Man. I have a headache to beat all headaches today and I can't sleep. (I'm working the noon to 8 shift today.) So here I am sitting at my computer trying to figure out how I'm going to make not one, but 2 pies before tomorrow. Chad's teacher emailed me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I could make pies for Pi Day (get it....3.14, March 14?? I must be slipping because it took me a bit to get it.) Pi Day this year is the 13th, since there is no school on Friday. So of course, I said "Sure, I'll do it". Then I completely put it out of my mind. Until last night. When Chad came home and reminded me that I have to bring pies. Sheesh. What I should do is buy a couple of Mrs. Smith's pies, pop them in the oven, and be done with it.
But no. I said I'd make homemade pies....and I will. Apple Crumb Pie and Cherry Pie. Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to shop, work an 8 hour day, and make 2 pies before tomorrow morning. What was I thinking??
OK. I do know what I was thinking. I was thinking that I could be as good as those Stay-At-Home, PTA Mom's I see on the rare occasion I am able to pick the kids of from school. You know the ones. The mom's with the time to bake homemade snacks for the kids. The ones that all know each other and have "play dates" together. The ones that have time to make wonderful meals each night for their families.
Please, please, PLEASE don't take offense to this if you are a stay-at-home mom because it's not meant that way. I ENVY you. I do wish I could have stayed home with the kiddies instead of daycare, preschool and grandparents. But that just wasn't in the cards for me. We NEED 2 incomes in our household. Period. It wasn't a matter of giving up weekly Starbucks. It was a matter of paying the mortgage.
So....for now, my shot at being the good mom means I'd better get my butt to the store so I don't have to stay up ALL night to make a couple of pies!!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Things I Get Myself Into.....
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23 comments:
I hope you feel better soon Stephanie!
I had to come visit your blog at lunch time, when I'm starving.. and see that yummy pie..
Now I don't think my soup is going to cut it.
Hope you feel better and that your pies turned out well.
You didn't make crust from scratch did you? That is a headache all on its own!
You are an amazing mom, Stephanie! I can't believe the amount of nice things you do for your kids despite the fact that you don't have all that much time available.
They're going to be very grateful one day. Good luck with the pies!
Hope your headache is long gone, and you're finally feeling good!
I can see why you'd envy those SAHMs. Heck, I'd envy them, too, and I am a stay-at-home mom. But my life doesn't sound anything like that! Our one income means a house waaaay too small for 5. Means all our clothes come from thrift stores. Means we've never so much as entertained the idea of a new car. Means anything even remotely resembling a Disney World vacation is only found in dreams. Homeschooling takes an average of 50-60 hours per week of my time. I get to spend two hours each week watching TV, and get to sleep 5-6-ish hours (sometimes less) a night. I babysit the neighbors' kids before and after school while their parents are off at work...earning money to go on Disney World vacations but not paying me a dime. Bottom line, I think there are not really all that many women out there who don't work their butts off, no matter what their "career" is. And I also think for whatever reason guilt seems part of nearly every mom's world...for you, it's that you don't have time to make homemade snacks; for me, it's that I don't earn any money so my kids are the only ones in town who don't own any kind of game system. I think we all just need to learn to be proud of what we do. Even while we're busy envying the mom next door :)
Oh, wow. That photo is making me so hungry.
One quick 'cheat' for pie crust that's even comparatively healthy is to lay down four or five overlapping sheets of filo dough, spray a little cooking spray over each before putting down the next, and then bake until browned before adding the filling. This works particularly well with refrigerator pies, though, like cream pies.
The easiest/fastest way I know of to do 'regular' crusts is to blend them in a food processor and then quickly press them into lightly greased pie plates rather than bothering to roll them out.
Oh God Steph, I hope your headache goes away soon :( They're so miserable...Big hugs!
You're such an amazing mom, you know that? You do amazing stuff for your kids and it blows my mind how much you manage to handle and you pull it all off! Happy 2 days before Pi day for what it's worth :/ I'm sure they'll come out delicious!
I stay at home and I still feel like the other Moms know each other and I don't. They're all related or know each other from HS. It's annoying. So, no, it's not just the working outside the home Moms who feel that way. PS- Mostly everything I bake has Betty Crocker written on it.
Btw, you're a great Mom. Don't sweat it :)
I think it's the texture but I can't eat cooked fruit. I love the syrup and the pastry itself but not the fruit. An easy "pie" my mom always makes for me is she gets a pie shell mixes up some chocolate pudding with a little Cool-Whip for the bottom and vanilla pudding with Cool-Whip for the top. It's delicious!!!
I've been a stay-at-home dad (at least part time) for the past two years. I totally understand the two income thing. Kids under school age are such a financial strain. Don't get me wrong, I love them to pieces and all that, but I hate that society has it set up so that parenting can be financially crippling.
Stephanie. Babe. Homemade pie does not a good mom make. Don't add the stress.Buy a pie. Then spend a half hour watching Hannah Montanna with your kids. Trust me on this.
The pic sure looks yummy!! I love homemade pies, hehe...
I totally understand your feelings, Stephanie! Being a working mom isn't easy, although I'm not saying that being a stay-at-home mom is easy job either. That's why mothers are always the best!!!
Hope you feel better soon! {Hugs}
I love to bake. But pie crust is beyond me (and dumplings) but no one in my family has figured that out yet. As long as the filling is from scratch people assume it all is. You don't even have to lie.
Mmmm....pie! Hope your headache goes away soon. I have one today too and they're no fun!
Thanks Guys!! Maybe I'm just feeling sorry for myself because I'm working so many hours lately....or maybe I just needed a little validation for my life.
Regardless, all your comments made me feel just a little bit better.
Personally, I do make my own crust. Love it that way. But I decided that life is too short right now....and as I was trolling through the grocery store, I found Marie Callendar pies were buy one get one free. It was going to be so much cheaper to do it that way, that I caved!
I'm glad to hear you caved. It's important to take care of yourself! :)
Good for you, Stephanie! Glad you caved...homemade pies do not a good mother make! No store bought pie could ever diminish your standing among "best moms" of the world!
I second everyone's comments -- don't EVER let yourself believe that you aren't a good enough mother, you're terrific! I think most moms, both SAHM and outside-the-house-employed, feel that they don't measure up in some way, which is unfair and unnecessary. We're all just doing the best we can, and our kids will all think they had it so rough but will turn out okay anyway.
yes, how can you even doubt this!!!
i hope it all went well!
that pie is making me drool...lol
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
hope all goes well with your pies and your headache
i'm a working mom too, I know what ya mean :)
Do those moms still exist?? I love apple pie, but hubby's is cherry--want to send a few down to Texas? :) Hope Pi Day went well!
Wow, I hope you had success with your pies! I am not a mom yet but I have no doubt you are a wonderful mom! No matter whether I worked or stayed at home, the thought of making 2 pies would be completely overwhelming for me because I only fake cook.
I sure do know that feeling though of having too many things to do and cursing that time I have to spend at the office for 8 hours. I commend you for finding the time to work, raise kids and blog and read. That is a big wow in my book.
I know you're feeling better by now - just wanted to drop a line and say I come by frequently and I am amazed at how much you give to your kids and vice versa (I love the present they gave you at Christmas, the money for the new Stephen King book). I work outside the home and sometimes I could just cry with trying to get my kids on the school bus and into daycare, and then getting to work....I cook when I can, from scratch because I enjoy it, but I'm so glad pizza exists! and chicken fingers! and store-bought apple pies!! I know, you promised your son, but sometimes, just getting a storebought pie there is enough. Take care of yourself!
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