What am I cooking? Cheeseburgers are on the menu for Thursday. I let the children make the menu plan, so it is not our healthiest week, but they are all thrilled to be indulged, and I was sort of out of ideas. What are my weekend plans? I am working this weekend. On Saturday mornings I usually teach an 11 year old boy who is on the autism spectrum, but I haven’t seen him in a few weeks, so I... Read more
My winter blues began in January. So at the end of January, I developed a battle plan for February that included 2 key parts. First, we are going on vacation. Not just any vacation, but our first family trip to Disney World. Not only are we all escaping the cold weather to go do something fun, but the weeks leading up to the trip have passed quickly as we pour over maps and plan our days in Florida. The second... Read more
Ten years ago right now, February-April 2003, it was our senior year at Princeton and we were in the thick of thesis completion. My boyfriend (now husband) and I loved to meet on those crisp mornings at Panera in town, picking up Cinnamon Crunch bagels and hazelnut coffee then smuggling them into Firestone Library to get an early start on the day’s writing. So no tradition is more meaningful or fun than taking our crew to the Panera up the... Read more
Take February, add cold, add homebound children, subtract sunlight, subtract social outlets, stir it all up and what do you get? Moms living on the edge. We’re cold, tired, overworked, under socialized, and downright cranky. We go through the motions every day and try to keep it together, but something is missing–our spark, our lightness, our motivation? We’re missing that good feeling we get when we are taking on the world and conquering it well; when we are out and... Read more
1 32 oz. package of slow cooked oats (we use Quaker or a generic) 1.5 cups vegetable oil 1.5 cups maple syrup (or honey) 1 TBS cinnamon 1 TBS vanilla extract 1 TSP salt (optional, 1 cup nuts) Mix all ingredients, then bake at 350 in batches in a thin layer on cookie sheets. We bake for 10 minutes and then stir, then bake in 5 minute intervals. I try to take it out before it browns and let... Read more
I have to admit to being the builder who wrote the email with a subject line: I’m not whining, but… As you can imagine, that email contained some whining, but I don’t want to spend too much of my time just whining and surviving, so I am trying to think of things that have made some winter days better than others. 1. Grapefruit. This wonderful citrus is in season right now, and it feels and tastes like a burst of... Read more
So on this Thursday morning, the last day of January (Praise God!), I’m going to list 5 things that I do to cut corners on a somewhat regular basis. It’s a hard time of year right now. Days are short, and the darkness and cold and grey skies seem never ending. Kids are sick. Moms and Dads are sick. And while we live in a rather large house, every winter it feels just a little bit smaller. The builders have... Read more
One of my daughters LOVES to pretend, which I think is fantastic…most of the time. I love that she involves her sister in her games of school, gymnastics, and hospital, and that she is exercising her creativity and imagination. However, sometimes her pretend play causes problems in the reality of our daily life, and I’m looking for some suggestions on how to ease the frustration that we are currently experiencing. The scenario is usually this: It’s a Sunday morning, and... Read more
In response to Texas Mommy’s recent post about the flu, Kellie mentioned that her kids drink tea and that they make it themselves – I love it! This is so funny, because I was planning to write a quick post about tea. My 8 year-old loves peppermint tea, and I usually add a touch of stevia (Truvia) to make it a bit sweeter, although I should probably be having him drink it without any sweetener. We can’t have juice in... Read more
This post is part of a series of reflections on the time I am spending away from my regular life, read more about it here: Ski Sabbatical Sabbatical Lesson #1: Joy This year, with encouragement from my dad, I decided to bust outside of my comfort zone as a ski instructor and take a training course that has challenged my skiing in new ways. I have learned to tether a bi-ski, which is a sit down skiing apparatus for skiers... Read more
Building Cathedrals
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