Posting A Day Late

Tuesday was National Pretzel Day.  I did not know this until I checked another blog I follow.  This blog is also where I found a fabulous soft pretzel recipe.

I didn't get around to doing this post until Wednesday, but in honor of National Pretzel Day

and because I had given all my soft pretzels to my dad when I visited him over Spring Break, this is what I did yesterday...

Mmmmmmm.....  This was the last batch and was sprinkled with salt (I do half salt and half cinnamon-sugar).  I know this was the salt batch because I finally broke down and had one!  Soooooooooooo delicious.  I really make these for my older son.  He takes them to school for snack.  I try not to eat too many of them since the carbs have lots o' calories.  But I couldn't resist and it was soooooooooooooooo worth it.  DELICIOUS.

I also love that they freeze well (since that keeps me from eating them).  And then they thaw in time for my son's snack at school!  Win, win, win!

If you haven't tried making pretzels you should TOTALLY do it!  Worth the time.

Sorry if you missed out on National  Pretzel Day.  Maybe next year!

"The Happiest Place on Earth"

Every year, my brother and I take the boys to an amusement park for Spring Break.  We've done Sea World, Legoland (twice), and Knott's Berry Farm.  This year we decided to take the plunge!  We went to Disneyland.

I used to mock people who thought Disneyland required multi-day passes and park hopper passes and all the other insanity that goes along with "The Happiest Place on Earth."  But after our trip, I must eat my words.  You really can't "do" Disneyland in one day anymore.  The place is HUGE and overwhelming.  There are TONS of people.  We had a great time, but I do believe that if I were ever to go again, I would have to stay at least 2 days and probably 3 in order to really enjoy my time.  It had been over 12 years since I had been to Disneyland.

We had to tie their hands so they would leave the chains for the lines alone!

No matter though... the boys had a great time.  We tried to hit the rides we thought they would enjoy.  The Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Indiana Jones Ride, Big Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn, the Submarine ride, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear ride.  I may have missed one or two rides but they did enjoy everything except Space Mountain.  Both boys really liked the Matterhorn a lot.  But Space Mountain received less than stellar reviews.  Kieron said (with his pale gray face) "that was not so good."   It was a bit much for them (since it is so dark and fast).

This was before the ride - so they still appear happy.

But for me, the best part of the whole day were the fireworks.  Have you ever seen the Disneyland fireworks?  They are AMAZING!  I'm not really sure that word does them justice.  I LOVE fireworks.  The 4th of July is my favorite holiday because of the fireworks.  I go out of my way to watch fireworks when I can.  This was by far the best fireworks show I have EVER seen.  I stood for the 15-20 minute show holding a 45 pound child and still enjoyed every second!  It was awesome!

Mmmmm.  Cotton Candy! 

And ice cream at 10:30 PM.  Such great parenting!

We survived the day and I can even say that no one lost it or had a meltdown.  We would all go back and do it again but probably not next year.  I'm thinking Sea World again (I really like that place).  Or Legoland (not nearly as crowded as Disneyland).

Grateful for Round Table Pizza

First, you must know that if there was no other food on Earth except pizza, I would be so happy.  I love pizza.  Even not so good pizza is good in my mind.  I'm not picky about toppings either.  I'm fine with just cheese.  Pizza is an amazing creation.  And good pizza is pure bliss!

Today I got to enjoy pizza at one of my favorite places in the whole world -  Round Table Pizza. (Round Table is not paying me, I just love their pizza!)  What's even better is that I got to enjoy said pizza with 3 other moms and their children.  It was so nice to hang out and chat and have the kids play.  I really love getting to spend time with other moms and feel like I'm not completely insane.  They are so nice and friendly and willing to take my son for an afternoon so I can enjoy a quiet day of mommy time.  Since I don't have family close by to watch my boys it is truly a cherished time for me.  I enjoy the friendships I'm making and really appreciate seeing my son make friends.

So yay to pizza and yay to good friends!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Picky Eaters Suck

I love my family, really I do.  But my children are such picky eaters... well one in particular (oh little one you try my patience) is really bad.  The big one will take a bite and try things but then he politely says "I don't care for the noodles (or whatever he is eating)."  The little one will just whine like a big baby and/or vomit at the dinner table.  Drives me crazy.  I think there are only about 2 home-cooked meals I can prepare that the family actually ENJOYS.  Tacos (little one will only eat meat and the hard taco shell - but will do so without complaining).  And spaghetti (little one will only eat garlic bread dipped in the sauce - no noodles - 90% of the time without complaining).

Everything else is a big no-no.  That list is so long I get sad.  Some of the things I would like to make are soup, macaroni and cheese (homemade or in a box), any noodle-bake dish, any rice-bake dish, any noodles or rice period, pasta dishes, mashed potatoes... i could go on, but I'm getting depressed with this list.

Things they will eat but only in their whole form - never mixed with any of the above... broccoli, most fruits (not bananas though), asparagus, cauliflower, carrots (not cooked), chicken bites (even plain non-nugget style), plain BBQ meat.  This sounds like the list of meals would be wide open right?  Nope, because I can only get them to eat these things if they are REALLY hungry.  If they are even a little filled up, they won't eat a "good" dinner and then they complain about being hungry later.

Now I know that there is a MOUNTAIN of research out there that I could read that talks about how to fix these problems.  I have tried including them in the cooking process - doesn't work for the little one.  He wants to cook, but still won't eat the food.  I've tried making them eat it later or even the next day for breakfast - doesn't work.  I've tried letting them choose the meals - sorta works but boring for me because I never get to try new recipes.  I've tried having them eat the food repeatedly (the exposure method over and over) - doesn't work - they still won't eat rice or pasta.  I'm at a loss.....

I hear about families with boys where they complain that the boys eat them out of house and home... won't be me.  Won't be my kids.  EVER.  Unless I let them eat only chicken nuggets, pizza, hotdogs/hamburgers (for the big one), waffles/pancakes (for the little one), and maybe bacon.

What spurred this rant?  Dinner tonight.  I made this yummy Sour Cream Noodle Bake from Pioneer Woman's blog.  Oh my gosh, I thought it was delicious.  But alas the dinner did not win the hearts of my children and got only a mild "it was good" from the husband.  I enjoy cooking but the family does not get excited about food and could care less when I try new things...

What did my family get excited about most recently????  This recipe for Monkey Bread also from Pioneer Woman's blog.  Why did they like it?  Was it homemade and super delicious?  Homemade?  Not by my standards - it involved 3 "cans" of biscuits.  Super delicious?  YES!  The little one liked it because it has LOADS of sugar.  The big one liked it because it was his idea - he had it at a friend's house one time.  The husband liked it so much that he ate too much and the declared that he felt sick - oh how I love to hear my food made him sick.

I have no idea what to do.  I want to try new recipes, but alas it just isn't worth listening to the complaining and whining at the dinner table - it stresses me out and makes me not enjoy my meal.  And on the occasion when the little one vomits... well that is obvious how that makes the night go.

So what's for dinner tomorrow night?  I HAVE NO FREAKIN' CLUE!  I may have to just leave the house and let my husband feed them whatever...  I'm so exhausted from trying...