Spring Break

      Apparently in the outside world it is spring break and I find it strange how for the first time in my life it has little effect on me. I am not teaching school nor do I have school aged children so this spring break will pass virtually unobserved in this household. I don't know if I should relish these scant years where this once revered week will pass unnoticed or be sad that I am leaving behind an era of my life.
      I never did the whole spring break vacation while I was in high school and college but I did look forward to it. A whole week to catch up on sleep and homework that I had put off. Not that I ever did the homework but I often had good intentions and set for myself lofty goals. While I was teaching I had similar plans; catch up on sleep and grading that I had put off (not that that happened either). So perhaps this would feel more momentous if I had some crazy history of fabulous partying or wild vacations or even lofty goal reaching. Or maybe I should look at it as if I have entered a stage in my life, while I am home with my children, where every week it spring break. I at least have the same goals that I had every spring break: catch up on sleep and housework that I have put off (not that that ever happens). I guess some things never change.

Nap Wars

Nathan has been having some troubles with his naps. I assume it is because he is reaching an age where he will change to taking only one nap but meanwhile he just doesn't want to sleep but is quite tired. So he gets more and more hyper and I get more and more exhausted until I put him to bed happy or not and listen to him cry which increases my exhaustion until he falls asleep and by then I need a nap too. I worry that this is a vicious cycle but so far he has been a much happier boy when he wakes up and seems to bear no hard feeling towards his oppressor so I think I will do us all a favor and go take a nap too.

Cooking for Two and a Half

I never learned to cook for less than four. Which is a problem because my family consists of two and a half. When I cook for Daniel, Nathan and I there are always tons of leftovers that Daniel "gets" to take for his lunch for the next week or two. The result is that he ends up resentful of several of my dishes due to over exposure.
While I was working we got ezmeals which gives you recipes and grocery lists that are supposed to work for two and they often did. Daniel was the one cooking at that time and it made such a difference in our tendency to eat out. But I don't cook that way, I cook cheaper than they do, and I like my cooking so no more ezmeals now that I am home.
I believe that I have found a solution to my over cooking though and it is ingenious. I have started providing others with a week of meals for a weekly fee that is less than they would spend eating out. Am I good or am I good. Daniel gets more home cooked meals because I don't resort to hot dogs or leftovers as much. I just keep a small portion of what I make for them, for us, and send off the rest. I do get "cooked out" if the meals that I choose are all really intensive prep meals. And there are fewer leftovers for Daniel to take to work but that hasn't been a big problem as of yet.
I guess my conclusion is that if you don't know how to cook for two, find more people.