Okay, I don’t mean “Yay! My kid is sick!” Of course I hate to see them suffer. And I don’t love the sleepless nights and rivers of snot and feeling like every surface will be covered in germs forever. But there is something sweet about sick days. No to-do lists, no gym, no errands, no [...]
Posted in family, Graham, Parenting |
A few months ago I dragged the kids’ IKEA storage bin systems, packed full of toys, out into the garage. They never noticed. No, I wasn’t having a fit of rage this time. It’s just that these kids just don’t seem to do toys. I mean, they’ll play with new things for a bit; mostly [...]
Posted in family, Parenting |
You know those pool tubes for kids? The ones that keep them floating? On TOP of the water? Well, they don’t work when the kid is upside-down. Just be aware. Graham decided to illustrate this point on the Fourth of July. We were having a family BBQ and pool party on Long Island. The kids [...]
Posted in Graham, Parenting |
“Iwannawatchashow!Iwannawatchashow!Iwannawatchashow!Iwannawatchashow!Iwannawatchashow!Iwanna!” A week after school got out, Rob came home to find the TV in the middle of the living room floor. That was as far as I could drag it after I flipped out on the kids and ripped the thing off the wall. (Okay, I carefully unplugged it.) Before summer started we had [...]
Posted in family, Graham, Parenting, Violet |
On the first day of summer vacation we woke up late. (Yes, 6:30 is late.) I made pancakes (not from the box!), omelets (from our backyard flock!) and plenty of coffee (for me, not the kids.) The rest of the day we puttered around, played games, cooked, read, went to the gym and had a leisurely bedtime [...]
Posted in family, Parenting |
Monday is the big day. The big K. Kindergarten. We started getting into The Routine this week. We’ve got a morning chart. We’ve got supplies. We’ve met the kids, principal, teachers, parents. She’s ready. I’m ready. But is kindergarten ready for Violet? I can’t really fathom what a huge change this is going to make [...]
Posted in family, Graham, language, Parenting, Violet |
So almost a year ago we embarked on an experiment: put the kids in the same room for the summer. Were we successful? Well, that depends on how you define “success”. If by success you mean that the kids learned to sleep in the same room happily all summer, then no. We failed failed failed. [...]
Posted in family, Parenting |
Imagine that you work in an office. But at this job you wake up in the morning already at your cubicle. Before you can grab some coffee, or even pee, there are two demanding coworkers hovering over you. They follow you to the bathroom. They bark orders while you eat. They need projects to be [...]
Posted in Parenting |
Scene: Driving home. VIOLET: Mom, when is dinner? ME: Dinner was two hours ago and you didn’t eat it. That’s it. V: But Mom! I’m hungry! I want dinner! M: I guess you missed your chance to eat dinner. I’m not making you another one. V (furiously): If you don’t make me something to eat, [...]
Posted in Graham, Parenting, Violet |
We got an invitation a few weeks ago to a kid birthday party. In it I was amazed to find a note indicating where the child was registered for gifts. I have to admit that I was, well, a little creeped out. Imagining any kid wandering through a toy store, marking down all the items [...]
Posted in Parenting |
