"For the Children"

There are certain words and phrases that automatically make me suspicious. One of them is "for the children". That is one of the most manipulative phrases in the English language. How do you reply? "Um, yeah, I hate kids"? It seems like rational debate and argument based on facts can be shut down with this phrase. It is often used in politics but is definitely not limited to just one party or side. Both abuse it or are themselves manipulated or held hostage by it. Public opinion does not bode well for anyone who is not "for" the children.

We have accepted many things as being good for kids that aren't necessarily. Sometimes it's because we ourselves have been manipulated. Other times we let our fears guide our reasoning and what we decide is immoral.

Here are some of my personal "pet peeves" where "for the children" has trumped logic:

* Speed Limits in school zones when school is in session.
Do we seriously need to go 15 mph in the middle of the school day when kids are safely tucked inside classrooms? I get having a lower speed around the beginning and the end of the school day. But I'd be more in favor of a slower speed limit in the middle of the day Saturday or Sunday when kids are actually out playing, often less supervised, and crossing in more unexpected places. I mean, if it's really FOR the CHILDREN... Are we sure leaving the signs up all day isn't really for the cities to get more money giving speeding tickets?

* Throwing money at schools.
More money for schools isn't always bad - or good. But it seems like anytime I've seen money for education "discussed" the so-called discussion is quickly shut down anytime anyone questions the need for the money or where it would be used by the "for the children" argument.  You really care about children? Then do research to find what actually has worked to improve education - not just what FEELS good and makes sense in your mind. Just saying it's for the children doesn't make it automatically a good idea.

*Laws against leaving kids alone - in parked cars or really anywhere for that matter.
Did you know a child is 8 times more likely to die walking in the parking lot than being left in the car while mom runs in the store? Or that the risk of a child getting kidnapped is 0.0002 percent (and that's not just from cars). I think logic should prevail here. There are times leaving children alone is dangerous. But let's not make laws - or judge others - based on fear "for the children". Stop and actually gather facts so we can allow each family to make use their best judgment. Fear does not equally morally superior. And we shouldn't give the government power over with fear-based laws.
(Check out freerangekids.com)

 If you want to do something for the children do some legit research not fear-based reactions.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Currently this Arizona desert girl is living in Billings, Montana. My husband is selling SmartHomes for Vivint and this is his "market" for the summer. It's been an adventure packing up 5 kids in the minivan and living with a lot less stuff for 5 months (we're 2 months in now).  Something crazy that has happened since we came here is that I've started to cook a lot more. Like I've only picked up Little Caesar's $5 pizzas once! I'm not someone who really enjoys cooking, but I really do enjoy eating. I find recipes and usually mess around with them to fit what ingredients I have on hand, how much work I am willing to do, and the time-frame until my hunger won't wait any longer and junk food will win. Sometimes I consider what's healthy. Other times I debate the definition of that word. And most the time I'm just proud of myself for feeding my family something other than cereal. (Which my children and husband still live on - a lot). So I'm sharing some of the things that have made cooking a bit easier and more fun for me this summer.

One of the secrets to success for me this summer has been finally learning the not-so-secret ways of my Instant Pot I bought a couple years ago. Frozen roast cooked and tender within 2 hours? Done. Chicken in 20? On it. Steel cut oatmeal (doesn't that sound healthy?). Just give me the time it takes my kids to drag themselves out of bed and get dressed. I'll try to post some of the modified recipes I've made to help others when I decide to find the time, but here's my top favorite recipe so far:

Mel's Kitchen Cafe Chile Lime Chicken Tacos
But of course I just buy mango salsa at Sam's Club instead of making hers. And I tried the avocado cream sauce but I prefer the copy cat El Pollo Loco Avocado Salsa. So basically I've been making the chicken - and it is delicious with or without the salsas.

A fun addition to our kitchen as been an air fryer! My mother-in-law came to visit, used my friend's air fryer, and generously decided I needed one too. It's close to having a deep fryer without the hot oil. It's touted as a healthier option but honestly I'm actually a fan of oil - but I'm happy to avoid the dangerous boiling hot lava state. And the air fryer is FAST! Every day I find myself looking for something to cook in it.

So far I've tried:

• chicken pineapple sausages
• hot dogs (both were like they'd been grilled)
• pot stickers (in the future I'll stick to the stove for these)
• reheating chicken wings from a restaurant
• frozen boneless buffalo wings
• frozen tater tots
• frozen french fries
• frozen chicken nuggets

The recipe book has all these great recipes for cutting up potatoes and breading your own chicken, so I wanted to be clear this also works for lazy cookers like me. But the taste is SO much better than from the oven. 

I know that I do not fully access all the power and beauty of my Blendtec Blender. But I use it enough that it was definitely packed for this trip even though I couldn't bring very much. We have enjoyed summer smoothies using the pre-proportioned packs (say that 5 times fast) of fruit from Sam's Club and whatever else we have on hand - we don't let anything like not having an actual smoothie recipe slow us down! The thing I make most often in this blender is salsa. As a southwestern girl, homemade salsa is considered a staple (I'll post my recipe - or list of ingredients I sometimes use - in a future post). It's also great for the milkshake or orange julius bribes I give my kids. I didn't bring a mixer with me and I've even used it for cookie dough (although that was kind of messy). Basically this blender is a staple for me. It was expensive but I got a deal on it at Costco several years ago. And when it broke all I had to do was take it in and they gave me a new one. Pretty sweet. I'm not getting into the which blender is better debate here - I honestly don't know. I just know that having a super strong extra special kind is handy. 

Also, Walmart has colored kitchen utensils (in buckets by all the other fancier ones) that I like to buy. They're not only inexpensive, but having colorful utensils just makes cooking more fun! 

BTW, I am on the search for low cost yet awesome knives if anyone has any suggestions for me. I think that is one of my hold ups on pursuing lots of recipes that look good to me. My knives are no good and it takes too long to cut stuff. I literally had chicken shooting off the cutting board and flying across the kitchen a few days ago. And that's just plain gross. 

I'm Back

It's been almost 4 years since I've last posted and a lot has happened in my life since then (including two more babies 15 months apart). I've formed many a post in my mind in those years - but somehow sitting at the computer to type has been too much for me - or at least not a priority. Lately I've been thinking I really need to get back to dumping my thoughts somewhere to help calm my mind - and even my anxiety as that is a struggle for me.
I like to think (the value of those thoughts is debatable), I've always enjoyed writing, and I like to share. So I'm using this as my outlet. You'll probably notice it's random - I might get political one post, share a recipe another, talk about my life as a mom in another. I realize this isn't probably great marketing. But I'm not marketing. I'm just doing this for me and if someone else enjoys any of my information, experiences or musings than I'm happy to share. If you don't than I'm fine with that too. I think as mothers we all need to find things that are therapeutic for us because we have demanding, around the clock jobs.