Food Revolution Update

I wrote last year about our Food Revolution http://adayjustliketoday-autumn.blogspot.com/2010/01/food-revolution.html and have been asked over and over about our progress since then. To say that it has been life-changing for us is not, in any way, an overstatement. The food revolution led to an overall chemical revolution, and our eating and shopping preferences have not been the same since. I not only have learned to cook, but I have learned to enjoy cooking, to want to cook, to cook to escape and for the pleasure of creating stuff from all these ingredients. Dare I say, it has become Fun? Of course, I still have moments where I stand at the cupboard at 5pm and say, "What are we going to have for dinner?", but by and large, those stressful days are gone.

So where are we?

We cut out almost all processed food. it took several months, of course, and really almost two years now to get fully comfortable and confident in the kitchen. We make most everything from scratch, usually local and usually organic. There are some places, however, where we still cheat. We cheat:
1) I still buy processed condiments--ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise basically--and salad dressings, although I do buy all of these organic. Salad dressings are easy to make from scratch and I do it sometimes on the weekends, but I confess that I still use the "store bought" balsamic vinaigrette and ranch dressings for every day.
2) Spaghetti sauce--last summer, when I had fresh tomatoes regularly, we made plenty of spaghetti and pizza sauces. However, for the vast majority of the year, I buy (organic) spaghetti sauce as a "starter" and add veggies, ground beef, herbs, etc. to it. We also cheat on pastas, of course, as I have never made homemade pasta and don't foresee me doing that until one or more kids go away to college.
3) Breakfast cereals. While the kids eat hot oatmeal with fruit and honey once a week or so, they also eat plenty of quick cold cereal. I buy the Kashi Organic or Barbara's brands, but it is obviously still processed. (I do make the granola from scratch).
4) I buy chicken broth. Again I know it's not hard to do from scratch since I cook whole chickens pretty regularly. A girl only has so much time though.
5) Hershey kisses. My good friends know that I have a secret stash of hershey kisses when I need a sweet fix. Usually I just need one. We also have the 70% cocoa chocolate bars for occasional dessert (usually fruit is dessert) that I know you are "supposed" to eat instead, but a hershey kiss is a nice grab and go treat. No food dyes, obviously. Don't know about HFCS.
6) White sugar and white flour. I still use both of these 75% of the time when I bake (as opposed to WW flour and agave and other sugar substitutes). I know that white flour is so refined that it is almost as bad as sugar, but WW flour often makes things so dense and I just haven't had enough play-around time, to come up with ratios of WW to white. (Now that I'm parenting this Sourdough Starter, I'm assuming I will have more opportunities to experiment.)

Lisa from http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/" (a blog I read religiously) has a 5-ingredient rule that we try to stick to where possible for when we actually buy processed foods. I'm sure there are other places we cheat which I am forgetting right now, but I guess the bigger point is that it means that the vast majority of the time, we are cooking and eating homemade, hopefully local, primarily seasonal, and usually organic whole food. That is a victory. And while I'm linking (or Almost-Linking), I also love these two magazines: Eating Well and Edible Piedmont.

We do all the obvious stuff that is trendy right now in terms of organic or local and grass-fed meats, eggs, and butter, farmer's market and CSA, etc. And we avoid HFCS and food dyes. As a rule, I allow the children to eat what they want when at church, preschool, friends' houses, etc., hoping that I am instilling values for the long-haul, even as my 4-year old begs for Oreos at our neighbor's house. We don't eat out a ton because we have four young kids, but suffice it to say that they get their fair share of hotdogs elsewhere. I just try to keep it right--and real--at our house.

