Chef...Boy are We!

I am not a child of divorce. My parents have been married for 42 years this June. My husband is a child of divorce. His parents were divorced when he was 13 years old.

I have very fond memories of family dinners..OK...wait that's not the whole truth...what about the memories of those right hooks you'd get if you were caught licking or sucking your fingers at the dinner table? Scratch that...I have fond memories of dinners that didn't involve eating ribs or any food that you'd have to eat with your fingers.

My husband has no real memories of sitting to dinner as a child. He cooked many a meal for himself. (This could actually be a good thing!)

I have one child who is a carnivore. He'll eat almost anything you put in front of him. Then there is my daughter...if it isn't a pancake, bread, banana, cheese, calamari, steak or deli meat, she probably won't eat it. (I know...how on earth did we get her to eat Calamari...simple...we told her it was cheese...of course we have to put a clamp on Eli's mouth when they serve the little octopus looking suckers...he's just chopping at the bit to tell her...little fiend!)

Dinners have always been challenging for me. Not because I can't cook (I'm an overheater you see...my husband calls me this because he says I always cook with a high flame. I tend to burn things...alot!) I consider myself a good enough cook when I have time to cook and not do anything else like homework, laundry or wipe someones butt! I HAVE to cook fast..and eat fast (all mommies understand this...you must eat fast if you want hot food or food at all). So...yes...I take man bites of my food and I am a high flamer!

Recently I've been in a dinner funk. I've been spewing "If you can find it...you can eat it!" for days causing my husband to make dinners (Quesadillas, grilled cheese, rice). My husband has said "enough is enough". Ok.. fine..fine...fine! I get it. I need to COOK dinner...real dinners. This from the "no memory" guy!

My husband's point has been taken. His children will have the memories that he didn't have.

I've committed. I am committed...or I should be committed? I think the latter applies most! Thankfully I am not cooking my way through any cookbook or then I'd definitely be deemed INSANE! Who the hell has time to do that after working eight hours a day with a football or ballet practice thrown in? Not me. So we go from 2 family dinners a week to 4. I get a 3 day reprieve.

I wish they liked TV dinners.

Now wouldn't that be a memory? Or not?

Similar Thoughts

Tonight, I am weary. Weary from a three day "work" trip to a BIG city away from my kids and my husband.

Ok..that's not the truth.

I am not weary from the actual trip...it's the getting home part that made me weary.

My monthly trips for "work" are my escape. I eat 3 full meals a day (paid for none the less) am able to take hot showers, paint my toes, work out, I have sole control of the TV and I only have to get myself ready in the morning (although I still have to make a wake up call to Mr. in the morning). I wear makeup and do my hair!

Coming home makes me WEARY!

Momma's work is never done...as soon as I stepped off the plane I was back at my second job. I was missed but first things first..."where are our surprises?" my children incessantly asked..my fault I know...when I first started to travel I used this to ease their worries and make them a little bit more excited about my absence and inevitable return but jeez children...let a woman breathe!

All I wanted to to was to get them picked up, home and fed. My husband conveniently advised me that since I was able to take an earlier flight then he made plans to play 9 holes of golf. I have a hole he can play with..(did I just type that..yup). Oh well...by all means...please go and play golf...I mean... I just had a relaxing 3 day "work" trip and who am I to begrudge you some "me" time? It's not like that man doesn't get enough of that!

So here I am...weary...at home.. couldn't wait to catch up on all the blogs I follow. I've been deprived the past few days. I read one of my favorites...a cake lady that I have to admit....says so many things that I think in my head...but never say. We have similar thoughts. We live similar lives. She's just committed her family to a long distance move from a city and a lifestyle that suits her. I too went through this and all the emotions that come with packing up the life you've known for one that is a little bit of a mystery.

I understand her funk. She may decide not to blog anymore...which makes me kinda sad. I like her blog. I like her cakes. I want to recreate one of her cakes with those candies and that butter cream frosting recipe of hers and she's talking about not blogging anymore! Not sharing her wonderful stories about REAL life and REAL thoughts and the cakes, those edible pictures of the cakes she makes and what about that damn pad? What's going to happen to it?

I have to do something...I'll have to comment. Not beg. I won't do that. I'll share. I'll share some similar thoughts about uncertainty and asparagus.

Then I have to get back to my kiddos...who appear to be having severe momma withdrawls as evidenced by their thirty second meltdowns which are succeeding in sucking what little energy I have left this evening.

1st Adventure

On our very first outing with our new RV we visited Leasburg Dam State Park. It was an economical choice for our first trip. There was so much to do and see that we never knew existed. Next to the camping area is Fort Selden National Monument, an old 19th Century military outpost.

There was a park for the kids to play and to watch the local critters scatter about. We sat in front of a woodburning indian chimenea and watched the sunset.

I can honestly say that we would have never visited Leasburg had we not had the RV. It was a suprising little oasis. We had a picnic at the Dam with the biggest strawberries I've ever seen!

The State Park had electrical hookups only. The facilities (showers and bathrooms) were clean if not a wee bit crowded.

This trip taught me the importance of water conservation (although my husband insisted it was "no trouble" we had to dump our gray water in the middle of our weekend) as the RV campsites did not have full hookups. But each pad site did have a covered picnic area and a fire pit! Luckily I didn't forget the marshmellows!

I did however realize that I forgot to pack a few essential items such as a can opener, large tote bags (to go to and from the shower facility...plastic bags had to do) and picnic table cover clips (a very handy item..let me tell ya!).

Luckily my sister accompanied us with her family and their gianormous RV and she conveniently had a few items I forgot. Prior to our trip I stocked our travel trailer with all of the permanent essentials plates, silverware, towels, blankets, pillows, cups, pantry items, homey knicknacks and such. My sister did warn me that it would take a few trips to figure out what we'd need on a permanent basis and she suggested that I make a list every time we vacationed so I would remember what to pack for the next trip! We are lucky to be able to park our RV at our home, honestly, it makes it sooo much easier when you are getting ready for a trip!

Another first was dealing with my limited counter space. I made an easy no fuss apple pie in the oven for the first time. I'm known for my pies...did I tell you that? Everyone was very pleased with the result!

Things I learned on this trip:


1) Watch your water usage when you don't have full hookups!


2) Make a list of things you forgot on this trip & pack them for the next.


3) Easy no fuss recipes work best when you have limited counter and storage space.


4) Pack outdoor toys for the kids to play with!



We became officially hooked, so to speak anyway! Hopefully we'll never have any of those RV movie moments...for those of you that own or rent RV's..I highly recommend the move "RV" with Robin Williams. So funny..and sometimes...so true!