonded and have become friends that they even ask when they get to see each other again and for us moms, we have found that its nice to be able to talk during those times about anything and everything.
Its been healthy for me. I love knowing that there are girls going through the same things I am. Lets face it, we all worry about our kids...from the silly minor things, like they won't eat anything but spaghetti...to the big things like health issues and so on. And its been great to talk about each of our stresses from money to finding ourselves through being a mom and wife now.
We then decided that we all needed a girls night. So periodically, we try to get together just us moms...no kids and no husbands and just talk...and talk and talk. Sometimes, its nice to talk about things that isn't kid related! This has led us to getting together for dinners and letting our husbands meet. We've all met at parks on the weekends with our husbands and had them have a chance to get to know each other too! All around, our families are bonding in such ways that I feel very fortunate to know so many wonderful people!
And recently, some of us girls decided we wanted to start a bible study together. We felt like, we have become friends, we have stressed together, we have laughed together and we have made some pretty fun memories..but now its time to grow in God and see how He can bond us in a different way. Not through our kids or our husbands, but through Him. Our first trial run went great this week and next week, we are bringing in, yet more moms (some even from different neighborhoods) and sharing the blessing of being able to do this with more. I love it and I am so excited to be able to know such amazing, Godly, generous women.
We have become more than neighbors. We have become each others saviors, when one of us feels sick and needs someone to watch our kids while we rest, or one of us has somewhere to be and we need a babysitter for an hour or so, we all offer and are happy to help. I have even done the, "I need butter. Can I borrow a stick?" when my kids have been napping and I started baking only to find I was out of butter. We have become each others life lines, when one of us needs time out of the house, we schedule an impromptu play date and meet up. We have become each others companions when a husband is out of town and we want some company in the evening, we all oblige and bring wine!
If you are a stay at home mom, or even a working mom, I would encourage you to find people around you or in church or somewhere that you can experience life together with. It makes us all feel normal that we are going through the same struggles and think the same things. Its been fun having game nights and getting to know each other for who we are and not just seeing who the mom part of us are. Find some friends, get together, share things and you will be surprised how much more enriched your life will be by the people you connect with around you.
Who knows whats next for us...maybe someday soon, when our kids are all in school full time, we can have a weekend away!
Until next time...
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Winter came, now go away...
I haven't written in awhile because we have been very busy. How I managed to have time on Valentines night to write is a fluke. My oldest kid is currently passed out on our bed asleep since he isn't feeling well and didn't nap, my daughter is in bed early because she isn't feeling well and I sent my husband off to get a massage as a Valentines day present. So here I am, with a somewhat clean house, and time to write.
Winter is coming was the theme of last year if you are a Game of Thrones fan. (I am not a super fan, but my husband likes the show and since I subject him to celebrity wife swap and cooking shows, I owe him some boy tv time too.) And winter came…with a vengeance! My daughter got croup on halloween night and if you read my previous posts, theres a story in there somewhere. I think since she got a cold that week, someone in this house has been sick every other week since then! We somehow cannot kick this bug. Someone wakes up with a runny nose or sore throat almost so consistently that its normal these days. The down side is, it is wearing me out!
Not in the sense where I am sick too…but my kids need me a lot more when they are sick and that can wear you down after awhile. Don't get me wrong, I love the snuggles and the cuddles and the kisses (which is helping spread this germ), and I am thankful that I have two beautiful kids that WANT to still cuddle with me. I know someday that won't be the case and so I count my blessings as they come. But there are times, that both kids need my lap. And I have a small lap. I am a string bean and petite thing, so I don't have much room and I am boney…so I don't think I am that comfortable. If one is in my lap, the other cries, if the other is in my lap, the other cries and so goes our days this winter. We get spurts of energy and go play and 30 min later we are down for the count. I have done a lot of sitting lately that involved rocking, patting backs, comforting, singing and everything else. I have wiped more noses than I can count. I have gone through more kleenix boxes than I can count and I can honestly say, cold bug….I AM DONE!
Please go away and let my family be healthy. There is no amount of lysol in this house that can rid our family. We have gone through an entire family size bottle of anti bacterial, an entire can of lysol, and like 3 things of soap in the last 2 months! And we are still getting sick! My poor daughter had croup on her birthday! And now my poor son has a cold and his party is tomorrow.
So, this mommy is tired. The cold fronts have kept us all in doors and way too close. And I am ready for my children to be healthy and to go and play outside and have fun and not feel like they are stuck inside and sick all the time. I am ready to be able to take walks and go to the park (which the last couple days we have been doing some), we're just not quite well enough to enjoy it fully. I am not complaining as much as I am just letting out my frustrations about the cold season. I love winter. Its my favorite season. Normally, I love staying in by the fire and watching movies or reading a good book, but this one has just been brutal.
I hope everyone is staying well and soon we will all be well too. And soon the weather will change and it will be warm and we can go on with our lives as normal, healthy people! I wish everyone a happy Valentines day and as soon as my husband gets home, we will celebrate too!
Winter is coming was the theme of last year if you are a Game of Thrones fan. (I am not a super fan, but my husband likes the show and since I subject him to celebrity wife swap and cooking shows, I owe him some boy tv time too.) And winter came…with a vengeance! My daughter got croup on halloween night and if you read my previous posts, theres a story in there somewhere. I think since she got a cold that week, someone in this house has been sick every other week since then! We somehow cannot kick this bug. Someone wakes up with a runny nose or sore throat almost so consistently that its normal these days. The down side is, it is wearing me out!
Not in the sense where I am sick too…but my kids need me a lot more when they are sick and that can wear you down after awhile. Don't get me wrong, I love the snuggles and the cuddles and the kisses (which is helping spread this germ), and I am thankful that I have two beautiful kids that WANT to still cuddle with me. I know someday that won't be the case and so I count my blessings as they come. But there are times, that both kids need my lap. And I have a small lap. I am a string bean and petite thing, so I don't have much room and I am boney…so I don't think I am that comfortable. If one is in my lap, the other cries, if the other is in my lap, the other cries and so goes our days this winter. We get spurts of energy and go play and 30 min later we are down for the count. I have done a lot of sitting lately that involved rocking, patting backs, comforting, singing and everything else. I have wiped more noses than I can count. I have gone through more kleenix boxes than I can count and I can honestly say, cold bug….I AM DONE!
