When You Don't Homeschool...

... can you still hold tight to your ideals? Can you raise unconventional children in a conventional environment, in this case that being public school?

Well, I certainly hope so. That is, I'm working on it.

Overall, I love the public school my kids attend. There are various issues, some being school-wide, and others being city-wide (and thus harder to take on--not that I'm not trying!), as there are in any school, but so far we've been very fortunate and my two older children have had largely positive experiences.

As a family, we do some things differently than many of the families in our neighborhood. As a member of the "natural parenting" community, I see a great deal of blog posts and articles all about homeschooling and its benefits. I know them well, as I homeschooled my son before he attended Pre-K. My husband and I both value public school education, and we like the fact that our children have other authority and mentoring figures in their lives--we think of it as part of the "it takes a village" mentality.

Since I don't currently homeschool, I've often wished that I could find resources on how to continue to parent the way we do while our kids are in an environment that is, at times, very different, if not completely opposite from the one at home. After three years of parenting children receiving public school education under my belt, I've made some discoveries on what works for us and I'd love to share them with you.

First and foremost, know your child. I have two typical, active, social children, and neither of them require any special services. They are adaptable and adjust quickly to change, and they are not intimidated by the size of the school, nor the number of students (1400! Though I have to say it doesn't really feel that way). Our school is a good fit for them. Children's needs vary. Some may flourish with a busy, active pace, while some may need a smaller, quieter environment. Don't automatically rule out a large school, but don't assume your child will adjust, either. If you are a free range parent, be aware that children in typical public school are expected to line up, sit down, stand up, and the like, pretty much by the end of Kindergarten (it's really not that bad. But again, it's all about your child, and your personal beliefs about learning and teaching).

Make friends. With your child's teacher, that is. We all hear teacher horror stories, but in my experience, the vast majority of educators are wonderful people who care about children and like (if not love) their job. One of the best things I've done for my kids has been to get to know their teachers. I keep up correspondence in whatever way is appropriate and accepted, and keep the lines of communication open. Since I sometimes have requests or questions that most other parents do not, being friendly is a must. If a teacher goes above and beyond to work with my child, I make sure he/she knows I appreciate the extra attention. And if my children are involved in a discipline issue, I make sure I am receptive and not defensive. Nothing turns a teacher off more than a defensive parent who seems unwilling to listen to constructive feedback.

Get involved. Admittedly, this can be difficult, if not impossible, if both parents work. I have to say, though, there is no better way to find out what's happening in your child's school, and in their classroom, than investing some time there, no matter how minimal it is. Parent teacher conferences are a great way to start, as are curriculum days and any open classroom days that your school might have.

I am on our school's PTA and it is absolutely invaluable for me and my children. I am in the building several times a week and have gotten to know the administration, as well. This gives me the opportunity to bring to light issues that I would like the school to work on, and allows me to even tackle some of them along with a wonderful group of parents who are also devoted members of the PTA. It's a sincere privilege. If joining the PTA or volunteering time seems impossible, start an email list with other parents in your child's class, and keep communication going that way. Other parents are a great resource. I have gotten much useful information just chatting at pick-up.

Unless the school has a food co-op or a kitchen that makes fresh meals, make your kids' lunch. The NYC Department of Education tries, goodness knows--but the meals are still not things I would feed my children on a regular basis. For one, they are not prepared on site, and they are mass-produced. There is a huge healthy eating initiative going on right now, and though I appreciate the effort, that food cannot possibly compare to what I make at home. With all the focus we put on healthy, organic food, it would be impossible to accept school lunch for my children.

Don't let school supply lists or teacher requests intimidate you. When my son was in Kindergarten, it was requested that we send his snack and lunch in brown paper bags and ziplock bags. I sent a note kindly explaining that as we were trying to reduce waste in our household, all of the containers and bags we sent our son to school with were reusable, and were not to be thrown away (and this will certainly be the case for my daughters, as well). LunchBots, KidsKonserve and LunchSkins are all companies that sell reusable lunch supplies.

Each year's school supply list requests Purell sanitizer, a conventional cleaning spray, and Huggies baby wipes, and I stubbornly send in BabyGanics hand sanitizer and Seventh Generation cleaner and wipes. I'm thisclose to sending in a homemade cleaner, next!

Choose your battles wisely, and fight fervently. There are certain things, like slowing the curriculum pace or shortening the school day, that are pipe dreams, and I've learned that it's best to focus on things that are feasible for the school to change or improve, like amount of physical activity the children receive, activities and fundraisers to promote spirit and unity, and various other concerns where a solution seems attainable. This isn't to say that the big fights shouldn't be fought, though. Just this past year our school won a huge battle with the Department of Education, and it was one of our community's finest moments.

Don't let your child become another brick in the wall. Our school makes a great effort to make its students feel attended to and looked after. I've never been made to feel like my child is just one among the crowd. At the same time, there is a certain amount of group activity inside the classroom and out, and there are certain expectations that are placed on the children in terms of following directions and receiving instruction (if only for safety and the sheer mass of children going anywhere at a given time. Lunch periods boast over 400 kids in one space). As long as the children are treated respectfully and are given positive reinforcement, I don't take issue with that. Here is something I'm attempting to tackle: the lunch aides in particular leave a lot to be desired in terms of how they approach the children. My goal is to meet with the principal and talk about giving the aides further tools to positively discipline the kids without incessant yelling or unreasonable punishment.

When it comes to the instruction your child receives in the classroom, be as involved as you can with the teacher to find an approach that works for your child, the teacher, and the class as a whole. Whatever the concern is in your school, be it academic or otherwise, speak up and make your voice be heard. You are your child's best advocate. Don't assume anyone else will fight for him/her.

Stay strong--you and your children both. We are living in an age where seemingly every person in civilized society has a gadget and/or is on some type of social networking site. I share a fair amount online and I have a love/hate relationship with social networking, and I don't think it's appropriate for my children. My eight year old son asked me what Facebook was the other day. As I explained it to him I made sure he understood that in our family, at least, that kind of activity is reserved for adults. He also asked me when he would be able to get an iPhone (my answer was, when he's old enough to work and pay for it himself. Same for my girls. That's just the way the cookie crumbles). It's worth noting that many people we are close to and care about make different choices for their kids when it comes to this, so it's important that I reserve criticism and not come from a place of judgment, rather point out that these are our family's choices and what we believe is acceptable.

