We try to raise good children. Honest, funny, caring, aware, financially savvy, confident…all things we want our kids to be. We teach them to tell the truth, to never bully, to find the joy in life and see the positives. To recognize their impact on the Earth, to differentiate between needs vs wants. To save and invest their money and to not spend it on stupid crap they don’t need.

We teach them that normal is boring, that they are the only one of them on this planet and they need to be the best Gianna and Scarlett they can be and to not worry about anyone else. That the world is going to be unkind to them so they should always try to be kind to each other. To make home a safe space.

I feel pretty damn good about the parenting choices we’ve made so far. We’re not perfect but, like everyone, we are doing our best.

However, this week I got thrown into a parenting gray area. A situation where I couldn’t really tell what the right thing to do in terms of being an honest person was. Here’s what happened.

I am starting to write a section in the blog about our travels. Partially because I’m somewhat nutso. I research the hell out of things before doing it; reading reviews, finding out deals, etc. And, for big trips, I get somewhat crazier. Like I make spreadsheets and binders kinda crazy. Not that I am a stickler and we can’t veer from my plans. But I like to have a sense for what we are doing and not just “wing it.”

Plus, I get super annoyed when I get asked “what the plans are” for the day. That’s one of the downfalls of being the planner. You get asked constantly what’s going on, what time are we leaving, where are we going for dinner, what’s next? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! Stop asking me questions!

The housing market is downright bonkers right now. I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere…but inventory is low and demand is high in our area. I think a lot of folks are moving here because people are now working from home and can live anywhere. I don’t blame people for wanting to escape the cold or come to a state that isn’t stuck in March of 2020.

Makes sense.

But, this combo of high demand, and the lack of homes for sale, is causing the price of homes to be fucking ridiculous. Literally, mediocre homes are listed, have like a 100 offers, and are sold over asking price in one day. It’s pure crazy town.

Of course, I am itching to capitalize on this. We have a 4 bedroom, 2,100 sq foot house with a pool. It’s a fine house. Nothing wrong with it, really. Besides the fact that I desperately need new carpet and flooring. There are stains everywhere. Coffee, dog pee, eyelash dye, slime. It’s a potpourri of nastiness.

Epicurious has not been publishing beef recipes for the past year or so because of the negative effects the beef industry has on climate change. They haven’t posted recipes for a year because they wanted to help in what way they could to reduce the amount of beef we consume.

Do your own research…but it’s true. The amount of greenhouse gases produced by the beef industry is absurd.

So Epicurious hasn’t posted recipes including cow meat for a year…and no one has said anything. It’s like no one noticed. They decided to formally announce it today and share their reason why. Guess what? People are losing their everloving minds. Pissed that the site would do that and try to “control” what they eat. Some folks are saying they are going to eat double the beef now, just to spite.

Ugghhhhh….why are some people so damn ignorant and bull headed? Why can’t people see beyond the desire for a burger and realize how serious this is? There are so many alternatives out there. No one is asking you to fucking starve or eat seeds.

My 14 year old daughter, Gianna, is kind of awkward when meeting new people. She doesn’t flourish in situations where she has to go outside her shell and talk to people she really doesn’t know. Odd, because her confidence is 100%. Like she knows her shit doesn’t stink.

But, when faced with meeting new people, she’s blindsided and uncomfortable. I get it.

While I don’t have her uber confidence by any stretch, I feel the same way about new people…..OK, people in general. Social interactions are super draining for me. I love the friends I have, but outside of that, I just feel depleted after engaging with strangers. I feel compelled to fill any silence with mindless chatter and find that my tendency for verbal diarrhea can cause me to say some pretty stupid things. My mind goes in panic mode. That’s why I prefer writing/texting/emails etc. I’ll avoid new people convo’s whenever I can.

Secondly, she’s a teenager. Which is just pure awkwardness anyways. So the interaction with strangers might cause immediate death. At least, in the mind of a 14 year old.

Which leads me to this story.

It’s the house kids flock to. You know the one. Opening the pantry door is like walking up aisle 16 at the grocery store. Shelves loaded with Nutella snack packs, fruit snacks, individual bags of Doritos and packages of Keebler cookies. It’s the house with a garage fridge loaded with sodas, Sunny D’s, and Capri Suns.

It’s “the Snack House.” If your house was the snack house, you probably had a bunch of friends, mainly because they were using you to get access to the snacks. Not hating, just the truth. Kids are drawn to the snack house. They can’t help it.

My house is not the snack house.