thoughts and stories from a twenty-first century homemaker
(Why I love them and why I hate it when my kids touch them.)
Canisters. A humble fixture of the pantry—or the counter top or baker’s rack, depending on your setup.
I like using them for a few reasons. First of all, they’re more air-tight and easier to track how much is left inside than a folded-over bag. It’s easier to measure flour, with a light hand and without making a mess, from a canister than from a paper sack. I buy dried rice and beans from the bulk section at Sprouts, but I prefer…
A week or so ago, we took a family trip to San Diego, CA. My dad always said that when you take the kids with you, you really can’t call it a “vacation.” I’ve only had kids for about four years, but so far, I tend to agree with him.
We still have lots of fun on our family “trips,” don’t get me wrong. At the end, I still think it’s worth it. But I’m usually exhausted, rather than refreshed; and relieved, rather than reluctant, to get back to my own house and routine. Specifically, the kids’ routine.
I forgot about timezones until the day we were leaving…
Like the Italians—and the seasoned or well-read tourists—in Italy, I’ve found it’s simply more economical.
This morning, after everyone had had breakfast and was dressed, I made myself a cup of decaf coffee in the Keurig—nothing fancy, although there was a bit of heavy cream left to use instead of half and half. Hoping full tummies would help the kids stay occupied for a while without me, I sat down on the couch, coffee in hand, and opened my breviary to the morning prayers for today. I made it a few sips of hot coffee and one psalm in before being interrupted…
This afternoon, my kids are snuggled up in their beds, with their daddy home to keep them safe, while I am in a random chair at the closest local coffee shop we’ve found, sipping water. (I finished my chai latte 15 minutes ago.) The playlist here is a combination of Christmas music and the Eagles. I’m working on a homemade gift for my sister. I finished a podcast episode a few minutes ago. I can hear tidbits of conversation from the other coffee drinkers and the baristas. The windows are oriented just right, here, for plenty of non-direct sunlight…
Kids have entertaining misunderstandings of song titles and lyrics. Recently, mine have both been asking for “Bowmp Bowmp” on repeat. What they mean is “Second Hand News” by Fleetwood Mac. Go listen to the song if you don’t know it—they have a legitimate basis for their nickname on this one.
The song is one of my own favorites—so catchy, so fun to harmonize!—so I don’t mind pressing the back button as the music starts fading and Luke shouts out from his car seat, “Again! Bowmp bowmp! Loud!”
Things I do to encourage my kids to try new foods, without power struggles.
My kids don’t love leftovers. That’s fine, for now. I encourage leftovers with things I know they remember they like, and I figure we’ll work on it. So they eat a lot of grilled turkey-and-cheese sandwiches while I eat leftovers for lunch.
In spite of the monotony of their lunches, I would not categorize my kids as “picky” in the typical toddler/preschooler sense of “all she will eat is yellow foods!” (Chicken nuggets, applesauce, macaroni and cheese, toast, etc.)
It’s just that I prefer to choose my battles, and leftover brussels sprouts is a battle I’m unlikely ever to win.
However…
Little minds ask surprisingly big questions. Miryam often springs them on me at bedtime, during our snuggle time at the very end of her routine. I’m sure it’s partially a stalling technique, but also partially because when we say bedtime prayers, she gets to thinking about this kind of thing.
Ever since my great grandpa died earlier this year, Miryam has been curious and pretty casual about death. She asks me a lot of questions about Heaven, when we’re going, who and what will be there, etc.
Recently, she asked…
How seven pumpkins became 3.75 gallons of home-roasted pumpkin purée. (And how you can roast your own pumpkins, too!)
Last year, we made an irrevocable (but honestly, unsurprising) discovery: Homemade pumpkin purée really does taste better in pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread than what’s in the can from the store! I make a lot of pumpkin bread. Justin always makes his grandmother’s pumpkin chiffon pie for the holidays. Hence, we will likely be roasting our own pumpkins every fall for the rest of our lives….
(…but not for diapering!)
Burp cloth. Burp rag. Diaper. Did I miss any? Whatever you want to call them, I’m talking about your plain old Gerber birdseye prefold cloth diapers, which most of us these days use for catching and wiping spit-up from newborns.
But wait, there’s more!
THEY HAVE SO MANY OTHER HOUSEHOLD USES!
While we were on our family visiting road trip, Luke took an earnest interest in the little potty at my in-laws’ house. As in, he would thrash during diaper changes and say “potty,” and he actually peed in it twice! I’ve had multiple resources emphasize not to ignore the “window of readiness” for potty training—defined as either generally “between 20-30 months” or “when he shows interest in it and awareness of potty actions.” We’re definitely within both of those windows right now.
So, I decided early last week: We’re taking the diaper off first thing next Monday morning…