Professor Mom

Aliki
Chronicles the life of a mom, teacher, and writer trying to stay sane amid the chaos of daily life.

archives

May 29, 2009
All wrapped up
This has been one long week--so long that by Wednesday I was convinced it really should have been Friday already. Throw in end-of-school year activities and the accompanying stress, preparation for end-of-year IEP meeting, sleep deprivation, the start of swim team practice for T., and the adjustment to a new schedule, and you have a very draining mix to cope with. Because daily life has proved to be challenging enough, my kids are, by today's standards, woefully under-scheduled. L. has no interest in any extra curricular activities at all, and finds them burdensome and anxiety-provoking; by...
Children, Cooking, Family Activities, Food for Thought, Recipes, Summer
May 28, 2009
The memory makers
This is what you feed your kids for dinner when they had scones and cream and jam at a tea house at four o'clock, washed down with tea and enough sugar cubes to make you pucker, and then you had the bright idea to take them into an old-fashioned general store--the kind with big glass jars filled with candy--and then you had another brilliant idea and give them 25 cents a piece to pick out candy, which they ate before you even make it to the highway: Fruit and nuts. I call it my detoxification dinner for over-sugared kids. Somehow, seeing them clear their fruit-filled plates at dinner made up...
Childhood, Family, Family Activities, Greece, Moms, Parenting, Summer, Tradition
May 27, 2009
The year in review
L.'s last day of third grade is today. I can scarcely believe it, really. Each year seems to drag on painfully slowly, over horrible bumps and snags in the road, dark twisty portions where you can't see the light ahead, sudden bursts of clear ground now and again. But then May hits and all of a sudden we're there, at the end of it, not knowing just how to feel. Second grade had many of the same bumps and twists and dark corners, but it was still a good year, when it was all said and done--which is more than I can say for this year. But we're at the end now--almost. And while we can't exhale...
Children, Early Learning, Parenting, School Daze, Special Needs
May 26, 2009
Duty
I hope your Memorial Day was a little sunnier than ours. We did get lucky in the end, though. After hours of on again and off again sunshine, the rain clouds blew through around 4:00 pm and we ended up with a perfect window of sunshine for the annual potluck at our neighborhood pool. Also on again and off again most of the afternoon I cooked for the potluck (sesame noodles, banana bread, pasta salad) and listened to many remarkable stories on NPR about soldiers from days long ago, and recent days, too. Stories like this one, and this one. I thought it was fitting, then, that I would tell two...
Character Sketches, Holidays, Memorial Day, Students, Teaching
May 26, 2009
Sneaking Treats
Chances are, if you are reading this blog post, you are a parent and you have an interest in healthy eating for your family. I have no way of knowing exactly who reads this blog, I am just guessing for guessing’s sake. As much as I try to be a good food role model for the boys, there are times when I want to sneak a snack, treat or other forbidden food at a time when I wouldn’t want to share with the boys. I’ll give you a “for instance”: when I want some chocolate close to dinnertime…or when I have a hankerin' for some chips *before* I eat my lunch…or well, you get the idea. When my...
Kitchen Tales
May 22, 2009
Freeze frame
My baby graduated from preschool yesterday. Despite all my claims about being ready a few weeks ago for that day, I'm not sure I really was. Because no matter how much mental preparation you do, you're just never quite ready for that final letting go, for the hands on that huge clock in the universe to click forward one more notch, marking the passage of yet another milestone in your child's life. I had my emotions more or less together yesterday morning until a fellow mom from T.'s class came into the chapel holding a round-faced toddler in her arms. Then it all came rushing to me: memories...
Children, Family, Growing-up Is Hard to Do, Kindergarten, Parenting, Preschoolers
May 21, 2009
It's not all about the money
L. used to be my craft kid. He loved crafts when he was small and I loved coming up with new and stimulating things for us to do together. We have bins of craft supplies carefully hoarded from yard sales and thrift shops and craft stores. Because he was a first child, of course, I spent way more time with him doing crafts than I have with poor T., who also loves a good craft or two. Now that L. is 8 1/2 his interest in crafts has waned considerably. We still try and squeeze in at least one crafty activity each week, but L. rarely participates in the ones T. and I do together, and it's been...
