confessions

1. I take an inordinate amount of pride in not wasting food. We're at the bottom of the barrel in our cupboards (I always seem to tell you guys when we're out of groceries. Can you tell I hate dragging children to the grocery store, and would rather do without until I can go alone?), and yet we've had balanced meals for the past couple of days, anyway. We're using the ends of all of our supplies, but piecing it together, everybody has more than enough - and it's generally pretty healthy. I was even able to make a hypoallergenic (for Silas' allergies, anyway) mint chocolate pie last night out of practically nothing. Every time I pull a rabbit out of a hat in the pantry I feel like somebody should applaud. Yay me. Having said that, I promise I'm going to the grocery store TODAY. No more procrastinating, because now we really have scourged our supplies.

2. Another kitchen confession: Sometimes when I'm puttering around I imagine what my kids' interviews with NPR will sound like. You know, someday when they are adults and doing something fascinating and noteworthy. I try to imagine how they will describe their childhoods on Fresh Air, or whatever its equivalent will be in thirty years. The fact that I daydream about my kids on NPR, and not Oprah or, I don't know, Meet the Press, says something about what I value.

3. Almost everything we buy kid-related is secondhand, unless there is a compelling reason to buy it new (like tennis shoes - little boys are just too hard on tennis shoes to get much use out of someone else's, most of the time). But one thing we've always done is make sure we have an effective way of getting outside with our kids. Once upon a time, a baby carrier and/or single jogging stroller were all we needed. The single stroller gave way to a double jogger, then wagon, then bike trailer. The bike trailer is still in use (and will be for a while, with Emmy on the way), but a recent growth spurt has meant that the boys are all knees and elbows sitting side-by-side, and someone almost always gets walloped for invading personal space. So this weekend we picked up a bike seat for my bike. We went for our first ride today - picture me, a pregnant belly in front, your 35-lb boy of choice in back, balancing on a bike. It was actually a lot of fun, but it was one of those moments when I thought, someday I'm going to look back at this and wonder, how did I do that?



With that I'm off. Happy grilling and yard work day.