A Dirt Cheap Solution

Lately, no matter what I look at, it looks expensive to me.  Food, clothes, utilities, you name it.  I know it's not just my imagination that the cost of things are going up, especially in the food department, but I can usually overlook it at the grocery store by just not buying certain things.  As an example, I refuse to pay over $1.29 for an avocado.  I just can't do it.

A couple months ago my husband sent me an article titled 'That's pricey: 13 items that cost more, or will soon'.  They talk about gas, airfare, furniture (?!), fast food (oh. darn.), FLIPPIN' CHOCOLATE!!!  I guess expensive chocolate is good motivation for me to NOT buy it, but I still like having the option...

One of the items on that list is household products.  Now that's interesting, isn't it? *wink wink*  According to the article,

'Diapers, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, trash bags and many other everyday items all have been targeted for price hikes as companies from Kimberly-Clark to Procter & Gamble to Colgate-Palmolive respond to rising ingredient costs' 

- and -

'The Consumer Price Index has climbed 2.7% in the past 12 months, according to government statistics released Friday. That’s the largest rise since 2009.  Price increases will continue in the months ahead...'

Well that sucks. I doubt I am the only one feeling the repercussions of rising costs, but I can happily say that the rising cost of cleaning products will NOT affect me.  Don't fall victim to this baloney!  If you've read my blog before, I make it pretty well known that I love Shaklee products.  I usually go on talking about how wonderful and green and safe they are, but have I mentioned how much money they save me?  I know some of you don't give a rats ass how green they are...if I had a dime for every time I heard 'I just love my bleach, I'll never give it up!'...well, you know the rest. 

 I just got the sale papers for a couple grocery stores,and one has Windex on sale 2/$5.  That's a 26 oz bottle for $2.50, for the record.

When I mix up a bottle of Shaklee H2 windows and mirrors cleaner it costs me less than 1 cent.  Yes, less than $.01 for a 16 oz bottle.  Hmmm...2 cents (for 32 oz, not 26!) vs. $2.50 for 26 oz?  Not a hard choice.  Suck on that, Windex. 

Before I was enlightened I bought Fantastic and Clorox Clean-Up, at about $2.39 a bottle.  Then when I greened up I was buying Seventh Generation for $4.79 or even GreenWorks (which is total greenwashing, I now know) for about $2.50.  These days, when I mix up the equivalent Shaklee H2 all-purpose cleaner it costs me .22 cents...a gallon. If I was better at math I would figure out how much that is per bottle, but I really stink at it.  Feel free to jump in, math people.

I've got more, of course I do.  But I will not go on and on because I don't think it's necessary.  You want to save money where ever you can, and so do I.  This is one of the things I do that saves A LOT.  Total bonus...you don't have to walk down the cleaning product or laundry aisle at the grocery store...it stinks so bad!  I walk through there once in a great while, and every time I do I sneeze from all the perfumes and chemicals.  Yuck!  But, that's a whole other blog...

Did I also mention that you can use H2 on anything that can get wet?  Ask yourself a question:  Does this sound like you?  'But ohhh, waaahhh, I need a different cleaner for my kitchen and waaahhhh what am I supposed to use in the bathroom or on the floooooor?'.  H2 gets used on everything.  It dusts furniture, removes soap scum, cleans kitchen counters, mops floors, washes dogs, washes children, degreases grease, de-pests plants, de-wrinkles clothes, deters mosquitoes on you and fleas from your pets, etc etc.  You can clean anything with this stuff, and throw your dirty water outside and it will make your grass greener and your roses rosier.  I even shoot fruit flies right out of the air with it, and don't tell me that doesn't sound like fun.  Drink it, bathe in it, do what you gotta do...just don't forget to tell your friends about it.   

And to answer your next question, yes it works.  You couldn't put 'Always Works' in your motto if it didn't always work.  That's false advertising, and the green folks at Shaklee look down their squeaky clean noses at stuff like that.

So here it is, folks.  The solution to saving money with cheaper cleaners is at your fingertips.  All the cleaning products in the Get Clean line are concentrated out the wazoo.  You use less, you spend less, you save money and you can buy more shoes.  Want to buy more shoes save money?  Start here.  Come to the Light Side.  Do it now!!!

The. Worst. Salesperson. Ever.

That's me, you know.  I really stink.

