Bento, Revisited

For a few months, early in my pregnancy, I was making bento lunches for 1337 D4ddy. I never really tried to do art bento, since D4ddy could care less whether or not his food is cute, but getting up in the morning and preparing any kind of lunch that is more intricate than a sandwich takes time. I have never been a morning person in my life and fibromyalgia makes it even worse, so the bento making dropped off late in my pregnancy and stopped altogether when the offspring was born. For a few weeks I have been looking with dismay at the drawer full of bento supplies currently going to waste, and thinking on the reasons that I started bento in the first place. I wanted something to encourage me in my ongoing quest to make our diets healthier, first and foremost, but a thoughtfully packed healthy lunch was also a way to send a little extra love to school or work. This school semester promises to be the busiest yet, so anything I can do to make it easier is good. I have resolved to start making bento again.

The time required is definitely the biggest turn-off in bento making, at least for me, but thankfully there are others with the same dilemma who have become dedicated to the speed bento. Over the last couple of days I have been dutifully combing over Lunch In A Box for tips, recipes, and resources. The author, Biggie, packs bento lunches for her son in what seems to be an average of about 20 minutes every morning. 20 minutes is a great window for me. The offspring can eat her breakfast or stay happy in the swing for that long. Even if I stretch it out to 30 minutes when I'm getting the hang of things, she will probably tolerate it.

The only real disadvantage to making bento again is that it tempts me to buy all kinds of gear that I don't strictly need. I adore kitchen gadgets and my brain has apparently filed bento boxes and accessories as kitchen gadgets because it can't get enough of them.

The bento making will not begin immediately because I'm going to build up my freezer supply first. Freezer foods can be key in speed bento. D4ddy can manage in the meantime and a few days' wait will be worth it, if all goes as planned. I'll make sure to keep an update on how it goes!

Nerd Immersion

It will be years before 1337 D4ddy and I know where the offspring's true interests lie, but in the meantime we are making her part of our very nerdy lives. In February we were fortunate to be able to attend Naka-kon 2010, our first anime convention. We brought the offspring along, and she was a huge hit. One of her "aunties" made a moogle poncho for her, so naturally baby had to cosplay on Friday. It didn't last long. About fifteen minutes in, she was trying to pull the hood off. Despite the costume being short-lived, people were still talking about it on Sunday! She was adored by the guests as well as the con-goers and even made it onto Christopher Ayers' website. (About 1/3 down, she's the baby being "autographed") She now has a hat embroidered with Cthulu- it reads "elder snack".

In addition to the big events, the offspring is of course involved in our day-to-day geekery. We host a D&D group once a week and I happily play with the offspring on my lap, or even nursing right at the table while someone else rolls for me. We make jokes about rolling a halfling character for her, but we're a little bit serious too. Someday we'll teach her how to play. Dice games can help with her math skills, and roleplaying fuels the imagination, plus it's a game that requires us all to sit down together and talk to one another. As busy as society tries to keep families nowadays, that will be something to treasure.

I don't know if my daughter will ever join her own D&D group, if she'll want to go to anime conventions (with or without us) when she's a teenager, or if we will someday have long discussions about The Lord of the Rings. Maybe she will geek out over something that has yet to be invented and I will feel connected, yet disconnected at the same time, as I'm sure my own parents have felt sometimes as they watch me grow nerdier than they could have ever predicted. But we are going to share lots of memories in the meantime.

Fun Times with a Nerd Baby

Shopping for nerd baby toys is disappointing at best. Sure, there are plenty of nerdy toys in the world, but honestly most of them are targeted at adult collectors. Even the ones meant for children are usually only for kids old enough to be trusted with small parts. Nerd baby or not, I really don't want to take the offspring to the ER because she stuck a Lego up her nose, or swallowed a plastic laser beam. Even plush toys usually have button eyes or details that aren't really safe for an infant.

