Kid-Friendly Pantry Ideas – MSN Health & Fitness – Kids’ Health – 1

Man, I was glad to see this.  You ever really stop and look at all the “healthy” snacks for toddlers and preschoolers and their nutritional values?  Basicly, their value is zero.  AKA 0% of the RDA for just about everything.   Lots of sugars, lots of preservatives, and tons of artificial flavoring and color, but not much else.  Oh, and they’re expensive to boot.  Just what every budget conscious  family needs, right? 

Toddler finger foods are the worst, imo.  If they’re ready for finger foods then your probably already feeding them a pretty wide assortment of fruits, meats, and veggies in the form of 2nd and 3rd stage foods, right?  So why remove these items from their diet and replace them with expensive products that offer no nutritional value?  My 11 month old son would much prefer fresh banana or grapes prepared in bite sized pieces.  Or chicken.  Good lawd, that boy loves chicken.  Must be the deep south DNA in him. 

As for preschoolers, avoid those fruit drinks if you can and stick with real juice, milk, and water.  Snacks can be fresh fruits and veggies, or even things like the yogurts that come with M&M’s or Oreo’s with them.  We virtually never buy sweets or sodas, but when we do buy them we always share with our preschooler in appropriate amounts so that A)She’s not completely deprived of the goodies kids love, and B)So that she doesn’t develop a big “thing” for them.  Nothing will make a kid obsess over something more than forbidding them to partake of it. 

In addition to saving money, it’s just plain better for them.  Fruits provide much needed natural sugars that can assist metabolism without the dreaded “sugar high” and subsequent collapse, as well as vitamins that help build good immune systems.  Fresh, uncooked, veggies are a great source of Iron.  And both are also a good way of increasing hydration during those hot summer months. 

Also, you can try replacing your normal starches, such as pasta or potatoes, with a large mixed bowl of fresh fruit, salad, and/or cheese.  Combined with a baked or grilled meat, this makes for a delicious and healthy meal during the warmer months.

Kid-Friendly Pantry Ideas – MSN Health & Fitness – Kids’ Health – 1

Are we raising children or just herding sheep?

The recent controversy over “The Worst Mom In America” has touched on a hot topic button of mine.  Basicly, mom let her 10 year old son ride the subway home by himself from a department store.  Some say she was irresponsible, others say commend her for teaching her son independence.  I definately fall into the latter category.

At 10 years old I had been cutting grass for about 3 or 4 full summers already to make my own spending money.  My buddy and I had 2 apartment complexes, 1 business, and several residences that we maintained on our own.  Unsupervised and with zero assistance from our parents.  We got the gigs, we bought the gas and weedeater fuel, we did the work, we set the schedules, and we reaped the rewards to the tune of as much as a few hundred bucks between us per month, and this was the early to mid 80’s mind you.  I had a free roaming range of about 5 square miles and and as long as I left a note on the kitchen counter, I was pretty much free to go where I pleased until around 9pm.  What I learned during those summers was the value of hard work and the US Dollar, not to mention the pride and self esteem I derived from making my own money.

Today, those experiences have translated into my adult life in the form of leadership, accountibility, and my simple philosophy when it comes to my coworkers–If your there every day and work hard, then we can help you improve in any and every other area of your job performance.  If your not there every day and you don’t work hard, then no amount of smarts or talent wil keep you employed. 

In my opinion, we have abandoned the concept of teaching our children discipline, integrity, self respect, hard work, and the ability to do for themselves.  many parents, it seems, are doing nothing more than herding sheep.  They raise their kids according to Dr Phils’ ideals, or the official child rearing book of the week philosophy.  Don’t spank them.  Don’t teach them the word “no”.  Seriously.  Kids compete in sports where no score is kept–what exactly they are competing for, i have no idea.  The very definition of the word compete implies that there will be a winner and a loser.  Otherwise, you aren’t competing.  Your just playing.

Too many people in this country simply accept what they are told.  The news man said it so it must be true, they say to themselves.   Too many lack the ability to think for themselves and, even worse, many of them don’t even know it.  We have a watered down educational system (patheticaly inferior to many, many other modern countries), and we have parents who can’t teach their sons how to be men, their daughters how to be strong women, and can’t teach any of them how to do for themselves. 

