The Macaroni and Cheese Diaries

Sunday.  Day of family, day of laundry, day of (cue doomsday music) meal planning.  Making three meals a day (or more) for a 20 month old can be really frightening.  For me, a measure of motherhood is how diverse, nutritionally balanced, visually appealing, and well-received the child's diet is.  Imagine me beaming with pride when the labor and delivery nurse announced my 9 pound Jabba with "Mommy must really love cheeseburgers!"

This worked well for me when I was exclusively breastfeeding.  Diverse?   My own diet is very diverse, and that's what the milk was made of, right? Well-received?  Of course.  Nutritionally balanced?  You betcha.  Visually appealing?  And how!

Then came the mushy solids.  Grossed out by Gerber but too busy to make my own, I bought fancy organic baby food from Whole Foods.  Nothing but the best for Clara!  At 11 months when I stopped pumping, I needed to fill in the gaps with formula.  Ick!  Oh, how I agonized!  But the first day I sent the bottle of Horizon Organic Formula to school with Clara, I felt so ... liberated.  And it turns out formula isn't rat poison after all.

At Clara's daycare, I always try to sneak a peek at the other kids' lunch boxes.  Are their parents more creative than me?  A teacher once commended me on never packing "plastic food" (aka Gerber Graduates microwave meals).  I couldn't wait to call my husband and share this small (ok, totally huge) victory.

Now, though, Clara has her own opinions.  And Clara prefers pasta.  All kinds, but mostly Mac n Cheese. She has a reputation.  Not yet two years old, her friend McKenzie announces when Clara enters the classroom, "Clara's here.  Clara's going to eat pasta."  Embarrassed but sick of the struggle, I relented.  Pasta.  Every day.  As Aaron, ever in favor of making my life easier, points out, "That's what Italian kids eat, right?"  Right.

And organic everything?  Ha!  That went out the window when the food throwing phase began.  Tossing tub after tub of organic yogurt really hurts when there's a recession on.  Goldfish and cereal bars and (gasp) boca burgers are now welcome here.  Pirates Booty and raisins for dinner?   Sounds like a balanced meal to me.  By the looks of those cheeks, I think she's pretty well-nourished.

Me and Aa

Come On, Get Happy

A couple weeks ago, my mother, Clara's "Mimi," visited from Illinois.  It was a chilly, schizophrenic February LA day, and we were driving back to Hermosa Beach from the Burbank airport.  I was feeling apologetic about the weather, but as we rounded the exit onto the 110 S and were suddenly blinded by the sun gleaming off the downtown buildings, she said (almost as an accusation), "Seriously, what would you change about your life?"

To which I could only reply, "Good point."

I haven't always been happy here.  When my husband (then new boyfriend) said, "I am in love with you, but I was offered a job in LA, and I want us to go together," I threw myself down on the bed and cried.  I pictured the City of Angels as the playground of the devil.  I thought all of LA was Hollywood and Vine (I obviously hadn't strayed to far from Missouri at that point).  But then I looked at pictures of Hermosa Beach and got a tiny bit excited about the adventure.  

Now, after seven years of love/hate, friends coming and friends going, three apartments, three jobs (and finally finding the one), and the birth of my beautiful daughter, I can finally say I'm home.  I hope you enjoy my blog chronicling our life here at the edge of the earth (and yet somehow, the center of the universe).  

Here's us:

This little beauty is Clara Anya Bowden.  Isn't she just luscious?  After 27 tries, we were blessed with Clara in July 2008, and she's a keeper.  Clara loves her daddy to bits, but she's the world's biggest mama's girl (can you blame her?).  She talks up a storm and is a little bookworm.  She can often be found on the swings at the beach or at the doctor's office being treated for an ear infection.  She is the sweetheart of her daycare.  This blog is named for Clara, who likes to toast at dinnertime, clinking her sippy against my wine glass and saying, "Happy Here."


Clara's daddy is Aaron.  Aaron. is. awesome.  He's a talented and accomplished writer and producer of non-fiction television. If you watch History Channel, A&E, and Discovery, you've seen his work.  Aaron gets into professional sports (ya think?), particularly the Eagles and the Phillies, having grown up in Philadelphia.  He's a reader and a writer like me, a people person and a snuggle bug.  We're highly compatible ... we like things the same way.  We also have a lot of the same bad habits. Aaron is a terrific dad and a generally happy guy.  He is also very handsome ... pic coming soon.  

And then there's me.  I'm ... complicated.  I am happily employed doing written communications for a women's clothing company (oh, the perks!), working 8(ish) to 5(ish) five(ish) days a week. I finally feel like I'm getting into my groove as a mother.  I used to have interests and hobbies (cooking, dining out, reading, running, yoga), but then it got complicated, and I'm trying to find my balance.  I hope that this blog contributes to that quest.

Until next time, Happy Here!