It didn’t look like it was going to go well, this New Year’s Day. I had been eating pancakes all morning (sugar-free and GF but not GAPS-legal) and was wearing the world’s frumpiest sweatpant/pajama combo. My daughter was reaching up to the counter to help herself to the sausage she didn’t eat at breakfast while…
family
City mouse, country mouse, suburban mom
It’s been a lifelong desire of mine to live many different existences at one time. I wanted to be a jet-setting child actress and also live a life of quiet contemptation from my perch in the treehouse. I wanted to be a busy, driven academic and also a party girl. Today, I want to be…
A day at home
I’d have loved to jet off to my first yoga class in 8 months or just go somewhere to write, or have my husband take my kids out for the morning or the afternoon. But I had cranberries and apples to use and a chicken to cook, so instead we made pie, and two kinds…
What does “vacation” look like?
When you’re a parent, vacation seems like two four-letter words. If you have taken one recently, I’m not sure I can handle hearing about it. But tell me anyway. I have a friend who recently posted on Facebook a screen shot of her phone texting with a friend about what they should take to New…
Why didn’t I think of that? Grandma saves 1/72 of the day!
It might be said that I had a perfectly fine day, parenting the children alone from 9 to 5 on a Sunday. Except that I appear to have gained 5 pounds from stress-eating and might have let my children’s eyeballs get singed by TV and computer screens. At least it was from gorging on Mr….
A weekend of many possibilities
For nearly a year, I assumed I’d be out of town tonight. I would either be at the National Women’s Studies Association national conference, hosted this year by my alma mater, the University of Cincinnati. It would have been a reunion of sorts, and I’d have had the chance to talk to people about the…
On nostalgia and novels
It was a throwback week. And a week of looking ahead. Nearly three months after we were supposed to get together for coffee but got thwarted by a health issue followed by travel and a book launch (not mine), my high school friend and thriller author Allison Leotta (nee Harnisch) and I finally had lunch,…
May events for the green and healthy family
Looking for events for your natural-minded family? Here’s an evolving sampling of what’s on tap in May. Before the end of the month: Be sure to submit information about your school’s outdoor space to the International School Grounds Alliance. Register your school at http://greenschoolyards.org/. They’d like to know the name of your school and what…
April events for green and healthy families
April in the DC area is bursting at the seams with events to help you get connected to the earth and focus on your health Here’s a quick look at some of the great offerings for natural-minded families around DC this month. April 13: NoVA Outside Early Childhood Outside Conference: Lens on Outdoor Learning, 9:00-1:00,…
The end of poetry
The repetition of the word “work” bothered me today when I observed my daughter at her Montessori daycare. My older son went to Waldorf school, and even if the two approaches share an appreciation for real-world duties and chores, Waldorf education comes from the perspective that childhood is for play, exploration, unfolding. Not for doing…
Balance is overrated
Another night out, this time tutoring. In two hours, I have paid for three days of childcare. But what really is the cost? I would rather make less easy money to make money that is more meaningful to my everyday existence. And that doesn’t require me to go out 8-10 p.m. But I also value…
Out of words
You’d think that on Thanksgiving day, I’d be welling up with heartfelt warm-fuzzies or could at least feign some kind of thoughtful riff on how good I’ve got it. But I’m struggling to find something to write about. Now, I do know how good I’ve got it, really, I do. I’m so lucky to have…
Prelude to Thanksgiving
It occurs to me when facing certain social situations that I’m still nursing a soap opera hangover from age eight when I learned how to talk to people by watching “General Hospital.” It wasn’t pretty. No one on that show is nice, unless for pretend, to get something. Everyone judges. The snappier an insult you…
The short and long view
It’s now been over three months since I started reading Katrina Kenison’s The Gift of an Ordinary Day. I’d picked it up even before that, but three months ago I devoured as much as I could while away from my kids at a conference. Since I’ve been back, time has been scarce amid getting unpacked,…
Day Two on the road
So tonight it’s Monopoly I’m missing to write, but I’ll be brief with this, inspired by our visit to the Indianpolis Children’s Museum, and as I noticed as I wrote, the cadence of some children’s book I haven’t read in a long time. Maybe Freight Train? From two to twelve Orange ball Rock wall Kids…
Flashback
After a few days of coughing and sniffles, and a lot more of them last night, my son declared today that he didn’t want to go to school. We couldn’t blame him. Since I’m taking him and his sister on a plane tomorrow where they will spend 3.5 fun-filled days (and possibly late nights) with…
Playing in the leaves
When we found out the neighbor we were going to meet at the park had to go back home for bad behavior, the leaf pile called us. I don’t know how we managed to have so much fun without anyone getting an eye poked out or losing a Croc. But it was a day when…
Old and wrinkled
The last professional photo shoot we had was when my daughter had just been born in August 2010. Today is November 12, 2012. I bought a shoot over a year ago on as a Groupon or Living Social Deal and just finally redeemed it today. Although I’m thrilled that we got some pictures taken, and…
Confessions of a mostly natural parent
Welcome to the second edition of the “I’m a Natural Parent – BUT…” Carnival This post was written for inclusion in the carnival hosted by The Artful Mama and our feminist {play}school. During this carnival our participants have focused on how mainstream society has affected their natural parenting and how they have come to peace…
Ten things I love — and don’t — about summer
The days are getting shorter. How sad. Thank goodness. The children will be out of the house soon. How sad. Thank goodness. We will have to adhere to an imposed schedule. How sad. Thank goodness. In the spirit of being two things at the same time (see the title of this blog!), here is my…