In case I haven't said so lately, there's just no way to put a price on great web hosting. I mean, sure, between the people who want to fill my blog up with links to Haitian pharmaceuticals and my own bumbling attempts to fix things (not to mention Otto's valiant efforts to remedy the situation), there are gonna be a few days that the blog, it done get blowed up. (Yes, that's the technical diagnosis.) And then it was all fixed and immediately was attacked in a different way, and yet my hosting service (Fusix! Love them!) continued on, barely muttering "Yeesh, this is a total pain in the...
Hey, I have a handy tip I'd like to share with y'all. Because I'm helpful, that way. And I know that you will thank me, because this one is a real gem. Here it is: Do not let an orthodontist put the first set of braces on your child the day before a four-day weekend. YOU'RE WELCOME! I know, it seems like a silly thing, but OH MY GOD, just trust me on this one. Because you'll be all "Ho hum, braces today, make sure we're having soft food for dinner, no problem," and then you'll leave early to get into the carpool line so as to pick the child up immediately after school so as to make it to the...
I'm not being the person I want to be, this week. I'm not entirely sure why, either. Sure, I'm tired, I'm fighting a cold, I'm feeling somewhat overwhelmed with work... but none of those things is the reason. Maybe it's the combination, maybe it's none of that at all. I am just---as I grumped at someone, earlier---Having A Week. The unfortunately side effect of this situation is that I'm not exactly being patient with my children. I am TRYING, really, but if I'm being perfectly honest I have to admit that I am NOT succeeding. They are driving me nuts. They are driving me nuts by BEING KIDS....
Oh, many of you scoffed when I mentioned planning out our weekly menus, but so far it's made for a kind of calmness in the afternoon that we haven't had in a LONG time. I refer to myself as the Dinner Nazi, sometimes---I love the family dinner thing, and I will DEMAND we all eat together so that we can have some Quality Family Time. And it's totally SHOCKING, I know, but that tends to work out a lot better when I'm not running around like a headless chicken figuring out what we're actually going to EAT during that special time when we're bonding. Besides, a whole lot of tormenting goes on at...
Just a quickie, today, as I'm running around. Karen Walrond's Love Thursday post today is about friendships, and it reminded me that although I have a terrible picture to accompany this story, I wanted to share it. [Edit: I came home and the blurry photo was still bothering me, so I took a better one to replace it. Revisionist history! Right here on Woulda Coulda Shoulda!] Back when Otto and I got married, he took the kids aside the day before the wedding and gave them each a gift. Monkey got a tie clip that matched the one Otto would be wearing, and Chickadee got a necklace. A prayer box...
I feel comfortable asserting that I am NOT a helicopter parent. I believe in kids building autonomy, making (and learning) from their own mistakes, and all of that sort of thing. Furthermore, in case you haven't noticed, I am far too lazy to be a helicopter parent. It just seems like it's an awful lot of work. I can barely remember to get dressed in the morning and throw some food at my children. I'm supposed to shadow their every step, too? HARD. I can't be bothered. On the other hand, I do luuuuurve MAH BABIES and try to take an active interest in their lives. I do things like join...
Just a quickie, today, as I am having some difficulty extracting this gigantic stick that seems to be lodged up my... oh, nevermind. I'm really not fit for public consumption, is my point, but I did want to tell you about something that happened yesterday. The genetics that combined to form my children gave them many fabulous things---such as large brains and long eyelashes---but it also saddled them with a few things they probably could've done without, such as really crooked teeth. We've been doing the mouth modification thing for quite a while, already. Why, I went back and checked, and...
There are things I love about being a mother, and things about it that drive me insane. This is pretty typical, I'd guess, but on the whole I give this whole mothering gig a hearty thumbs up. Insert the cliche of your choice here: It's the toughest job you'll ever love! It's the decision to have your heart walk around outside of your body! Etc. I'll just say that I really didn't understand inspiration until I became a mom. Also, it's nice to have someone else to water the plants for me. (What?) There are things I love about being a writer, and things about it that drive me insane. This is...
We're not quite a week into the new school year, and already we're settling into a familiar routine. I hear his alarm go off and the sound of Monkey leaping out of bed just seconds before my alarm goes off; in contrast, Chickadee's first alarm is usually turned off before it has a chance to beep (she'll turn it off in the wee hours, I suspect), and the second alarm---on a second clock, across the room---goes off ten minutes later. Monkey is downstairs in about six minutes, bright-eyed and chatty and cheerful. Chickadee won't follow for at least another fifteen minutes (if not more), and she...
