A Mellow Christmas

As my children grow older, my Christmas days become quite a bit more relaxing.  I no longer need to get out of bed before the sun comes up – actually, I’m typically the first one up.  I love that time.  It give me a chance to wake up slowly with my dog and my cup of coffee.  I’ll take a little time to clean up any leftover dishes from the night before.

This Christmas morning, I decided to watch one of my all-time favorite movies – “You’ve Got Mail”  Yes, I know that it’s very similar to “Sleepless In Seattle,” but is that a bad thing?  No!  Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are charming and perfect.  I remember seeing this movie in the theater, in 1998.  My lovely daughter Natalie came with me – she was four years old, and she loved it!!

So, as I’m watching “You’ve got Mail” for the umpteenth time, I think back to 1998.  Meg Ryan used a dial-up connection to access the Internet and check her AOL account.  Remember the sound that an analog modem would make when it connected?  Kind of a staticky crackle, and then the beep that meant the connection was successful.  Now, if we can’t immediatly get to our e-mail from multiple devices in our home, my kids want me to start calling tech support.

I also wonder if Fox Books would still be in business.  F-O-X.  They were the evil super-store that would put the quaint Shop Around the Corner out of business.  But, would they still be here today, at the end of 2011?  Joe Fox would have had to persuade his father and grandfather to embrace the 21st century and jump on the e-reader bandwagon.

What would Joe Fox have introduced to the readers of New York?  Maybe the “Fox Hunter” – users could program it “hunt” for the types of books they want, and it would run out to the Internet and snatch the books!

Or, would the aging father and grandfather have squelched the idea of moving forward with the rest of the world?  They may have been more concerned about keeping with tradition.  They may have thought that electronic readers and the Internet would just be a phase.

I think it’s a phase that’s going to stick around for a while.  I love my e-reader.  I can buy books, borrow books, and find all kinds of free books.  It’s so cool!  I think Joe Fox would like it, too.

Homemade Chicken Stock

I love, love, love FOOD!  I love to cook from scratch.  And, believe it or not, cooking from scratch and doing it all homemade is easy, AND inexpensive.  Which leads me to our recipe for today – Homemade Chicken Stock!

I know, I know – chicken stock from the store is cheap.  Why make something from scratch, when it’s so cheap at the store?  I dunno – I guess that I can’t see that something sitting on the shelf for who-knows-how-long is good for you.  Everything you make yourself at home is better!  You know exactly what goes in it.  And it’s EASY!  Chicken stock can be used in almost any recipe that calls for water – and it adds so much more flavor. 

To make your chicken stock, you can use a variety of cuts of chicken.  Thighs are great – quarters are even better because when they go on sale, they go ON SALE!  Here in lovely Allen, you can get ten pounds for $3.90.  You can even use  whole fryer, if they’re on a super-sale.

Grab your chicken and throw it in a great, big pot.  Cut an onion into a few chunks, along with a couple of carrots, celery and two or three garlic cloves.  In my opinion, the more garlic, the better!  Add salt and pepper to your liking.  Then, add enough water until it’s about an inch from the top of the pot.  Cover up the pot.  You’ll want bring it all to a rolling boil, then turn it down a bit so it’s simmering nicely.  Keep it cookin’ for about an hour to an hour and a half.  You’ll know that it’s ready when the chicken is floating on the top.

Turn off the heat, and let it all cool down a bit.  Next, take the chicken out, and set it aside.  Take the meat off the bones when it’s cool enough to touch.  Remove the veggies, and toss them in the trash.  My dad likes to keep them for chicken soup, but I don’t really like veggies that have been turned to freaking mush.  Grab the pot, and put it in the fridge overnight.  This way, all of the chicken fat will rise to the top and solidify.  The next morning, you’ll spoon all of the fat off the top, and chuck it in the trash. 