Please go away and let my family be healthy. There is no amount of lysol in this house that can rid our family. We have gone through an entire family size bottle of anti bacterial, an entire can of lysol, and like 3 things of soap in the last 2 months! And we are still getting sick! My poor daughter had croup on her birthday! And now my poor son has a cold and his party is tomorrow.
So, this mommy is tired. The cold fronts have kept us all in doors and way too close. And I am ready for my children to be healthy and to go and play outside and have fun and not feel like they are stuck inside and sick all the time. I am ready to be able to take walks and go to the park (which the last couple days we have been doing some), we're just not quite well enough to enjoy it fully. I am not complaining as much as I am just letting out my frustrations about the cold season. I love winter. Its my favorite season. Normally, I love staying in by the fire and watching movies or reading a good book, but this one has just been brutal.
I hope everyone is staying well and soon we will all be well too. And soon the weather will change and it will be warm and we can go on with our lives as normal, healthy people! I wish everyone a happy Valentines day and as soon as my husband gets home, we will celebrate too!
Friday, January 3, 2014
A Girl first Birthday!
I know this post is coming out quite a bit late, but I needed to get through all the craziness and chaos of the holidays before I had some down time to just sit and write. I hope that everyone's holidays were filled with joy and family filled fun!
So my daughter turned one in November and I couldn't have dreamed up a better party than what actually played out! We decided to do a donut party. We had it in the morning around 10, which was perfect. She was able to eat an early lunch around 11 and then have her cake. The invitations, my sister made and they turned out so cute! The caption was, "Donut miss out!" My mom came in town and few days prior and we had so much fun setting up for the party! First off, we made her a pink tutu, because of course, any little girl turning one needs a tutu! We have never made one, but I think it turned out ok.
So my daughter turned one in November and I couldn't have dreamed up a better party than what actually played out! We decided to do a donut party. We had it in the morning around 10, which was perfect. She was able to eat an early lunch around 11 and then have her cake. The invitations, my sister made and they turned out so cute! The caption was, "Donut miss out!" My mom came in town and few days prior and we had so much fun setting up for the party! First off, we made her a pink tutu, because of course, any little girl turning one needs a tutu! We have never made one, but I think it turned out ok.
Along with the donut theme, we set up a coffee bar for the adults, which I think turned out pretty cute!
For her birthday table, we set up cake stands and put donuts out. I also made muffins and set up her monthly pictures that I took so that people could see how much she had changed! My sister in law made her sweet little smash cake and of course, the table was decorated with pearls! She had to have pearls.
My mom and I made the letters. It was so much fun and I love making things. The blocks on the table were made by my best friend when she was born. I have lots of crafty people in my life and I am so thankful for that.
Overall, it was a huge success! And this past year flew by. She went from a little baby to an active, mischievous, sweet, funny little girl. I can not wait to see what the next year holds for her!
Happy birthday sweet girl! Until next time...
Monday, September 9, 2013
Worry not...
I worry about a lot of things in life that are unnecessary. I worry more about the little things than the big things and sometimes it gets the better of me. This weekend is a great example of how I worry and how things always work out. Let me explain.
My husband was a co best man in a friends wedding this past weekend in Austin. My husband wanted me and the kids to go and from the get and go, I worried. I worried about the kids being able to stay in the same hotel room, I worried about how I would get around if he had the car, I worried about having the two kids and no help all weekend and how that was not going to be much fun. I worried too much. I was concerned about the logistics and how everything was going to work out. It turns out that since his parents were going to be going to the wedding as well, that they would be willing to let one of our kids sleep in their hotel room with them. This was a solution to my kids sleeping separately, but then it brought on a whole new set of worries. What if whatever kid is in their room wakes them up? They will have to be up early too and I felt bad about that. But, aside from all my concerns, we packed up and headed to Austin.
My husband was super sweet as always and reassured me that I am an excellent mom who uses my resources and problem solves to keep the kids going and happy often and that it would all be ok. We also had my sister who has recently moved to Austin volunteer to come to the hotel and watch the kids for us, so I could go to the rehearsal dinner Friday night kid free and go to the wedding Saturday kid free! What a huge help! Here is what ended up happening:
Friday: We woke the kids up at 6:30am to get an early start. My worry was that this would mess up their schedule, it didn't. They were excellent along the way. We stopped for breakfast along the way and the kids ate and were very happy and content the rest of the way. I was unable to check into the hotel until 3, so one of our other friends who lives there volunteered his house for the day. My husband was to be at the grooms house around 11. He dropped himself off and then gave me and the kids the car. We stopped off to have lunch and both kids behaved and did very well and then we set off to my friends house. The kids played there. We all had a good time. I set up two pack and plays in two separate rooms where both kids napped successfully! Our friend ended up coming to the house to work a little bit, so I was able to go to the grocery store and get some items for the kids to eat for dinner since we were staying downtown and there wasn't alot of kid friendly stuff in the area. The kids woke up, we loaded up, headed to the hotel and arrived at the same time my in-laws did. They, plus a nice bell hop, got us to our room with all our luggage and baby gear. The rest of the afternoon was great! The kids played and enjoyed the view, our daughter went to sleep in my brother in laws room which was next door to ours (since he wasn't coming in until Saturday) and my sister and X had a great night together. I enjoyed a lovely rehearsal dinner and didn't have to worry. Our son and daughter slept through the night and our son, who was in the room with us, was put on the other side of the queen bed (since we had 2) and didn't even know he was in the room with us.
Saturday: Our son woke up around 7:15, but he didn't stand up (bc if he had, he would have seen us and wanted out.) He just laid in his bed and talked to himself and our daughter (who was on the monitor), played quietly in her bed as well. We got up and ate breakfast and my husband was off to do his best man duties. I was easily able to keep the kids busy. We went from our room to a couple hours playing in grandma and grandpa's room (X enjoyed going back and forth and knocking), our daughter was able to nap in one room while we all hung out in the other. We just kept our son up instead of letting him nap which was fine. We went for a walk before lunch. Had lunch in our room, we played a lot with different toys mommy had stashed away and only brought out when they were bored with the other and they went down easily again that night under my sisters supervision. Our son slept in grandma and grandpas room this night since he is the harder sleeper and O went in our room and didn't know the difference. They both slept in until 8!
