Work it out

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Katherine and Clara sometimes fight. (I blame their bickering on my mom because I'm pretty sure she wished fighting daughters upon me hundreds of times when I was a kid and fought constantly with my sister.) I try not to get too involved in their disputes - they seem better able to work it out if they think no parent is around. But lately they've been having a hard time with the scooter. The problem is that Katherine has a scooter, Clara doesn't, Clara wants one, Katherine doesn't want to share. Going out to ride bikes usually dissolves into tears over the scooter pretty quickly.

Why not just buy another scooter? No way. I don't like the things to begin with and I'm all caught up in the House on the Prairie books in which Laura and Mary are content with corn cob dolls, so buying a second scooter when both girls already have bikes seems awfully excessive.

Anyway, at first I tried to help them negotiate some kind of reasonable arrangement, but  that failed miserably. So I switched my strategy to total indifference. "Work it out," I call over my shoulder as I walk away. 

After weeks of this problem, they finally figured it out. Today Katherine informed me,  "Mom, we decided only Alexandra can ride the scooter" (which she can't actually do because she is 1). "Oh? Is that because you can't figure out how to share it?" I asked. "Yes. No one gets to ride it. This way I don't have to share. " 

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Homemade tree swing

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Last week Katherine decided she was going to make a swing for the tree in our yard. At first I thought her plan was to make a little swing for her dolls, or maybe the fairies in the fairy house, but as she started gathering materials it became obvious she was going to build herself a swing. We're used to her making whatever it is that she wants but doesn't have - skis, scooters, a violin, flip flops. She usually fashions these things out of cardboard, paper, string, and tape. I assumed this swing would end up like that - kind of real, but mostly pretend. But half an hour later, we peeked in on her project and found this:

I'm not so sure about that middle rope, and Dave did check the knots later that night, but it appears to be sound. They love it and have already spent hours swinging on it. 

This swing reminds me that the less I am involved in their play, the more creative and resourceful they are.  

 

Bakery Tour: Hunger Mountain Coop

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While not a bakery, per se, ​the Hunger Mountain Coop has a nice deli with homemade muffins, cookies, scones, and bagels, as well as brownies, individual pieces of cake (flourless chocolate, gluten free, cheesecake) and other dessert treats. They also have a coffee and espresso, which is why they qualify for the Bakery Tour. Sometimes we'll head to the coop when we also want to pick up a few groceries or need more of a picnic than just a croissant. But beware the chocolate peanut butter malt balls. They may be hidden in a little basket in the bulk food section, but once you discover them, they magically find their way into your cart every time. There is no escaping them.

On our last visit we tried the chocolate frosted macaroons and a peanut butter cookie. The big girls generously shared with me one.single.crumb of their macaroons, but neither crumb had frosting on it, so I can't say whether it was any good. I should know by now to get my own when it comes to chocolate in this family.

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A few good reads.

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Even though I'm not writing as much as I want to, other people are! Here are a few links to posts I've really enjoyed lately. 

A mom writes a letter to her children On Turning 40. It is full of wisdom, although I'm pretty sure Elaine is wise far beyond her forty years.

"I've thought a lot about what I would tell you on turning 40, and the thing that always comes back to me is how exceedingly lucky I am. I hope you never underestimate what a huge role luck plays in your lives. We don't have a lot of control in this world. Terrible things happen, wonderful things happen - and almost all of them are completely unexplainable, or their explanations ring hollow if given more than a moment's thought. I urge you not to dwell on either. Just keep moving forward - luck can turn on a dime. And wear a hat when it's sunny!"

Celebrating her 14th wedding anniversary, Stacey shares what she's learned over the years. As always, she'll have you exclaiming "Exactly!" out loud (for example, see #7!)

"7. Keep in mind the things he does.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the things he doesn’t do.  Like, just off the top of my head FOR EXAMPLE, we have a deal wherein going out after the kids’ bedtime is always okay.  But if he goes out for beers, the kitchen is spotless when he gets home and when I go to wine night I’m lucky if the dishes have made it to the sink from the table.  But. That is okay because I have never – in my entire life – so much as touched a lawn mower and I never will. He also kills spiders, builds playhouses, snakes drains, and cleans up all dog vomit, even if it happens during the day and I obnoxiously throw a towel over it so that I don’t have to look at it."

And if you have time, check out A Nation of Wimps... it's a long article, but worth the read. 

