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May 22, 2008
Jekyll and Hyde, Professor Mom
Jekyll and Hyde, Professor Mom
I don't know how it is with your children, but I've noticed that my kids often behave in unpredictable Jekyll and Hyde ways when in public. One day they will be as good as can be, causing heads to turn, and strangers to comment in pleased tones about how well-behaved and sweet they are; then the next day heads turn in altogether different ways, and everyone gives you a wide berth, hoping against hope that whatever is wrong with YOUR kids that day won't rub off on theirs. [more]
May 21, 2008
Tough love or Craigslist?, Skadaddle
Tough love or Craigslist?, Skadaddle
From time to time, I search Craigslist for writing gigs. This research isn’t so much to find jobs for me personally; it’s more of a way for me to keep tabs on whether the competition (to my company) is looking for talent (and what they’re looking for). Today, I found the following post (all spelling, punctuation and grammatical issues are hers, not mine): [more]
May 21, 2008
The little flirt, Skadaddle
The little flirt, Skadaddle
Went out to dinner with the kid the other night and ended up eating by myself.
K-Man was nowhere near our table. Instead, he was hanging out at the next table over – trying to make some kind of move on the 30-year-old elementary school teacher sitting next to us. When a plate of fries came to her and her boyfriend – K-Man took one. It was tremendously embarrassing in a way, but alternatively kinda funny. It was perhaps the pinnacle of K-Man’s early career as a major flirt. [more]
May 21, 2008
A post in which I grouch a little about fruit, Professor Mom It's that time of year again--the time for endings and beginnings; for saying good-bye to classrooms and teachers and the old ways of an old school-year. I look at the second-graders at L.'s school and they seem suddenly all arms and legs and missing front teeth. They carry around Harry Potter books and beloved webkinz, and talk about big kid stuff like THIRD grade. At T.'s school the kids are coming into their own, suddenly, dividing themselves up by boys and girls; T. comes home with gossipy-like tales of who did what to her, and why.
A post in which I grouch a little about fruit, Professor Mom It's that time of year again--the time for endings and beginnings; for saying good-bye to classrooms and teachers and the old ways of an old school-year. I look at the second-graders at L.'s school and they seem suddenly all arms and legs and missing front teeth. They carry around Harry Potter books and beloved webkinz, and talk about big kid stuff like THIRD grade. At T.'s school the kids are coming into their own, suddenly, dividing themselves up by boys and girls; T. comes home with gossipy-like tales of who did what to her, and why.
May 20, 2008
Here we go again, Professor Mom
Here we go again, Professor Mom
I can't shake the feeling that summer will be over in the blink of an eye. Of course, I know that we still have many months of hot, humid, buggy, pool-filled and popsicle-sticky days ahead of us. But I started teaching summer school today, and it was with a heavy and somewhat sad feeling, mixed incongruously with the tinge of excitement I get whenever a new semester begins, that I got up this morning, made coffee, swept up T. with her tousled, sweet-smelling, bed-head, and planted a kiss on her soft cheek. When I left, T. [more]
May 19, 2008
Friends to feed the soul, Professor Mom
Friends to feed the soul, Professor Mom
This past weekend was a little out of the ordinary for us in two ways: 1) we did a lot socially and 2) we slept in. The sleeping-in part is a little unusual, although one of the perks of having older children is that they do sleep more as they get older – even difficult, hands-on sleepers like ours. So don't despair, if you do have early-risers like we once had; even a year ago, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd wake, peer at the clock, and find it reading "8:15" and, better yet, discover that although L. [more]
May 19, 2008
Step right up and see the amazing parent contortionists!, Skadaddle On the way home from an adventure-filled morning that included stops at two fire stations, the botanical gardens, a bookstore and California Pizza Kitchen, K-Man decided it was a good time to take off his Crocs. “Daddy, I take my Crocs on,” he proclaimed proudly. (The whole “on vs. off” thing really confounds the little guy.) This was almost immediately followed by, “I want my Crocs!” I explained that I was driving and, since we were almost home, I’d get his shoes for him very soon. This wasn’t a satisfactory answer.
Step right up and see the amazing parent contortionists!, Skadaddle On the way home from an adventure-filled morning that included stops at two fire stations, the botanical gardens, a bookstore and California Pizza Kitchen, K-Man decided it was a good time to take off his Crocs. “Daddy, I take my Crocs on,” he proclaimed proudly. (The whole “on vs. off” thing really confounds the little guy.) This was almost immediately followed by, “I want my Crocs!” I explained that I was driving and, since we were almost home, I’d get his shoes for him very soon. This wasn’t a satisfactory answer.
May 16, 2008
What matters, Professor Mom
What matters, Professor Mom
I have a favorite children's book I used to read when I was a child, and I read through it recently with T. It's set a long time ago, in the 1900s, and in the book the mother, a writer, is always telling her kids to "be good dearies and play" while she sits and does an hour or two of writing. Then, when she's done, she sends her stories off to her editor and devotes herself to playing with her children – who, all the while, have been keeping nicely to themselves while their courageous and talented mother earns her livelihood writing.
Are you laughing, yet? [more]
May 16, 2008
Beat the heat, Skadaddle
Beat the heat, Skadaddle
It’s 9:18 p.m. and it’s 87 degrees in my house. Earlier today, the temperatures crept dangerously close to 100, as the first heat wave of the year left people scrambling for the air-conditioned confines of their offices, movie theaters, cars and (though I certainly don’t have one) pools. It’s the kind of heat that results in two kinds of conversations:
1) “Holy crap, it’s hot.”
2) “Holy crap, it’s hot. Damn global warming.” [more]
May 15, 2008
Camp, anyone?, Professor Mom On our kitchen table at home is a pile of catalogs and summer events calendars. I've been collecting them for some weeks now, and I leaf through them while I'm sipping my coffee, or eating breakfast. My head swims when I look at all the activities you can sign your kid up for during those summer weeks: --Sewing camp (really!)
--Horseback camp
--Colonial camp (dress up like early settlers and make candles!)
--Music camp
--Chess camp
--Robot camp
--Doll-making camp (rag-dolls, not even American Girl dolls)
Camp, anyone?, Professor Mom On our kitchen table at home is a pile of catalogs and summer events calendars. I've been collecting them for some weeks now, and I leaf through them while I'm sipping my coffee, or eating breakfast. My head swims when I look at all the activities you can sign your kid up for during those summer weeks: --Sewing camp (really!)
--Horseback camp
--Colonial camp (dress up like early settlers and make candles!)
--Music camp
--Chess camp
--Robot camp
--Doll-making camp (rag-dolls, not even American Girl dolls)
