The wrapped candy challenge and our in-house lawyer

As I have watched the sugar intake of my boys and the amount of candy that they somehow acquire at school and church, from friends etc.,  Scott and I decided to issue a challenge to the boys to eat no wrapped candy, except for one day a month.  I knew taking out all sugar was impossible, but we thought this may be doable.

Each month they do this, they get a certain amount of money which will be paid to them when they quit.  But, they couldn't just start and stop on a whim when they decided they wanted to earn a few bucks.  The challenge was to go for an entire year, but we also recognized that small increments would be best to see how they do.

3 of the 4 boys accepted the challenge and even one of Chase's friends decided to join in.  Taylor opted out.  We then had to discuss what wrapped candy meant.  That was more difficult than we thought.  What about candy not in it's original form?  In a shake?  Fruit snacks? In a cookie? Gum?  Even after we established the rules, including a talk on the importance of honesty,  it was and still is not uncommon for one of them to say something like,  "Mom, is a donut wrapped candy?"


We are 2 months into it and so far (as far as I know) all 3 boys are still in.  Chase's teacher commented to me at parent teacher conference that Chase says no to all the candy that is offered to him.

Now, onto the lawyer part.

About a month into it, Owen came home from school with something in his mouth.  I asked what it was and he non-guiltily said a Hi-Chew.  "Owen, that is a wrapped candy," I said.  He then proceeded to argue with me rather forcefully that a Hi-Chew is a fruit, not a candy.  I laughed at first, but as I continued to assert rather forcefully that a Hi-Chew was most certainly not a fruit, he got even more adamant in his stance.  "But Mom, there's a piece of fruit on the wrapper!  That means it's a fruit!" he argued, with tears running down his face.   He wouldn't budge an inch.  Any lawyer would have been proud.

What I first thought was funny, turned ridiculous and then I found myself getting irritated that he was so insistent.  I started to raise my voice and argue right back.  After a few minutes of both of us arguing our sides and both of us getting more and more upset, I stopped short and just started laughing.  Why on earth am I arguing about this?  Hi-Chews are a wrapped candy.  End of story.

Truthfully, I think he just didn't want to lose the challenge so quick and was resorting to anything he could come up with.

So, the challenge goes on.  I gave him a warning, and his other 2 brothers who were ready to declare that Owen was defeated, I silenced with "the look".  Their turn will come when they ask for mercy.

  

What I'm into these days

Costco Finds

This Chunky Guacamole is to die for.  I seriously cannot hand make it any better.  They come in individual servings, so you can eat as many as you'd like and not worry about the leftovers browning.

Chicken Salad - I love this stuff too.  Perfect little single serving sizes as well.

All of the ingredients in both of these foods passes my "I know all of the ingredients" test which is a plus in my book.

Butter Reds - Have you ever made something and it turned out delicious and you had no idea what you did that was so special?  I bought these potatoes at Costco for no other reason than they said "butter" on them.  Really, I'll eat anything with butter in the title.  I scrubbed them, threw them in a 9x11 baking dish, sprayed them with canola oil, salted, turned them over and repeated.  I remember putting them on a low heat 250 for about an hour instead of higher because I was going to be gone for awhile and didn't want them to cook too fast.  Once I got home I raised the cooking temp to 350 for another hour.

They were absolutely perfect.  Salty, crisp skins and and the creamiest interior you could imagine.  My whole family loved them and they couldn't have been easier. I'm sold.

Crio Bru
I've been eyeing this stuff for months now.  I'd see it online, read reviews about it and then think some more. Some people loved it and others hated it.  I love hot chocolate.  Particularly dark,  hot chocolate.  I could drink it every day and even have a special hot chocolate maker in my kitchen. The darker the better as far as I'm concerned.  But this stuff, according to reviewers is more bitter like coffee than sweet.

I really wanted to try this, but it is brewed and I did not have a french press to try it out.  Heck, I didn't even know what a french press was.

At some point I decided to give it a go as I was intrigued about having a daily hot drink with the dark chocolate taste and without all the sugar.  Plus, this company claims all sorts of healthy stuff about regularly consuming cocoa.

I bought a cute little french press, brewed my first cup and took a sip, not knowing exactly what to expect.  The smell coming from the cocoa beans is absolutely divine and it makes you certain this is going to be the best tasting cup of hot chocolate ever.   Sure enough it was exactly what some of the online reviewers said.  It tasted like weak, watery, slightly bitter,  hot chocolate.  I was somewhat disappointed, but didn't want to give up quite yet on this experiment.

I have tried their different roasts, tweaked the brewing time a bit and added some milk in with the water for a slightly thicker drink.  I also add a dash of cinnamon as well.  And you know what?  I really like it.  I look forward to drinking it every morning.  I can't compare it to hot chocolate because it is bitter and tastes nothing like it.  In fact, every time I make it, smell the chocolate and pour it into my cup I have to remind myself, "Tiera, remember this is not hot chocolate."  After about the 2nd sip I get into it and enjoy the rest of the cup.  I would say it is a comfort thing to drink it every morning. Who knows if all their health claims are true, but I'll consider that a bonus.

So.... if you really love dark, dark chocolate and would really love a "healthy" hot drink in the morning,  give it a try... but I warn you.  Do not expect hot chocolate or you will be disappointed.

Someone doesn't like the dentist

 

 

I found this picture on my bed the night before the boys visited the dentist.

My boy has changed

When one's child turns 16, one has the liberty of waxing nostalgic for a few minutes, right? He has changed so much the past two years.

10

11

12

13

14

16

And speaking of change, this kid keeps shooting up right before our eyes. About a month ago, we measured him and he has now overtaken Scott by an inch and is nearing 6'2".  Scott wasn't too happy about this as he even got out a level when we measured, just to make sure.  Here are the pencil marks on the wall and his official growth chart in our playroom. 

And Taylor turns 16

How can my first born already be 16?  It cannot be possible, but somehow it is.

For decorations, I opted for a large balloon chandelier over his bed. (Bed made by his nice mama). We celebrated with BBQ and cake in the evening to round it out.

Oh, and he got his official driver's license.  He did not want me to take a picture of him, so we had a discussion about how this is an important part of a teenagers life and that I should take one so he would remember. That didn't convince him.  I'll get a pic of him soon... I hope.

Happy 20 years!

Scott and I celebrated our 20 year anniversary a few months early.  20 years.  Wow!
We had a fantastic time lazing around Kauai and looking for the best fish tacos.  I'm proud to say, we were very competent in both areas.

Here's to another 20 years with this wonderful man.

Cabin update

Well it wouldn't be right, not to have another update on what hasn't been done up there right?  We are so close to getting done enough to pass a final, we can almost taste it.....almost.  Another 6 months and we should get there!  ;)

The good news, is that our builder has managed to find a stone mason that would be willing to go up and do our indoor fireplace.  Although it doesn't need to be complete for an inspection, it would be nice to get it done so we can use the fireplace.

The bad news is that all of the stone is under at least 3 feet of snow and needs to be moved inside and dried so that it can be put onto the fireplace.  That sounds like a good project for the boys, so up we went.

The first pile was somewhat easy to access and after a bit of digging we uncovered it, made a line and moved it right into the house.  The second pile was a bit harder because it had been knocked over and scattered last fall.  We had to dig around a bit more to find it, but we did. And now we wait and see how long it takes for him to actually make it up there and finish.