kids

At age three, my daughter Lexie is a cute, sweet little kid. At least that's what people think. While she really can be sweet and cute and all that, there's a mischievous side that comes out when you least expect it. Right now we're dealing with the "creative insults" phase. At least that's what I'm calling it, as my son never went through that. Lexie, on the other hand, has a colorful, if unconventional vocabulary. Right now, her insult du jour is "You big buffalo", whereas previously it was "garbage can" or "kook".

A few weeks ago she came into work with me and I introduced her around. Of course the common reaction was "Ooooh, look at you—you're so cute!" Maybe she had a case of "the shys" or something, but when asked her name she just sat there silently and tried to hide behind me. After a second or two she grinned and said "Nobody!"

Everyone laughed and said "How cute!" And I smiled and thought "At least you don't have to leave with it every day…" She did this at least twice, with two separate groups of my colleagues.

Yesterday after school, we had my daughter’s friend, Emma, over for a play date. Like most multi-tasking mothers, I started getting ingredients for dinner ready while they were playing. Emma kept coming into the kitchen to stare at my ingredients and to ask questions. When I told her that we were making Asian Lettuce Wraps, she wanted to know why I liked to make foods from other countries. I happily explained how fun it is to try new foods. She leaned over the steaming pot of pad thai noodles and loved that they were almost invisible…I am so lucky to have a career that sparks such enthusiasm in kids!

Our fishing expedition on Flathead Lake this summer was comical. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to catch anything, even though the boat next to us was reeling in fish every time we looked! Clearly, there was something we weren’t doing right. As a man from the next boat yelled over to us, “What kind of bait are you using?” a crazy thought entered into my mind: Feeding children is a lot like fishing – you have to have the right lure, or they won’t bite!  Packing desirable school lunches is a lot like the fine art of selecting an appealing lure while fishing. Try some of these stress-free strategies for packing healthy lunches that your fish will bite and not refuse.