Stories Archives - Page 32 of 38 - Forever In Mom Genes

Linguini Facial

Oct 23 2011

I made a healthy, home-freaking-made-from-scratch meal and I was ready to impale myself on a dull spoon midway through dinner. My little girl eats like a bird. A baby humming bird. Lately we’ve made great strides, both in food diversity and in weight gain. It’s a roller coaster—good days and bad. I’m okay with that. But, when your child refuses to eat something she normally loves, it’s irritating. For the love, who refuses linguini?? I tried everything. All of our usual tricks. Even our latest and greatest… paying off each bite with a butterscotch CHIPIT. I can handle a little food refusal. What I can’t handle is when my child wrestles her dish (which was suction cupped to the table for stability) with such furry and determination that it launches suddenly upwards, flinging the entire meal like an aerial assault by an army of searing hot saucy snakes, into her mother’s face. I enjoy a facial, but I draw the line at a pesto prima vera treatment. I threw in the towel, after wiping away the sauce with it, and retreated to my office, leaving daddy to deal with the pasta shrapnel. Tomorrow would be a[…]

Aug 22 2011

I told a lie about my child. You’re probably expecting a joke or a silly pun right about that. Not today. I brought my daughter with me to the drugstore to buy eye drops (and shampoo and lip balm and a travel sized hairspray and milk. I need to get this impulse buying thing under control). As I stood in the skin care aisle (I also bought hand cream) Avery picked up various bottles and tubes and chattered away. Then she spontaneously hugged the guy who was stocking shelves next to us. She’s tactile and a hugger without boundaries, obviously. All the while a young female clerk was casting glances our way. Later at the checkout that same clerk was organizing the magazines. She asked, “How old is she?” An innocent question, but one I’ve come to hate nonetheless. I understand why people ask. ALL THE TIME. They’re just trying to figure Avery out. She looks her age-ish physically, but her social graces and immature speech patterns make her appear much, much younger. “How old is she?” is an attempt to make sense of the disparity. “How old is she?” asked the clerk. “She’s four,” I answered. […]

Aug 14 2011

The business of starting a small business gives me a thrill. I’m teased mercilessly by friends and family who have christened me, “Queen of the Big Idea.” I’m thinking I should start a club with like minded idea lovers to discuss, you know, ideas. I could call it, Mensa and Margaritas. We would obviously have to have t-shirts made. I just get so excited whenever an idea sparks. I become consumed by it. But, once the reality of the money and time required to take it to the next step sets in, the idea is filed away. And by file, I mean literally filed away in a file on my computer called, “Lisa’s Home Biz Ideas.” Each of these businesses-in-the-making has a name, logo and tag line in place. I didn’t go to business school, but I know you can’t start a business without a catchy logo in a cool font. Also, my business plans have cute icons and are in a pretty colour coded chart. So, a “big idea” hasn’t taken off for me yet, but it will. And it will be huge, I tell you, huge.

Jun 21 2011

PANCAKE POACHER..CAUGHT IN THE ACT! Some mornings it takes a good hour for me to fully regain consciousness. In the meantime, I slog through the a.m. routine in autopilot; Get up…get dressed…wash face…feed dog…rouse kids…and stumble toward the kitchen, with one eye on the coffee pot and the other on the clock, trying to determine how late we actually are. (Depending on how far apart the coffee maker and clock are, this can be relatively painful). As I check my email, a morning ritual which takes no more than a few minutes (I’m not that popular) I contemplate breakfast. Ah breakfast that sweet, welcome break to the nightly fast. When my brain and body are a little more sluggish than usual, cereal with bananas and yogurt and a teaspoon of Salba is the best I can muster. But, if I’ve been on the ball the week before, I can reach into my freezer to retrieve some freshly frozen blueberry pancakes, thus earning respect and adoration from my breakfast lovin’ children. If you’re making pancakes or waffles for the family on the weekend, triple the recipe. Flash freeze extras on a cookie sheet (so they don’t stick together), then[…]

May 31 2011

I walked in Toronto’s “Weekend To End Women’s Cancers” and met so many people touched by breast cancer. Too many. Concerned for my own health, I asked my doctor if I should have a mammogram. She explained that Canadian women are advised to be screened at the age of fifty, unless there is a history of breast cancer in the family, in which case the recommended age in forty. I asked if I should wait until fifty? She told me it was up to me. Then I asked the question I ask all doctors… “What would you tell your daughter?” She said, “I would tell her to do it. Now.” She explained that breast cancer affects women (and men) of all ages, but it’s aggressive and develops quickly in younger women. By the time it’s detected, it may be too late. I made my appointment. Mammograms can be scary. Especially your first. I tried to make the idea less daunting by pronouncing “mammogram” like you would if you were announcing a candygram (like in the old SNL shark candygram skit). It helped. But only a little. Sporting a tie-in-the-back gown, a friendly female technician showed me into a dimly lit exam room. She[…]

Category - Stories

Linguini Facial

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