November 2011 Archives

The holidays are around the corner and that means prime travel time for many families. We booked our flight to Grandma's house in September, but my husband and I are still looking for cheap flights. In fact, we are Kayak addicts. 

I really dislike when stores sell Christmas and Hanukkah merchandise before Halloween, but I guess that's the reality of retail. It's hard for me to feel festive when I'm bombarded way before December. Now that Thanksgiving is over, there's no avoiding it, especially at home.

Enjoy your turkey and mashed potatoes (or Tofurky and vegan green beans)! We are celebrating with family and I managed to avoid making the main dish again this year. I'll take pumpkin pie duty over turkey duty any day. 

We've arrived at a pivotal moment in Kellan's life, or so says my husband. After talking about it for months, Erik is finally going to share a defining moment in his life. They are going to watch Star Wars together. That's Kellan playing with his new Imperial V-Wing Starfighter at his uncle's house. He's totally into it.

My son ate a hot dog for dinner last night. After he was in bed and I got online to catch up on the day's news, I read that the American Academy of Pediatrics is endorsing a new recommendation that children as young as nine years old should have their first cholesterol screening. Whoops. Does it make it better that it was an all natural hot dog? 

Kellan's preschool is sponsoring a canned food drive for the month of November. The class has done a fantastic job of collecting non-perishable food and many of the parents have talked about it as a way to discuss the meaning of giving with preschoolers.

These days people talk on cell phones pretty much everywhere. We may not like listening to someone's personal conversation while seated on an airplane getting ready for takeoff, but it happens all the time and we live with it.

My husband Erik is traveling for work this week, which means I'm handling all of the kid duties. It's not nearly as difficult or as exhausting as it has been when Kellan was younger, but I'm still pooped at the end of the day. Single parents have it rough!


One thing I've noticed while Erik has been gone is that Kellan and I have had more detailed conversations. It makes a big difference when there's one less person at the dinner table. We talk constantly all day long, but dinner seems the time when we really focus on what happened that day.


I don't know if I'm asking him more questions or if he's been more willing to open up, but he's sharing more about school and how he's feeling. He even asked me why I don't listen to him all the time, when I expect  ask him to listen to me all the time.  I'm pretty sure he's referring to a time earlier today, when he kept asking me to find a toy when I was trying to get some writing done. I did tell him I'd try my best to be a better listener if he tried his best too. I hope that was the right answer.

This month the city of Portland, Oregon started a new program for waste pick-up. Now our garbage is only collected twice a month, while our recycling and yard waste is collected every week. The big change happened because now we can throw in food waste with our yard debris. That means less waste going into landfills and more renewable resources. 

I recently saw an ad for the 3-D version of the Lion King, which is now in theaters. I barely remember the movie because I was well beyond the age of its target audience when I saw it 15 years ago. I'm sure it's still an entertaining movie, but sometimes movies, television shows, or books aren't as good as you remember them. Sometimes they are even better. 

Like many kids his age, Kellan is a big fan of ketchup. I love it too because serving it with foods like fish, chicken, and sweet potato fries means he will actually eat his meals without a fight. So when I read that France has recently banned serving ketchup at school cafeterias (except with French fries) I had to laugh. I am aware that ketchup isn't necessarily the most nutritious condiment out there, but it certainly does the job of enhancing all kinds of foods, no matter what French officials think. I can't imagine eating a cheeseburger without it.

As a parent, I've always felt strongly about limiting TV time. Then a new report made me realize TV isn't necessarily the screen I should be concerned about. A study by the non-profit group Common Sense Media found children ages 0 to 8 spend more time watching TV, DVDs or in front of computers and mobile devices than reading. The study found even children as young as two spend time at a computer every day. 

My husband Erik is an excellent artist. Whether he draws a map or sketches out a funny picture for our son, he makes every line and curve seem so effortless. My son is an artist-in-training, who likes to draw pirate ships on a vast sea while narrating a story. Unfortunately, my drawing skills are nearly non-existent.