Because natural isn't always possible — or easy.
Posted in parenting, Pissy mussings on Aug 31st, 2012
Every night I come upstairs and check on the girls. Sometimes, I go into Big Girl’s room first. Sometimes, I stop in Little Girl’s room first. Big Girl usually needs to be untangled from her bedding. I smooth her hair and give her a kiss. Little Girl usually needs to be covered up. Sometimes, I [...]
Posted in Pets on Apr 21st, 2012
Last week my husband started sending me photos and links of adoptable dogs. He has been militantly anti-dog even in the face of…well, two cute faces. My girls have been begging for a dog for years. The little one, who is 3, is especially relentless. “Why can’t I have a doggie? I would love her [...]
Posted in Friendship, Things that make me go hmmm on Jun 9th, 2011
Long-time readers of this blog may be wondering why I’ve been posting less. Others may have a more direct question: Why have I been so quiet about myself? I guess it’s time to answer. My focus outward has been brewing for about six months or so, but it became more pressing about a month or [...]
Posted in Politics on May 2nd, 2011
This morning my husband woke me up on his way out the door. “I told Big Girl that she might hear some kids on the bus or at school talking about what happened with Bin Laden. I told her he was a very bad man that did very bad things and that he was dead [...]
Posted in Emotional development on Feb 22nd, 2011
Friends and adult family members will corroborate the above assertion. I’m not a huggy person. I’m not a touchy person. It sort of bothers me. I do hug my kids, though. As much and as often as they will let me. Little Girl makes it easy for me. She is the hugging-est kid I have [...]
Posted in Pop Culture on Dec 23rd, 2010
Something strange is happening this holiday season. People are saying it. You know, the phrase that’s sort of gone by the wayside: Merry Christmas. I noticed it earlier in the month, and it’s a trend that just hasn’t waned. The first sneaky salutation happened at A.C. Moore. Granted, I was buying ornaments for my Brownie [...]
Posted in Emotional development on Dec 14th, 2010
It’s cold here in New York — too cold for a two-year-old who doesn’t like gloves or hats. This is why, every morning this month, I’ve sending Big Girl out to the bus stop by herself. Ever the helicopter parent, I park myself in front of the window so I can watch her obsessively until [...]
Posted in parenting on Nov 26th, 2010
We’re driving home from a wonderful playdate. Big Girl is ensconced in the back seat. I’m asking her what she did for more than five hours. (The girls play so nicely together extended playdates are possible.) She tells me about how they put on a play and how they made gift bags for Santa, complete [...]
Posted in School and education on Nov 10th, 2010
This September, despite being the youngest in the class, Little Girl entered preschool without a care. She went right into the classroom — no sniffles, cries, or screams. She seemed to love it. Then, around the first of October, she started telling me she didn’t like school. She started crying when we pulled into the [...]
Posted in parenting on Jun 11th, 2010
Preface: We’re home and my little one is sleeping…but I wasn’t always this calm today… I put my little one down for a nap around 2 p.m. Ten minutes later I heard a loud thud come from her room. I knew before I opened the door what had happened. She jumped out of the crib. [...]