Take the lovely broth that’s in the bowl and run it through a strainer.  Pour the broth into smaller containers, and put them in the freezer.  It’s fabulous.  You can use this for all kinds of awesome recipes.  Gravy, stuffing, any kind of sauce that calls for milk or white wine.  Chicken soup.  Duh!  Mashed potatoes, shrimp scampi.  The possibilities are endless!!

But, what to do with the chicken?  That’s the best part!  OMG, there are sooooo many things you can do with the chicken.  Such as…

• Chicken noodle soup (duh!)
• Chicken and dumplings
• Chicken enchiladas, tacos, fajitas
• Chicken pot pie
• Chicken Divan
• Chicken Salad
• Chicken Chili

You can use this chicken for any recipe that calls for pre-cooked chicken. 

This is my absolute favorite cooking method – it’s so versatile, handy, homemade and CHEAP!  I just love it to pieces.

What is Child Support?

Child support must be for manicures, pedicures, trips to the spa, vacations to Jamaica, right?  At least, that’s what my ex-husband must think.  Because if really believed that his child support payment is used toward the care and feeding of his son, he would gladly pay it when he’s supposed to, right?  He would realize that the payment is his share of food, clothing, shelter, and medical costs that any child has a right to have. 

I actually have a piece of paper from the Court, and it’s signed by a judge!  It’s pretty official.  I’m pretty sure that my ex-husband was ordered by the Court to pay a certain amount in Child Support every month.  If I were ordered by the Court to do something, I think I would do it.  That’s called a “legal obligation.”

But, let’s forget about the legal obligation.  There is also a “moral obligation.”  This man has a child – he should want to do what is best for this child, right?  That’s what I think.  That’s what makes sense to me.  It’s what I want, and I’m the boy’s mother.  Wouldn’t his father want the same thing?

Hmmmmm….apparently not!

So, what is a single mom to do, when it comes to Child Support?

Don’t count on it. 

As a single mom, it is sooooooo important that I learn how to pay my bills based on MY INCOME.  I used to count Child Support as part of my income, but I quickly learned that I shouldn’t do that.  We’re in June, now, and I haven’t seen a dime since January. 

Yes, I know there are avenues that I can take.  Garnishing, liens, etc.  He’s self-employed, and doesn’t own anything.  So, I wait.  I pay my bills from my income, and if Child Support payments should happen to come in, they’re gravy.  They go into my savings account. 

I think it’s wise for most single moms to do the same.  I’ve learned that you just can’t count on Child Support.

My Goal as a Parent

What is my goal as a parent?  To care for my children, of course.  I’ll give them everything they need, and some things that they want.  But my ultimate goal is to raise them to independent, successful, self-sufficient adulthood.  In my mind, that doesn’t mean giving in to their every whim and desire.  It means teaching them various life skills that will ensure that they’re not depending upon me in any way at all when they’re in their thirties.  I won’t have any of that failure-to-launch crap. 

I love the show Clean House on the Style network.  A team of experts help families get rid of all the clutter they’ve accumulated, sell it in a yard sale, and use the yard sale proceeds to clean up and remodel.  It’s awesome – I’m addicted to this show.  One episode focused on a single mom and her 21-year-old college student son, who was taking complete advantage of her.  He did nothing to help around the house, and he even broke his bed because he was having sex – in his mother’s house!!  That kid would have been on his own so fast if I were his mom.  However, his mom didn’t feel that way.

I think many single moms can fall into the trap of giving their kids everything they want, and doing everything for them.  It’s understandable that they want to make up for the loss of an intact family, right?  So they attempt to compensate by giving the kids things, and doing things for them.  Maybe the kids even get away with a few things that they shouldn’t.

I believe the most valuable gift we can give our children is teaching them independence and responsibility.  They need to learn how to handle money, do their own laundry, cook a meal, clean a dish, run a vacuum, etc., etc., etc.  We’re not doing them a favor by coddling them.

Ultimately, we need to teach our kids how to have successful relationships.  It’s also my goal as a parent for my kids to have one, life-long marriage.  They don’t need to repeat my mistakes.