The Wall Street Journal has a column about work-life balance called The Juggle. A recent column describes the morning get-to-school rush, and readers have chimed in with many tips describing how they make the mornings manageable. Some ideas might actually be useful: It didn't occur to me to tell my 5-year-old to make her own breakfast. We've gotten into a routine of just handing her an English muffin or whatever, especially since we're making breakfast for the toddler anyway. But perhaps I'm depriving her of a valuable opportunity to demonstrate independence and competence! Who knew.
Here's the story:
http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2007/09/28/the-morning-time-slip/
I try to make the mornings easier for my husband (who gets the kids up, dressed and fed most days) by setting out the kids' clothes and lunches before I leave. I may be depriving them the ability to choose their clothes, but I figure I'm also aiding marital harmony by reducing morning friction. Six/half dozen.
What do you do to make the mornings easier?
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Food Friday: enchiladas
So I've been working on finding efficient recipes that don't take a lot of time or use up a lot of pots and pans (I hate washing pots and pans), and that both the kids and the grownups like. I make a lot of casseroles that I can have for lunch the next day too. Each morning before school I pack four lunches, so I'm always looking for shortcuts.
This is a quick recipe that won't win any prizes but it's fast, has few ingredients, and doesn't get too many dishes dirty in the preparation. If you try it out, let me know how it goes. And tell me what you'd serve as a side -- my biggest challenge is finding ways to get kids to eat veggies. We'd probably serve this with pineapple and broccoli.
Super-easy enchiladas
4 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breasts*
1 c. light sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese**
1 Tablespoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package flour or corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Shred or chop the chicken. Mix with sour cream, cheese, cumin, salt and pepper. Add other ingredients as desired (green peppers, cilantro, green onions, etc). Put two big spoonfuls of chicken mixture on a tortilla, roll up and put seam-side-down in a 9x13 pan. Repeat until you get through all the filling. Pour sauce over top. Bake 20 minutes, until heated through.
* For the chicken, you can use breasts, thighs, whatever, and cook by poaching, baking, whatever. Or you could shred a rotisserie chicken. Last time I made this I cut up raw chicken and cooked it on the stovetop, stir-fry style.
** I hate shredding cheese. If it's on sale I buy it shredded. Otherwise I buy the bulk sliced cheese at Costco and cut it into tiny little pieces, which is good enough for me. And a knife is easier to clean than a grater.
Got a recipe to share? Email me! I need stuff for future Food Fridays.
p.s. Yeah I know it's not Friday. I'm a day late. I had a meeting, I got distracted, yada yada.
This is a quick recipe that won't win any prizes but it's fast, has few ingredients, and doesn't get too many dishes dirty in the preparation. If you try it out, let me know how it goes. And tell me what you'd serve as a side -- my biggest challenge is finding ways to get kids to eat veggies. We'd probably serve this with pineapple and broccoli.
Super-easy enchiladas
4 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breasts*
1 c. light sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese**
1 Tablespoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package flour or corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Shred or chop the chicken. Mix with sour cream, cheese, cumin, salt and pepper. Add other ingredients as desired (green peppers, cilantro, green onions, etc). Put two big spoonfuls of chicken mixture on a tortilla, roll up and put seam-side-down in a 9x13 pan. Repeat until you get through all the filling. Pour sauce over top. Bake 20 minutes, until heated through.
* For the chicken, you can use breasts, thighs, whatever, and cook by poaching, baking, whatever. Or you could shred a rotisserie chicken. Last time I made this I cut up raw chicken and cooked it on the stovetop, stir-fry style.
** I hate shredding cheese. If it's on sale I buy it shredded. Otherwise I buy the bulk sliced cheese at Costco and cut it into tiny little pieces, which is good enough for me. And a knife is easier to clean than a grater.
Got a recipe to share? Email me! I need stuff for future Food Fridays.
p.s. Yeah I know it's not Friday. I'm a day late. I had a meeting, I got distracted, yada yada.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Law school Q&A
Q. Is it safe to keep my computer in my locker?
A. Glad you asked. NO! You might be better off if your locker is in one of the secure rooms, but if it’s in a hallway, ha. If it makes you feel better, our crowbar-bearing friends seem to only care about computers. When my locker was broken into, my Top Ramen, Kleenex and BLS worksheets were undisturbed.
