I haven’t been able to cook as much as I’ve wanted to since I went back to work, but I’ve been trying. Monday I took the day off, and I ended up cooking a couple of dishes that fed us all week. Tonight at 10:30, instead of getting ready for bed I was sauteing garlic and spinach to put into a Tupperware container, for eating whenever.

This latest bout of interest in cooking started a few months before Angie was born. I attributed it to nesting behavior, but Angie is now four and a half months old, and it doesn’t seem to have diminished. This article puts it in context. Reading this, I found myself nodding in agreement quite a bit. I’m definitely buying more organic foods, and I can totally relate to the comments from Alice Waters and Rachel Ray.

My next goal is to include the kids more in my cooking. I know Alex is dying to crack an egg, and Ana has already proved herself capable of using measuring spoons. Hmm, maybe we’ll bake some muffins this weekend.

Tags: philosophical
Categories: food
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TGIF. In my case a sentiment expressed not with a bang but a whimper. I just finished my first week back at work, and I am pooped, physically and emotionally. Everyday I came home more exhausted than the night before. One morning I was so tired I forgot Angie’s lunch of expressed milk at home and l had to drive all the way back to get it.

I can’t help but miss the idyllic few months I spent with all three kids. That picture at the top epitomizes my summer. When I recall what we actually did I’m amazed at how productive a time it was, filled with my home brewed Chinese lessons, Alex’s percussion classes, Ana’s nighttime potty training (very successful!), etc., because it felt so slow-paced and relaxed, whereas the past week has felt like a long sprint.

I do have hope things will get easier. This is an adjustment period after all. The number of hours that I devoted to filling out school forms for the kids the last two weeks would make anyone cringe, but at least it’s only once a year. I’m just glad that the kids seem to have already gotten used to their new routines. It’s just a matter of time before I get used to mine.

Tags: philosophical
Categories: work-life balance
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The kids go back to school next week. Alex is in 3rd grade this year, but he’s going to have the same teacher as last year, and his best friend will be in the same class again, so I’m not too worried about him. I’m much more concerned about the girls. Ana is starting preschool, and Angie is starting daycare. Fortunately I don’t start work until the following week, so I can spend as much time as I need to make the morning drop-off go smoothly. Plus I’m going to pick up all the kids early and spend some time chatting with the girls’ teachers to see how they did on their first day.

I’m sad that my time staying home with Angie has come to an end. I’m going to miss sniffing the top of her fuzzy baby head every other second, but seeing as my back has ached continuously for the past month because of carrying her around all day, I’m also really looking forward to a break.

Kevin thinks that my job is the best thing that ever happened to our work-life balance. I was less sure, at least until this year. I enjoyed hanging out with the kids the last two summers, but I didn’t really see any benefits. Now I see how my staying home over the summer gives them much needed time to decompress and lets us all reconnect with each other. It also gives us all a chance to grow in other ways.

I guess it didn’t hurt that Kevin also took a lot of time off this summer. In fact we all enjoyed having him around so much that he’s already making plans to spend as much time home as possible next summer.

Tags: philosophical
Categories: kids and parenting
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Last night I finished reading Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping, a chronological series of essays on consumer culture, globalization, and their environmental costs, coupled with the author’s personal challenge of not buying anything beyond the necessities for an entire year. I didn’t necessarily agree with everything she said in her analyses, but I found her personal journey inspirational. While archiving our blog entries from last year, I came across an entry in which I asked whether it was possible to live within a culture without totally buying into it. I feel like this book is helping me answer that question, at least for myself.

Monday I attended the first awards assembly of the year at Alex’s school. This one was just for the Kindergarteners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders. Each teacher picked a handful of students from his/her class, and as the child went up, the teacher would explain which one of three reasons they were receiving the award: high academic achievement, most improvement, or good citizenship.

When Alex went up, his teacher said that she chose him for his award not only because he’s a good student, but also because he’s always helping classmates when they’re working in the computer lab. I was really proud of him. (But I didn’t cry!!!)

The assembly also included a presentation about the philanthropic project everyone at Alex’s school is undertaking for the next few months — collecting pennies to help a tiny school in Kenya build a library. I’ve always wondered about the six degrees aspects of these projects, and this time I wasn’t left hanging. Apparently, the son of the school’s founder works for our school district!

I appreciate these projects because while I agree parents should have primary responsibility for teaching their kids about morality, kids do spend an awful lot of time at school, and I like the tone they set for how the kids should behave towards each other. I also like the emphasis on pennies vs. checks with lots of zeros because it makes kids feel like no good deed is too small.

That night, Ana took on the herculean task of picking all of the pennies out of Kevin’s change bucket. She managed to fill up that entire pickle jar with pennies! But I doubt that would be enough to buy a single book for this library, let alone dry wall and roofing material. I think we’ll have to supplement with nickels.

Tags: philosophical,proud
Categories: kids and parenting, reading
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