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!

High-Tech Low-Tech

Geeks and nerds are usually known for loving all things high tech and modern. In our house this often holds true. 1337 D4ddy drools over tech blogs daily and if we could afford to have all the most up-to-date appliances and electronics we definitely would. Sometimes though, "modern" just doesn't work the way you want.

The offspring is seven months old now. We have been using disposable diapers the whole time. They're a wonderful modern convenience, just toss them when you're done and you rarely have to touch poop and pee. They're super-absorbent thanks to the miracles of science and chemistry. Unfortunately the leaking gel and gallons of trash they produce seem decidedly inconvenient to me, and you would think that science would find a cleaner alternative by now. Still, it sounds better than folding, wrapping and pinning those cloth diapers on. What is a mommy to do?

Whether it is out of desire for convenience, concern for the environment, or maybe just a love of innovation, cloth diapering has been reborn in so many new ways. Moms (and Dads!) have re-designed the diapers to fit any lifestyle. From gadgets that simply replace diaper pins to whole systems with adjustable one-size covers and optional disposable inserts for those times when you just can't use cloth, the old fashioned option is turning into a highly engineered piece of baby gear.

Maybe I'm just making excuses for introducing a decidedly old concept into our usually modern home, but I do know that if cloth had not been improved in recent years this Nerd Mama would not be traveling back in time. Sometimes great things are just an improvement on the old.

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.