Summertime Punishment Is a Horrible Mommy Punishment!

My child has a little over 2 weeks left of summer vacation.  Their favorite television show which is Phinneas and Pherb ( honestly I like it too) has a theme song with there are “104 days of summer vacation” which I daily correct with the actual countdown-17 days.  My child loves school and I love that fact and so I am looking forward to school for them but I also am attempting to make a few last summer memories with them which keep getting delayed by my child’s actions.  Today was going to consist of going out to lunch, a play date and various fun activities after yesterday’s day at the pool and a play date and back to school shopping.  Today all changed when my child while getting dressed for bed decided not to make a good decision with my husband.  My husband was understandably frustrated-our child’s actions were not appropriate behavior but no sooner than he punished our child (notice I am saying “our”) the realization set in that it was bedtime and while my husband could go to work this morning before our child woke up I was going to be the “enforcer of the punishment”-a title that as a stay at home mom goes with the job description.  I cannot excuse their actions and yes time is precious and memories are important and they will only be this age once but the actions on their part require an important life lesson which as I type this is being taught to my child who has lost television, a play date and going out to lunch.  We have many fun activities planned for our child during the last 2 weeks of school but today I feel like I am the one being punished.  A wonderful mommy friend of mine who gives me the best advice has taught me that my job is not to be my child’s friend or entertainer but be their teacher of right and wrong.  I remember her words today in my head as I am being called a mean mommy constantly.

The Daily Mommy News Recipe-“Italian Dinosaurs a.k.a Pork chops.”

The Daily Mommy Recipe-“Italian Dinosaurs aka Pork chops.”

Let me start this recipe by saying I am not a fan of pork chops and let me tell you why. As a kid my mom would make pork chops one way and I can still taste them today even though I have not had her pork chops in over twenty years. Mom would buy the least expensive bone in pork chops that she could find and it did not matter how much fat or gristle was on them.  Then she would fry them and pour lots of salt and pepper and the answer to everything-cream of mushroom soup over them.  I still remember needing to chew her pork chops for what would seem like a lifetime to find that precious piece of meat among the fat, gristle and what seemed like a dinosaur bone in size instead of a pork bone.

Now as a mom and wife myself I decided to conquer the dinosaur a.k.a pork chop. I too have used the answer of cream of mushroom soup and although I do not fry my pork chops I bake them it still brought back childhood memories of pork chops and so I would find myself hiding the rest of the pork chops that we bought in a boneless, little fat large package at Costco in the very bottom of the freezer where they could be forgotten or avoided.  My enemy snuck out of that reservoir drawer in the freezer this week because with the economy the frightening way it is I have decided as a stay at home mom that I will not allow myself to but anything new to cook until my freezer is empty of all meats including the pork chops.  As chefs a.k.a moms this is often a difficult task because although the purchasing seemed like a good idea at the time you might crave a meal that is not in your freezer and do some additional stocking up.  Well I have promised myself and my husband I will not do that.  So this week I pulled out the last thing I felt like cooking and thought of a different way to cook my dinosaurs.  Much to my surprise my “dinosaurs” came out great and I didn’t use my cream of mushroom crutch! I used another staple Italian Dressing.

So if you love pork chops or you dread them if your pork chop childhood memories are the same as mine try this recipe and you might like them and your kids may not have childhood memories of dinosaurs too for dinner!

Italian Pork Chops

Ingredients:

Boneless Pork Chops

Italian Dressing

Garlic

Rosemary

Basil

Thyme

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Directions: In a large Ziploc Freezer bag place boneless pork chops. Pour enough Italian dressing in bag to completely cover pork.  Add 2-3 crushed cloves of garlic, sprinkle in bag dried rosemary, basil, thyme and cumin to taste-(about a 1/2 tsp of each or more if you prefer). Marinate pork chops in bag in refrigerator for as long as you can-a minimum of 30 minutes to overnight.  Once pork chops are marinated place them in glass Pyrex baking dish coated with cooking spray Pour remaining marinade from bag over pork chops and season with salt and pepper.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes covered.  Remove from oven and keep covered and let rest for eight minutes.  Enjoy!

Summertime Blues

Do you know that song that goes "And There Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Blues."  Well I am in search for a cure for me as a mom.  It has been a difficult week for me as a parent of a soon to be (not soon enough after this week) first grader. Everyone tells me that this is the age where children test their limits. Well my child has passed that test with flying colors.  I will not list all of the limit testing they have chosen to do this week but I think that this week qualifies as an AP Test with honors for a first grader.  I have tried to find outlets for me this week so I do not go off of the deep end.  I think that my husband is ready to send me to mommy school or to a girls night out with lots of wine a.k.a mommy venting before I cause him to go off the deep end with my venting. Wine is not an option because I am on antibiotics for a cold I had earlier this week which as we all know life does not stop when mommy gets sick and either does the boundary testing. I have tried everything.  I do not know if I am alone as a mommy because I also find myself looking at the calendar and realizing that my little one will also be back in school soon and the time I will have with them will be limited. So although I complain at times about being their "Julie McCoy"-(see an earlier blog of mine)- I had a wonderful day today planned with them. Last night after a week of venting about my child's "boundary testing" i.e. driving mommy crazy with horrible decisions and behavior I asked my husband if he thought it was a good idea if I spent the day with them today taking them to "Build a Bear"-their favorite store so they could use the "fluffing machine" to fluff their bear-this is a tremendous deal to my child and then to lunch. My husband looked at me like I had just told him that I could not wait to spend my day dusting, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming and doing laundry today, that we had won the lottery, I had just seen Bigfoot and that the economy is great all in one look. He brought me back to earth with one look and one sentence which was "really do you think after the week of their actions you should reward them with a great day like that?" Yes I know he is right, but is it just me or do we as mommies of young children constantly watch the clock and calendar and know that time is going by and that someday soon our children would rather do anything than spend a day out at lunch with their mommy and we are trying desperately to beat that clock?  My husband understands that but he is right that our job as parents is to make our child understand consequences for their actions. So instead of a day at "Build a Bear" I am spending my day cleaning house and my child is keeping themselves entertained. I had to start my day today with my child coming downstairs all dressed up for a day at "Build a Bear" and lunch with mommy to tell them that because of their poor decisions this week that we were staying home today. It hurt my heart to tell them that and see their disappointment. I too was looking forward to it. I now have a case of the "Summertime Blues." I have a small window of time that was shut today because of the importance of teaching my child a life lesson. Hopefully the cure to my "Summertime Blues" is that my child will understand the lesson.  Wish me luck!