Unfortunately for me, it's what I do.  I sell products...right?  Ya, sorta, I guess.  As if we needed more evidence of me being a poor salesperson, there's that last sentence to really drive it home.  *Sigh*

A little background info for anyone who doesn't know me:  I am a distributor for Shaklee.  I sell green cleaners, whole food vitamin supplements, skin care, body care, childrens vitamins & body stuff, weight loss...all the most pure and organic and chemical free.  It's a great company, Shaklee even consults to the U.S. Pharmacopaeia and sets standards of purity and quality all over the world.  No other supplement company can compare to Shaklee's research (though some have tried to pass it off as their own!) or Shaklee's quality and purity.  And you can take that to the bank.

I do pretty well, too, if I may say so myself.  I am solidly contributing to our household finances, have no other (outside of the house) job and no plans to get one either.  I helped finance a complete bathroom remodel, I pay for our family's gym membership and cell phones, and even have some left over.  Lucky for me this stuff typically sells itself.  Especially the cleaning stuff...I do a demo and it's undeniable...the stuff works great.  Easy peasy.  And the nutrition...once you try it you realize what you've been missing, and it's hard to go back knowing how good you can feel.  Good stuff to sell when you're a sucky salesperson, huh?  Ha!! 

I know some really good salespeople.  Many have excellent advice on what to say, what responses to give when someone says 'no', different strategies, etc.  I listen to their advice and end up thinking what different people we are, and what works for them as a salesperson isn't going to work for stinky me cause I'm just not aggressive like that.  My salespitch?  Just try it.  Yep, that's all I got.

Instead of a salesperson, I fancy myself an educator.  Go ahead, you know you're thinking it...well la dee da, she fancies.  Yep, I fancy.  I'm obviously interested in health, nutrition, fitness, and the environment, and I talk about it anyway, right?  Uh, YEAH.  Sit down and listen, I'll tell you all kinds of stuff about the products you use or the food you eat that'll make your hair curl.  I've read, I've researched, I've tried stuff, I've experimented.  I'm a firm believer and I want others to believe too, so that they can live healthier lifestyles and feel better and be better and live longer and look younger, etc etc.  It's out of the goodness of my heart, not because I want to sell people stuff.  If Target sold Shaklee, I'd tell people to go there and buy it.  If I wasn't a distributor, I'd still tell people not to use bleach or ammonia or Magic Erasers or air fresheners.  I'd still say 'read your labels!' and talk about how high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils are bad for you.  Eat your organic fruits and vegetables, stop drinking milk, soda is the devil and artificial sweeteners are his spawn.  The chemicals in cleaners and body products will give you cancer, irritate (or cause) asthma, build up in your body and make you sick, sick sick.  Many vitamins are not usable by your body because they are synthetic and you won't absorb them.  Many vitamins and protein products have been badly processed and won't give you the benefits you think you are getting.  Stick around, folks cause I've got plenty more.

And that's how I do it.  I educate, I don't sell.  I educate people so that they can make better and healthier choices, and of course I have those healthier choices available...it is a business after all.  I don't sell them a product as a replacement for what they have without telling them why...what's the point in that?  If you educate them, they will get there on their own and their level of loyalty will be greater than you could hope for. And when people are making the choice of their own volition instead of feeling pressured from a salesperson, they feel better about the choice and will move forward with it. 

Think you can do it?  Talk to people about what matters to you?  Give other people the knowledge you have acquired and help them make better choices - steer them in a better direction?  Sure you can.  Educate your friends, family, neighbors, and even complete strangers, and watch the sales roll in.  If I can do it, you can do it.  Really.  No, really really.

Sooo, are you ready?

Your Garbage is My Pleasure

To my husband's irritation and annoyment, I am a big fan of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  My insistence on recycling every scrap of recyclable anything is a common recipient of 'the eye roll' and 'the exasperated sigh'.  Where we live we have those huge garbage and recycling cans, and everything goes into the one huge can that then gets emptied once a week.  Unfortunately, our recycling only gets emptied once every OTHER week.  Not cool for the obsessive recycler.  We had to have a second giant recycle can delivered, lest I throw away something recyclable and not be able to sleep at night.

An even bigger source of husband irritation and annoyment than my obsessive recycling is my love of all things reused or repurposed.  There is no end to the ways things can be used for something other than their original intended purpose!  A trowel for a coat hanger, a hay fork for a trellis, a piss-pot for a compost bucket, a yoke for a curtain rod.  These things all might sound absurd to you, but to me...they are bliss.  If they do sound absurd to you, damn you!, you are not alone.  My husband would heartily concur.  He calls my treasures 'junk'.  How dare he!  Only I am allowed to call it junk.

