Miley: The Strong Willed Child

I am not a follower of current trends and I rarely watch television anymore. Not because I do not enjoy mindless entertainment from time to time, but because my days are filled with board books, baby dolls, cars, and coloring. But, I did hear about Miley Cyrus and her performance on the VMAs with Robin Thicke.

I will start by saying I regret Youtubing it. I was sucked in and I was sad. While watching Miley lick herself and others, dance "provocatively", and rub all over a married man; my heart literally hurt for her. I know she is an "adult" by all definitions of the word, and makes her own choices. But, I saw something in her that truly worried me.

You see, as a child, and watching her grow through the television and media, Miley was obviously a strong willed child. She was obviously passionate. She was clearly an individual. As a momma of a strong willed child, of someone who is already passionate about her "causes" (even if that cause is more Goldfish), I was concerned. What happened to the sweet child who sang beautifully and loved her daddy? As parents, where do we go "wrong" in raising our strong willed children? That was my question. Because I never want to make that mistake. Sure, our lives are VERY different than the Cyrus family, but, I NEVER want to witness my child behaving that way, anywhere. It would shatter my heart into a million pieces to know my child thought that little of the herself and her body.

The other thing that struck me were all the social media comments. They were all negative, and they all held some sort of validity. It was inappropriate. It was hard to watch. It was uncalled for. It was ridiculous. But, as viewers, shouldn't we take some accountability? Shouldn't we have said "We are not watching this filth." and turned it off. The VMAs had 10 million and almost half were between the ages of 12-34 years old. What does that tell you? Our babies are watching this. Our impressionable teenagers are watching this. They are seeing her being cheered on. They are watching her flaunt what little her momma would probably like her to keep covered. They saw her be disrespectful to her own body and to another woman's husband.

As parents, we are responsible for protecting our children from this. We are the ones who sit our kids down and say "That isn't someone I want you having as a role model". Encourage your kids to pray for Miley. Pray she finds whatever it is she is searching for. Give your children positive role models. It doesn't have to be a media figure necessarily, but make it someone relatable to them. Build your child's confidence at home, in things that have nothing to do with their appearance. Say to your daughter, "You are so funny! I love your jokes." Tell your son "You are so very smart. I love the way you built that building out of blocks."

I know I sound preachy. But, at the end of the day, I felt sorry for Miley. More sorry than disgusted.

Family Away

Tonight, a friend of Zachary and myself celebrated his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. I know what you're thinking, a grown man at Chuck E. Cheese? He had never been and his sweet wife (my best friend), wanted to surprise him. 

I was SO very excited for this night, because Zach and I are both ski ball nerds. It is what we do. We went to Chuck E. Cheese on our honeymoon. We were heading to the beach for the day and both decided we wanted pizza and a game. It was SO fun. So, when we were invited, we both got giddy! We were going to hire a sitter, have a date night, and some fellowship. Then, life changed. I literally mean things changed in our lives that meant Zachary taking a second job on some evenings. He couldn't attend tonight.

At first, I was bummed about him missing it. Then I thought to myself, "No sense in dwelling on what cannot be changed." Savannah and I would go as a date and spend some time as her and I. Zach literally called me crazy for taking our 2 year old to a busy arcade, after bedtime, alone without his help.  I said a prayer, dressed our girl up, and got excited. 

At first, I thought it was going to be a bust. But, as time passed, she started enjoying herself. Seeing things through her beautiful eyes really changes my sight at times. The things she finds joy in, are so simple. It makes you smile. We enjoyed it. She obeyed. She ate well. She played and had no melt downs. She said grace over her supper. 

And then the most amazing thing happened! My friends parents decided to bless this momma and take my girl and play while I finished eating! I can count on one hand in two years the times I've been able to finish a meal when Savannah has been around. As I sat and watched Savannah enjoy other people being with her, and those people enjoying her, I teared up. It is probably hormones. But, I realized in that moment, we have created a family away from our family. I have people who love my family like I do and WANT to bless us with those small gifts. HOW amazing? 