Along the same lines, my kids will ask for certain food, toys or activities that they see other children getting or engaging in. Once again, I do my best to reserve criticism--even more so since we talk a lot about people being created different, but equal. I have to accept that as many positive things as my kids are being exposed to, there is plenty of negative exposure, as well. and  I simply explain our family's beliefs and reiterate why we choose to live the way we do and consume what we do. It gets harder as our children get older, especially as they approach the age where insecurity sets in, and they just want to be liked. Going against the grain gets tougher and tougher. To that end, I try and instill in my kids a strong sense of self. I want them to be independent, confident and steadfast in who they are--and of course, that starts with me.

Come September, I will have two kids in school all day, with only my little one left at home to brainwash—er, parent and teach. My hope is that all my children will take with them the good lessons and learn to ignore the bad.

Vaccines and the Ultimate Controversy: Where Do You Stand?

Around the time my firstborn was two years old, I started researching vaccinations. Up until his second birthday, we had been vaccinating on schedule. Once I started delving into the heaps of information and controversy, however, we began vaccinating on a delayed schedule, and have done so with our other two children, as well.

Through the research that I've done, I've found some pretty incredible information criticizing vaccinations, tempered by plenty of unreliable and sensationalistic "literature," mostly on rogue websites filled with fear mongering and very little fact (unfortunately, it's usually on the side opposing vaccinations, which makes the anti-vaccination camp look uneducated indeed). It's important to remember that just because something is written on a website doesn't mean it's true, credible, or factual (including this one. I urge you to look up any and all information I provide here for yourself, and please come back and let me know if you find facts to the contrary of what I've posted). 

I don't claim to be any type of expert, but I'm sharing the information I've found in the hopes that someone may find it useful. I respect and understand both sides of the issue, and have no doubt that parents on either end of the spectrum are doing what they believe to be best.

So what are the issues with vaccines? Certainly the loudest and most well known controversy is that of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and autism. There is a barrage of constant misinformation being pumped out regarding this particular vaccine. When Andrew Wakefield was disgraced and his study discounted, the headlines screamed about "no links between vaccines and autism," and "no harm from mercury in vaccinated children."

In fact, there is no mercury in any current vaccine in the US other than the flu shot. Additionally, there has never been mercury in the MMR vaccine--the issue was that of the measles illness itself being found in the guts of children studied, some of whom showed signs of autism, some of whom went on to develop autism later in their young lives, and some who didn't. The evidence was inconclusive, but definitely warranted further investigation, which never happened. The controversy surrounding Wakefield is huge, but I invite you to read Callous Disregard, written by the man himself, which is eye opening.

The mercury in vaccines is a completely separate subject from Andrew Wakefield and his study, and I find it frustrating when they are clumped together. There was mercury (or thimerosal) in multiple vaccines in the 90s, and children were harmed by it, and there are mounds of proof--it's just not easy to find, and it's not found through Google. Did you know that the safety of thimerosal on humans was tested on 15 meningitis patients, all of whom died from their disease a few weeks after they received the chemical? "No adverse effects were reported" because there wasn't enough time to make a conclusion.

Autism is not the only issue--or even the most important one, in my opinion. There are hosts of autoimmune illnesses that are on the rise in young children, such as diabetes, asthma, and juvenile arthritis, and there is a school of thought that suggests the practice of giving so many vaccinations all at once is the culprit. The introduction of so many different viruses, toxins, allergens, and other agents at such a young age confuses the body, and it begins to attack itself. Something that should be investigated, but once again, has not been adequately addressed to date.

What toxins, you ask? Toxins like formaldehyde, phenol and aluminum (found in flu, Hib, Pneumococcal, and DTaP vaccines). Gelatin, a common allergen, is a flu vaccine ingredient, and the vaccine is cultured in chicken embryo (egg), useful to know for those with egg allergies. Hepatitis B is cultured in yeast or yeast extract. As for foreign agents, most MMR vaccines are produced in fetal bovine (cow) serum, and the rubella vaccine has been produced using cells from an aborted fetus infected with the disease. The Rotavirus vaccine is produced in vero (monkey kidney) cell culture. It's naive to assume that none of these foreign agents don't have some effect on our bodies. An early polio vaccine (1950s) was contaminated with a monkey virus named SV40 that causes cancer in laboratory animals. It's been suggested that this virus was the cause for thousands of cases of cancers like mesothelioma, brain, and bone cancers. Is it true? We may never know, but it's certainly alarming.
 
Additionally, though most doctors will tell you that adverse vaccine reactions are rare, they are under reported to VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) by as much as 85%, which makes them far more frequent than the average person realizes.

Part of the problem as I see it is that our medical care is very "one size fits all." Through my research I came to learn that when making the vaccine schedule, the lowest common denominator is taken, that being families with less access to good health care or families who are unable to afford frequent co-pays, and the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) work up from there. One of the reasons babies and small children are given so many shots in one visit is because that takes away the need for the parents to return the children for another doctor visit--statistically, many don't go back.

The Hepatitis B vaccine became routine at birth due to the fact that so many mothers who were infected with Hepatitis B were passing it on to their babies. Over time, it went from being administered to only infected babies to everyone, regardless of the mother's medical history. You can refuse the shot for your newborn at birth. Hepatitis B is only transmitted through sexual contact or intravenous drug use, and so our family doesn't administer hepatitis B to our kids until they are 4, and then it's really just because it's the law in NY for public school attendance.

It trickles into prenatal care, too. Each time I became pregnant I had to have an HIV test despite testing negative with my prior pregnancy (NY law). Each of my children had to have erythromycin put on their eyes at birth despite my testing negative for gonorrhea and chlamydia (which can cause serious complications for the baby as it passes through the birth canal). In fact, even babies born by C-section are given erythromycin, which makes little sense since they are not passing through the birth canal and so have little chance, if any, of coming into contact with the mother's infection (especially if she's tested negative during pregnancy!). Meanwhile, we take just one Strep B test, and if it's negative, we do not get antibiotics during labor--never mind the fact that Strep B comes and goes and can be negative at 35 weeks and positive at birth.

Doesn't make much sense, does it?
 
Neither extreme is good, in my opinion--unless there is some medical or religious reason for children to remain unvaccinated. Personally, I'm not anti-vaccine; I'm anti-toxin and anti-schedule. We do vaccinate, but do so on a delayed schedule (and skip a couple altogether). I believe that certain vaccines given at certain times, and too many vaccines given at one time, can be harmful, but I won't skip vaccinations all together. I also don't believe that vaccine manufacturers and those making the vaccine schedule, like the CDC and the AAP, have our best interests at heart. I've come to believe that much of it has to do with corporations, stakeholders, government, liability, and money. Lots and lots of money.

