Not Just a Working Mom

The Expats

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 02:47:00 +0000

I traveled quite a bit for work last year, at least in comparison to years past. I always love to travel, even though my business trips are less adventures to exotic locales than doing the same work in a new location, with the perks of gourmet meals, maid service and happy hours. Actually less happy hours than late night meetings in bars (I am in marketing, after all).

What I dream about is actually moving to a foreign city, exposing my kids to a new culture and embracing the challenges and excitement of a different place. When I lived in Japan for a summer one of my favorite activities was browsing the produce and seafood sections of the grocery store. As we become more global the stores and restaurants seem to look the same, but there are still plenty of fruits and vegetables I rarely see outside of my trips to China: dragon fruit, mangostinos (except canned), ginko nuts and lotus root, to name a few.

In Frankfurt last year I ate three kinds of sausages in one afternoon, finally seeing why currywurst is so popular - yummy. I still love to talk about my adventure with a Japanese friend, as we searched out the best (according to google, at least) soup dumplings in Shanghai. What a joy to get to do that everyday, especially if I got to take some time off work.

Until my husband becomes a mastermind computer security expert engaged in white collar crime, I guess I'll just continue to dream.

This post was inspired by mystery thriller novel The Expats by Chris Pavone. Kate Moore sheds her old life to become a stay at home mom when her husband takes a job in Europe. As she attempts to reinvent herself, she ends up chasing her evasive husband's secrets. Join From Left to Write on January 22 as we discuss The Expats As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

Meal Plan Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 02:06:00 +0000

Before we become an even more crazy sports family, thought I'd attempt a few weeks of meal planning (hint, will not be making what's in the photo). It seems to be tryout and futsal season, so we'll see how it works out. Food on the Table is a cool app, introduced to me by Keegan actually, where you can pick out recipes and it gives you a grocery list and even sale items at neighborhood groceries, although of course the Milk Pail is not on there.

I'm going to have to make some sort of souffle this week. On Friday I was asked to find a photo of a risen, then fallen souffle for some corporate powerpoint presentation, then I came home and Keegan out of the blue asked if we could make a cheese souffle. He probably won't appreciate me cramming it full of broccoli.

Monday, the day both of use work and the the kids have the day off: flavorful flounder, brown rice and carrots, followed by futsal at 8:30pm!

Tuesday: souffle, depending on whether I make it home in time

Wednesday: soccer tryouts - meatloaf, bacon covered, from Pioneer Woman, made the night before

Thursday: school orientation night, probably go out?

Friday: Thai Peanut Chicken Tenders

Saturday: cold cereal and leftovers most likely, but let's say Ground Beef A'La King for kicks and grins (I think I actually have leftover puff pastry shells in the freezer)

This is provided my family still refuses to live on green smoothies.

Book Recommendations for 2nd Grade to Middle Schoolers

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 21:27:00 +0000

We're having a book buying night and our lovely librarian (http://twitter.com/l_mabey) has posted a list of book recommendations thought some of you might like. Next up, I need the Spanish language ones. My kids come from a line of avid readers, but have not really picked up that bug themselves, so I am always looking for recommendations.

2^nd – 4^th grade kids who like to laugh:

My Weird School series by Dan Gutman – kids and teachers misbehave just enough to make the books feel slightly naughty, but with lessons learned. Can’t keep these on the shelf at school.

Time Warp Trio series by Jon Sciescza – similar concept to Magic Treehouse, only with dry humor and mild sarcasm that budding ironists will enjoy.

Justin Case series (2 books so far) by Rachel Vail – Justin is a school-nervous worrywart who manages to be engaging and hilarious as he survives recognizable situations at school and with his quirky, loving family. A great read-aloud for families.

The Riot Brothers series by Mary Amato—two brothers live out their motto of “make something exciting happen every day,” with mischief, a modicum of booger humor, and truly good intentions.

Moving on to middle school soon? As the mom of boys ages 10 and 12, she has serious concerns about books that emphasize the crass and cruel side of the tween years, and don’t honor the tender hearts we’ve cultivated in our own kids. Here are some titles that introduce the middle-school years with respect, humor, and a reasonable dose of reality, best for grades 4 & up:

Origami series by Todd Angleberger – kids trying to navigate confusing friendships and crushes in age-appropriate ways. I love how these books model self-reflection and show respect for kids’ feelings without appearing to teach a lesson.

Aldo Zelnick series by Karla Oceanak—Aldo is a talented artist, but can’t decide whether he’s willing to let his non-standard talent shine.   His diverse group of family and friends are featured in his journal-style books that feature text and graphic sections.

The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. Set during and just after the Vietnam wars at two different middle & high schools, this pair of titles would be appropriate for 5^th grade and up readers ready for the next level of poignancy and cultural literacy in humorous episodic novels.

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass. (California Young Reader Medal, 2011). Narrated in turns by an appearance-obsessed aspiring model and an isolated, home-schooled astronomy enthusiast, this story of weathering life’s changes is thoughtful and captivating.

Different century, same kids: historical fiction for accomplished readers.