Once I started reading endless magazines, books and blogs about food and pesticides and processing, it of course led to concerns about chemicals and other scary stuff. Little by little, we have made other non-food lifestyle changes in the Great Cleanse of 2009-2010:
--Given BPA (and BPA substitutes) concerns, I have tossed out our plastic storageware and have all glass storage containers.
--Given PFOA concerns, I tossed out our Teflon pots and pans for stainless steel and cast iron.
--Given BPA lining issues, we avoid canned foods whenever possible or choose Edens Organics which has BPA-free liners. The exception, of course, is tomato sauce and paste which we buy canned and which apparently have the worst BPA levels due to the tomato acidity. Hmm.
--Given water quality concerns, we installed an under sink filter for our tap water.
--Given endocrine-disrupting parabens and fragrances, we converted to--if not always organic--at least safer and more environmentally sound personal care products--shampoo, shaving cream, sunscreens, and the like. And truthfully, we tossed most of them and just simplified our product usage.
--Given the prevalence of triclosan in anti-bacterial soaps and hand sanitizers, we quit buying these completely and went back to old-fashioned bar soap, mostly homemade by my beautiful friend Rea. http://www.moodindigosoaps.com/
--Given pthalate concerns, we tossed the vinyl shower curtains for cloth ones.
--Given pthalate concerns, we tossed the kids' soft plastic toys (mostly bath) and try to buy wooden toys when we can. (Not always possible, since most are hand-me-downs and I'm too cheap to buy new for the last kid.)
--Given PBDE's, we tossed any pajamas that were labeled as flame retardant. Luckily, most of our pj's are hand-me-down Hannas anyway.
--We were already taking other precautions--avoiding pesticides in our food and on our lawns, eating whole grains, omega-3's etc, buying an arsenic-free cedar playset several years ago, cleaning with vinegar most of the time, testing the kids annually for lead since we live in an old house, etc.

So there you have it--our healthy home clean sweep. Most of this stuff comes from the EWG's Healthy Home Checklist which can be found here. For some reason, I still can't master the hyperlink. Sorry about the cut and paste necessity. http://www.ewg.org/files/ewg-hht-checkilist.pdf EWG also has a great safer sunscreens list, cosmetics database, and mobile phone database. Another of my favorite blogs is http://healthychild.org/blog/, while I'm Almost Linking again.

We made these changes over the course of a year probably, so it wasn't one dramatic, expensive day where we swiped out the old and brought in the new. And I'm sure that we missed some potential toxins (the mattresses, the particle-board play kitchen!!), but we have found a happy comfortable chemical-free (or at least a chemical-less) place. And that's a victory. I don't deny that I've become a bit consumed with this stuff--it is most of what I read and really what interests me right now, outside of the children. I spent the first half of my life obsessed with historic preservation (old buildings) and wonder if the second half will be consumed with this sustainable, healthy living stuff. I could do worse, right?

Ciao a tutti.

Since 1899

My previous post about Dr. Louise Nelson's Sourdough Starter prompted me to write a brief entry about our local book club. My dear friend June (happy 80th birthday, June--Eighty IS the new sixty) shepherded me into Booklovers in late 2007. I was secretly sort of intimidated at first as it includes a good many faculty and faculty wives, and yet I was in the throes of diapers and Dora and was really seeking some adult conversation with critical thought. I so appreciate and enjoy the intellectual curiosity and the smart wit of many of these women.

Booklovers is the oldest book gig in town, having begun in 1899--yes, you read that right, 1899. For those of you who know my love of history, you'll know that being a member of a 112-year old Book Club makes me downright giddy. (For those who are REALLY interested, the College has Archives of early Minutes, starting in 1901.) Super cool. http://library.davidson.edu/archives/booklovers/booklovers_home.asp ).

Booklovers is a bit unusual in that we don't all pick a book one week, all read it during the month and discuss it together four weeks later. Each year a program committee comes up with three topics, on which the group votes one for a theme for the year. 2008 was "Women: Fact and Fiction", 2009, "Hail to the Chief" Books by and about American Presidents", 2010, "A Book that Changed my Life", and upcoming in fall 2011, "The Dark Continent: Books Set in Africa" (No, I didn't choose that last one, but you can bet that I voted for it). (Other nominated themes that have not yet been chosen over the past few years: "New Economic Frontiers: A Tribute to Louise Nelson", Nobel Laureates Write: Works by Recent Prize Winners", "Utopias/Dystopias", and "Books by Margaret Atwood"). So we pick a theme and then each month, an individual member presents on the theme. According to the Archives, 1923's theme was "Studies in the History of Architecture." Dag that I missed that one!

