One of the biggest struggles I face as a mom is my little girl's addiction to video games. It takes a lot of effort to get her majesty to take a break once she gets started. Slowly, however, we are making small gains. The other struggle I face is much sneakier and far more pervasive. I am referring to our family's love hate relationship with sugar. Video games have the benefit of being contained in a console or hand held. Sugar,the evil ninja bastard, hides in Doritos, ranch dressing, peanut butter, and the usual suspects we encounter every day.
We are fortunate, as a family, that diabetes is not an issue. I am a big proponent of moderation but that's not easy to keep things down to a dull roar when your opponent is ubiquitous. My spouse is also in the process of losing weight. Diet sodas and artificial sweeteners are creeping into my kitchen. Normally, I'll take all the help I can get but when it comes to those "packets" I'm not a believer in better living through chemistry. I have no idea what the long term impact of that crap is on the human body so oddly enough, diet cherry Pepsi is an occasional treat and for all I know, we consume too much of that.
I happen to know they make this magical stuff called water that's cheap, good for you and doesn't stain if you spill it. How do you lead by example when you can't stand plain water yourself? You resort to soda, and by "soda" , I mean seltzer. We use the stuff to cut fruit juice and make powdered drinks. It is by no means a perfect solution but it helps. I haven't tried making fruit water for everyone yet. My gym bottle has crushed lime and ginger in it, maybe I should consider a larger volume? I also find myself reading a lot of labels. Some granola bars can be just as bad as Pop Tarts. Yay marketing!
Marketing, I believe, is also responsible for recruiting both other parents and my daughter's friends. Did you know the grade school lunch table is actually a minefield with uncomfortable seating? My daughter may see it as more like Wall Street, Oreos are worth way more than Apple slices on the trading floor. I have talked to her about what goes on and have been increasingly dismayed at what other people are sending their kids to school with for lunch. I'm guessing that since I have the luxury of being a stay at home mom, I can pack more healthy things. Adhd or not, my game plan is to get her more involved in packing her own lunch. So fellow parents, how goes the sugar fight at your house?
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Superman misplaced his cape
I am listening to my husband hunting for a job and reminding myself to keep my big beak out of it. He is a bit older and quite a talker. My suspicion is that the unemployment is getting to him. There is no shortage of work to do around our house and I would love to see some of these things get fixed before we decide to move. The house should look good for us, too, not just prospective buyers.
My problem is keeping my trap shut when he's on the phone with job prospects. I have mentioned how it's a different job hunt now than it was even five years ago. It's a struggle to watch from the sidelines when you think a loved one is under valued. What is he actually worth on today's job market? My belief that it's nowhere close to what I feel he should get, of course. There is such a thing as a "grey tax" which for me means that if you get the job at all, you will not be paid what you're worth. Why is experience valued so little? I'm sure he's still adjusting to this "new routine" and I don't expect him to be home for too long, but what if I'm wrong?
Back in the ancient days when I was looking and dealing with those used car salesmen of the employment world, a new resume on line would attract headhunters like throwing chum in the water. Nowadays, he's chasing after them. Not only is there no such thing as a have-a-nice-life postcard, you don't even get the decency of an acknowledgement in most cases. The cover letter is also becoming passe. We dinosaurs are having trouble keeping up this short attention span world!
We are seven weeks in, as of this writing, and my spouse is redefining antsy. I am more than happy to keep him busy, hey I'm here to help. That mulch out front was only about three years overdue, not that anyone noticed. We could even do something crazy like play hookie for a day. I'm wondering if either one of us would remember how.
It would be wise to have some shred of a long term plan (while we're going nuts here) just in case this unemployment thing goes way longer than we think. I may end up going back to school sooner rather than later. My daughter's advice was to find something you like and you're good at, but who would pay me to eat chocolate?
My problem is keeping my trap shut when he's on the phone with job prospects. I have mentioned how it's a different job hunt now than it was even five years ago. It's a struggle to watch from the sidelines when you think a loved one is under valued. What is he actually worth on today's job market? My belief that it's nowhere close to what I feel he should get, of course. There is such a thing as a "grey tax" which for me means that if you get the job at all, you will not be paid what you're worth. Why is experience valued so little? I'm sure he's still adjusting to this "new routine" and I don't expect him to be home for too long, but what if I'm wrong?
Back in the ancient days when I was looking and dealing with those used car salesmen of the employment world, a new resume on line would attract headhunters like throwing chum in the water. Nowadays, he's chasing after them. Not only is there no such thing as a have-a-nice-life postcard, you don't even get the decency of an acknowledgement in most cases. The cover letter is also becoming passe. We dinosaurs are having trouble keeping up this short attention span world!
We are seven weeks in, as of this writing, and my spouse is redefining antsy. I am more than happy to keep him busy, hey I'm here to help. That mulch out front was only about three years overdue, not that anyone noticed. We could even do something crazy like play hookie for a day. I'm wondering if either one of us would remember how.
It would be wise to have some shred of a long term plan (while we're going nuts here) just in case this unemployment thing goes way longer than we think. I may end up going back to school sooner rather than later. My daughter's advice was to find something you like and you're good at, but who would pay me to eat chocolate?
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