Here is a kid’s dinner recipe that is healthy, and one they’ll love.

I don’t know why it is, but when I was a kid, having breakfast food for dinner seemed like a treat. To my mom, it was probably just a night off from having to cook a substantial meal for us, but regardless, I loved having breakfast food for dinner. It wasn’t like she dropped a bowl of cereal in front of us. We would have pancakes, or eggs and bacon, that kind of breakfast food.

Sometimes I’ll do similar for my kids, but I’ve changed it up a bit. Tonight, we had crepes for dinner. More specifically, we had fresh berry crepes. Here’s the simple recipe I use to make the crepes:

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-grain all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbs melted butter
• 1/4 tsp salt

Combine the flour and 2 eggs, then slowly add the water, milk, melted butter, and salt.  Mix gently until evenly blended.  Heat a non-stick pan on med-high heat for about 2 minutes.  Spray pan with cooking spray, then pour some of the crepe batter onto the pan (about enough to cover a medium-size pan).   Cook for about 2 minutes then flip and let cook for about 1 more minute.  This recipe should make about 6 crepes.

Using the method above, I’ll cook each crepe individually.  I keep the oven on low and keep the crepes warm as I finishing cooking more or them.

I place one of the crepes on an empty plate and add a handful of blueberries and raspberries.  Next, I add a dollop of low-fat, organic vanilla yogurt.  After that, I wrap the crepe up, spray a little whip cream on top, and sprinkle a few random berries and a small amount of powdered-sugar to garnish.  Voila!  The crepe is ready to serve.

I usually get nothing but rave-reviews from my really picky kids.  Bon appetit!

The single-parent is charged with many varied and vast duties. I get up in the morning and have to get my two young kids going. My youngest can’t even dress herself yet. My oldest seems to get sidetracked somewhere between dressing and brushing teeth and often ends up playing with the cats. Meanwhile, I’m getting my sorry-butt in the shower, shaving, and trying to find a pair of matching-BLANKING socks. I get the kids fed, and pack lunches and we’re off to school or daycare, or just daycare, or school and Grandma’s, or any other crazed-combination of destinations. Now, I get to fight rush-hour traffic to work.

I work a full day, then run a pickup-route that corresponds to whichever combination of drop-offs I had in the morning (all the while hoping I can remember where the hell my kids are). We get home and feed the cats, have some dinner, get whatever needs to get done (yeah, right), and hopefully have a few minutes to play, watch a movie, or read together. Then it’s baths and bedtime for the kids and maybe some time for me to clean up the piles of clothes, clean, and so on. Keep in mind that while this average-day is going on, I’m constantly breaking up fights, attending to boo-boos, trying to give individual, focused attention, and I am dead-ass tired because I stayed up too late posting on this site.

So sometimes, sometimes I get a bit tired and flustered – stressed. That was how I was today when I nearly put my hands around my mother’s neck and squeezed… hard.

“Dan, your father and I struggled all the time. Do you think it was easy for us?”

I flat-out told her I would choke her if she continued. You see, mom was a stay-at-home mom. She had time. There WERE enough hours in the day to tidy up the house, do laundry, cook meals, and be a caring and focused parent. When she got stressed out, Dad stepped it up and maybe took us out for a while. When one of them was slipping, the other picked up the slack. When one of them was looking for support, the other was there for support. They made a great team and excellent parents.

Sometimes I wish I had a team… or maybe an army.

Part 1 of this series of posts can be found here.

My ex-wife and I have known that our daughter would probably have some anxiety issues.  In fact, we’ve known the probability was pretty good for about 5 years now (since our daughter was about 3 years old).   To some degree, I find a little bit of comfort in that fact.  At that point in time, we were a seemingly happy, married couple and she was our little peanut.  I suppose the comfort comes in knowing that our divorce did not cause this (though it certainly doesn’t help it much either).

Even as young as age 2 and 3, we could already see some of her anxious tendencies and characteristics.  They were not hard for either my ex-wife or I to spot.  It was like looking into a mirror.  We both had had anxiety issues for most of our lives.  For me, I was blessed with the gift of General Anxiety and Panic Disorder.  Good times.  Thankfully, these were not sustained issues throughout all of my years; they would pop in on me periodically to keep me in my place whenever things were going too smoothly.  Well, diarrhea ain’t the only thing that runs in your, um… genes.

My daughter is a beautiful soul…  She has the most gentle, caring demeanor, but is also prone to child anxiety issues..  She is wise far (way too far) beyond her years.  I remember laying in bed with her when she was just 2 years-old.  She had asked if Baxter (my brother’s dog) was in Heaven now that he died.  All of these fine tidbits were acquired from her slightly older cousins; Baxter had died a week or so before.  She asked me if she will see him again since he died.  I probably should have just said yes, I know she was only 2, but it just didn’t feel right to lie to her.  I told her no.  After a pause of about ten seconds, I could already see the next question on her face…  “Daddy, will you die?”  She asked me already getting choked-up.  Before I could even answer, she made the realization we all make as humans, but it was a cruel gift to give a girl so tender such a logical mind…  Through tears and a broken voice, came THE question, “Daddy, will I die?”  It was a harsh realization that no 2 year-old should ever have to make.  It is these characteristics, her sensitivity, her logic, and her caring-nature, that together, act as a perfectly blended rocket-fuel that allows anxiety to blastoff.