They probably have no idea what this meant to me. Instead of leaving with a throbbing back and head, a short fuse, and a fussy baby because she can sense momma is fussy: I left with a smile and a happy heart. My girl rode home in happy silence, her bright pink bracelet and rubber dinosaur clutched in her chubby fist, prizes she won from playing. As I rocked my sweet Rooster to sleep, in her sleepy elephant jammies, I was content and so was she. All because we had sweet people love on us with their time and energy. I am grateful tonight! 

A Method to the Madness!

I have always been "alright" at cooking a meal and an "okay" planner. But, with a toddler, a job, church, and my basic day to day: I have found it difficult to make new recipes and to actually cook some days. I got incredibly bored with our same rotation of meals, and it got to the point where we were eating SO MANY calories at each meal. Zachary is thin. Period. Savannah is thin. Period. Momma is not. So, we had to compromise. This past week, I made a plan to make a new recipe for 5 days straight. And, I did it! Triumph! They are as follows:

Saturday: Slow Cooker Chicken Phillie's!: 

 These were a very hearty meal, but worth the calories in terms of what went into your body. Veggies, protein, dairy, and grains. I will say, next time we will use whole grain wheat hoagies. Still, super good. The Dales is a MUST for this to be tasty. 

Sunday: Outback Crock pot Potato Soup

The calories in this are around 170 per 8 oz serving. I didn't add anything on top of mine (IE: sour cream, chives, bacon). It was very good, very easy, and made lots of leftovers. I made this Sunday because we are literally gone the entire day at church. An easy crock pot meal is the way to go. 

 Monday: Weight Watchers Honey Mustard Chicken:

This was my favorite recipe of the week. I loved the Corn Flake coating, and loved that it was low calorie. Zach did not even know it was "healthy" because it taste that good! I also, instead of the mashed potato's he usually request, tossed some cut up potato's in olive oil and garlic seasoning. That helped with calories. Add a nice salad, and you have a filling meal with little added to your waist!

Tuesday: Baked Spaghetti

I KNOW this wasn't low calorie, but I consoled myself in the fact that I had a huge salad with it. Savannah ate 3 bowls, and asked for more at lunch today. Success! 

Wednesday was banana bread. I have never been good at baking. It isn't my thing. But, I love baked breads and goodies. So, I branched out. Zachary's Mema gifted me a cookbook that all the sweet ladies in her church made. In it are some of the most amazing sounding recipes. Today was the banana bread. I added walnuts to one load and chocolate chips to the other, for my man child. Let me know if you would like that recipe! It was super easy and turned out moist as all get out! 

I have 6 new recipes for this next week, and just went shopping for everything today. It has been incredibly nice to have everything I need for a meal, to try a new meal each night, and to have leftovers. A friend and I were talking today, and we both said how great of a feeling it is to keep a clean house and to bake and cook. Truly, I love it. Feminist everywhere are gasping and blaming me for todays stereotypes, I am sure. But, that is my heart. I NEVER knew I would be a momma to my girl, a wife to Zach, and ENJOY doing these things. But, I find peace and joy in making them both a meal and seeing both their eyes light up when they taste it. I enjoy knowing EXACTLY what is being put into my girls body, and how good it is for her. 

All of that being said: I am still learning to DO these things. I enjoy them, and I enjoy the outcome, I do not enjoy the time and energy. It is hard. Please do not think that my house is clean and both Savannah and Zach get fed like this every night, because it isn't, and they don't. I am trying to take the small steps into being the momma I know God has called me to be, and that is not perfection. It isn't a perfect quiet time every morning in a clean house, a shower and makeup daily, a homemade breakfast every morning, lunch, and supper. It is doing everything I can to serve my babies, both big and little. And, by doing that, I am serving Him. (Proverbs 31:15-20)  He sees it as perfection, because He designed me and loves every fault.