I don't trust anyone as much as I trust myself and my instincts when it comes to what's best for my children. It doesn't matter how many experts tell me that the current vaccine schedule is safe, that the toxins in vaccines are given in such minuscule amounts it doesn't matter, etc., etc. At this point I'm confident enough to base my decisions on what I've learned as a layperson and my instincts as a mother, as well as my own common sense. I don't like when people cite studies because I've learned that unless the studies are conducted completely independently, they can be skewed to say pretty much anything (did you hear that cloth diapers are as bad for the environment as disposables are? Do you know who conducted that study? Procter & Gamble. As in, the Pampers and Luvs manufacturer).

Most doctors I speak to on this subject give me the standard answers, or offer statistics which really mean nothing--because my children are not numbers on a page. But have these doctors actually done any research themselves? Doubtful. They are repeating what they have been told, which is insufficient at best.

There are those "experts" that will tell you that as an average parent, you know nothing and should trust scientists and those who have gone to medical school (as if that makes anyone smarter in and of itself). But did you know that parents, just regular old laypeople with no medical or scientific background, are responsible for ensuring that future generations are not harmed by vaccines as their children were? It was one such group of determined parents in the 90s that finally got the US to stop using mercury in new vaccines and phase it out of current ones.

What we know as DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and a-cellular pertussis, known as whooping cough) used to be DTP (which was the full pertussis virus as opposed to it being split), and children became ill and died as a result. It was the great and exhausting efforts put forth by parents decades ago that forced the hand of those in charge and made them look at the vaccine and realize it was harmful.
 
Not related to vaccines, the plight of Augusto and Michaela Odone, as portrayed in the film Lorenzo's Oil, again highlights what can happen when parents take advocating for their children to another level. These two parents took matters into their own hands and made medical advancements that were extraordinary, to say the least. Neither of them was a doctor or scientist.

Lastly, I avoid mainstream parenting sources for advice on vaccinating. Dr. Paul Offit and the AAP are quoted in publications like Parents Magazine, promoting the safety of vaccines. And then, a little digging finds the following:

"The vaccine industry gives millions to the Academy of Pediatrics for conferences, grants, medical education classes and even helped build their headquarters. The totals are kept secret, but public documents reveal bits and pieces.

A $342,000 payment from Wyeth, maker of the pneumococcal vaccine - which makes $2 billion a year in sales.

A $433,000 contribution from Merck, the same year the academy endorsed Merck's HPV vaccine - which made $1.5 billion a year in sales.

Another top donor: Sanofi Aventis, maker of 17 vaccines and a new five-in-one combo shot just added to the childhood vaccine schedule last month. Every Child By Two, a group that promotes early immunization for all children, admits the group takes money from the vaccine industry, too - but wouldn't tell us how much. A spokesman told CBS News: "There are simply no conflicts to be unearthed." But guess who's listed as the group's treasurers: Officials from Wyeth and a paid advisor to big pharmaceutical clients.

Then there's Paul Offit, perhaps the most widely-quoted defender of vaccine safety. He's gone so far as to say babies can tolerate "10,000 vaccines at once." This is how Offit described himself in a previous interview: "I'm the chief of infectious disease at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of pediatrics at Penn's medical school," he said. Offit was not willing to be interviewed on this subject but like others in this CBS News investigation, he has strong industry ties. In fact, he's a vaccine industry insider. Offit holds in a $1.5 million dollar research chair at Children's Hospital, funded by Merck. He holds the patent on an anti-diarrhea vaccine he developed with Merck, Rotateq, which has prevented thousands of hospitalizations. And future royalties for the vaccine were just sold for $182 million cash. Dr. Offit's share of vaccine profits? Unknown.

There's nothing illegal about the financial relationships, but to critics, they pose a serious risk for conflicts of interest. As one member of Congress put it, money from the pharmaceutical industry can shape the practices of those who hold themselves out to be "independent." The American Academy of Pediatrics, Every Child By Two and Dr. Offit would not agree to interviews, but all told us they're up front about the money they receive, and it doesn't sway their opinions. Today's immunization schedule now calls for kids to get 55 doses of vaccines by age 6. Ideally, it makes for a healthier society. But critics worry that industry ties could impact the advice given to the public about all those vaccines."

Below are some of my sources.  

Dr. Sears' Vaccine Book has got useful, factual information, is constantly updated with the latest things you need to know, and has some alternate vaccine schedules for those who don't want to follow the AAP schedule.

Evidence of Harm is an excellent book to read. It goes into the fight parents led against mercury in vaccines in the 90s. Eye opening regarding our government and its agencies, and where their priorities lie.

This is a great site, established in part by the parents highlighted in the book above. 

Another good book is What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations. It's been fairly recently (2010) updated and its got information on vaccine ingredients, etc., that I did not find anywhere else.

You can also pick up two books by Jenny McCarthy--Louder Than Words, and Mother Warriors. I know she seems like an unlikely author on the subject, and she's been made fun of quite a bit. She's not unintelligent, however, and I found her books extremely helpful and riveting.

The most important thing to remember is that the choice is, and should be, yours. Make your own decision, but make it an informed one, no matter which side of the coin you fall on. 

Planning the Family Meals

I still remember the first food shopping trip I took when I moved in with my now husband. It was our first time living without our parents, and we spent over $200 and bought everything and anything. I don't remember what we bought, but I remember the feeling of excitement and promise, the awesome fact that we could buy and prepare whatever food we wanted, for the first time ever!

Fast forward a few years. With us working full-time, demanding jobs, our meal times consisted of whatever was quickest. I bought pretty much the same food every week, and I can't tell you how much stuff I ended up throwing out over the course of a couple of years--meat that had been in the freezer for months, rotting fruit and vegetables, and stale bread.

At some point, right before I got pregnant with my first child, I realized that we had to make a change in the way we ate. We started with wholesome, non-processed ingredients. We brought healthy lunches to work instead of going to the local eateries. We were on a good road, but once we threw children into the mix eating mindfully and healthily became more of a challenge.

