I think one of the things that most people will notice when they come over to our house for any extended period of time is how respectful the girls are of our stuff. And by stuff, I’m talking computers, phones, cameras and any other piece of enticing, forbidden electronic equipment. They also don’t rummage in our bags or play with our wallets or keys. I don’t know that we consciously “trained” them to keep their distance, but given that they’re both fairly different in personality from each other, something got ingrained in them from an early age. Maybe it’s because they’re used to seeing me working on the computer all the time (judging from this photo, ya think?). At one point when Claudine was a baby (that’s her pictured here), she’d associate the opening of the laptop with nursing and would start to expect it when she saw me on the computer (let’s face it…nursing is a bonding experience and all, but after awhile and especially after the second one, it’s really boring just sitting there with a baby on your boob).

If you came to our house and saw where I keep my computer, you’d probably think I was crazy because I leave it on the couch at all times. The girls, however, will never touch it, ever. They’ll bounce around, wrestle and lay down or stretch out on the sofa, but they’ll stay clear of the side that the laptop is on. It pretty much hogs up its own permanent seat on the couch. I know what you’re thinking…um, the couch? Isn’t there a safer place to keep the computer? But the girls are generally “non-destructive” to begin with and I trust them around our stuff completely (ok, I lie. Once Claudine picked up my phone and threw it down on the rug).

Contrary to what this may sound like, the kids are really curious about computers and iphones and if we let them, would probably play with apps and video games all day long. Mia, in particular, seems to have the potential to be an addictive gamer given her keen interest in gaming consoles, computers and anything screen-based when presented with the opportunity, but despite the fact that many of her friends have a Wii and access to computer time, we’ve just held off. I know it can’t be for long and we’re not planning on being super hardball on it as the kids get older. I mean we totally grew up on Atari, the Commodore 64 and later, Nintendo (Summer Olympic Games on Atari, anyone?) and we came out ok (I think). So I’m curious, what are your thoughts on computers and kids? If your kids are using computers now, when did you let them tinker around?

Mark’s at the Kitchen baking all day and the girls are out with our babysitter so the house is quiet. We have a few days of production ahead of us and I’m taking advantage of having the house to myself by putting labels on bags. And that thing in the lower right corner of the photo? My free iTouch came in the mail today, courtesy of points off my credit card. Can you believe that we don’t own and have never owned an iPod or any other mp3 player? The truth is, I’m pretty gadget-free. My cell phone, only the 3rd phone I’ve owned is a very basic model, yet still an upgrade from the last because it can take photos, but that’s all I have - no blackberry, no iPhone or iPod. I’d rather spend my money elsewhere than on tech gadgets, but it’s also a lifestyle choice. When I’m home I am addicted to email, checking every 5-10 minutes so I’m easily distracted when I’m with the girls. When I’m with them outside and at the playground, I don’t have that distraction so I can be with them 100%, but it’s just getting harder with my work to step outside and not have access to email. On the one hand I hate that I have to be accountable for all working hours - I mean this is why I choose to freelance, right? But I also hate coming home and finding 2 dozen urgent work related emails that I’ve missed and now have to deal with. Between all the blogs, freelance work, grad school list serves, and now the business, I get over 100 - sometimes more - emails a day. And that doesn’t include spam or junk. Crazy…

I actually found a use for these tiny little measuring spoons during my latest round of recipe testing. It’s best to make the smallest batches possible when testing in order to keep too many ingredients from going to waste. Since my shortbread cookies batches were so small, my regular measuring spoons were just too big for such precise measurements, especially when using stronger spices. I wanted to add ground cloves to a brown sugar shortbread, for example, and the 1/8 teaspoon I tried first was just way too much. I miraculously found these tiny spoons, a gift from many years ago, way in the back of my kitchen drawer. The spoon labeled “dash” is exactly 1/16 teaspoon, so I gave that a shot, but the cloves were still too strong. So I went all the way down to “smidgen”, a mere 1/32 teaspoon…and perfect! I am so glad I actually kept these things, which I admit I thought I would never use.