Most of my life I wanted to surf.  But, there was always a reason or excuse not to rent a board and try it out.  Then, that last summer before I knew I was  going to be a Mom, I took my youngest Sister with me and took a surfing lesson.  The school that we went to isn’t there anymore, we got before they had to close the doors.  They were a ‘camp’ and they bunk house didn’t fit in with the lifestyle of the other cottagers so they were quietly asked to leave.

My Sister and I were up at 6am and in the water by 6:30am, some big storms were on the way so we had a small window for beginners to try out these boards. I always thought it would be easy to get up onto the board and start surfing away.  It isn’t, let me tell you.  It took me two hours of push ups to actually catch a wave and ride it in.  My Sister caught two that morning.  It was tough, but we loved it and had a great time. My Sister went on to North Carolina for school and I came home to Ottawa to become a Mom, she got to surf with her buddies who all had boards down in Charleston, but not me.  This year I think I will rent a board again and show J that Mommy still has it and can get up on that board.  Now… I wonder if that pink Body Glove swim suit still fits??

Back in the Fall I had hoped to go to a book signing with Kathy Buckworth.  She was at Collected Works signing her newest book, The Blackberry Diaries.  Nothing was going right for me that day and I was unable to attend.  Much to my dismay as I heard it was really a wonderful night.  A meeting of the minds if you will.

When the opportunity came up to receive a review copy of Kathy’s newest book, due out in March, Shut Up and Eat! I jumped on the chance to get a copy and start reading.

Shut Up and Eat! Tales of Chicken, Children and Chardonnay had me laughing from the get go.  Kathy brings the reader right to her table, no holds barred with a splash of humor on the side.  I love the fact that she tells it like it is, not every child is going to like what you prepare for supper and making favourite meals is a great way to get the kids to behave.  Kathy is also not opposed to using desserts as bribery and uses this tool often, something I too enjoy doing.

Shut Up and Eat! offers the reader an insight to each meal and get this… offers solutions too!  At the end of each chapter you will find an assortment of tried and tested recipes from Kathy’s Kitchen.  While she doesn’t promise any miracles she definitely offers some solutions if you are finding your family difficult to feed or just plain bored of your own cooking.

In between all the humor and laughing, two things stood out for me in this book.  Things that I grew up doing with my parents and continue to do with my family now.  Unfortunately, we are in a minority on this one and I hope that Shut Up and Eat! can help spread the word about how important it really is to eat dinner as a family as often as possible.  First of all Kathy and her Husband eat dinner together with the family at the table, “I do – in fact-  manage to get a family dinner on the table at least 4 out of 5 weeknights.”  and secondly they continue to eat Sunday Dinners as a family, Kathy writes,

“One tradition we have managed to stick to (mostly) is the Sunday Family Dinner. Both my Husband and I grew up in households where the big Sunday meal more often than not featured Roast Beef, Yorkshire puddings, potatoes, and gravy. This is a tradition we had been passing on to our kids.“

I loved Shut up and Eat!  It was a fun, easy read that made me realize I am not the only one with wild kids at the table, she just has one more than I do to feed each night.  You can pre-order a copy so that it will arrive shortly after it’s release in March, you won’t be disappointed, grab a cup of your favorite hot drink, a cozy blanket and enjoy.