I needed to make a change, and so I decided to start planning my family's meals--dinner especially. I plan my meals for a week and then I shop accordingly. I've done this now for over five years, and it has made such an immense difference in all of our lives. For one, absolutely nothing goes bad or goes to waste, since I only buy whatever I need for what I'm cooking. Second, I'm not left scrambling to throw something together at 6:30; having a plan ensures that we are getting a good meal every single day.

I don't use a website for help, but I write down each meal and the day I'm going to make it, and put the list on the fridge. Since we run around a lot during the week, I plan my meals around whatever each day's activities are. For example, on the days where we have after school activities, I make a stew, casserole, lasagna, or something in the slow cooker (basically anything that can be made ahead of time), so that when we get home we can get straight to eating.

I make the meal schedule flexible so that if something changes, I can easily swap out meals from one day to the next. Sometimes things come up and I'm unable to cook, or we eat out unexpectedly, so I adjust the schedule and often carry meals from one week to the next. So that things don't go bad, I look at my meals and make the ones that use fresh produce first, so that I'm not stuck with rotting food in the fridge. And if there's a meal that requires advance preparation, like marinating or defrosting, I will make a note for myself on my meal schedule list. I look at my meal schedule every morning, and take out meat to defrost, if any.

To keep things a little simple, I make every Wednesday roast chicken night. I roast a chicken with some variation, with a different side every week. This is the kids' favorite meal--especially the crispy chicken skin. I save the bones and any leftover chicken meat and make a mean chicken soup, either later in the week or the week after. Our favorite is chicken soup with celery, carrots, and egg noodles. We have breakfast for dinner every other Thursday (also another favorite). I make gluten free waffles or pancakes, sometimes with home potatoes or bacon, and sometimes a frittata. Once I find a good gluten free pizza crust recipe, I'm going to incorporate a pizza night into our week, as well.


It takes me around an hour to meal plan and shop for groceries. I shop for my groceries at Costco, where I buy most of our staples like milk, cereal, sugar, snacks, etc., and also on FreshDirect.com, a grocery delivery service in NYC. The online service really helps in terms of managing my time, because it takes a lot less time than going to a supermarket would. That's not to say I don't shop in grocery stores and supermarkets. And I can't wait for my local farmers market, which starts in June.

Planning meals is about more than just convenience. I'm in the middle of reading "French Kids Eat Everything," and learning about how the French view food and mealtimes has re-inspired me to let my kids help me out in the kitchen, for more than just baking cookies. Two nights ago Sofia helped me make Asian-style shrimp with rice noodles and not only did she want to try every single thing as we were making it, once we sat down to eat, she finished every bite and declared the meal the best she's ever had. I love the stress that planning ahead alleviates for me and I love that I can take the extra time to spend in the kitchen with my children.

Does your family plan their meals ahead of time? If not, are you inspired to start?

10 Days in the Loony Bin--or, Spring Break 2013

Ah, spring break. For NYC public school kids,  it's an unusually long one this year. Seven whole school days off.

As with any major break, I made a plan for what we were doing each day. This way we make the most of the break and we don't spend too much time idle, which starts to drive us all crazy after a while. We are in the middle of our spring break right now, except we haven't done anything on our itinerary, because my two older kids are sick, and the little one has consistent diarrhea (yum. Aren't you glad you're reading this?). No one is seriously ill, just low grade fevers and yucky cold symptoms. But it's enough to keep us quarantined for a few days.

When you're stuck inside with three sick kids, you can get tunnel vision and forget that life exists outside of what's happening right now (which for us thus far has been: fever. Barf. Sneezing. Coughing. Diarrhea. Repeat). I'm all for a little "mommy needs a cocktail" humor, but as I've found myself actually needing a cocktail the last few days, I've decided that I need to change my outlook and my attitude. And I've realized there are many reasons that I'm grateful to be stuck inside with my sick kiddos.

For one, we are getting to spend an inordinate amount of time together. There are tough moments throughout the day, but I genuinely miss my two older kids when they're in school, and it's been so nice to have them at home. They're funny, smart, and endearing, and the days are never dull when they're around. The wonderful way they play together makes up for the amount of fights I have to break up between them. I love hearing them play on their own, too--just yesterday there was about an hour where they were each completely engrossed on their own made up worlds, playing separate imaginative games.

It's also been great not having to run around anywhere. None of our regular classes are running because of the break anyway, but we had social engagements scheduled that would have definitely necessitated that we be up and out the door at a certain time. We have an incredible amount of activities during the school week. In my quest to enrich my children's lives, I run the risk of doing too much. Sometimes it seems as if we never stop running. Much as we love our friends and activities, it's been a relief not having to *be* anywhere but here this week.

The baby has diarrhea, yes--but at least she's still safely in the land of diapers, which means that I don't have to do much except change her. OK, I have to change her three times an hour, but the other plus is that since she's in cloth diapers, all I have to do is wash them--no running to the store for more disposables. Bonus!

When life gives us lemons, we make crafts. We have a whole host of crafting activities that we've been saving for a rainy day, and now we have a week of rainy days! Both the older kids adore crafts and they're always so proud of their creations.

Since I don't have to rush around in the morning, I've shaved my legs twice this week! Yes--my legs do not resemble those of a grizzly bear's. You may not care, but I assure you my husband does. (The older kids watched a show this morning and V hung in the bathroom with me while I showered. Judge me, I don't care. My legs are smooth).

Being home, I've had a chance to do some self-evaluation. The last few months have been a challenge, and admittedly, I haven't been handling the adversity well (see cocktail comment above). I've had plenty of time to think and regroup. Things aren't going to get easier. I just have to adjust my expectations, my reactions and parent my children with love, respect, and remain connected to them, even when things are running amok. I'm grateful to have had the restful time I've needed to make those realizations. There's still a whole week of the break left. I'm still in good health, and will hopefully remain that way--though now that I've pointed it out, I will probably get the plague tomorrow.

If I don't, however, this means that we have plenty of time to get out of the house, see our friends, and go to the park. And when the crazy hustle and bustle starts again next week, I know I will miss these few days when we just hung around and did nothing.

Because sometimes, we need to do just that.

24 Hours of Crazy

I was inspired by Valerie's post on 24 hours at her house, and decided to do it, too. I did it both for writing purposes and because I thought it would be a nice way to document this time in our lives.

Like Valerie, I picked a day (Tuesday of this week) and stuck with it, and let me tell you, the day turned out to be a doozy! Ok, here we go!

