Inexpensive Gift Idea: The Coolest Mix CD Ever

Ivy says:

Today’s my brother’s birthday- I can’t believe my LITTLE brother is 30 years old now! But that’s what happen when you get all old and stuff. Anyway, due to school being about to start and a bunch of other little things, I’m pretty broke. What’s a sister to do for a gift for her brother? Why, make him an awesome mix CD.

The thing is, his music taste is all over the place. Another person’s music taste is really important when making them a mix CD. If they despise the Bee Gees and you fill a CD up with “Stayin’ Alive” the CD you made isn’t going to be listened to or appreciated.

So I sat and thought about what he liked and remembered he and I both really dig random covers of older songs. So I pulled up my iTunes (BTW, don’t steal music. Stealing music is wrong.)  and made him a CD that has both the random covers and the originals. I know he’ll dig it.

In case you’re interested in knowing what’s on the most awesome mix CD ever (well, the most awesome one I ever made, anyway) here’s the play list:

Hey Ya! by Outkast and Obadiah Parker
(Title omitted because there are grandmas that read this blog) by Dr. Dre and Ben Folds
Shine by Collective Soul and Dolly Parton
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland and Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
Hurt by Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash
Superfreak by Rick James and Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Skaggs (HT to Ginger on that one)
Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel and Cake
Gin & Juice by Snoop Dogg and The Gourds

See, I told you his (and my) musical taste was all over the place! So, Home Eccers, tell me about your awesome mix CDs. Or, tell me about a fab cover of a song that I didn’t list.

Reader Challenge: The Brunch Edition

Heather says:

Let me set the scene, Monday morning you rise with the nagging feeling that you have forgotten something or that perhaps there is something you should be doing. Rather than pay attention to the feeling you begin attacking the weekly laundry.

Mid-morning your sister calls and asks what time you and the kids will be arriving in a town two hours to the north. Hastily you pack for five people, realizing it is your week to host a women’s group, the morning after your scheduled return. You spend a few moments asking your husband to lend a hand (he’s willing, but works crazy hours) and depart.

Return home Wednesday evening with grouchy children and no time for the grocery store.

Here’s your challenge, Home Eccers, what do you make for a casual brunch serving ten people only out of your pantry and refrigerator?

My solution:

• biscuits and sausage gravy (strawberry jam or honey for those who don’t like sausage)
• onion and zucchini frittata (really just a crustless quiche)
• vanilla yogurt with sliced bananas (must hide the freckled peels) and granola

Now it’s your turn.

Ask The Audience: What Foods Do You Not Like?

Ivy says:

Just for fun, in the wake of yesterday’s post on picky eaters: What foods do you not like to eat?

Sure, I’ll go first. I really do not dig tomatoes. I don’t like them in sauces or stewed or any other way, really. Occasionally I’ll enjoy a tomato fresh from the garden with some salt, but I really have to be in the mood for it. And I do like ketchup on occasion. Oh, and salsa. But any other way, no thanks.

The other thing I just cannot eat is fish sticks. Eww. Bleh. Fish sticks.

So, Home Eccers, what foods do you not like?

Picky Eaters, Picky Eaters

Ivy says:

I have been running across a phenomena so often lately, that I needed to write about it here just to get it out of my head. The only thing is, I know around here, I’m mostly preaching to the choir. Even so, I hope I catch a few people and get them to thinking.

The problem? Picky eaters. I see it all over the place- in a frugality community I read: “Can you give me some recipes that are budget friendly? Here’s what I don’t eat: fruits, vegetables, seafood, fish, grains, red meat, white meat, chocolate, or pasta” I also see it in real life:

Them: Can’t you get Heather to post some recipes that are kid friendly?

Me: All Heather’s recipes are kid friendly, she has 4 kids.

Them: Oh, I’ve never seen anything kid friendly there.

Me: Oven Fried Chicken Fingers? Pizza???

Them: I don’t know. That seems awfully…hard to make….I just usually get takeout. And we have chicken nuggets and pizza all the time. I’d like something new.

Me: ::boggles::

And that’s the problem right there. By constantly catering to your kid’s tastes, you’re setting them up to be like the first example. Now, my kids have had their fair share of chicken nuggets and pizza. And yes, I’ve been through the McDonald’s drive through a time or two (hundred). But the bulk of my children’s diet is a variety of fresh, whole foods cooked in various ways. See, if a kid doesn’t like tomatoes raw, they might like them cooked. And the same kid that despises okra fried may love it steamed.