My most recent acquisition is this beautiful old cement wash basin.  I saw it posted on my local Freecycle and couldn't resist.  Told the husband about it and what I wanted to do, and he played along pretty well until we got there...and saw how monstrously huge this thing is.  These poor people had this 500 lb monstrosity taking up valuable real estate in their basement.  I mean, how the heck do you move something like that?  Back in the day they probably had to build the house around this thing, it's so huge.  And, I must add...gorgeous.

Double basin, steel lined, amazingly patinaed cement. 

Husband is giving me the 'run, quick!' eye, but I hardly notice as I am deep in thought about the potential of this behemoth.  This thing is going to be the best. Flower. Box. Ever.  The homeowner even brilliantly pointed out that each side has its own little drain, so drainage for a planting wouldn't be a problem at all.  If my husband could shoot daggers out of his eyes....

Naturally it couldn't be moved that day, we needed much more muscle involved.  The homeowner's pick-up, a couple of borrowed mercenaries, a smashed finger and a dirty jacket later, and it is in my yard in all its aged gargantuan glory.  And it will be glorious.  Mark my words. 

For some reason, my reasonable husband seems to be under the impression that my new cement friend will 'junk up' the yard.  Huh?  I think not.  Let's be realistic here...this is an old farmhouse, not some McMansion with $20,000 landscaping.  An old cement wash-basin as a flower box fits right in, next to the hay fork, tractor seat, hand-push lawnmower, and don't forget the old hand-made swingset!  It's all about vision, and that's something I've got and he doesn't. His vision is clouded by trips to the curb and navigating through a crowded garage. 

I mean, hello!!  Did I mention I am REUSING this item?  Keeping it out of a landfill, like the good little green girl I am.  It's not just my personal vintage style, it's my personal philosophy! 

Earth: Without it, we'd be aliens

As you are hopefully aware, it is (almost) April, the official sponsor of Earth Day. Of COURSE I'm going to dedicate a blog to it.  You do realize who you're dealing with here, right?

*Ahem*  In honor of Earth Day, I thought it would only be appropriate to dedicate a blog to the blue planet; home to one and all of you, my lovely readers.  Since it is so early in the month, if you haven't already thought of something earth-friendly that you and your family will do for Earth Day, now is the time to come up with something.  Why not?  It's a good learning experience, and any changes you make are only going to better everyone's quality of life.  Being the green goddess I am, I am going to make a few suggestions.  PICK ONE AND DO IT.  Ya, that's right, I'm gettin' bossy.  Don't make me come over there....

1. Still using those cruddy toxic cleaners?  Well hello, have I not mentioned Shaklee?  Come on, get with the program.  Shaklee's Get Clean line is fabulous, cheap, and the stuff works great.  You'll never go back to your smelly, asthma-inducing, cancer-causing, skin-removing toxic crap again.  It's eco-friendly, made with corn and coconut surfactants, and you can literally throw your dirty mop water out in the yard and your grass will be greener.  Plus, Basic H2 was the first official Earth Day product!  It biodegrades in 30 days, the wipes are compostable, and did you know that Shaklee was the first company to offset all carbon emissions?  Just flippin' try it, already.

2. You know you've got Rot Pot envy.  Get yourself a Rot Pot.  Seriously folks, start a compost!!  You can get one of those barrel-type composters that fit in any yard, and reap the benefits all year long.  It cuts down on garbage, and those of you who pay for garbage stickers should appreciate that.  Use the compost on your vegetable garden, and oh my, will you be glad you did it.  My tomato plants get as tall as me!!  It's easy, cheap (after the initial investment of the barrel), and worth it.  My pile is free...just fenced in with chicken wire on the side of my yard.

3. Are you recycling?  NO?!  Get your building, neighborhood or town to start.  You'll be everyone's hero, and who doesn't love a little hero-worship?  It's the 2000's, after all, everyone should be recycling.  It feels terrible to me to throw away, or see someone throw away, recyclable items.  I can't handle it.  I'm the kook digging in the garbage cans, taking home the recyclables so they don't end up in a landfill.  If we (planet Earth) continue the way we are going, imagine what life will be like for our grandchildren!  Full. Of. Garbage.  Is that what you want for them?  Ya, I didn't think so.  There's an activist in all of us, now get out there and activate it!

