My Haul and Banana Balls
Issue 32 is a smattering of subjects
Hi friends and family, it’s a busy Tuesday (read: stressful). Let’s start with what I wrote last night…
Parenting with love and logic is hard.
I’m not doing it right. But what I am doing, works.
Tonight (Monday), Owen’s without his electronics for, in his mind, leaving a bag of dried mango in his room. In my mind, it’s hundreds of requests not to leave food in his bedroom—maybe thousands.
Calmly, I gathered all the items with batteries and cords from his room and brought them into mine. I let him know I love him too much to argue and told him he’d have them back in the morning. He threatened to stare at his monitor all night (I left that since I took all the accouterment and I didn’t have any more arm space).
I said it was his choice how he spent his night. He could read, write, draw… can you imagine how annoying I sounded? He said, “I’m going to go to bed. There’s nothing else to do.” I responded with, “Great idea.”
Your takeaway: There’s no better antidote to a shitty day or a shitty mom. Go to bed. Start anew the next day.
*I’m reading Parenting with Love and Logic. Look past the biblical references if they’re not your thing. I do.
Sorry, We’re Closed
It’s 2020 and we’re closing schools. In reality, it’s 2022 and my kids are home through Wednesday because of five positive cases in their school. It’s a small school. The ratio of positive kids to the number of students drove the closure, per Marin County Health Department’s orders.
May I ask a terribly uncouth question? Is COVID still a thing? Please, don’t yell at me. We’re vaxxed and booster. I know it’s a thing, but is it? For real? Far more dangerous than the virus is working at home with two kids.
Isn’t it funny? We dealt with the work-life-kid-school-juggle-struggle for two years during the pandy and somehow three days is still a massive inconvenience. Like a stretched rubber band, as soon as we could relax, we did. And, I’m all stretched out.
Thank you for listening. Stay healthy out there.
Tabapalooza
I have a tab problem and I have a divider solution. The tabs mess with my ADHD. The dividers hardly touch it, but they’re a start.
Here’s how I create these in my browser:
Click on the plus in the top right corner and open a tab in Chrome. I don’t know how this works in other browsers, but Google might. Also, I’m a Mac-gal.
Right-click on the tab and a drop-down appears. Choose “Add Tab to Group.”
Choose “New Group” and go from there.
Once you have groups, you can right-click on the divider and the dropdown gives you an option of opening a tab in that group.
It’s a great system, but it’s not perfect. Play around. Move tabs into groups and watch your world transform (it’s not that good, but it’s good).
Tell me how it works for you. I’ll be waiting.
Banana Balls
I made these and you can too. I wung it, winged it, and won it. There’s no way these ingredients can go wrong.
Two ripe bananas
1.5-2 cups of GF oats
A spoonful or two of almond or peanut butter
A splash of vanilla
A sprinkle of cinnamon
A dusting of chocolate chips
A dollop of cocoa nibs
A pinch of salt
A stream of maple syrup
A shake of coconut flakes
Mix her up. I used a Kitchenaid mixer. You do you. Turn the oven up to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, if you have it. Grease her if you don’t. Pop those babies into the oven for 13 minutes.
Presto! You have bananas balls. Also, say bananas balls as often as possible. It’s very fun.
yes, see? a good mom.
Wow! That banana ball recipe just fast-tracked to the top of my list.