One of the biggest problems I see is parents who deicide ahead of time that their kid isn’t going to like something based on their own childhood likes and dislikes. I’m guilty of that myself. As a kid, I hated onions. So when my daughter at age 4 wanted onions on her burrito, I told her she probably wouldn’t like them. But she insisted and I let her have them. She loved onions and orders them any time there’s an opportunity. Lesson learned: Let them try anything they want, even if you think they might hate it.

Another problem is that I see too many parents who think they’re being nice to their kids by not making them eat stuff they don’t want to eat. I think they remember all too well being made to sit at the table until they finished their liver, and don’t want that for their kids. So they won’t man up and be parents and make their kids at least try unfamiliar food. In my house, you have to try a bite of everything that’s on your plate whether you like it or not. My youngest son always claims to hate scalloped potatoes until he tries a bite. Then he remembers he actually likes it and will eat it.

Now, of course, there are kids who have special needs or allergies that prevent them from being able to eat everything. And there are people who are just picky eaters, no matter what you try. My brother, who I would not classify as a picky eater, absolutely despises beans. This is the guy who will eat Rocky Mountain Oysters without a thought. But last Sunday at my mom’s, we had ham and beans and he just made himself a sandwich. Beans are just not his thing, and that’s okay.

So, let’s pull all this advice into a nice, neat list for the tl;dr crowd, shall we?

How to avoid creating a picky eater:

• Cook a variety of fresh, whole foods. Can’t cook worth a darn? Grab some recipes and start cooking anyway.
• Cook these foods in different ways. Remember, just because someone hates a certain food one way, doesn’t mean they’d hate it in another way.
• Avoid fast food and takeout. They just don’t serve a variety of foods. That’s not to say you can never go to these places, just don’t make that the majority of what you’re serving.
• Don’t base what your kids will like on what you like. Believe me, you’ll be surprised.
• Make your kids at least try it, and not just once. Over time, tastes change. If you get your kids in the habit of at least trying everything, eventually they will start liking new stuff.
• Finally, take into account your family’s likes and dislikes, but don’t cater to their every whim. Sure, the kids might love pizza and burgers and chicken nuggets best, but that doesn’t mean you have to serve it for every meal. If they HATE what’s for dinner and you don’t want them to starve, there’s always PB&J. (Unless they have a peanut allergy. Then there’s always J.)

Always do your best to keep from creating a picky eater. The future spouses of your children will thank you for it.

Grandma’s Home Remedies: Mosquito Bites

Ivy says:

My kids must be extra sweet because they are covered in mosquito bites, and I (luckily) have none. You know how kids can get when they’re itchy and uncomfortable- they whine a lot. And when they whine a lot, my patience gets thin, and then we’re in for a miserable day.

On Saturday, my daughter was upset about her mosquito bites but claimed not to be able to find the Benadryl cream. It was in the right hand drawer of my bathroom cabinet, which I told her, but you know how kids can get. A vague memory of my childhood resurfaced, and I told her to try scratching an X over the top of the bite, hard with her fingernail and then spit on it. Lo and behold, the itching stopped.

She and her little brother spent the rest of the day happily drawing Xes on their mosquito bites and then spitting on them. Hey, whatever gets you through the day, kids.

I also remember my mom putting white toothpaste on my bites and then telling me to blow on it. And my grandfather would put clear nail polish on his bites. I always thought that was for tick bites, but who knows. It seemed to work for him.

Is there actual science behind these home remedies? Perhaps. I read somewhere that there’s an enzyme in spit that causes the bites to itch less. The same may be true for the toothpaste. In the case of my grandpa and his clear nail polish, I suspect it covers the bite and keeps it away from air, causing the itching to go down. The X might draw the itchy enzyme away from the site of the bite.

Other things I have heard over the years is to take the hottest washcloth you can stand on your skin and put it over the bite. Also, a spray of vinegar is supposed to help the bite. Another one I’ve heard is to use a paste of meat tenderizer and water on the bite.

It seems there are a blue million ways to stop mosquito bite itches. What are your favorite remedies?

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