Booklovers is one of the real joys of living in a college town--rich in tradition and century-old book clubs--for when I can't watch one more Max and Ruby or play one more game of Candy Land.

Ciao a tutti.

sourdough starter remediation

One of the lovelier things about my altogether lovely town is Dr. Louise Nelson's Sourdough Starter. You can read the story of the starter here, http://davidsonnews.net/foodanddining/2010/08/18/tale-of-a-davidson-sourdough/ but the long and short of it is that Louise had been tending that sourdough starter for 25 years before she passed away a few years ago. Twenty-five years. That takes some kind of fortitude. Louise was an econ professor at the College and was also in my Booklovers Book Club, so I got to know her briefly before she passed away in 2008. Because I enjoy cooking, I have been interested in acquiring some of her legendary Starter for several years now, but have generally been intimidated by yet one more thing for which I would be responsible. I mean, four kids AND a hungry Sourdough Starter?!

However, my friend Mary M brought us some yummy whole wheat/flax sourdough bread when SF was born and soon brought me the starter, as well. I made my first loaves a few weeks ago and they turned out well, if not a little ferment-y. Given my propensity towards slightly undercooked cookies and muffins, I assumed I undercooked it a bit. And then I had a little mishap feeding it last week (while trying to make breakfast, pack lunches, look for ballet shoes, nurse the baby, check Facebook, etc.), and so another friend, Brenda B brought me another batch yesterday.

I'm sort of in Sourdough Starter Remediation. I aim to do better this week.

I am honored to help carry on Dr. Nelson's 25-year tradition of maintaining the Starter and sharing extra loaves with friends.

So, if you see me on a Wednesday evening from now on, remind me to feed that hungry fifth kid, too . . .

Ciao a tutti.

Life with Four: An Early Assessment

So here we are. Seven weeks after baby girl made her entry to make us a family of six. I still turn around in the ole minivan daily and am shocked to see all those little people for whom I am responsible. (And God help us all--for whom I am required to get places on time.)

It will never happen.

I digress.

So how is life with four? She was my easiest labor, oddly (?) enough. Perhaps by this time, you know that even such excruciating pain is bearable because it is temporary, a form of expectation management. Or perhaps it just hurts less because your body knows what to do. Regardless, I was grateful.

I would say the hardest thing is, not surprisingly, the lack of sleep--and the inability to make it up elsewhere in the day because you have others that need attention, dinner that needs to be planned, homework to be monitored, t-ball practice, ballet, etc.

Welcome to life in the suburbs, baby girl.

Truthfully, the assimilation has not--yet--been as difficult as baby #3 was. Our first three were 16 months and 19 months apart, and for the first four months, we had THREE IN DIAPERS. Our third baby was our easiest baby and yet, I distinctly remember crying alot in the shower at that time. When I was able to take a shower, I mean. I have yet to cry alone during these first two months with #4, so I suppose that is a good sign.

Aside from the sleep, I think meals are the hardest--also not surprisingly. When we arrive home from preschool, everyone is about to DIE of hunger and well, I can't fix lunches and nurse at the same time. I have learned over the past few weeks to pack snacks with us for preschool pick-up to satisfy the "big" kids until I can get SF fed and hopefully cozy in a chair so she can watch the chaos. My friend Steph says I could also fix lunches before pick-up and have them plated and waiting in the refrigerator, which sounds like a great idea, but one I have yet to actually accomplish.

I also have a tremendous husband who is on duty the second he walks in the door. There is no way that we could do this without his partnership and "all hands on deck" attitude. Unfortunately, he has a paying job for which he has to leave the house everyday.

