A Humility Lesson from a Yoga Mom

I find humility in the funniest situations. Usually it comes from my kids...like when they point out that I've used a cuss word or if I drink straight out of the milk container. My most recent dose came from a perfect stranger.

I was enjoying a rare moment over breakfast with my two younger boys at the local diner. Henry was madly munching on a chocolate chip waffle with whipped cream and little Wesley was trying to keep up with his big brother. This was a special treat for all of us...breakfast out and the "candy" for breakfast. I was happy just watching them.

We were happily chatting about nothing when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of THOSE super fit Tribeca moms. You know them-- moms who sport around in Lycra to show off her hard work while carrying a water bottle and yoga matt. Although I haven’t worn spandex in years, I am always surprised with my envious reaction of any mom who finds the time to work out and look amazing.

I watched as she and her two cute girls bounced into the table next to ours. My choice of a chocolate chips and waffle breakfast was a stark contrast her freshly squeezed orange juice and poached egg diet. My morning deflated a bit. Her healthy lifestyle and seemingly Zen-like presence annoyed me to no end.

Then I found myself ease dropping on their conversation. Her girls were perfectly poised, napkins in lap and seemed to be on their best behavior when I heard.

“Alexa, if you want your sister to speak to you nicely, then you have to show her respect. Your tone was not appropriate. I suggest you ask her again, this time changing your tone.” An inaudible mumble with egg in her mouth…

“Better. Now, girls, respect in our family is very important.” I could almost envision a DEEP yoga breath happening as she followed up with, “We all need to speak to each other in respectful tones…” Ooooommmmmmmmmmmmm.

I turned my attention back to my family. The boys were fully jacked up with sugar and demanding my full attention. I was painfully aware both of them speaking loudly, urgently and at the same time! It was time to leave.

I quickly paid and rushed the boys out the door to school. As I walked into my chaotic life, I smiled. The Yoga mom was right!

We do need to speak to each other with respect. Respect is a critical life lesson for all young people. After taking a deep breath, I quietly thanked my super fit friend and walked with confidence into my day!

What's your defination of a "Good Mom"?

I came across a very thought provoking article in one of favorite reads, New York Magazine.

In it, the writer did a random survey among friends asking them their definition of a "Good Mom" and "Good Dad". So before you read any further, pause and do your own definitions.

So, not too surprising, it is far easier for dads to stand up on the winners podium. All they need to do:
- show up for most of the kids important events (1st day of school, concerts, etc)
- change a handful of diapers
- be good providers
- be supportive to mom

Now for us...it's a lot more difficult to even qualify as pretty good moms. We think in order to be considered a good mom we need to be a modern day version of June Clever! We should:
- have our kids eat fruit for breakfast
- volunteer frequently at their schools
- schedule interesting after school activities
- have an organized scrapbook chronicling every moment
- be infinitely patient
- make a healthy (i.e.homemade) family dinners
- play educational games regularly with them
- make homemade cookies to put in their lunches
- AND SO ON
WOW. What does this tell us?

Mom are SO hard on themselves and wracked with guilt! I, for one, think I am a good mom. I rarely volunteer at school, have been known to forget their after school events and snack days, have my kids on the school lunch plan, started a scrapbook for each of my kids when they were born and then now throw everything else in a shoe box to sort out later.

My kids seem to be turning out fairly normal. They tell me they love me and seem relatively happy eating what ever dinner I can manage to throw together.

Of course, only their therapist will really know the truth!

Food for thought!

Every mom in America struggles with getting their kids to eat healthy. We go to great lengths to sneak vegetables into their tummies. (Hence the success of Jessica Seinfield's new book, Deceptively Delicious!) So here's a quick tip...relax, let other kids teach them!

My oldest Fischer is not an experimental eater. However, he is MORE willing to try things if his friends eat something. We signed him up for an after school cooking program that not only taught them how to cook ethnic cuisine but about the history of food.

Suddenly, my pickiest eater was coming home bragging about how yummy scallion pancakes were and how easy it was to make homemade pesto! So cook away, my son, Dad and I will happily stay out of the kitchen and join you at the dinner table.

The Top Banana

We hosted a birthday brunch this weekend for my old friend Tom. Instead of a traditional cake his wife made one of the most scrumptious pies: Banana Creme. I haven't tasted one in years and was suddenly annoyed with what I've been missing! With the first bite, I was taken back to my childhood.

I don't know about you, but I am always trying to make fancy desserts with hard to find ingredients that truthfully, are not so tasty. I do it not so much to impress, but because I feel like a simple treat in today’s society will be dubbed passe. For some odd reason we all have been bitten by the Foot Network Challenge bug, and fortunately my life is not a fabulous reality TV show. So, this simple girl is choosing the simple life.

