lunch turned educational experience

So I was  trying  to use  up  my lobster  that  was on  sale at  the  Atlantic Super Store 2  for  10$ right what  an  epic  deal  but  my  youngest is super  curious  about  everything  and  it  turned  VERY QUICKLY into a educational experience we  both  enjoyed.

So the first thing we  did  was wash our  hands  since we  were about  to  be handling  food,then  we  transferred one of  the  lobsters over  to a cookie sheet  so  we  could begin an up-close and  personal  look .

Then  I  asked  a  very excited 3 1/2 year  old where do you want  to  begin he's like " oh  mom  the  tail" okay  tail  it  is ,we looked  very  closely at  all  the  bumps  and  ridges of  the  tail

We must  have  bent  and  unbent that  tail  a  good  10  times before  he realized this  was  only  the shell on  top  of  the  tail  and  not  the  underneath.

When  I was  finally  allowed to  turn  it  over he  squealed with  delight  to see the  little  feet he  bent  and unbent  the  tail a good 10-20  times  and  the  feet and  then  spread  the  fins  at  the  end  apart and  all  i  wanted was  to  eat  this  lobster  not  dissect  him .So we cracked the  tail  in  half  so  that  we  could  pull out  all  the  meat which  i  usually  don't  get  all  at  once so  I was  surprised .We then  sat  that  aside  in  a  bowl for  later .

Now  that  the  tail had  been  removed we  looked  at  the  rest  of  the  lobster .With wide  concerned  eyes my  son  looks  at  me  and  says "mom  he  is  dead  right  he  cant  feel  this right  i don't  wanna  hurt  him ". AWWWWW seriously  little  cutie  now  I don't  wanna  eat  him/her  either  you  turned  him/her   from  food  into  a  pet  and  that  makes  mommy  sad so  we  had  a moment  to  gather  ourselves  and  wipes  his  tears for  mr.lobster before  continuing.
We looked  at  the  top  shell  and  all  its  bends  and  folds  we  talked  about  what   it  felt  like  and  then  what  the  inside  looked like.the  eyes  and  the  antlers  and  all  the  claws  etc

When  we  flipped  the body  over  he  squealed with  such delight  again  to see even  more  legs we  talked  about  how  like  spiders  they  have  8 legs  and  what   they  felt  liked and  how  they  moved  and why  he  thought  that the  front  2  were  bigger  .Obviously they  grew  first  mommy  and  so  they  are   bigger  and  stronger literally  had  to  take  a  minute  not  to  laugh out  of  the  mouths of  babes  so  they   say.

Then I finally  got  to   break  the legs  off  and eat  some  of  my  lobster I don't  know if  there is  a  actual   way  to  get  the  meat  out  but  I  just   break it and chew  till  the  meant  comes  out ,totally worth  the  wait and  to  have this  time  bonding  with  my  child  is  priceless  since  so  many   times  were so  focused  on  just   getting  it  all  done because  were  to  busy   to  stop  and  explain  and sadly  society has  ruined  to  many   childhoods  because we don't  take  the  time  to  relax  and  enjoy  the  children  we  created  who  didn't  ask  to  be  here  but  just   to  be  included  and  loved .

I wanted  to  give  him  the  full  experience so  I  broke  apart  the   head  and  torso  part of  mr.lobster and  his  claws were set aside  also and  explained  that   some  people  like  to  eat  this brownish green  colored  stuff which  I've  always  called  tom-ally I  personally don't like  it  but  to  each  their  own .He  didn't  like  the inside  of  this  portion  very  much   but  he  did examine  it  and  touch  it  so  that's  more  then  I had  originally expected.

  when we  took  the  claws off  at  first he  was  scared  to  touch  them   but  after  telling  him  to  be  gentle he  did  then  he  ran  around  the  kitchen   with  them   chopping  anything  in  his  path (yes  i   did  clean  and  sanitize  all  of  those  surfaces  after  the  fact ).

I then  pulled  the  small  part of  the  claw off  and  explained  it  to  him  as  its  like  our  thumb and  the  bigger  part  is  like  our  index  finger  and  so  he  makes  a  fist  with  his  thumb  inside and  says "look  mom  just  like  mr.lobster" .

this  is  the meat  that came  out  of  the  remainder of  the  claw the  same  was  done  to  the  other  claw.

All  the  meat  was  then  torn  and  ripped  apart  with  a  fork  to  make  it  easier  to  mix  and  later  spread .

All  my  spices  were  then  added  and  mixed  into  the  meat .

We then  added  in  some  mayonnaise (only  realized  now it's in  the  shape  of  a  heart) .We  then  mixed  all  that   together.

This  is  where I would  normally  add  in  some  diced  onion  and  celery  to  add  some  more  flavor  and  texture (sadly  I don't have  any).

Then  we  got  out  our  white  bread  if  I  have  garlic  butter  I will  lightly  butter  the  bread  for  additional  flavor  however  i'm  also  out  of  that .