So far, none of the big kids (ages 6, 4, and 3--sort of amusing to call them "big") have asked to send her back or been unkind to her at all. As a matter of fact, they are more likely to kill her by smothering her with kisses or trying to pick her up to love on her than by drop kicking her off of any low slung roof. Almost-six year old BB was acting out at school last week, so that may be attributable to New Baby, by way of general attention-seeking or it may be that we are getting to bed almost an hour later because of juggling bedtime with newborn (not to mention tball practices in the evening twice a week).

So, my assessment thus far is that Four seems to be easier to assimilate than Three, although I reserve the right to change my mind next week. Or after lunch.

Ciao a tutti.

Happy Belated Valentines Day

I have never been accused of being Martha Stewart. I'm not very craft-y. I don't make cute holiday thingees to hang around the house. A dear friend sews buttons on for me. I don't own a glue gun and truthfully, I'm not sure if I know what one looks like.

However, in an effort to avoid the Princess/Cars/Star Wars valentines at CVS where you write your name, attach some candy and move on, and in an effort to be more eco-friendly (although I'm not certain it was very sustainable given all the paper we used), I decided that we would make homemade valentines this year. From scratch. 52 Valentines among three kids, plus loads of teachers.

Given the piercing look that Husband gave me about half-way through the three-hour+ process, I'm fairly certain we will be going the CVS Princess/Cars/Star Wars route next year, but I was kind of proud that we did it this once. And the kids were totally into it and writing (or dictating) special personal notes to each classmate on the inside. At least for the first 33 or so.

Ciao a tutti.

The Green Juice

OK. So I made Dr. Oz's healthy green vegetable juice that he allegedly drinks every morning. I don't know if it was the electric green color, the texture, or the predominately cucumber and ginger taste, but I couldn't down the whole glass. Yes, even me. I have had several friends offer variations on his theme, so I'll try those next . . .

19 weeks

The question is. . . which dwarf was it?

Ciao a tutti-

The kindergarten journey has begun in our house.

BB has been so excited to start kindergarten that it was, quite frankly, hard for me to feel incredibly sad about it. But then--gulp--when he hopped on that big yellow school bus in his brand new Star Wars shoes and didn't look back at me and then I saw his little tiny half of a blonde head barely visible in that front seat window, I did lose it in a big old sob as the bus rounded the bend. Yes, he's my firstborn, and ours are so close together, that sometimes I treat him and think of him like my teenager instead of a five-year old. And then to see him on the bus like that--I mean, he was TINY. There was no oldest, wisest anything. He was just Little.


But I went about my day and continued to look at his schedule that I had posted on the refrigerator, "now he's in math", "now in literacy", "now he's eating lunch", etc. I think the hardest thing for me--and I admit this with a touch of embarrassment--is the relinquishing of so much control over his time--to this point, I have had almost sole control over what he ate and whether it was a "healthy choice" and what he watched on television and what other kids he played with and what tone he used with his sisters and whether he was polite with adults, etc. It is hard to recognize that here on out, there are so many other influences on him than mine.

This is the beginning of his journey away from me.

I don't totally lament that, as I recognize functioning without us is a sign of a job well done, blah, blah, but still it is worth Marking the time. This is the beginning.

So then, when the designated time came, the girls and I crossed the street to meet the afternoon bus. He was the last of our neighbor kids to get off and he was looking down at his feet as he stepped down, taking care, I suppose, with those enormous school bus steps. And then he scanned the small crowd of parents and his eyes finally landed on mine and the smile that lit up his face upon seeing me there waiting for him was worth a thousand midnight wakings, a thousand dirty diapers, a thousand Lego meltdowns and a thousand missed foreign travel excursions.

I can't wait to hear about his day. Again. And again.

Ciao a tutti.

