Peas Are Green and Round and Mushy

I knew this day would come! All my hard work making up songs for my baby has paid off! I finally have a venue for my musical masterpieces. Parent Bloggers Network has asked bloggers to share songs we used to liven up our days with little ones. Now, I know it’s not the same without the tune, which I also made up, but here’s mine and my son’t favorite:

peas are green and round and mushy
they go in my mouth and they come out my tushy
I love peas

you can eat peas raw or cooked
you can eat peas while you read a book
I love peas

peas are delectable
peas are divine
peas are so wonderful
you can eat ‘em any old time

peas are great peas are delicious
peas are fun and they’re even nutricious
I LOOOOOOOVE PEEEEEAS!!!

Pretty good huh? That is so copyrighted by the way…. Here’s another:

I love eating foods that are orange
I love eating foods that are orange
Carrots and squash and sweet potatoes
I love eating foods that are orange

That one is much improved with music. Trust me. Here’s one you may recognize. It goes along to the tune of Jesus Christ Superstar. (I know!)

Cereal! Superstar!
Do you know how good you are?
Rice and oat, corn and wheat
Do you know that you can’t be beat?

So Parent Bloggers and Bush’s Beans are asking us to rewrite the old favorite beans, beans the magical fruit… By the way, did you know beans aren’t really a fruit but a veggie. I thought they were a legume, but that’s neither here nor there. Here goes:

Beans, beans, the magical veggie
Eat ‘em and no one will give you a wedgie
No one wants a wedgie it’s true
Eat more beans so you won’t be blue

I’m not going to win that contest, I know. But please, what else rhymes with veggie?

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Bush’s Beans.

By the way, all my mommy blogging buddies – anyone can play on these weekly posts. Get on over to PBN and get to posting!

What Gets You Through?

Parent Bloggers Network is asking bloggers this weekend what they can’t live without. What are the modern conveniences that get us through the day. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it and there are just too many to mention. I would say the microwave, but then where does that leave the crock pot? And my coffee maker – really, where would I be without that trusty friend? In a heap on the couch watching Joy rip Elizabeth a new one that’s where!

A friend of mine in Houston is suffering the after effects of Ike. She still doesn’t have electricity. I guess that’s sort of a must have. Modern conveniences are so pervasive, I can’t pick just one. However, because they’re promoting Yoplait yogurt, I’m going to go with a food theme. So here’s my list of must haves:

• tortillas and shredded cheese (because mama don’t like to grate) – these simple ingredients plus the aforementioned microwave mean equals independent after school snacking
• string cheese – the girl will not touch any kind of cheese that is touching something else, but cannot live without tubular mozzarella
• Wal-Mart pizzas – these are the best you can buy from the store, just as good as delivery and about a third the cost. I always have a couple on hand – for Friday nights when I don’t want to cook.

I’m off to the driveway!

Please write and tell me your must have conveniences. I need ideas!

By the way, you can get a coupon for $1.50 off a six pack of Yoplait here! Sweet deal!

My First Podcast: Snack Confessional

Okay so the video quality is not so good, but it’s my first try.

While I do make my kids eat their fruit first, I have to admit that what comes next occasionally comes out of a package. Because really, who can pass up convenience? Maybe what I need are healthier snacks, but it’s hard for me to believe a fat-free potato chip is really going to hit the spot. (Unless of course you’re on a diet because you overate and drank in Vegas – not that I am or did – in which case a half a plain boiled potato is about the most delicious thing you’ve ever had in your mouth.)

What you don’t see in the pantry is my son’s obsession for tortillas with cheese. Thank you, whoever invented the microwave.

I’m not promising all the PBN bloggers will go to the video-stupendous lengths that I have in their own snack confessional, but I’d bet there are some entertaining posts today.

Do tell – what’s in your pantry?

Cyrano de Cheese Sauce

To help the American Egg Board identify America’s Worst Cook, Parent Bloggers Network is hosting a theme today about cooking disasters. Try as I might I just can’t think of a single bad experience. I’m that good. To clarify: I’m that good at blocking out embarrassing memories. So how about ridiculous instead?

When I was in high school I had a thing for brocoli with cheese sauce. For whatever reason. My best friend’s older sister happened to be the absolute master of cheese sauce. Lucky for me. I also had a thing for this really cute guy, and a penchant for playing house. One evening when my mom was out of town I invited him over for dinner. The thing was I didn’t know how to cook, so my friend’s older sister came over about an hour before my date. She baked a chicken, and whipped up a batch of her creamy cheese concoction. She even steamed the brocoli. Lucky for me. I made a box of stuffing to round out the meal.

I knew the guy wasn’t a keeper when he looked up at me and asked:

“Is this Stove Top?”

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a contest sponsored by the American Egg Board.

Make a Gingerbread House

You don’t have to be Martha to make a gingerbread house. You can buy a cheater kit at the grocery store. You don’t have to bake a thing. You don’t have to obsess that your house looks nothing like the one in the picture. You don’t even have to help. You can let the kids do it all by their selves. And look how cute it turns out? Consider it therapy for the letting-go challeneged.

Super Suppers Reviews Requested

I’m a huge fan of using the freezer as much as possible to keep cooking and cleaning time to a minimum. But I’m talking homemade. There are several new franchises where you show up and put together pre-prepped, “home” cooked meals, then take them home to your freezer. I’m looking for feedback from people who have tried Super Suppers or a similar assemble and freeze service.

If you’re interested, I wrote an article on the topic: Freeze Kids’ Favorites to Cut Cooking Time in Half.

Faithful Farina

Anne Lamott is one of my crooked little heroes. If you don’t know her, you must click around this post and read all about her. I have been reading LaMott’s book, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith and in it she spends a good deal of words on the concept of being kind to yourself as well as on making space in your life for things like kindness and comfort foods, and for accepting the appearance of your own thighs.

Cream of Wheat is my comfort food of choice. I have managed to instill this love of creamed wheat goodness into my children. Milk, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon go a long way toward winning a child’s heart. So lovely, in fact, is this wonder food that we all ate it for dinner last night. (Truth be told we actually ate the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart because wheat is wheat right?)

Anyway, I have to come clean because I have, until now, prided myself at never-ever having fed my children cereal for dinner. (To be fair – Cream of Wheat is hot cereal.) But Lamott got me to thinking. Is it really so wrong to offer yourself up a little comfort now and again? Even mothers need a kitchen pass occasionally. So cast off your four food groups, banish the balanced meal, and go with what feels right and good at the moment. Live a little.