The price you pay

Usually T does the grocery shopping. I plan our meals and make a grocery list on Sunday and then he shops that evening and gets cash for the sitter. He was out of town this weekend, so the shopping was my task.

I do everything humanly possible to avoid long shopping trips with the children, so I went between classes today while they were at childcare. I decided to hit Whole Foods because it has great food and was near where I was teaching. I found great stuff of course, but even by choosing generics and sale items, it was still pricey. I'd love to start buying more organic food, but it painful to pay often double the price. I do believe some items are worth the extra cost, and I do think I will invest in organic milk. For rice, beans, and flour, however, I am heading back to the cheap store.

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--MM

On my own

T is out of town. Off to a work conference for five days. That leaves a lot of dirty diapers and messy high chairs for me. Not fun. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't know how single moms do it. I don't like going solo. I like sharing the load.

T left this afternoon, but we managed to enjoy a gorgeous fall day. We went to the final farmers market and then to the children's museum. The boys were busy building, digging, and exploring.


They napped well when they got home.

Tomorrow I am escaping to my sister's house so I won't have to figure out how to keep the boys busy for a long Sunday. They can run around with their rambunctious cousins.

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I made two loaves of bread this evening. This time I made them the old fashioned way rather than in the bread machine. They look good, but we'll see how they taste tomorrow. I did one part wheat flour and two parts white.

I making more and more of our own food or buying it is naturally as possible. I am growing increasingly frustrated with how food is processed and the crap they put in it. I find it maddening and a bit depressing, really. So, might as well make my own! I enjoy the process and most of the time it tastes better.

--MM

Aaahhhhhh.....

We accidentally overpaid for childcare this week, but I benefited. T paid our provider on Monday, but I realized he had paid her for three extra hours. We didn't want to say, "Hey, can we have some of that money back?" So I just found a use for that extra time.

Today I got a massage. It was lovely. I did have a small gift card and some birthday money from my grandma, so I didn't even feel overly self-indulgent. I almost fell asleep during it with those half-dream fleeting thoughts skipping across my brain. Afterward I was like a puddle on the exam table.

T and I met for coffee afterward. Overpaying turned out to be a happy accident. Don't you love those?

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On an odd side note, while walking to Starbucks, I saw a scraggly, bearded homeless man carrying a baseball bat over his shoulder and nothing else. I gave him a wide berth for obvious reasons, but he came over to tell me he thought I was beautiful. Thanks, I guess. I'll take compliments where I can get them!

--MM

Four-legged vaccuum

I am not a dog person by nature.

We grew up with cats, and they have always been my first love. There was Toby, then Charlie, now in my own family there are Abby and Maddie. (Abby is my favorite. Don't tell Maddie) T however grew up with dogs. And we thought the boys needed a dog. Enter Ruby for Christmas 2007.


Clearly as cute as a button but a major pain in the buttocks. She chewed many things (including my mom's new shoes) and piddled regularly on the ground. She still has frequent accidents and is a lap dog to an annoying degree. But there is one thing she does the cats don't do, and I love it.

She is our own living Roomba. She licks up the bits of granola bars and bread that fall to the floor. Of course we chase her away from entire sandwiches or chocolate chunks from cookies pitched from the high chair. But if the morsel is small and harmless, I call her right over and let her clean up for me. When I am somewhere else I have to catch myself before I mindlessly let crumbs fall to the ground.

Sometimes she gets a bit too aggressive, lunging to lick a far-flung piece of cheese in the corner of R's chair. Thankfully she's short and usually misses, but she never gives up. It is a nice little perk, though I'm not sure this bit of housekeeping makes up for all the spots on the carpet.

I think I am finding my inner dog person.

--MM

Mom Comrades

The first thing I did when I moved to a new city was join a moms' group. And thank goodness I did.

It gave Q and R a set of playmates and introduced me to friends as well. Our weekly play dates are a great way to get out of the house and to burn off energy for the boys. But the value of the moms' group extends beyond that.

There are some moms who drive me a little crazy of course. You'll encounter that in any social circle. But there are others with whom I have quickly formed a friendship.

We have met for drinks and dinner and our husbands have gotten to know each other.

We can depend on each other for last-minute babysitters or compare potty-training stories.

It's really an invaluable part of my life now, and I would recommend it to any new mom or any mom moving to a new area. Many of us in the group are new residents. We even had one mom come to the group while she was still pregnant and now her newborn has joined the ranks. You can't beat the support system and the camaraderie.

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One of my favorite times of the day is nap time. The boys are down now after running and climbing at this morning's weekly play date. Some sort of time warp exists during nap time however. Time seems to slip by at twice the normal speed and my plans of eating lunch, resting, Internet surfing, and cleaning are rushed. I constantly watch the clock and dread that first whimper from their bedroom. Is that wrong?

--MM

Fresh-baked bread

Is there anything better than the smell of fresh-baked bread? I don't think so.

T got me a bread maker for my 24th birthday, and I used it pretty frequently the first few years. Then it stayed tucked away in storage for the last few years we were in Oregon. T was downsizing our storage unit, and I told him to unearth the bread machine box. I dusted it off, found a recipe online, and had it baking this afternoon.

In my effort to eat cleaner and cheaper, I am attempting to cut out most processed foods and make more of my own food for our family. I used whole wheat flour and flax meal in the recipe. Q "helped" put the ingredients in the pan and pushed the button. He continually asked me to pick him up so he could see the progress and asked repeatedly if it was done.

About three and a half hours later, it was. I used it tonight for some sandwiches with hummus, greens, cucumbers, avocado, and provolone. It was quite tasty.

There is something very satisfying about eating something you made. So now we are eating oatmeal every morning, homemade granola bars, and homemade bread. Our grocery list includes very few boxed or processed foods. I feel pretty good about that.

--MM

Celebrations

Dad got the one thing he wanted for his 60th birthday: six grandsons crowded around him. We enjoyed a few days in Wisconsin Dells, eating Dad's favorite tacos, and playing in the massive indoor water park.

R kept going down the toddler slides over and over. Q was a bit more hesitant at first, but had a ball splashing his cousins.

Next up: Halloween. We went as a group of doctors.

Everyone thought R was a girl and one man made the insulting on multiple levels comment of "Oh look! A little nurse!"

They cleaned up in the candy department, and now they are rationed as am I.

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Keeping in the Halloween spooky spirit of things, T and I watched Rosemary's Baby. It was intriguing and very different from horror movies of today.

--MM