There's nothing more magical, as a parent, than seeing your perfect offspring lavish one another with the kind of tender care they've learned from your perfect example. I mean... I assume. For other people, who actually set a good example and have kids who follow it. I hear this is a thing, anyway. But no, in our house, it's more like... well, I'll let you see for yourself. Monkey usually does the kids' laundry as one of his chores. And Chickadee almost always throws at least one pair of jeans into the hamper still threaded with a (not-to-go-in-the-wash) belt. Monkey has pleaded, cajoled,...
It never fails to delight me when someone who knows my kids in real life actually refers to them as Monkey and Chickadee. Those are not their real names, of course (sorry to shock you if you thought otherwise...), but they are their real nicknames from wayyyyyyy back, and we are big on nicknames here at Casa Mir. (Bonus points for people who call my husband Otto even though they know him in real life.) Nicknames evolve, 'round here. For a long time Monkey was most often called Small Boy and then one day he pointed out that he was no longer small, Mom, GEEZ, so Otto started calling him Medium...
I actually started posting again, but a few people noticed that Monkey was nowhere to be found. Well, he rudely left us to spend some time with his father over the school break. (I kid! He is always very polite.) He was away for a bit and I tried very hard not to miss him. I failed. Have I mentioned how much I love the kids having iPhones? I love the kids having iPhones. Of course, for the first week Monkey was gone, I didn't even hear from him. I finally sent him a series of ARE YOU DEAD? messages and he responded. As you can see, he's really growing up, cursing appropriately yet succinctly...
How did I become a vision board person? It's still baffling to me. I am just about the most un-artsy-craftsy person I know, and yet, now that I've done this for a few years, it is without a doubt my very favorite new year's tradition. Granted, my OTHER new year's traditions are 1) taking down the Christmas decorations, 2) vacuuming up bits of fake tree and fuzz from destroyed dog toys once said decorations are dispatched and 3) making large salads because none of my pants fit after The Month Of Eating, so it's not like the bar was super-high, or anything. But still. I don't know how I turned...
In general I try to avoid the whole "and now let us brag about the wonderful presents we either gave or received, be they expensive or The Most Thoughtful Item ever or preferably BOTH" thing, because 1) NO1CURR, as my children would say, and also 2) I don't want to be that asshole. I mean, I figured there are plenty of other annoying things about me without any of that going on. Nevertheless, I am now going to be That Asshole and brag, because Santa knocked it out of the park with this double-sided magnet that showed up Monkey's stocking this year: Every teenager's dream, AMIRITE? Listen,...
Hi! In case you were wondering about my status (I am just that important to you, I know), it is currently: Not Dead. That could change---though I don't plan for it to---but despite my neglect of Internet word-vomiting of late, I'm still alive. Let's see; I've been on a streak of truly awesome child-rearing choices for the last month or so. There was the whole "Hello, Mrs. YOURKIDSMOM, but we are legally obligated to notify you when..." phone call from school one day, letting me know that when even a child with a documented lack of brain-to-mouth filter says something that sets off the DANGER...
There are a couple of times I've written about volunteering at my kids' school (or schoolS, back when they weren't at the same one), and it nearly always evokes at least one indignant WELL THAT IS FINE AND WELL FOR YOU, MS. PRIVILEGE PANTS, BUT NOT EVERYONE CAN DO THAT response. Being me, I thought hey, people must be misunderstanding my point, perhaps I will devote an entire post to it to explain why it is important TO ME and is something that I think, actually, most people can do in some capacity if they really want to (maybe not as often as I do, but at least once). Well. Um. You would...
That's me, a go-with-the-flow kind of person. Nary a care! No anxiety! No stress! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha! Hey, at least I can always make myself laugh, right? Right. I'm working on that whole go-with-the-flow thing. Why, I recently realized that my car is missing a hubcap. Where did it go? I have no idea! Oh well! Also, this morning my hair was falling in my face and bugging me so I tied it in a knot. Then I realized that if it was long enough to tie in a knot, I'm about six months overdue for a haircut. (I feel like there's a fine line between "flowing mane" and "aging hippie," and...
Everyone made it out of the house on time and in costume, and everyone got extra credit. In addition, Monkey "won" for his class (which was apparently chock-full of Rosie the Riveters and not a lot else). While Chickadee's teacher admired her commitment to the pun, they apparently had a spot-on Andrew Jackson in her class, so no grand prize for her this year. I give you... the government shutdown, and the Great (grate! get it? GET IT??) Depression: (Adjusted for the Witness Protection Program, natch.) I do feel a little sad that I cannot show you Chickie's Emo-ized makeup because... it...