Q. Um, where do I eat lunch?
A. 540 students / about 30 seats in the café = not enough seats. There’s a lounge in the library but it’s a hike and you can’t get too loud there. You can eat in the library study rooms but that’s not exactly social. You can make a rush for the nice leather chairs on the upper floors. Enjoy the patio while you can. Then try to get on law review or PacRim, their offices are NICE. Sorry, Shidler.
Q. This is such a posh building… why are there wooden benches in the lobby?
A. My guess is when the dean brings donors to visit, three wooden benches looks better than the previous arrangement: several leather couches continually occupied by, er, socially disadvantaged folks from the Ave. Which is what happened for the first year and a half the building was open, until they gave up and moved the couches upstairs.
Q. Well now that you mention it, what about those guys in the library?
A. Donors can’t see them there.
Q. And while we're talking about creepy things, why does it smell like something died in the first floor ladies room?
A. Sorry about the potty humor, but this one's legit. It's some bizarre permanent building smell. What's really cool is when the state Supreme Court or 9th circuit is in session here, that's probably the loo the women justices use. Yeah! Way to make an impression!
Q. Can I ask 2L and 3L friends for their outlines?
A. Yes! Don’t be shy.
Q. Wait a minute, why should I share notes and outlines? Aren’t we graded on a curve? Isn’t this a competition?
A. Well sure, you’re not likely to be in law school if you’re not competitive, somewhere in your bones. But the true competition – for jobs after graduation – isn’t here at the UW, it’s across town.
Q. Is law school a good time to have babies?
A. Aw c’mon, we’re biased. This is PALS. We love the babies. Bring us more babies.
A. Glad you asked. NO! You might be better off if your locker is in one of the secure rooms, but if it’s in a hallway, ha. If it makes you feel better, our crowbar-bearing friends seem to only care about computers. When my locker was broken into, my Top Ramen, Kleenex and BLS worksheets were undisturbed.
Q. Um, where do I eat lunch?
A. 540 students / about 30 seats in the café = not enough seats. There’s a lounge in the library but it’s a hike and you can’t get too loud there. You can eat in the library study rooms but that’s not exactly social. You can make a rush for the nice leather chairs on the upper floors. Enjoy the patio while you can. Then try to get on law review or PacRim, their offices are NICE. Sorry, Shidler.
Q. This is such a posh building… why are there wooden benches in the lobby?
A. My guess is when the dean brings donors to visit, three wooden benches looks better than the previous arrangement: several leather couches continually occupied by, er, socially disadvantaged folks from the Ave. Which is what happened for the first year and a half the building was open, until they gave up and moved the couches upstairs.
Q. Well now that you mention it, what about those guys in the library?
A. Donors can’t see them there.
Q. And while we're talking about creepy things, why does it smell like something died in the first floor ladies room?
A. Sorry about the potty humor, but this one's legit. It's some bizarre permanent building smell. What's really cool is when the state Supreme Court or 9th circuit is in session here, that's probably the loo the women justices use. Yeah! Way to make an impression!
Q. Can I ask 2L and 3L friends for their outlines?
A. Yes! Don’t be shy.
Q. Wait a minute, why should I share notes and outlines? Aren’t we graded on a curve? Isn’t this a competition?
A. Well sure, you’re not likely to be in law school if you’re not competitive, somewhere in your bones. But the true competition – for jobs after graduation – isn’t here at the UW, it’s across town.
Q. Is law school a good time to have babies?
A. Aw c’mon, we’re biased. This is PALS. We love the babies. Bring us more babies.
Top law firms for women
Working Mother Magazine, together with a consulting group called Flex-Time Lawyers (ahh, Flex Time, what a dreamy concept) has put together a survey of the top 50 law firms "for women." I have some reservations about the survey -- errr, I think men are concerned about ... oh, sigh, never mind -- but the stories are interesting. It's posted here:
http://www.workingmother.com/web?service=vpage/796
The lead story says it's possible to make partner with children, and has a cheery photo of women lawyers with their kids in a law office. Happy day! But there's also a sidebar on women who leave their jobs -- or the profession -- in seek of greater work/life balance.
