Chicago Moms Blog

A summer state of mind

The weather outside has been somewhat frightful this Spring with cold blasts and lots of rain.  Yet, when my kids threw their still-stuffed backpacks on the floor carefully emptied and neatly stored their backpacks last week, we crossed the threshold in Summer -- jackets, jeans, heat-on-in-the-morning and all. 

My son will foray into Summer School next week even if it's sixty degrees.  I'm accumulating the goods for my daughter's trip to overnight camp in July wondering if I should pack a parka.  I've yet to wear shorts or think about the beach and I've only limited my dogs' time outside due to rain and muddy paws instead of heat.

Yet, it's Summer in my mind.  And isn't that what matters?

During a recession, there's no place like home

 Tucked in my tiny suburb I often feel like there is a force field surrounding us. Sometimes I like that protective armor and sometimes I don't. 

Our town is green on the outside and multicultural on the inside - but some of surrounding areas are run-down and homogeneous.  This suburb's demographic is college-educated, professional, and middle to upper-middle class. Ok, and beyond upper.  Bordering 'burbs are low-income.  This neighborhood is safe.  Nearby ones are not.  My neighborhood is home to young and old and black and white -- but there's nary an Asian or Latino.  And on another note we boast lots of pancake houses but you can't get sushi on Sundays -- nor is there decent shopping for miles.

We all look good in green

My daughter turned green a few years ago and I'll be honest, I thought it was just a phase. As a mom working from home, I was just too busy to recycle.  You know, it takes a lot of effort to throw plastic and paper into a free bin supplied by the friendly folks who pick up the garbage, let alone carry it to the curb once a week.  I was also in desperate need of long hot showers, so those five-minute spritzes my kid touted, well, those weren't for me -- not even when she came home from school with a handy-dandy timer that conveniently stuck to the shower wall.  Lake Michigan looks plenty full to me, what was all the fuss about?

But at the beginning of this school year, with the passage of time and her unending tenacity, I purchased a reusable lunch bag and containers so that she wasn't adding to the already overflowing trash cans in her school's makeshift cafeteria.

And I was hooked.  My kid's enthusiasm for bettering her world finally rubbed off on me. 

Putting kids' swine flu fears to rest

My daughter inherited my blue eyes, short stature and my love of sushi.  She also inherited my tendency to worry -- something I've overcome in my adult years.  I don't waste a moment worrying about things I can't control, and when something is under my control, well, I do what I can.

But at 13, she lets her mind wander.  And today, it's heading right to Mexico -- a place we've visited on vacation where the memories include horseback riding through crystal blue water and white sand beaches, cheap trinkets and adventures with dolphins.  She's also aware that cases of swine flu have been reported all over the United States, and as close to Chicago as Notre Dame in Indiana. 

You can't keep teenagers off the internet or away from the TV, you don't monitor their playdates -- oh right, there are no playdates -- and you don't even know all their friends at school.   So all you can do is arm them with accurate information and a boatload of promises.

I told her the symptoms of swine flu -- and swore that I'd take her to the doctor if she had any of the symptoms plus a fever.  I also made sure she understood that the swine flu patients in the United States were treated and to date, there have been no fatalities.  I promised her she would be OK. 

So-long to softball

My daughter has played rec softball since she was five.  First it was tee-ball, then it was machine-pitch.  Next the coaches pitched, followed by the dreaded team pitchers -- but if you had two strikes the coach pitched so it could actually be hit.  In the next league though -- there were no machines and no excuses.  This was fast pitch softball for girls ages 12-18. Whoosh. Blink and you miss the ball!  Those pitches sped past the plate or cracked the bat and flew.  Far.  In this league when girls caught the ball they easily drove it from outfield to first base. Or home plate.

Softball is no place for sissies.

But is a recreational league the place for hard-nosed competition?  Sure, as long as everyone is on the same page.  Some of these girls want to play high school softball one day -- many want to play college softball.  And even with the ponytails poking out of the hole in the back of their helmets, and the eyeliner painstakingly drawn on their eyes, these were tough cookies whose parents sat on the bleachers and screamed.  Long gone were the days of "good job" and "good try" and "we'll get 'em next time." Everyone took it very seriously. 

A growing boy needs his ketchup

When someone grows to 5'10" -- they require a lot of fuel in the form of food.  No half sandwiches, no bowls of cereal for dinner unless it's a bowl big enough for the whole box.  Meals are preferred when they are protein, starch and the forced vegetable or fruit.  And everything -- almost -- gets dipped in something.  All sandwiches are spread with something.  And those somethings disappear from their jars and bottles.

Did you know a teenage boy's growth and development is in direct proportion to his consumption of condiments? 

Me either. 

Until I realized that I was buying the biggest bottle of ketchup sold in the grocery store.  You know, the one on the bottom shelf that doesn't fit in the fridge? So then I opted for multiple bottles of a smaller size, but that wasn't cost efficient.  I finally relented and went to the discount store where it costs closer to what it should cost -- and wouldn't you know -- they sell multi-packs.  I found ketchup nirvana on a flat bed, yes I did.

Spring into healthy eating

In the era of food tv and cyber recipe boxes, it's amazing to find a local expert you can add into the mix when looking for expertise on a healthy fridge.   That's why I was so excited when I spoke to Christine M. Palumbo, RD, a Chicago-area nutrition expert and mom of three grown kids.

Christine suggests restructuring the way we food shop.  Her method is easy, and makes sense. "Go to a big store and do your major shopping once-a-week," Christine said.  "Then restock your fruits and veggies during the week by going to a smaller store." While apples and oranges last a long time, most other fruits are past their prime in a few days.  Christine also reminded me that if you buy fresh foods in smaller quantities, but more often, there's less waste of both food and money.  From someone who is always throwing away brown bananas, I know she's right. 

Another food Christine recommends, isn't really a food...it's a beverage.  Christine says that 100% Florida orange juice is an inexpensive food, doesn't get wasted and it's easy to incorporate into any meal.  I'm a mom who has taken all juices out of my repertoire except for orange juice in the winter, but I didn't realize that it was more than a way to get vitamin C, but it's a nutrient rich food providing folate.  Folate is the naturally occuring version of folic acid.  Folic acid is what is added to foods, folate occurs naturally and is recommended to pregnant women for the benefit of fetal growth and development.  Orange juice is also a source of potassium.

Valentine's Day is what you make it

I don't mind thinking about Valentine's Day -- now that it's February.  The fact that the stuffed animals, candy and cards have been out since before New Years is beside the point. Until February I avoid that aisle in the local drug store and the grocery store.  I even stay away from anything red, lest it be misconstrued as being a Valentine-before-its-time.

But now it's time to get busy.  I'm a single mom and though I've been surprised in the past by roses at my door, I'm not expecting any this year.  I am expecting, though, to continue a tradition that has been in place in my little family since long before I divorced six years ago.

No Resolutions This Year? I'll Make Them For You!

Being the giving, generous type of mom I am, I have decided, unbeknownst to them, to make my kids' 2009 resolutions on their behalf.  I know that that my daughter wants to volunteer at the animal shelter and that my son wants to ace the ACT.  Great resolutions, I agree...but not exactly what I had in mind.

Time for the gift of time

I'm not big on resolutions.  I believe that we need to continually update ourselves, our thoughts and our lives and not wait for January 1st or the next available Monday.  Face it, by this time some of you have already 1) eaten cake; 2) yelled at your kids or 3) smoked a cigarette.  Resolutions are not always resolute. Which is why I don't make them.  I do, however, make promises.  And this year all my promises have to not with giving, but with taking.  Taking time.