I'm a Genius!

"Necessity is the mother of invention." - Plato

Parent Hacks offers up daily parenting tips from the trenches - real parents (not marketing experts or other people trying to sell you something) submit their suggestions for things they've figured out how to do a little better. I subscribe to the feed and do a periodic review because you never know what you might find, and I appreciate the site's focus on making these ideas as concise as possible.

Every parent has their tricks and knows that what works for one family/child/parent may not work for all. This said, I feel I'd be doing the parenting world a huge disservice if I neglected to share my own mommy magic.

1) Macaroni & Peas - My kids complain about the temperature of their food. They like things on the lukewarm to cold side and demand ice if their dinner is, in their words, "HOT! HOT! HOT!"
We stir ice into our oatmeal, and many dishes are sent to the freezer to chill before the dinner service.

Trader Joe's makes a great frozen Macaroni & Cheese that heats beautifully in the microwave. (Jake will even eat it cold for lunch the next day, and that's saying something.) Even removed at 4 1/2 minutes, with some of the cheese not quite melted, it was too hot to serve. I stirred in about a quarter cup of frozen peas into each kid's serving and presto! Macaroni & Peas, the perfect temperature meal with vegetables cleverly incorporated.

2) The Yogurt Straw - We love the convenience of yogurt sticks, especially the Stoneyfield Farms YoKids Squeezers (also available at Trader Joe's). They are great frozen (not so much once they've thawed) and are the ideal serving size for my kids. While my 4 1/2 year old has mastered the tear and squeeze method for eating his, the little one just makes a mess of herself and her immediate surroundings. Introducing (ta da!) the Yogurt Straw! Instead of tearing off the top of the yogurt tube, I snip the corner just big enough to insert a plastic drinking straw. It makes this healthy snack portable and manageable for my busy toddler.

What works for you?

A parallel universe, among other things

I was chatting yesterday with Miss Nancy, our much loved Mommy & Me teacher, about Ellie's transition to preschool in the summer NEXT MONTH. She suggested that if we have a doll house or a set of Little People (each with age appropriate counterparts) we could do some role playing to prepare the girl for my daily departure.

I thought to myself, "That Miss Nancy is a genius!" Miss Nancy was the one who got me over the potty-training hump, "At some point, you have to commit to underpants," as well as a more global perspective on Ellie's readiness, "You can't control what goes in them or what comes out." We love Miss Nancy.

What a surprise it was to see that Ellie was already setting up the role-play, but for her own alternate reality. What I saw, well, what I saw prompted me to fetch the camera.

These are in no way staged; they are exactly as Ellie designed them and how she described them.


Scene One: Mommy: What happened to the Mommy?
Ellie: She fell down.
M: Is she okay? Do we need to call Dr. Greenberg? (We ask this a lot around our house. It helps me to determine if our issues will be solved with an ice pack or a visit to the ER.)
E: The Mom is being fun. Funny Mommy.

Okay, so the Mommy is doing pratfalls to amuse the children. Should I be taking a hint? More comedy?

M: What are the babies doing?
E: That's Ellie and Jakey. They're watching a show.
M: What show?
E: Poker. Just poker.

Scene Two:

Mommy: What's the Daddy doing? (I'm thinking, "Watching poker?")
Ellie: He's watching Jakey.
M: And what is Jakey doing?
E: He's swimming.

Now that is just plain sweet. The day before, Daddy did come to swimming lessons to watch Jake, and he certainly was proud. I'm glad Ellie felt that, too.

There may be something to this doll-house-role-playing thing. (It will be even better if Texas Hold 'Em is part of the preschool curriculum.)

* * *

Later that day, Daddy read the kids their stories before bed. (As I've mentioned, it's not uncommon for him to ride in on his white horse around 5:30 to rescue the end of the day from me.) We had brought home new books from the library, including one from Mommy & Me that puts fear in my otherwise fearless girl.

Each week when Miss Nancy begins this story, Ellie removes herself from my lap to hide behind my shoulder. She doesn't like the story or the scary monster and makes it painfully clear. Because I prefer her fearless, I brought it home from the library, thinking that more exposure to the monster might help.

So while I took a breather, and against Ellie's wishes, Daddy brought the book in for stories. As he went through each page, he encouraged the kids to tell the monster off, each in their own special way. From down the hall, I heard shouts of "NO!" over and over, shouts over their laughter.

As I sat with Ellie before putting her in bed, she confidently recalled how the story went.

"And we said, 'NO' with Daddy at the monster. It was so funny. I'm going to tell Miss Fancy. We said 'NO' to the monster. It was funny. I'll tell Miss Fancy. We said 'NO' to the monster with Daddy."

I think Miss Fancy Nancy will be proud, too.

