New Job

I am starting a new job today. I am going back to work one day and one half days a week for former employer Diversified Wealth Management.

I am so excited for many reasons. Mostly, I need a break. A paycheck is nice. But there's something even more alluring: the clothes. I am thrilled to get dressed and ready for workplace action. All the cute shoes, jewelry, and non-t shirt tops are enough to send me over the top.

Wish me luck. The outfits I've got down, the rest is exciting and I'm so ready for it!

Mac and Cheese, Sneaky Style

As many know, I follow the Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious way of cooking: what they don't know will make them healthy!

I know, I know, naysayers. I always offer veggies and fruit (I have, like most, no problem getting my kids to eat fruit) first. And I offer them on their plate as well as an accompaniment to their meal. And half of the time, they eat them.

This system, like most, is best started off and maintained by having some pantry items around. My regulars are squash (I buy frozen cubed when I can't get fresh), canned white beans, and spinach. When I make the "white" mac and cheese, in go the white beans. I puree them in 20 seconds in my tiny-sized Cuisinart. When I make "orange" mac and cheese, in goes the squash. Cooked carrots also work for orange.

French toast: make mixture as normal, add 1/4 cup squash. Voila! You'd never know the difference.

You simply match the puree with the color of the food you are making. I add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup to mac and cheese. The white beans make for a richer flavor and squash makes it sweeter.

Now just wait for the spinach brownies. Yum!

Making Nice

I am reading The Seven Stages of Motherhood by Ann Pleshette Murphy right now. I have come across so many good passages in this book that validate and support my life as a parent. One in particular sticks out today: making friends as a grown woman.

I have been blessed to have made many of my close friends in the last five years. Then last fall, I was doubly blessed when I met a woman named Maren. Ah, Maren. We just get each other, enough that we skipped all the beginning stages and awkwardness. We fast forwarded to the nitty gritty stuff within days of knowing each other. She has an amazing sense of style, she is vulnerable, present, and is a natural mother to her two children. Talking to her on the phone is something I make time for, whether is trading complaints or ideas for our standing night out.

The best part is, I am myself with her. Which on the best day is flawed beyond belief. Maren, you are amazing! Thanks.

Either way...

Coleman's back napping now two days in a row. I said it before, I'll say it again: I figured it out, if just for a few days. I'll declare that a victory, even if short lived.

It was fun to have him awake and it's a relief to have him sleeping. The rhythm is good right now.

God and Aidan: Not yet BFF

Aidan: "How big is God, Mama?"
Me: "God is all around us honey bear, he's bigger that us and smaller than us."
Aidan: "I don't want him to be bigger!"
Me: "Well sometimes he is."
Aidan: "I'm not sure if I like God."
Me: "Why not?"
Aidan: "Well, I just don't know him very well."

Point well taken.

Yapping and Napping

So Coleman has been yap yap yapping in his crib for about ten days until 10ish. So it occurred to me yesterday (why does it take so long to realize stuff with your kids? sleep deprivation? supreme love?) that he is yapping for about the same amount of time at night that he is napping during the day. He's. Giving. Up. His. Nap. May the Gods be with me.

I have never heard of a child giving up their nap this early. Please write with stories of others doing so to console me. Write soon and often.

So today we went to the park at 10, stayed until 1. Ate lunch, then headed to the pool until 4.

He was asleep by 7:20. Down for the count.

Guess I figured that out.

We have indeed walked with dinosaurs

For Easter, my parents bought us tickets to Walking with Dinosuars: The Live Experience. We had just Netflixed and watched the series when they started to advertise the live show on television. To get Aidan ready, I found some videos of the show and the making of the show on You Tube. The first five minutes were a bit precarious because Aidan was in an arena for the first time and we were in the front row of our section. We moved back a bit to some empty seats and he was fully interested the rest of the time.

His favorite dino is Ankylosaurus, so he could not wait for him to come out. I can't believe the effort that went into putting this show together. It was enjoyable and breathtaking. Click here to see the pictures we took. Yes, they are THAT big.

Yipee yi kai-yay

I woke up today with a purpose: to get downtown by 11:30 with both boys. The reason: to see my dear big brother play on Peavy (not PV) Plaza. It is an outdoor sunken garden right off Orchestra Hall. My brother and his cohort, John, have a little acoustic duo going, and it is Acoustic Tuesday after all.

We packed a picnic lunch and headed down. First stop, Nana's. We picked her up and parked, arrived with time to spare and got a spot up front. We see Matty and John on stage and Aidan is thrilled to know the person performing. Not hard for Aidan, but he felt special. Then arrives Adelheid and Henry with Elizabeth in tow. Then Dayna (my BFF), Renee, and their kickball teammate Ed. Then Jayne (my SIL) with Chase, then her 6 friends, then her Mom. Then comes my Dad. We had a entire section filled with family and friends. From a distance, I saw Matty's college friends had arrived. What a group!

It was perfect weather and was enjoyed by all. Aidan went to spend the day with Nana and Cole fell asleep on the way home. Lovely.

Coleman

The boy's on a roll. Within two weeks of starting physical therapy, he is walking up stairs, walking backwards, starting to run, and kicking a ball. Go Coleman Go!!!!!!!

A Tidy House...A Boring Life

While I'll be the first to admit that my house isn't as clean as it used it be, I'll also be the first to say "thank goodness".

My old high ideal of what meant a clean home was, put plainly, unattainable. I would spend a week (note that it does not say weekend) working on it until I got it just right. As it looks now, if you walked in off the street, is presentable and deserving of praise considering my current occupation.

It is nice as well that because of my commitment to green practices, that clean is a different state. Clean used to be the chemical-laden faux-lemon smell. Now it is simply clean, meaning the dirt, streaks, and germs are not present, but neither are the chemicals and fumes that go along with the old clean. And the savings from the products I don't buy is tangible.

My children are a part of the cleaning crew around my house. I read an article recently that spoke of our current child-centered universe, where we go out of our way to ensure our children are happy and entertained. I do not subscribe to this. In my experience, trying to make anyone, even an adult, happy and entertained is futile. Happiness is gained from work. And only work a person does them self. And heaps of self esteem can be found in being a contributing member of your own family.

The author of this article rounded out my theory nicely. When I see Cole getting giddy stuffing the chute full of laundry or Aidan piling up and sorting books, it makes me happy. And there goes my theory.

Things children can do around the house:
Gather dishes and put them in the sink
Laundry chute duty
Load the washer with a pile you've put out for them
Sort socks and figure out who's are who's
Squirt and clean the windows they can reach
Load the dishwasher
And no one, I repeat no one, should be cleaning up their toys but them!

After all, we are raising future roommates, partners, husbands...

Just Wondering...

Wondering when status quo turned into a good situation. When nothing going on became a relief.