Mommy recognition

The hardest part about being a working mom during this stage of Caitlin's growth is that she is in a very mommy-centric place because of nursing. She does so well with her main care giver: Jennifer. She doesn't yet understand that I'm leaving when I walk out the door. And she gets to be with dad a good portion of the work week b/c of his evening schedule. So, all of those things help greatly, I do believe. But she certainly knows who her mommy is. I am graced with huge smiles and squeals when I come home. Ah, the guilt of a working mom.

I am fortunate in the regard that I chose a profession that follows the academic year. This affords us all Holidays, summers, and the occasional snow day together. I greatly look forward to this schedule when she will be school-aged b/c I will be home for her in the afternoons. I often toss around the idea of being a SAHM ;) when Stephen is able to find work post-law school. But we may still be constrained by expenses. It will certainly be something that we'll talk about as a family; esp. if our family continues to grow. Given my background in education, I toy with the idea of home school, but I also think there's great merit to the socialization that is intrinsic to the school environment. Again, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Unfortunately, litte Cait has to spend my last 2 wks. of work at day care as my sitter is changing her schedule. It will be totally fine as some of the other little ones there are friends' kids and she just really loves watching big kids play. She'll enjoy their little play ground as well; as this weather's been awesome lately for good outdoor play! And gosh does she ever look like a doll in her sun hat! I love you, bean!

An Evening Walkabout

Stephen and I decided to get the baby outside before going to bed for the evening. And despite the fact that it lengthens our walk just a bit, we decided to go by the ballpark and walk along the riverfront since there was a game last evening. We grabbed a coffee from the new coffee shop down the street and shared it as we walked. Caitlin seemed particularly taken with the baby geese on the river walk. One thing that my husband and I have in common is our curiosity about other people and their mannerisms. My mom and I used to love sitting at the mall just to people-watch and observe. Stephen and I are the same way when we're amongst so many people like last night. We find ourselves noticing the same things and simply exchanging a smile or a puzzled look. I appreciate so much of our unspoken communication. My husband is truly my best friend, I am so fortunate.

UNfortunately, our walk was just a bit too long for Caitlin as we didn't get in the door until 8pm. By the time her jammies were on, and face was washed, she was OVERtired and had a hard time getting to sleep. So it goes...We just need to be more mindful of her bedtime. I think she was also still tired from her immunizations the day prior.

All in all, it was a nice, family evening. I love those late Spring evenings when the weather warms and everyone comes out to play.

On Eating Healthy...

Last night after the babe had been put to bed and my husband and I were relaxing on the couch we started talking about our eating habits. Stephen is scheduled to begin doing "healthy eating" tours at Whole Foods in the coming weeks and he said that the amount that he has learned about food from his job really convicts him. We have, admittedly, made a number of trips to Aldi this winter/early spring to cut down on our food budget. We still get most of our produce from Whole Foods, but we were getting some of our staples from Aldi. The unfortunate thing about those cheaper foods is that they are EXTREMELY high in sugars (unnatural ones) and preservatives. If I am diligent about sticking to my budget, with our 25% discount at WF, I can actually get a comparable amount of food for the same amount as I would spend @ Aldi or a standard supermarket. And the advantage is health. (I haven't been sick w/ a cold or flu for 2 years!!) I end up buying way less boxed and canned goods when I shop at WF and they don't sell my indulgent hash browns--which is GOOD for me! I think the conclusion that we came to is that the real difference in cost-savings and waste is: MEAL PLANNING. I make much better use of my fresh foods if I come up w/ a tentative meal schedule for the week. And hey, ultimately, we will eat a lot of rice and beans and burritos and spaghetti b/c of our limited budget.

