I Have Scallops in My Freezer

I have scallops in my freezer, and I'm a little nervous about it.

I love scallops.  I could pop them in my mouth like chicken nuggets.  I crave them when I watch Top Chef with the Hubs.  Inevitably, one of the chefs makes a delicious looking scallop dish. 

The problem is, I've never made them for my family.  I've never made them period.  I hear it's not hard (the cooking part, not the feeding to my family part).  I got brave at Walmart today and bought a frozen package of those round fleshy little seafood medallions.  I hope I don't end up regretting it.  I know Patrick won't touch them, but maybe if the sauce is simple enough, I could force/bribe/trick my kids into trying a bite of one or two. 

I think my confidence has been boosted by Thanksgiving.  Jackson tried the turkey and mashed potatoes at my parents house AND a bite of each dish on his plate at Patrick's mom's house.  Macy tried corn.  Both of these occurrences are big successes for me.  My children have not touched a traditional Thanksgiving dish since they were babies and still eating mashed turkey and sweet potatoes. 

I've also invested in these:

My son's a bit of a know-it-all (where did he get it from?  I just can't imagine...) and if anything I think he will get satisfaction from making sure I've filled up all the bowls correctly.  Secondly, these plates will keep me honest and make sure that my meals don't lack for fruits and veggies.  They won't solve all my problems, but they might help a bit.

I finished my half marathon, by the way.  It was fine, a little cold, but psychologically not near as hard as my first half.  I was stiff at the end so I didn't finish in the time I wanted but I was happy.  I ran a lot of the race with a guy who was running his 100th (!) marathon.  He's done a marathon in all fifty states.  Amazing.  That's a lot of miles.

The rest of my time?  Pinterest, pinterest, pinterest:

A "mindful" jar.  I'm slowly coming around to this "mindful kids" movement.  Basically, train your kids to be more aware of their feelings so they can monitor and redirect their reactions.  My son is a REACTOR.  As am I, sometimes, so I am learning as well.  If he (or myself) is tired, hungry, stressed, anxious, etc, than he (I) tends to get more worked up about things that really are not that big of deal.  So when he is "freaking out", I have him shake the mindful jar five times and watch the glitter float to the bottom.  So simple it seems silly, but I have witnessed it working with my own two eyes.  It doesn't work as well with Macy, because she is a "retreater" when she is upset about something, so if anyone has a jar for that, let me know.

Puffy paint.  One tablespoon self-rising flour, one tablespoon salt, enough water to form a paste, and food coloring.  We used cardboardish type paper (old coloring book covers).  Let the kids paint and then pop their creations in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Macy couldn't get enough of this project.  Most of those were hers.  Jackson liked to make 3D relief maps of the city.  Man, I love my little nerd boy.

The Elf on the Shelf!  We got our Elf from Santa two days ago, and he's already up to no good.  I think my kids are slightly freaked out that this guy is watching them and then doing weird things at night when they are sleeping. 

Finding new things to do with my too long hair.  This is after I left the sock bun in my hair overnight,easy heat free waves.  What I most like about this picture is that it looks all bloggy and artsy from the waist up but....

This is what was really going on.  Dirty bathroom floor, toy box, emesis basin(?) and a shopping bag full of bathroom supplies that need to be put away.