Dear Kid,

Have you ever noticed that no one sets off fireworks on your birthday? They don’t on mine either.

And yet, as we celebrate America’s (faux) birthday (read about the faux-ness here), there will be plenty of fireworks.

And hot dogs. And beer. And concerts.

And more fireworks.

And rain. Lots and lots of rain. At least in our neck of the woods.

Which will make the aforementioned festivities much less festive.

Or at least soggier.

Now, just because the forecasters are predicting rain does not necessarily mean rain will arrive. Weather forecasters are notoriously good at being wrong. And still keeping their jobs.

Also, this is Southwest Ohio. So when they say “rain” they might very well mean sleet. Or tornadoes. Or purple unicorns.

Personally, I’d be in favor of unicorns, purple or otherwise.

Regardless of the weather (or lack thereof), my hope is that our country continues to thrive and provide freedom for many, many, many years.

Happy Fourth of July, Kiddo.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

In honor of graduation (yep, it’s today), we search Pinterest (and by “we” I mean Pi) for inspiring graduation ideas.

She decided we would make chocolate Reese’s mortar boards.

So Grandma and Grandpa peeled wrappers from about a million mini Reese’s cups, and you and I set up our assembly shop to manufacture create put together said hats. To be fair, Pi made the first one to show us how (followed immediately by Pi eating the first one).

In other news, the sheer volume of sugar in our house right now could send an entire country (a small one, but still) into diabetic shock.

Congrats (or Congrads) to all the graduates.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Because we’re a crazy sort of couple, Dad and I stayed home and watched Free Birds a few nights ago. Very cute movie. The basic premise is that a couple of turkeys travel back in time to the first Thanksgiving to make sure turkey is not on the menu.

After a series of adventures, the turkeys win and deliver pizza from the future to the first Pilgrim feast.

Which started me thinking about odd Thanksgiving food (you thought I was going to wonder about talking turkeys, didn’t you?).

I understand that many people feel strongly about Thanksgiving and its associated traditions. I’m all for tradition, but I like the idea of contemplating something new. And since “new” and “food” go together beautifully in my world, I turned to my good Friend the Internet for inspiration.

Let me tell you, there are a lot of weird ideas about weird Thanksgiving food out there. There are some things that sounded interesting and (duh) some things that sounded downright wrong. Like turkey gravy cupcakes.

Let me be really clear: savory cupcakes are great if you like that sort of thing, but gravy does not belong in a cupcake. Not now. Not ever. Because I said so. (Sometimes, you just have to put your foot down as a mom.)

Also the Thanksgiving Dinner Cake sounds like a bad idea. The basic recipe is turkey meatloaf which you bake in round pans and use as the “cake”; stuffing for the “icing” between the layers of meatloaf; regular mashed potatoes as “icing” on the sides of the cake; sweet potatoes as the “icing” on the top of the cake; and (of course) mini marshmallows on top of the sweet potato layer. Actually, this sounds like a great idea for dealing with leftovers if you have children under 10.

On the other hand, the idea of Thanksgiving sushi rolls sounds really good. A little turkey, a little sweet potato, a bit of cranberry, and a bit of love all rolled up in a rice and cut sushi-style. How bad could it be?

Apple cider mimosas sound like an idea worth trying. As does doing something with butternut squash. Don’t know where we’d fit another side dish, but I like the idea.

I found a recipe for soft pretzel stuffing which sounds like a great idea because the bread won’t get mushy.

What do you think about pumpkin cornbread served warm with honey? I think YUM.

The photo of stuffed Brussel sprouts (like stuffed mushrooms only greener) almost makes me believe these little babies are low cal and healthy. (I’m pretty sure it’s a rule that you can’t do healthy on Thanksgiving).

I did not find anyone suggesting salmon (although I think that would be a great Thanksgiving food). Nor did I find any suggestions for pizza. Pizza makes a lot of sense since the national religion of Thanksgiving is overeating and football.

Maybe the turkeys got it right after all.

Love, Mom

The turkeys shared pizza. You can share DearKidLoveMom.

Dear Kid,

We are nearing the Super Bowl (you probably heard about that). And when I think Super Bowl, I think Super Bowl party. And when I think Super Bowl party, I think food.

And when I think college kid I think food.

And when I think college kid and the Super Bowl, I think food.

When I think college kid, dorm room, and extensive chopping and food preparation, I end up rolling on the floor laughing.

There are 4 zillion websites devoted to intricate dips, snacks, and fun food for The Big Game. None of them are designed for a dorm room.

So being the kind of mother I am, I have ever so thoughtfully provided this Guide to Super Bowl Snacks in Your Dorm Room.

Ingredients: A small bit of planning. Bowls optional. No knives or chopping necessary.

Crudité. Seriously? Probably not. If you want something green, check a roommate’s sneakers.

Guacamole. Buy guacamole. Open. Eat.

Salsa. Very similar to guac except you buy salsa.

Chips. Open bag. Improvise.

Snack mix. Go crazy. Open a bag of Chex mix and add peanuts or potato chips. Gourmet!

Need main course options? Not a problem. Pizza, burgers, a splurge on Chipotle, or even hop over to the cafeteria before the game begins.

Decorations. Consider semi-inflated balloons. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Get your homework done before kickoff.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Happy Anniversary!

Actually, the Dear Kid Love Mom anniversary was last week, but I was discussing other things at the time and didn’t get to the anniversary blog until now. So Happy Belated Anniversary! DearKidLoveMom is officially one year old.

Maybe that makes it a birthday rather than an anniversary….welcoming input on which we’re celebrating. Remember the first post?

While I let others discuss what we’re celebrating (anniv or b’day), let us move on to the celebration. (Please feel free to put on your virtual party hat.) We have virtual decorations, virtual party favors, and virtual cupcakes (regular and gluten-free).

Obviously, this is more excitement than any human needs for the day, but in case you’re hoping to live closer to the edge, you should know that April 7th is a pretty celebratory day in history.

In 1718, New Orleans was founded and has been pretty much one long celebration since.

In 1789, the US celebrated the first inauguration ball (it was for George Washington and held in NYC).

In 1832, Greece celebrated gaining independence.

In 1912, Columbia University approved plans for the Pulitzer Prize. Yippee!

In 1913, the British House of Commons rejected the idea of women’s right to vote which was a celebration for exactly no one. Eventually, Great Britain decided to let women vote once they reached age 30. Fast forward to April 7, 1928, and the UK lowered the voting age for women to 21.

In 1921, Behave Yourself celebrated the 47th Kentucky Derby by winning. In 1932, Burgoo King won the Derby, in 1938 Lawrin celebrated the win, and in 1966 Kauai King took the roses.

And finally, in 2013, the Dow Jones Industrial average and the S&P hit record highs (for which many people celebrated).

Hope you have a day worth celebrating!

Love, Mom