The Great Brain series by John Fitzgerald. First published beginning in 1967, these books have stood the test of time. Harkening back to days when expectations for boys were both rougher (pocketknives, fistfights, never tattling) and stricter (rigorous chores, respect for adults, scrupulous honesty) these tales of two brothers growing up in a small town Utah feature Tom Fitzgerald, a trickster for the ages. Grades 3 – 5.

The Grandma Dowdell series by Richard Peck—A Long Way from Chicago (1999 Newberry Honor), A Year Down Yonder (2001 Newberry Medal), and A Season of Gifts compose a trilogy set in a veeeery small town in downstate Illinois, where the indefatigable and always unexpected Grandma Dowdel marches to her own drummer, with adventures narrated by the series of young relatives and neighbors who come under her influence. Best for grades 5 – 8.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Eleven-year-old Calpurnia balances the competing influences of a tradition-bound, ladylike mother who worries about her future, and a gender-blind, intellectual grandfather who recognizes her intelligence.   It’ll be hard for our girls to believe there was a time when aspiring to a college education was considered a crazy idea for a girl…this book will highlight how far things have come.

Chains and Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson—these two titles, with the upcoming Ashes, make up the Seeds of America trilogy. These are usually recommended for grades 6 or 7 and up, but mature 5^th-graders who can handle the dark side of American history will also benefit. Unsparing detail and meticulous research support Anderson’s tales of African teens, both enslaved and free, finding their way through the tumultuous times of the American Revolution.   May be too intense for sensitive readers, but are well worth the time for kids who want to know more about less-famous aspects of our history.

Happy Birthday 10 Year Old

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 06:20:00 +0000

My first born, my little, is 10 years old today. It's hard to believe. In some ways he's so terribly mature for someone who just made it to two digits, having such compassion and worry for his family, eager to tackle high school math and composing the most impressive stories. In other ways, he's clearly his age or less, with no interest in girls and tearing up when he gets hurt playing soccer. In other words, he's my perfect little guy.

I don't know how I got so lucky, with such an amazing son. I expect, or more accurately, predict incredible things from him. Keegan is one of the smartest people I know, and my go-to with any questions about sports or interpreting the ridiculous documents they call instructions these days. I love that he's an avid coin collector and his eyes light up over a graph paper and mechanical pencils, yet when offered his choice of presents he chooses a VORTEX Nerf gun. I'm astounded that he can compose two page stories in Spanish and dribble around 6 players in soccer.

I do worry about him, as he possesses this combination of rule follower and perfectionist which will likely serve him well in some aspects, but makes homework a real nightmare these days. I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do, or even possible, but I'm trying to teach him to be happy with "good enough" or occasionally slacking off. Doing your best is a wonderful trait, but when I see him crumple up two sheets of papers and nearing tears over summarizing a "Time for Kids" article, it breaks my heart and I know his teacher would agree with me. I spent my high school years staying up late and getting up early to do homework, 5th grade is way to young for that.

So to my smaller than average, smarter and more athletic that average, more stressed than average son with a thorn lodged in his forehead, I wish you a super duper incredibly happy birthday. And for the record, I may have got him a nerf gun for his birthday, but I in no way condoned this gift, you could put an eye out with that thing.

A Giants Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 06:19:00 +0000

Happy Halloween to my little Giants (and one Hulk). Congratulations to the Giants too! Can't wait till my boys join a baseball team, although I'm sure I'll regret saying that after the 4th weekend consumed by sports.

It Could Be So Much Worse

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:39:00 +0000

Yikes! Seven months since my last post. Well, I'm easing in again, with a committment to not only read, but actually write the posts for the From Left to Write book club. It's not that I need more in my life, but I think adding more variety will make my life a little more interesting.

School just started and this certainly seems like the easiest transition to day. My wiggly young son who likes school, but has spent his share of days in the principles office, has certainly calmed down. Of course his awesome teacher doesn't hurt. He's got the same teacher as last year (he was in a 2/3 combo then) and she is truly awesome - easy going, extraordinarily smart and dedicated, and creative. Last year she actually let him have his own desk, to prevent him from getting too distracted by the other kids. A few others then asked for their own desks.

We're having other issues now, one of which is when his knee, foot, arm, etc. hurts, which always seems to occur when he's aked to help with something low on the fun spectrum I guess is how we might put it. He plays a hard game of soccer, gets hurt and can't help with the equipment. He spent all weekend with no knee pain, only to have it spring up when it was time to unload the camping gear. I admit I was not as sympathetic as my husband. The guy has been through a lot - with knee surgery for a bone infection, when he was really in a lot of pain for a long time. But he manages to get well enough to play baseball after his brother has unloaded the dishwasher. I have no doubt the pain is real in his mind, but my husband has finally jumped on the frustration bandwagon, not letting him get away with avoiding work every time. It's hard to know what the right decision is, though. Of course I don't want my baby to suffer, but I want him to be more responsible.

Keegan started 5th grade this year, and as much as he complains it's boring, it's the easiest start yet to the year. I've promised to look into the math situation (a later post), but otherwise he's on his own. They swap between three teachers - math, english (where she uses sign language and acronyms instead of English :) and spanish. Bad part is they don't get their own desks, good part is Keegan now has his backpack for biking in and one for driving. He is sooo excited about learning the sax too. I feel, though, as they kids get older, the worries will get larger. Is he living up to his potential, is he striving to please everyone versus finding his own passion, learning what he loves, likes, tolerates, hates? is he going to find that one or two friends to spend all his time with? Is my working and traveling going to have a negative impact? I frankly don't care that much what others think of my parenting, and try not to judge others. Sometimes, though, when you realize your main interaction with the kids was asking them where their lunch bags are, whether they brushed their teeth and have any homework, you just might be missing something.

