Learning to Appreciate the Rules

The kids' school has a no cell phone policy.

At first, I thought it would be inconvenient. I'm not attached to the phone like some people, but sometimes I didn't want to leave it in the car when I was expecting a call. I did get scolded once when I was talking on campus an hour after school when the kids were playing. (Tsk tsk.) But otherwise, I got used to it and it's expected of everyone, and it's not really that big of a deal. The idea is that everyone there can be focused on being on campus, interacting with the children and the other parents, etc., without the disruption and distraction.

I never really appreciated the no cell phones rule until I was dropping off Bean last week. They had some maintenance contractors in the preschool and kindergarten areas, working on the fire alarms. The workers were making calls, and also using that walkie talkie type service that chirps and has both ends of the phone on speaker. It was important for the work they were doing, but I was surprise how unnatural and foreign it felt. I thought about what it would be like if parents were talking on the phone when they were walking up to pick up their children from class, or having phones ringing all the time. In this and so many other ways, the Waldorf school is such a departure from the rest of the world. One of the many wonderful things it has going for it.

The kids know I spend most of my day on the computer. We have iPods, and cell phones, and computers. They are not strangers to technology or the attention I pay to it, hopping up to answer the phone when I am with them. Some of it is accepted, and some of it is grudgingly put up with.

I'm setting my phone to vibrate from now on, and screen calls so that when I am with my children, I only excuse myself if it is imperative to pick up.

Is it Spring Yet?

The children have been asking me for weeks, "Is it Spring? Is it Spring yet?" Yesterday I had to say, "Well, it looks like Spring." It felt like it, too. We spent four hours in the backyard, I hung out with a book and tea in a lounge chair, and the kids dug holes and climbed trees. Sounds like spring, alright.

Dinner Review :: March week 1

I don't know if it's my deliberate meal planning, or the weather, our new meat CSA, or our new produce CSA, but I have been cooking like a maniac. And everything is SO GOOD. Almost every ingredient we've been getting from the CSAs require using recipes I've never tried before. Between marthastewart.com, foodtv.com, and the genius and amazing resource that is foodblogsearch.com, I've been swimming in amazing recipes. And I rarely ate meat before we started getting a big box of local, delicious cuts every month, but pretty much everything from the meat CSA has been amazing.

I've also been able to work cooking dinner into a rhythm that works for me, and the surprise cuts and veggies from the CSA boxes keeps me motivated and trying new things. When Bean was really little, we started using a farm that did CSA delivery, and I was all excited about supporting the farm, and trying new recipes, but it was too much at the time with a baby to deal with cooking like that. But now everyone is older, I carved out the time in my schedule, I plan ahead as much as I can, and I make sure I take it easy on myself on days we have lots of other things going on and don't have as much time or energy to cook.

I'm hoping to regularly share my previous week's dinners on the weekends, linking to recipes when available if you want to give anything a try. Unless I noted a specific side dish, I usually just made a quick salad or steamed carrots or broccoli or whatever to accompany the main dish. Avert your eyes if you're a vegetarian.

Image: The Hungry Mouse

Sunday:
Black Pepper Beef Ribs

I'd never even thought of cooking ribs before, but the big box of meat had a huge rack of ribs I had to figure out what to do with. I didn't really want the standard bbq sauce style, but I didn't know there were any other options. This recipe was amazing. A pepper, paprika, and brown sugar rub, two hours in the oven, and I was ready to die happy.

Image: Christine's Recipes

Monday:
Lamb Steak

I just had a couple of bites of this, grudgingly (but lovingly) shared from the small steak I served my husband. Best lamb I've ever had, but a few bites was enough for me. The other steak we got in the meat box is a bit bigger, but the husband has been asking for it every night since we've had this recipe. Another gem from the food blog search that I might not have found otherwise.

Image: Everyday Food

Tuesday:
Italian Potpies

I thought this tasted like the type of thing the kids would love, but they weren't crazy about it. I thought it was pretty great, ground beef from the CSA with homemade tomato sauce, fresh rosemary. I must have gotten rid of the ramekins I never used that the recipe suggested, but it worked fine in a big casserole dish with the dough on top.

