Natural as Possible Mom

Both girls are in skating camp this week. Their regular camp doesn’t start until next month, so I signed them up at the local skating rink. It’s every day, 9:30 until 3:30. They spend a good portion of their time on skates, something that Little Girl did not know how to do. Okay, so the [...]

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Little Girl, mind of her own Little Girl, has decreed that she wants a small birthday party. She does not want to invite her entire preschool class, she says, even though it’s something I offered to her and something I always did in the past. No, she wants specific people. Her best bud S. N., [...]

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Earlier this week we were all outside. The kids were playing basketball. Well, maybe playing isn’t the right word. “Mommmm, she won’t share.” “Little Girl, share.” “No, it’s my turn.”(Scuffling and pushing ensues.) “Girls, stop it. Big Girl, just let her play with it for another two seconds.” (Said dramatically) “No, it’s my ball. Besides, [...]

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I am not what you would call an outdoor person and yet some of my most treasured memories took place outside. My sister and I spent all of our waking hours running around our street, biking, playing games, or hanging out at the playground around the corner. We used leaves, sticks, and flowers as props. [...]

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Little Girl has been asking to play soccer for about a year now, as unbelievable as that sounds. We’d drive past the field and she’s squeal and ask me to stop the car. Now that she’s three, I decided to sign her up for a local program. We recently had our first session. She was [...]

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Today is a snow day here in New York. Hubby got up and, because he takes a train to work, was able to go off to the city. Me? I was at home with both kids. No babysitters in sight. We did a bunch of stuff to keep busy and have fun. I had Big [...]

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When I go to playdates the other moms almost always put out one or more of the following: Chicken fingers, French fries, hotdogs, and macaroni and cheese. And I always serve Little Girl the same thing: Whatever I’m eating. a sandwich, some cheese and crackers, a little meat rolled up, some fruit. She doesn’t eat [...]

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The past few Sundays — as her sister naps — Big Girl and I have been going for bike rides. We travel a half mile east, another half mile north, and then head east, north, and east again until we get to a local park. Inside, we slip onto the bike-only track. I won’t lie: [...]

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This weekend was Big Girl’s birthday. To celebrate, we went into New York City and visited American Girl Place. We had dinner in the cafe, and shopped afterward for Big Girl’s very first real American Girl doll — number 35, a red-head with straight hair and green eyes. While we were there we made a [...]

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My big girl’s play was today. I missed the 1 p.m. performance. I had a meeting I couldn’t get out of. She was the narrator. She was supposed to run onto the stage and start the play. Instead of running, though she tripped, or so my mother and husband told me. She went down hard, [...]

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