Activities for Children. Family Activities, Arts & Crafts, Children, Early Education
May 20, 2009
The waiting room
Twice a month I take L., to an appointment about 40 minutes from home. It's a public health service-type of place, connected to a hospital, and we go there because, frankly, it's the only place we've found (the hard way) that helps kids with the mental side of things AND that takes our insurance. Lots of people use that place; I have logged many hours in the waiting room people-watching and being a somewhat reluctant participant in many conversations; I have to admit, too, that I've spent quite a bit of time passing judgment as well. I think we parents--moms in particular--often judge...
Character Sketches, Children, Moms, Parenting
May 19, 2009
Projection
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, on Saturday we made some feeble attempts to clean out the crawl space. The crawl space (ours is a walk-in, so no actual crawling is involved) is where we keep the bins of holiday ornaments and decorations, and the bins of baby clothes that are too precious to hand on, and the bins of toys that are too special to donate. I spent a great deal of that time fending off T. who wanted to bring up all the toys she came across. Then, in one of the bins, I spied a familiar shape: something brown and cream-colored, the fur worn down to flat nubs all over its body....
Children, Growing-up Is Hard to Do, Moms, Parenting, Social and Emotional Issues
May 18, 2009
You are what you (don't) eat **
On Saturday I did some cleaning in our crawl space, mainly to find a stuffed pumpkin T. decided she absolutely, positively must have at that very moment (we didn't find it, but found lots else). I was going to write today about relics--the things we drag along with us through the years. But then we left on Saturday to go to this, and spent a good couple hours touring chicken coops in the downtown area. I love, love, love the idea of a chicken coop tour. I also love the idea of urban farming, and how more and more people, it seems, are looking for ways to create even a tiny bit of...
Children, Early Learning, Family Activities, Food for Thought, Parenting, Vegetarianism
May 15, 2009
Time travel
After dinner on Tuesday, we loaded up everyone into the van (dog included) and drove to register T. for our neighborhood swim team. It was all very exciting. The store that sponsored the registration was filled with pool friends, and T. was nervous, and excited, and happy to be the focus of attention. After we registered her she tried on the tiniest racerback Speedo swimsuit EVER made and paraded around the store. Scott looked worried. "Are you sure it isn't too tight?" He asked, plucking at the straps. The store erupted in laughter. "Spoken like a true father," someone said. And that comment...
Children, Dads, Family, Family Activities, Moms, Parenting, Parents, Social & Emotional Issues
May 14, 2009
Summer detox
Last night was the season finale of Lost, and I mentally checked this one off the list and breathed a small sigh of relief. I'm a little sad to see our favorite shows end, one-by-one, for the summer, but I'm actually kind of happy, too. I think our list of shows we follow has gotten unwieldy over the past few months and I'll be glad to trade most of them in for longer evenings on the porch, and dinners at the pool. I tallied up our recent schedule of our nightly TV habit and came up with this: Sunday: Law & Order: CI Monday: 24 Tuesday: Fringe AND Law & Order SVU Wednesday: Lost...
Children, Family, Family Activities, Parenting, Parenting Advice, Television
May 13, 2009
Afternoon Delight
I've been really scrambling to achieve some sort of balance this week--project A shuffled to one side while project B gets tackled, then project C is there, in the wings, breathing down on me like some fire-nosed dragon. And project D? I really, really, want to tackle it but I've elbowed it aside--for now, at least. The great, life-saving thing about work-related projects is that they're just that: work-related projects. No one's feelings get hurt if you slam the laptop shut, or accidentally-on-purpose leave your papers at work instead of bringing them home. My kids, though, are altogether a...
balance, Children, Food for Thought, Parenting, Recipes, T., Work
May 12, 2009
The calling
On my way to my car yesterday, feeling grouchy and deflated, and after a full day of two long back-to-back meetings (I love my job, but I wish the powers-that-be would understand that a week of meetings and workshops right after a long and grueling semester is just not going to sit well with most people) I fell into step with an older woman headed to her car. I'd seen her around, and didn't know her, but she started talking with me anyway. She was headed out of state for a job, and to go to night school, after quitting her current job cold turkey and doing an about-face career change. She...