6:15 am -- I get out of bed to try and try to coax my ten month old daughter back to sleep. She's been up twice already. My husband has been trying to get her settled but needs to start getting ready for work. I wrap her up, lay her on her belly, and softly pat her back, and within a couple of minutes her even, deep breathing tells me she's out for the count. I run back to bed and try to snooze for the next ten minutes. Instead, my mind races with thoughts of said ten month old's first birthday party.

6:30 am -- Up and at 'em. I'm really tired. I make my bed while my husband and I discuss reasons not to have any more children (not sleeping through the night is at the top of the list). I take a shower.

6:46 am -- I gulp down coffee while browsing Facebook on my iPad. I try not to get agitated over various online dribble.

6:55 am -- I have to get dressed.

7:01 am -- My stomach hurts. Too much caffeine and aspirin. Taking so much migraine medication inhibits my stomach's processing of acid, making it build up and cause great pain. Must make smoothie before school so that my stomach is not empty.

7:03 am -- Kids are up. Well, Sofia is, anyway. She's scared of the hissing of the heater in her room so she's anxious to get out of bed. I look at Alex and he just buries his head under his blankets.

7:11 am -- Sofia makes her case for a treat after breakfast. She's unbelievably cute and endearing, until she hears no, and then she turns into a screaming banshee. Thankfully the baby sleeps through the ruckus.

7:26 am -- Request that kids get dressed. Alex obliges, Sofia protests very loudly, finally managing to wake Victoria. My husband changes her diaper before he leaves for work.

7:36 am -- Time for my husband to go. I cling to his leg and beg him not to leave me alone with the savages. He must go and I bay at the window as he walks away from the house. Sigh.

7:42 am -- I fix Sofia's hair with a style I found on Pinterest. She looks so adorable that I almost forget her morning screaming.

7:47 am -- I dry my hair while Alex brushes his teeth. He has been very reasonable this morning. He finishes and then calls Sofia in to brush. I love my big kid.

7:50 am -- I catch Victoria's fingers under the toilet seat lid. She screams. At the same time I battle and plead with Sofia to brush her teeth. I'm not going to have time to make the smoothie. I'm getting stressed.

7:55 am -- I make the smoothie after all! The kids are fascinated, with the older two asking me lots of questions about the ingredients (banana, strawberries, honey, cinnamon, and yogurt).

8:01 am -- Oh my lord, we are ready too early! (As I realize later, the relatively smooth morning was a bad sign of things to come. Haha.) I take the time to give extra hugs, and Alex tells me a story about how someone in his class ripped one of his books.

8:08 am -- On our way to school, Alex helps Sofia put something in her coat pocket, and we all hold hands all the way down the block. I have a moment of pure happiness.

8:17 am -- I helicopter parent Sofia through a small conflict with a classmate while waiting for the Pre-K teacher. As soon as I step away, they resolve it on their own.

8:20 am -- Arrive at PTA office. There's lots to do and discuss. I do some computer clean-up.

10:45 am -- As Sofia comes out at dismissal her teacher says she needs to talk to me. Uh oh. I question Sofia but she seems happy enough, so I try not to worry.

10:55 am -- I listen while the Pre-K teacher describes a minor playground incident. I strongly dislike her approach and I proceed to become irate and remind the teacher that the kids are only four and will make mistakes. I question Sofia once again but all I get are inane mumblings. I am rude to the teacher and yank Sofia out of the building.

11:05 am -- I make it about half way down the block before turning around, going back to the school, and asking to speak to the Assistant Principal. I am furious and complain about Sofia's teacher. The Assistant Principal graciously listens and assures me she will take care of it.

11:17 am -- I find alternate side of the street parking quickly, and I call my husband and yell endlessly about school incident.

12:06 pm -- At home, I feel bad about being rude to Sofia's teacher. She's a nice woman, she means well. I worry neurotically about possible consequences.

12:45 pm -- Sofia is down for her nap and I settle in to nurse Victoria. She is playful and at first I resist, anxious to get her to sleep, but I finally give in to her antics and I begin to feel better. I finally put her down around 1:30.

2:24 pm -- I want a latte. I break out our DeLonghi.

2:26 pm -- I briefly consider running for a position with the Education Council of my school district. Temporary insanity ends and I bookmark it for next year.

2:36 pm -- Victoria is up and inconsolable. I hold her for a bit but it's time to wake up Sofia so I can get her dance outfit on and pick up Alex from school, so I have to put Victoria down. She crawls after me screaming at the top of her lungs.

2:55 pm -- We are running late and Sofia refuses to do anything but stand and cry. She tries to put on her dance tights but they are inside out, and she also has to go to the bathroom. I pull her tights off, run her to the bathroom and put her on the potty, while Victoria follows, crawling and crying. I finally get Sofia dressed, Victoria into her winter suit, and I load myself up like a donkey.

3:02 pm -- I am going down the outside stairs of my house, wearing the baby, carrying a diaper bag and one other bag, and holding the stroller. Sofia is behind me. I'm rushing and don't look where I'm going, and I completely miss the last three steps. I twist my ankle and fall down on my butt. Hard. I can't get up. I'm in complete blinding pain and I'm afraid my ankle is broken. I think about Alex waiting for me in the school courtyard. Sofia panics and begins to cry. $!&@$!#%*"!!!!! Thankfully, Victoria is still snug in her Pikkolo and completely unaware that anything is happening. Moment of happiness--not quite.

3:15 pm -- I've managed to get up, strap Sofia into the stroller, and make it to get Alex on time. My foot is numb at first and then begins to get hot and tingly. We are already outside so I decide to go ahead and walk the 20 blocks to Sofia's dance class. I stop at CVS for a heated pad and an ACE bandage.

3:57 pm -- While Sofia twirls in the next room, I regale friends at dance class with colorful stories of the day's events. Victoria practices her new walking skills. She eats tiny pieces of popcorn off the floor before I can limp over to her to take them. I try with futility to get Alex to sit and do his homework--he just wants to play with the other older siblings of the little dancers.

4:45 pm -- My husband walks in and he is a sight for sore eyes. I show him my now horribly swollen ankle and garner some sympathy. He's left work early and has brought the car to drive us home. While he snuggles Victoria I have a chance to sit with Alex and talk about his day in detail. We hug and I feel happy.

5:33 pm -- We are home and I am resting my very painful ankle. I sit with my iPad and decide that I want to run for the Education Council after all. I complete the application while chaos ensues all around me--Victoria is tugging at my leg looking to nurse, Alex and Sofia are fighting endlessly. The fact that I can't freely get up and do stuff is maddening. Crap, we still need to eat dinner.

