Kid and Caboodle

Tonight I read this funny blog post on BlogHer about trying to get dinner on the table in 10 minutes in between homework and other activities. Boy, does that sound familiar. Since Chris and I switched parenting shifts about a year-and-a-half ago, I’ve been the one handling dinner preparations. Normally I use my abilities as the Leftover Queen to throw something together. This week, though, I confess to depending on fast food outlets and prepared meals. I feel fairly guilty about this, but I just haven’t been able to get organized this week. We went out of town for a few days to visit friends, which was fun, but it threw off all our household routines. I guess I need a few days off to recover from my days off!

This Thursday, Christmas Eve, I am thankful for my family and this wonderful time of year. Happy holidays to all.

Mike, Dee, A.J. and Chris playing Blokus Trigon

A.J.'s offering for Santa and his reindeer

Just checked the Fairfax County Public Schools emergency announcement page and learned that school has been cancelled due to snow THROUGH WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23. This, combined with the winter break scheduled to start December 24, means that A.J. is not scheduled to go back to school again until JANUARY 4. Good grief!

It’s a good thing I was already scheduled to be off all this week and that Chris was already scheduled to be off all next week, else we’d be scrambling for child care!

As a bonus, though, the federal government (in the D.C. area) is also closed tomorrow, so Chris doesn’t have to figure out how to get to work. Believe it or not, the federal government rarely gives its workers free leave because it costs so much money. This has been one heck of a snowstorm!

1 p.m. December 20: Driveway and walk are clear, but still no sign of a snowplow.

Looks like we’re not going anywhere for a while. We’ve gotten several inches of snow already, and the storm is expected to continue until this evening. This is the view of the cul-de-sac at 10:15 this morning:

View from the front porch

Since all of A.J.’s Saturday classes were cancelled today due to the weather, I had time to make moderately elaborate breakfasts for everyone this morning. Here is A.J.’s:

A.J.'s breakfast: sausage links, pancakes and blueberries

This is Chris’ breakfast:

Chris' breakfast: clementine segments, breakfast burritos and blueberries

A.J. is enjoying the unexpected break. He’s still in his pajamas at 10:30 in the morning, playing video games:

A.J. in the sunroom

As for me, I think I’ll have a cup of tea and read a book.

I’ve been spending much of the afternoon going through piles of paper throughout the house.  In doing so, I found the following list of tips from an office newsletter:

Successfully Managing the Work/Life Juggling Act

If you have a family, managing work and life can be challenging — and often unpredictable.

Consider the following tips to help you successfully manage the work/life juggling act:

• Make time for fun and relaxation. When you add more leisure to your life, you’ll become a healthier and more effective employee and parent.

• Build and use support systems. People with strong support systems tend to be healthier, happier and better able to tolerate stress.

• Forget perfection. While it’s admirable to put your best efforts into your work and parenting responsibilities, it’s simply impossible to be perfect at everything you do.

• Take care of yourself. It’s easy to focus on your responsibilities to your partner, children and employer and forget about taking care of yourself.

• Be happy. Studies show that happy individuals are successful across different areas, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health.

I’m not exactly sure how one can will oneself to “be happy” — does this newsletter mean “try to think positive”? But otherwise, these tips seem pretty sound.

Hmm, wonder what else I’ll find as I continue decluttering the house ….

I am fortunate to have access to really good health care in my area. This afternoon, for example, I took A.J. to the dentist to have sealants put on his permanent molars. These sealants are basically bits of plastic injected into the pits and cracks of his teeth so bacteria can’t grow in them and cause cavities. They used to be an expensive luxury, but nowadays they are becoming routine.

A.J.’s dentist is a pediatric dentist, not a standard one. Her office not only has all sorts of toys and children’s books in the waiting room, but it does its best to make the appointments comfortable and almost fun for the kids. For example, the children get to wear sunglasses to shield their eyes when being examined under high-powered lights. The toothpaste the staff uses during cleanings comes in flavors like cotton candy, grape, watermelon and bubble gum, and so do the dental floss and fluoride treatments. Kids without cavities win little prizes like tops, plastic bracelets, rubber balls, and the sorts of things in vending machines they always seem to love.

How I wish A.J.’s dentist took grownups as patients!

Tai Shan, the first panda born at the National Zoo to survive more than a few days, will finally be heading for China, NBC says.  I knew this day would come — the contract with China specifies that any cubs born to pandas China lends to other countries must be sent back to China — and in fact we’ve had Tai Shan for several years longer than originally planned.  But it still makes me a little sad to see him go.  As I have written before, I’ve always been fascinated by the little cub, probably because the trouble the National Zoo’s pandas have experienced conceiving and raising healthy cubs reminds me of my own history of infertility and pregnancy loss. But now, just as my own child is a healthy boy, so is Tai Shan. And, just as some day I will have to let my son leave my home and go his own way, so we must now say farewell to Tai Shan.

More about Tai Shan and the other pandas at the National Zoo

Thank goodness for microwaves!  In my capacity as short-order cook this morning, I prepared A.J. sausage links and pancakes, with a glass of orange juice on the side.  I also made Chris breakfast burritos — scrambled eggs, melted cheese and salsa wrapped in tortillas.  As for me, I enjoyed smoked salmon and spinach on croissants.  Now for a cup of hot chocolate ….

breakfast burritos

I did it: I went out to the mall today. I didn’t really want to join in the Black Friday madness, but once again A.J. has outgrown all his slacks. I did delay my expedition until mid-afternoon, though, which is probably why I didn’t really find shops any busier than usual. While I was at the mall, I also bought A.J. some new sweatshirts (again, he has outgrown all the ones he had last year) and bought my husband two pairs of running shorts. I also found a purple cardigan for myself to replace one that was damaged when it was accidentally run through the washing machine. So, all in all, it was a productive trip. I think I’m going to try to stick to online shopping the rest of the calendar year, though!

Replacement purple cardigan

A.J. turned 7 years old today. We’re celebrating with pizza, ice cream and cake left over from his party last Sunday. Yum!