Papa is currently working hard at the InterVarsity “conference”:http://www.urbana.org/ he is at right now. We always miss Papa when he is away, but Lucy and I are doing our best to make lemonade out of our lemons and have some fun.
p{color:gray}. Photo: Lucy is putting on a good scrunchy face for Papa!
So far, we have accomplished this in several ways:
# giggling together
# going shopping
# taking naps
# eating Christmas cookies (this is Mama’s job)
# watching a “movie”:http://imdb.com/title/tt0337741/
# taking a walk
We are encountering some challenges to fun:
# eating real meals — it is *so* unmotivating to only be cooking for myself! (any tips?)
# taking over the morning shift — Papa is so good at it, but I can only stumble through sleepily
# taking out the garbage — need I say more?
We have also completed some useful tasks:
# Mama got an eye exam, during which Lucy babbled delightfully
# we vacuumed up the dust bunnies under the crib
# Lucy had a successful night of sleeping with one arm out of her swaddle
# we restored order to our post-Christmas kitchen
And we have some more plans, both fun and profitable:
# visiting with good friends
# baking something fun
# vacuuming the house
# sending some packages
# disposing of the soggy sticky toffee pudding we forgot to bring for our Christmas Eve dinner
But mostly, we are just counting the days until Papa returns to our little Boyds’ Nest!
Oh. My. Gosh. That’s a hilarious photo if there ever was one. Thanks for the newsy update! I’m so sorry I’m not there to take out the garbage. :)
I too hate cooking for one. I am sad to say, no good tips, I usally don’t eat while he is gone. Yes I feed the baby and snack on a cracker and water, but no meals. NOt healthy.
Wow you are getting stuff done though! That is good.
The terrible thing is that I’m not snacking on crackers and water, I’m snacking on endless stacks of Christmas cookies! Luckily, no weight gain yet — hooray for nursing!
I found it helpful, back when I only had babies/toddlers, to freeze a 1- or 2-serving portion of lasagna or enchiladas or whatever when I was making a “real” supper. I used a small ceramic dish like a custard cup or whatever; covered it in saran wrap (brand name works best, it’s actually a different kind of plastic that keeps odors and flavors out/in) and then in foil, then put it all in a ziploc bag in the freezer, usually uncooked. They keep for a few months that way. The night before Daniel left, I stuck a bunch of single servers in the fridge to let them start thawing. I also bought a bunch of the healthier frozen TV dinners when they were on sale, especially for when Papa was gone, because you’re right, there is NO motivation for cooking for you and a baby, or you and a toddler.
It does get easier though. Now when Daniel’s gone we purposely make the foods Papa doesn’t like so much – such as mac and cheese, clam chowder, and ravioli.
taking out the garbage…. sigh… yeah, that gets easier too. I love it that I can now say “watch the little guys” to the big kids and run out to get the mail (across the highway!) or put the garbage out, without having to bundle everyone and use the sling for one and the backpack for the other… I’d forgotten about those days. Thanks for helping me count my blessings ;o)
I’m not big on cooking for one either and usually either opt for something frozen (pot pies or lean cuisine or whatever) or leftovers or I invite my parents for dinner so that there are enough people to make cooking worthwhile!
Well, I am usually the one who goes away, not John! But I like to cook meals that he doesn’t really like anyway when he isn’t around or eating with us. It does feel sometimes like the days are long when it’s just me and the big M while John is at work, but anything we accomplish can feel like a BIG accoomplishment, even if it’s just reading ten books to Mirai or sweeping the kitchen floor with a toddler around.
Hang in there!
I just realized how funny and “Onion-esque” your headline is, Ann — with the idiomatic comma standing in for “and.” V. subtle.
Oh, and did everybody notice how the Midland, Michigan, native Kelly put in a good word for the Dow namebrand plastic wrap there? :)