Christmas was nearing. I roamed around our apartment trying to find a gift for my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Higgins. I looked through closets, on shelves, in drawers.

On one wall hung a framed poster of a white woman, wearing a black pinstripe suit, toasting with a glass of champagne, and leaning against a Rolls Royce in front of a building labeled, "Welfare Department." Written above the picture were the words, "Poverty Sucks." [more]

It took approximately 5 hours and 35 minutes yesterday for the Christmas Day dust to settle and for there to be a window of relative quiet and peace following the frenzy of cinnamon-bun eating, coffee-drinking, present-opening, present-assembling, present-playing. Then we grown-ups, fingers tingling and aching from having assembled ridiculous numbers of Matchbox raceways, shortwave radio kits, wooden dollhouses, and puzzles, collapsed on the couch, thankful in a way that Christmas only comes once a year. [more]

I had a disturbing and utterly frightening dream last night; the kind of dream that sends chills down a parent’s spine this time of the year. I dreamed that it was Christmas morning and that we’d all—everyone in my family—completely forgotten to fill the Christmas stockings, or—horror of all horrors!—leave cookies and milk out for Santa. Of course, I have to add here that even the horror of this dream did not compare to the reality of having actually left behind, two states away, some of T.'s critical Santa presents last year—but that's another story. [more]

Are you done with your holiday shopping yet? We're not. Scott and I have been spending the past three mornings in various stores, our long list clutched in our hands. And although I wish we had done more of it earlier, it's nice that now that the semester is over, the two of us get some one-on-one time together to shop, and talk, and catch up. And kid-free holiday shopping is so much easier to get done. [more]

Yesterday afternoon, T. and I snuck in a quick trip to the grocery store before we picked L. up from school. During final exams week, our house not only falls into a state of messiness and clutter (who can clean when they're knee-deep in grading?), but we tend to run out of necessities like food. While we were trying to find some bakery bread for L.'s lunch, T. spied a kit for making a gingerbread house.

"Look Mama!" she exclaimed, "A Hansel and Gretel house!" [more]