4.  Your community won't support recycling cause you live in the boonies?  REUSE.  Make some stuff and start a little business.  I've seen some great businesses online where people are cleaning up selling things made from reused items.  Mason jar chandeliers (very Pottery Barn!) go for a couple hundred bucks!  Knitted items from grocery bags, felted yarn goods from thrift store sweaters, endless items made from old reclaimed wood.  Get creative, it's a great outlet, and if you can make some dough doing it, kudos to you.

5. Did you know that if you measured and added up all the energy-escaping cracks in your home, it would on average add up to a hole 3 FEET in diameter?!  The cold is still here and the inevitable summer heat is coming.  It's never too early or too late to make your home more efficient.  Quit being such a primadonna, lower your thermostat and put on a sweater!  Fill those cracks in your home where cold air comes in or goes out, put in some new insulation, get some thermal shades.  Check your water heater, furnace and chimney, and if you're due and able, replace those old appliances.  If nothing else, you could be saving a boatload of money by keeping a tighter ship.

6.  Buy local.  Eat less meat.  Support companies and buy products that support the environment, and don't fall for 'greenwashing'.  Grow a vegetable garden.  Use reusable bags.  Turn off the dang lights.  Only run your washer and dishwasher when full - a full dishwasher is more efficient than washing the equivalent amount by hand!  Be conscious of how wasteful we all are.

I think that last one hits the nail on the head, don't you?  BE CONSCIOUS.  Pay attention to what you're doing, because in the long run it affects us all.  I could go on and on, but you know what to do.  We've only got one earth, and we better take care of it.  Even if our generation doesn't reap the fruits of our labors, future generations will appreciate what we've done to preserve what we can.  After all, what would we do without Earth?

Hot MAHMA!!

I've been a stay-at-home mom for over 7 years.  Sometimes I question my sanity, but mostly I am just glad that I'm here.  For us there have been some challenges financially, but we've made it this far.  Actually, in general we are all lucky that we've made it this far, because there are days...oh, there are days where everyone better just count their blessings that they lived through it...

As a SAHM I cook, clean, schedule, run taxi service, decorate, undecorate, bathe people, clothe people, treat what ails them, etc. etc. whatever.  It's what I do and it takes me all day.  Even though I worked for almost two years after the boy was born, I still can't imagine how the moms out there who have full-time jobs get everything done on top of working.  Kudos to you, ladies!

One of the things I've done over the years is try and make (or save) money anywhere I can to help our family finances.  I could probably dedicate another whole blog to my home business mis-adventures.  I've watched kids, done Tupperware, ebay, crafting, couponing on a massive scale, etc. I have to laugh when I think of how many ads in newspapers I've seen for work from home jobs that are total scams, or internet sites about how you can make jillions of dollars by following their simple system...just spend $500 on their package to learn how!  Assemble crafts at home for $350 a week, or stuff envelopes, or something equally too good to be true.  Be a secret shopper! Or internet jury!  It was fun, but none of these things lasted very long or made enough money, though I do still find myself selling stuff on ebay just cause I like it, and I've got a listing on Amazon, too. 

When the boy was in kindergarten three years ago,  I discovered Shaklee.  Since I was already using green and non-toxic products and trying to make money from home, it seemed like a perfect fit.  I got the business presentation, tried a couple of the cleaning products, and I was IN.  The difference between this stuff and the 'green' products I was using from the grocery store is like night and day.  I used to pay $4.79 for a very popular brand of non-toxic cleaner that didn't really work all that well.  Then I moved to paying $2.79 for a different, yet equally popular brand of so-called green cleaner which worked better, but that I later found out was 'green-washed'.  Then I tried Shaklee's all-purpose cleaner to the tune of about 10 cents a bottle, and it cleaned circles around the other stuff while at the same time being green and non-toxic and cheap and just freaking all-around lovely.  By the way, YES I said 10 CENTS per bottle.

Since I became a Project MAHMA mom and been working my business part-time with one or both kids at home, and I've been making a decent amount of extra money.  Now that both of my kids are in school full-time (GOD BLESS whoever created all-day kindergarten) I need to justify my presence at home all day a little more heavily, so I've revised my plan and created my goals.  Three years later, my Shaklee business is on fire, I'm still at home, and I'm significantly contributing to our household finances.  Maybe not full-time corporate job $$ yet, but it will be, and it won't take me too much longer to get there either.  At this point, I don't intend to EVER go back to work.  And at the rate I'm going I won't have to.