6:37 pm -- My mom is over for a visit and I hobble around the kitchen trying to get dinner together. Various children are underfoot, making me anxious. I worry about tripping over someone and hurting myself further. I blame my helpful husband for anything I can think of. Sigh.

7:48 pm -- Dinner is an hour late but we are all eating. Alex scarfs down his spaghetti and one whole meatball (actually made from cannellini beans). Sofia pokes, stirs, mashes, and then declares she's not happy with the meal. We invoke the five bite rule and she's done.

8:48 pm -- My mom reads a book to Sofia while Alex reads his school library book and I nurse Victoria on the couch. Another good moment to cherish.

9:00 pm -- Kids are in bed, 45 minutes late. Damn my stupid sprained ankle.

9:30 pm -- I'm nursing Victoria but I can't get comfortable. Our new sofa is hard and it hurts my butt. I finally give in and lay down, and fall asleep nursing.

12:55 am -- My husband helps me get to bed. I can't put any weight on my ankle. Everything gets dark and my ears start ringing really loudly and I feel like I'm going to pass out. I make it to the bed where I lay feeling cold and clammy.

3:23 am -- Victoria is up to nurse. She goes back to sleep without much fuss and I am grateful.

5:05 am -- Victoria is up again. I'm hoping my husband can settle her but her cries pierce through the early morning silence and he brings her over to nurse. She is cute and cuddly and we sleep side by side for the rest of the morning. Another good moment.

6:15 am -- I have hardly slept because of the pain from my damn ankle. My husband is spending the day working from home and he will take the kids in to school. Thank goodness, because when I try to get up I feel like I am going to pass out again. Boy, what a 24 hours it has been!

***

My ankle is painful, bruised and swollen, but hopefully just a bad sprain. I hope I can hobble my kids over to school for the next few days.

Letters From My Son

My son is almost eight and loves to read and write. As soon as he was able to read on his own I started to leave him notes in his lunchbox every so often; at first, he would just read them, but then he started writing back, and now, we've gotten into full fledged correspondence.

Each phase of parenthood brings joy, challenges, and plenty of unexpected developments. I did not expect note-writing to be part of the relationship between my son and I, but I'm so glad it is. I hope it continues well into adolescence and adulthood. Following are some of his more memorable expressions in writing.

This is one of the first notes he wrote to me. Things I love about this:

a) It's clear and to the point.

b) It's a run-on sentence.

c) It's all one word.

 

***

This is from Kindergarten. The spelling is atrocious and part of the whole "sound words out" approach of the NY school system, whether they be spelled correctly or not (which I hate, but that's another blog post), so it's translated below.

"I called out 2 times I got out of my seat 1 time I talked 2 times" This means he knows he's going to be in trouble...

"But you are still the best mommy ever and I still love you." So basically, I still rule. Or, he just wants to avoid the trouble.

***

Ok, technically this isn't a note; it's a drawing. But I enjoy the fact that his love for me is so strong it demanded its own exclamation point.

 

***

I hate migraines. But I love the fact that they produce this:

 (I love you mommy I hope you feel better I love you so much)

***

That's right. He gets to go on vacation, all. Because. Of. ME.

***

Yup, you heard it here. My kid thinks I should be President, y'all! Cunningham 2016!

Also, I organize things very nicely.

***

I just love his use of the slash in this one.

Adorable/hysterical.

***

This made me laugh so hard. I had to really hold it in when I had to give him the note back.

***

Lest you thought it was all fun and games around here, I am apparently not perfect. Clearly, my humor is lost on my child.

He will be a very good supervisor some day. He already knows to start with the positive feedback and then politely give some constructive criticism.

***

"Green all day" means that he was good in school (they have a color system--green, yellow, orange, red). 

Also, I am a number one mom. You know, in case there was every any doubt.

***

I intend to keep all the notes and turn them into a scrapbook. It's amazing to see my son's writing develop over the last couple of years. When he gets older I'd like to get us a correspondence notebook where we can communicate on a regular basis through writing; it really is a wonderful thing. I read an article once where a mother was discussing all the things she and her daughter shared through writing that she doesn't know would have been communicated otherwise.

Dear Alex, I love you.

Out Of The Mouths of Babes

My kids make me laugh. A lot. Sometimes it's a giggle, and sometimes a guffaw.

As maddening as some moments can be, I often find myself laughing in the midst of the chaos. I love conversing with my kids, and the way they see the world is innocent, honest, and interesting.

Following are some of the funniest things they have said recently (at least the ones I've been able to write down. Things move fast around here!). Some are silly, some are gross, and some are just melt your heart sweet.

*Sofia falls, screams*
Me: "Are you ok?!"
Sofia: "No! I broke my ankle!"
Me: "Where does it hurt?"
Sofia: *Points to her elbow*

Alex: "Mommy, when I grow up, I can't wait to get a job where you can cut people up and see what's inside them."

Alex: "I want to plant an apple tree."
Me: "I want to plant a lemon tree."
Sofia: "I want to plant a lollipop tree!"

Alex: "You say no to everything, except the things you say yes to. You say more no than yes, and I don't like it. I'm having a horrible life."

Me: *Sings to Adele on the radio*
Alex: "Mommy, are you singing?"
Me: "Yes."
Alex: "I can't tell, 'cause you sound just like the lady on the radio."
Me: ♥ ♥ ♥"

Sofia: "I hurt my butt! Somebody kiss it! Somebody kiss my butt!"

Sofia: "Mommy, this puzzle is hard, I can't do it. I need my brudder."

Alex: "Daddy is really good at making frozen stuff, because all he has to do is put it in the oven."

Sofia: "What's that smell? It smells like kangaroos."

Sofia: "A birdie! They make me happy. I want to catch one someday."

Sofia, looking at a book: "What is this boy doing?"
Me: "Climbing on the monkey bars."
Sofia: "But, he can't, because they're for monkeys."

Me: "What's that smell? It smells like rotten garbage."
Sofia: "Maybe it smells like Daddy."

Sofia: "Buuuurp."
Husband: "That's gross! You should say excuse me."
Sofia: "You should shave your butt."

Sofia, after I playfully smacked her butt: "That's my private part. Stop touching my butt or I'm going to poop on you."