I am very lucky, though, and I know it, to have healthy kids who are happy most of the time. The book we read for the book club was about a family who had to overcome serious obstacles, one of which was a denial his daughter's condition was even real.

How far would you go to advocate for your child? In January First, father Michael Shofield and his family struggle to find the right treatment for his daughter Jani, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at six years old. Join From Left to Write on September as we discuss the Shofield's memoir January First. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

Animals and Vegetables, it's what's for dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:36:00 +0000

I have to confess one of our family pasttimes is to laugh at some of my mom's antics. She's been known to exagerate, something that drove my ex-husband bonkers, and now the new generation is finding her amusing in a whole different way. It started with my friends and I though. I always saw her and my dad as jumping on the health nut bandwagon - from making us take Tai-Chi to making separate trips for cereral and bread, not to mention fresh tofu (health food store), meat, fish and finally produce. We also grew tons of vegetables and my mom made yogurt, whole grain cookies with carob chips, and frozen chocolate covered pineapples. What a couple of freaks. A favorite game was "guess what Nikki has for lunch?" (eggplant pizza, sushi, tofu burgers?). They drew that line at organic lettuce, that stuff wilts within hours.

She had this firm belief that it was critical to mimimize all refined flour, sugar, rice and completely avoid preservatives, at least until you were 12, then all bets are off. This might explain the Carl's Jr. wrappers we'd often find in our trash cans first thing in the morning. As annoying as this could be, and as begrudgingly as we ate our brown rice and non-instant oatmeal and made jokes about our dried fruits (want a date?), I knew deep down she was doing something right.

I'm now making my own way with my own family, and I definately appreciate a solid background in pretentious hippy food. I am avoiding the later low cal fads she jumped on, based on my brief perusal of some of the latest books, and my go-to blog for all things healthy, http://www.kellythekitchenkop.com/. I ply my kids with smoothies and grass-fed beef, lots of cheese and 5 ingredient ice cream. I've taught them to be scared of HFCS, although they can't get enough sugar and prefer in-n-out to my burgers, but I hope I'm giving them the foundation to someday enjoy these as much as I do.

Roasted CSA Turnips, yummy

If you want a better picture of my life, though, check this out.

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Could you live an entire year eating locally or the food from your garden? Barbara Kingsolver transplanted her family from the deserts of Arizona to the mountains of Virginia for their endeavor. Join From Left to Write on February 21 as we discuss Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Photos and Cards and Pretty Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Just like our holiday cards, as usual, this post is quite late. Bu t I really wanted to give a shout-out to Shutterfly, and not just because they gave me free cards again this year. I created some awesome gifts this year, using picasa, picnik and shutterfly, but those are still a secret from a few of my blog readers. Of course they have a ton of holiday photo card options, my go to for many years of Christmas cards. And thanks to babjidesign we also had some wonderful photos. Here's the front of this years card.

Last year there was a lot of brown, which I love but my husband is not a big fan. I love all the bright, not not super Christmassy colors this year. Someday maybe I'll choose a Chanukah card, the year perhaps we get our cards out early again.

I didn't make photo books this year, but unearthed a number of old ones while unpacking and they are always great quality, great prices and with more and more options. My new favorite are the backgrounds for many of their projects. I may be giving away a surprise, but seriously, check this out.

Every year I swear I'm going to send more cards. With all the options on this and many other sites really have no excuse. We also, every year it seems :) have birthday parties in November and January, so as long as I'm in the card spirit why not a party invitation? Because I'm not that organized, that's why. Or is it a subtle protest against the "girl" and "boy" categories? Cuz this would be perfect.

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Shutterfly did provide me with a code for 50 free cards, and asked me to write a post but all the opinions and words are my own. It's a bit late for cards this year (unless you are us, that is), but I do have codes for 25 free cards if you are interested.

Savvy Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:51:00 +0000

I haven't actually gone shopping on Black Friday since my mom made it a thing when we came home from college. It was not nearly as crazy then. Now I don't even have to feel guilty about missing great deals. Last week the minds behind a new app (for iPhone on iTunes now, coming soon for Andriod) treated a bunch of Bay Area bloggers to brunch and a shopping spree at Santana Row to try our the new app, savvy.com.

It's got two main functions that I haven't seen on any of the rampant shopping apps and deal sites out there. If you buy something at a place that promises to match the price difference, just scan the receipt after purchase and you get a notification when the price goes down. We just bought a TV from Best Buy - it was already on sale, but you never know. You can also put items on a "watch' list and it'll alert you (via email) when that item goes on sale or reaches the price you are willing to pay. I don't shop a lot these days, but I admit I treat myself on a hellish week, and nice to know I don't have to obsessively check whether a price went down (not that I ever have).

We got paired up to test the new app out on my iPhone and Kari and I had a blast. Here's her review. Limited stores right now, but Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Best Buy and Container Store are a few of them.

