After we put the new to us mattress set in our bedroom, I put our old mattress on the living room floor for a few days. I thought it would get put out for the garbage collectors after one of the ‘watch movies and play games until you collapse’ events that my children call sleepovers. […]
When I’m not playing mom taxi this summer, I’m tackling the house, one room at a time. Every room is getting the three pile treatment before being carefully organized. An old toy in a new location gets fresh attention. Lost socks are found in completely inexplicable locations. That ‘weird’ smell is finally identified as a […]
Doug – “I need camping shirts, camping socks, *camping this and camping that, no, I won’t need any of my printed t-shirts. I will need a new camera, a new hat, trekking poles, stuff sacks and a portable sink.” Noah – “These Dockers are too small, so I’m packing them for my one pair of […]
This week, I… talked about menstruation with my 9-y-o daughter, talked about childbirth with my 6-y-o son, and talked about HPV with my teenage son. Parenting is not for the timid.
The 6-y-o is angry with me because he doesn’t have a nickname. “Lots of people don’t have nicknames. I don’t have a nickname.” “Yes you do! Your nickname is Cathy.” “What do you think my real name is?” “Mommy.”
Hump Day. Wednesdays are the middle of the work/school week. It’s the day that sends us sliding down the hill toward the weekend. Wednesday is a metaphorical bump in the road. Sometimes, Wednesday is less of a playground equipment ladder to climb and more of an obstacle course. It began with a ringing phone, except […]
We recently spent a day at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. It’s an adventure we’ve experienced many times. Every visit is wonderful, but this visit there was one exhibit that captured the children’s attention. They stared at it intently while other Aquarium guests glanced and wandered elsewhere. Even after we dragged them away from the […]
As we slowly renovate our aging house, we frequently find the discarded materials impossible to actually discard. The old and obscenely oversized mailbox was recently replaced by a copper-colored mailbox that coordinates with the new exterior house fixtures. The old mailbox sat on the lawn for less than a minute before the children were climbing […]
Because I am a liberal who respects science and believes relationships should be based on love instead of anatomy, I am frequently asked why my family participates in Boy Scouts. The short answer is that Boy Scouting is a scout centric program. When my sons first expressed an interest in Boy Scouts, I was concerned. […]