Some people really love their jobs that they do outside of their homes.  Some people don't.  I've never been good at taking orders or doing what other people wanted me to and I can't honestly say that looking back on any of the jobs I've had that I was ever a very good employee.  But I am my own best employee, now! 

I'm my own boss too.  I'm really good at it and I'm a pretty darn cool boss if I may say so myself.  You can ask my kids how good I am at bossing them around, they'll tell you.  Heck, if the kids aren't home all day for me to boss around, who else am I going to tell what to do?

Now, somebody go make me a reuben!!

Mom vs. Vomit

Kids and cleaning products were made for each other.  As were kids and candy, kids and puppies, kids and padlocks, kids and boarding schools.... *ahem* sorry, I got carried away. But seriously, what would one do without the other?  My kids, as I'm sure yours are too, are capable of the most fantastic messes my imagination couldn't hope to compete with.  The Cat in the Hat's got nothing on them.  I always say crumbs seep out of their pores and they can destroy an entire room (that it took me 3 hours to make sparkle) in 3 minutes flat.

One of the most common things I come across in my daily cleaning is spots.  Spots on the couch, spots on the carpet, spots on laundry.  Some of those spots take more of the shape of intentional marker scribbles, but who's counting?  So, I arm myself with cleaning products (non-toxic of course) and go to work removing spots from every surface.  Another day, another load of laundry full of stains and spots.  Lucky for me I have this Shaklee stuff called Nature Bright to remove the evidence of 'having a good time', as my mom always says.  Without Nature Bright, a lot more stuff would go in the Goodwill pile because of stains.  I am secure in the knowledge that there is not a spot I can't conquer with Nature Bright.  I absolutely will not use chlorine bleach or any other stain removers (or cleaners, detergents, soaps, etc.) that will maim, directly or indirectly kill you, irritate the heck out of your skin, cause an asthma attack, or at the very least make your eyes water.  I believe that last statement covers probably 95% of the stuff that is sold in grocery stores.  Anyway...

As I mentioned in another post, my 9 year old son is involved in Taekwondo.  This past weekend there was a tournament two states away from us, which involved about six hours of driving, an overnight stay with relatives and a 55 MPH ice rink commonly known as I-294.

The boy has participated in quite a few tournaments before, and never really had a case of 'the nerves'.  That is MY job, and I do it well.  So, what happened this past Saturday probably can't be explained away as nervousness. This was a smaller tournament than the last one and he felt very prepared for the events he participated in, even excited to compete in one particular event for the first time. 

As we turn onto the street of the high school where the tournament took place, I hear a meek little 'Mom, I don't feel so good' from the back seat.  I swear it was slow motion...I turn around in my seat while simultaneously asking 'Are you going to barf?' and grabbing the nearest plastic bag.  I got it in his hands not a second too soon.  Thinking it may have been nervousness, we sat in the car a few extra minutes for him to chill out (and see whether there would be a repeat), then headed inside.  He seemed ok, if a little wigged out, and was even able to laugh about it a little.  He managed to get through his first two events, even placing 2nd in one of them, before it was time to toss the cookies again.  Thank goodness for extra large garbage cans on wheels.

His next two events were a couple hours away, so we bundled him up with our coats and he chilled out in a corner with a Sprite and some crackers to wait.  One or two more trips to the garbage can and he seemed to really perk up, like whatever it was might have been out of his system.  With the help of another TKD mom, we got him to agree to participate in one more event, which he did, and then we headed back to our relatives house an hour or so away.  We hadn't quite turned into their subdivision when I heard the distinct sound of liquid hitting the bottom of a bag.  A paper bag.  That leaked.  All over the seat and the stark white pants of his TKD leadership uniform, which ran us a cool $150.  The poor kid had to strip in the car and hang around pants-less while I ran in the house to collect all our junk and bring him new clothes.  Another hour or so car ride later and we're home in time for him to lose it again, this time into the kitchen garbage can.

The barfed-on TKD uniform pants came out of the wash sparkling clean and restored to their original bright white...or so I thought until I investigated the inside of the pants, and found the evidence that this really was a flu bug, and not a case of the nerves.  But hey, what did I say about conquering stains?  That's right.  I'm not afraid.  Already through the washer and dryer usually means an item is doomed, but not at my house!!  And this is one stain there can't be ANY evidence left of, EVER.  Nature Bright to the rescue once again.  