Education, Life, Parenting, School Daze, Teaching, Work
May 11, 2009
Mothers all
My Mother's Day couldn't have started any better than it did--after days of rocky sleep and after hours of instruction by Scott the night before, both kids let me sleep until 8:30. 8:30! This was a wonderful and much-needed change from Saturday morning, when L. woke us up at 5:00 a.m.--worked up we think from anxiety about the babysitter who was coming that morning to watch the kids while Scott and I headed off to our respective college's graduation ceremonies. And a change from this morning, of course, when my alarm went off at 6:20, and I was back to the routine: packing lunches, fixing...
Family, Holidays, Moms, Mother's Day, Parenting, Tradition
May 8, 2009
Ready...or not
I have always--all my life--been one to get a head start on processing change, or upcoming traumatic events (the loss of a pet, loss of a loved one). Rather than waiting until the thing happens, I face it head on months before I need to. When I was pregnant with T., for instance, I spent weeks mourning the loss of L.'s only child status, and worrying about the shift from a family of three to a family of four. Hormones running rampant, I would weep over silly story books, or simple moments with L., as I tried to come to terms with the transition. When the time came, I had processed so much of...
Arts & Crafts, Children, Kindergarten Readiness, Moms, Mother's Day, Preschoolers, Tradition
May 7, 2009
Here and now
I love my kitchen, for many reasons. It's not new or fancy, and it sorely needs updating as far as the cabinets and floor go, but I love it because I love the space of it, what it represents, and how I feel when I'm in it. And while the big windows in the breakfast nook make me smile every morning, my favorite part of the room is this wall here: and the pantry door: and of course, the light over the table. I really don't like the light at all, it doesn't match the kitchen, and Scott and I have been in negotiations over the removal of this light since we first moved into the house. The short...
Art, Childhood, Children, Family, Growing-up Is Hard to Do, Home, Parenting
May 6, 2009
Need-to-know
In the walk-up line yesterday afternoon a mom and I talked about how we thought our kids had fared (they both don't test well) on the EOGs earlier that day. We were hopeful, nervous, sympathetic. The topic of the potential re-testing came up and she told me her son was most nervous about the possibility of having to take the tests over again, in a matter of days. "How did he find out about the re-tests?" I asked her. We certainly made sure not to make any mention of this to L. There's nothing worse than going into a series of tests, worrying already about whether or not you'll have to take...
Children, Early Learning, Education, Health, Parenting
May 5, 2009
Bag of Tricks: the test-taking edition
I had a pretty brutal weekend grading papers all weekend long (and weekend nights), with the exception of a few glimmering moments here and there--our Derby Day celebration, a fun play-date at our house on Sunday with a new friend, some gardening with T. But most of the weekend was spent grading. I wore out a path from the kitchen table to the office because every five seconds I had to pop up, rush over to the computer, and run google searches to catch plagiarists in action. I keep telling colleagues that instead of using the handouts and lesson plans I use every semester when I teach...
Bag of Tricks, Children, College Preparation, Parenting, School Daze, School resources
May 4, 2009
The World's finest chocolate
My son was overjoyed. After school he jumped into the back seat, opened his book bag and pulled out an envelope and said, “Mommy, I am selling candy; do you want to buy some?” I remembered the World’s finest chocolate bars – caramel, almond and crispy rice. He talked so fast, his words were running over each other. “I am going to knock on doors in our building, I am going to take it to church and sell candy to the Pastor. Mommy, can you take it to work and ask your co-workers to buy some? “You are not selling any candy,” I said. “Why?” Lil' Danny asked. “Because I said so!” “That is not...
Childhood Memories, Daughters, Drugs, Mothers
May 4, 2009
Derby Day (disasters and delights)
Lately when something doesn't go right at school with T.'s friends, or when her feelings have been hurt by her brother, she'll disappear into a room and play with her "imaginary friends." Sometimes she does this even when things just haven't gone her way, and then I'll feel badly--like she needs to turn to these perfect friends, the ones who don't let her down, because she feels unliked. On Saturday she accidentally spilled a huge pitcher of the stickiest liquid possible all over the kitchen floor (more on that later) and although in an incredible display of parental control and understanding...
Children, Cooking, Food for Thought, Friends, Growing Up Is Hard to Do, Recipes, T.