So far, our best solution has been handmade toys. There is of course Thu, the hand crocheted Cthulu that we received in the delivery room. The Nerd Mama isn't half bad at crocheting either, so I've whipped up a stubby little astromech droid and have a couple of Mario 'shrooms in the works. But the offspring isn't much interested in plain plush toys yet. She likes things that rattle or light up, or that feel interesting when she manages to stick them in her mouth. She has no shortage of these kind of toys, but how much fun would it be if her favorite toy was a Moogle rattle-headed blanket plush instead of a pink elephant? Sure, it would be mostly for my own pleasure at this point, but it would make for some fond memories down the road too.

Unsurprisingly, our non-toy play tends to find itself taking a nerdy turn. The offspring loves the motorboat or running game where we bicycle her legs, but at our house it is called "playing Bat-baby", because we run along to the old Batman theme song. She also loves to be held up and danced around, and D4ddy will have her dance to the Imperial March. The TV is enchanting to her when it's full of bright lights and movement, and of course super hero cartoons and D4ddy's video games are full of that. Even computer start up screens are a delight and make the offspring smile. Despite the lack of nerdy baby toys, there is no lack of nerdy baby fun to be had.

Geeks and Gadgets: No Boundaries

Anyone who thinks that a nerd only loves gadgets related to technology has never spent enough time around one. Watching D4ddy play with the baby toys and gear, it's clear that he just loves things that make life easier- or more fun. He couldn't wait to show off the high chair that folds to only four inches thick thanks to a series of sliding mechanisms. His favorite baby toy is the stuffed giraffe that not only plays music, but moves its head, with his second favorite probably being the elephant that plays music when its tail is pulled. It was amusing to watch him discover that the car seat had a canopy, because it was one more moving part that he got to put together and play with. And don't get me started on the geek-outs that he's had over the food mill attachment for our Kitchenaid mixer, which we won't even get to use until the baby is ready for her first foods. And I'm certain I can look forward to many more spectacles of geekery as the offspring grows and her toys become more complex.

I had never really given thought to how many baby items, standard as they may seem, could be considered "gadgets". And in the past there were probably fewer things that qualified. Once upon a time, a high chair was just a high chair, not a feat of engineering. There are some things that I still consider unconventional gadgets at best. But the spark in D4ddy's eyes is unmistakable. If you ever feel the need to question whether or not an item is a gadget, just hand it to your friendly neighborhood geek. (Most men qualify as geeks when it comes to gadgets, FYI.) If his face lights up, you have a gadget on your hands. It's actually kind of a fun game to play.

Meet the Family Nerd

Welcome to our little corner of the Blogoverse, dear readers! From this day forward I will regail you with the tales of wonder and horror that result when nerds meet, court, marry, and procreate. I'm the Nerd Mama, and I will be the main (if not sole) author. My husband and I met as students, and we have been happily married for two years. Among other things we have bonded over a nerdy love of things like anime, Star Wars, graphic novels and video games. Now we're getting ready to bring the next generation of nerddom into the world.

I'm also a collector of Asian dolls, an amateur artist, a writer and a lover of all things crafty. Don't be shocked to find me showing off a few handmade creations here and there. I'm looking forward to showing off a small arsenal of baby gadgets and I'll make sure to let you know how the offspring responds.

Hubby, 1337 D4ddy, is a computer builder and overclocker as well as a general tech geek- hence his use of numbers as letters. His video game skills far outrank my own, and on the rare occasion we can get the D&D group together he's our DM. He's currently in school to become a Nerd Herder (aka Speech and Debate coach).

The offspring hasn't arrived yet, she's due in a month, so we're not sure what areas of nerdity will appeal to her. She does have the strange habit of kicking quite a bit when 1337 D4ddy and his friends are talking computers, but we can't make any assumptions yet!

There is one more inhabitant that will never forgive me if I didn't include him- we're the proud keepers (I don't dare say owners) of a Bearded Dragon named Loki, a creature full of attitude and the least nerdy inhabitant of the house. Still, who but a nerd couple would so proudly announce that they have a pet dragon?

So if you're ready to see what happens when nerds have babies, stick around!