Sunday: I finally got my husband back! And the kids went home with grandma and grandpa so that we could spend some time in Austin with our friends. I picked them up this morning (Monday).
The point to the story is this: life is too short to worry all the time. I know this and I constantly tell myself this though I still struggle with it. One of my favorite versus that I quoted the whole way down there is "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 I did and everything worked out. If I had just let everything go and put it all aside as my husband had said, then I could have saved myself a lot of time and trouble! And to say this, my husband is amazing! He knows I am worry wart and each and every time, he holds my hand, solves my concerns as best he can and then encourages me to be amazing. He was an excellent co best man and looked great in his suit at the front too! And he was right. I was able to go with the flow this weekend, enjoy the time I had with my kids and their grandparents, enjoy time away from them as well for a much deserved mommy break and handle everything with ease and success!! I had help. My sister was awesome and so generous to give us her time two nights in a row! My in-laws were great and had fun with the kids and helped out a lot. And my sister in law was great keeping the kids entertained on the drive home. And I did great. I am not bragging and I am not being boastful, I am simply stating something that God and my husband see in me that I need to acknowledge more and that is this: I can handle things better than I think, I am an awesome mom, I am a great, loving, and supporting wife, and I have God on my side who allows me to handle things without fear, anxiety or stress. This weekend was excellent! We had no tantrums, no crying, no complaining and I am so glad that my husband was my rock and encouraged us to go.
My husband was a co best man in a friends wedding this past weekend in Austin. My husband wanted me and the kids to go and from the get and go, I worried. I worried about the kids being able to stay in the same hotel room, I worried about how I would get around if he had the car, I worried about having the two kids and no help all weekend and how that was not going to be much fun. I worried too much. I was concerned about the logistics and how everything was going to work out. It turns out that since his parents were going to be going to the wedding as well, that they would be willing to let one of our kids sleep in their hotel room with them. This was a solution to my kids sleeping separately, but then it brought on a whole new set of worries. What if whatever kid is in their room wakes them up? They will have to be up early too and I felt bad about that. But, aside from all my concerns, we packed up and headed to Austin.
My husband was super sweet as always and reassured me that I am an excellent mom who uses my resources and problem solves to keep the kids going and happy often and that it would all be ok. We also had my sister who has recently moved to Austin volunteer to come to the hotel and watch the kids for us, so I could go to the rehearsal dinner Friday night kid free and go to the wedding Saturday kid free! What a huge help! Here is what ended up happening:
Friday: We woke the kids up at 6:30am to get an early start. My worry was that this would mess up their schedule, it didn't. They were excellent along the way. We stopped for breakfast along the way and the kids ate and were very happy and content the rest of the way. I was unable to check into the hotel until 3, so one of our other friends who lives there volunteered his house for the day. My husband was to be at the grooms house around 11. He dropped himself off and then gave me and the kids the car. We stopped off to have lunch and both kids behaved and did very well and then we set off to my friends house. The kids played there. We all had a good time. I set up two pack and plays in two separate rooms where both kids napped successfully! Our friend ended up coming to the house to work a little bit, so I was able to go to the grocery store and get some items for the kids to eat for dinner since we were staying downtown and there wasn't alot of kid friendly stuff in the area. The kids woke up, we loaded up, headed to the hotel and arrived at the same time my in-laws did. They, plus a nice bell hop, got us to our room with all our luggage and baby gear. The rest of the afternoon was great! The kids played and enjoyed the view, our daughter went to sleep in my brother in laws room which was next door to ours (since he wasn't coming in until Saturday) and my sister and X had a great night together. I enjoyed a lovely rehearsal dinner and didn't have to worry. Our son and daughter slept through the night and our son, who was in the room with us, was put on the other side of the queen bed (since we had 2) and didn't even know he was in the room with us.
Saturday: Our son woke up around 7:15, but he didn't stand up (bc if he had, he would have seen us and wanted out.) He just laid in his bed and talked to himself and our daughter (who was on the monitor), played quietly in her bed as well. We got up and ate breakfast and my husband was off to do his best man duties. I was easily able to keep the kids busy. We went from our room to a couple hours playing in grandma and grandpa's room (X enjoyed going back and forth and knocking), our daughter was able to nap in one room while we all hung out in the other. We just kept our son up instead of letting him nap which was fine. We went for a walk before lunch. Had lunch in our room, we played a lot with different toys mommy had stashed away and only brought out when they were bored with the other and they went down easily again that night under my sisters supervision. Our son slept in grandma and grandpas room this night since he is the harder sleeper and O went in our room and didn't know the difference. They both slept in until 8!
Sunday: I finally got my husband back! And the kids went home with grandma and grandpa so that we could spend some time in Austin with our friends. I picked them up this morning (Monday).
The point to the story is this: life is too short to worry all the time. I know this and I constantly tell myself this though I still struggle with it. One of my favorite versus that I quoted the whole way down there is "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 I did and everything worked out. If I had just let everything go and put it all aside as my husband had said, then I could have saved myself a lot of time and trouble! And to say this, my husband is amazing! He knows I am worry wart and each and every time, he holds my hand, solves my concerns as best he can and then encourages me to be amazing. He was an excellent co best man and looked great in his suit at the front too! And he was right. I was able to go with the flow this weekend, enjoy the time I had with my kids and their grandparents, enjoy time away from them as well for a much deserved mommy break and handle everything with ease and success!! I had help. My sister was awesome and so generous to give us her time two nights in a row! My in-laws were great and had fun with the kids and helped out a lot. And my sister in law was great keeping the kids entertained on the drive home. And I did great. I am not bragging and I am not being boastful, I am simply stating something that God and my husband see in me that I need to acknowledge more and that is this: I can handle things better than I think, I am an awesome mom, I am a great, loving, and supporting wife, and I have God on my side who allows me to handle things without fear, anxiety or stress. This weekend was excellent! We had no tantrums, no crying, no complaining and I am so glad that my husband was my rock and encouraged us to go.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Dinner Time
I overheard a friend the other day telling someone else that it was nearly impossible to get dinner on the table with little kids running around. This isn't the first time I've heard this either. I have read many facebook posts and so forth of moms having a hard time cooking when there are little ones who need their attention too. I have also seen the ecards going around saying "where's the cooking show that shows two kids nagging them while they're trying to get dinner ready?" I agree. It is hard to want to cook something good and healthy for your family that takes a little time to prepare and at the same time have two little ones (or however many you have) that need your immediate attention. I have days where X and O are playing quietly on the floor together and I get up to go do something and thats when they both realize I was in the room and they both need me to hold them right then. This usually happens when I am trying to do laundry thinking "now would be a great time", just to prove myself wrong. Usually I do laundry while the kids are napping. Hurray for High Efficiency washer and dryers that are fast and allow me to get all the laundry done during a morning and afternoon nap time. (My toddler watches me fold laundry in the morning, the afternoon, they are both napping.)