Thank you Savvy for funding some fine shopping. I just downloaded the newest version of the app, much easier to use.
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Disclaimer: Savvy gave me a lovely brunch, plus some cash to use to go shopping to test out the app. The words and opinions expressed above are my own. I will receive no further compensation nor any sort of commission for publicizing the Savvy shopping app.

A New Old Kind of Education

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:14:00 +0000

The latest book in the From Left to Write book club is Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Shiff. Unfortunately there is not a whole lot of history written about the powerful queen, and much of it is dramatized, but she still managed to write a long enough book that I've barely gotten into it. In this club, though, we just write posts inspired by the book.

I've just finished the section on how she was educated. While we don't have specifics on her education, the author can surmise based on the typical education for royals the rich and intense education she received. There were no breaks, really, except for the monthly holidays, and they crammed in a lot of learning. The "classics" (which of course weren't yet), nine languages plus speech and argument "made with particular and exact choreography", geometry, physiology, learning that helped make her the leader she became.

Education has been on my mind since my brilliant little boy cried the first three weeks of kindergarten. Fourth grade finally brings the serious homework woes which I've, I mean he, has managed to avoid up until now. He's always hated school, and I am not one to counter with "well, school is boring." Frankly I loved the worksheets and math tests, it was the long writing projects which brought me to tears. Yesterday he was moaning about some science homework, could not understand why he had to do it. First he complained about having to do "review" and then he whined they never taught him the stuff. The final straw was a worksheet where you could only answer the questions if you liked the assigned book.

I can't feel bad for him, there are so many kids with worse issues. On the other hand, what I'd really like to do is rip up the worksheet and make him read Watership Down, Metamorphosis and Brave New World, followed by free-form book reports of at least 500 words, something I had to do, although it was probably not until 5th grade. Some boredom can lead to creativity, I'm afraid the boredom in our testing focused schools will just lead to hatred of learning. With the right teachers, the worlds biggest library and Euclid, perhaps my boys could get an education like Cleopatra. I'll avoid the rest of her traumatic life, though.

In Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff digs into the history books to share with us who the true Cleopatra was. As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review. You can read other members posts inspired by Cleopatra: A Life on book club day, September 27 at From Left to Write.

That's Some Big House

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:35:00 +0000

Over the summer we headed up to Canada for a rare family gathering. My aunt and uncle own a huge old farmhouse up there and the original plan was for them to get up their early and fix it up for my Aunt's 70th birthday party. My cousins were coming, and sister and brother's family, all the relatives who weren't working or, sadly, in the hospital. Unfortunately the wack-a-doodle tenants refused to move out until ordered to by the court, finally leaving one day before the sheriffs were due to arrive, but we all came anyway. We don't need no fancy house to party.

Check it out over there, 26 rooms including 5 bathrooms and 3 kitchens (it had been turned into apartments). Their plan is to restore it to its Victorian glory and run a bed-and-breakfast. They've started on a few rooms, but the place looked cool to me, even the spooky attic, which instead of being full of priceless antiques contains old computers and printers, of course.

The best thing about this place, though, are the two gorgeous decks and a front yard the size of a soccer field. Except when we left the house, or they were exploring the many many rooms, the kids pretty much never stopped playing on this grass.

As cool as this house was, and how fun to have enough space to have an entire party outide, but enough rooms to sleep 20, I'm not aiming to buy a house this big. The idea of redoing a house, furninishing it, redoing the kitchen and bathrooms then inviting (paying) guests over really appeals to me. It's pretty much my husband's worst nightmare so a B&B is not in the cards. I hope at least to visit again. I also can't end this without a few photos of my adorable neice and nephew, who I got to meet for the first time this summer.

That's uncle court, aka my dad, aka world's best grandpa, holding the baby there.

This post was inspired by the latest book in the Left to Write book club. Carry Yourself Back To Me is about singer-songwriter who's going through some tough times and starts out holed up in her house in Florida, snuggling with her dog and sanding down every piece of furniture in the place. A lot of the first of the book is spent describing parts of the house. Although I found it a bit too chock-full of metaphors or similes, by the end of the book I was in tears and rooting for this chick to reconnect with her family, her past love and mostly her music.

Deborah Reed's debut novel Carry Yourself Back to Me follows heartbroken singer-songwriter Annie Walsh as she digs into the past to exonerate her brother from murder. As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review. You can read other members posts inspired by Carry Yourself Back to Me on book club day, September 22 at From Left to Write.

Happy Father's Day - a little belated

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:50:00 +0000

A lovely breakfast, breakfast for dinner, and lots of sports in between, I think a pretty good day for dad all around.

While dad was watching sports, we procured a spanking new slippy slide (yes, that's what I call it) and some rockin' new bathing suits for the boys. And pjs, and boxers, and that's why I never go to Target.

Cube Dog, a quick way to put a smile on your face

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:04:00 +0000

Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes. They're having a fun contest that runs from June 13-17 so head over.

I've got a ton of apps on my iPhone, many downloaded by kids. I'm always up for something new for us to play with, well, especially them as we seem to get hooked (obsessed, addicted perhaps) with some of the games. They love puppies, they love iPhones so when I got a chance to review this a new app which combines the two I jumped at the chance. And oh what fun we had. I don't think I'll play with it as much as my new past time (Words with Friends, anyone?), but it's a blast and would have no problem with my kid toodling around with an online puppy - just so long as he remembers to feed his real live doggie.

