Child Hunger Ends Here: Something sweet for your support

This is my last post as a blogger ambassador for the ConAgra Foods Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. The campaign isn't over, nor is the need for support for food-insecure children across the country. My ambassadorship, though, comes to an end next week.

In light of that, I'd like to circle back to the beginning, to why I was—and still am—delighted to have been chosen along with a handful of other bloggers nationwide to promote Child Hunger Ends Here. It all boils down to this: I like to feed those I love and care about. And I indeed care about the 16 million kiddos across the country who are not sure where their next meal will come from. Which is why doing what I could to help feed them was and is an honor.

While acting as blogger ambassador for Child Hunger Ends Here, I was also honored—humbled, in fact—by the overwhelming support for the campaign by the Grandma's Briefs readers. You all have read posts, commented, entered codes, shared stories, re-tweeted and, most of all, you cared. I appreciate far more than my words can express your support and your help in putting an end to child hunger.

So, in typical grandma fashion—or at least in a fashion typical of this grandma—I wanted to bake up something sweet to share with each and every one of you to show you how much your support means to me. Which, of course, isn't feasible. I can, though, do the next best thing. I can share with you a recipe for something sweet, then request you do me the honor of making it for yourself.

It's a super fast and super simple recipe, I promise. And this being the finale to my time with the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign and all, it's only fitting that the recipe includes one of the participating products from the campaign. And that the recipe came from ConAgra's ReadySetEat website.

Please accept my token of appreciation for your support of me and your commitment to the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake (slightly adapted from ReadySetEat)

Courtesy ReadySetEat    PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
    2 tablespoons Peter Pan® Creamy Peanut Butter
    Reddi-wip® Original Dairy Whipped Topping (about 2 cups)
    1 egg
    1/2 cup dry chocolate cake mix

    Spray inside of 2 large microwave-safe mugs with cooking spray. Place 1 tablespoon peanut butter in bottom of each mug. Whisk together Reddi-wip, egg and cake mix in medium bowl. Place half of batter in each mug.
    Microwave each mug individually on HIGH 1 minute to 1 minute 15 seconds or until set. Invert each cake onto a plate. Serve immediately with additional Reddi-wip, if desired.

Two servings

See? I told you it was simple. And it's good; Jim and I gobbled it up for dessert just last night. So please, make yourself a mug o' goodness and enjoy. You've earned it!

Of course, as I mentioned above, my blogger ambassadorship may be ending but the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign isn't. It runs until the end of August, and considering that with kids out of school for the summer—school being where many children get their only nutritious meals of the day—the need has never been stronger.

Here's how we all can continue to help end child hunger in America:

Purchase products from ConAgra Foods that are specially marked with the big red pushpin as part of the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Participating brands are:

Then visit www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com to enter the eight-digit code from the package. For each code entered, the equivalent of one meal—up to three million meals—will be donated to Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity.

Again, thank you for making a difference—to the campaign and to me.

Disclosure: I have been compensated for my participation in the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign and all posts, tweets and updates related to the campaign.

A full nest once more

No, my daughters haven't moved home. And, no, my grandsons aren't visiting.

Still, the nest is full. Literally. The nest right outside my window, the one nearest my desk, where I spend much of my day.

Mourning doves usually inhabit the nest each season. Which doesn't always turn out so well. A couple weeks ago, though, this is what I noticed:  

A robin, settled in and protecting what I assumed were eggs.

I've checked in on her now and again, passed her on my way to get the morning newspaper, warned visitors to not disturb the head-height branch when walking by.

Mama Robin has always been protective of her home and what it held, but I could never see anything within it, even when I climbed atop a stool to better peer out my window and into her nest.

Until yesterday. I saw activity, grabbed my camera, and throughout the day captured the following.

 

Maybe not a big deal to some, but after a particularly long run of crappy days and crappy news, the full and thriving nest—and the fact it was right outside my window—was significant to me, brought tears to my eyes.

The momentum has shifted.

Today's question:

How has nature recently brightened your outlook—or at least your day?

Meet Margaret, this week's Grilled Grandma

What is a Grilled Grandma? A Grilled Grandma is a grandma whom I've grilled with some grandma-related questions, and she's graciously responded with answers and photos. Here is Grilled Grandma Margaret:

How many children do you have? I have 3 sons; my husband has 3 daughters. (The Brady Bunch...without an Alice.)

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? Between us, we have 13.
I have 8 grandchildren living in Texas, Kansas, and Connecticut. They are 22 (a step-granddaughter), 14, 13, 10, 10, 9, 8, and 7.
My husband has 5 grandchildren living in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Maryland. They are 24, 20, 11, 3 and 1.

Any great grandchildren? My step-granddaughter in Kansas just had a baby boy.

What do your grandchildren call you? Grammie

After the initial elation, what was your first concern upon hearing you would soon be a grandmother? I felt worried that I would never be able to see them as often as I wanted to...they live so far away.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? We try to see all at least twice a year. Some we see more often—especially those who live closer.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? To know these wonderful children. They are funny, loving, energetic, interesting human beings. Our kids are doing a good job.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? To refrain from giving unsolicited advice.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. I was showing pictures of my family to three of my granddaughters. When I showed them a picture of my grandmother, by then an old woman (and never beautiful), I said to the girls, "I used to worry that when I got old my hair would be wispy and thin like hers."
One granddaughter glanced at the photo critically and said in astonishment, "Weren't you worried about the face?!"

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Our youngest grandchild is an infant, our oldest already graduated from college, so what we do together varies a lot, from peek-a-boo to cooking or knitting lessons, to going out for dinner. I especially love telling stories to my grandkids.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? I love to see what their lives are like: go to their games, dance recitals, concerts, etc.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? It's hard; email and the telephone help. Sometimes I need to remember that it’s all about the quality of our connections, not quantity. I only saw my grandmother once after I turned six. Even so, she profoundly affected my life by the stories my parents told about her.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I want them to believe to their heart's core that all the people of the world are worthy of their respect and compassion, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, looks, gender, sexual preference, or religious beliefs.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Loving.

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? I wished I’d realized earlier how hard it is for my kids to juggle family obligations, so I wouldn’t have been hurt if I wasn’t going to be with them for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Now we plan to see all of our kids near the holidays, not necessarily for the holidays.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? When you're with one of your kids, lavish all your attention, time, and thoughts to his or her family. Make no comparisons, good or bad, to the grandchildren’s cousins.
I have a digital photo frame that I load with pictures of the visiting family--only. The grandkids never seem to notice that they are the only kids in the pictures and love to look at the old pictures of themselves.

Do you have a website or blog? What is it about? I do have a website: the URL is margaretfrench.wordpress.com. On my blog, I post stories I've written. Some are personal stories or stories about family, some are my versions of folktales, others are history-based. Many are stories I've told or will tell. I became a professional storyteller after I retired. It’s pure fun!

This grilling will now be permanently placed in the Grilled Grandmas Hall of Fame—AKA the Grilled Grandma Archives—under Grilled Grandma: Margaret.

Dear Readers: If you'd like to nominate a grandma for grilling—yourself or any other grandma—please e-mail me her first name and e-mail address and I'll take care of the rest. Thank you!