Anyway, so as much trouble as I have had with trying to get things done while my kids need me is certainly an occasional problem around here, getting dinner on the table is not for me. I have found some little tips that have made getting a healthy, home made dinner on the table easy and a no hassle job. I love watching the Food Network. Maybe I didn't make myself clear..I LOVE watching the Food Network. Its almost an obsession for me. It is usually on in the background during the day so that I can catch a tip or a recipe here and there. My son has just started to stop and watch every now and again....maybe he'll be a chef? I absolutely love to cook! I also love to bake though I would much prefer cooking. I don't really like measuring stuff, so cooking is a passion where I can throw things in here and there and create something that is all mine. But, I also love a lot of chefs. I have cookbooks ranging from Rachael Ray to Bobby Flay to Bobby Deen and Paula Deen to Pioneer Woman. And I love to cook from their books as well. Once I had kids, I didn't want to sacrifice my love for cooking for easy kids and processed meals. So I had to find something that would work and make everyone happy and still have a good meal at the end of the day. Here are my tips on how to accomplish this.
First off, I plan. I usually have two weeks worth of meals planned and written on a dry erase board and I shop in two week spurts for ingredients I need. We don't always follow the plan, but at least if I want to make burgers tonight instead of meatloaf, I know the ingredients are there. We often swap days and eat something we didn't have on that day. We also sometimes have more leftovers than we planned, so a meal or two can get pushed into the next two weeks. Its a good system.
Then each morning, I decide what we are having for dinner. This gives me time to defrost whatever meat I need and marinate it if it calls for it. I try to avoid recipes that call to have something marinated overnight, because lets face it, with a 2 year old and a 9 month old I can't always think THAT far ahead.
Then the biggest thing I do that helps the most is during nap time (usually the afternoon nap because thats when they are BOTH down) which is, I prep. I cut every vegetable that needs it and put it in tupperware or a plastic bag and stick it back in the fridge. This accomplishes two things for me. It helps me be able to throw it in the pot or pan later on with no additional work AND it helps me not have to deal with a knife with two kids running around. I don't ever want to be chopping and have one of them pull on my leg and I accidentally drop the knife or whatever. My 2 1/2 year old can now reach on the counter. So I don't want to bend over to pick up a 9 month old and have X reach for something and get the knife instead. So try to chop during nap time. If it is a meal I can go ahead and put together, then I do. Like meatloaf, burger patties, casseroles, etc...I just prepare them and cover them up and place them in the fridge. While I'm chopping and I'm making a casserole or something that calls for cooked meat, this is when I cook meat too. Once again, this eliminates if I can, a hot stove later on. There is nothing worse than having someone pull on your leg next to a hot stove thats simmering and spattering. Too many variables there that I like to avoid when possible. If we are having fajitas or something I don't want to precook then, then I just make sure the chicken is seasoned or marinated and ready for later.
Stick to 30 minute meals if you can. Look, I am all about making something thats really good and takes a little time, but monday through Friday is not the time for it. I think that unless you have help on your hands, finding meals that take little to no time to make are your best friend when you are trying to cook for a husband or wife who will be home soon and two kids wide awake. Just a thought...
By this point, dinner is half way ready. Then, the rest is about efficiency. If we are having something that goes in the oven (I make my fajitas in the oven...super easy, maybe I'll share that recipe another day, meatloaf or a casserole) then I turn the oven on to preheat while the kids are taking a bath or winding down for bed (usually this is happening around 6). Then the food goes in, timer set and I'm done. I can easily go and get things in and out of the over while they play in the living room. 1 minute away is nothing to them compared to me walking away to prepare the whole dinner right then. If its something I need to manage on the stove top then I make it while my kid is in the high chair eating dinner. If they are busy with their own foods and eating dinner then they don't really care what I am doing. (Sometimes, I will hold them off to eat a little later and make dinner a little earlier for this scenario so I can stand at the stove while they eat. A little compromise goes a long way here) As long as I keep the food coming, they are content. So I stir and then get them some more food. Stir, give my toddler a bite or two (since he's usually at his little table), stir, put more carrots on her tray and so forth. Once dinner is finished, the stove goes off and it sits there hot while I get everyone cleaned up or we play. Once my husband calls to tell me he is on his way home (usually between 6-7), I will turn the stove on low and keep an eye on it until he gets home. Because my husband gets home later then its usually easier because the kids are winding down. Our daughter goes to bed around 6pm and our son around 7-8. So its easy for us to turn Mickey on and let X watch while I finish dinner and let O settle down in her bed.
Keep in mind that this works for us because of the timing in our household. My husband gets home around the time my oldest is going to bed, and my youngest is already in bed. So this schedule and timing may not work for you. But let me give a few more tips that might.
Have something in your kitchen for the kids to play with. We have a magnetic barn on our dishwasher that has animal halves that you have to put together to make animal sounds. It sings to you and its a fun matching game. We leave it in the kitchen so thats a special toy that they play with if I need to be in the kitchen cooking.
Let your child have a kitchen cabinet. If you're children aren't eating while you are cooking, and they need to feel close to you, then let them have a cabinet to play in. I am not saying move their toys to the kitchen, but rather put tupperware and maybe their plastic plates and cups in a low cabinet that they can get into and utterly destroy. I also have a recipe box that I don't really use that I put in a low cabinet. My son loves to open and close it and take all the cards out and put them back in. It can entertain him for hours. By giving them a cabinet, then they feel special getting to be in there with you in a drawer of their own and they are near you.
Teach them where to stand when you need to open a hot oven. I taught X that he had to stand on the carpet, which is on the edge of the kitchen when I need to open our oven. I'll say "back up" and he runs to his spot. It makes our kitchen that much safer.