Here we are now, today.  She is 8 years-old and what could once be controlled, seems to run wild.  When my daughter gets overly anxious now, it is on the verge of panic (a panic that no amount of consoling or rationalizing can quell).  It is a brutal, helpless feeling to watch a loved one hurt so, but progress is already being made…  We stood in the pouring rain and stood strong for one-minute through wind, thunder, and lightning, an unheard-of possibility just two-weeks ago.  Most of the minute was spent with nervous giggles and complaints about getting wet.  I’m glad we didn’t get struck by lightning…

In Part 3 of this series of posts, I will provide the specific resources and activities we are doing to help my daughter cope.

Gone are the days when mom and dad occupy the same home. The home we did share as a family is also gone. It was sold as part of a divorce settlement, something kids could care less about. All they know is that things are different now; things have changed, and not for the better.

There are no winners in divorce and usually the ones who lose the most are the kids. think about it, regardless of the surrounding circumstances, divorce is NOT a natural situation for children. Moms and dads are supposed to be together, caring for their children under the same roof. Having two separate homes and shuffling the kids between them is NOT easy on a child.

My ex-wife and I maintain separate homes and share custody of our kids on an alternating weekly (50/50) basis. We maintain two sets of just about everything including: clothes, toys, bikes, toiletries, and more. Though we work hard to make the situation the best we can for our kids, no matter what we do, they do not have that one, unified, consistent place to come home to. I believe much of my 8 year-old daughter’s anxiety is fueled by this.

In the coming days I will go further into the situation concerning my daughter’s anxiety issues. I will describe the actions that my ex-wife and I are taking to support our daughter. We are working together to help our daughter find the tools and skills she needs to help her manage her anxiety and worries. I’ll pass along the some resources and examples that will hopefully be of some use to you and your children. Stay tuned…

The vaccines are currently reserved for those with underlying medical conditions that could be further complicated by H1N1. These folks are rightfully first-priority in the distribution of the vaccine. The only other group the vaccine is available for includes 6-month to 24-year-olds. Both of my daughters fall into this group. At this point, I am going to try to get them the vaccine, but like many parents, I am a bit apprehensive about doing so.

What worries me about this particular H1N1 vaccine is that it was produced so quickly – maybe too quickly. There was only limited, short-term testing done on the vaccine and that scares me. I don’t claim to understand the production or medical process behind the development of this vaccine (or any other for that matter), but it is hard to place your children’s wellbeing in the hands of strangers. It is hard to fully trust with so much at risk.

Will you have your children vaccinated with the Swine Flu (H1N1) vaccine?

This has been the single most difficult thing I have had to cope with. My divorce and the “loss” of my wife was a cakewalk compared to this. It’s hard when you want to see your child’s smile and hear their voice, but cannot. You are left with a feeling of loss and longing that no amount of snacking or comedy shows can satisfy.

After working all day, I was always excited to come home and see my girls. It made all the frustrations and stress of the work day worthwhile. It is challenging to find things to occupy or distract myself from that feeling. For now though, I keep their bedroom doors closed and do my best to put their things out of sight when they are away.

I imagine it will get easier in time – most things generally do. I hope so.

I know, and have always known, that my ex-wife loves our daughters; they love her too. It’s in their best interest that she and I get along. I think it’s important that the love a parent has for their kids is stronger than the disgust they have for their ex-spouse. You’re doing your children no favors by fighting all the time (I know it must be horribly hard in some cases to avoid though). After nearly one year of fighting (mostly contained and away from the girls)… After spending thousands of dollars (potential college money) on scum-bag divorce lawyers… We finally agreed to share residential custody of our girls on a 50/50 basis.

We listed our family home with a realtor; neither my ex-wife, nor I, could afford the home on a single income. The home went on the market in September of 2008 and and finally sold last month. Our closing is set for mid-July. The house was sold at nearly a $70k loss. We picked the worst real estate market ever to have to sell our home… oh, well. It was absolutely necessary; we have all been living together throughout the divorce process and since it was finalized last month. The way I see it, $70k is really a small price to pay for freedom

With the house sold, it was time for me to figure out where I was going to live. As is common in divorce situations, it’s downsizing time. I found a nice, tiny, foreclosure property in a good neighborhood about one mile away. This would keep my eldest daughter in the school district where she had just attended kindergarten (an excellent school district). I made a bid and am currently in the final stages of aquiring the home (also set to close in mid-July). My ex-wife is moving into a small home about 10 miles away…

More to come…