• Family - Parenting

    Soft Kitty

    September 16, 2024 - By 

    Almost every night, I sing my children a bedtime song. But there is more to this story. The first thing you should know: I’m an awful singer. I can’t carry a tune no matter how hard I try. For this reason, I rarely sing for anyone other than myself. The second thing you should know: because of the first thing, I don’t generally enjoy singing “for an audience” for an extended period of time. I’m too self-conscious to have fun with it. BUT. Then I had my first baby and he needed a bedtime song. I put a lot of…

  • Family - Fun - Parenting

    In the Blink of an Eye

    March 28, 2023 - By 

    I touched on this the other day, when I wrote: Time flies slowly then disappears in the blink of an eye. In our family, we are at that cusp. That age when you recognize that your kids are Big Kids. Just a few years away from Teenagers. That every moment they are still a Little Kid – you should cherish that. It’s almost a part of your past. They are almost too grown for those midnight nightmares and impromptu hugs and can-you-cut-the-crusts-off-my-bread. Which is why, as a grown woman of over 40 years old, for the last two nights I…

  • Family

    Hangers and Doorframes

    February 23, 2022 - By 

    You might think this post is about a house. Or maybe a clothes closet, or a hat rack by the front door. It’s not. Its about children. My oldest just turned 9, and my youngest is about to turn 7. They are growing like weeds, in a very measurable way: But they are also growing in so many immeasurable and almost-unrecognized ways. A while back I made a post on the Milestones that nobody tells you about, and here we have reached one of those again. Maybe someday I’ll look back on this post with a fondness. A sort of,…

  • Family - Parenting

    The Cup Half-Full

    March 27, 2020 - By 

    Today’s homeschool lesson was: how to fill each other’s cups. Also known as “Why mom has always lost her marbles by the end of the day.” I put together a little practical demonstration for the boys. I placed a jar of marbles on the table. Surrounding it, some empty cupcake liners. I explained that the glass jar of marbles represented me: both my physical and emotional energy throughout the day. I then gave them a run-through of what I do, and had the boys select marbles from the jar and place them in the corresponding cupcake liners each time a…

  • Family - Food - Fun

    The Marshmallow-Only Club

    May 24, 2019 - By 

    As I have mentioned in a previous post, the boys love Lucky Charms cereal. They don’t get to have it all the time — mostly because they are notorious for picking around the cereal bits and eating only the marshmallows. And I like to at least cling to some pretense that they are consuming a breakfast-food, not a bowl full of dehydrated sugar soaked in milk. But a few months ago, as I was wandering the aisles of the grocery store, I noticed the promotional box of lucky charms featuring unicorn marshmallows. Connor loves unicorns. They both love Lucky Charms.…

  • Family - Parenting

    Pitter-Patter

    November 13, 2018 - By 

    Just another weekday-night. 7:30 PM. Begin a very relaxed, unhurried bedtime routine. Get little faces and hands washed, teeth brushed, pajamas on, and bedtime stories chosen. 8:00 PM. Finish reading the last story. Tuck the boys in and kiss them goodnight. Manage to get downstairs without any extra requests for water, night-light adjustments, hugs/kisses, songs, questions about tomorrow’s schedule, etc. 8:30 PM. Sitting on the couch and hear the creak of a door being opened, and the pitter-patter of little feet. Assume someone has a sudden urge to pee, and ignore it. The pitter-patter continues and then, two little boys…

  • Family - Parenting

    Milestones

    November 9, 2018 - By 

    There are many important milestone’s in your child’s life. We all discuss the firsts: first words, first steps, first day of school. We compare accomplishments: ditching the diapers, eating solid foods, learning how to ride a bike. But there are some milestones that, while not often discussed, are just as important. Here is a selection of them, to give you an idea: When they are old enough to tattle on you to the other parent (Mommy hit the mailbox with the car!) When they outgrow the baby hangers and you have to buy them full-sized ones (how did my little…

  • Family - Parenting

    Two Simple Things

    July 17, 2018 - By 

    I’ve read a lot of parenting books.  This doesn’t mean that I’m an expert on parenting.  In fact, it doesn’t even mean that I really know anything extra about parenting.  It doesn’t mean that I am the perfect parent or have all the answers.  It simply means that I like to read and have ambitions of being a good parent. I believe that I succeed more than I fail, and my kids love me, so I must be doing something right. But in all those books and blog entries and articles that I’ve read, I’ve noticed a few common themes.…

  • Family - Food - Parenting

    Mealtime with Small Children

    April 4, 2018 - By 

    I wrote a poem about how our dinner usually goes these days. Enjoy. Conducting a Meal I am the tuner of the room I am Magnanimous of patience I am calm, cool, and collected until I am not. Stop, I say, don’t whine. Don’t throw your fork On the floor don’t smear yogurt on your face. Wait, I say, come back here. You’re not done eating And the cat does not like to be pulled by her tail. I pause. Deep breath to fold in the yelling and I Take out my imaginary conductor’s wand Directing two small bodies back…

  • Family - Food

    Lucky Charms

    January 11, 2018 - By 

    Another cold winter day means school starting time is delayed 2 hours. I decided to take advantage of this and sleep until the boys woke up. Around 8 am, I heard Aiden in the living room, but he was being quiet and not demanding anything of me, so I proceeded to lay in bed for a while before deciding to get up.  After almost 30 minutes of this, I began to get suspicious. He had to be up to something. “Hi mom!” he chirped when I entered the kitchen. “I made breakfast for me and Connor.” And sure enough, he…