What is this on my hands?

GASP!

It's time. Yes, people T-I-M-E. time

Maybe it's the extra hour in the day. Maybe it's something else, but suddenly I'm able to behave as though I have me some time.

So far today I have baked about 4 dozen cookies. I have eaten a total of 1/2 a snickerdoodle - raw dough!! Ack!!!!!! -- and threw the rest away. What the heck am I thinking? I baked off all the chocolate chunk cookie dough from the freezer. I'll be sending cookies to school with Hugh for election day - yeaaaah, that's the ticket - and I'll be taking others to school for the staff lounge. Let the skinny people eat 'em. If you ever want to know what to do for your kids' teachers - just send food. Healthy, not healthy - doesn't matter. Teachers'll eat it. I even go to the home-ec room to make my breakfast and lunch because there is less chance of unhealthy food there than in the workroom. The FCE (formerly home-ec) teacher is a Weight Watchers gal, so she knows my pain.

I also made a pan of eggplant rollatini (like stuffed shells) similar to the WW cookbook recipe. I need to enter the recipe data into WW so I can gonculate the points. I've also done 3 loads of laundry, swept the kitchen and dining room and prepped the dishwasher for running.

Last night Hugh made the chicken piccata from the WW Takeout Tonight book. It's basically fancy chicken fingers with lemon sauce. Hugh put up a huge fight at the outset, but once I got him going on it, he had fun helping. Of course once dinner was served, he refused to eat it. FLAT OUT REFUSED. "It smelled bad." He knew exactly what was in it because he made it, and he refused. I hate this part of our life. It gives me too much frustration. I also had made some new potatoes (we dug'em ourselves) baked in the oven with Italian dressing to give them a bit of flavor. He was all over those. I know he wanted me to make him something else, but I refused. He now has to eat what I prepare or fix something on his own. He's 10. He can. He keeps trying to pull this stunt of saying, "Mom, while your up, will you get me..." WHAT? Oh HEEEELLLL NO! We aren't going there. This morning I made oatmeal w/pb for breaky. He won't eat it, so he had to make his own toaster waffles. Poor kid. Cried. He put his own waffles in, went back to the Wii, and the waffles were too cold to eat. Awwww. Puuuhh-lease. I'm so not playing that. I told him that he made Wii his important thing, so he had to live with the consequence of hockeypuck waffles. I feel mean doing that sometimes, but he has to learn responsibility and to respect that I only want to spend so much time catering to him. It's a battle. We are not engaged in the battle of the messy room. He can go to a b-day party today if I can 1) get to his bed w/out hurting myself; and 2) make his bed w/out hurting myself or fighting off clothes and toys. So far - it isn't looking good. I just asked him how it will feel to have to take the BD kid's gift to school for him tomorrow. That seems to have briefly redirected his energy. I have to fight myself to keep from nagging at him. Ultimately, he will own if he gets to go to the party or not. Uh - oh...He just asked for clean jeans - our new therapy rule is that I wash clothes that make it to the laundry pile. So far he may be going to school naked this week. Oh well. I will be fully clothed because I brought my stuff to the basement.

I've had a chance to read some blogs this morning. I love that about my Sunday morning. I always learn something and gain a better sense of community. Speaking of community I am working on a plan to get to Chicago to see Mizfit and other blogger people I am dying to meet. I have never been to Chicago even though it isn't all that far. I am going, come heck or high water. I need to do this for me so I can hug the people who amuse, inspire, support, inform, entertain me every single day. These cyberfriends are my family away from family. I've also always envied people who say things like, "Oh I ran to the city this weekend to have brunch with friends." I'm always like "who does that?" I want to be able to say it!!!!!! LOL (My life is pretty simple and rut-filled...humor me!)

I don't know that I'll be whipping up any food miracles the rest of the day. I seem to have enough food on hand for the week. But Hugh did express an interest in the eggroll/california rolls in the Takeout Tonight book. Hmmm. After I get him to the b-day party, I am going to the gym for as much cardio as I can possibly stand. If I'm still able to walk/stand after, maybe I'll do some more cooking. We'll see. And of course, I'll let you know.

Make it a great day!