Diary of a Single Mom on the Edge

boo!

Not that we tend to do things at the last minute around here, but here are our jack o'lanterns, which finally got converted from mere pumpkins last night.  Hijo had originally picked the larger pumpkin (direct from Grandpa's garden!), but once he remembered the chore of cleaning out the insides, he opted for the smaller version and then chose to give it three eyes.  Despite this ocular deviance from tradition, he is still fond of the triangle-for-a-nose concept.

I overestimated my own carving abilities, not to mention the sharpness of our cutting utensils, and therefore picked a rather elaborate design, the carving of which proved a tad bit frustrating.  I might have used the "s" word inadvertently when the pointy part of a tooth got chopped off.  I am normally not so frustrated by Halloween-based art, but it was coming up on nine o'clock and I'd had a stressful day at work, followed by a beautifully prepared but rather labor intensive dinner, and I really was no longer capable of much in the way of productive enterprise.

Today will involve the buying-of-the-candy part of the Halloween tradition, which will involve me highly overestimating the amount of Reese's peanut butter cups that we need in order that I might have a stash of them to munch on guiltily but happily over the next several days.  Then we have the trying-on-of-the-costume part of this yearly ritual, which almost inevitably ends up with us discovering--again at the last minute--that some vital part of the ensemble is missing.  In the city, this sort of thing was usually pretty easily remidied.  I shudder to think what fate might befall us if we are lacking in something that one can't find in a small town at 7pm on October 30th.

All of this rigamarole is merely a way to avoid saying that I am actually a bit sad this Halloween season.  An acquaintance of mine here in town, someone whom I am getting to know but am not close to, whose kids Hijo plays with regularly, has just lost her mom.  Those kids have lost their grandma.  And that is simply too scary to think about.

saturday at the farmer's market with hijo

Things we bought:

• loganberry honey
• hard cider
• fresh ravioli with spinach and cheese
• Trailhead cheese
• Pane d'Amore Bakery's organic seven-grain bread

Things we ate or drank:

• pumpkin scone
• apple & cheese crepe
• warm fresh-pressed cider

Things we saw:

Never let it be said that we don't eat well here.  I would have bought more fresh produce, but I'd just been to the co-op earlier in the week and bought chard and beets and baby bok choy from some of the very same farms at the market.

It was golden perfect morning, and though I've been to the market many times, this was my first with Hijo.  I think he had a good time.

In the last fotos I posted of Hijo, I thought he looked like me.  Above, I see a lot of his dad in those dark eyes and more serious expression.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question of the week: What is everybody dressing up as for Halloween this year? (Followed by the second question: how am I going to keep myself from scarfing down all the Halloween candy that will soon be in the house?  I haven't bought it yet for that very reason.  But soon, I will have to face the music, and the Snickers bars.

thursday this and that - with recipe!

My regular day care provider is unavailable this week, and so it's been one of those scheduling nightmare kinda weeks.  And one of those weeks when I am particularly grateful for all the adults who step in to help me and help Hijo when we need it. 

I had a voice mail the other day from Hijo's music teacher.  They had been playing African drums, and Hijo was apparently doing pretty well with them.  He's always had an affinity for drumming (aka pounding on everything in sight).  This makes me smile.

Thanks to everyone who answered my little survey.  Y'all are very kind.  I did have one request for more recipes by jessica, who thinks I have more tricks up my sleeve.  Ha!  I am pretty much a one-trick-pony when it comes to recipes that I have come up with on my own.  However, if you haven't ever made the flourless peanut butter cookies, I highly recommend them for ease of preparation and deliciousness. And if you or someone you love has celiac, they're gluten-free, too.

It's just:  one cup of peanut butter (creamy is best), one cup of sugar, one egg, one teaspoon vanilla.  Mix it all together and bake it for- oh darn, I always forget the details of this part.  I think you bake it at 350 for about 12 minutes or so.  I swear I am such an imprecise cook that I just sorta play this part by ear.  My oven is always way off from what it's supposed to be anyway.  But that's part of the beauty of this recipe - it's very forgiving.  If you just keep an eye on the cookies so they don't burn, you'll be OK.

