Mom's treats

This is my first Halloween on the South Beach diet. The first challenge came today while attending parties at my children's school. It didn't help that I was running behind so I didn't get lunch. Fortunately, my son's class had some carrots. But the cookies sure looked good. My daughters class was nearly impossible. Banana Wonka Taffy.... Hershey Chocolate... Both my favorites. But... I DID IT! No even a taste of any candy.

Contrary to common belief, South Beach is not really low carb but better choice carb and fat. The truth is, I eat a lot more fat now than I have in the last several years. But what I learned that often, when removing the fat, food manufacturers add sugar...and that makes you fat too. I eat peanut butter and nuts...both of which I love. And I do eat some high carb foods but they come in the form of fiber like garbonzo beans and whole wheat bread.

I have met many people on South Beach who struggle with not eating breads or pasta....which you can eat in moderation and you should choose high fiber ones. I find that I don't miss bread or pasta except for the convenience of using them. But I do miss sweets! That has been really hard. I have tried the low carb goodies but you have to watch...they are loaded with fat and calories.

So, I have taken to make my own goodies. I found a recipe somewhere that included, unsweetened chocolate, peanut butter, oatmeal (don't use quick cook. I use steel cut oats and mill them in my blender.) and Splenda or Stevia (sweetener). It also included a cup of butter... but it was good.

My latest attempts have been more on my own. I have tried unsweetened chocolate, Splenda, and vanilla, melted, mixed then cooled to candy. But unsweetened chocolate has a bitter edge to it. My next attempt I added some skim milk. While it was edible to me, it was still a little bitter. Finally, I added margarine (non-transfatty kind), with the chocolate, sweetener, vanilla, and oats. I put them in little balls on a tray and refridgerated. They were very good.

With Thanksgiving coming, I'm working on ways to have my "cake" and eat it too. While the South Beach diet does allow splurging every-now-and-then especially on holidays, I find that once I let go, its hard to rein myself back in. So I think with my own chocolate confections, I'm going to see about cranberry sauce made with sweetener and pecan goodies without sugar...that will be hard. But pecan pie is a favorite of mine. I might just have to indulge.

Do you have any good recipes that are low carb or low sugar? Please share. I'm desperate.

Mom's tools.... laptop and coffee maker

Long ago, mom's favorite tools may have been a dishwasher or self-cleaning oven, but my favorite tools are my laptop and coffee maker. Neither of them help in the homemaker role but lets face it, appliances may make life easier but cleaning is still no fun.

The choice of coffee maker should be evident; I drink decaf but still have to have my cup of coffee ... or two. And with decaf, I can have more than 2 and even late at night!

But my laptop...wow. I can work on the couch or in bed (where I am now). And the creme de la creme... work in a coffee house! The smell of fresh brewed coffee and the hum of my laptop... life doesn't get much better than that. Well, okay, it does get better but working in a cafe sure beats a real job!

Leslie

Moms and the election...

In about 3 weeks we will be electing a new president. I would not describe myself as political although I always vote and I have strong opinions about how things should be. This is my blog and I'm allowed to express my opinions here. But I won't. I'm not interested in getting into some heated debate about who should be the next president.

However, I'm very uninspired by the current way things are running in this election. The American people...for the most part...are not morons. On the other hand we are busy and can't waste our time trying to decipher what the heck they are saying. Here are my personal opinions of how things should be handled.

1) There should be a handout at debates...download online. My guess is that even when they contradict each other, they are both right. They skew the numbers and information to suit their side. Bush talks about No Child Left Behind but didn't fund it. Yet he says he has more money going education than previous years. A hand out would let us see this. As a mom, I want to know about this stuff. Same with health care. They each have ideas on how to improve it but how will it really work...in the real world? Hand outs would help with this.

2) Abortion. Every election is about abortion. But what neither of the candidates seem to realize is that abortions can be decreased without legislation. (This is the social worker in me talking). Abortions, despite what people think, are usually not done on a whim. The exact a toll on women and are often seen as an only option. Adoption you say? Are you aware that the CPC's (crisis pregnancy centers) don't encourage adoption with any gusto? A report put out by the Family Research Council called "The Missing Piece" found that counselors were resistant to discuss adoption if there was any hint that the pregnant woman was resistant to hear it. There are so many awful stories and rumors about adoption as it relates to birth mothers that no wonder they don't want to consider it. Of course, like everything in life, the more info you have the better decision you can make.

The real issue here is totally missed (probably because its effects women not men who often ... are not held accountable for their part...) . Could it be she chose abortion because she is broke? Could it be because her parents will through them out of the house? Maybe her boyfriend told her it wasn't his problem, he wouldn't help so she better get an abortion (see ... its not just the women). There was a great Ann Landers or Dear Abby article once that asked why anti-abortionists harassed clinics instead of helping women with unplanned pregnancies. Why not offer to babysit so the woman can finish school or go to work. Pay for health care? Take her in when her parents through her out? Etc. So, the answer lies not in whether its legal or not...because it will happen no matter what. The answer is providing solutions to women. If it is illegal, then I think the dads should be hunted down and made to pay for helping raise the baby. Of course, that will never happen. I met a woman with 5 kids whose ex-husband only has to pay $50 per month in child support. Only in a man's world!