If only every fear were so easily conquered.

I caved

I don't know whether I should feel good or bad about my most recent purchase. It was impulsive, and I was a bit obsessive.

I caved. I did what everyone else is doing. I hate when I do that. I'm not a trendy kind of person, nor am I a follower.

Go ahead and mock me if you must, because all summer, you're going to see me wearing these, and I love them.

They are everything a girl could want. Chocolate brown. A classic style. And you can run them through a dishwasher!




UPDATE for Liz:

Home sweet hotel

I'm still feeling great after being away for the weekend by myself. For 48 hours, I did exactly what I wanted, when I wanted. I ate what I wanted to eat (neither rushing nor sharing), read a magazine, watched a movie, and wrote a lot. Oddly, the things I wrote were not things I'd blog, they were much too personal. I wrote a poem to my husband. A poem! I've never written a poem (outside of an assignment for school) other than my Ellie haiku, but I was moved and he loved it. The time away gave me exactly what I needed.

One of the things that has stuck with me since my retreat is how much I enjoy a nice hotel stay. The place I stayed was lovely; they had thought of everything. I was so comfortable that for the first part of my day on Saturday, all I did was sit in bed. Tell me, friends, how often do you sit in your room - except this was a room much nicer than my room - uninterrupted, to sip tea, gaze out the window, write in your journal, and read? For me, the answer is never. There is always noise: the dog, a child, the sounds of the home waking each morning, my husband readying and leaving for work. Add that to the constant noise in my head and frankly, while staying in bed seems like a great idea, it is neither reasonable nor practical.

The bed, host of a good night's sleep and a few uninterrupted hours of peace and quiet.

Leaving my little nest and walking into town, I began to appreciate the simplicity of a hotel room. You bring with you exactly what you need. The hotel provides what they think you'll need to be comfortable (and believe me, I was!). I think it was easy to quiet myself there because there were so few distractions (contrasted with our frequent family trips to Las Vegas!). At home, there is so much of everything. I have stacks of art projects and paper airplanes, unread magazines and handouts from classes, loads of laundry, piles of clothes the kids have outgrown, toys that are no longer enjoyed, and a pantry filled with great ideas. Things do have their places, but in all fairness, my kids (and I, not to mention my husband) are much better at taking things out than returning them to their places of origin.

I began to understand and value the goodness that is the local thrift store, not only as a place to give what we no longer want or need to someone who might need or want it more, but also as a place to give our things a new home, a new life. To enjoy a margarita, I don't need to use a glass from a set we received as a wedding gift nearly ten years ago. I've probably used those glasses once, maybe twice. I don't think the set is complete anymore and they are way too fragile for our life. In fact, if I'm going to enjoy a margarita, it will be most likely at a restaurant that buys alcohol more often than we do (ours is more likely to evaporate than to be imbibed), and if I make them at home, they taste no worse from a glass that can be run through the dishwasher.

Since I've been home, I've been spending less time at the computer and more time actively engaged in my life. I've missed it. I've also kept my kitchen much cleaner and the laundry has been put away more frequently. The herb garden I kept thinking about planting is now planted in little pots I painted with my children and sits outside my kitchen window. I sold an old car seat and bought tickets to a concert that I'll attend with a girlfriend next month.

It will be a while before my home turns into the total spa experience of my dreams, even longer before it will feel like a luxury resort where I am a guest. In the meantime, I'm recycling my magazines, cleaning out the cupboards and making room for new ideas.

Spaaaaaaaaah

In a word, my weekend away was Delicious.

In two words, it was Long Overdue.

I have much to say, and much more to share, but in my new focused, more relaxed state of being, I'm doing less at the computer. Go figure!

This sign, just in front of the entrance to the spa where I melted away most of Sunday, says it all.

Free from worries, cares, children, stress, noise ....

Packing List

sunglasses
sunscreen
hat
bathing suit(s)
sweet smell of Ellie's breath when she wakes up, warmth of Jake cuddling with me on the couch picture of the kids
book, magazines
sandals
laptop pen & paper
fancy outfit for dinner sweats

See you all next week!

(Friday friends: I'm down from last week, hopefully the start of a losing streak for the rest of May!)

Burnt

Burnt Toast
Originally uploaded by geek.beard.

This was the best image I could find to describe my current state of mind.

I'm going away this weekend. I need it.

I'm very excited. And also tired. Kind of fighting off a cold, too.

I've lost my steam. My patience has worn thin.

I'm just, plain, burnt.

I am looking forward to the quiet, to only doing the things I want to do.

I'm hoping to find some peace and to renew my spirit. (At least that's what the brochure said ....)

Rafe asked if I was planning to come back with a baby cow?

I don't think so, but you never know.