PS. My friend Stacy ("anymommy") is one of the best writers I have encountered on the web. She somehow seems to capture the human experience--MY experience--in such a profound and funny way that most days when I read her latest entry, I have a lump in my throat for one reason or another and want to just link to my blog and say, "What she said. That is what I'm feeling. What she just said." The link below (if I have linked correctly--I have never done it before) is where she writes about her children's kindergarten experience and it is lovely. I could so relate to the Being Left Behind instead of Doing the Leaving part, which resulted in another of those aforementioned lumps in the throat. Enjoy--particularly you former world traveler kindred spirits who are now keeping the home fires burning. http://www.anymommyoutthere.com/2010/09/time-falls-away.html

To Clancy

When we got our lab, Jackson, seven years ago, my dad got Clancy at the same time. They are not related, but are both yellow labs and coincidentally share an August 15th birthday. At the time, I wasn't sure it was a good decision for Dad to get a dog to take care of, but in retrospect, I am so glad he did. Clancy was his constant companion and not to sound trite, but he really was his best friend. He was with him when he actually died, and for that, I am inexplicably grateful. Truly, profoundly, grateful that he was not alone.

When we were cleaning out dad's apartment and carrying out the last few loads, a youngish fellow passed by in his car, slowed down and yelled out to us, "Hey--what happened to the old man who lived there?" (I gulped at the "old man" part--I haven't yet made the transition into thinking that my parents are old.) Anyway, Husband explained that he had passed away and I was his daughter, etc. The guy paused for a second, looked out the front window and then looked me squarely in the eyes and said, "he was a good man. told good stories. and he had a killer dog." And then he took off. And I took a deep breath.

So Clancy the Killer Dog came to live with us for a month or so until we could find him a home. I would have really liked to have kept him, but as I mentioned, we had our own 100 pound hunk of hairy love and our delightfully Not So Big House--nor our Dyson vaccuum cleaner-- could handle two Big Yellow Dogs. Our almost-4 year old got really attached to Clancy though and i don't know if it had to do with her transference of emotion about Dad's death or if she just really loved the daggum dog, but telling her when we found him another home was excruciating. Her little lip quivered and she tried so hard to hold back her tears before they flowed freely down her sweet cheeks, and wow, that is hard for a mother to watch. We talked alot about the confusing emotion of feeling "happy and sad at the same time"--happy that Clancy has a wonderful new home and sad that we will miss him so much in ours. The "happy/sad" thing seemed to resonate with her and she has mentioned it countless times since then.

And sweet Clancy has a wonderful new home with a dear friend and her mother and a new sister dog. So Clancy, you big goofy shedding, humping, huge-pawed hunk of love, I am happy/happy for you, happy that you have such a Purposeful life--first as friend and companion to my dad and now with a new family who may need you here in the second half of your life as much as dad did in the first. Go well. Go with purpose.

Ciao a tutti.

A Gift

When people say that "Children are a gift from God," they are talking about This One.

A Week of Milestones

It has been quite a week in our house. BB has had three significant "firsts". I'm not usually one of those who wants to Freeze time because they "grow up too fast", but it might be worth a blog entry to at least Mark time. My first born. My baby boy.

Lost his first tooth.



Rode on his first rollercoaster.



Rode his bicycle without those pesky training wheels.



A Day Just Like Today. Or a Week Just Like This Week, I suppose.

Ciao a tutti.

Flower girly

In April, DS was a flower girl in Jeff's lovely niece's wedding. Apparently it was kind of Emily--the bride--to join us, since DS referred to it beforehand and in the two months since as "her" wedding, as in "Can you believe it, that Cousin Emily came to my wedding? And she wore a pretty white dress just like me? Can you just believe it?"

The flower petals were the most precisely and evenly spaced petals in the history of flower girling. When DS dropped each one, she would check the spacing from the previous petal and go back and rearrange it if necessary. Not a quick walk down the aisle, but that is okay, since she had asked Gran to have a glass of water awaiting her at the end of the aisle in case she got thirsty from the long walk.

A princess and her big brother

Sometimes it's nice to take a princess for a walk.

Our first Loaf

My first homemade loaf of whole wheat bread! Okay, so I did use the bread machine (but so did Barbara Kingsolver?!). And it is ridiculously easier than I ever imagined. Even yummier hot with the homemade butter from the Bradford Store. . .

