Our toddler has been clingy lately, at school and at home, and though I chalked it up to his being 23 months old, I did wonder whether there was something else going on. One of his teachers left his school recently, an it ocurred to me that I haven’t seen several of his classmates in a while.

I was still thinking about it as I walked him into his classroom, where he promptly attached himself to my leg — very unusual for my outgoing little man. When one of his little friends came up to greet him, my boy, still wrapped around my knees, held out one pudgy arm, keeping his friend at arms length. When the friend tried again, my boy pushed him away. “No! No hug!” he said, loudly.

Embarassed, I stooped down to tell him that we don’t push our friends, and then turned to the other little boy to say that my guy just wasn’t ready for hugs yet; in true toddler style, the friend didn’t seem to mind, thank goodness. A few minutes later, their teacher told me that particular friend was leaving at the end of the week. “Home day care,” she said. “It’s cheaper.” Apparently, a few other kids in the class have gone that route as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Need to get the kids out the door in a flash? Studies show that kids do better in school if they’ve had a good breakfast (and, of course, the same goes for grownups and work), but you don’t have to waste money on protein shakes, fast-food egg sandwiches, or sugar-filled cereal bars, and you don’t have to prep things way in advance, either. Here are five nutritious breakfasts that you can whip together in five minutes or less:

1.) Eggs in a hole: Butter a slice of whole-wheat bread, and then cut a hole the diameter of a juice glass out of the center. Place the bread, butter side down, in a hot frying pan. Crack an egg into the hole (prick the yolk with a fork to break it so it will cook more quickly). Let egg set, then flip bread and add the piece you cut out to the pan.

2.) Awesome oatmeal: Who likes plain oatmeal? Not my kids. Not me, either. Keep these two blends on hand for doctoring up the dish. Fruit blend: Diced dried apples, apricots, peaches, raisins, and mango. Spice blend: Brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of cloves. Add a few generous spoonfuls on top, and tell the kids it tastes like cookies — because it does.

3.) Fruit salad: The Wiggles were right — yummy, yummy. Add a slice or two of whole-wheat toast smeared with a little peanut butter for a protein boost.

4.) Smoothies: Yogurt + whatever fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand = breakfast. Take it up a level with a few drops of food coloring… kids may scoff at a regular banana-strawberry smoothie, but an electric green one will disappear quickly.

5.) French toast: Believe it or not, this is actually really, really quick to make on the fly. Whisk together two eggs, 1/3 cup of milk, a dash of sugar, a few drops of vanilla, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Dip slightly stale bread in, letting each piece soak for a mere two seconds per side; fry it up in a barely greased pan. This amount of batter will be good for about five slices of bread — wrap leftovers individually and refrigerate or freeze for days when you don’t even have five minutes to make breakfast.

There’s an old joke about what happens with kids in a large family.

With the first kid, the joke goes, you take her everywhere — playgroups, Mommy and Me gymnastics, the park, music lessons, the library, baby ballet, etc. When the second kid comes along, you take them to playgroups, the park, and the library. With three, you take them to the park. But by the time numbers four and more arrive, you’re taking them everywhere again — to the grocery store, the drug store, the dry cleaners, the doctor’s office…

It’s certainly true in our family.

Our 14, 12, and 9 year olds are plenty busy, but I think our 15-month-old has set foot in the library maybe three times in his life (and he slept through each visit). We have about a kajillion books at home, of course, but still. On Saturday, our 3-year-old wanted to “Go out and DO SOMETHING,” and when I asked her what she wanted to do, she said, “Let’s go to COSTCO and RUN ERRANDS!” Read the rest of this entry »

One of the things I always tell other parents — especially other working moms who are struggling with their juggling of career and motherhood — is that they shouldn’t feel guilty for letting their little kids watch TV if they need to get their work done.

It’s something I really believe is OK. It’s something I do more often than I’d like. And it’s something that makes me feel like a total hypocrite because, half a lifetime ago, when I was a nanny, I never turned the TV on when the kids were around. Ever.

Read the rest of this entry »

Before I had kids, there was a point to be made by working fulltime: “Sure, I would like my kids to have a stay-at-home parent,” the much-younger, idealistic, child-free Lylah declared. “But who said I had to be the one to jettison my career? Why couldn’t my husband do it for a while?”

Then I actually had kids and, as it often happens, found that I didn’t know what I was talking about. My point was all well and good, but there was reality to contend with: My paycheck paid the mortgage. Not working wasn’t an option. Read the rest of this entry »

I was going to write something about New Year’s resolutions, or about how, until recently, I worked every major holiday (I’m an editor at a newspaper — the presses are always running) and it still feels strange to not be in a mostly deserted newsroom on Christmas.

Strange, but not in a bad way.

I’ve never been good at just taking a day off and not trying to get a million things done during it. Back in September, right around Labor Day, I starting pulling non-newsroom-related nearly-all-nighters.

I wasn’t out partying. (I wish!) I wasn’t up late reading or watching TV. I wasn’t up with a sick or crying baby. Nothing like that.

I was painting my big kids’ bedrooms. (Yeah, the painting I mentioned a few weeks back, the stuff I thought I’d do during my first maternity leave — more than three years ago.) Read the rest of this entry »

I hate to admit it but, this year, I’ve had a hard time finding my Christmas spirit.

It’s not that Scrooge has taken over, or that it’s been a hard year, or anything like that. In fact, it’s been a pretty great year. I’m just tired. And all of the gift buying and present wrapping and package mailing just seems like that much more on my already-long to-do list.

I’m all about the planning — I’ve had things planned out for months. Batches of homemade jams and chutneys and pickles were canned back when the weather was still warm. I’ve had other little gifts ready to go for weeks. I made candies yesterday – can’t really do candies too far in advance.  My dining room has turned into Santa’s workshop, with boxes and ribbons and cellophane bags ready to hold all the treats.

But instead of being good to go, I’ve ground to a halt.

This Christmas stuff… what, just a few weeks ago, was fun and festive, now seems an awful lot like work. Read the rest of this entry »

When I became pregnant with L., there was this mysterious thing I had to contend with, something that I hadn’t encountered when I became a step mom: Maternity leave.

I was going to be away from the office for about five months. It had been 23 years since I’d had that much time off all at once. What was I going to do with myself?

I had grand plans: I’d finish painting all the bedrooms. I’d write at least one freelance story a week. I’d edit all of the recipes from my mom’s old restaurant into a great cookbook. Heck, cookbooks seemed easy — maybe I’d write two! Read the rest of this entry »