I used to love cooking.
I was pretty damn good at it too. (If you haven’t visited my profile yet, yes it’s true that I make the best 갈비찜 — galbijiim, or Korean braised short ribs — in the world and anyone who’s tasted it will attest to it. People have even suggested that I open a 갈비찜 restaurant!)
Then came my kids.
Their first years weren’t too bad. Breastmilk/formula. Mushy foods such as 죽 (congee). Finger, bite-sized foods.
Their toddler years were different.
Toddlers tend to be picky about their food. They will ONLY want to eat one thing one day, and will want nothing to do with it the next. Even the tiniest thing can drive a piece of food into the “inedible” category: the color, the shape, the temperature, even the type of dish on which it was served!
I used to tell people that my kids have taken the joy out of cooking. 😥
My girls are older now. They turn 7 and 6 later this year. Gone are the toddler pickiness, and as an added bonus, their palates are becoming more sophisticated.
Finally. 
As a result, I have been cooking up a storm lately. Mainly Korean food, because that’s what I love the most. And there are a few things more satisfying than seeing your loved ones dig into a dish on which you’ve worked hard. Watching them gobble everything up, asking for seconds, and tell you, “Umma, this is so good. I want to take this to school for lunch tomorrow.”
I know this may seem like a boring post to most — the insignificant words of a SAHM.
But y’all… I’ve discovered my love of cooking again!
So to all the mothers out there struggling with feeding their toddlers…. Just wait. There is hope!
* * * * *
I wanted to give a short update about my new diagnosis, and my meds.
A few people have reached out to me regarding my being bipolar. Mostly out of concern and love, which I appreciate. But as I have told those people, my new diagnosis doesn’t change who I am. I am still the same person. In fact, I received the new diagnosis months before writing the blog post…and my reason for not writing about it sooner is because it’s really not that big of a deal to me.
As for my meds, my psychiatrist and I are still working to find the best combo that’s fit for me. I’m still on Topamax, aka the “model drug,” and I’ve lost 10 lbs from it. So far, I haven’t noticed any mental deficits (it doesn’t happen to everyone), so I’m wondering why I wasn’t on this drug sooner! 😉 Sure, I miss my Diet Coke and beer, but I’ve been enjoying wine and have been gulping down more than 2 liters of water a day.