The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog has an entry on the survey:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/08/14/working-lawyer-mothers-give-us-family-yoga-and-volunteering/?mod=sphere_ts
The comments on the blog posting are pretty interesting. One person claims that women who work part time at law firms don't actually do any work, but spend the day web surfing. Others say that it's crazy to work at a law firm if you want to have a life, it's better to find an in-house job or go solo. Because people are allowed to post anonymously they can say whatever they want, and it's interesting to see what people come out and say.
Thanks: Mary Whisner.
http://www.workingmother.com/web?service=vpage/796
The lead story says it's possible to make partner with children, and has a cheery photo of women lawyers with their kids in a law office. Happy day! But there's also a sidebar on women who leave their jobs -- or the profession -- in seek of greater work/life balance.
The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog has an entry on the survey:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/08/14/working-lawyer-mothers-give-us-family-yoga-and-volunteering/?mod=sphere_ts
The comments on the blog posting are pretty interesting. One person claims that women who work part time at law firms don't actually do any work, but spend the day web surfing. Others say that it's crazy to work at a law firm if you want to have a life, it's better to find an in-house job or go solo. Because people are allowed to post anonymously they can say whatever they want, and it's interesting to see what people come out and say.
Thanks: Mary Whisner.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Welcome 1Ls!
PALS had a table during the student organizations fair at orientation today. We met seven 1L parents who have kids ranging in age from 7 weeks to 10 years. (And it's the same mom that has the 7-week-old and the 10-year-old.) Six of the incoming 1Ls have children two years old and younger. There also were several people who don't have children, but are interested in PALS because they're thinking about having kids during law school. My guess is there are other student-parents out there who haven't found us, or whose kids are older and don't choose to be active members, as is often the case.
PALS will grow this year. I know of three 3Ls that will be giving birth during the school year -- Emma Kagel Berry manned the PALS booth for a while today (thanks Emma!) and the others will become apparent sooner or later. Who knows, there may be more.
1Ls, if you haven't found our tipsheet yet, check it out here: http://uwpals.blogspot.com/2007/08/tips-for-1ls.html It includes a link to a pretty long document.
Got any specific questions or concerns? Don't hesitate to email me or Stasiu, or the yahoo group, or post comments or questions here. Good luck!
PALS will grow this year. I know of three 3Ls that will be giving birth during the school year -- Emma Kagel Berry manned the PALS booth for a while today (thanks Emma!) and the others will become apparent sooner or later. Who knows, there may be more.
1Ls, if you haven't found our tipsheet yet, check it out here: http://uwpals.blogspot.com/2007/08/tips-for-1ls.html It includes a link to a pretty long document.
Got any specific questions or concerns? Don't hesitate to email me or Stasiu, or the yahoo group, or post comments or questions here. Good luck!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Ben Athay
Ben Athay, a loving father and law student, died of a brain hemorrhage on Friday, Aug. 31. His funeral was Friday in Corvallis.
It's hard to accept the death of someone who was so vibrant and had great plans for his life. I met Ben at the 1L family picnic before school last year. His gorgeous wife Alison was pregnant, and Ben was excited both about fatherhood and about starting law school. Alison gave birth in the middle of his first year, and Ben was thrilled with little Oliver. He must have had some long nights, but when I saw Ben he was always cheerful and eager to stop to chat. I ran into him toward the end of the year and asked him to be a board member of PALS and he instantly agreed. At PALS, Ben was thoughtful and funny. He asked that PALS try to be more available to students on a regular basis, because he tended to hear from the group only once or twice a quarter. He felt parents need more support. We created this blog partly to respond to Ben's request for a more frequent, visible form of support for parents. We'll be looking for other ways to respond to his request throughout the year.