A Tale as Old as Time

Della Scott (c. 2010--3 1/2 years old)


Mamma Autumn (c. 1976-77--4ish years old)

DS went to ballet camp last week and I have seen her "Beauty and The Beast" dance at least 473 times since then. At her insistence (ah hem), I pulled out my ballet shoes that haven't been worn in 20 years. This is as close as I come to a stage mom.

Food and Grief

When I started this blog in January 2010, I envisioned that I would write once a week--on Sunday nights--and I would post witty things the kids had said that week and occasionally cute pictures of the backs of their heads with pithy comments about motherhood and our food revolution, and thus would chronicle in some way this magical and challenging journey that we are traveling together. I didn't know then what the next six months would bring, including a pretty devastating miscarriage and, now, this.

My father died unexpectedly on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010. Two weeks ago.

I say it was unexpected because he had a heart attack, although he has had numerous health issues over the past decade. I think I was "sort of" prepared for him to die in 2003 when I moved back home from D.C. when he was first diagnosed with cirrhosis and emphysema, but he seemed to stabilize himself, make better lifestyle choices, and he has been living on his own in an apartment community since then.

I am sure that I will have lots of Stuff to process and this might be a good forum for doing so in the next few weeks, if you readers will indulge me. My parents divorced when I was a toddler and my father and I had a complicated relationship. And since my brother died in college, I am his only issue which left me to make decisions about the funeral and burial and his apartment and dog and car and gun and VA benefits and cable cut-off and mail forwarding. I have said numerous times these two weeks that I keep looking around for the grownup who is in charge and everyone keeps looking back at me. When did that happen? One would think that having 3 kids and 2 houses and a dog (now 2 dogs) would make you feel like a grownup, but nope. Apparently, it doesn't actually happen until you lose a parent. And how does one actually grieve when you are on hold with the Social Security Office?

There is so much more I want to say. So much more. About my good memories of my 16th birthday and summers in Atlanta when Scott and and I were little. About Vietnam and the ghosts he carried with him all these years. About my confusion that he would make some of the choices he made and why. About my guilt at not having seen him in an entire year. About my gratefulness that our wonderful huge extended family showed up for his funeral to celebrate his life even as he isolated himself more and more these last few years. About my love for a man who was broken and limited, and yet had an enormous heart and sense of humor. About my unending love for my friends who came to the funeral, looked after my children, brought us food, sent cards and flowers and text messages, helped me clean out his apartment.

About my deep throbbing sadness. For what was. And what wasn't.

He was 63.





















And if you ever wonder how we deserve the friends we have, we don't. I don't. But I am humbled and grateful and filled up by these folks--and many others--who came to the funeral on Friday




and to help me clean out his apartment a week later.





And so I write about food . . . and grief. I guess that is the very essence, no?

Ciao a tutti. Ciao papa'. Riposa in pace. Finalmente. Pace.

A Bunch for Lunch

We picked up an extra couple of kiddos for lunch today and the lineup of plates amused me. Of course, my lunch is generally the crusts from the kids' bread. Oliver Twist and me.

Our first garden

And our first caterpillar sighting of the year.

New-new beginnings

Well, hello there loyal readers (all nine of you!). It seems I kept my "write it down" blogging resolution for a solid six weeks before taking a two month hiatus. I'm not sure that's a very good record. Alas. Easter is about new beginnings, correct? So here is a new-new beginning here on Easter's evening when my over-sugared children are tucked soundly into bed.

It has been a busy few months, I confess, and mostly busy with stuff that it's difficult for me--being a newbie--to write about publicly. A friend's sweet 2-year old (also in MK's preschool class) was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma cancer in early February, and it was a blow to our entire community. (He is now taking chemo and in need of your prayers and good thoughts) It's all I could think about for many many weeks, but I didn't know what to say about it in a blog, partly because it's not my story to tell, and partly because . . well, what in G-d's name do you say about a beautiful blonde two-year old boy with Stage 4 cancer? So I didn't write. And then we got pregnant--obviously having quietly decided about that 4th kid--and I was unable to stay awake in the evening past 8:30pm, which clearly cut into my computer time. So I didn't write. And then two weeks ago today, we had a miscarriage right at 11 weeks and then I REALLY didn't know what to say when I couldn't--and sort of still can't--see through the sadness. So I didn't write.

