As part of our version of the Happiness Project, we are trying to continue to “learn”  – anything we can. 

This article was written 2 years ago as I tried to learn to cook (or simply feed my child).   I still love the cookbook as a wonderful resource, and I am better at cooking and am still trying, but I have learned that it will never be my strength.  Tonight is pizza night. 

Ok, so I will never be able to call myself a chef, but I am trying to teach myself to cook.  Before my son was born almost 4 years ago, my diet consisted of Wendy’s burgers, ham and cheese sandwiches and the “special occasion dish” of chicken and rice.  I honestly had members of my family that expressed concern that my child would starve.  They had good reason to worry — I was worried as well.  But, my child is thriving, eats more than I do on most days, and we only have chicken and rice about once every 6 months.  

I am still working on this cooking thing — it is definitely trial and error, with lots of error.  But, I enjoy it and definitely feel a sense of accomplishment when, like last night, my little boy rubs his tummy and says yummm and my husband says, ”this was good” (this is the extent of his praise for food as he would just as soon have cereal as anything but eats my food to set a good example.)  

The biggest revelation for me was The Moms’ Guide to Meal Makeovers cookbook.   What I needed most before I could even begin to cook, was a makeover of my pantry and refrigerator. I had no idea what was considered healthy, what was deadly, and what was somewhere in between.  Everytime I started to cook something, I had about 1 out of the 10 ingredients required (usually the chicken).  This book really helped me understand what to put in my cabinets and fridge and now I am ready for anything (well, not really, but I am trying to be positive. ) I still have nights where everything ends up in the trash instead of on the table, but at least I’m trying, right?

Posted under Happiness Project, Learning, Random Thoughts

As the mother of an only child, I am very interested in any articles regarding only children.  The article, “What’s Wrong With Having One Child?” which ran in the New York Times recently, was especially interesting to me, as it discusses  the author’s decision, so far, to have only one child.  Here’s an excerpt: 

“As much as my husband and I have talked endlessly about the reasons why we think having one is best, this is a ridiculously difficult and emotionally charged decision, and I obsess about it all the time. I hear a friend talk warmly about visiting her sister and I immediately think about how nice it would be for my daughter to experience that warmth when she is older. I see my daughter play with a little baby at the park and my eyes almost tear up as I daydream about her playing with her own sibling. I go through the good-things-about-having-siblings checklist in my mind, and come out convinced that yes, we should definitely have another.

And then I remember all the reasons why we think we may just want one. Some of them I hesitate to share here, but most have to do with worrying about maintaining our sanity, our relationship with each other and our daughter and having any time for horribly selfish things like our non-family and non-work interests.” 

What do you think?

Posted under Random Thoughts

Every Tuesday, we will write about “play” and how adults and children alike can have this in their lives.

This is one of my favorite stories that always makes me laugh — I thought I would share again:

My [at the time] 4 year old son, Keilan, is an only child and loves to play — as long as it is with someone.  He does not enjoy playing by himself.  He needs someone to appreciate how fast he is.  He needs someone to be the villain to his hero.  He needs someone to watch his made-up shows, to chase him around the room — someone to talk to while he eats his cereal.  That someone is me, or his dad.    

It doesn’t stop there.  When Keilan gets bored playing with me (ordinary mom), he wants me to be other people.   Not as in a character in a story, but actually pretending to be someone else as his playmate.  For example, if something new or exciting happens,  he wants to tell someone about it.   Well, since I (mom) have  already seen or heard about this new story, he asks me to pretend to be someone else so he can tell them (me) about what he knows.  For example, ”Mom, will you be Nana so I can tell her about this.”  ”Ok, I’m Nana”.  “Nana, did you know my mommy got me this new toy — look how cool it is.”  “Wow, Keilan that’s great.”  And, I will continue to be Nana until he feels he has told “her” enough details about the new toy. Then, he wants me to be Papa so he can tell him about the toy as well.  And so on. 

I do love the creativity and energy of my son, but it makes me tired. 

