not everything needs a theme

The art of themed foods is not quite in my wheel well. I love food. I love to eat it, enjoy it, take pictures of it. BUT themed foods and foods I have to make into other things??? I am out. 

I see these cute videos on my Facebook reels of people twisting cinnamon rolls into Easter bunnies. There are donuts assembled together to look like snowmen. Don't even get me started on charcuterie boards. I can eat meat and cheese in rows and stacks. Don't waste your time making it pretty on my account! 

We needed a green food for a St. Patrick's Day themed potluck. Someone already took cookies. Pinwheels with spinach/herb tortillas was taken, so I took fruit. Lots of fruit is green! However... in March in the midwest fresh fruit isn't always fresh or reasonably priced. This ended up being more frustrating than I thought. 

Green grapes were astronomical. It annoyed me to get purple, but purple it was. Honey dew and pears were nowhere to be found. I only had to feed so many, so I wasn't about to hit a specialty food store. Our local Aldi was going to do it. 

Kiwi, green apples, and watermelon worked. The grapes were included just because. In the future, I will stick with a salad 🤣 Also, in the future, please be mindful of themes! Goodness gracious. Eating should be easy!!! 

teaching your kid the art of balance

We do things most of the time when we see something fun coming up. I am always down for an Icehogs game, an art exhibit, or a local event. We love to support local! Give me a themed festival or specialty day and I am all yours! This last year was a learning experience for all of us.

We suffered loss in ways we never thought. We had to pause, reflect, mourn, and grow. It was a lot. The take away was to always have the cake and eat it, too, BUT remember to rest. When we GO GO GO I burn out. Then the going isn't as fun. So we tried something new this winter. We hibernated.

We intentionally cleared a 4-5 week stretch on our weekend calendar. No bands, no big dinners or parties, no festivals or pub crawls. It was a fire in the fireplace, maybe a sleepover, and good food with games and movies. We ignored the need to scroll and see what everyone was up to. We hunkered down and enjoyed each other. 

We needed that. Our kid even noticed and enjoyed that. We didn't say no to everything! She still got Parent Night Out, sleepovers, practice, school events, etc. But Saturdays and Sundays were reserved for home. She found solice snuggling in a Snuggie Friday nights with the dog. She enjoyed heading to the gym and indoor farmer's market Saturday mornings. 

We all made it work. The hibernation phase is officially unlocked. We are back to some fun! We have the big D.C. trip under our belt and now we can wait for the weather to warm up for the fun things that brings. No one missed out. No one was deprived. We just paused and reset to learn to enjoy all things, big and small, enjoy each other and just be grateful.