Let them help cook. Depending on their age and how comfortable you are, let your child help. X helps me sprinkle salt and pepper on veggies and meats. He will also help stir sauce (thats not on the stove) or I let him put the chopped veggies in the salad or bowl and so forth. After a few minutes of that, he usually feels content and goes off to play.
Right now we all 4 don't eat together. We really can't make it work with our schedules during the week. Our daughter is in bed usually around 6, our son is getting ready for bed around 7 and my husband is usually walking in the door by 7. Some day when bed times get pushed out a little bit more, we will be able to eat together and this system will change some. On the weekends we do get to do a lot of eating together. The main thing is, do as much as possible when the kids are down. You can even plan more ahead than me and prep everything the night before after the kids go to bed. I am also a fan of crock pot meals. We have those once a month and I always have some stored in my freezer for a rainy day or for dinner when I haven't been to the store yet.
With a little bit of planning, some efficiency, and patience as you figure out a system that works best for your family, then getting a good, home cooked, healthy meal on the table with little kids can be easy and even fun! Cooking shouldn't be a stress in your day. You already have too many of those, so do yourself a favor moms and dads and plan a little and pre prep so you can enjoy cooking and your kids (tears or tantrums free) at the same time!
Anyway, so as much trouble as I have had with trying to get things done while my kids need me is certainly an occasional problem around here, getting dinner on the table is not for me. I have found some little tips that have made getting a healthy, home made dinner on the table easy and a no hassle job. I love watching the Food Network. Maybe I didn't make myself clear..I LOVE watching the Food Network. Its almost an obsession for me. It is usually on in the background during the day so that I can catch a tip or a recipe here and there. My son has just started to stop and watch every now and again....maybe he'll be a chef? I absolutely love to cook! I also love to bake though I would much prefer cooking. I don't really like measuring stuff, so cooking is a passion where I can throw things in here and there and create something that is all mine. But, I also love a lot of chefs. I have cookbooks ranging from Rachael Ray to Bobby Flay to Bobby Deen and Paula Deen to Pioneer Woman. And I love to cook from their books as well. Once I had kids, I didn't want to sacrifice my love for cooking for easy kids and processed meals. So I had to find something that would work and make everyone happy and still have a good meal at the end of the day. Here are my tips on how to accomplish this.
First off, I plan. I usually have two weeks worth of meals planned and written on a dry erase board and I shop in two week spurts for ingredients I need. We don't always follow the plan, but at least if I want to make burgers tonight instead of meatloaf, I know the ingredients are there. We often swap days and eat something we didn't have on that day. We also sometimes have more leftovers than we planned, so a meal or two can get pushed into the next two weeks. Its a good system.
Then each morning, I decide what we are having for dinner. This gives me time to defrost whatever meat I need and marinate it if it calls for it. I try to avoid recipes that call to have something marinated overnight, because lets face it, with a 2 year old and a 9 month old I can't always think THAT far ahead.
Then the biggest thing I do that helps the most is during nap time (usually the afternoon nap because thats when they are BOTH down) which is, I prep. I cut every vegetable that needs it and put it in tupperware or a plastic bag and stick it back in the fridge. This accomplishes two things for me. It helps me be able to throw it in the pot or pan later on with no additional work AND it helps me not have to deal with a knife with two kids running around. I don't ever want to be chopping and have one of them pull on my leg and I accidentally drop the knife or whatever. My 2 1/2 year old can now reach on the counter. So I don't want to bend over to pick up a 9 month old and have X reach for something and get the knife instead. So try to chop during nap time. If it is a meal I can go ahead and put together, then I do. Like meatloaf, burger patties, casseroles, etc...I just prepare them and cover them up and place them in the fridge. While I'm chopping and I'm making a casserole or something that calls for cooked meat, this is when I cook meat too. Once again, this eliminates if I can, a hot stove later on. There is nothing worse than having someone pull on your leg next to a hot stove thats simmering and spattering. Too many variables there that I like to avoid when possible. If we are having fajitas or something I don't want to precook then, then I just make sure the chicken is seasoned or marinated and ready for later.
Stick to 30 minute meals if you can. Look, I am all about making something thats really good and takes a little time, but monday through Friday is not the time for it. I think that unless you have help on your hands, finding meals that take little to no time to make are your best friend when you are trying to cook for a husband or wife who will be home soon and two kids wide awake. Just a thought...
By this point, dinner is half way ready. Then, the rest is about efficiency. If we are having something that goes in the oven (I make my fajitas in the oven...super easy, maybe I'll share that recipe another day, meatloaf or a casserole) then I turn the oven on to preheat while the kids are taking a bath or winding down for bed (usually this is happening around 6). Then the food goes in, timer set and I'm done. I can easily go and get things in and out of the over while they play in the living room. 1 minute away is nothing to them compared to me walking away to prepare the whole dinner right then. If its something I need to manage on the stove top then I make it while my kid is in the high chair eating dinner. If they are busy with their own foods and eating dinner then they don't really care what I am doing. (Sometimes, I will hold them off to eat a little later and make dinner a little earlier for this scenario so I can stand at the stove while they eat. A little compromise goes a long way here) As long as I keep the food coming, they are content. So I stir and then get them some more food. Stir, give my toddler a bite or two (since he's usually at his little table), stir, put more carrots on her tray and so forth. Once dinner is finished, the stove goes off and it sits there hot while I get everyone cleaned up or we play. Once my husband calls to tell me he is on his way home (usually between 6-7), I will turn the stove on low and keep an eye on it until he gets home. Because my husband gets home later then its usually easier because the kids are winding down. Our daughter goes to bed around 6pm and our son around 7-8. So its easy for us to turn Mickey on and let X watch while I finish dinner and let O settle down in her bed.
Keep in mind that this works for us because of the timing in our household. My husband gets home around the time my oldest is going to bed, and my youngest is already in bed. So this schedule and timing may not work for you. But let me give a few more tips that might.
Have something in your kitchen for the kids to play with. We have a magnetic barn on our dishwasher that has animal halves that you have to put together to make animal sounds. It sings to you and its a fun matching game. We leave it in the kitchen so thats a special toy that they play with if I need to be in the kitchen cooking.