Our mothers had it right. My mom always made banana creme pie, my grandma made banana creme pie and now, I vow to start!

So, pull out mom's recipes, put on an apron, crush some graham crackers, smash a few bananas, stir together eggs and milk and swirl in some sugar. Make this timeless favorite this weekend and be yet another generation that can pass on a timeless favorite.

Dinner with Mom

I’ve been having weekly breakfasts with two girlfriends for over 4 years now. We share mom advice, swap stories about our kids, careers, husbands, analyze life and basically support one another.

A few weeks ago, my friend Alison was enthusiastically recommended a new book, Dinner with Dad. In a nutshell, it’s about how a workaholic dad made a life altering decision to join his family for nightly dinners. Because of these dinners-- his perspective on life changed, it reconfirmed his belief in family and he altered his work habits.

For years, I’ve thought it would be next to IMPOSSIBLE for our family to have nightly dinners. As my husband travels 3 out of the 5 nights and while I’m in town, I work long days. In fact, I can barely make a grocery list, needless to say a meal made!

But this struck home, if this dad could do it, so could we!

So for the last two weeks, we’ve managed to sit around our family dining table a few times and share more than a simple meal. Our boys are learning how to put dishes on the table, pass the bread, and use a napkin! We’ve had a few false starts (whoops, no vegetables!), however all of us are committed to slowing down and taking time to listen to one another.

And now, I have another important meal to look forward to sharing! My kids have been helping me cook...and I've seen a big trend with kid's cooking--we've seen bigger interest with our kids aprons, cookbooks, stoves, and kitchen sets this year. I am super excited about our new custom stove and would love to know what you think.

The Dinner Hour (aka the Witching Hour!)

Dinner time at our house is a game of catch as catch can. My husband travels during the week and with all the end of the year celebrations, Warm Biscuit photo shoots (shooting a new boys room), the family dinner hour has all but disappeared.

Last weekend, I declared a NEW tradition in the Bodwell house. Family breakfasts! (Of course, like every good mom, I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day...!) So on Saturday and Sundays, we all gather around for big breakfast. It is remarkably easy and best of all, my boys love all the food groups (ie. no brocoli battles).

Saturday’s menu is eggs, toast and bacon followed by Sunday pancakes, fruit and bacon. We prop Wesley up in one of our recent finds…an oilcloth booster seat and voila, the entire family ENJOYING a relaxing meal together!

I still marvel at families that can get it together for the daily dinner, however, I think this is a reasonably good solution!

P.S. What do you think of the booster seat? Sure beats the soon-to-be extinct phone book!

Rainy Day Fun

A Nor’easter whipped through the city this weekend! This proved to be the perfect excuse to stay home and make things with the boys. I wanted to make a pie and my 3 year old, Wesley, loves to 'help' in the kitchen.

In fact, Wesley and I had so much fun making a pie that we decided to keep going. Already covered head to toe in flour, we made a vat of home made play dough.

I admit….I can barely watch my kids tear into new containers of store bought play dough. Inevitably, my boys mix all the colors and it makes me sad getting stuck with a massive clump of brownish murky dough. I find myself crying out… “Be careful. Don’t mix the colors!”

So my solution…make your own! The recipe is super easy. We make a zillion colors and I can let go of my ridiculous anxiety.

Wesley’s Home Made Play Dough

1 cup of white flour

1 cup of salt

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Food Coloring

Water

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the vegetable oil and enough water to get the dough to right consistency. Break the dough into smaller batches and add food coloring to each batch.

All my flea market tin cookie cutters make terrific tools for little hands. So, grab an apron or cover up and let them...Mash, MIX, Mold and Create!

Make A Yummy Easter Treat

Materials:
2 Chocolate Bars
1 Handful of Pretzel Sticks
Wax paper for cooling
Double Boiler
Jelly Beans, Chocolate Eggs and Peeps

Make Chocolate Pretzel Nest:
Step 1: Melt Chocolate
Do this first before bringing the kids in. Break-up the chocolate bars and heat it until the chocolate is well melted.

Step2: Coat the Pretzels
Have your child add the pretzels to the chocolate. Stir in until covered. Use tongs or a fork to place coated pretzels on wax paper. Cool in your fridge or freezer to speed the process. Don't worry if not fully coated.

Step 3: Build the Nest
Use the cooled pretzels and stack them into a circle on another piece of wax paper. Keep adding one at a time to build up the nest. Drizzle remaining melted chocolate to coat and hold the nest together. Return to the fridge for an hour.

Step 4: Decorate
After the Chocolate has cooled, place nests on a plate and fill them with jelly beans and chocolate eggs. Top off with a little Peep.

Step 5: Enjoy your Spring!