too much eggplant?

NEVER.

Well, ok, I have a TON of eggplant this year inspite of the fact that HAIL killed my favorite plant. HAIL! jeezo.

So right now, instead of fixing that photo uploading problem I am eating....

EGGPLANT Ratatouille!

I took garlic, basil and a pepper from the garden and sauteed them....

cooked some sausage because I don't have tofu or time to run to the store....

threw in the eggplant....

tomatoes from the garden chopped up....

and added a can of pinto beans.

YUM!

Last week we stuffed eggplant with ricotta cheese and mozzarella....and made eggplant rottolini.

before that? layered it with fresh mozzarella; tomatoes and basil; dribbled balsamic and oil over them...

and of course we have eaten it parm style.

Too much eggplant? NEVER.

now if only my tomatoes would turn red!

"Sugar makes him hyper"

Do you remember hearing that when we were kids?

My mother would say that about my brother. "SUGAR MAKES HIM HYPER."

I thought I saw the same thing with my sons. I could tell if he got his hands on a chocolate bar. They became wild, hyper and out of control.

Until recently, I thought Sugar was the evil one.

I want to share with you all, another evil thing in our food.

(as if we don't have enough to worry about already).

I introduce to you,

VANILLIN.

google it, you'll find that the real vanilla, from the vanilla bean, is not able to grow at the rate we consume it.

you'll read that today there is an artificial vanillin that is a chemical compound created with petrochemicals. You've read that right, chemicals we use in our car.

you'll find a hazardous material listing with Environmental Health & Safety.


I decided to try an experiment with vanillin. I removed it from my son's diet. I bought "sundrops"; a "M&M" alternative at the healthfood store. It still has chocolate, it still has sugar but the artificial vanillin is not used.

Then I gave him a bag of real M&Ms....and WOW.

He spun circles, his language decreased in clarity, he was hyper and extremely ADD-like.

The problem? Vanillin is not a food ingredient so it can "hide" in the foods we buy.

So we wonder why neurological issues are prevelant in our society- things like an epidemic of autism. We wonder why we are an obese society with diseases killing us that are all diet related.

It isn't all because we are gluttons who live at McDonalds.

We are also victims of corporate greed that makes profit over deception.

No one told me as a child that when I bit into an all american Hershy bar that I was also eating a chemical with a hazardous waste listing....

did they tell you?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that offspring of any animal fed this stuff is going to have genetic problems.....

So what do we do about it? In my younger days I would have tried to organize a group of people to fight it, would have at least got on a loud pedastal to shout it out for all to hear.

today?

I am going to go eat a Hershy bar. That at least, will make me feel good for the next 20 minutes.

(and p.s. NO this does not get sugar off the hook; he's no good either)

Homeschool schizophrenia

(i wrote this letter to an internet group of homeschoolers and decided to post this here as well....)

I have self diagnosed myself with homeschool schizophrenia.

Seriously.

I read the homeschoolers blog; the one where the child who was unschooled went to ninth grade.
I find myself thinking;
I AM DEFINITLY GOING TO UNSCHOOL.

then I look around my house, I see laundry not done, clutter accumulating, hear a baby screaming to be nursed ON DEMAND, and watch two older children fighting over a toy, am behind on getting ready for work in two hours, and I think to myself:
I AM DEFINITLY NOT GOING TO HOMESCHOOL.

See, my daughter is supposed to enter kindergarten this year.

I have 2 weeks to figure out if she is getting up early in the morning to climb the stairs of the big yellow bus.

two weeks.

I should have figured this out by now.

But I am homeschool schizophrenic. ...you know me, the mother who thinks homeschooling is so wonderful and I want the best for my children....but can't seem to get anywhere on time let alone with matching socks on each child.

I am seriously terrified that I will be neglecting my children by homeschooling because, afterall, that dumbed down public school still at least has something better to offer than me.

I hear so many parents say that they know how to reach their children the best, they know how to teach their children. Mostly, I feel this way too...until the chaos of life builds up, the chores add up, the demands get overwhelming. ....and my children are plugged into the computer or tv so that I can simply take a shower or wash a few dishes...

HOMESHOOLED SCHIZOPHRENIC,

yup that's me.

I hear voices telling me...."don't put them to school this fall, they will loose their love for learning"

and feel paranoid tremers of fear...."don' t homeschool them, they need structure, organization...and the one with special needs has to have a reason to get up and out every day."

I run to vision therapy appointments, occupational therapy, speech...and lift my shirt in public places to nurse an almost one year old. Yup, I have lost all sense of modesty too.

I spent my summer at the beach, letting my children gather shells, sun, and memories....and now labor day is here.

I don't want my daughter to get on that bus but that evil voice tells me that I can't do this, I will ruin her life.

Is there a lithium for this problem????

Is there a way I can KNOW THAT I KNOW FOR SURE which path is the right path to take.

I mean this decision can mean the difference in my children's entire future.
I know things are fluid- I can enter them in and take them out....but I'd like to find peace one way or another; and stay there.

Does anyone else feel this way??

Mutt- iplicity

Is it me or does anyone else find this weird?

This morning on the TODAY show a woman had her dead dog cloned into 5 puppies.

The strangest part for me?

That she sold her home to pay for the cost.

HUH?

Does she know that PEOPLE are starving, homeless and without jobs....

that children need families and homes to live in? How about funding them?

SOLD HER HOME to pay for 5 cloned puppies that may or maynot live very long.....

does crazier than a wet noodle sound like a good name for one of them pups?

or how about little cracked nut?

well, I guess its good to follow one's dream..........

and yes, I am still having photo difficulties...um SUZZANNE WILL YOU EMAIL ME MY PHOTOS SOON PLEAAASSSEEE. ?