Alex: "Mommy, XXXX is my girlfriend. We're going to get married and move to Paris."
Me: "Oh yeah? Do you know what it means to marry someone?"
Alex: "Yes. It means that you love them. I want to work. Not now, when I grow up."
Me: "What do you want to do for your job?"
Alex: "I don't know yet. I don't know what kinds of jobs they have in Paris."

Me: "I love you."
Sofia: "Thank you."

Sofia: "You're the greatest Alex in the whole world!"
Alex: "Thank you."

Sofia, after spinning around for five minutes: "Mommy, our house is moving."

Sofia: "Mommy, the sky is blue and it looks like water."

Alex, wearing goggles: "Mommy, I have gargles."

Compiling this list has reminded me of all the things my kids have said that I *haven't* had the chance to document. I'll be sure to start writing things down again.

Do your children make you laugh?

The Irony of Natural Living

Green, natural and holistic living are things that are very important to my family. These mean different things for different people, but for us, it means, among other things, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, alternative medicine, pesticide free and organic eating, and chemical free cleaning, toys, and personal care.

Since "natural living" is now a trend, there seems to be no shortage of "green," "holistic," and "natural" foods and products on the market. That's no surprise--our consumerist society ensures that if there is a demand, manufacturers will supply. What is startling is just how much it can cost to "live naturally;" which seems counter intuitive, since one of the general ideas of living naturally is to use less; and one would think that natural products, whether they be toys, cosmetics, or cleaning products, since they are more straightforward in their contents, would be cheaper. Right? Wrong.

Before I begin, let me say that I'm in no way criticizing anyone who buys these products. After all, I've bought or buy many of them myself. I'm not denying that many of these things enhance my life or make certain aspects more entertaining and enjoyable, but if I'm looking at need vs. want, and I'm being really honest with myself, the vast majority fall into the want category.

This is a commentary on the consumerist trap that we seem to fall into despite our best efforts. Sometimes it feels like we're being brainwashed to think that we absolutely need all these different products as if our survival or happiness depends on it. Buy what you will, but do it because you want to, not because someone out there has convinced you that you cannot do without it.  It's also a commentary on the obscene mark ups on natural products and organic food. 

Speaking of food, it seems incredibly unfair that the organic stuff costs so much more than its conventional counterpart, almost every time. Just last week, I purchased organic frozen peas for $2.99 (10 oz box). That's a whole dollar more than the regular frozen peas. I paid $4.50 for one, one, organic red bell pepper.

I read a factual, sobering article on GMOs this past week, and it couldn't have come at a worse time for me. The new year has brought with it a need and a desire for our household to budget--and unfortunately that includes buying less organic food, because it's simply not feasible 100% of the time for our large family. We polish off things like grapes, apples, and berries at record speed around here. The unfair pricing of organic food seems even more unfair to me now, since eating organic is the number one way to reduce your consumption of GMOs.

As for personal care, a bottle of Burt's Bees Baby Wash will set me back $9.99 (and believe me, I know that Burt's Bees is not even the most natural wash out there). If I wanted to go really natural, California Baby would cost me a whopping $19.99 (for less ounces than the Burt's Bees).

When it comes to natural cleaners, I've found that the more natural they claim to be, the more they cost. I have a few favorite brands, but oftentimes my budget doesn't allow me the luxury of buying them. I ran out of dish washing liquid and I got one the natural brands at my local grocery store that cost me a ridiculous (overpriced) $4.99. That 99 cent container of bright orange Joy looks really appealing in those moments. Laundry detergent is also pricey, and with a family of five, those costs can really add up.

So what's a natural living gal to do? Well, a few things. First, I've limited my organic food purchases to the Dirty Dozen (for the most part, unless there is a really good sale on something organic that isn't on the list). This makes me incredibly sad, but it's the only way we can continue to eat healthily and not dip into our kids' college funds to pay our grocery bill (I jest. Mostly.).

I've also started shopping in bulk. I apologize, Mother Earth, but as there are four people using our commode (and will be five in a couple years' time), I simply cannot justify spending more than a dollar on a *single* roll of recycled toilet paper (which, I might add, is not the softest stuff around. No fluffy bouncing little bear on that packaging). I bought a huge bag of toilet paper from Costco that worked out to something like 30 cents a roll. Also at Costco are organic apples, organic carrots, and organic whole chickens. Who knew? They also have their own brand of organic pantry and canned items (a 9 pack of organic chopped tomato cans for around $6!!).

I make as much of what we use as I can from scratch, from food to cleaners. As I talked about here, DIY cleaning products are dirt cheap and so easy to make. There are certain things, like dish washing liquid and laundry detergent, that I won't make on my own because I find that they don't clean as well as the manufactured stuff, but maybe it's just a matter of finding the right formula. I will keep looking! Making most of my own every day cleaners allows me to have the budget to splurge on the good stuff for my dishes and clothes (imagine--being able to use products not loaded with carcinogens is a "splurge!" Oh, the irony...). The Naturally Clean Home is a great book with 150 recipes for green cleaning.

As a family, we are consuming less. Not food, but everything else. We were once again blessed to have a happy, healthy, and bountiful holiday season. We all gave and received lovely gifts. And now, that's done. We've limited material purchases to must-have only (with an occasional blip here and there, we are human, after all!), and instead are focusing on things we can do. We've also made a commitment to purchasing and consuming less for subsequent holidays and birthdays. For me, having a budget has actually allowed me to become more creative and I'm rather enjoying coming up with ways to have a great time while being thriftier.

I didn't touch on toys above, but I adore cloth and wooden toys for my children. I do not adore their prices. It is an exercise in restraint and self control to go for the one nice toxin-free wooden toy than the five lead-laden made-in-China-ones. I took out my middle daughter's beautiful wooden toys from storage (which my youngest daughter is now using), and felt a great sense of satisfaction that though they are few, they are lovely and useful. I'm not against plastic toys and will certainly purchase them at some point. But I'm going for quality vs. quantity. 

Finally, I shop at discount retailers online. As much as I love going local and do so whenever I can, the online retailers really have the advantage on this one. Sites like Vitacost and Oompa Toys are instrumental in my being able to continue providing my family with products that aren't filled with chemicals and toxins.

These are a few of the things that have made a difference for my family. How do you live the natural life on a budget?

