Yesterday Zander and I spent the morning at the Embassy of Denmark, learning about Danish Scouting and the history of the World Scout Jamboree. It was an amazing experience! (I'll post the pictures tonight) Of course, this event was also promoting the World Jamboree in Denmark this summer, which will be an amazing event.  For any scouts out there who want to go, the price is just $320 per person for the whole week. That includes food and everything! They will also provide host friendship family for you to stay with for a few days before and introduce you to their scout friends. Your biggest expense will be getting to Denmark.

At the end of this unique and historic experience that we were lucky enough to attend, they took a photo of all the scouts in front of the embassy for their press packet. Of course, after hours of behaving well, Zander could not hold it together any longer and tried to make goofy faces in the pictures. He also ignored my frantic hand signals... So everyone got to see me yell at my son from across the driveway. So stressful!

I always tell Zander that when he takes away one of my privileges (like being relaxed for a few minutes), he also loses one. After a stern lecture about ruining photos because he wants to "be funny" and expected scout behavior, away went electronics for the day! Of course, it was a lovely day so he played outdoors with friends and went for a bike ride. In the evening he had a blast at the middle school dance. With all those opportunities, there was no way that I would have let him sit around indoors playing in the wii, but Z certainly learned a heart felt lesson... hopefully... We will see at the next photo op!

Zander learned a sharp lesson in responsibility last night! A general school day rule in our home: no entertainment electronics go on before homework & chores are done and are turned off at 8 PM. That is when we have "read until sleep" time. Soooo... Last night I got to introduce my son to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This is something I have been looking forward to since he was a baby! Just as Lancelot saved the singing prince from his wedding, the clock struck 8. Zander sure wished he had finished his trombone practice and math quicker! No worries! We will watch the rest of the film today. Z made me promise that if he does his chores as soon as he gets home, we can watch it in the afternoon instead of waiting until night.

Since kids do better with structure, each day Zander owes me 1 hour of his time. Some of that is taken up with music practice and homework. Any time left over goes to chores. This has done away with his trying to get out of schoolwork, as he would rather do that than clean the bathroom. (He still has some housework responsibilities. No way am I going to remain the sole homemaker! I tell him that his future wife will be so happy and love him even more for these skills.) This also cut down on my nagging and our arguing, since we both know that the 1 hour is nonnegotiable. How excited am I that Zander wants to do his 1 hour as soon as he gets home? To quote him: "Mom, have that list ready for me!"

One of Zander's teachers recommended these sites to me:
Mark Sisson has a great website about primitive eating. Since our digestive tract was created when we evolved from Paleolithic beings, a primal diet meets our digestive & nutritional assimilation physicality better than a refined meal plan.  
PLUS: Mark's GF pancake recipe is as yummy to eat as it is easy to make!
Also, My Dress Fits Me has some great tips on living wheat and starch free. Alexis also has an interactive Facebook page. Both the website/blog & fb page have fun to read & easy to understand information well worth looking through. I have not tested her recipes, but they look straight forward to me.
Please feel welcome to email me or post on the BWWI fb page and let me know how you like them. 

Recently a kind reader informed me that my link to the Corn Refiners Association in this article (bottom of the page) was broken. Those sneaky refiners have changed their website to www.Corn.org. With the greatest of chutzpah, CRA is masquerading as a non-profit informational site created for our benefit. They share the following statements: “…high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners…” and “High fructose corn syrup … is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Both sweeteners contain the same number of calories (4 per gram) and consist of about equal parts of fructose and glucose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”
Hmmm... Anyone want to ask them why HFCS can make an unrefrigerated loaf of bread stay fresh for 2 years but still be good for us? I will be happy to show the perfectly fresh looking & squeezably soft loaf I keep in my office.
With all the research out there about the health concerns connected with HFCS, including from the Mayo Clinic, Princeton University & Diabetes Health. Center for Science in the Public Interest explained it best way back in 2008!
I am amazed by both the sneaky way HGCS ends up in seemingly safe food and our ability to overlook this health damaging ingredient. HGCS is tough to avoid even when you are on the look out for it. It is impossible to avoid if you are trying to live healthfully and trust all the "naturally manufactured" foods to avoid this shelf life enhancing short cut. 

Zander and I are off to Camp Snyder in Haymarket, VA. We are helping with a Webelo Scout skill building weekend program. We are just staying for the day, but it will be a full one! We will help with the various activities like Wilderness 1st Aid, Camp Fire Skills, team building exercises, etc...
Yesterday and tomorrow are in the high 60s, but of course today is in the 40s...but sunny. That is added incentive to keep moving!
A nice thing about scouting is that Zander went through these programs when he was a Cub Scout. Now he is assisting with the program. In another few years he will help coordinate and manage these sort of classes. He is excited about his burgeoning leadership skills. We both look forward to spending the day running about in the woods!

I made a mountain of granola and will drop it off at the Local Market later today. First, I will join Zander and the MEH Knitting Club. With Z's ADHD, he needs a support person to help him keep his It is so much fun, knitting with the kids. Of course, Zander is the only boy in the club. Hmmm... No wonder he enjoys it so much!