Mothering Many

I spite of my last jesting post about cooking (but it is a neat site), I do know how to do so. Remember the shrimp scampi? When I was a less experienced cook, I lived by my measuring spoons and cups, and thought I could not cook without them. I even owned a set of kitchen scales at one time, given to me by my mother, but I only ever used them to weigh the baby. (As a side note– if you put a cake pan on a kitchen scale, and put a small, sleeping and mostly placid baby in that pan, the baby will wake up when he comes in contact with the pan, thrash as if poked with a cattle prod, and totally upset the pan. You will have to forget weighing the baby, and just try to catch him before he hits the floor. Just sayin’) Back to the food.

Measuring is a necessity when cooking, and while it’s possible, and not difficult, to learn what a teaspoon or tablespoon looks like in the hand, I have never been able to accurately guess weights. If I plan to make a recipe that lists the ingredients by weight, I have to by a package just that size, or weigh it at the store. Neither of these is the best solution, but unless I break down and buy another set of kitchen scales, those are my options.

If I ask my three older children what they are willing to do for pizza and a movie with the express intent of getting them to clean up, is that bribery? Or can we call it a just reward for extra effort? I guess the answer to that question is moot, because we are now debating which movie it’s going to be.

I just checked Google, and found out this blog comes up on the third page when “mothering” is searched. That’s not too bad for a blog this young, but I’d like to do better. I checked my meta, and discovered that I have never put keywords in for this site, much to my chagrin. I really need to apply what I know about search engine optimization to this site.

I know, I know: I should blog for the pure joy of letting the words out. And I do enjoy blogging, or I wouldn’t do it. But frankly, if I just want to talk to myself, I can do that all day long without fumbling over the keyboard. Cause, yeah, I’m lame like that, and still have to watch the keyboard while I type. It’s readers I want to connect with, and new readers are more likely to get here through search engines than any other way.

Stuntman played outside today in shorts, shoes and socks, then decided he was hot, so he put on flip flops. The sight was so comical, I had to snap a pic. Tell me true, does summer look like this at your house, too?

Technorati Tags: summer

I considered putting this on my “all about me” blog, but I decided to put it here because menopause really affects a whole family, doesn’t it? Most mothers will go through it eventually, and the alternative of not going through menopause is just not one I want to consider.

I found this article on hot flashes interesting. My Grandmother had surgical menopause, and never had a hot flash, But my mother has had them for over 20 years. I experienced them with my last pregnancy, and boy howdy, there really are no words. As in, I thought I knew what a hot flash was until I had my own, and then I realized I hadn’t known a thing about them at all.

There are many informative articles on the site, and ladies, fore-warned is fore-armed.

Technorati Tags: menopause, hot flash

This is my oldest son. We call him Stuntman, because he can do things like flips on the trampoline, and loves to do tricks on his back. He also like to play secret agent, and has a neat sense of humor. he knows how to laugh at himself, and he keeps the rest of us in stitches as well. He’s a new nine, more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

I read a press release the other day about a book about appreciative coaching. It was co-authored by a faculty member at Capella University, Sara Orem. (Capella offers degrees through online learning.) Appreciative coaching guides the reader through four stages – Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny, much the same plan I try to use in our studies here at home. The book is directed at individual coaches of managers, executives, and “those who do one-on-one work with people who can influence and create change in their organizations” but the technique is valid for learners of all ages.

It feels pretty good to have what I’;ve known for years validated by a professional.