Month: May 2010

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I Let Noodles & Company Do the Cooking

The last week of school is almost as hectic as the first week of school. Instead of this looming sense of “we’ve got all school year to figure it out”, there’s this sense of “holy crow, if it doesn’t get done now, it never will!!”, which can be a little overwhelming.

Or a lot overwhelming. This week was a lot overwhelming. By Wednesday night I’d had quite enough, so I decided that I was giving myself (courtesy of MomCentral) a break Thursday night for dinner.

We packed up the kids and headed out to Noodles & Company at the newest outdoor shopping center in Central Indiana. I was excited that not only were there many menu choices, but that the choices spanned continents. I was able to have Indonesian Peanut Saute (yum! more yum!), hubby was able to have Italian, and the kids, well the kids weren’t going to venture out past mac and cheese. I was ok with that–I got to eat Peanut Saute while everyone else in my family was happily eating what they like as well.

Also? I didn’t have to do the dishes. And? Someone else cooked my meal. And? The service was quick so the four of us actually sat at the table all together to eat without chaos. We had a great meal, let the kids play at the playground across from the restaurant, and made it home with plenty of time to spare before bath time. It was a great weeknight excursion (which is saying something, because quite often excursions on school nights are anything but great).

Honestly, part of this review is supposed to include my kids eating vegetables while we were at Noodles & Company. That wasn’t going to happen, unless veggies were added to the cheese sauce discretely. Children with a more diverse palate would probably have no problem with the veggies found in most of the menu items, but my kids weren’t going to stray far from mac and cheese. It’s something I plan on working on over the summer–getting them to at least put more vegetables to their lips.

Check out all of the variations available at http://www.noodles.com/ surely by the end of the summer they will pick something besides mac and cheese, right? New for summer is an Asparagus & Lemon Linguine dish which sounds divine (it wasn’t available the night we went).

Overall, we had a great family night out–I’m so glad that Noodles & Company did the cooking for me Thursday night!

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central (www.momcentral.com) on behalf of Noodles & Company and received five Noodles & Company bowl cards to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a thank-you gift certificate.”

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WWJB–Summer Camp 2010

So emails are starting to fly amongst my gal pals, we are starting to plan for summer. Starting to plan because weeks and weeks on end with no plan at all sort of stresses me out. Mostly because without a goal each day, I’d sit here, on the Internet while my kids zone out at the TV until at least noon every day. We are looking at the free movies, the library reading programs and maybe jazzing up the around-town itinerary with a scavenger hunt or two.

As we were figuring out who was going where when, the topic of Vacation Bible School came up. MaM’s been looking forward to going to our Church’s program, and I’ve been planning what I could do for two hours each morning with Junior while she sings Kumbayah.

Then we registered this past weekend. And VBS this year is 6-8 PM. There goes that plan. Of course she’ll still go, of course she’ll still love it, but there won’t be that week of “this is why we are getting dressed before noon, and Junior, what would you like to do today” .

Then a friend shared that her boys were going to VBS at a church near their house, not their actual church. And then she threw out the name of a church near us that has a morning VBS one week in June.

AND THEN I GOT AN IDEA.

What if we church hopped all summer? What if each week I sent MaM to a new VBS? The price can’t be beat (most are $20-$30 for the week), and who couldn’t use more Bible schooling?

AND THEN MY FRIEND GOT AN IDEA.

(clue for week 1) This church has a fun festival and living Nativity at Christmas. Do you know what church this is?

What if we church hopped all summer, scavenger hunt style?

(clue for week 2) This church is across from your favorite park. Do you know what church this is?

Each week, the kids would get clue, and once they figured out which church it was, they could go to that VBS.

Theme for the summer:

Where

Would

Jesus

Be

(clue for week 3) We pass this church every day on the way to school. Do you know what this church is?
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Sick Day Survival

The following doesn’t substitute for medical advice….I’m not a doctor. I’m the daughter of a nurse, but I don’t actually have any medical training.

So here we sit on the rainy Monday, as I called in to school (again) because MaM is sick. This is sick day #14, I think, for this school year, and only one or two of those was I actually the one who was ill.

Today MaM has some sort of stomach bug, she ran into our room at 5:20 this morning announcing, “I puked up in my bed, Mama :/” Oh my poor baby girl.

Here are some things that I’ve learned about puke-fests, as we’ve had more than our fair share this year:

1) Make things washable & wipable. For some reason, these viruses tend to come on while they sleep. This is why they both have plastic mattress covers & waterproof pillow covers. I can’t imagine cleaning an actual mattress on top of everything else!

2) Line the puke bucket. From about age 3 on, MaM has been able to hit a bucket when needed. I was complaining to my mom one day about having to clean it out….and then she mentioned that somewhere along the way, she figured out to use a LINER. So be sure to secure a plastic bag inside your small trash can or bucket, it makes everything SO MUCH BETTER.

3) Tiny amounts of fluids go a long way. Dehydration is the biggest worry with these stomach bugs. A small amount of water in a straw cup is a good way to push fluids (small amounts at a time). If water won’t stay down,  an electrolyte solution (pediatric or sports) can work wonders. (sidenote – A Franciscan priest shared that detail with my college natural science class, and it’s been a lifesaver for me on many a “day-after-the-party” ) There are pediatric solution popsicles, but they gross MaM out. “I don’t like salty popsicles,” were her exact words. So here’s what I do-I keep them unfrozen and then just put the contents in a straw cup with a little water. She gets the potassium and sodium she needs, and is none the wiser. Here are more details on dehydration: http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/emergencies/dehydration.html

4)Kids really do need to be puke-free for 24hrs before returning to school or daycare. So if your kid is still not holding anything down at 11:30am, you may as well make arrangements for the next day. As someone who was hospitalized for dehydration due to a child coming back to school too soon (and hurling next to me), I have the utmost respect for this rule.

Even if it means I’m off to call in for Sick Day #15.