How’s that for an encouraging story title? I had an epiphany moment this week…courtesy of my six-year-old daughter and husband, of course. The epiphany for me is that I am not nearly as encouraging as I thought I was. In my role as a leadership development specialist, my purpose was to assist-to encourage-others to achieve their potential as leaders and human beings. But now that I reflect on the past few years, I can recall the many times in which I taught a skill or concept by sharing the negative impact of not applying the principle or applying it incorrectly.

In the downtown core where I work, the grocery stores are minimal to be kind. You can purchase milk, eggs, flour and processed cheese, that’s about it. On weekends we bring the kids grocery shopping at larger chains to take advantage of increased selections of produce. Keeping Ryan and Chloe in the grocery cart continues to be a challenge, we tend to bribe them with snacks in order to keep them sedentary and reasonably quiet. Today, ground turkey looks inticing. Chloe enjoys eating meat, any meat, especially burgers, the spicier the better.

I’ve been searching for the perfect recipe for oven fries for a long time. Usually, the fries don’t crisp up. They are so soggy that they need to be drowned in ketchup to become palatable. These oven fries are crispy, crunchy, salty, spicy and delicious. I could eat cumin and pepper with a spoon, the flavours are so vibrant. If they don’t appeal to you, feel free to leave them out. These manly wedges work well with steak. Tonight we had them with salmon smoked from the Big Green Egg. The kids liked them too, no red sauce necessary.

For Mark’s birthday, we had a small BBQ featuring smoked meats, of course. This Thai Coleslaw was a great accompaniment, along with corn on the cob and a pesto pasta salad. The flavours come together nicely and the combination of sesame and peanut tastes make this salad different from conventional coleslaw. The freshly roasted peanuts add a good crunch. Even the most picky eaters asked for seconds, and thirds. Also, it’s good for picnics as there is no mayonnaise to spoil.

Imagine a camp fire, without the camp fire. These bars taste like a combination of caramel and chocolate, with a chewy marshmallow crunch. They are beyond addictive so beware. You need 5 minutes to prepare the bars, and another 5 to wash the pot. Thank you, Betty.

http://powerapron.com/2012/06/10/super-fast-smores-bars/

I Promise To . . .

As parents, one of our promises is to make sure that our kids can advocate for themselves and to stand tall when necessary.  Learning how to advocate takes practice, and the earlier our kids start practicing, the better. 

The Catch

For practice to make perfect, practice has to be meaningful.  It feels mighty risky for parents, but this means that you’ll need to invite your kids’ input on important issues. 

King of the castle

Let’s celebrate Father’s Day by looking at a common complaint:

The Question:  How do we get our husbands on board to support our efforts?

The Frustration:  When describing the situation, mothers use words like:  burden, job, work, and nag.

At some point in every parenting program I conduct, a father’s role in parenting comes up.  Here’s how it usually goes:

“Mommy, tell me the truth about my daddy.”

Lexi asked this question at dinner while her daddy was sitting right there. I had an impish desire to say that her real daddy was the mailman, but I don’t think my husband or daughter would have laughed at that. Part of me wanted to respond in true Jack Nicholson fashion and yell, “You can’t handle the truth!” But that would have been wildly inappropriate to say to a five-year-old, right?

When a girl gets her first period,it means the beginning of her childbearing years. But as time goes on (depending on the person) things can get worse all the way to adulthood.I especially mean women with  hectic forty hour a week jobs. Sometimes it can get so unbearable that the woman ends up missing a day or two of work. The doctor may offer some advice to help her through this rough time. We all know we can't hide behind this forever, so we end up having to watch the calendar closely. We also have to watch for signs of trouble.