cake for breakfast vol. 5

I missed one edition of this newsletter while we were in Scotland because I didn’t bring my laptop and for some reason Substack doesn’t let you publish posts from the app, which makes it really clunky to do on a phone. And also, I was still battling those DARN lice! After being so delighted that they had skipped my daughter, it turned out that they had in fact… not. I cried when I realised, and I’m not much of a crier. Thankfully my husband took on the lice-killing shampoo and subsequent combing, and then she got her hair cut. She had been asking to have her hair cut for ages and this was the impetus to finally do it. She loved the experience and loved the cut, and we seem to have conquered the lice… for now.

petit plaisirs

I’m extremely low maintenance in terms of make up/skin care etc., which is 95% due to laziness (I don’t mind putting make up on but I absolutely do not want to have to remove make up at the time I’m ready to collapse into bed). I don’t think I had worn any make up at all since the baby was born, except a touch for our family photos until about 10 days ago.

However, I have to admit that I feel a little more energised when I feel more “put together”, so this week I’ve started wearing a bit of make up and a spray of perfume again. It also helps me feel more human by doing something that is not necessary; it means other “more important” things have to wait a little bit, and that’s just fine.

(Relatedly, I overheard my 3yo tell my 5yo, “mummy is putting cream on her eyes”, and the 5yo responded “oh, yeh, she does that so she can pretend she’s not tired.” Ha!)

thoughts

I’ve been wanting to practice different types of writing because I realised that I’ve backed myself into a bit of a stylistic corner with this Substack, so I came up with some categories for pieces that I’ll publish September-December. If anyone wants to join me in this “writing challenge” of sorts then let me know and I’ll link to your pieces in mine.

September - review - a review of anything! A book, a movie, an album, old or new…

October - respond - respond to something you’ve read online, a podcast, etc.

November - recollect - here’s your opportunity to write an extract of your memoirs

December - reflect - as the year draws to a close, reflect back on 2023 in whatever way you choose

la vie en france

The kids started back to school yesterday, and got off to a bit of a rocky start. In France, unlike in the UK, they mix up which kids are in a class together year on year (unless it’s a small school with only one class per year group). This has meant that both of my kiddos have been separated from their best friends for this school year.

Overall, I think it’s a sound strategy - I presume the idea is to prevent “cliques” from becoming too entrenched, and to disrupt negative social dynamics. When I was at school, the “cool kids” were pretty firmly set in stone by the time we were about 7/8, and those roles really persisted throughout school. So from that perspective, I think the French approach is a good one. However, that doesn’t make it any easier on my sweet, sensitive children who feel like they’re almost starting all over again at school without their best friends at their sides.

what’s cooking

I have cooked absolutely nothing worth sharing in recent weeks, so instead I will share a recipe that I’m excited to try. I think this coconut fish and tomato bake from NYT Cooking sounds delicious, and looks to be fairly simple to make without requiring any hard-to-acquire ingredients. Once this heatwave passes and I can reasonably use a broiler, this will be first on my list.

things i thought were good

I enjoyed this piece by Lore Wilbert on getting paid on Substack. I really encourage you to pay for a couple of the Substacks you read regularly. I can’t overstate how much it is appreciated, especially by us small fry writers.

Hey, it’s your regularly scheduled Emily Oster recommendation! This is a really simple, actionable idea: take the start of the new school year to pick one thing that you wish you could change/improve about your home and family life. Sit down with the other capable members of your household, and figure out what steps you can take towards making it happen.

And also, listen to me and

Katie Marquette

have an honest chat about birth and parenting decisions that don’t fit the current prevailing narratives, as well as a little bit about raising kids as converts to Catholicism. Find it here or look for Born of Wonder wherever you listen to podcasts.

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That’s it for today folks. Hoping that we can all experience some of those cool autumn temps that I’m longing for, and settle into my preferred half of the year.