"No one doubts that there are significant economic forces pushing parents to invest so heavily in their children's outcome from an early age. But taking all the discomfort, disappointment and even the play out of development, especially while increasing pressure for success, turns out to be misguided by just about 180 degrees. With few challenges all their own, kids are unable to forge their creative adaptations to the normal vicissitudes of life. That not only makes them risk-averse, it makes them psychologically fragile, riddled with anxiety. In the process they're robbed of identity, meaning and a sense of accomplishment, to say nothing of a shot at real happiness. Forget, too, about perseverance, not simply a moral virtue but a necessary life skill. These turn out to be the spreading psychic fault lines of 21st-century youth. Whether we want to or not, we're on our way to creating a nation of wimps."

Happy reading! 

 

 

Nothing new...

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We are two months into our new work schedule and I'm finding it harder and harder to find time for this space. I have a lot swirling around in my mind, but without stretches of time to let it settle during the day, the words don't come when I finally sit down to write at 9pm. Plus, I am much less excited to sit down at the computer at night when I've spent all day in front of it.   

Once again, I find myself struggling to fit everything I want to do into the routine. There is always something that has to be temporarily juggled out, and I'm afraid that something is this space... at least for a while until I figure out how to work it back in, or rotate something else out.

So maybe this will be a once a week blog for now, or maybe it will be more recipes, book reviews, and pictures, and fewer words. Maybe someone will want to write a guest post?

In the meantime, any working moms out there with wisdom on how to juggle it all?

Bakery Tour Kick-off

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One of our favorite weekend rituals is to ​load the kids into the car, stop at a bakery/cafe, go for a nice long drive through the countryside while we sip our coffee, and end up someplace for the kids to play and eat a bakery treat. If we time it so that the nice long drive coincides with nap, Dave and I get to talk - with no interruptions (other than the unavoidable "I need to pee! She's touching me! I'm thirsty! Mom, she's putting her feet in Alexandra's face again!") It is an outing we look forward to all week.

We have our favorite bakeries, but we've noticed many others while driving around... so we've decided it would be a very good idea to try them all. A tour of Vermont bakeries. And so I introduce this new series:

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​I thought I'd kick off with an outing to our favorite bakery: Birchgrove Baking.

What I love most about Birchgrove is that everything they make is beautiful and they always have a selection that includes the basics (like almond croissants, savory scones, and chocolate chip cookies) as well gourmet pastries and desserts (like banana caramel tart and cherry pistachio orange cookies). You never know exactly what will be there and I love asking what everything is - if for no other reason than to hear about the ingredients and flavors they put together. Also, best lattes in town. 

The kids love the cookies - chocolate chip is the favorite, but this week we were tempted by their sugar cookie.​

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Recipe: Chocolate Cream Pie

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I made Eating Well's chocolate cream pie for a school fundraiser this weekend - it was (way too) easy, delicious and very chocolatey. I used a store-bought gluten free crust this time, but the original recipe calls for a chocolate wafer crust (which I've also made before and is quite good). The filling is pudding-like, so it works with no crust, too.

My favorite part is pile of chopped chocolate...​

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(See Eating Well for crust recipe and tips for decorating)​

FILLING

  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 1/2 cups low-fat milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate

PREPARATION

  1. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large saucepan.
  2. Whisk milk and eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk into the sugar mixture.
  3. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
  4. Cook, stirring vigorously, for 2 minutes more. Strain through a sieve into a large bowl.
  5. Whisk in chocolate until completely melted.
  6. Pour the filling into (your preferred) crust. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.
  7. Spoon or pipe (with a pastry bag) 10 dollops of whipped cream around the edge of the pie. Garnish with chocolate curls.

Stuffed Animals

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I have never bought a stuffed animal for my children (although Santa brought a puppy, and the Easter Bunny brought a rabbit). But look all the friends who attended Eastie's birthday party (and this is only half the attendees)!

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I don't have anything against stuffed animals, it's just that we have too many. ​Every time I try to cut down the population, I remember who gave us what and when and get all sentimental about it. I'm not like this about anything else - usually I quite enjoy getting rid of stuff, to the point where the kids have turned "disappear" into a verb, as in, "Mom, are you going to disappear my balloon tonight?" But apparently, despite my general indifference towards them, I have a weakness for stuffed animals.

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