One of my favorite parts of our visit with Kira---and please brace yourself for hysterical laughter from her when I say this---is that her 4-year-old doesn't sleep. Mind you, Kira has nothing but my most heartfelt sympathy that she has been blessed with a child who has 1,001 excuses for why she cannot POSSIBLY go to sleep just yet, but it's not MY kid who refuses to sleep, so for me, it's kind of amazing to observe. Because Sophia is wee and lovely and delicate and she needs some water, no, some milk, and she needs her music, and her dolly, and she didn't say goodnight to everyone yet, and...
Given the news that's coming out of the Supreme Court today, this feels kind of selfish and unimportant, in comparison, but... well, I'm thinking no one wants to see my victory dance or hear my scintillating commentary (mostly consisting of, "Hey, today I don't hate everyone!"), so instead you get this. This one was hard to write. I made Chickadee proof it for me and confirm that it was okay for me to share. I think it's important, but I never want my child to feel like she has an obligation to be an object lesson for anyone. The upshot is that friends should be kind to each other, and that...
I was having trouble coming up with a good way of expressing it that didn't sound trite, I guess. Ebb and flow! Sunrise, sunset! One step forward, two steps back! The course of true love and/or parenting never did run smooth! But, you know. There's only so many ways to say "hey, no biggie, but this week is kind of feeling like a slog and I am tired." Otto did a lot of traveling this month and I miss him when he's gone; whether she'll ever admit it or not, I think Chickadee does, too. So by this past weekend, we two ladies (using that term ever-so-loosely) (though not implying we are loose,...
I keep thinking I'll post something coherent when a full-fledged story presents itself, and then I look over the past 9+ years of writing and realize that this whole notion of actually having a cohesive narrative has never stopped me BEFORE. Why now? Possibly because I am lazy, or possibly because there's some gelato in the freezer and it's not going to eat itself. I don't know. But because I'm a trooper, I shall soldier forward as best I can with disjointed bits and pieces of things. I'm a giver. Summer mathin'. I may have mentioned the whole math thing...? Hey, kids, let's do an entire...
Here's a part of a terrible picture I snuck around a corner of Kira's house and snapped while my girly was chilling out with her new posse: (From left to right: Tre watching Max play a video game, Max playing said video game, Chickadee texting and making Max into her personal cushion, and Raphael desperately wishing he was the one playing the video game.) There's something unspeakably awesome about your friend's kids welcoming your kid into the fold, so of course I wrote about our trip for Alpha Mom because I still feel like there are cartoon bluebirds circling my head. (Sure, they're...
There was a time in my life---a long time, actually---when I thought I would have a houseful of children. Then I realized I was neither independently wealthy nor particularly patient, so I figured 3 or 4 kids would be plenty. And then, y'know, life happened, and I ended up with two kids and the realization that I am perfectly content with the size of my family. (Well, okay, some days I'm perfectly content and some days I am willing to sell the children for puppies or parts or even just to make the noise stop.) So this is to say that I have no regrets about the state of my life or the size of...
I didn't mean to wander off and forget to post for so long. This is the part where I should apologize and tell you how completely fantastical and over-full my life is, I guess, except that: 1) I believe that YOUR life is probably interesting enough that me not posting matters to you pretty much not at all, or at least it shouldn't, and 2) I have absolutely no idea what I've been doing, and I'm sure it wasn't that exciting or I would remember. The second one is kind of a lie, actually. SOME of what I've been doing is having flashbacks to high school math, because OH GOD ALL THE MATHS. Did I...
I think the most solid foundation for a healthy, mutually-fulfilling relationship is good communication. Fortunately, being a writer-type-person who likes to make many word-like squawkings with both my hands and my face-hole, PLUS given the importance I place on really listening to similar transmissions from the ones I love, I've got this one down pat. My family never has to feel like we don't all understand each other. I mean... uhhhh... unless one of us has been doing math for 10+ hours straight and another of us has been trying offer support for said unholy amount of time devoted to said...
Something kind of exciting happened here this week, and I wrote about it over at Alpha Mom. I'll give you a hint: My teenagers are no longer speaking to each other in person using their mouthparts. Our electronic overlords have taken over! And in a weird way, I guess I'm okay with that. Mostly.
