Better Parenting Through Coffee

Okay, so I stole the title from another mommy blog. But for me these days, this little phrase says it all.

Daddy bought me a French Press for my birthday, and although I had heard using those can be bad for you because some of the coffee evil is not filtered out, I am hooked. (Apparently, the extra cholesterol left in your mug is usually not too significant.)

I've always enjoyed coffee occasionally - when my mom's visiting, there is a huge pot every morning... I help myself at church events... at a coffee shop with a friend (again, usually mom!).

But it's never been a regular thing for me. After I had kids - and could have really used the caffeine - I was pregnant or breastfeeding and didn't want to shoot the little guys up all the time. Whenever I did, my oh my, how wired they would get and couldn't sleep, and my cute furry little gizmos turned into gremlins after noon.

But for the first time in almost four years, my body is my own again, and I can load it with as much doggone caffeine as I want to! (Don't worry, as of yet it has not become an addiction like sweets were. But please do let me know if I start to get that crazy look in my eye!)

So anyway... the French press. It's like I never really tasted coffee before. So thick. So bold and delicious. So much easier to clean than an entire coffeemaker. (I'm not the type who can let stale coffee remains sit in that thing - I clean it thoroughly after every use. Pot, filter holder, filter holder holder, hot plate, splatter on the outside, and the entire inner workings. Another reason I didn't make this a daily thing.)

I wonder now how I used to manage without actually waking up every morning. And now... now I have energy! It's a beautiful thing. And I AM a better parent for it. Thank you, Starbucks. Thank you, France. Thank you, Daddy.

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