Posted by SuperADDMom on July 12, 2010
So a few weeks ago I “liked” a page on facebook for “muffin tin meals” when I saw it on a friend’s status as it looked kind of fun for the kids, and I wanted some more info.
When I saw what they were doing with “muffin tin mondays” I decided I’d try it with the kids. I have muffin tins I NEVER use ( as you can see by the picture! lol) I liked the idea because it is derived from Bento boxes from Japanese traditions, and as an ADD person I find Asian culture’s streamline organized ways to be calming to my mind.
Anyway, in my usual ADD fashion I forgot about it for a week or so, and then in a rush one evening this week past, and from having literally NO clean plates in the house due to our current canoe project taking up a lot of my time, I needed a solution!
Once again a possible ADD disastrous supper due to no clean dishes, and little time to prepare anything decent, I became a Super ADD Mom, and got some major cool mom points for remembering the muffin tin idea.
I dug out some muffin tins and scoured the fridge for leftovers, and made a muffin tin meal for the kids. We had worked late on the canoe and everyone was tired and cranky, so I just threw in some fast bite foods to fill the tummies fast, and cut up their hot dogs in bite size manageable pieces with some raisins for the boy, and hummus for the girl.
THEY LOVED IT!
HOW SIMPLE an idea, but how BRILLIANT! A mom and former preschool teacher from California came up with muffin tin meals!
Now, the kids are asking for muffin tin meals at every supper, and if I can dish it in a muffin tin, I am!
The smaller sized sandwiches or hotdogs cut make it easier to eat, and they are HAPPY to have them cut for the muffin tin. If I suggested cutting a hot dog served on a plate in half to make it more manageable to hold they’d normally get really upset..possibly even major meltdowns, but in a muffin tin, they are happy to have it cut.
The girl HATES her foods touching each other, so this is PERFECT for her. Potatoes and corn and chicken all separated. Even gravy for dipping. She’s not whining about foods touching.
The hyper boy is making less mess and actually SITTING for supper!
In fact he was so excited for “our muffintin meal” for supper the other night he cleaned the WHOLE table off ( it was stacked with crafts, recycle, and the breakfast dishes)….and he worked really hard to wipe the table off! He was so Proud of himself! he said to me ” i’m being asponsible aren’t I mommy” with a big grin on his face.
Then in the evening after the kids were in bed. TMO and I were cutting beef up and I put the crock pot and slushie maker on the table for counter room, and in the morning the boy said ” AWWW man I JUST cleaned this WHOLE table and someone went and messed it ll up!”
I laughed so hard…nice role reversal. I cleared off the table and told them if they like muffin tin meals to keep the table and dining areas clean. Today they kept it clean again, and even put new place mats in place, and made a bouquet of fresh flowers from the garden. 
So far… this is like a small miracle in my house! We are planning on shopping for some nicer looking colourful muffin tin type trays for the kids soon, or maybe making more traditional bento boxes.
The Mundane One has also said he’d like to eat that way too and spent some time on google looking at bento boxes.
Thanks @muffintinmom !! She and I connected on Twitter last night, and best part of all…. SHE’S a Super ADD Mom too!
If you want to check it out, follow @muffintinmom on twitter, or read her blog at www.muffintinmom.com
Posted by SuperADDMom on July 8, 2010
this is why i love my kid.
they can drive me nuts through the day fighting and whining, and making ABSOLUTE mess of the house, having temper tantrums over sensory issues, being cranky from lack of sleep etc.
But today, she had a fairly decent day, though she was whiney and cranky from the heat….then after a lovelery swim in the pond we come home hungry and the girl makes her own supper wth some help… a can of alphabet noodles.
In the middle if eating she asks “can I borrow your DSi for a minute?” I say ya, but give it right back. She did, and I never looked until just a few minutes go to what she wanted to take a picture of… and this is what she borrowed it for!
Posted by SuperADDMom on June 17, 2010
We live on lake Ontario. We have always enjoyed going to the quite beaches during off peak days/times, and taking walks. we are in a very touristy area, so some times it can be jam packed. We love it on quiet days after a hard rain when no one is around. We have not done it in quite some time…I hope we can do it more often.