And now, someone is insisting he be tickled!

warning: work-a-day whining

How did it get to be the week before Halloween?  Wasn't it just Little League season?  I've got a meeting in a little bit.  I'm trying not to grumble too much about my boss scheduling a what is essentially a sales meeting early on the morning after I've been away for three days.  I have to dress up and be "on" when I really just want to stumble into the office and start my day slowly.  Actually, I always want to just stumble into the office and start my day slowly.  Never mind.

The birthday road trip went very well.  There's a foto on my personal blog which was taken a mere 24 hours ago when stumbling into work wasn't even an option.  Those are the best mornings of all. Which is to say that I'm struggling with being back in the full time work world. Suddenly it feels like there is no time for all the other things I want or need to do.  I feel that familiar sense of just hanging on, of trying to keep my head above water and never being able to swim.

Amidst this complaining, I'm aware of how lucky I really am.  I do know that.  And I am grateful for all that I have.  But it all seems out of whack.  Where's the balance?  Where's the center?  Why do I still feel so adrift?  I feel like I've fallen back on the familiar (full time office job) instead of working harder to find something else. 

I will figure this out, I know I can, it's just a long road, and I never seem to get enough rest.

Update:  The meeting went really well.  They always tend to go well; I even find them energizing.  I always dread them, though.  Thanks for indulging my early morning whining.  We'll have no more of that, missy.

road trip

In a time honored tradition, I am heading off on a birthday road trip!  I do have to work today (and a ton of work there is), but as soon as I can get things wrapped up there, I am picking up Hijo, taking him to his dad's, and heading South.  And I don't have to be back in town until Monday afternoon.  Wahoo!  I love a road trip almost more than anything else in this world. 

The essentials of a good road trip are as follows:  one relatively comfortable vehicle with a full tank, one camera with fresh batteries, some clothes, some cash, and a pen and journal.  That's it.  A map is nice, but not essential. Good music or conversation is also quite nice, and may seem important, but there is something to be said for driving as meditation, for just breathing steadily as you go, paying attention to everything.  Having a pre-determined route can ruin the fun.  One must be open to all the possibilities of the open road.  Of course this is true of life as well as road trips, but I find it much easier to practice when I'm traveling. 

I hope to see some art, maybe catch a movie.  A fine birthday meal is in order, perhaps a wee little birthday drink.  There will be good company.  A pretty nifty way to spend a birthday, even if I am now officially closer to 50 than 40.  Isn't 50 the new 30 anyway?  In which case, I'm really more like 25.  Which is very scary indeed.  Better hit the road.

a first

One of the more interesting things that happens as the result of writing this blog is that I get emails from time to time from PR people asking me to review books and things like laundry detergent.  I usually decline.  The way I tend to think of it, it's Club Mom's job to sell stuff, and my job to tell stories.  So, I surprised myself a little when at then end of September I got an email from an author and I actually agreed to read and review her book here.  It's not a book about how to have a baby on your own, it's not a book about homework (I'm still getting comments on that thread, please click here if you're interested), both of which I've been asked to do.  I said no thanks.

The book I'm going to review is a novel, a novel that I probably would have read if I had discovered it on my own. The fact that the author discovered me first is either testament to the fine research skills of herself or her publisher, or perhaps sheer luck.  I will tell you that she hooked me right away with her description of the story, and after checking out her website, I agreed to read and review her book here.  Yes, I'm being deliberately coy at this point, and I'm not going to tell you what it is just yet. 

First and foremost you should know that I'm not getting paid to read this book, but that I did get a free copy of it and a bookmark from the author.  I will reveal that the it's a coming-of-age story with a twist, and that I'll have the full review (and maybe another teaser) before November 15th.