So bring it on, life!  Hit me with whatever stains you've got, I'll conquer them all - blood, sweat and tears...and vomit -  and do it safely with non-toxic products.   But really, I can wait quite a while before being put to the test again.  At least until AFTER the next taekwondo tournament.  And please, no blood!!

Compost: It's green, but it sure is ugly.

On this snowy day in January, I am at home cleaning my house and doing chores and taking the occasional break to geek out on the computer.  My friend's daughter is coming home on the bus with my kids after school, so I figure it's high time to get rid of the compost situation growing on my kitchen counter.  It's getting ugly.

Our house is on a one-acre lot, and both sides of the lot are very brushy and overgrown and very conducive to composting.  I have a little area bordered with chicken wire with stakes in the corners to hold it up, and I toss in all of our kitchen scraps, fireplace ashes, and some yard waste in there throughout the year.

My compost system is as follows:  I have an antique enamelware pee-bucket with a lid (yep, I said pee-bucket) on the counter, and all of my appropriate food scraps go in the bucket. The full bucket then gets either taken right out to the compost pile, or depending on how busy I am in the house I may empty it into a big kitty-litter bucket that I keep on the back porch.  Then when that bucket is full, it gets taken out and dumped on the pile.  Saves us a lot of garbage, and I have peace of mind knowing that my kitchen scraps are not sitting in an impermeable plastic bag somewhere, not biodegrading as they should.  Yay, me!

There are a lot of specifics about composting - what you're supposed to compost and what you're not, turning, temperature, nitrogen, ratios, etc.  I like to call MY way of composting The Lazy Person's Compost System.  I dump it on, it rots.  Maybe next year I stir it up and spread it in the garden (my tomato plants get monstrous!).  Hey, my system works.  And at least I'm composting at all.

But then it gets cold out.  Then frosty.  Then frigid.  Then frozen tundra crispy nose-hair cold.  Yay, let's go dump the compost!  NOT.  So naturally, I end up with a full bucket on the back porch, a full bucket on the kitchen counter, and then I might even grab another container and start filling that.  This will get transferred to the back porch when it's full, too, keep it nice and cold.  Yuck, right?  You betcha. 

Again, today I am home doing chores.  Part of cleaning the kitchen is dealing with what my husband affectionately calls The Rot Bowl.  To begin, I empty the ashes from wood-burning stove into a paper grocery bag, then pile some old bread and banana peels and stuff on top of the ashes.  My intention is to get all geared up in boots and coat and heavy gloves, and take this beast out to the pile where it belongs. 

But I haven't.  It's on the back porch.  And it's stinky.  I'd like to think that when the kids get home from school I can bribe the boy to go dump it for me by paying him 2 bucks or something.  But he's way smarter than that.  I'm on my own. Buck up and get out there, Bonnie.

Remind me again why I compost?  Hmmpf.  I mean...YAY, I LOVE IT!  GO GREEN!

Can we have ice cream for dinner?

Hi, and welcome!
Since this is my first blog, I imagine introducing myself is in order. I'm a stay-at-home mom of 2 with my own health & wellness business. I try to keep my house as green as it is possible for us; we compost, recycle, grow vegetables in the garden, reuse, reduce, etc. I buy organic. We don't use products with 'bad' chemicals to clean, do laundry, or wash our hair and faces. In the winter our heat is set to 62 degrees during the day (I wish I could take credit for that one, but its really my husband being cheap). My kids know we do not eat certain things, and words like 'hydrogenated' in the ingredients mean its BAD.

That said, I should also mention that I live in a fantasy world where everyone happily does what I want them to.

My 5 year old is usually pretty compliant. Eats what I give her, doesn't complain too much, tries new food items, etc. But every so often she gets a feeling of entitlement when it comes to deciding what she wants for any particular meal, and makes sure I understand that there will be no substitute for what she has decided is on the menu. Ice cream for dinner, or for that matter Doritos for breakfast, are not usually part of the idealistic meal plans I fantasize about.

I have these daydreams where my family is all sitting at the table, getting along, talking about school and work and friends and sports, and happily eating the wonderful, healthy, organic, vegetarian dinner full of nutrients and green vegetables! that I've prepared for them. Yeah, right. The kids whining about Ding Dongs break through my reverie every time.

I really admire those parents whose kids would never dream of asking for Little Debbie at the store. But one has to wonder...how did they do it? Hypnotism? Beatings? WHAT??? Could someone please let me know?!