The Cube Dog app lets you create these adorable robot looking doggies, and while there are several features to change, like color and eye shape, one great feature is you can shake your phone to see different combinations. Love the shaking. Once you create and name your dog you can have it phone you, throw a ninja star, and it will show it's little heart when you pet it. Ok, it showed my son a heart, with me it flashed an "I want to be alone" sign, sheesh. I forgave my little guy though, especially when he barked.

My favorite feature is you can take pictures, and not only from all different angles (the dog spins with the swipe of a finger), but combine it with a camera and you get different backgrounds. Here are a few I took.

It's fun, it's free (well, you can pay for some add-ons) and it'll put your kid back in a good mood when he's cranky, promise. There are a few hardware requirements, as you need one of the following:
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4
- iPod Touch 3rd generation
- iPod Touch 4th generation
and they all require iOS 4.0 or higher. For a sneak preview check out this adorable video.

While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Europe Then and Now

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 05:07:00 +0000

I made my second trip to beautiful Switzerland last week, and boy did it taste good. I've only been to Europe a few times, and I even get my first two trips there "as an adult" mixed up. The first was post-dropping out of college and getting a divorce. I was working in Cambridge, and had this urgent need to see Europe. I was fortunate to know a few friends from college who lived there, so it seemed opportune to take advantage of a free place to stay. With a steady income and not much in the way of expenses, I had the money to somewhat splurge.

My first stop was London, where I heard tales of a huge apartment a bond trader got rent free, and he was dying for visitors to use those empty rooms. I dragged my suitcase from the train in the humid, rainy London weather, hung out for a bit till my temporary roommate returned from work and let me into his flat. Didn't seem all that big to me, but beggars can't be choosers. We had dinner at a burger joint with cold beer as he was not quite accepting of the traditional pub fare, and retired for the evening. I distinctly remember how light it still was at 11pm, plus his funny his combo Bronx/British accent. He was a total New Yorker with a heavy accent, and those years in London didn't tone it down much. The next morning I heard stirrings, but opted to sleep in. Turns out those sounds were his roommate, and she managed to lock me in the place. Not on purpose, she had no idea I was there, but I had never seen a lock where you needed a key to get out. I called my friend and he came and rescued me, it was pretty funny. I finally asked about this "huge" apartment and learned that was only for his first ex-pat year. If they choose to stay longer they're on their own so he got a cheaper one.

I went from London to Paris, and faced more rain. My friend husband was so sweet and kind, but my friend warned me they had no money (in between work visas) to even go to a museum. No worries, I was there to explore, being on my own was fine. Until I discovered that you must know exactly what to eat and drink nearly every minute of the day or prepare to be faced head-on with rudeness. Things are expensive in Paris, and while my friend knew the cheap places patronized by artists, on my own I had to take my chances. One day I had an urge for Crepes and I just chose the nearest place. I took a seat and placed my order after a while. I was gruffly told I was not allowed to sit in that section if I was only eating dessert, and moved to the other side of the empty place. 10 minutest the waiter came back and told me he'd forgotten my order. Much of my trip was like that, so I decided to get out of there.

I read about Strasbourg, which, while in France, is mostly a German town. I took German in high school! I got a ticket and hopped on the train, where I was immediately told to get on a different train. I was then kicked out of my seat for having the wrong class ticket. Sigh. And where did I end up? Bern, Switzerland. Fortunately I had my passport, they sun was shining and nobody cared that I didn't speak French. I briefly considered staying overnight, but headed home after a truly lovely day in Switzerland. I met by boyfriend the next day, and we proceeded on to Amsterdam, where I partook of the legal herbs at the "coffee shops," ate oodles of french fries and got lost multiple times wandering the streets. The first evening I actually said "I remember where our hotel is, is was right near a canal" - doh! We ended our stay in Germany at a beautiful old B&B with a proprietor who spent all his time complaining about Americans. The sausages made up for that.

This recent trip to Switzerland was on an expense account, and we opted to test out the restaurant we'd booked for our group dinner. The photos here do not do it justice. I mostly worked, but manged to score some homemade chocolate and stay in a hotel this time. The food, though, from cheese fondue and duck the first night, to German sausage and beer followed by Meringues and Chantilly the last, was universally excellent and mostly served with, if not a smile, not a sneer either. The only snag was when the restaurant refused to admit some vegetarians might not eat fish, and I actually got into an argument when I insisted on a few non-fish, non-meat meals.

I've been dreaming of food since I read the latest book club selection for From Left to Write, Lunch in Paris, a Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard, and romantic, delicious book with recipes at the end of each chapter. It inspired me to make mushroom and artichoke pasta with ingredients from the farmer's market, yogurt cake with pineapple for dessert then breakfast, and fish in foil, and easy and flavorful cooking method.

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I received a free copy of this book as part of the Left to Write book club but was under no obligation to write anything. Read more posts here.

