Everyone told me that integrating the third kid would be the easiest, and I have to say it’s totally true. She sleeps when she’s supposed to, smiles most of the time, and is very easy to comfort. The boys love her and she loves them. Except…there’s a little compartment in my brain that was marked Things You Have to Remember Occasionally. Now those words have been crossed out with big red marker and the word ZUZU written over it in Sharpie. I forgot Stacey’s birthday (um, happy birthday, Stacey! I know it was six weeks ago!), I forgot my mother-in-law’s birthday, and I constantly have overdue library books. That is, I constantly HAD overdue books, and then I discovered that our library has a program where they email you two days before your books are due. Thank you, South Portland Public Library! Check with your library - I bet they have a similar program. It’s so much better to receive a definitive list than to have a vague feeling that some of the books from that giant pile must be due sometime soon. I have to explore birthday-notification programs now.
The image to the left is a great Roz Chast cartoon showing how your brain only has space for so much stuff. I know it’s unreadable here. I’m mostly just encouraging you to go get The Party, After You Left and find the cartoon for yourself.
October 5th, 2008 | Tags: library, memory | Category: Zuzu, housekeeping | 
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I guess I’m really an adult: my new favorite food is oven-crisped kale. Why don’t they package this like potato chips? I would buy it (or, well, I wouldn’t, because I’d say, “Why would I buy this? I can make it at home!” but I would theoretically buy it). Wash and chop kale, lay it out on a cookie sheet, toss with olive oil and some salt, and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes (or more, depending on how much you’re doing and the ripeness of the kale), stirring occasionally (I use tongs to stir). Take it out when it’s crispy. It’s good hot or room temperature. I want to have a big bowl of this around to eat all the time. Yum! (Again, what has happened to me? Not that I’ve ever really been anti-kale or anything, but I never thought I’d be so into it.)
October 4th, 2008 | Tags: Food, kale | Category: Food | Print This Post
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Alarming sight of the day: Eli running through the kitchen, on a mission, holding an uncapped marker.
October 3rd, 2008 | Tags: marker | Category: Eli, thirty second post | Print This Post
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Yesterday at kindergarten pickup the Other Kindergarten Teacher came over to me and said, “I want to tell you…we help the students during the first ten minutes of lunch, and I am really impressed by the lunches you pack for Henry! They’re great!” Once I got over my terror that she was going to chastise me for not including more nut-free candy in Henry’s lunch, I realized she was being very, very nice. It felt good to be praised by the Lunch Police. Though it did make me wonder a bit about what other lunches are getting sent, if Henry’s lunch is looking stellar enough to warrant comment. Usually he gets two or three nut-themed items (peanut balls, PB&J, granola bar, a random handful of some kind of nuts), some kind of fruit (an apple and mandarin oranges, mostly), and a rice cake (he thinks they’re dessert and I haven’t really led him to believe otherwise). Oh, and water. It’s not like I’m making some kind of bento box or anything. What is everyone else getting? Go-gurt and beer?
October 3rd, 2008 | Tags: kindergarten, lunch | Category: Food, Henry | Print This Post
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I have the answer to your toothbrush woes. I’ve spent hours (or, ok, minutes) wandering around the toothbrush aisle wondering what I’m supposed to get for the boys. Is Winnie the Pooh ok? Dr. Suess? Cars? Why do they all have to be some cartoon character? Will they even brush with them or will these be rejected? Then, one day, I was in Target, and I saw the Dr. Fresh Firefly toothbrushes. PERFECT. No licensed character, and they come in packs of two, which are different colors, so the boys get the same but different toothbrush. Best of all, the toothbrush flashes for one minute, so they know that’s how long to brush for. Very fun to do in a dark bedroom. Oh, no, wait, this part is best of all: only $1.89. That’s for two toothbrushes.
October 2nd, 2008 | Tags: toothbrush | Category: Parenting | Print This Post
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My mom was just here for a few days. She gave Eli a giant calculator, which he loves, and calls his “computer.” Today he said, “I have to do some work on my computer,” Then he set it out in front of him, and heaved a great big weary sigh. I guess the workaday world is already taking its toll on the 2-year-old set.
