Bugs, slugs and Ughs!

My daughter, the princess, likes bugs.  Yep, you read that right ugly, creepy, crawly B-U-G-S.  Ick!  I guess I can't say much, because when I was her age I didn't mind bugs either. But still, I swear she is the Queen of Bugs.  I have to laugh though because she's can be a totally girly-girl one moment and a total tomboy the next.  The nice thing about this is she fits easily into both worlds.  I don't have to worry about her being anyone other than who she is.  She has a variety of different "types" of friends because of this and doesn't seem to be judged.  I'm so glad.  I love that she's an individual and doesn't cower (for the most part, yet) to fitting into any types of stereotypes.  She is definitely swayed at times by popular opinion but can hold her own when she chooses to disagree and stand up for what she believes.


My son isn't nearly as into bugs as her.  Sometimes I want to die laughing when she shows him something she's dug up and he's like..."Ewww!  What is that?  Get that thing away from me.  Moooommmm!!!"  I have to laugh because it's such a girlie response.  He kills me. 

Here's a Rolly Poly bug she captured that my son is holding.



She has gotten him intrigued from time to time.  As with the Rolly Poly's.  She has them named.  Seriously, named them.  They are (and I quote) Mr. Snuggles.  Yes, you read that right. She will cup it in her and gently, hold it up to her cheek and rock it as if it's a baby.  They are her pets.  She cries when they roll off her hand and disappear to the ground below.  

Here her and Goalieboy made a rolly poly colony.  They captured about 6 of the disgusting poor things.  Unfortunately, they left it out uncovered one night and it rained.  I'm sure all the rolly polys drowned.

She did find a few slugs.  Thankfully she is not fond of those and threw them back where she found them.  She even smooshed one.  She said, "They're gross and disgusting.".  Hmmm...pot calling kettle black much little miss?  It think it's just a bit gross and disgusting to be digging around for creepy crawlies.  She kills me.

At one point she hunted for worms (we have a ton in our back yard).  She and Goalieboy added them to their bug emporium with the rolly pollys.

This makes me want to puke.  Worm pie is what it looks like.

I've decided I'm keeping these pictures for prosperity sake and going to pull them out and show them to her when she's older.  Heck, I'm going to share them with the boyfriends, husband and grandchildren too.

Fast Food....Never Again!

Let me start by saying, we ate Fast Food yesterday.  And oh my lord, it was awful!  It reminds me why we avoid it.  Ironic that Daddy and Goalie Boy had Micky D's on the way back from Poconos and Little Bee and I had Burger King here.  Mistakes on both our parts.
Little Bee and I went to BK because she had received a birthday certificate from school for a free kids hamburger meal.  Neither of us like BK but it she really wanted to go.  It was the perfect opportunity on our girls day.  The guys were hungry and wanted to catch a quick meal they could eat on the drive home.   Totally acceptable and understandable.
We've always limited eating it for health and cost reasons.  Let's be reasonable....it's full of fat, salt and preservatives.  It's extremely unhealthy.  Also, if you can make the time to cook a meal for your family you can spend the same amount of money (if not less) and eat better quality food.
A few years ago we ate it more often.  Not by choice per say but because my husband worked in the industry and we (him and I) were constantly on the go.  He would get his meals for free.  He avoided eating it as much as possible but it's hard when you're managing a restaurant and working there 12 hours a day.  I was working similar hours so it wasn't unheard of to pick up a quick bite going to work on the late shift or coming home from it.  Still, we tried to make the best choices since he worked there and I didn't have the time or money to sit down and eat better on the job.  We rarely took our kids out because we did not want them eating this type of food constantly. 
We have taken the time to explain the pitfalls of eating at fast food places.  We have also talked about weighing menu options and making the best choices.  We have a rule...if we eat out at one of these places they are not to order two fried items.  Example...no chicken nuggets and french fries.  If they want fries then they need to choose a hamburger.  After watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show my kids won't eat chicken nuggets anyways.  That made a good impression on them which I hope stays seared into their brains. 
I can tell you this, when my son gets his birthday certificate to Burger King I will be tossing it and offering him a different choice.  We rarely eat out as it is because it's too expensive.  I will be doing it this once because I can't go there again.
Usually, on the rare excursion into Fast Food Land I will order a salad.  I really like McDonald's Southwest Grilled Chicken salad and Wendy's Apple Pecan Salad.  They are fresh and tasty.  We never go to Burger King and I was not impressed with their salad choices.  To top it off, I really had to look for that part of the menu.  It was hidden over to the far left and buried in the middle of other things.  I got a grilled chicken sandwich and splurged with onion rings. I should have skipped the whole thing.  It was disgusting.  And I knew it was going to be.  Why did I do that?  Geesh!  The bun was dry.  The chicken looked over grilled and was like shoe leather.  The onion rings looked undercooked.  They weren't a nice golden color.  Just kind of pale and gross looking.  I was starving, so I ate it.  Never again.

My son and husband told me their McDonald's food was gross too.  Goalie Boy said his french fries were cold so he only had a few.  Too bad we paid the price.  Hubby said his stomach felt nasty, but he was able to sleep it off.  Goalie Boy in the bathroom at 11 pm getting sick.  The good news (if you can call it that) was his stomach was fine after that and he was back to sleep in no time.  This isn't the first time he's gotten sick after eating fast food coming home from Nascar.  He too, said Never again.  I wasn't quite so "lucky".  I felt nauseous from 8:30 on.  I didn't get sick until 2 a.m.  Nothing like laying in bed trying to sleep with a rocky stomach.  I took Pepto at 9 but obviously that didn't help.  It was beyond disgusting.  I finally fell asleep around 3.  My stomach still isn't 100%.  I'm sipping chamomile tea while I'm typing this.  I think I'll attempt some dry toast in a bit.  Wish me luck.
Swearing off fast food for a long time!  I'd say forever, but we no that's not realistic at times.  I hope it's forever though.
Unfortunately, whenever we eat fast food lately it has its consequences.  And boy did we pay.

By the way...my daughter is the only one who had no stomach issues.  I'm so grateful.  She didn't eat everything.  About half a burger and not even half the fries.  She loves fries, so I know those had to be gross too.  I'm so glad that I make my own baked fries and the kids love them.  So much healthier and the kids don't crave the junk.