Teacher Caught Texting During Class

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:21:00 +0000

Even Obama is finally saying we need fewer standardized tests, woohoo. In the same article he said we need more technology in the classroom. I don't really think that's the bigest priority, but I'm super glad for my son's teacher's cell phone. Keegan was really sad about me leaving, but look what they sent from school.

Random Stuff, including a Squirrel on Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:47:00 +0000

I'm off again for work, this time to beautiful Switzerland. I'll try to get some shots there, but in the meantime, I leave this blog with some random going ons from our life.

Turns out Donovan can give Keegan a, well, pseudo-piggy back ride down the hall. I won't show the attempts by Keegan to carry Donovan, he was not nearly as successful. It's amazing how they can argue over a little Foosball game, but do this without injury.

Lookie what I found at the farmer's market - duck eggs. The first time I served them Keegan said he didn't like them, and Donovan complained he didn't get one. You can see how much bigger Mr. Duck is, but the flavor is really not vastly different. Keegan came to his senses.

Someone at school has started "Family field trips" - afternoon or weekend gatherings at a neighborhood park or museum, and we managed to catch them at the Cantor Art museum at Stanford, on a rainy afternoon before a soccer game. The modern art exhibits were definitely a favorite.

If you're a This American Life fan, you may have heard the "Squirrel Cop" story, and oldie but a favorite. Many years ago, we received a paint-by-number kit as a donation thank you gift, including the illustration of the hilarious Squirrel on Fire story. Check out what Donovan and I accomplished. Here's the actual...

Field Trip Thwarted

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:24:00 +0000

I finally got to chaperone a field trip, and it happened to be to one of our most favorite places.

I was in charge of these five boys. One parent couldn't come, and for some reason I was trusted with an extra kid. I set up some ground rules, which did not include no silly faces.

Clearly my kids did not inherit my fear of escelators.

Role playing at the Tech. This is where they would have spent their whole time if there had been more computers and we hadn't forced them to "go do something else!"

Hmm...this doesn't look like the Tech museum? It is actually a pretty cool park next to HP Pavillion, which I'd never seen in the daytime. Alas, our plans, including an IMAX show :( were foiled when a massive power outage occured in San Jose - 12,000 lost power for a few hours. The kids clearly had a blast (so need one of these at school), but we will never get our field trip back.

Happy St. Patty's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Have some whiskey on me!

Why yes, my son included a bottle of whiskey in his most recent artwork. That's what happens when you let your kids watch the Simpsons movie, three times in two days. Note the moldy apple, pineapple and a stretched out pear. We could not be more proud.

And this is what a little girl drew for him, awww!

The Ultrasound in the Glove Compartment

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Before trading my car in a few months ago I cleaned out the glove compartment, and there was my first ultrasound of the little bun. I figured it was as safe a place as any, and it’s not the kind of photo I wanted in my baby book, even if I were planning to create one. I did enjoy taking a fond glance whenever I happened to lookin there, but ultrasounds were not exactly a joyous occasion for me after the first. I'm not talking about the fact that, to be honest, I found some a tad creepy, is that wrong? When you do IVF, you get very early ultrasounds, weekly for a while so first it stops being exciting, then it becomes a bit scary when you no longer get that comfort of having them.

Ultrasounds brought too much bad news as well. With our first baby we lost a twin, called a "vanishing twin" as it was very early on, and probably would not even have known except for the early ultrasounds. As it was we'd already a few people we were having twins. When my doctor told me that the fact that one fetus had stopped growing had no impact on the other, I thought he was lying. I was convinced I would lose the other and he was just making me feel better, but I did get over that. Then at 15 weeks an ultrasound showed an enlarged kidney, and they recommended a amnio. Once again I was thrown into a panic, worried I'd lose my baby due to miscarriage. It had been such a long road, was it worth the risk? I had about 30 minutes to decide. I decided them to find out the sex, even though I'd have to keep it from my husband as he didn't want to know. I just felt like it would bring me closer, easier to talk to and bond with in case he didn't make it. I lost two others before I'd hardly felt pregnant and I wanted to know this little guy.

Everything came out fine (badum bum), but my coping mechinisms might seem a bit pessimistic or dark to some. After years of infertility the fact that I could get pregnant gave me hope I'd have a baby. I loved being pregnant, loved the attention to be honest, but until I held that little miracle in my hands I didn't exactly worry I'd lose the baby, more prepared myself for the loss. The ultrasound photo in the car, the preparation for bad news, even the desire to work in my pregnancy in conversations, I was reminded of all this when I read our most recent From Left to Write book club pick, "Exploiting My Baby," a hilarous recount of Teresa Stasser's pregnancy.

I'm sorry to say I missed the last two book club postings. I would recommend those books, Young Mandela and The Swan Thieves, but could not get inspired to write after them. After thoroughly enjoying and totally relating to this book I was determined to get a post into my poor neglected blog. I am not a fan of parenting books, mommy guides, even humorous ones all seem to want to give you advice, bring you into some club where I rarely fit. Most of my friends decided to have babies, then had them. The sleepless nights, the difficult decisions about whether or not to go back to work...I had none of that (thank goodness, or my our finances would have taken a beating). I was ready for sex well before my husband and never even fretted over whether sleep with my baby or felt guilty about the occasional formula suppliment. Not to say that everthing was perfect, I just read to escape, not to solve my problems.

