Since, here in the U.S., this week is about giving thanks,  I’ve been thinking a lot about my life and all the blessings in it.  There are the obvious things, like food and shelter and clothing, the health of our family, and the fact that we live in freedom.  This list isn’t about that.  It’s about the small things that make life easier on a daily basis.  This is my “Mommy Is Thankful For” list: Imaginative children. Caveman is never (...Read More)

It all started when we bought that damned easel.  I read somewhere that toddlers and preschoolers were better able to write using an easel or sprawled on the floor, so it seemed like a good idea.  From the moment Hubby set it up, Princess became an art-making machine.  First she was content to color on the easel paper, adding to it over a few days until she needed a new section.  Then she needed new paper every day.  Then multiple (...Read More)

Caveman turned three at the end of September. By the time Princess was this age, we had been rid of diapers for some time and only used pull-ups at night. Caveman, however, seems happy to be in a diaper and shows little more than a passing interest in the potty. I’ve been to all sorts of parenting workshops, from positive reinforcement to practically no reinforcement at all (“don’t punish and reward your kids—that treats them like dogs!”). I’d say I (...Read More)

Recently, the kids and I had lunch in a restaurant before visiting my grandmother. The area, apparently, is inhabited solely by senior citizens, as I was the only adult in the packed restaurant who could not order off the “over 65” menu. It had been a long drive and a long day, I was worried about my grandmother’s health, and we had a long drive ahead of us after our visit. Princess and Caveman were being relatively well behaved. Caveman (...Read More)

Princess started Kindergarten on Monday. She did great—a little shy at first, but she said goodbye and headed into her classroom without looking back. I’m the one who had to fight back tears as she skipped along with her too-big backpack and ponytail swinging. She always has been independent. This whole thing has me feeling nostalgic for the sweet, tiny baby she was not so long ago, so I dug out this poem I wrote when she was a few (...Read More)