Are you reading anything interesting?

quick tuesday update

Busy busy busy.  Gotta get up early for a staff retreat tomorrow.  Have been doing lots of prep work for same.  Salmon on the George Forman Grill for dinner.

Watched NOVA as we usually do on Tuesday evening.  Played a math game for homework.  I'm off to take a hot bath and then start it up all over again. 

I've never been to a staff retreat before.  Should I be afraid? 

department of cool stuff

Did you know that the Panama Canal has a webcam (actually, several)?  The only reason that I know is because my parents are cruising through there right now.  I'm totally jealous. 

Plus, talk about cool stuff to do with your kids: that entire Panama Canal website would be a great place to visit with your little one.  They even have a kids page with fotos and puzzles and a cool animated graphic about how the canal works.  Dare I say it would make a great homework project?

it's not friday, but there are some fotos. beach edition

I have a really great foto that my friend took of our kids on the beach when they were here visiting us last weekend, but my mean paranoid cautious friend won't let me put pictures of her kids on the internet.  I do understand that some people feel very differently about this issue than I do, and I respect their wishes.  But, it's such a nice foto.  And I need a nice foto for my (slightly belated) Foto Friday feature, and- oh, what the heck, here's the Hijo portion of the foto:

Notice the lovely windy beach setting.  Notice the nice piece of driftwood Hijo is sitting on.  Imagine two other adorable children draped adorably over the log in a adorable poses.  More sky, more wind-twisted trees, more beach grass.  That's the foto I want to post.  Sigh.

Then there is this one:

Also cropped to protect the innocent.  Doesn't Hijo look different with his hair all windswept?  Older, I think.

I love living so close to the beach (we actually live close to several beaches.  PT is surrounded by water on three sides).  I remember late last spring when I went hiking with Hijo's class along this beach and the tide was way out.

The fog rolled in and out that day; when it came in it hugged the sand and the sky above was still blue.  Last weekend the tide was high, there wasn't much room to walk.  It was chilly and windy and it was nearing dusk.  Large kelp forests floated just offshore and big twisted balls of kelp ropes impeded our progress on the sand.  It was gorgeous.  It's always gorgeous there.  Every time I go there, no matter the season or the weather I'm always struck by how beautiful it is, and how differently beautiful from the last time I was there. 

After the chaos of last weekend with houseguests and three kids instead of one, I am happily alone this weekend while Hijo is at his dad's.  I am also still in my pajamas at 1pm.  I might be tempted to go for a walk on the beach, though.

homework update and a survey

There's a lively discussion going on in the comments of this post that I wrote a couple of weeks ago about homework and the way that Hijo's teacher this year has a very different philosphy than last year's. Go check it out, and feel free to add your two cents.

The gist of it seems to be that most folks think that homework is a good idea as long as it's not too much and the homework giver recognizes the fact that other activities like sports or artistic pursuits are also good for kids (not to mention old fashioned play.) 

I would like to add that I think that regular evening-time activities can also support a child's learning at school.  For example, you can get your little one to help you cook dinner which can provide great lessons in math: everything from concepts like bigger and smaller for really small kids to fractions for older kids.  For some kids, this kind of experiential learning is much easier for them than learning from a work sheet or book.  I think that's why it is important for parents to get involved as much as they can because they will know their own child's learning style best. (And I totally understand how tired one is when one gets home after a long day at work and how little one wishes to do homework on top of all the other things one has to do.)

My favorite way to get homework assignments is to have a week's-worth arrive in a packet and then that gives us the ability to plan homework around our schedule.

Finally, I have some homework for you!  (Fun, easy, homework! Really!) I would like to know what y'all would like to see more of (or less of) here on Diary of a Single Mom on the Edge.  Are you sick of just reading about my life all the time?  Would you rather have more participatory items?  Do you ever wish I had more practical advice-related posts?  More fotos? Here's your chance to tell it to me straight, what do you love, what do you hate, what makes you yawn?  Leave me a comment, or send me an email (link on the sidebar), and I'll be ever so grateful.