October 1st, 2008 | Tags: stress | Category: Eli, thirty second post | Print This Post
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The other day at kindergarten pickup there was a mom next to me who gave the teacher a look like, “Well? How was he?” and the teacher good-naturedly shook her head and then told the mom that she had to put her son in timeout several times. Again. I have to admit that it never occurred to me that kids would be bad in kindergarten, bad enough to get in trouble and get put into a timeout. I told Dave that maybe the whole point of parenting (well, ok, not the whole point, but a big point) is to make it so that your kids, when they misbehave (which they will do, since they’re only kids) that they do it at your house and not out in public or in school for heaven’s sake. Then the timeout boy pretty much DITCHED his family in the gym pickup area, I guess because he knew he was going to get in trouble. He left the gym and was almost to the main crossroads when the grandma caught up with him. Again, crazy. I thanked Henry later for being a good kid. Henry said Timeout Kid gets in trouble for fighting (!) and cutting in line. And something convoluted about continually joining the wrong group during “choices” but since I don’t really understand how “choices” works, it didn’t make sense to me.
October 1st, 2008 | Tags: kindergarten | Category: Bad Kids, Henry, Parenting | Print This Post
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Hurrah! By some miracle of the Junk Gods, I pretty much found exactly what I’ve been looking for, for free, on the side of the road. We were on our way back from getting some Freecycled kale (kale! who knew people Freecycled kale? apparently there is such a thing as a free lunch), and saw a whole line of school desks on the side of the road, in front of an old school. I have been stopping by Goodwill about twice a week looking for something to work as an art table in the boys’ room, and lo, here were about ten art tables (in a sense), for free. I got four, thinking I can configure them into a square. And I love that they come with the built-in storage, since what’s an art table without space for paper and markers? They looked much better after I hosed them off, and they do need a scrubbing with some steel wool, and maybe some paint on the legs if I get really ambitious. You can see that Eli helped himself to two little chairs, which we do probably need in case a friend comes over. Now maybe our dining room table will be a lot easier to clear every night.
September 30th, 2008 | Tags: art table, children, free, freecycle, junk, kids room | Category: Parenting, housekeeping | Print This Post
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Cat Up a Tree by John and Ann Hassett
Cat Up a Tree is one of the books in the Raising Readers compendium we got at Henry’s five-year doctor’s appointment. I love the illustrations, and we all like the story. Nana Quimby keeps finding more and more cats up a tree, and calls every city service agency (post office, library, city hall, police department) but no one will help her get the cats out of the tree, and they all follow up with pretty funny “call back if…” statements (e.g., the post office says to call back if the cats want to send a postcard and need to buy a stamp). Finally there are 35 cats up the tree, and Nana Quimby is so annoyed with the lack of help she’s gotten that she throws the telephone out the window – I love that it’s unclear (to me, at least) whether she’s consciously taking matters into her own hands, or whether she’s just so pissed off she angrily throws the phone. At any rate, she saves the day, city hall comes calling, and she blows them off, just like they did to her. It’s a satisfying and quick read, with the good kind of pictures that you see more in with subsequent readings (there is a great demand for cheese in Nana Quimby’s town, for instance).
September 29th, 2008 | Tags: books | Category: Children's Book of the Week | Print This Post
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One of our new favorite snacks is peanut butter balls. I got the idea from a recipe in Wondertime; I think they called them Power Balls. The original recipe called for chocolate chips, and while I am always trying to up my chocolate intake, I want to keep it out of the boys, so I don’t add them. Stir together one cup of peanut butter and one cup or honey (or less – I’ve been trying to reduce the honey so it’s less sweet, and I’ve been able to make it work with 3/4 of a cup). Stir in three cups of oats, a few tablespoons of ground flax seed, and some raisins. Roll them into balls (wet hands help). If you put them in the fridge then they’ll dry out a bit and get less sticky. I just keep a big bowl of these in the fridge and the boys (and Dave and I) eat them all day. Protein + fiber + omega + a little sweetness so you think you’re getting a treat = a winner. If I put them in Henry’s lunch (but heavens no not in his snack) then I know he’ll eat something.
September 28th, 2008 | Tags: Food, lunch, peanuts | Category: Food | Print This Post
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