I grew up with a pool, and you could say my childhood summers were basically just one pool party after another. I learned a lot watching my mom and dad host pool parties. I learned from my dad that pool chemistry is important. I learned from my mom that my bathing suit game should be
I’ve written before about how most of my brain power is used up with figuring out ways to get vegetables into my kids’ diet. Recently I’ve stumbled upon some tips that I have to share, because even if you’ve got the kind of kid that eats brussel sprouts on the regular, there’s no such thing as too
Any serious baker or pastry chef knows — the secret to amazing results is precision. Serious bakers weigh the ingredients because measuring cups are approximate at best. They use temperature-controlled cookware, and regularly-calibrated ovens. ‘ You can’t just dump all the ingredients in the bowl, you have to follow the instructions. You must not over-beat, you must not over-knead. You have to
It’s almost Thanksgiving, and I wanted to do a little something for my kids’ preschool teachers. I sort of struggle to tell my kids’ teachers that I’m thankful for them because just saying it seems rote. I’m thankful for you, but do you have any idea how thankful? Seeing my little boy blossom as a student who loves
Alternate title: How I’ve kept my kids from getting scurvy on their preferred diet of jelly beans and begging for jelly beans. At David’s 5-year check up, the doctor asked if he ate a variety of foods, and I kind of tilted my head and admitted, no, he’s pretty picky. The doctor asked me to tell
I don’t often give parenting advice here, but Thomas asked me to tell you about this. Give your babies a chicken bone. A chicken bone, cooked and stripped — it’s nature’s teether. All my babies have loved chicken bones because all babies love chicken bones because, what’s not to love? It has flavor, it’s the perfect shape for holding and
There was a time in David’s life when he wasn’t a picky eater. He ate every single thing we put in front of him. Green beans! Butternut squash! Catfish! Tofu! I’m ashamed to admit I was smug. I gave myself credit for his palate. I had, after all, done everything right. Then one day David became
When I was pregnant I had an aversion to arugula. It wasn’t the taste, it was the texture — the wiry stems. I couldn’t eat sausage either. Once again, the texture. It was a shame, because I had no problem eating 13 Egg McMuffins every day, but couldn’t stomach the thought of this recipe. That
I’ve mentioned before that Tom doesn’t really love dessert. That’s just one way he keeps such a trim frame of mostly sinew and muscle. He does love my homemade blackberry pie, though. I made it for Easter and figured I should share the recipe here since it’s probably the most complicated recipe I use that’s really “mine.” Here’s the
My sister has four kids, and they all have birthdays in the eight-week span between January 10 and March 6. As if that wasn’t enough celebrating, my sister’s, mom’s, and Granny’s birthdays are in there, too. Seven birthdays in eight weeks. That’s why I specifically didn’t make any New Years resolutions about no sweets or eating healthy. My sister and her family is