But there have been sweet moments of grace also. The day after the miscarriage, we went to the zoo. It was a simple day. Magical really. A Tuesday. If graceful giraffes and monkeys and one-legged pink flamingos can't cheer you up . . . The kids are the perfect age for the zoo and literally bounded from animal to animal in excitement. It wasn't Zim or SA, to be sure, but it did the trick for a Tuesday two hours from home.

We have also had a couple of beautiful days at the farmhouse with the big kids on the tire swing and Husband of Mine weeding the flower beds and MK slamming the screen door to hear the (bam!) noise over and over and over again (bam!). Those are good, cumulative memories in the making.

In March I had the opportunity to take my graduate students to DC for the national preservation Lobby Day and it was exhausting, but such a great experience for the students. I confess it made me beam with pride as the students gained confidence and poise as the day progressed and spoke passionately and professionally to our Congressional members and staffers about their communities and preservation issues. I hate to switch into professor mode, but I am lucky enough to be able to teach about something that I care about--community and places, basically--so I really do get--what's the word, my Jewish friends?--verklempt to see the students take off like that. Oh, and while we were there, I got to squeeze in some much needed laughter (i.e. girl time) with old friends from the old days.

We had an Uneventful March Madness as we had to swallow our pride and cheer (although cheer we did!) our favorite team in the Also-ran Tournament, the NIT. Thankfully the season is over and we can talk about "next year."

And of course, we have just had several days of Easter Egg Hunts and Egg dying and candy and more candy and more candy. Which I might add, is difficult to swallow (pun intended) after reading the 44 books and blogs on healthy food and chemicals and dyes, etc. this winter. I mean, really. Michael Pollan has more or less ruined colorful crappy candy for me. I stood in the Tar.get trying to decide what to buy for Easter baskets and I just couldn't bring myself to buy very much other than straight chocolate (which may have its own issues--if so, don't tell me. I've got nothing left.) And the fast food to which we treated ourselves on the way home from the zoo!? With every bite, I was thinking of petrochemical ingredients from Pollan's book and Jamie Oliver's massive pail of discarded chicken parts in the chicken nuggets. So needless to say, we are still cooking and with every week, I gain confidence in the kitchen. I say again that we're still not doing anything too crazy, but I am amazed at how easy some things are to make from scratch (salad dressings!) and I have made quinoa, which seven months ago, I had never heard of, and certainly couldn't pronounce correctly. You should have SEEN BB eat his broccoli today at lunch.

There are sweet moments of grace also.

And so I write.

Ciao a tutti.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Husband of mine is out of town for a few days so we are in full survival mode until the one-man cavalry returns late tomorrow night. In the meantime, my four and 1/2 year old has apparently decided that it's high time to grow up and all the sudden, he is saying these insightful things that would more appropriately come out of a 34-year old mouth.

At breakfast, I was growling because 21-mos old MK had spilled her bowl of cereal and there was milk all over the table and her clothes (requiring a re-dress for preschool), and BB looked up from his bowl and nonchalantly said, "She's only a baby, mommy, she doesn't know better."

Well, then.

Earlier in the morning, we were all three snuggling in my bed waiting for the magical 7:00a when everyone is allowed to request that the day begin and they can now start asking me for cereal and apples and Curious George and bedroom shoes and toothbrushes and school Show-and-Share items. So BB and his sister were already pestering each other (of the "he touched my foot, but she's on my side" variety) which always leaves me excruciatingly irritated. I finally yelled at them to stop "or else" and said rhetorically, "why, WHY can't you just be nice to each other?" To which BB replied, "Because I'm four and she's three."

Well then. Again.

When I say that I learn from my children as much as I teach them, this is what I mean.

Ciao a tutti.