how much is the mortgage, exactly?

The night before Steve had to return to work after 5 weeks of parental leave, Samuel broke into his piggy bank...

Brought a bunch of change out to the kitchen table, and broke our hearts with, "Daddy, I have money to pay for our house and to buy food. You don't have to go back to work."

Food

Ahh, a topic very close to my heart. Thursday I picked up our last "winter" CSA box from our Live Earth Farm dropsite, and this Friday our "regular" season CSA - Two Small Farms - will begin dropping off 35-40 boxes on our front porch. This will be our third year with TSF, and a lot has changed.

The last time we were signed up for LEF's winter CSA share, I was pregnant with Samuel. We ended up canceling our membership because the thought of eating anything green made me want to puke. After we received another box with a ridiculous amount of greens - three bunches of kale, a bunch of collards, a bunch of chard, the list goes on... I dropped all of the greens off at David's house (destined to be eaten by the chickens) and headed to Safeway to buy myself a bag of BBQ Baked Lays (ok, I probably made Steve go buy them).

Three and a half years later, where are we?

Samuel: As an infant Samuel's favorite things to eat were greens. Until he was 1 year old, he didn't eat much of anything, but leafy greens were definitely his favorite. From 18 months - 2 years old, he would eat ANYTHING.

Then "2" happened. Given his choice, two year old Samuel would subsist on nothing but fruit and cheese quesadillas (with whole wheat tortillas and local, organic raw cheese, mind you!)

But now! I'm so excited! Now that we seem to have come out the other side of "2", real food is back in vogue! He happily eats whatever we are having for dinner (tonight - fish tacos with cabbage, avocados and homemade black beans - no Maura, I didn't make the tortillas tonight, does it count if I put them in the toaster?)

Shira: This girl loves her food. She will take down just about anything we put in front of her. Except oatmeal. What baby likes lacinato kale and fish tacos, but doesn't like oatmeal?

Steve: Three and a half years ago when I got pregnant with Samuel I sent Steve out to buy a bunch of what he calls "brown stuff", also known as "whole grains". Now, he eats oatmeal with flaxseed for breakfast every morning, and doesn't roll his eyes when we have vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables for dinner every night.

Me: No more prepared food. I cook every meal of the day for all of us. I am a little afraid I have become one of those people whose house you dread eating at because it's all nutty and grainy. I am going to relegate Shira and Samuel to be those kids who have the "weird" lunch and a mom who won't let them eat anything good? I grew up with Hostess Cupcakes and soda in my lunch.

I have to go now because Steve is annoyed at me for blogging during Amazing Race :)

ruminations on parenting partners

This is a parent who does it all. He is not just a great "Dad". He is a great parent. Perhaps that means I should call him a great "Mom".

Why do I say that? I have been really surprised recently at the number of people who were shocked to find that Steve is fully capable of taking care of both of our children by himself. We found out quickly after Samuel was born that a good "Dad" was a guy who occasionally changed a diaper and participated in some (but certainly not all) aspects of child rearing. A guy who may or may not think that it was called "babysitting" if he was taking care of his own kid.

Considering that frame of reference, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how many of the people we encounter are dubious that Steve can handle things when he is out and about with two children, get ready for the shocker here, BY HIMSELF.

Why is this worthy of a blog post? Well, I hope by the time Shira and Samuel are reading and enjoying this compilation of pictures and text about themselves, that it is a slightly offensive old fashioned notion that dads are not truly capable of being competent caretakers of their own children. They can laugh at the silly notion that their father was stopped on the street by strangers who told him that he wasn't supporting his baby's head properly. They can snort derisively when they learn that he was patted on the back and informed of how impressive he was for take two children to a kids museum by himself. And, well, if it isn't an antiquated notion, I really want them to know that their Dad is a full and equal partner in our parenting, who wipes as many noses and tushes as I do, and has no problem taking both of his children anywhere he goes, just as I do.

Since Steve was home all last month on parental leave that we saved up from Shira's birth, I have had the opportunity to think a lot about how we truly are partners on the parenting front. Two mornings a week, I was the one who left for work while he stayed home to take care of the kids, and on Wednesdays, he and Samuel and Shira headed off to preschool while I stayed behind (and went to the dentist, or to work, or did something else terribly exciting). And moms who never batted an eye at me toting Shira and watching Samuel at preschool, kept a wary eye on Steve and stayed nearby to help him. And when I returned to preschool for the first time this week, several moms expressed surprise that Steve came by himself, and informed me that their husbands can handle one child at a time, but more than one, gosh then all bets are off.

What? How ridiculous is that? Why do women not only accept, but expect something less than a fully functioning parent in their spouse? Why do men who are super successful in other areas of their lives play helpless incompetents on the home front (and aren't embarrassed by their ineptitude)? And why do people think it's charming? Ok, I know that sounds harsh, but that's actually the less offensive version.

Let me end my tirade as a love letter, and hope I haven't offended friends and family members. Steve, you are an amazing partner. An amazing husband. An amazing Dad. You do some really fantastic laundry. And before we hired Carolina, you were the only one in our house who could do some really kickass toilet cleaning. I think these are some pretty high credentials, even more valuable than the amazing Program Manager you are, even if our culture says something different.

Window Painting

Who knew that if you add dishwashing soap to paint, you can paint on windows, and then just wipe it off with a paper towel? Well, I still don't know if that is true, because I haven't managed to clean off the windows from yesterday's paint fest, but that's what the bottle said...Glass sliding doors create a terrific (read: large) paint canvas. It can take a good 10 minutes to cover as far as an almost 3 year old can reach on a stool. And when that is done, it's time to add another color...

February Potluck

Efsun hosted our monthly potluck on Sunday. As usual, she put us all to shame, and I dared to ask her if she understood the meaning of "potluck", as in, you don't make all the food yourself ;). But I should keep my mouth shut, because it really is just our good luck to have such an amazing Turkish cook around to spoil us.The SpreadDid we destroy enough stuff yet?Shira desperately wants some of that beer. This is the best I could do to get a shot of all of them. The other kids cooperated quiet well, Samuel, however spent most of the time doing somersaults. I know Samuel is the only boy in the group, but it really hits home when you look at a picture like this. (Sorry Mark, you're too little to count yet :))Umm, bedtime perhaps?

Stroller Hikes Dinner with the Pope

Last Monday the Stroller Hikes board took our most dedicated hike leaders out to dinner. We were so impressed by their dedication, that we even convinced the Pope to join us. Thanks Amy and Loren, you guys are awesome! What was the total, something like 666 hikes each this year?
Don't know what Stroller Hikes is? Go check it out! www.strollerhikes.com

more birthdays

Sophia's and Sebastian's birthday party was this past Saturday.

Shira and Penelope beginning a friendship. Thanks, Penelope, for sharing your cup!Skype certainly has changed what it means to live far away from family. Marcello holds up the computer to insure his family in Argentina gets a good view of the blowing out of birthday candles.Shannon thoughtfully relit the candles repeatedly to insure all of the kids got the opportunity to blow them out and stave off potential tantrums.