Which One Are You Going To Be Today ?

Any parent knows that their kids are going to bring them great joy ... and also LOTS of stressful situations.  There is a constant question in my mind, which I believe ALL parents ask themselves about each of their children from time to time: Which one of your personalities am I going to be seeing today?

Seven different kids, each with many different moods, leads to an infinite number of combinations of chaos in the Case Place.  On any given day, there will undoubtedly be a tired kid, an angry kid, a sad kid, an excited kid, a hungry kid, and several happy or content kids.  This doesn't even account for the variations of mommy or daddy moods.

So the other day when I saw the following set-up in the supermarket, I realized that it didn't just apply to my daughter Catalina, but was representative of ALL my kiddos ... although I think 'fat free' is a bit of a stretch for anyone!  :)

Song Of The Day:
Despite the stresses and shifting emotions each day, I'm so happy to have all of my kids and my awesome wife in my life.  Kelly Clarkson's song "My Life Would Suck Without You" is very accurate.  How boring would it be without a little dressing on our salad of life?  Love my kids!

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When Are You Too Old To Have A Snack Lunch ?

Today, like many days, I did not plan adequately for lunch.  I just did not leave enough time for myself between work and errands to eat a proper meal.  Considering I only have to have "three squares a day" this should not happen as often as it does.





This is NOT a smart lunch

This marks at least the 4th time in less than two weeks when I ate what could barely be considered an acceptable "meal" for lunch.  Here are the recent examples:

 - three large handfuls of Mountain Man trail mix (3 kinds of nuts, raisins, M and Ms) and about 16 ounces of water

 - two chocolate covered granola bars, one 50-calorie fruit cup, and a snack size bag of cheetos, with a can of lemon-lime soda

 - about 50 pieces of pepperoni sandwiched between about 30 wheat thins crackers and doused with a 12-ounce grape soda

 - one donut (apple fritter) and some ritz crackers ... and another donut (maple glazed) with about a pint of chocolate milk

As I finished my "lunch" today it occurred to me that I have eaten these kinds of lunches before ... in high school and my early college years.  I think at those times it was probably more acceptable and didn't likely do much damage.  But now ... well I'm really just getting too old for this to happen.  Even occasionally, this kind of unhealthy eating should be phased out if I intend to live past retirement.

Song Of the Day:
I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that my bad lunchtime habits could be considered my "Dark Side" although I am certain that's not what Kelly Clarkson intended to sing about here.  It's a great song though so enjoy.

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