Steele Life With Kids

As of yesterday, I am officially a stay-at-home mom.

I made this decision several months ago, so there wasn’t much drama associated with it, but finally made the phone calls I’d been putting off and told my superintendant and department head that I would not be returning to teaching next year.

This was probably one of the most agonizing decisions of my life, which is funny because it’s what I’ve wanted all my life. For as long as I’ve wanted kids – which is as long as I can remember – I’ve wanted to do what my mom did and stay home to raise them. As I got older, I became more aware of what that entailed – essentially, asking a man to support me while I did this, and then, later, asking a man to support me and make the payments on the student loans I took out for a degree I’m no longer using. Continue reading “Wednesday February 27, 2013”

Today the skies parted and a miracle occurred.

Klara has been a terrible napper since the day she was born. Part of the problem is that her naps are so unpredictable, but in general, you can rely on them lasting precisely 45 minutes. Now and then I’ll get lucky and get an hour and a half out of her, especially if we’re in the car. But if by some stroke of luck she does have one great nap, the other is her usual 45 minutes. Today however, for what I’m pretty sure was the first time in her (admittedly short) life, Klara had not one but two substantial naps in her crib. Continue reading “Monday February 25, 2013”

Sometimes, there are no sweeter words than your husband saying, “Let’s go out for dinner tonight.”

Today, Klara and I finished watching, “The Bachelor: Sean Tells All.”  Then we watched a bit of 7 Plus 7 and a bit of “American Idol.” After a nap and lunch, we headed to the Plymouth Public Library. I pulled into the parking lot, after which Klara proceeded to nap for an hour and a half. Knowing her propensity to nap in the car, I was prepared with my iPad (currently reading: The Wheel of Time 1: The Eye of the World. After many years of hearing about them I’ve finally dived into the “Wheel of Time” series). Even that got old after awhile, so I was glad when she finally woke up and we could go inside. I checked out Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan and Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt…and then 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas W. Pehlan, Ph. D., mostly because Carolyn Hax recommends it. Then a trip to Wal-Mart – I usually avoid it but it was the closest store, and we needed milk – and a call to Eric with those magic words. We ended up going to Sushi Joy. I just love how many people bring their kids there. I feel like when you bring a kid there you are exposing them to a different culture and cuisine. Klara was her usual adorable self, and delighted me by enjoying some seaweed salad and gyoza. She delighted the people all around her by waving, and thoroughly enjoyed playing with the waitress as well. Mommy had two Mai Tais when one would have been plenty. All in all, it was a lovely day.