Too many simply herd them to school, herd them to soccer, herd them to college, and then herd them into the workforce.  Where are our leaders?  Why are we so afraid to encourage our children to get out into the world and get some dirt under their fingernails?  How many are teaching their children that questioning authroity is part of the checks and balances of our social and governmental aspects of society?  That doing for yourself and working out problems on your own is a necessary and fundamental part of development?

 

Personally, I prefer to raise children that will be prepared to be adults.  I tell my 13 year old daughter all the time that she can be a leader or she can have her nose stuck in someone else’s ass all the time.  I tell her that if she is with a group then as far as I am concerned she is responsible for that group.  I actually tell her that most people are sheep and that she should use that knowledge to make sure that the group stays out trouble.  Some of you may balk at that, and I don’t really care.  Think for a moment, if you would, about trying to organize a trip for 15-20 teenagers to a local movie theater.  Many will need a ride.  Many may need a few $ to get themselves in.  A large group of teenagers, all in different rides, trying to meet at a specific place and time.  Sound daunting?  My daughter can organize this in about 2 hours.  She simply tells them all who will ride with who and who will loan who a dollar or so so everyone can get in. 

I can’t tell if it’s really funny or really sad. 

Super Bowl Prediction

Why the Giants will win the Super Bowl
roll2tide

I believe that the New York Giants will win Super Bowl XLII. Now before anyone goes slipping Lithium into my drink, please hear me out. First of all, the Patriots are a beatable football team. They are well coached and immensely talented, but they can be had. The Eagles played them to the wire at New England and they didn’t even make the playoffs. The wounded Colts lost by 4 and that was without WR M Harrison(game) and WR A Gonzalez(2nd half). Several other Colts offensive players missed time as well with injury and the Colts still had an opportunity to win late in the game. The Giants gave the Pats all they could handle and then some in the regular season finale and had the Giants recovered a late game attempt at an onside kick, they may well have ended the Patriots incredible run right then and there. So here now are my 3 reasons why the New York Giants will prevail this time around:

Tom Coughlin-Who would have ever believed at any point during the 2005 or 2006 seasons that this team would embrace their coach’s demeanor and play their hearts out for him? The fans wanted him fired. The players cited being ‘outcoached’ as a reason for losses. The media wondered aloud just when the axe would fall. Not if, but when. The problem was that Tom Coughlin apparently didn’t have anything else to do. So every day he just showed up for work like he did the day before, seemingly impervious to the chaos around him. If you look up perseverance in the dictionary, his photo should accompany the definition. And who has persevered more this season than the Giants? 0-2 after giving up 80 points in the first 2 weeks of the season and trailing the Redskins by 14 at halftime, the Giants could have easily just quit. Instead, they rallied around each other and outscored the Skins 21-3 in the 2nd half, including 2 runs from just outside the goal line and, most likely, saved their season, their coach, and possibly their quarterback.

Eli Manning-He’s been called soft. Unemotional. Told he wasn’t a leader on the field. He’s been Archie’s son and Peyton’s brother his entire life. Well no more. Eli Manning has stepped out of the shadows that his family name casts and has landed himself on the biggest stage in football. He has led his team time and time again this year and may have finally exposed all his personal demons to the light once and for all. Eli has done all the things he was supposed to do. He played quarterback just like his daddy and his brothers. When Peyton shocked everyone and went to Tennessee instead of Ole Miss, literally breaking longstanding friendships that Archie had built over the years at Mississippi, Eli made it right and gave all he could for the Rebel Nation. When Archie told him not to go to San Diego, it was Eli who quietly bore the brunt of the backlash. He has persevered through it all and now stands as his own man, the leader of his team, and the only Manning still playing football.

38-35-The Giants know how close they came in that regular season finale. With nothing but pride to play for, they lost none of it with their performance in that game. I think that history will show that it was that game, that loss, that is responsible for the Giants playoff success this year. Who knows, had they mailed that game in and rested their players they may not have even made it past Tampa. Perhaps seeing how close they were to the Patriots made them see just how good they could be. Good enough to maybe go to a Super Bowl, and maybe good enough to win.

I believe they are, and they will. And when they do, remember that you heard it here first.

 

http://www.sportsgamer.com/forums/sg-community-articles/187965-why-giants-will-win-super-bowl.html