Frustrations With Food

No, this is not a post about weight. It has nothing to do with the intake of food. What I'm referring to are my frustrations with the current way we buy food. I really want to believe that there is something better AND cheaper.
I like Wal-Mart, don't get me wrong. There's nothing better than having the ability to buy milk, socks, and Wii games all in one visit. I love the fact that their food is fairly inexpensive. The problem here is I often wonder just what they have to do (compromise) to get it that cheap.
We decided to pay a visit to United last night, and walking in just felt like a totally new shopping experience. The produce was shiny, there wasn't misplaced merchandise behind the boxes of cereal, they had an organic foods area that was awesome, and everything was just---brighter.
I guess what frustrates me is that I want United quality at Wal-Mart prices. Is that so impossible? I just want to know that I am giving my children something good without worrying that I'm gonna break the bank in doing so.
Here's an example of what I mean:
gallon of milk at United: $4.99-6.99
gallon of milk at Wallys: $3.99-5.99

case of 24 bottles of water at United: $4.xx
case of 24 bottles of water at Wally's: $3.xx

See what I mean? Even in just 2 items Wally's is cheaper. Not always better though. Maybe I'd be satisfied if the quality of stores like Wally's went up. I just don't like that our world feeds on naivety. Hmmmm.....I'd really like for there to be a Whole Foods here. Not that it would solve the problem, but it would definitely be a fun place to shop! :)

Weekend Warriors

That's what we've become. Softball is now a favorite past time of the Haskell parental units. So much so that we played in an all day tournament yesterday.
The Pantex Fire Department entered in the 2nd Annual Lifestar Softball Tournament. Pantex won last year (yeah!) and were determined to do the same this year. After all, gotta keep that winning streak alive! John played last year on this team, but I had just had Caroline and wasn't into softball yet, so I watched from the bleachers. This year, they were kind enough to ask me to play too, and I really had a good time. The word "SORE" doesn't even describe what I am today though. I played catcher almost the entire time, and we played from 9am to 9pm with just a 2 hour break. Ugggggggg
The good news---WE WON!!! It was a brutal championship game, but our team rocked it out. YEAH for Pantex Fire Department!!! :)
We were supposed to practice softball today with our church league, but John and I both bowed out of it. Playing the violin at church this morning was hard enough. I don't think I could have thrown another ball or even attempted to bat. We'll be back at it again next weekend though I'm sure!

Just Some Slideshow Fun

I've been seeing some very cool slideshows on the blogs I read, and I just wanted to try my hand at one. So here is what I created (make sure you turn the sound up):

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(Let Them Be Little-Billy Dean)

Mom vs. Rodent

I actually do like hamsters---really I do. Christian's dwarf hamster, Alex, is extremely sweet and easy to hold/love on.
Ruby Penelope, on the other hand, is a gigantic pain in my backside. I just can't get rid of her because Caitlin loves her to pieces. It has taken a mountain of self control not to pluck that oversized mouse from her cage and let her go in the field beside the house.
The main thing is that I remember exactly what it was like to be an animal lover when I was Caitlin's age. Just like I used to do with my pets, Caitlin talks to Ruby P. constantly, gives her treats, plays with her when she's in the roll around ball, and proudly shows her off to any friend or family member that comes over.
I think Ruby P. just has issues with ME. In fact, from the day we brought her home, she has had something against me. It has been roughly 4 months now since she has lived here, and I have grumbled about her every day. First, it was the fact that she wouldn't come down out of the observatory in her cage. She ate, slept, and pooped up there, and I couldn't stand to clean it out on a daily basis. That's the 1st time she bit me. All I was doing was trying to create a more sanitary and comfortable home for her--sheesh, where is the love for the momma?!?
You would think that after all of the time it has taken me to clean the cage, feed/water her, and make her more comfortable, she'd be just a tad bit grateful. But nooooooooooooooooooooo.......
For the past month or so, Ruby P. has figured out how to push my buttons. Her cage has a ball on the top of it that she can run in--sort of like a wheel--and the ONLY time she wants to run it is around 1am. Not good. So, thinking I was smarter than her, I stuffed a wash cloth up under the ball so it couldn't roll during the night. That way she'd be forced to run it during the day when I'm not trying to get some beauty sleep.
That backfired.
About a week ago, I woke up around 1am to a very loud *CHIIIIIIIIIING* coming from Caitlin's room. I laid in bed and listened to it for about 5 minutes.
*CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*
*CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*
*CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*
I could feel my blood pressure rising by the second.
Ooooooooohhhhhhhh that s...t...e....u....w....p....i.....d rodent!
I went to Cait's room and found Ruby P. standing up on the side of the cage using her teeth to pull on the metal bars--thus creating the *ching* noise. Are you kidding me?!? It was all an act of retaliation I was convinced.
So I let this noise fest go on for several nights. Just thought I'd learn to live with it. After all, don't give in to the rodent--she will never win!
I got up yesterday morning and was waiting at the front doors of Petsmart when it opened. I decided to get an aquarium (lots of people keep their hamsters in these) with a grated top so that way she'd have NOTHING to *ching* and it would be easier to clean. I bought all the goods, replaced her cage, made sure she had the basics---food bowl, water bottle that hangs from the side, big tube to sleep in..that's it. No extra fluff for her to demolish or irritate me with.
Last night at 1am----*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?
I went into Caitlin's room. Ruby P. was attempting to climb the water bottle holder and she had knocked the water bottle sideways--thus creating a *BANG* noise when she would push against it.
I swear she smirked at me.
I removed the water bottle and decided that she didn't need to drink at 1am. She could wait until the morning.
As I left the room I said, "You know Ruby P, there's always fresh water and food in the field by the house." I think she stuck her tongue out at me.
Chalk one up for Momma....

Because I'm A Mom...

...I will post this. I LOVE being able to give my kiddos good things to eat and drink--not so much of the crud that's put out there on the shelves these days. I found a wonderful drink made by Apple & Eve called Fruitables. I think Mimi actually tried it out on the 3 C's first, and then when I saw how much they liked it I bought it. Info about the juice:

*Eight ounces provides one of the recommended servings from the 5 A Day Fruit and Vegetable program
*120% vitamin C
*A good source of antioxidant vitamin A, essential for good vision
*All natural ingredients
*No sugar added

*No high fructose corn syrup

Ok, so the BEST part of this juice is this------------it's ON SALE!!! We went to Wal-Mart on Georgia Street this evening and there were tons of bottles of it on the clearance/overstock/seasonal aisle. The sign above them said $1.00 each (they are normally about $3.00 each). I scanned it just for fun and they were 50 cents!!!! Needless to say, I have enough juice to float a boat! Just thought all you moms out there would wanna know...