It’s a been a while since I had an entire afternoon to spend alone with the boy. We used to run this town before the girl came along.

We had playdates, we went to lunch, we saw movies, we went to story time, we played at the park, we went shopping, to petting zoos, to any and all kid function in the tri-county area. Ok, we don’t live in a tri-county area but you get my point. We were BFF’s. Then the girl came along and the boy went to school and now everything is all topsy-turvy.

But every once in a while we get the opportunity to do something, like this week we took my SUV for a much needed and way overdue detailing. I’m talking sticky cupholders, ground up goldfish and various Disney World vacation detritus in the carpet, ya’ll. While the boys at the carwash were cleaning my ride (for over two hours FYI..it was that dirty) the boy and I walked next door to McD’s for some lunch and play. I don’t really enjoy eating at McD’s so I was tickled beyond pink that there was a ..wait for it…STARBUCKS...two doors down. Mommy heaven, Life source in a cup..whatever  you want to call it.

The boy got bored at McD’s quick because there were no other kids there to play with so he happily escorted his momma to the Buck for a brownie. He remembers what sweets every single restaurant has..and also where the bathrooms are.

I had just seen an announcement that Starbucks had lowered the calorie count on the Turkey Bacon & Egg English Muffin so I jumped at the chance to try one. With a Skinny Vanilla Latte please. :sigh: I get all gooey just thinking about it.

For 320 calories and 7 grams of fat you get a very healthy and filling whole wheat english muffin with a few eggs whites and two fat turkey bacon strips. It gets a major thumbs up from me. I normally eat the Spinach egg white feta wrap when I am there but I think I liked the english muffin better.

I’m not sure the middle-aged men on laptops trying to look busy were too pleased that me and my chatty date took over the sunniest corner of the joint…but we cared not. The Starbucks girls were fawning all over my little man and his hip glasses and a stranger even told me to get him in commercials..stat! It was a good day.

It was the tastiest fast food I’ve had in a long time, then again maybe it was just the company.

The boy doesn’t really care for dinosaurs. I mean, he doesn’t dislike them. He has a few dino toys and you might catch him watching Dino Dan on occasion. But he doesn’t love dino’s like some kids do.

In fact, I have dragged him to the natural history museum at least 20 times in  his young life to try to spark an interest..but still he’s like, ‘yeah…a TRex..whatever”. You would think at 3 1/2 feet tall a 20 foot tall/40 foot long carnivorous creature would incite some shock and awe ….but no.

But he does love dinosaur shaped chicken.

I’ve mentioned before that they boy is a picky eater, but if his chicken in dino shape and it comes strategically placed on a dino plate then he’s all in.

Dino plate – $3.99 at Target

Dino chicken nuggets – $8.99 at BJ’s Wholesale Club

The boy eating his entire lunch without asking ‘how many more bites?’ – Priceless

One of the ‘go to’ real mom recipes has got to be the good old rice crispy treat. The rice crispy is loved by everyone and it probably the easiest and most versatile treats that have ever been invented. You don’t even really need a recipe…just mix up rice crispy cereal with marshmallows melted in butter. It couldn’t get more real mom than that.

Since the actual making of the treats is so easy I usually have a little more time to funk them up. I’ve made Christmas wreaths, Valentines hearts, footballs, Spongebobs and Patrick’s and tons of other fun shapes. All you need is box of cookie cutters and the options are endless. And if you think your kids love rice crispies in the old school square shape..watch their sweet faces when you give them one shaped like a Bubble Guppy or on a stick like a fancy lolly. And don’t forget the sprinkles!!!!

Here are a few options of what you can do for the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Make the standard bars with a few red sprinkles, form them in a heart shaped pan, cut them with a cookie cutter..dip them in chocolate and put them on a stick. I can’t stress enough how viable and easy it is to bend these things to your will.

Just for fun…this old commercial shows that moms have been using the rice crispy trick for years! It makes me miss the days when homes were built with the kitchen detached with doors. Now we all have open floor plans and the kids are always sitting at the island doing homework while we cook..so we can’t really hide out in there anymore. Oh well..at least we still have the bathroom.

Original Rice Crispy Recipe

• 3 tablespoons   butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40)   regular marshmallows
• – OR -
• 4 cups   miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups rice crispy cereal

Directions:

Melt butter and marshmallows in small saucepan and mix in cereal. While still warm pour into pan. Then bend and shape into whatever form strikes your fancy.

So yesterday was one of those days that left me with zero time to write and work.  You know those days when one kid is on your hip and the other one is following you around the house asking for the toy off the highest shelf or to go turn on Bubble Guppies on the DVR ..but not just once ….like ALL DAY LONG.

It went something like this: “Mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy xbox juice mommy mommy mommy snack mommy mommy xbox mommy mommy bubble guppies mommy mommy mommy button my pants please mommy mommy mommy i’m out of juice mommy mommy mommy. I want daddy!”

Add to that yesterday was the family monthly trip to our local BJ’s to stock up on groceries, diapers and formula. Not only does the shopping and unloading take several hours, breaking down the meat and putting away all the food strategically in my pantry-less kitchen is a huge time suck.

So… I didn’t cook dinner last night. I know, I know. It’s ok to skip cooking for your family when life gets in the way..but I always feel bad when I serve my kid Spongebob Squarepants mac and cheese for dinner. Which I did. And he ate the entire box because he was so hungry. Mommy guilt anyone?

If my kid and hubs didn’t get a hot meal then I certainly didn’t have time (or material) to post here.

So while I’m off trying to manage my time better and get you a real mom recipe for later today..please visit this other cool mom recipe site I found.

Busy Moms Recipes – I especially like that recipe for no bake oatmeal cookies. That may be a good project for me the boy this weekend.

The delicious and nutritious dinner I served my child last night. He strategically picked out all the Gary shapes first to eat. Only a four year old could distinguish these shapes into four different characters.