Posted by TheMundaneOne on June 16, 2010
Peck & Poke
It was too rainy today to do much of anything outside with tools, but we had a break for long enough to take a few pics.
The first is our two girls standing on their roost watching me. These chickens are called Red Shavers, and they are a Canadian breed developed somewhere near Cambridge. Their colour is sex-linked – the pullets/hens are red and the cockerels/roosters are white – so sorting chicks is really easy. At least we know we’ll be getting all hens when the chicks arrive next month! Poke is on the left, and Peck is on the right. It isn’t the sharpest picture, but I was hurrying since it was sprinkling.
Next shot is of the back of the coop. Poke is still looking out the window being curious. I always heard that chickens were a bit thick-headed, but these are very bright and curious. They aren’t budgies by any means, but they’re definitely friendly and interested in us, and not the stupid birds my great uncle had in his coop. Maybe it’s because he had 30 or more and didn’t see people as part of their flock, while we have only 2 who think we’re just funny-looking chickens.
The last 2 shots are the front corners of the coop. We’ve got a padlock on it because we’re a little concerned about a couple of neighbouring kids – one in particular who comes across the back field and climbs the fence. After all the work, we don’t want the chickens getting out and lost. The other shot shows the nest-box side. Our two girls are using an old kitty litter pan for laying eggs at the moment, but when we have more pullets we’ll need more space so I’m making a box which can be attached to the side for them to share. I haven’t made the pegs for securing the door/holding the box yet, so the blocks of wood will keep it tight.
The roof isn’t weather-proof yet, and couldn’t be done in the weather we had today, so the tarp is keeping the rain out a bit. Tomorrow, we’ll get the roof done properly and put the whole thing up on stilts (it’s currently resting on the base without the legs attached to the bottom.
Anyone wanna chicken-sit tomorrow while we finish?
SIT. I said SIT.
-The Mundane One
Posted by SuperADDMom on June 5, 2010
Just now, on the way home from town picking up THE NOW WORKING tiller, we had to stop and rescue three baby goats on the magic road. The neighbors got them this week, and this is the second time they’ve escaped. they were not home, so I had to find out where they belonged and then we each carried them to the barn yard. I tried to fence them in the LARGE fencing that WILL NOT hold them in by putting empty apple crates along the area they’ve been escaping from. I had no pen to write a note so I’ll pop by tomorrow and let them know they were loose and we put them back. I hope they stay put this time. I LOVE rural life. these kinds of things are the reason why
Now the kids are studying about goats for homeschool ON Saturday…because they wanna, and it’s FUN, and INTERESTING, and REAL LIFE.
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 24, 2010
All nighter drive in weekend.
Our local drive in is wonderful, I love it there…laid back, a fun park for the kids, and NEW released movies for a GREAT price. the second you drive in the gate you go back 20 years.
The playground it all the old wooden and metal slides, and teeter totters, and old swings. the kind you could get a splinter from, or a cut from the painted over rust on the sides of the slide.. it’s GREAT Survival of the fittest We survived…I’m not into raising wimps 
On the Victoria Day weekend they always have an all nighter, 4 movies back to back.
the boy being 5 still gets in for free, and the girl cub is $3….so it’s a good bang for our limited buck.
We don’t have a lot of funds for entertainment, in fact the internet is what we consider our entertainment fund, and we try to do a lot of stuff for as cheap as possible or free ( and a bit of gas money), but we always try to swing going to the all nighter.
We spent the last of our money this month ( save some gas for the kids swim glasses midweek) to go to the all nighter…Sadly… it almost didn’t happen because CFShubby (The mundane one) was in so much pain going, the idea of being cramped in a car for almost 12 hours between going and being there and getting home, we had a bit of a meltdown from frustration before we left. Living with CFS is not easy for anyone.He was too sore… I was frustrated at the idea of him not being able to go. I’m a problem solver, so I was trying to come up with ideas to make it better for him and didn’t want him to miss it & The kids would be dissapointed if we didn’t go. HE was crabby because my ideas were none that appealed to him ( thought he is a bit stubborn, and sometimes I think if he at least TRIED the idea, it might work. shhh)
He came with us….and made it through…but it is pretty bad when he can’t even do these things as well anymore. It’s a whole other blog post, but I’m so tired of my husband’s life being limited to coming to the living room to try and play some video games with the kids for a few hours before needing to crash again.
