J and her Elf Encounter

You know that this year,  I’ve been a little concerned that J’s teetering on the edge of disbelief about Santa and all, which has caused me to do my best to fan the embers as much as a mama can. Like, you know I wouldn’t have done that Elf thing just because I liked the … [Read more…]

Parental Anxiety Overload

I had a little programming note that I meant to put at the end of this post. But then when I started writing it, it got so long that I fear you won’t have the patience to see it through to the end. So, if anyone’s interested, Josh Wagner at the Schenectady JCC told me … [Read more…]

Parenting Resolutions

I’ve said before that I’m not a big New Year’s Resolution gal because I’m pretty much constantly resolving to do something-or-other differently, whether it’s falling off and getting back on the “no soda” wagon or trying to impose new chore regimens or just being a little kinder to myself. Sometimes I do pretty well. Other … [Read more…]

Recovering

Oh, we enjoyed yesterday. We’d spent most of the weekend half-asleep, it seemed, and by Monday and Tuesday we finally made some headway, getting the house organized and getting ready to jump back into the routine. The girls also had an excellent time enjoying their Christmas gifts. Here’s the scene I came across as they … [Read more…]

More on Our Trip

We had a week of eating too much, baking with Grandpa, shopping with Grandma, and playing with cousins. The Fort of Awesomeness has been equipped with a heater and is now a year-round facility. Planning Christmas morning away from home is challenging. We ordered many items online and had them shipped directly to Grandma & … [Read more…]

Halloween Preparations

Hey look! I found that picture that I couldn’t find when I was ranting about Halloween costumes before. This is exciting because I can now document the homemade raffia-and-twig broom, but it’s also a little disappointing because she’s clearly wearing the sort of cheap fabric that shows that the broom is the only homemade aspect … [Read more…]

Female Anatomy

Did you know that today is International Day of the Girl Child? At our house, I tried to kick off the celebration early yesterday, because I had something very special in the house. . . That’s right! Our very own female anatomical model! Whoop, whoop! . . . As it turns out, I was the … [Read more…]

Soccer Drama

As I tuck her into bed Friday night, J asks, “Mom, can I please not go to the soccer game tomorrow?” I understand where J’s coming from, here. Monday to Friday is school, Sunday is church, and Saturdays, J is dragged along to M’s 8:30 am soccer game. Tomorrow it’s likely to be worse than … [Read more…]