Let your child have a kitchen cabinet. If you're children aren't eating while you are cooking, and they need to feel close to you, then let them have a cabinet to play in. I am not saying move their toys to the kitchen, but rather put tupperware and maybe their plastic plates and cups in a low cabinet that they can get into and utterly destroy. I also have a recipe box that I don't really use that I put in a low cabinet. My son loves to open and close it and take all the cards out and put them back in. It can entertain him for hours. By giving them a cabinet, then they feel special getting to be in there with you in a drawer of their own and they are near you.
Teach them where to stand when you need to open a hot oven. I taught X that he had to stand on the carpet, which is on the edge of the kitchen when I need to open our oven. I'll say "back up" and he runs to his spot. It makes our kitchen that much safer.
Let them help cook. Depending on their age and how comfortable you are, let your child help. X helps me sprinkle salt and pepper on veggies and meats. He will also help stir sauce (thats not on the stove) or I let him put the chopped veggies in the salad or bowl and so forth. After a few minutes of that, he usually feels content and goes off to play.
Right now we all 4 don't eat together. We really can't make it work with our schedules during the week. Our daughter is in bed usually around 6, our son is getting ready for bed around 7 and my husband is usually walking in the door by 7. Some day when bed times get pushed out a little bit more, we will be able to eat together and this system will change some. On the weekends we do get to do a lot of eating together. The main thing is, do as much as possible when the kids are down. You can even plan more ahead than me and prep everything the night before after the kids go to bed. I am also a fan of crock pot meals. We have those once a month and I always have some stored in my freezer for a rainy day or for dinner when I haven't been to the store yet.
With a little bit of planning, some efficiency, and patience as you figure out a system that works best for your family, then getting a good, home cooked, healthy meal on the table with little kids can be easy and even fun! Cooking shouldn't be a stress in your day. You already have too many of those, so do yourself a favor moms and dads and plan a little and pre prep so you can enjoy cooking and your kids (tears or tantrums free) at the same time!
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Know This
I have a lot to say. I always have. I talk all day, every day...a lot. When I explain something I probably babble on longer than the listener really wants me to. When I tell a story, its pretty detailed and when I'm on a soap box or mad, man, then you better just be ready to listen. And truth is, I don't have a lot of important things to say. I mean, when I was working, I sometimes had interesting things to say and here at home, I keep my husband updated on whats going on, but for the most part, the majority of what I want to say is pointless and full of useless facts and information from that day.
The problem with all this random information that I collect throughout the day is that there isn't enough time to get it all out when my husband comes home. Note that my husband is not only my husband, but also my best friend. So he really is the one who can appreciate all my randomness at its fullest. I had to find something or someway to get all my bits of information out in a way that I could get it to him and cut down on how much I was jabbering. So, I created Know This.
Know This is an email that I would create every morning for my husband. Side note: I used to work 4-10's which meant I worked 4 days a week for 10 hours. I had every Friday off, but it meant I worked from 7am-6pm. I am not a morning person, so I would get to work around 7, not schedule anyone to come in until 8 and spend that hour trying to wake up and reading the things I found interesting. END side note. My Know This would consist of the following:
my husband and I's word of the day from dictionary.com. We would read the word and then write a sentence to each other using it.
My gossip news that I felt was noteworthy. (I love my gossip. I love knowing which celebrity is dating who and who is having a baby with who and so forth. My husband, not so much. BUT every now and again he does find it interesting if its given to him in short updates. He's not going to go seek it out himself.)
The news I found interesting. I am a criminal justice major, so I am drawn to the news about criminals. I like knowing who killed who, who was found innocent and I love the crazy crime stories ("Man steals 1,000 twinkies"). I won't lie, I followed the Casey Anthony story all the way through. Along with the news, I like to give my own opinion about it...because I find myself funny and witty.
Lastly, it would consist of anything else that I thought of that morning or that was going to be going on that day at my office.
I did this every Mon-Thurs morning for like 2-3 years. My husband would comment back every now and again and if he was really interested in something, he would wait until dinner that night and ask me about it.
This was an awesome way for me to get to tell him the things that I found interesting. It helped him get to know me fully and it helped cut down the amount of time I talked at night so we had time to do other things like watch our tv shows, play a game or watch a movie. Once I quit to become a stay at home mom and housewife, I ran out of time. It seemed that between getting my husband out the door, getting a baby fed, dressed and fed again and again, playing and so forth that I didn't have the time to sit and read my gossip and news. If you know me at all or have read my blogs previously, I clean or do something for me during nap time (its the only way to stay sane!) I admit that I am totally disconnected from the real world. I do not watch the news, I do not keep up with whats happening and I rarely have time to read gossip. Personally, I feel like watching the news every day is depressing. But, my kids are older now and I am not nearly as tired these days, so starting a Know This 2.0 is about to begin. After I recorded and watched all my shark shows, I was bursting with all this great, random facts about sharks, so I wrote my husband a Know This: Shark edition. Side note: I often had special editions of Know This, such as Know This: The Oscar winners and Know This: Buffy the Vampire edition (yes, I wrote an entire Know This to my husband about the random facts and backstage trivia about Buffy). END side note.
The point is, sometimes us girls have a lot to say. And lets face it, guys REALLY hear about 50% of what we say if its not super important or relevant to anything they are remotely interested in. And sometimes we like knowing the latest on fashion, movies, celebrities or whatever and we want to share that with our best friend. If you're like me and your best friend is your husband, then finding ways to get it all out in a brief synopsis that still conveys your message can be hard. Face it, we need to say what we want to say quickly and in a short amount of time before they start thinking about something else and we lose them. My husband and I thrive on random information. We're the 2 in a crowd that when every one has had a couple of drinks and every one is talking, break out the "did you know that...". This is what works for us. And my husband actually said yesterday that he missed Know This. So Know This 2.0 is about to resurface stay at home mom style and include new categories such as: What your children did yesterday (Your 2 1/2 yr old climbed in his sisters jumper and got stuck), New phrases your son has learned to say ("its boken" meaning its broken), New things your daughter has learned to do (spit her food out for fun and then put it back in her mouth), Misty's random thoughts while entertaining the kids (I wonder how they get this ball popper to work), and Oops's of the day (be sure to supervise your son when you tell him he can taste the chocolate sauce. His whole hand ended up in the bowl) as well as my news and gossip of the day. This is what a great and long lasting marriage is all about...randomness and fun!