Anyway…for $23 ( and the gas there) we saw 4 new movies. Shrek 4, Iron Man 2, Clash of the titans, and She’s out of my league.
I tolerated but chuckled in a few places at Shrek 4.. it actually has a real good moral lesson to ADULTS who gripe to much about their lives( so basically all of Twitter)
Iron man 2 was good….I enjoyed it…except for the bathroom trips with each kid, and therefore missing some of the best action scenes. RDJ is hot as usual as Tony Stark…but I much preferred him in Sherlock Holmes. ( glad there is another one in the making )
Clash of the titans.. I didn’t watch, I mostly dozed through it…too much mumbly dialogue…thick accents for my CAPD and it was going on 3 am…. no ADHD meds left in me, and not entertaining enough for my attention span at that hour.
She’s out of my League.. was actually what I’d have to stick in the category of “good” and though I would not pay a full theatre price to see a basic, typical boy gets girl, boy loses girl” romantic comedy…if you do get the opportunity to see it for cheap, or rent when it comes on DVD, it is worth the watch just for the one HILARIOUS shaving scene…it by far tops the 40 year old virgin waxing scene
We got home as the sun was coming up, and I made breakfast for everyone, as I watched the birds and the chimpmunk living in our wood pile wake for the morning get breakfast too. I watched a Starling steal hay from our bales we put around the house in the winter, and take them up to a tree and add it to it’s nest.Then we all crashed in bed exhausted.
It’s going to be a short, kind of lazy day. It’s like Sunday to us today being the holiday weekend.
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 6, 2010
So yeah.. I’m watching Big Bang Theory with the hubby the other night and sheldon talks about spaghetti with hotdogs in it, and I think “OMFG no, people don’t really do that do they!?”
But given I know people who think a real nice spaghetti dinner is pasta boiled and thrown into a can of Tomato soup! GAG
So I did what any normal sane person would do, I googled it.
And when i searched the pictures results…which is how I decide what result page I go to first for every search I’m doing-this little concoction for kids came up when I looked for Spaghetti with cut up hot dogs.
So I decided to call them spider dogs with just 4 pieces of noodle. I made them for a surprise for the kids for lunch yesterday, and then tonight when we got home from the girls swim glass, and needed supper fast, they again asked for spider dogs.
Easiest Cool mom points EVAR.
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 5, 2010
(click the picture to enlarge it so you can read the easel)
On the side of our house that people see most when walking past on the small piece ( and only sidewalk) in our little hamlet, there is a “flower bed” that was there when we moved in. it had nothing but dirt and some crappy low weedy plants in it. It was more of a dumping ground.
The Girl cub claimed it as her flower bed, and this year she sprinkled wild flower mix in there, a few misc bulbs from other places in the yard we removed them from.
Late last fall I tore up a peonie bush that was poorly placed on the other side of the house under the bathroom window and just tossed it in there…it was cold, and I said. “well I guess it’ll take or it won’t, let just see.”
Well it rooted, and it’s growing and soon there will be peonies there. which she is delighted by.
I’ve noticed that the walls don’t contain the lily of the valley she transplanted in it, and the clover grass is growing through the holes in the walls of the wood. To keep the wood edging clear, when I walk by I pick out the grass growth. But I smile when I walk by that side to cut the grass, because it was nothing before, and it’s growing into a little while and crazy, beautiful bed of flowers that she loves and waters diligently ( too much).
So the saying on the sign just came to me this afternoon, so I grabbed some chalk and wrote it down on her easle and stuck it in her garden.
For those of you who don’t know I started a “blackboard blessings” last year in my front window, to thank a neighbour for the mystery gift that was left at my door, and now I make new signs on a rotating semi regular basis of quotes or what I’m thinking, or what I feel blessed by.