"French Kids Eat Everything," and now my kids do, too

If you know me well, you know that much of my life revolves around food. Not only do I love eating food, I love preparing it, I love cooking it, baking it, and thinking about it. I plan my week's meals ahead of time, and I buy groceries according to what I'm cooking that week. If there's a holiday coming up, watch out--cookies and other baked goods leave my kitchen with stupendous speed. I love planning holiday meals and meals for special occasions. I make 95% of what we eat from scratch; and I'm damn proud of it. I buy local and organic as much as possible, and love cooking and mastering different cuisines.

This is why it's so difficult for me to admit my dirty little secret: up until two weeks ago, my kids didn't eat dinner with my husband and I. As in, not at the same time, and not the same meal.

This isn't the case for any other meals. We eat breakfast together, and there are no special or separate orders prepared. Lunch is a freebie--we eat what we want, unless we go out or unless I'm making something special. Our snacks are pretty much universal--having next to zero processed food in our house means we all munch on fruit, nuts, and the like. So why the dinner disconnect?

My son was a really picky eater (still is). I learned pretty quickly that it was easier to serve up chicken nuggets (organic ones with whole wheat breadcrumbs!) or pizza (Amy's Organic! I swear!), or pasta with sauce (organic too!) rather than fight with him about eating what I was serving up for my husband and I. I was insanely neurotic about my son going hungry--I figured through giving him what he liked, at least he would eat, and then eventually he would join us in our meals.

With my middle daughter, I was determined make a change. I made all her baby food and started feeding her "table food" as soon as she would have it. However, eventually I fell into the same trap I did with my son. The "kid meals" were easier; faster; and my children loved sitting and eating together. My kids would eat dinner around 5:30; my husband and I, 6:30 or later. I reasoned that this made sense because I didn't want them eating too close to their milk and bedtime. I didn't want them going hungry, waiting for my husband and I to eat. This was a good thing. Until it wasn't.

Inevitably, the food battles with my daughter began around age 3, as they had with my son. This made me realize that food battles are not about food, but about control. Whereas my daughter was eating eclectic meals just weeks before, now she was turning her nose up at seemingly everything. We began arguing at every sit down meal.

After a year of my kids rotating through the same four things for dinner, I finally had enough this past Christmas. Faced with another round of holidays where our children would not join in the family feast, I decided that was it. I didn't make a huge deal about it, but I told my kids that there was not going to be any more frozen pizza, frozen chicken, grilled cheese sandwiches, or pasta with sauce and cheese (unless it was what we were all planning on eating).

You know what? This was one of the easiest transitions I have ever made with my children. It's amazing how, when there are no other options, the kids will just eat what's there! They don't always finish, and that's ok, but they are ingesting things I never thought would be possible.

You may be reading this and laughing, or thinking "No duh, genius," but if you aren't, I have some good tips for you that are working for us. I recently came across a blog post about a book called "French Kids Eat Everything," and though I haven't read the book yet (it's on my reading list!), in it there is a list of ten unwritten French rules on eating with children that I think are fantastic. If I may pat myself on the back here, I'm happy to say that once we started the family dinner meal, we used all of these rules before we knew they existed. Once again, you may be thinking that this is simply common sense and what's the big deal? But if you're not, here are the rules, and my take on each.

1. Parents: YOU are in charge of food education! This is absolutely true, and something we take very seriously in our home. We talk about food a lot, where it comes from, how it's prepared, and when our local farmer's market starts up, we attend as a family as much as possible. I know that when my kids get older they'll eat stuff that's bad, but as long as what they eat is under my control, I will work as hard as I can to influence them in a positive way. Growing up, my mom cooked simple, delicious meals with wholesome ingredients, and though I went through a heavy McDonald's phase in my late teens and early twenties, my mom's way of cooking and treating food was instrumental in the way I feel about food and eating, and what ultimately brought me back from the Dark Side.

2. Avoid emotional eating: No food rewards or bribes. This is difficult, but ultimately is for the best. I use food as a reward or a bribe only when everything else in my arsenal is exhausted. I've started offering a cookie not as a bribe, but more as something to look forward to once the meal is finished. I've also started avoiding saying, "If you don't finish your dinner, you're not getting a cookie, etc." It's helping a lot, and the kids eat simply because its time to eat!

3. Parents schedule meals and menus, and kids eat what adults eat. Hooray! This is one I'm most proud of, and while I've done the meal planning for years, we are finally eating the same food! Someone give me a cookie!

4. Eat family meals together. Probably my favorite part of this transition, I love sitting down with everyone, kids included. The mealtime conversations we are having are wonderful. As for my youngest daughter, we've started giving her tiny morsels of whatever we are eating, at every meal. She's fallen into place, just like that! It's ok if this means that the kids go to bed a bit later some nights. Family meal time is so much more important.

5. Eat your veggies (think variety). We are all about the vegetables here. At least one veggie accompanies every meal, and I love to cook vegetarian and vegan meals. I'm so excited to share these with the kids.

6. You don't have to like it, but you have to taste it. This is exactly what it sounds like. We put every component of our meal on our kids' plates, and they have to try it before they say they don't want it. They both tried and loved red bell peppers. They tried and hated fingerling potatoes. Next week I'm making cauliflower!

7. No snacking! It's ok to feel hungry between meals. This is absolutely true in the hour or two before dinner, but if we are out and about and not planning to eat until we get home, you can bet the snacks are out in full swing, especially if we have to wait somewhere or have a long ride ahead of us. I'm not sure if the book is nixing all snacking or just close-to-dinnertime snacking, but either way, we have to adapt these rules so they make sense for our family. Snacks have saved my hide more times than I can count. I never leave home without them.

8. Slow food is happy food--as in, eat slow. This is a work in progress for us. I eat like someone is chasing me because frankly, someone usually is (to nurse, or read a book, or wipe a butt). Now that we are eating together, since we are all engaged in the same activity, it's easier to slow down. But I still need to remind myself to do it! My husband and I both also have a bad habit of rushing our kids while they eat. Work in progress.

9. Eat mostly real food. Another area where we do well, as stated above--I make nearly everything we eat from scratch. It's wonderful to be able to share my love of fresh ingredients and good-for-you food with our children.

10. Remember, eating is joyful. Relax! Now that we are all eating dinner together, I can't believe it took us this long, and can't imagine it any other way. It's so awesome hearing my kids exclaim over parts of the meal they love and ask questions about what everything is. They wander in the kitchen while I am cooking and ask what we are having, and look forward to what new thing they are going to try (for the most part. Middle daughter was not enthused about trying the fingerling potatoes). I'm so excited to instill in my children my love of food and cooking.

Does your family eat all meals together?