Image: The Kitchn

Wednesday:
Lamb Ragu

I saw this recipe a couple of weeks ago on The Kitchn, and have been keeping my eye out at the store for stew cut lamb. The box from the meat CSA had some, and this was the first thing I was really looking forward to making from the bounty of the meat box. It. Was. So. Good. I usually don't like lamb, but it was so fresh and delicious, it didn't have the overly lamby taste that I'd eaten before.

Image: Everyday Food

Thursday:
Ribeye, Baked Shells with Winter Squash

The husband ate the ribeye, and the children and I had a delicious vegetarian dinner of just the pasta with squash. It was so good, the combination of squash and parmesan tasted extra cheesy. The store didn't have any pasta shells, but I made some penne. I had a heck of a time finding the frozen winter squash puree that the recipe called for, but I ended up finding some at Safeway. The CSA gave me a carnival winter squash, and I cut up half of it and tossed it in there with all the rest as well. The fresh squash didn't cook all the way in the size I cut the pieces, but it was good anyway. I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Image: Everyday Food

Friday:
Cornbread and Beef Skillet

I had some organic ground beef from Costco, and some mushrooms in the fridge, and found this recipe on marthastewart.com. The cornbread on top got a little brown when I forgot it in the oven for a few minutes, but the kids really liked this one. If I make it again, I'd add another half to the measurements to the meat mixture.

Image: Pinch My Salt

Saturday:
Potato Leek Soup and Chicken

The new CSA gave us a couple of big, beautiful leeks, which I had no clue what to do with. I've never even held a leek in my hand, let alone cook one. I even looked around the internet on how to cut it on davidlebovitz.com. Then I found a fairly basic, rustic soup recipe on Pinch My Salt, and it turned out absolutely wonderful. It was a bit roughly textured for the husband, so next time I make it I'll put it through the food processor or something to get it smooth. A rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods balanced out the meal a bit, was delicious, and will give me enough leftover meat for a recipe tomorrow.

So, last week we ate like decadent royalty. Next week brings another box of surprise produce from the CSA, and quite a few beautiful cuts of meat remain in the freezer. Having almost every recipe I've tried lately turned out successfully, it motivates and excites me even more to cook and try new recipes. Next challenge is what to do with a bunch of rainbow chard.

No Rain, No Rainbows

Rhythm of the Home :: Second Edition

Rhythm of the Home, the amazing online magazine that I just discovered (and wrote about) a couple weeks ago, just released their second edition yesterday. I feel this fills a need for a deliberate and conscious Waldorf home magazine, that bridges the gap between the more pedagogical based Renewal and Lilipoh, and the various wonderful Waldorf blogs.

Though I can hardly wait to devour everything in this issue, the projects, the interview, oh I am so excited, I am going to save it for this evening, when I can sit with a cup of chai and really savor it. Must wrap up my gushing, but do click your way over there.

Artful Garbage

I asked Z to clean up her room, and throw away all the little scraps of paper she had cut up all over the floor. I gave her a bag to shove all her garbage into. Besides her paper clippings being mostly color coordinated, she artfully packaged and tied up the little package with a yarn bow. It's so lovely, I thought about keeping it for almost four seconds. ;)

Sunday Morning

I love Sunday mornings. Leisurely breakfasts at the table, sun shining through the window. Today we were invited to a friend's house for lunch, which started early and ended late.

It felt like today demanded lingering.

Guest Post :: Welcome Sono-Ma.com Readers

I am thrilled to direct you to my first ever guest post, on Sono-Ma.com. Fellow Santa Rosa Waldorf mom Holly contacted me about reprinting the announcement I posted about the Kim John Payne presentation in Santa Rosa on March 23. She was also so gracious to describe my blog in such a terribly flattering way. :: bats eyelashes ::

Holly's blog is a great resource for local parents, not to mention her valuable posts on general parenting and Waldorf issues, such as eggs and community supported agriculture, and art and creativity.