In my effort to combat his constant need for my attention, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea.  I would help my son to create an imaginary friend.   First, I suggested that sometimes instead of playing with Mommy or Daddy, he could have an imaginary friend.   He seemed to like the idea initially and thought of the name “Heffridge” for his friend.   A strange name, yes, but I did not inquire further for fear of slowing the momentum.  I explained to my son that Heffridge would always be there to play with or talk to if he needed him and, when he had something exciting to tell, Heffridge would always listen. We were on a roll.   

But then, I went too far. Read More…

Posted under Play, Random Thoughts

“It’s been a long time coming. But tonight, because of what we did on this date, in this election, change has come to America.” — Barack Obama 
 

Posted under Random Thoughts

Yet another reason to vote . . . 

Posted under Random Thoughts

Happy Halloween to all!   I know many parents are trying to make sure everything is perfect for their children’s big night out !  We are doing the same and trying to enjoy every last detail !  

But today, I also want to wish a special Happy Halloween to a little boy named Ben (he’s the monkey to the right)!  I want to share with you his story and why it is such a special day. 

Here’s the story as told by his family’s friend, Kare:

“My dearest friend Kim and her husband Dave gave birth to their first little boy, Ben on Sept 19th, 2007. At 3 days old a nurse practitioner suspected that he might have a rare genetic disorder named Menkes Disease. On Halloween, 2007, it was confirmed by Doctors at NIH that baby Ben did in fact have Menkes and he was immediately put on an experimental treatment to prevent the horrible effects of this disorder. Most Menkes children are only diagnosed after the seizures begin at around 3-6 months. Ben was lucky to have been dignosed early, but he was still only given about a 66% chance of making it to his 2nd birthday. Read More…

Posted under Charities, Random Thoughts

Just a quick reminder. . . before you buy anything online, always check to see if you can  find a coupon code that will give you a discount for the site.  I recently bought something from two different sites and was able to find a discount online for both.  Just google the name of the site and “coupon code” and you never know what you will find!

You can check out CouponCode.com and RetailMeNot.com for examples, but I would do a search as there are many such sites with codes.

Posted under Random Thoughts, Tech, Uncategorized

Somehow I missed this in the news, but I think it’s great! What a great way to draw attention to the cause of breast cancer research.    

According to the White House website: “The north side of the the White House turned pink on the evening of Oct. 7, 2008 to raise awareness about breast cancer. The unique view of the North Portico and the side of the house facing Lafayette Park was in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer awareness is a cause Mrs. Laura Bush has worked on around the world. The World Health Organization estimates that each year more than 1.2 million people worldwide are diagnosed with it and breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death for women. White House photo by Grant Miller” 

Posted under Charities, Random Thoughts

Check out this one minute movie, The Years are Short, by Gretchen Rubin, the writer of the blog, The Happiness Project.  

I just found this blog and I really enjoy it.

This movie is great.

Posted under Random Thoughts

A few years ago, Reese Witherspoon made a comment in her Oscar acceptance speech that, like June Carter Cash whom she portrayed, she was “just trying to matter.”

I have long felt the urge “to matter.” I am learning as I get older that there are many different ways to matter and to make a difference and sometimes it’s as simple (yet so important) as loving your child and loving your neighbor.

When my grandfather died a few years ago, these things started to be more clear. As I reflected on his life and what he meant to so many, I realized that although he didn’t go out and change the world or do “big things” that the world would notice, he touched so many lives by smiling, laughing and caring for everyone with whom he came in contact. He was important to others. His life had influence on others. His life mattered in every sense of the word — to his family, his friends and his community. Grandpa knew this was what was important. And now, so do I.

In honor of all of us trying to matter in our own way, I have created this t-shirt shown above. If you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt for $20, all the proceeds will go towards charities — this month, we will donate to the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in Houston in memory of our friend’s mom, Linda, who died of breast cancer a few years ago.    Please email me at lena@lenasnotebook.com if you would like to order, as our new shop is not yet open.

Posted under Charities, Random Thoughts