Back to Meal Planning

It has been so hot this summer that I haven't even wanted to think about cooking anything, much less planning out what to cook. We've been pretty much eating whatever we can throw on the grill, hamburgers, the occasional hot dog, chicken, pork chops, etc. It helps keep the house cool and the electric bill down, but it gets a little old after a while.

The last few days it has really cooled down. In fact, it was 48 degrees this morning when the kids walked out the door to catch the bus. So I've been getting back into the mood to start better meal planning and cooking something more than a hunk of meat and a side of fresh veggies. Coupled with this, I've been thinking about thinning out my cookbook/recipe mini collection. I don't really have that many books, only 13 :-) , but basically only use a couple recipes out of a couple books, the $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook being the exception. So my plan is to go through the rest of the books and mark recipes that look interesting and cook from a book a month. If a particular book has more recipes marked than I can use in a month, it's a keeper for now. If I find just a handful of recipes, I'll copy them and get rid of the book.

September I'll start with actually 2 books to cook from: From Grandma's Kitchen and Gifts for Giving, both Gooseberry Patch books. I didn't mark many recipes from either book, so we'll see if any are worth keeping. Of course, this weekend it is supposed to heat up again, with highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s, so I won't want to heat up the kitchen too much, but I am anxious to get cooking again.

Can We Drive Today?

Four little words guaranteed to strike terror in the heart of any parent of a teen! My kids got their driving permits a short while back, and ever since, this is pretty much all I hear. "Huh? Huh? Can we? Pleeeeease? Can we?" Here in Ohio, a teen can get a permit at age 15-1/2. They must hold that permit for a minimum of 6 months and need 50 hours of driving experience (10 of that at night) in the car with a parent or legal guardian. Do the math - that's 100 hours in the car for a parent of twins, 20 hours of that after dark. In 6 months. That's approximately 4 hours a week. That only I can do with them. *sigh*

They really aren't bad drivers for their level of experience, but I have power issues with letting them be in control of the vehicle. Last Saturday, my son even asked, "Why don't you trust me?" Um, because you've have 1-1/2 hours of road driving experience, and you're flying down a country road at, oh, 58 miles an hour! One warning for speeding - the next time I see it, and you pull over and let your sister drive. I want one of those driver's ed cars with the extra brake on the front passenger side!

We started out in the church parking lot, so they could get used to the sensitivity of the brake and the gas pedals, practiced a few turns, etc. Then we progressed to the local cemetaries. They are good for practicing 4-way stops, turns, assured distance on the sides of the vehicle, and you can't really go very fast! The last few weekends, we've been going out on county roads. The only problem is, I only have the patience for about a 1/2 hour of each of them driving right now. That's not helping the experience build up very quickly. It's funny how each of them have their own issues. He is almost too confident and has avoidance issues with the brake. Uh, dear, when I say "stop" because I think you're going to hit something, I mean STOP. RIGHT NOW! He wants to slow down slowly, but you can't always do that. She, on the other hand, is paranoid that she is going to go off the right side of the road. "Am I over too far? Am I over too far? Am I over too far?" The first time she drove in the county, she literally repeated this over and over without taking a breath! Yes, dear, I'll tell you if you're over too far. Believe me, I'll tell you! haha

They did get a reality check several days before testing for these permits. Their 16-year-old cousin was the at-fault driver in an accident in which another driver was killed and several people seriously hurt, including an infant who is still in the hospital now, a month later. This has made my daughter especially very nervous about driving. Their cousin wasn't drinking or under the influence of anything; he had 3 friends with him (a driving violation - you can only have 1 nonrelated person in your vehicle if you're under 18), was speeding and ran a stop sign, T-boning the other vehicle. One blink of an eye and lives are changed forever.

