Is cereal for dinner okay? I have to make dinner AGAIN??

 You know how every day around a certain time, this thing rolls around where everyone in your house expects to be fed?  They've already had a snack after school (or if it's summer, they've been eating every hour since they woke up) and now they are hovering, wanting to ask, but knowing they are not supposed to ask,

"What's for dinner?"

Ugh, it's that time again.  Why does this have to happen every. single. day?  As a stereotypical American mom, it's been ingrained in my mind that I'm supposed to make my family a meal every day.  Now, that's not exactly how I was raised, however.  My dad was the mealmaker, but there was still a meal- and boy, was it a meal!  My dad always had a meat, potato and vegetable every night.  Sure, we occasionally had pasta or on the rare occasion pizza, but we were pretty well-fed and my dad was an amazing cook.  We even lived out in the country and grew our own vegetables.  But my dad worked full-time and prepared a meal every night- and he seemed to enjoy it.

I sure as $hit did not inherit that gene.  I would say that I'm a decent cook, but in no way do I enjoy cooking.   And I've unfortunately raised some picky eaters.  I don't make a separate meal for everyone, if they don't like something, they just eat more of the thing they do like.  But in the last year or so, my husband has taken over the dinner making, and unfortunately his repertoire is extremely limited.  He's a bit of a grilled cheese, ramen noodle and frozen food kind of guy.  In fact, he knows how to use our air fryer WAY better than I do.

So here is my personal conundrum.  What is considered a "quality" meal?  I once met a fellow baseball mom in Little League that had like seven kids and they seemed really great and she homeschooled them through high school.  I asked her what she did for dinner when they were so busy and she said they had a lot of frozen pizza.  I was shocked and it made me realize that maybe it was okay to feed my kids frozen pizza on a regular basis.  But I keep coming back to this question about cereal.  Shouldn't cereal be an okay replacement for dinner sometimes?

My husband doesn't think so, but I beg to differ.  They load cereal up with vitamins these days it seems like, so as long as I'm not just feeding them pure sugar flakes, wouldn't it be a better choice than ramen noodles?  I was doing some research and according to the Food Network, "Many cereals deliver whole grain, fiber, vitamins, and minerals all in one bowl..." (2022).  Even the cereals that have marshmallows or frosting have found a way to hide some sort of nutrients in them.  Plus if you add milk, whether it is dairy, almond, soy, etc., you're getting that added nutrition there as well.

What do you think?  In a country where many others see us as eating to excess and meat, potato and vegetable might be out of the question for some, am I wrong to think eating cereal for dinner is okay?  What are some other options you might have for a parent that struggles with ideas every day?  I also have a daughter that's vegetarian, but dislikes most vegetables and many fruits, so that's always fun.  Perhaps my third husband will be a personal chef. 😆

Untold Stories of the Bible: The Easter Bunny

Every year since I've been a parent, I've asked myself, "what does the Easter Bunny have to do with Jesus?"  Here's what I know about Easter.  It's a very very dumbed down interpretation, so don't come at me with the actual verses because I'm not 100% accurate.  Jesus was crucified and his body was placed in a cave.  Three days after that his body rose to Heaven.

So where does the Easter Bunny come into play?  Why have we somehow decided a rabbit, candy, and eggs correlate to this very un-Disney-like scripture?  Upon some surface level research, I only found some general correlations to the idea of rabbits and eggs representing new life, but frankly my dear, that's pretty lame.

Therefore, I have come up with my own story of why the Easter Bunny is a representation of one of the Holiest of Holidays (see what I did there, etymologists).  I'm not presenting this so that you can present it to your children as if it's a fact.  You shouldn't tell such ridiculous stories to your children.  You should share this story with your friends... and social media... like I am.  Mark your calendars that I'm copyrighting this story as of today, April 4, 2021.

"Jesus and the Empowered Bunny"

Three days post-crucifixion, Jesus arose from the dead.  He was ready to climb the Stairway to Heaven, but found himself barricaded in a cave.  The cave was blocked by a giant boulder.  Worn out from his days of being nailed to the cross, Jesus looked around the cave for help.  The only other living being was a rabbit.  Apparently when Jesus' body was placed in the cave, the rabbit had darted in and been trapped.  Jesus looked the rabbit in the eyes and the rabbit showed no fear.  He came over and sat at Jesus' wrapped feet.  Jesus explained the situation to the rabbit and that for them both to be free they needed to move the boulder.  Jesus held the bunny's paw and together they prayed for strength.  Suddenly, the rabbit stood on its two hind legs and drop kicked the boulder right out of the cave.  They were both free!  Jesus and the bunny hugged it out.  Jesus told the Bunny he would be rewarded in Heaven upon his death.  As a reward for his bravery, all rabbits from then on would not have rancid gross poops, they would have small round brown poops... that over the years have been misconstrued as ovals, then eggs, brown eggs... chocolate eggs... candy... eggs...

There you have it.

You're welcome.

The Outsider is now available on DVD and Blu-ray!

I've been a fan of Stephen King since I first discovered his books in middle school.  My parents wouldn't let me watch his movies, but they didn't stop me from having them play out in my mind as I read the fascinating, enrapturing words on the pages.  Over the years, I've had less and less time to read, but still enjoy keeping up with any of the Horror/Suspense Master's work.

I have been fortunate enough to be able to review The Outsider (first season- not sure if there will be more), but I had already watched it all on my own as it aired.  Each Sunday I was anxious to find out what happened next.  Okay, I'll be honest, I looked up the book before the series was over to try and get some spoilers.  By the time the series ended, I was disappointed it was over, but definitely not disappointed in the time that I had invested watching it.

From the first episode, I was hooked.  Terry Maitland, a loving husband and father, little league coach, well-liked in the town, is arrested publicly in the middle of one of the games.  He is being charged with murdering a local child in an extremely gruesome and sadistic way.  No one is more shocked about the accusations than Terry himself.  He insists he has nothing to do with it and wasn't there.  He provides an alibi, but the police believe they have undeniable proof... and they do... but Terry has undeniable proof he DIDN'T do it.  Make sense?  How can one man be in two places at once?  The series continues with one tragedy after the next, one mystery after the next.  Just when you think you understand, you're given new information that throws all the previous theories out the window.

Not only is the story great, but so is the acting.  Justin Bateman plays Maitland, but my favorite by far was Cynthia Erivo playing Holly Gibney.  Her scenes were intense and fascinating.  The plot itself gave me a slight "It" feeling, but without the clown.  A town trying to solve impossible events and experiencing random deaths.

Don't just take my word for how good it is, buy it for yourself!  It originally aired on HBO.