Teresa gave us her issues, her troubles, her happy moments with a gigantic dose of humor. She never tried to give advice and, best of all, totally embraces exploiting her baby. Go mommy!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of the From Left to Write book club and was under no obligation to write about it.

Happy Heart Day

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:30:00 +0000

No romantic outings planned for us, but we still have a fun valentine's day. We decided to celebrate early, given that we didn't have anything planned for Sunday, except for the super fun birthday party I only remembered because of my personal assistant/iPhone. Geocaching, baby.

The morning started off in the usual fashion. I planned a nice breakfast after sleeping staying in bed until nearly 9am. Donovan demanding breakfast 3 minutes after I got up. I had bought the kids silicone egg shapers...one was like 11 cents since it was a gingerbread man from the Christmas discount isle. I managed some cute red heart pancakes with the unknown substance that had come from an impulse buy - powdered sugar coloring. Check 'em out! Plus some other photos.

Piggy! the second didn't come out so well, but my son loved it, said it was a pig running. What a sweetie.

I got the dead guy (name that movie)

How I ate mine.

Heart-shaped scones at the post-season futsal brunch.

Pretty rainbow chard in my vegetable box. Nobody joined me in my sauteed chard with procuitto. yum.

I won't post the valentines...don't want to get into any copywright trouble since we printed out angry bird stickers. They were pretty cool, though.

Hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day. If you need me tomorrow I'll be rushing to make it on time to the 1st grade party I'm hosting, wish me luck. Now off to put 25 fedex boxes aka valentine's mailboxes together.

His Hair, His Beautiful Hair!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:44:00 +0000

After probably 6 months, the boys finally made it up to their favorite, well, only, hairdresser.

And now his hair is nearly gone. The highlights, the flowing locks, the constantly pushing it out of his eyes. Behold, he can see again, and we can see him. Several of his teammates didn't even recognize him.

Hard to Choose Five Fabulous Bloggers

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:28:00 +0000

Thanks to Trop 50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 fabulous wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help grant a friend's wish!

Five fabulous bloggers...only 5, when there are approximately 50 bazillion blogs at last count. Eh, who can read that many, anyway? My quick pick-me-up blogs run more toward Cake Wrecks and the kludges on "There, I Fixed It" but to make it to my fabulous 5 list, which in no way would be comprehensive, I need a few more words.

This is not Jenny, although she was at BlogHer

#1 is Jenny the Bloggess, wow! When I first stumbled across her blog I laughed hysterically, then told my husband about this woman who writes like she is on some major party drugs, although I don't think she really is. She just goes all over the place, and beyond, a process one of the Monty Python founders described once at a talk, only they sometimes take a step back. At a recent humor panel at Blogher one of the humor bloggers highly recommended not to work in serious posts if you really want to be a successfull humor blogger, because funny is what your audience is expecting. I appreciate and understand that (spoken as a blogger with no focus :). Jenny, though, manages to use her blog for the power of good with mostly silly, funny, totally self-deprecating posts with a few serious totally inspiring posts, or sometimes missions, sprinkled in. Today was an example, when she shared a video, and then a heart-wrenching story of a fellow blogger who's going through a terrible time. She makes me laugh, then cry, really cry. Her advice column is also one of the few I will read.

#2 I've mentioned her before, but I still need to include the lovely, fabulous Darryle Pollack in this list. This woman seems to have done it all, and is here to show us how it's done. I can't imagine this lovely woman is much older than me, but she seems awfully wiser without ever getting into the advice realm. From discovering her artistic side after cancer, to having two grown kids whom she still fawns over, the only thing that would make her better is if she lived closer. She's not too far, but just enough that I can't scoot on over to take her out for drinks. She's really an inspiration to appreciate what you have. The name of her blog says it all, I never signed up for this, but she's making the best of "this." Boobalas :)

#3 Joy the Baker just embodies her name. I think she's several decades younger than me, has a fabulous life and is an amazing cook. She's on my food blog list, but her posts seem to have gone from mouth-watering, delicious recipes to random, amusing, silly posts about her life, followed by mouth-watering recipes. I'm not talking about stories of parties every night, although these happen on occasion, today's, for example, included this gem " I step over super gross, drunken Saturday night vomit, club promo cards, discarded hair extensions, gum wrappers and street hot dog remnants." She just seems adorable, and I trust every recipe she posts.

#4 I just discovered the reincarnation of anti-racist parent, Love Isn't Enough. This blog, subtitle "on raising a family in a colorstruck world" is edited by three women, so I'm not sure if they fall into the fabulous "blogger" category, although given the rich and important nature of this blog, I'm putting them here. As a white parent in a white family, I do know that love, or exposure to a diverse group of poeple, or trying to teach about racism are good steps, but are not enough. I don't know what is, though, so am thrilled that I have re-discovered this font of excellent articles and blog posts.

#5 Susan Niebur, Whymommy, is simply inspiring. She is fighting cancer, again, yet still reaches out to help others. She's an amazing mom blogging on Toddler Planet, consultant to NASA, supporter of women in science and, even in her toughest times still helps other women with cancer. I can't do her justice here, all I can say is send strong, fighing, postiive vibes her way. She has grace and style and does not deserve what is happening.