PALS sent a bouquet of roses to Ben's funeral. We are looking for other ways to honor Ben and help Alison tell Oliver about his father. Please add your thoughts and suggestions as comments below.
Lisa
It's hard to accept the death of someone who was so vibrant and had great plans for his life. I met Ben at the 1L family picnic before school last year. His gorgeous wife Alison was pregnant, and Ben was excited both about fatherhood and about starting law school. Alison gave birth in the middle of his first year, and Ben was thrilled with little Oliver. He must have had some long nights, but when I saw Ben he was always cheerful and eager to stop to chat. I ran into him toward the end of the year and asked him to be a board member of PALS and he instantly agreed. At PALS, Ben was thoughtful and funny. He asked that PALS try to be more available to students on a regular basis, because he tended to hear from the group only once or twice a quarter. He felt parents need more support. We created this blog partly to respond to Ben's request for a more frequent, visible form of support for parents. We'll be looking for other ways to respond to his request throughout the year.
PALS sent a bouquet of roses to Ben's funeral. We are looking for other ways to honor Ben and help Alison tell Oliver about his father. Please add your thoughts and suggestions as comments below.
Lisa
More work/life balance news
You know, this blog isn't only supposed to be about work/life balance issues. It's also about parenting, law school, parenting while in law school.... I suspect we'll talk more about those things once classes start. Meanwhile, here are three new articles about work/life balance. While they aren't necessarily directly on point for what we're looking for as future lawyers, it's interesting that people are talking about work/life balance more and more.
The King County Bar Association's Bar Bulletin newsletters has two articles involving work/life balance issues. The first is a discussion of how some people prefer the 70-hour-a-week lifestyle, but that it can be hard on marriages:
http://www.kcba.org/scriptcontent/KCBA/barbulletin/archive/2007/07-08/article16.cfm
The article includes the following intriguing line, though it offers no definitive answer:
"So, are those among us who decry the erosion of life balance just whining about a culture that doesn’t include them ... and may, perhaps, be leaving them behind?"
The second article is about how it's important to find fun in your life, even when you're working too hard:
http://www.kcba.org/scriptcontent/KCBA/barbulletin/archive/2007/07-08/article8.cfm
The third article is a list of very specific tips on how to maintain your work life balance. I like it because some of the tips are really concrete. For example, change your email so you get messages when you're ready to check them, instead of the moment they arrive. The list is here:
http://kentblumberg.typepad.com/kent_blumberg/2007/08/top-12-ways-to-.html
Thanks to Mary Whisner for the tips on the KCBA newsletter!
The King County Bar Association's Bar Bulletin newsletters has two articles involving work/life balance issues. The first is a discussion of how some people prefer the 70-hour-a-week lifestyle, but that it can be hard on marriages:
http://www.kcba.org/scriptcontent/KCBA/barbulletin/archive/2007/07-08/article16.cfm
The article includes the following intriguing line, though it offers no definitive answer:
"So, are those among us who decry the erosion of life balance just whining about a culture that doesn’t include them ... and may, perhaps, be leaving them behind?"
The second article is about how it's important to find fun in your life, even when you're working too hard:
http://www.kcba.org/scriptcontent/KCBA/barbulletin/archive/2007/07-08/article8.cfm
The third article is a list of very specific tips on how to maintain your work life balance. I like it because some of the tips are really concrete. For example, change your email so you get messages when you're ready to check them, instead of the moment they arrive. The list is here:
http://kentblumberg.typepad.com/kent_blumberg/2007/08/top-12-ways-to-.html
Thanks to Mary Whisner for the tips on the KCBA newsletter!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
1L Family Picnic
The PALS picnic is happening on Sunday, September 9 at Cowen Park from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Bring your kids, partners, and anyone else who might want to come. We'll be meeting at the picnic tables near the play area. Please bring a snack or a side dish to share. You might also want to bring a blanket to sit on.
Cowen Park is at the corner of NE Ravenna Blvd. and Brooklyn Ave. There should be plenty of street parking available. Click here for more information about the park and some directions (you might have to copy this link into a new window): http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=483
Hope to see everyone there!
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