Here's a few ways that we've saved this winter:

1.) Buying dried beans v. canned (cook them w/ some garlic in the crock pot)
2.) Bake more! a loaf of Banana bread, some corn bread...these things are better snacks than chips!
3.) Avoiding buying too many fake meat products (I like them more than Steve and they're expensive...but still not as expensive as real meat--yuck!); there are wonderful non-fake-meat protein options: quinoa, lentils, felafel, tofu, beans, sprouted beans on salad, pesto, etc.
4.) No soda
5.) Meal planning
6.) Shopping only every 2 wks.
7.) Getting 1/2 off bread from BreadWorks (local bakery; and buying a lot and freezing it)
8.) Making our own babyfood (baked veggies pureed in the blender--Caitlin loves them!)
9.) Buying bulk rice, soy sauce and olive oil (from wholesalers in the Strip District)
10.) Less eating out (easier to do now that we have a baby ;))

I do enjoy being in the kitchen. Someday we will have a kitchen space that is more ideal, but until then I work with what I've got.

Mange Bien!

Thoughts of Summer Days

Lately I have been obsessing about motherhood. Maybe it's the inordinate amount of downtime that I have had at work. Maybe it was getting to stand up at church when Fr. Chlore asked the mothers to stand and accept a moment of appreciation. Whatever it is, I am just falling more and more in love with my little lady and with this new role of mother. It has taken awhile to really "die to self." She just turned 6 mos. old and I cannot believe how much she has grown! She is eating a few solids and rolling over and she is soooo close to sitting up on her own. I am so very grateful that the work that I've pursued coincides with the academic year because that means that I can spend my summer days with my little one. That also means that I can further commit myself to much of the necessary homemaking that gets neglected during a typical work week. I long to take better care of the house, but there is just so little time for a working mom to cover all of those bases. And the guilt of the working mom can be intense at times. At least I know that Caitlin is cared for by dad and a good friend from college while I am gone. That puts my mind at ease. And despite the new season that our family is about to enter, I do have a few small goals for the summer. (only 15 more days of school!)

1. Finish reading "The Help" by Kathrynn Stockett
2. Get all of Caitlin's baby clothes organized in tubs w/ labels
3. Get daily exercise (whether it's a walk or some stretching in the living room)
4. Cook at least 5 homemade meals a week!

...wish me luck...

Weekending

So, this weekend I decided to get some cooking done since so little of that happens during the week. I made spicey Thai soup for a late lunch yesterday. And then I had a sweet tooth, so I whipped up a quick wacky cake (no dairy, SUPER tasty and easy to make). I sprinkled powder sugar and slicked some fresh strawberries for the topping. It was nice to have a slice of cake and a cup of coffee to close out our Sunday afternoon.

I hope you all had lovely weekends!

A break in the clouds

No pics today as I'm posting from work.

We had a lovely family evening last night. We had a big recycling errand to run across town, so, in conjunction, we stopped at our favorite hot dog 'n beers place. Because of the nice weather, EVERYONE was out and this place was packed w/ a 30 min. wait. So, we got some of their draft root beer and some dogs and fries to-go. We ran into our friends Tony and Angela as we were waiting outside for our food. We always run into them at that exact spot! They informed us that they are expecting! They are due in December, so that makes TWO friends now who will be having babies around Christmas--how exciting. Once we got our food we took it to the park. We watched a softball game while Caitlin played in the grass (we had a mat for her but she kept rolling off). Thank goodness for a break from this gloomy rain!

We continue to wait on word from my last teaching interview. I am hopeful from the prospect of a few new job postings around home, but I do hope it is a while before I make baby C take that long drive with me again.

Happy Friday!

back at it

A pic of Caitlin and daddy!

It's been a year since my last blog post and in that year a tremendous change has taken place for our family. We had a beautiful daughter in the month of November. She graces us with smiles and giggles on a daily basis. We are so thankful for her spirit of flexibility and joy.

Our family is, again, in a time of transition as we prepare to move homeward towards family. We have felt the call for a year now and a scholarship to law school and a few job prospects have seemed to clarify the call. We are waiting on a job possibility for me, but substitute teaching may certainly be in our future given the economic forecast in our home state. We are so eager to be home with family, but in the meantime we are treasuring the warmth of friends and the community of Pittsburgh.