PregnancyFamilyEducation Blogs
April 30, 2008
Even dogs need to shop
Yesterday T. and I took the dog shopping. Because, of course, even dogs need shopping therapy. T. was thrilled about the idea of taking Willa into an actual store, especially a pet store, one of her favorite places to go. She loves to watch the birds flutter up and down on their perches, and she dreams of one day owning her very own fuzzy dwarf hamster and one of those extensive plastic habitrail things that turn an ordinary hamster cage into a multi-level theme park. [more]
April 29, 2008
The family that cooks together...
Because we're always willing to try things at least once as parents (I could write a small book on motivational charts, behavior charts, chore charts, reward systems, etc.), we've recently instituted a Family Cook Night. This night takes place every Sunday and involves a lot of mess, a crowded kitchen, and small hands helping out with food prep and mixing. [more]
April 28, 2008
Growing up is good to do
On Saturday afternoon, T. and I had a mother-daughter outing together, along with T.'s BFF (best friend forever) J., and J.'s mom (do you have all those initials straight?). We had tickets to see a matinee performance of Peter Pan, one of my own personal childhood favorites. Peter Pan has it all, of course: fairies, pirates, magic, flying, and a crocodile bent on revenge. I have always had a special place in my heart for the story. When I was nine or ten years old I memorized the entire theatrical version of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. [more]
April 25, 2008
Why T. still sleeps with us
We are trying, gently and carefully, to help T. learn to stay in her own bed all night long. She always wakes up every night, sometimes at 11:00, or 1:00, or 4:00--the times vary--but the results are the same. I rouse myself from my sleep to find her standing next to our bed, a small, breathless, frightened figure. I get up, take her to the potty, then bring her to bed with us, where she snuggles against my back with a deep sigh, arms closed tightly around my neck. [more]
April 24, 2008
If dreams are the windows to our souls...
Last night I had a long and involved and very detailed dream about being pregnant again. In my dream I was not only pregnant, but pregnant with twin boys. My dream took me through the positive pregnancy test and the discovery, via ultrasound, of the fact that I was carrying twins. It was all so realistic--right down to the numb shock, mixed with creeping delight, at the thought of a new pregnancy. I think, though, that the numb shock won out in the end.
April 23, 2008
The magic of two
After talking with a pregnant colleague the other day about the ups and downs of parenting two children AND juggling our chaotic lives (she's a month away from her due date and feeling nervous about #2), I got to thinking a little about how one of the trying and also rewarding things about having more than one child is that you end up never really parenting the same way twice--and you shouldn't. [more]
April 22, 2008
Spinning wheels
Every Monday through Thursday, my cell phone alarm rings promptly at 4:30. This is L.'s "homework alarm" and, although I usually end up having to push the snooze button once or twice, the alarm system has helped make an unpleasant business at least more organized (although still not exactly pleasant). At 4:30 yesterday the alarm went off, and only five minutes later L. disappeared into the office to type out his spelling words. I used the time to engage in what a friend terms "horizontal parenting." This term describes the type of parenting you can do while lying prone on a couch or floor. [more]
April 21, 2008
Friends in virtual spaces
I've written before about the mixed feelings I have over Facebook, and over how it seems to have taken over the lives of my students to such a degree that they have, on occasion, trouble interacting with the real live world around them (in which I, as their professor, play a fairly important role). But I appreciate the allure of Facebook, and lately I've found myself enthralled by it. [more]
April 18, 2008
Going it alone (for a few days)
Those little pangs of nostalgia and twinges of longing I sometimes get for my children's babyhood are always squashed completely at times like this, when my husband is out of town and I'm left to hold down the fort alone. I marvel at how much easier life has become now, with a four-year old and a seven-year old, even if parenting has grown extremely trying in other respects. But the daily routines are easier, bedtimes are predictable, and the guarantee of a fairly seamless night's sleep is pretty certain. [more]
April 17, 2008
Sisterhood
I was supposed to have a meeting today. A meeting I would have had to tear out of early at noon sharp, so I could race across town in time to pick up my daughter at 12:30. Then I was going to rush home to type up a post for today (subject matter still undetermined at that point), since the Internet has been down almost all week at work. After that, I was going to race back downtown again to pick up L. at 2:30, then head over to my office to leave the two kids there with their babysitter while I sat in a meeting from 4:00 to 5:00. [more]
