Summer Notes
Some catch up on general summer notes. Monday was our annual trip to the 4H fair where the girls’ cousin shows pigs every year. As usual, they had fun walking through the buildings and viewing the pigs, cows, goats, sheep, and rabbits. No poultry this year because of the avian flu thing and the horses were not shown on Monday,…
Curveball -or- A Break In Tradition
Normally this time of year, I’m sharing my thoughts on the MLB All Star game. In fact, it’s kind of a tradition. You can look it up in the archives, even! This year I was really looking forward to the All Star game, what with Royals fans highjacking the voting and sending four starters and Mike Moustakas to Cincinnati. Throw…
Old Films
Like many parents, we bought a camcorder around the time our first child was born.[1] Like many parents, we recorded dozens of moments during our early years of parenting, sometimes letting the tape run long past the point when it should have been shut off because we were so utterly delighted with everything our child did. Like many parents the…
Summer Begins
Day one of summer! It’s right at 8:00 as I start this. Two of the girls beat me out of bed, despite letting them stay up late and being told to sleep in, but one is still zonked out. Of course, we could still hear noise from that one’s room after 10:00 last night. I, happily, slept in until the…
You’re On Your Own
It’s a tent-pole requirement of parenting to always be comparing the lives of your kids to your own childhood. We point out the ways our children are more fortunate than us: “I didn’t get to go to Florida until I was 31. You’ve been there three times before you turned 9. Stop complaining!” We observe the changes in how parents…
Kid Notes
Some assorted Kid Notes that have been jotted down in recent weeks. This is totally unofficial, and I base it without knowing anything about the rest of the school, but I’m declaring my girls the Reading Champions of St. P’s. Second graders are given reading wheels during second semester they are required to complete. They contain 12 categories, with the…
Nine (The Second Time)
What birthday summed you up the best? I’m not saying your best birthday, or the most memorable one. I’m saying, which of your birthdays contained all the elements that, combined, explained the person you were/are? I ask that question because I believe yesterday was the most C. birthday of C.’s life. She was happy, crazy, giggly, and excited. She also…
The New Babysitting Rules
Allow me to admit something that may seem obvious to other parents out there, but which surprised me and may make you laugh at / mock me. As I’ve mentioned many times over the years, child care has never been an issue for us. S. comes from a large family, many of whom have lived near us, and thus we’ve…
Spring Break
I forget if I warned my loyal readers that I would be disappearing for over a week as we traveled south for spring break. Facebook friends know the deal, and hopefully the rest of you figured it out on your own. We are back, safe, tanned, and not entirely well-rested. I dropped the girls back at school about an…
Small School Benefits
M.’s volleyball team wrapped up their season over the past few days. Sunday, they played the only other undefeated team in their division. St. P’s won the first game easily, then struggled in the second and lost their first game of the year. I was running the scoreboard and both I and the mom next to me keeping the scorebook…