PregnancyFamilyEducation Blogs
August 31, 2009
Forty
I learned this past weekend that despite my pep talks to myself (written and otherwise) I still do not feel particularly good about turning forty. I had a strong urge, all weekend long, to head to some solitary retreat and wrestle, alone, with these turning-forty demons. I'm certain that in some culture, somewhere, turning a landmark birthday involves that type of retreat--maybe to experience some solitary and pivotal rite of passage (through fire? [more]
- Tags: Growing Up Is Hard to Do, Family, Birthdays
August 28, 2009
Tangible
T. had a fantastic first day of kindergarten. Me? I had a strange first day. I walked around with the distinct feeling I was forgetting something—not a good feeling to have, really, especially when the something you feel like you’re forgetting is your child. But then I’d tell myself, reciting it like something I needed to remember: L. is in school, T. is in school, everything is okay.
The night before kindergarten, at dinner, we talked about making T. a photo collage she could keep in her backpack, to look at when she needed. [more]
- Tags: Recipes, Parenting, Kindergarten, Greece, Food for Thought, Cooking
August 27, 2009
'Twas the Night Before Kindergarten
Backpack?
Check.
First day of kindergarten outfit?
Check.
New sneakers?
Check.
First school lunch packed? [more]
- Tags: School Daze, Parenting, Kindergarten, Children
August 26, 2009
Rules of engagement
Last week we were mired in other more pressing concerns, but I kept thinking about some fitting military-type euphemism in keeping with the spirit of Operation Bento Box that would capture the setback the whole plan suffered last week.
I couldn't come up with one, though. (The words Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! kept flashing through my mind, however.) [more]
- Tags: School Daze, Parenting, Operation Bento Box, Food, Eating, Children
August 25, 2009
The last baton
Back when L. was just a baby, Scott and I coined the word "tag-team parenting"--well, maybe we weren't the first to coin it, but we certainly felt like pioneers in that make-it-up-as-you-go territory. I distinctly remember the first time the phrase popped into my head. I had parked our old Dodge Grand Caravan at the Hardy's parking lot opposite the bus stop where the free university shuttle dropped off and picked up. I was nursing--or trying to nurse--an unhappy L. who was bundled into layers of onesies and a sweater (it was October and COLD).
August 24, 2009
Future Me
Setting: Me at the computer, Sunday afternoon. Scott is gone for the afternoon, taking care of some family business, and the kids are playing "Star Wars" in the family room--building intricate block structures for L.'s Star Wars action figures to inhabit. I'm attempting to seize a sliver of time to get some work done at the computer--desperate to do so because I don't want to spend my Sunday night working. L., who has spent the last twenty minutes delivering a monologue to T. on the ins and outs of the different clone troopers walks into the office.
"Hey Mama!"
"What?" [more]
August 21, 2009
Super food
Despite the week it’s been I DID manage, miraculously, to grab a sliver of time (Star Wars: Clone Wars + Aristocats + a rainy afternoon = me time) to try out a new recipe (remember, I cook and clean as therapy). We have good friends coming over on Saturday for a picnic at the pool, and I wanted to preview a quick and nutritious salad using our favorite: the edamame bean. [more]
August 20, 2009
Convergence
This made me smile yesterday:
T.'s take on winter science! The hypothesis she was testing? Whether or not frozen rocks would turn to ice.
********* [more]
August 18, 2009
Hooked!
I was getting T. ready for bed the other night when she asked suddenly if I knew what an hypothesis was.
"Tell me," I said.
She paused for a minute, to recall the information, and said, "it's an idea you can test!" [more]
August 17, 2009
Big
Do you remember wanting desperately to be older? I remember, clearly. I remember being a teenager and just wishing for that next year. When I was really young I seriously believed I would grow the night before my birthday, and wake up looking different--older, taller, stronger. I had some feeling that if I could only turn 14, or 15, or 19, then that would be it, the year Great Things Would Happen. [more]