I do feel better since we were able to buy an old Ford Taurus from some friends of ours. DD especially feels much better driving it than our old Pontiac Montana van, but DS would rather drive the van. They'll get experience in both, but the Taurus will be their main vehicle. It's smaller, gets better gas milage and will be a good car for them to use once they get their permanent license, but it will be hard to let them drive off alone no matter which vehicle they use. I guess this 50-hour requirement is for parents too - to get us used to the idea that our kids are growing up and becoming more independent. I'm not sure I like that, but it's a journey that we all must take. I just hope to come out on the other side with sanity still intact!

What's in a Name?

This wasn't a conversation I'd ever really thought I'd have with my kids. I'm not even sure how it came about. We were spending the weekend in Cincinnati with friends, getting ready to head out to Faith Day with the Cincinnati Reds, with a MercyMe concert following the ball game. DD and I were in the family room, and I don't remember how it even came up, but she asked me why I never changed my married name back to my maiden name after the divorce. In all honesty, yes, I have briefly thought about it but never seriously. Unless God surprises me and I remarry, changing my name is not something I feel I need to do. I like the fact that I have the same name as the kids, and I don't have that many bad connotations to the name that I want to be rid of it! And that is what I told her. Then she says that she's been thinking that when she turns 18, she wants to legally change her name so that her last name is my maiden name and asks her friend, who is in the room with us, which name she likes better. Woah! Wasn't expecting that one! Why? I asked, and she said that she likes the sound of my maiden name (a Scottish name) much better and that she had no sentimental attachment to her birth name. She did then clarify that she would probably want to wait until her Grandpa was no longer with us for fear of hurting his feelings, but she wants to see what costs and procedures would be involved. Granted, she is only 15, but knowing my daughter, come her 18th birthday, I wouldn't be surprised to see her looking more closely into changing her name.

It's yet another step I see in her moving away from her dad. He has not exercised his visitation rights in at least 7 years, and DD refuses to speak to him unless he speaks to her first, which he usually doesn't do on the rare times they see him. For example, the kids were at Grandpa's house to spend Father's Day with Grandpa, and their dad showed up, as he usually does on a Sunday. DS told him Happy Father's Day, but DD said she didn't say a word to him, that in her opinion, he didn't deserve recognition on Father's Day. Changing her name would be just another layer of separation. It's sad and shouldn't be that way, but it is.

Summertime, Summertime

I'm not a summer person. I much prefer fall and winter with the cooler temperatures and shorter days, not to mention leaving daylight savings time behind! But I try to make the best of it. Short of moving to Alaska, I don't have much choice! haha This summer has been a bit of a trial, however. It's been 18 months since my company stopped paying for time off - that means no paid vacation, sick days or holidays; therefore, I have only been able to take off 1 or 2 days a year, and I really miss being able to take off the occasional work day in the summer to do fun stuff with the kids. Plus, it has been in the high 80s/low 90s temperature-wise more often than not, and our streets look and feel a war zone with the new sewer system they are putting in. This all means I have been cranky, short-tempered, burned out, bored and not very joyful. In fact, there are days when it's been hard to see the joy in anything.

So it's time to count my blessings. Actually the summer hasn't been THAT bad. We have central air to escape from the heat. We've gone to the Columbus Zoo (on one of those 90+ degree days!); seen Despicable Me in 3D with friends; spent a weekend in Cincinnati with friends there, where the guys went to the Cincinnati Bengals training camp while the girls went outlet mall shopping and pottery painting, and then we all went to a Reds game, followed by a MercyMe concert; DD and I volunteered for VBS at church this summer; and my kids have gone to church camp and recently (today actually!) obtained their temporary driving permits. No, we didn't spend time in a hotel, and we didn't go anywhere real fancy, but we have made a lot of memories nonetheless. My job has plenty of work available; I just have to get motivated to do it.

Technically we have 6 more weeks of summer. School starts 2 weeks from today, OSU football kicks off in a month and there will be advertisements for Christmas sooner than we think. Time will fly by, and hopefully with the change in seasons, my attitude will improve. In the meantime, I'll continue to pray for a change of heart and look for the blessings wherever possible.