Observations

[yrraine]

If you are trying to snack less, do not read the article in the paper's Food section about the fabulous 2-day Indian-Jewish wedding and nonstop eating extravaganza, including luscious food photos and the caterer's comment that, as he does many of the large Indian weddings in the area, people see him and immediately feel hungry, even if they don't

Comments

[miri_me]

Have you tried keeping the playdough in the fridge? Or was that to stop it drying out? *tries to remember playing with playdough*

I think you can make it yourself with flour, water, salt and foodcolouring - cheaper than buying it if it's just gonna slime up on you ;-)

[yrraine]

I've never had it gloop before. It's cheap--usually I buy a couple packs, over the course of the year they're slowly transformed into playdough particles in people's shoes, and then I buy another.
I like the homemade stuff but am always paranoid about the food coloring. My mom used to make some we could bake and then paint.

[miri_me]

Ooh! That stuff's fun - I made dragon statues for Kit's brothers out of it for Christmas (only I think I mixed it up wrong coz it took forever to dry - 3 hours in the oven and a further 3 days out, and they were still kinda soft on the bottom)! Just water, salt and flour (presumably in different quantities)!

[willow_diamond]

Ew, the play-doh is possessed.

"just like a lot of people who call themselves working parents."

When I first read that I thought it said working peanuts.

[yrraine]

Between the "to not work full-time is to deny yourself the use of your brain, and any say in family decisions" folks on one side, and the "I have sacrificed everything to totally devote myself to my children, who will obviously turn out to be better than yours" contingent on the other (these being the two sides who seem to generate press, not the views that match up to most normal people), I would take a nice talk with peanuts.

I'd point to Caitlin Flanagan (Flannery?), whose writing I like, but who often seems extremely judgemental of other women. She writes often in The Atlantic and just came out with a book, in which she talks about being a stay-at-home mom, who doesn't work, despite the existence of all those articles and the book. And while not-working she had a nanny and a separate housekeeper, she admits, so when she talks about the satisfaction women find in doing housework and laundry, it's kind of a hypothetical in her case.

[whizbang121]

Hypothetical or Hypocritical?

I gave up and stayed home before the Kid turned one. Nothing was getting done in the house, Siriusly needed more support in school and gee whiz, my baby!

Best thing I ever did. The house is still a mess, but there are as many baskets of clean laundry as there are of dirty stuff and there's a lot less pressure all around.

Essentially, my job also paid for accessories that I simply no longer needed if I wasn't working. And like you, our health insurance and other benefits were provided by my DH's job, so.... we don't eat out every day, but we're probably healthier as a result. I'm a lot less stressed and I tbink the kids are too.

So we got another dog!

[yrraine]

*points finger* Less stress, got it in one. I tried to give time to kids, work, house maintenance, social life (i.e. make/maintain some friendships), health, in that order. When I worked and Brian had crazy hours, I did the first 2 and some of the third, and the other two were always lost. When work went, I could manage everything the kids needed of me without wondering how I would ever find time for that chapter I really needed to finish. (I don't do all-nighters. Brian does.) And when other moms invited me over, I didn't say "Maybe, if I don't have to work," but "Sure."

But it's not true of everyone, or even of us at other points in our lives. I wouldn't have stopped working when my first was born, because taking out enough loans to survive on Brian's stipend would have been irresponsible. It's not like I even had any sort of internal debate. And once everyone was in school full time (and not homeschooling) I would probably have wanted to go back to work, as I really enjoy my job.