Don't forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to support a friend's wish. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

A Day in the Life of a WOHM*

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:06:00 +0000

People seem to be eyeing a new article with almost the hope it will re-start the "mommy wars," which only exist in a few journalists imaginations as far as I can tell. The number of woman who have a clear-cut choice about whether or not to work are a pretty small percentage, as far as I can tell. As for the rest of us, I have hard time lumping us together into any sort of category. Mom101 had a funny little post about the "modern-day" language we're supposed to use, with a question about what we hate to be told as "working moms." I personally was thrilled when someone leaned over to whisper "I've done both, work and stay at home, and, honestly, working is much harder." Thank you. When I got a luxurious 8 months off, I didn't mind a friend shamelessly recruiting me as room mom since "I wasn't working," I feel no guilt as I throw my working status around when turning down requests for volunteers, but show up when I can because frankly teaching science to cute 1st graders is fun.

For me it's not so much all the stuff I have to do, because frankly with better time management I have enough time to do what I need to do. For me the issue is more with mind share...cramming dentist appointments, birthday parties and homework into my brain along with invoices and powerpoint presentations and remembering to call that vendor. And that's not the half of it, or not even close. Should I make dinner, force the kids to play one of their games they got for Christmas, or respond to a couple work emails? I think it's clear why this blog has been suffering.

Yesterday really brought home why I need something to change around here. My son had a rough few days, getting kicked by his PE teacher in a rousing game of capture the flag, followed by a late night futsal game with no subs, left him unable to walk the next morning. So should I stay home and miss a couple important meetings, which won't get me fired but will drop me lower on the totem pole in a job I struggle to embrace? Or do I send him with dad to the doctor appointment? I have my parents, too, so I know I am very lucky, these issues are minor compared to the juggling acts of single moms or those with no support from their work. Later on I find out my husband needs to leave by 3pm, and since they have a birthday party at 5:30 he can't take the kid with him. Due to some serious miscommunication he neglected to inform me he'd actually taken the injured child to school, so both kids were safely ensconced in their after school care. I didn't find this out until I rushed home by 3, proceeded to cram in a little work then high-tailed it back to work to meet up with interviewee for my alma-matter, my one volunteer activity beyond school. Other than having to wrap the gift in the car, things went relatively smoothly after that.

While I'd love to have the option to stay home right now, my ultimate wish would be to find a job I love, which, as long as I'm in a fantasy world, is flexible enough to allow time with the kids. The kids are finally old enough to join their dad at his work as a soccer coach, which is wonderful, but I do get a bit envious sometimes. In the meantime I'll count my blessings, try to make a good impression at the job I am lucky

to have, and get these darn kids to clean up their room.

*That's Work Out of the Home Mom for my TLC challenged readers.

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This post was inspired by Take the Cake by M.F. Chapman – A From Left to Write Book Club book. I received a complementary copy of this book. Read other posts here and look for a few more book club posts coming up soon

Project 365...a year of photos

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:02:00 +0000

Since I take all my orders from facebook these days, I've decided to jump on the Project 365 photo project of redundancy project - wait, where was I? Anyway, I am going to attempt to take enough photos each day to find one to post. I can't promise I'll get to posting every day, but at least I'll get some more to blog about. Here are my first four.

This is officially Dec. 31, but I'm pretending it's the first of the year. We discovered the US Speedskating championships were going on at the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, where we spent our holidays visiting my mother-in-law. This was the 10,000M mens race, the last two entrants. We didn't get to see the short track, but every one of the contestants was pretty impressive. We did a little of our own skating as well, and scored some great shirts they were selling at amazing prices, plus a couple Colbert Nation caps.

Here's one of my favorite sledding photos, Donovan taking the lead with his little friend, who's letting us share her new spider blow-up sled. Very comfy. I've winterized this, adding a icy border. We miss the snow, although I sure don't miss having freezing toes.

Donovan is very proud of this Geode, as well he should be. He got a box of them as a late Christmas gift, and the instructions said to place them in an old sock and take a hammer to the little rocks. This one took forever to break. We all tried and he finally managed to get it open. I highly recommend this little science project.

The good news about playing futsal at MACSA is all the cool murals on the walls, the bad news is the awful lighting. Kids did great at their game tonight. It was at 8pm and there were no subs so a score of 5-6 was not too shabby.

Happy Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Pelton) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:35:00 +0000

is what the terrorists say (shamelessly stolen from 30Rock - pure awesomeness).

Happy Festivus and Hannukah
Have a very Merry Christmas
Don't forget to celebrate Kwanzaa...

and our cards won't arrive until New Years as has been our tradition for the past few years.

But aren't they just adorable? Thank you Shutterfly and Clever Girls for the free cards. Amazingly, the first cards I picked out were not eligable, even though they were significantly cheapers (photo cards vs stationary), but there were certainly plenty to choose from. Lots of brown this year, though, which I love but Brian is not a fan and nearly everything the boys own is red and blue. Next year I'm going to perhaps try some actual editing of the photos, or maybe go back to the "old days" and do a shot just for the cards.

Without further ado...

With Love Blue Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly for unique, personalized Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

You'll have to be on our list to get the inside, but feel free to send a request :)