The problem with all this random information that I collect throughout the day is that there isn't enough time to get it all out when my husband comes home. Note that my husband is not only my husband, but also my best friend. So he really is the one who can appreciate all my randomness at its fullest. I had to find something or someway to get all my bits of information out in a way that I could get it to him and cut down on how much I was jabbering. So, I created Know This.
Know This is an email that I would create every morning for my husband. Side note: I used to work 4-10's which meant I worked 4 days a week for 10 hours. I had every Friday off, but it meant I worked from 7am-6pm. I am not a morning person, so I would get to work around 7, not schedule anyone to come in until 8 and spend that hour trying to wake up and reading the things I found interesting. END side note. My Know This would consist of the following:
my husband and I's word of the day from dictionary.com. We would read the word and then write a sentence to each other using it.
My gossip news that I felt was noteworthy. (I love my gossip. I love knowing which celebrity is dating who and who is having a baby with who and so forth. My husband, not so much. BUT every now and again he does find it interesting if its given to him in short updates. He's not going to go seek it out himself.)
The news I found interesting. I am a criminal justice major, so I am drawn to the news about criminals. I like knowing who killed who, who was found innocent and I love the crazy crime stories ("Man steals 1,000 twinkies"). I won't lie, I followed the Casey Anthony story all the way through. Along with the news, I like to give my own opinion about it...because I find myself funny and witty.
Lastly, it would consist of anything else that I thought of that morning or that was going to be going on that day at my office.
I did this every Mon-Thurs morning for like 2-3 years. My husband would comment back every now and again and if he was really interested in something, he would wait until dinner that night and ask me about it.
This was an awesome way for me to get to tell him the things that I found interesting. It helped him get to know me fully and it helped cut down the amount of time I talked at night so we had time to do other things like watch our tv shows, play a game or watch a movie. Once I quit to become a stay at home mom and housewife, I ran out of time. It seemed that between getting my husband out the door, getting a baby fed, dressed and fed again and again, playing and so forth that I didn't have the time to sit and read my gossip and news. If you know me at all or have read my blogs previously, I clean or do something for me during nap time (its the only way to stay sane!) I admit that I am totally disconnected from the real world. I do not watch the news, I do not keep up with whats happening and I rarely have time to read gossip. Personally, I feel like watching the news every day is depressing. But, my kids are older now and I am not nearly as tired these days, so starting a Know This 2.0 is about to begin. After I recorded and watched all my shark shows, I was bursting with all this great, random facts about sharks, so I wrote my husband a Know This: Shark edition. Side note: I often had special editions of Know This, such as Know This: The Oscar winners and Know This: Buffy the Vampire edition (yes, I wrote an entire Know This to my husband about the random facts and backstage trivia about Buffy). END side note.
The point is, sometimes us girls have a lot to say. And lets face it, guys REALLY hear about 50% of what we say if its not super important or relevant to anything they are remotely interested in. And sometimes we like knowing the latest on fashion, movies, celebrities or whatever and we want to share that with our best friend. If you're like me and your best friend is your husband, then finding ways to get it all out in a brief synopsis that still conveys your message can be hard. Face it, we need to say what we want to say quickly and in a short amount of time before they start thinking about something else and we lose them. My husband and I thrive on random information. We're the 2 in a crowd that when every one has had a couple of drinks and every one is talking, break out the "did you know that...". This is what works for us. And my husband actually said yesterday that he missed Know This. So Know This 2.0 is about to resurface stay at home mom style and include new categories such as: What your children did yesterday (Your 2 1/2 yr old climbed in his sisters jumper and got stuck), New phrases your son has learned to say ("its boken" meaning its broken), New things your daughter has learned to do (spit her food out for fun and then put it back in her mouth), Misty's random thoughts while entertaining the kids (I wonder how they get this ball popper to work), and Oops's of the day (be sure to supervise your son when you tell him he can taste the chocolate sauce. His whole hand ended up in the bowl) as well as my news and gossip of the day. This is what a great and long lasting marriage is all about...randomness and fun!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Shark Week
I don't know why I love shark week on the discovery channel every year, but I do. Truth is, I am terrified of sharks and yet I want to know everything about them. I guess I figure that if I know everything about them, then I won't be as afraid. I still don't want to get in the ocean...anywhere...ever. Extreme? Yes. Absurd? Yes. But I don't want to even have the possibility of becoming shark bait. I learned that its out in the ocean and off shore that people get bitten more often, which takes scuba diving and snorkeling off the to do list. But I also learned that sharks can go in as a little as 3ft of water to get its prey, so that eliminates the shallow area too. See why getting in the water is a bad idea? :)
Here's what I do love. I love watching how to survive a shark attack. And truth is, once I am in the Caribbean and I have a few Jamaican Smiles (strawberry daiquiri and a Pina colada mixed together with some rum cream! If you haven't had this, try it! AMAZING!) in me, I will probably end up in the water anyway. So I want to know how to NOT get bitten. I also love the show How Not to be Shark Bait too. Those two shows are right up my alley because this helps me deal with my fear in a more rational, logical way. I love learning about the tiger shark, bull shark and the great white (the three most dangerous sharks) and knowing their weaknesses and hell, their strengths too! You got to know your enemy if you're going to defeat it!
Ever since I was a little girl I have been terrified of sharks and I am not sure where this stems from. I have never been bitten by a shark, I have never been up close with a shark except in an aquarium and I loved the movie Jaws! I am also terrified of spiders and tornadoes for very logical reasons, but those are stories and reasons for another blog another day. :) I used to think that if I ever encountered a shark in the ocean I would just give him my head and call it quits. I don't want to deal with a shark biting me and losing my leg or arm. But these days, I am much more practical. The Discovery Channel has helped me with that. I will fight! I will punch that shark in the gills and eyes so hard, he better let me go! And if he gets my leg, well, I'll probably be in shock and won't remember much after that, so it'll all work out.
