A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

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.

5 Things To Do When Your House Overwhelms You

(image from Real Simple)

Do you ever look around your house wondering where to even begin? Keeping a household running smoothly can be overwhelming, but here are five quick fixes I learned from FlyLady that can get you started. If, like me, you’re not naturally organized, you really should pay her a visit. But in the meantime, give these simple strategies a try:

  • Grab a bag (garbage, plastic, cloth, whatever you’ve got) and run around your house collecting 27 items to throw away. (FlyLady calls this a “27-Fling Boogie.” Why 27? Beats me.) Toss the bag in the trash. Didn’t that feel good?
  • Now grab another bag and run around your house collecting 27 items to give away. Put the bag in your car to drop off at the charity of your choice.
  • Clear off a Hot Spot. These are areas where clutter accumulates. My three worst Hot Spots are the counter in the kitchen that serves as a desk, the bench in the entryway where things pile up waiting to be taken upstairs, and the lawyer’s library in the loft where things get set down after they’ve been brought upstairs. I truly believe that staying on top of Hot Spots is one of the best ways to keep the house under control.
  • Do a 5-Minute Room Rescue. Pick a room, set the timer for 5 minutes, and see how much you can accomplish in that time. If your children are toddlers, you might be able to convince them that this is a marvelous game. If not, marbles are a nice way to motivate kids.
  • Do you have 15 minutes to spend on a room? Depending on what condition the room is in, set your timer and then declutter, dust, vacuum, sort, or organize away.

Do you have any strategies for dealing with an overwhelming house?

 

 

Book of the Week: A Sick Day for Amos McGee

(images from 36 Pages)

A Sick Day for Amos McGee (Roaring Brook, 2010) has been awarded the 2011 Caldecott Medal for the year’s most distinguished picture book. Erin Stead illustrated and Philip Stead wrote this lovely book. Philip said that he “tried to dream up characters that would be perfect for her to illustrate.” What a sweet husband. He must be so thrilled for his wife, especially given that this is the first book she has ever illustrated.

The story is about an elderly man named Amos who lovingly cares for five special animals at the zoo—until one day he stays home in bed with a cold and the animals have the chance to take care of him instead.

I’m pretty sure A Sick Day for Amos McGee will join Alexander and the Magic Mouse as a go-to book on sick days.

Grow Baby Onesies

I would have loved a set of these Grow Baby snap tees when my kids were babies. Cute and functional. Can’t you just see the month-by-month photos lined up in a row?

  • Give yourself a treat and take a peek at the beautiful creations at Sarah Jane Studios.
  • The first knock-knock joke that my kids mastered was Interrupting Chicken. (Do you know it? It goes like this: “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Interrupting Chicken.” “Interrupting Chicken wh—?” “Bawk, bawk, bawk!”) And now the joke has grown into a book. Can’t wait to check it out.
  • Here’s a tutorial on how to crochet a heart.
  • Day 13 of the Push-Up Challenge. Ay caramba.

Yoga

Have you ever tried yoga? Tim and I started doing—I mean practicing yoga—two years ago after our friend Toyna told us about a DVD she was loving called The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga. I’d always wanted to try yoga but was too intimidated. All that balancing and bending into strange angles. But we took Toyna’s advice and gave the Biggest Loser DVD a try. And loved it. I won’t lie to you—it was very challenging, but we loved it. Simple and straight-forward, with minimal contortions. Is it a little McYoga? Perhaps. But very effective. Plus I find Bob’s drawl charming. By the way, if you do the entire video it will take about an hour. I only do the 5-minute warm-up and the first 20-minute segment. Good enough!

Tim says yoga is the only exercise he’s ever done that truly makes him feel invigorated afterward. I love that I feel much less mushy when I add some yoga into my week. When I have a little more time I like to do Mandy Ingber’s Yogalosophy DVD. Mandy is Jennifer Aniston’s personal guru. So, yes, she’s all celebified. But also very likable and down-to-earth. She works you hard, but in a strangely relaxing way.

After a year or so of wearing a workable pair of yoga pants from Target, I splurged and bought Hatha yoga pants from Lucy. They are so comfortable and I like how they’re sleek through the leg but then fall open nicely over the foot. The only downside is they’re not cheap. But when I was ready to buy a pair, I found a 25 percent off coupon online and that helped. Maybe my next splurge will be one of these.

  • It’s Day 12 of the Push-Up Challenge. Have you joined in yet?