We  then   took  our  lobster  mix  and  spread  it  out  evenly  on  the  bread  and  placed  an  additional  slice  on  top .Then  we  cleaned  our  mess  of  lobster  shells  and  placed  them  in  the  garbage  and  the  nut  cracker  and  fork  and  bowl  into  the  sink   to  be  washed.Most  importantly  we  then  washed  our  hands  and  the  counter  surfaces .

Then  of  course we  grabbed  a  plate  and  got  to  have  a  very   well deserved  and  delicious sandwich.

Im passionate about helping...?

    I'm passionate about helping my kids reach their full potential in all aspects of their lives (Home,work, school,friends,faith).
    Their home life is apparently not as normal as I had personally thought it was seems alot of their friends don't have this they get themselves up and off to school with little or no lunch and when they get home no one is there to greet them because they are to focus on paying the bills and monetary/ material things why can't we all focus on the kids first they never asked to be created just loved.
    Their work life is non existent really as they are too young to have jobs outside of the home  there chores at home they do receive monetary value for more like an allowance to teach them the value of money and responsibilities.
    Their school life is very much a work in progress learning about preschool life as well as  learning that just because it's done doesn't mean it's done properly and needs to learn to add more content and description as well as effort overall and focus on the future and what they want to do with their lives when they're older.
     When it comes to their friends I allow them to be the overall judge and utilize the advice given about how to be a good friend and avoid peer pressure if at all possible and if I see some issues then I try to correct them and allow the issue to work on some live and learn practices.
      Faith is a very controversial topic with social media today and so I don't touch much on it unless the children bring it up or see something then I use that as a learning tool about faith and culture and how we can heal the world one step forward at a time.

we're all products of our environment

       When I was younger I was both shy and  nieve trying to fit into a world I didnt understand,if  only i knew then what I know now surely my life would be different from the one I lead today ,if  even one event happened differently would  I  be the mother to my children  I am now the  daughter  I  am ,would people still think they know me when they only really know the me I allowe them to see.
     When I was younger I lived with my birth family in a run down dirty bug infested hoarder home  with parents who were by far beyond any type of a positive role model to myself ,they lied,cheated  and or stole what they wanted or worked the system set in place to  protect and empower people to  better  themselves,however this didnt help me in my young years to be a  productive member of society  I was placed into the foster care system and forgotten by my family.
    Once I was placed into the foster care system  I first  went to an emergency room to be checked  and  processed then off to an emergency care home for the night then to what turned into my forever  home where I was loved ,cared for ,it was  clean  and I was happy and remolded into the social butterfly I am now with a new lease on life and positive role models to look up too.
     The home which I still call home to this day was located in a quite community far from the hurt and the pain I had grown up with The mother an early aged senior soon become nanny with her adult daughter becomeing mom both with hearts of gold they took me into their home and their hearts and  never thought twice about it and would gladly do it again.
       They and the extented family have become my family they are the ones who loved me and  cared for me and brought me up they took me into their home with nothing  but literally the clothes on my back and the heaveniess in my heart that no one expecially a child should have to feel they fed me  clothed me and gave me a new lease on life and showed me I dont have to be my old life I am fee to be me so be the best me I can be no excuses or limitations give my everything in all I do with 100% best  and do it with my whole heart and expect nothing in return and  know that I did nothing but my best and that was all they could ask for.I thought this was the worst situation ever because I was so used to the way of "life" I  had lived I didnt know that there was anything better out there I was programmed to believe the lies I  had been told filled with my heart with such pain I didnt think it could be repaired id been taken from everything I had known but it was a total blessing instead.
    I was taught to never take anything for granted to always believe in myself and never give up on my dreams because no one will believe in me if they see I dont believe in myself I was given oppertunities to have things that had I stayed in my previous situation I wouldnt have been given so  music lessons,joined multiple school organizations be apart of cadets all which helped to mold and shape the woman I am so not hateing and resenting have been set aside to the past and  now I do all  I do with an open and whole heart.

family wellness fair

what  an  amazing day  was  had  the  weather  was  great for  walking  and  playing  outside at the  coverdale center,the  walkways  were  salted leading up-to  the  building and  the  steps   were  fairly  decent  however  from  what  I saw  the wheelchair  access  wasn't   done which  may  have  been  a  hindrance to  some  but   once  inside  it  was  warm  and  everyone  was  laughing  and  smiling and  very  helpful with  my  two  boys (9 and  3) and  their  many   questions.

If  you  were  able  to  attend  im  sure  you  all  had  a  blast with  all  the  booths they  are  listed  below as soon  as  you  walk  in  you  are  greeted  by  this  very  sweet  man and  his  bubbling  personality laughing  and  making  jokes  the  whole  time getting  down to  eye  level  with  the  kids  and  offering  them  some  yummy apples  as  well as  the  passport  to  the show.

Sadly  due to  my  youngest  being  beyond  overtired and  over  stimulated  by all that  was  going  on  I didn't  get  to  visit or  take  photos  of  each  booth however  i  did  get  to  visit  most  of  them  to  those  i  did ill  post pictures  and  information  gathered  at  that  time those  that  i missed  im  sorry but  i  will  catch  you  all  next  time .

Clayton  thank  you  again  for  being  so  patient  with  all  the  questions  and  comments  they   had