But heres what made me very angry about shark week this year. The stupid Megaladon documentary. If you haven't seen it, here's the scoop. Some boat full of people gets attacked in the middle of the ocean and all 4 on board die. People research the accident and take a look at the boat thats under water and see that theres a big bite in it. They call in a marine biologist expert who studies strange things and he is convinced this is megaladon (a giant prehistoric shark) and goes on a search for it. I am not going to lie; I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time anticipating what would happen next and planning out my future of never, EVER stepping foot or going near an ocean again in my lifetime as long as this thing is out there. I was fascinated, intrigued, excited, scared and in awe the entire time until....the very end when disclaimers came across the screen stating that this was all fake! FAKE?!?!
Let me explain my outrage. I don't like to learn really. I like to just keep what little I really need to know in my head about history, math, science, etc. and enjoy learning about only the things that I really like (like cooking and crafts). I don't watch the discovery channel (with the exception of one week out of the year every year), the history channel or any other channel thats informative. I like my sitcoms. So for me, to WANT to watch the discovery channel to learn about creatures that scare me and fascinate me at the same time is a really good thing! And thats just it, I wanted to learn. I wanted Megaladon to be real because its scary, and an interesting possibility I had never thought about. It was a creature that up until last week, I didn't even know existed (now or back then)! The only thing the mockumentary did for me was teach me about a really old, freaky gigantic shark. The discovery channel is what it is....something you watch to discover. I didn't want to watch shark week so I could get a big ole heap of crap fed to me. I wanted to watch it to discover things. If this documentary had been on ABC or CBS, I would not have been offended. It would have been a fun, FICTIONAL story. But opening up shark week with something thats a scare and hype thing rather than what people gravitate towards Discovery channel once a year for, is a load of poo. I wanted to learn and for a whole two hours, I thought I was a part of a huge mysterious discovery that would change the way I viewed our oceans forever! Instead, I wasted two hours that I could have been watching Jaws and getting the same result and effect out of. For this...I am mad at discovery channel.
This year, I found myself having a love/hate relationship with the discovery channel. I didn't watch as much as I could have. I recorded a few shows that I wanted to see, but I was just too mad to keep watching. I know this may seem a little over dramatic, but imagine wanting nothing more than to discover, learn and soak in everything and anything about your biggest fear or most curious obsession to find out that all you were being given was not accurate. Not facts, but story telling and fiction. It just got under my skin. So...I say goodbye to shark week of 2013. You pissed me off thoroughly. I will see you next year and hopefully you can deliver some facts and good tips for me on how I can slowly but surely learn how to stop being terrified of sharks and learn to grow to respect them (and maybe learn how to beat the crap out of them if they try to eat me).
Here's what I do love. I love watching how to survive a shark attack. And truth is, once I am in the Caribbean and I have a few Jamaican Smiles (strawberry daiquiri and a Pina colada mixed together with some rum cream! If you haven't had this, try it! AMAZING!) in me, I will probably end up in the water anyway. So I want to know how to NOT get bitten. I also love the show How Not to be Shark Bait too. Those two shows are right up my alley because this helps me deal with my fear in a more rational, logical way. I love learning about the tiger shark, bull shark and the great white (the three most dangerous sharks) and knowing their weaknesses and hell, their strengths too! You got to know your enemy if you're going to defeat it!
Ever since I was a little girl I have been terrified of sharks and I am not sure where this stems from. I have never been bitten by a shark, I have never been up close with a shark except in an aquarium and I loved the movie Jaws! I am also terrified of spiders and tornadoes for very logical reasons, but those are stories and reasons for another blog another day. :) I used to think that if I ever encountered a shark in the ocean I would just give him my head and call it quits. I don't want to deal with a shark biting me and losing my leg or arm. But these days, I am much more practical. The Discovery Channel has helped me with that. I will fight! I will punch that shark in the gills and eyes so hard, he better let me go! And if he gets my leg, well, I'll probably be in shock and won't remember much after that, so it'll all work out.
But heres what made me very angry about shark week this year. The stupid Megaladon documentary. If you haven't seen it, here's the scoop. Some boat full of people gets attacked in the middle of the ocean and all 4 on board die. People research the accident and take a look at the boat thats under water and see that theres a big bite in it. They call in a marine biologist expert who studies strange things and he is convinced this is megaladon (a giant prehistoric shark) and goes on a search for it. I am not going to lie; I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time anticipating what would happen next and planning out my future of never, EVER stepping foot or going near an ocean again in my lifetime as long as this thing is out there. I was fascinated, intrigued, excited, scared and in awe the entire time until....the very end when disclaimers came across the screen stating that this was all fake! FAKE?!?!
Let me explain my outrage. I don't like to learn really. I like to just keep what little I really need to know in my head about history, math, science, etc. and enjoy learning about only the things that I really like (like cooking and crafts). I don't watch the discovery channel (with the exception of one week out of the year every year), the history channel or any other channel thats informative. I like my sitcoms. So for me, to WANT to watch the discovery channel to learn about creatures that scare me and fascinate me at the same time is a really good thing! And thats just it, I wanted to learn. I wanted Megaladon to be real because its scary, and an interesting possibility I had never thought about. It was a creature that up until last week, I didn't even know existed (now or back then)! The only thing the mockumentary did for me was teach me about a really old, freaky gigantic shark. The discovery channel is what it is....something you watch to discover. I didn't want to watch shark week so I could get a big ole heap of crap fed to me. I wanted to watch it to discover things. If this documentary had been on ABC or CBS, I would not have been offended. It would have been a fun, FICTIONAL story. But opening up shark week with something thats a scare and hype thing rather than what people gravitate towards Discovery channel once a year for, is a load of poo. I wanted to learn and for a whole two hours, I thought I was a part of a huge mysterious discovery that would change the way I viewed our oceans forever! Instead, I wasted two hours that I could have been watching Jaws and getting the same result and effect out of. For this...I am mad at discovery channel.
This year, I found myself having a love/hate relationship with the discovery channel. I didn't watch as much as I could have. I recorded a few shows that I wanted to see, but I was just too mad to keep watching. I know this may seem a little over dramatic, but imagine wanting nothing more than to discover, learn and soak in everything and anything about your biggest fear or most curious obsession to find out that all you were being given was not accurate. Not facts, but story telling and fiction. It just got under my skin. So...I say goodbye to shark week of 2013. You pissed me off thoroughly. I will see you next year and hopefully you can deliver some facts and good tips for me on how I can slowly but surely learn how to stop being terrified of sharks and learn to grow to respect them (and maybe learn how to beat the crap out of them if they try to eat me).
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