So this is the sign out side in that flower bed. I’m going to make a “permanent blackboard” for that flower bed with the sign, because since it spilled rain while I was out this evening , the writing it gone now of the easel
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 2, 2010
The boy insisted on pulling the heavy 20 kg bag of sand to the box hmself.. he did a great job! heavy sensory therapy work DIY style.
He’s been in the sand box ever since. The sand has always been one of his most favourite things to do. I can currently hear him humming to himself under the cherry tree playing with cars in the sand.
Posted by SuperADDMom on April 28, 2010
We live in a very rural area, and about 12 klm from town of about 5000. there they have a fitness and aqua center, and this week I got the kids signed up for programs there.
We have a great community, that helps low income families like ours pay for such programs so they can attend. Honestly the gas in and of itself twice a week makes the budget tight for the next 8 weeks, but the program is covered, and the kids benefit from it tremendously in many ways.
Socially, physically, and even mentally and therapeutically for their sensory integration issues.
So for their age groups I have them in a gym and swim program, the girl had an hour of swimming ( informal swimming and water games, and some guidance, not lessons, but coaching just the same) and then an hour in the gym for a rules/lead game and some tumble and roll, trampoline gymnastics stuff.
She will be going every Wednesday evening, and then the boy will be in a similar set up on Thursday mornings for the next 8 weeks, but I need to attend with him and coach him in the pool, formal level red cross swimming lesson, with one leader/coach guiding us teaching our kid.
Anyway. her first night was tonight, and got the low down on all the boys who cheated at the games they played in the gym…ever the rules police she is Aspie kids are stickler for rules, and don’t adjust well to change. She has the added issue of being ADHD as well, and gets easily side tracked, so because of these things, she was terribly worried about going, that no one would like her, that she can’t swim very good, and she sucks at sports like soccer.
When we got there we discovered that due to pool availability, the swim portion of the 2 hour program is first. Which I think is really rather shitty, cause she’ll have to shower off the pool chemicals from her body to go to gym, and do all that in a timely fashion, AND then she’ll sweat and stink in the gym, and come home and need to shower again!
With a child who has an issues with time management, getting side tracked, and anxiety about changing in front of other girls, this could really put a major crimp in her liking this program at all. She was VERY upset…it’s different from how the program ran last year, so she was all bent out of shape over that at first….and she NEVER showers for less than 15 minutes, and THEN takes 15 minutes to dry and change….so I can’t just drop her off for a 2 hour free time in town, and then pick her up… I need to be there in the middle of the 2 hours, for the switch over, to ensure she stays on track. It is a good lesson for her to work at, and would be helpful, but still, not what we understood, not what we planned, and i can’t just take 2 hours to do errands, or maybe even enjoy a break at the library, or whatever, without needing to be back there an hour into it, and then hang around for 45 minutes left of the program.
But even with that…she had a good first night, and she was happy to be the first person dressed and ready for gym.
I’m glad she enjoyed it and came home with a smile on her face, and excited about it.
I’m really pleased with her instructor/leader. She eased into it well, though she was terrified and almost in tears at the beginning.
I hope that he is a sign of changes happening with a new generation of community leaders/teachers/coaches etc we are about to see more in upcoming years as my children and children with special needs are being accepted.
He’s energetic and young ( about 18/19) and great with the kids, and was receptive to my suggestions to make my girls’s experience better, to help lower her anxiety in social situations, and how to give her warnings for changing events/transitions easier. He didn’t know much about it, but he generally understood Aspergers and ADHD and was positive about her maybe needing a little extra coaching to stay on track.
I watched him interact with the kids in the pool, and with the kids in the gym, and leading the games, and He’s a positive verbal encourager, but not unfairly, and he high fives all the kids and makes them feel positive about their contributions….you can tell he is fresh in the game and loves his job.
I want more of this in my children’s future. He was a pleasure to watch coach the kids.
Tomorrow at 9:45, I’ll be back there with a great female instructor we know from my sons program last year, and last year he was very shy due to his CAPD…but he ASKED to go back this year, and is very excited about tomorrow. She’s in her mid 20′s, and she is just as great.
I rant a lot sometimes, so it is nice when I have the opportunity to share nice things