3) Women. I read an article that said women vote in higher ratios than men. The Census Bureau reported that 61% of eligible women voted in 2000 versus 58% of men. So why doesn't any body talk about women's issues with any real substance? Its more than just education and health care. Its doing something about deadbeat dads. Its about providing affordable child care and equal pay. It is possible that women can decide the election. Maybe we need to be more vocal but either way, we can determine the leader of this country.

4) Wishy-washy. As far as I'm concerned they both are. Bush said he'd help the environment and now we are logging on once protected land. He said support education but didn't fund No Child Left Behind. He said we are safer but won't set in motion to continue the assault weapons ban and cut law enforcement. Kerry votes one way then another on several issues. It all comes out the same in the end. I understand that they can't always do what they say...other people are involved in the decisions. And often, the decision to not support is based on a single line in the law they don't like even if they like the concept over all. But this whole back and forth "he said this", "he said that" is getting old. I hear it enough with my children!

Of course with all this said, I will vote. I don't always get my way when I vote but like my opinion of public school (see previous blogs), I think if you don't vote then you are unpatriotic. Voting is your duty to keep a free democracy. People like the freedoms and we are so free we are often lazy, inappreciative, and apathetic. If you love America and its freedoms, you must vote and participate in democracy even if it doesn't turn out the way you want.

So, make sure you are registered and vote!!!!

Leslie

Just a stay at home mom

When I was growing up, women's lib with its ideas of career and independence was a big thing. So I fully expected to be a working mom when the time came. I realized that I didn't like nor was I very good at the supermom thing. Today, many women feel as I do.

While the image of a stay at home mom is somewhat improved, in the scheme of things, she still isn't as valued or held in high regard. In a world in which many people are defined by what they do, being a stay at home is seen as low man ...or woman... on the totem pole. People get this look on their faces like they are afraid I won't understand what they are talking about when I tell them I'm a mom. Being a stay at home mom doesn't mean I'm stupid or ignorant. Hey, I have a master's degree. Just because I choose not to use it doesn't mean I can't hold a meaningful conversation. My kids are older so you don't have to worry about me talking about their birth or first spit up.

The reality is, being a stay at home mom is probably the hardest job there is. There is no job as important as molding young people into productive adults. Funny, when people do bad things, society often points a finger at their parents as the root cause of the problem. "Both parents worked." "Latch key kid." etc. Yet, when meeting a stay-at-home mom they so highly underplays her contribution. (BTW...let me say that I don't think that kids who have working parents will grow up to do bad things. I was a latch-key kid myself. I'm only pointing out society's contradicting attitudes). How can someone be "just a stay at home mom" when society places so much emphasis on families' contribution to social ills?

I'm a stay at home and proud of it.

Now hand over the bon-bons! Oprah is on!

Leslie

Lost blog

I posted a blog the other day but an error prevented it from posting. And I just didn't want to write the whole thing out again.

Today was my "mommy day" which is my day off for myself. So now I'm a bit more rested and ready to re-write my blog.

The other day, I sent a note with both my kids telling their teachers to keep them after school because I had a teacher conference with my son's teacher. When I arrived at school, I found my son wandering the hallway. "What are you doing?" "Looking for Hannah," he replied. Huh...? "Isn't she with her teacher?" No. After some scrambling I discovered my daughter had a substitute that day who said she put Hannah on the bus as she hadn't seen a note to do otherwise. She did say she got to the class at about 9:30 which mean there must have been an aide covering the class. The aide reported the same... no note.

I called my husband and told him I had to run home to get Hannah off the bus so he would have to do the conference alone. And off I rushed...well as much as a mom can rush behind a train of school buses.

I didn't get home in time but did manage to catch her bus. I asked her why she didn't give her teacher that day a note. She told me she did but that the teacher gave it back. Huh?

I dug the note out of her backpack. On it was a note back to me saying her teacher wasn't there. So? I finally determined that the aide/sub thought my conference was with Hannah's teacher hence the note. But then I got to thinking... how would I get the message about her teacher being out by their writing it on a note and giving it back to Hannah? I wouldn't see it until I saw her... and I was planning to see her at school. Can you follow me on this? My phone numbers were on the note. If my conference was cancelled, they should have called... don't you think? And if they called, I would have said my conference was with another teacher, please keep Hannah after school and I'll pick her up there.

My real beef isn't so much that they failed to realize that I wouldn't know about her teacher not being their without a call. Its that one of them (sub or aide) lied to me. Hannah did give one of them the note and then lied to me about it. Hannah's eyes got wide when I told her that they both told me she didn't give the note. "That's a lie." Yes it is. One of them, and I think I know who, tried to pass the blame to Hannah and that isn't right. I'm not an unreasonable mom and would have understood the mess up.

Let me just say at this point in case people are thinking public schools are awful that this issue is not a public school problem. The problem is the person who lied...public school didn't create that. I support public schools wholeheartedly. They are a microcosm of society allowing my children to learn real world issues they can grow by. But more than that, public school is one of those basic freedoms and rights that our country was founded on. At the time, the idea of educating everyone was revolutionary. And like many other great visions of our forefathers, its taken for granted and not given the respect and support it deserves.

So I still support public school, but I will be having a talk with someone about lying to parents and children.

Leslie