A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

Book of the Week: Owl Babies

This week I’m going back to the beginning, to the very first book I ever received as a mother. The plus sign on the pregnancy stick had barely even registered when Owl Babies by Martin Waddell arrived. The inscription read “To the tiny one from Marilyn, March 6, 1998.” Marilyn, best friend to my mom and honorary aunt to me, was an expert on all things baby and child. Even after spending an entire day with small children at the daycare she’d run in her home for years, she’d make a beeline for any baby in the room. She spoke their language.

Owl Babies tells a simple story—sometimes Mom leaves, but she always comes back. The cross-hatched illustrations by Patrick Benson perfectly capture the mood of the story, especially the ecstatic reunion between the owlets and their mother, home from a night of hunting. Marilyn must have read this story countless times over the years to reassure children that, just like Sarah and Percy and Bill, their mothers would come for them.

Marilyn passed away five years ago after a long and brave battle with cancer. I’m grateful for everything she taught me about taking care of children and helping them realize just how strong they are. I’m grateful that she was able to meet Lily who, adjusting to her new life with us and wary of strangers, put her nose right up to Marilyn’s, looked in her eyes, and recognized a kindred spirit. And I’m grateful for this book and the memories that come with it.

Countdown to Chinese New Year

Lily’s teacher, Mrs. Foster, asked if we would host a Chinese New Year party for her kindergarten class. Of course! we said. So Lily and I are pondering fun ways to ring in the Year of the Rabbit. We could make rabbit masks. We could make Chinese Lanterns or felt fortune cookies. We could have a dragon parade through the hallways. We could bring in farmer paintings like the one above to show the class. We’ll definitely bring Pocky.*

[* If you’re the sort of person who eats chocolate every day and you find yourself in a country that doesn’t seem to have any, you’re almost embarrassingly ecstatic when a resourceful young member of your travel group scours the local markets and finds some. And so began our love affair with Pocky. We used to make special trips to a Chinese grocery store in the city each New Year to restock the Pocky until we realized our local Cub carries it. Such a small world.]

The New Year celebrations begin on February 3rd and carry on for about two weeks. The Rabbit is said to be peaceful and calm. 2010 (Year of the Tiger) was a little ferocious now that I think about it. So. Lots of work to do, but it’ll be fun sharing our love of China with Lily’s friends at school.

Ruby’s Hat

Ruby is the newest member of the Saturday morning book club. She lets us pass her around and doesn’t complain at all when we talk for two hours about life and only 10 minutes about the book. In this photo she’s modeling a hat I made for her. Isn’t she adorable? It’s my first time using the yarn-over technique; that’s how you get the little holes to run the I-cord through. I used the pattern for a child’s cotton hat in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson, owner of Purl in Manhattan. Please, please believe me when I say that if I can do this, anyone can. The trick is to keep at it until one day you can actually tell the difference between a knit stitch and a purl stitch and everything starts to come together.

  • We made Tim read us four chapters of The Lost Hero yesterday. It’s hard to put down. We highly recommend the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.
  • Here’s a clever idea for reusing those little java jackets that come with your coffee.
  • Check out how they found out (and announced) their baby’s gender. So sweet!
  • Day 18 of the Push-Up Challenge. Mamma mia.

The Family Dinner

(image from The Library of Congress)

We’re not always good about sitting down together as a family for dinner. There. I’ve said it. And me a stay-at-home mom. Truth be told, the kids and I are ravenous by the time Tim gets home from work. Plus, there are at least two—sometimes three or four—nights a week when we have to head back into town around dinnertime for various activities. So dinner at our house usually consists of me standing on one side of the kitchen island like a short-order cook flinging hash to kids lined up on the other side. Most of whom have their noses in books or are jumping up every 30 seconds to check a game score on the computer. Not exactly an ideal situation.

Enter Laurie David and The Family Dinner. You can tell that Ms. David and her co-creator, Kirstin Uhrenholdt, poured their hearts into this book. It reminds me of a scrapbook, filled with a hodgepodge of advice, games, beautiful photos, blessings, table setting ideas, and recipes. These women paint such a lovely portrait of what could take place at the dinner table that they inspired me to tie on an apron and try a little harder. So far, I’ve made two of their recipes: Crunchy Chicken Schnitzel (which Laurie says you can call a Large Chicken Nugget) and Arroz con Pollo (rice with chicken). The schnitzel went over the best with Tim and the kids, while I loved the arroz con pollo. So colorful and it made the house smell delicious.

So, yes, the recipes were great. But the real challenge for us is in taking time to set the table, sit down together, and make meaningful conversation. I scoured the chapter called “Table Talk” and tried a few word games out on the kids. The favorite so far is “What Fruit, Animal, Flower, or Tree Am I?” We’ve also branched out on our own and asked Andrew and Lexie to name country capitals, Will to name state capitals, and Lily to name baby animals (lion=cub, etc.). Have I had to use coercion? Of course. Have I received pained looks? Goes without saying. But we’re hanging in there. And I’m sure they’ll thank me some day.

Now. The last thing any of us needs is more guilt piling on. Laurie herself says that your special ritual meal doesn’t have to be dinner. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, or tea could work just as well. I might even go so far as to say that on some days your ritual meal isn’t even a meal. Maybe it’s reading bedtime stories together (we do this nearly every night and not just so I can sit and knit), going to church, playing board games, exercising, or volunteering. The important thing is that you slow down a little and soak in the fact that you’re together.

  • I’ve been waiting a year to make these awesome valentines. I’ll post photos if they turn out as cute as I’m hoping.
  • Speaking of Valentine’s Day, check out this gorgeous heart cake. How does she do it?
  • Have you ever tried making homemade yogurt? I haven’t, but if I do maybe I’ll try this.
  • Day 17 of the Push-Up Challenge.