After a summer of moving and letting the light box run for way too long so I could make food or unpack something or wait on hold on my cellphone trying to get our phone and internet connected, I was really hoping to cut the cord to the TV once school started. For crying out…
priorities
Balancing action with rest
I had a fabulous week last week of attending three (partial) days of the NVIC conference and then all day of “Perinatal: A Symposium on Birth and Reproductive Rights.” But now, instead of volunteering at the Holistic Moms Network table at the Green Festival, I’m home with a slight fever. I don’t feel that bad,…
Helping children with aggression
“But he showed remorse,” said my kind friend when I called her crying to apologize that my son had bitten hers at school. “What more could you want?” Um, for him to not do it at all? Really, what I want is for my son not to feel that kind of out-of-control anger. I know…
Birthdays — the key part is the “happy”
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on August 31, 2009 Birthdays — the key part is the “happy” My mom and I used to get giddy about our almost-shared birthdays, which are two days apart in early March. But in 1987, nine days before my 14th birthday — a week before my mother’s…
Mama’s turn at dress-up
I’ll keep mum on the details for now, but it’s amazing what a job interview has done for me. Having to buy a clothes and dress shoes that actually fit, a bag, and jewelry has been a great exercise. I’ve had a reason to take myself seriously as a Person in the World, not just…
Away from home
It’s seriously happening. I’m spending the night away from my son. My first in 3.4 years. And all thanks to the internet. I posted a few months back on a moms email list looking for a place in the metro area where I could just go and work on the laptop all day long without…
TV Blues
Last month PBS Kids hosted a lovely event for us DC Metro Mom bloggers. I ought to have posted something about it, but it was kind of culture shock for me, and I didn’t want to write and sound ungrateful. Before the event, I didn’t know anything about Super Why or any shows for preschoolers….
The thrill is gone — from messy to neat and back again
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on June 11, 2009 The thrill is gone — from messy to neat and back again For the first week we were trying to sell our house, it was kind of a game to keep it clean. How fast can I wipe up that spill? Neatness was that…
Blogging because nothing else can get done in 15 minutes
I can’t seem to face any projects. I never know if someone is going to call to come see the house, and my few (as in seven over two days) childcare hours are hardly my own with house stuff and with finally trying — in an admittedly half-assed way — to take care of my…
Baby wants to join a Yahoo group
“Yahoo group!” I could not believe my ears. But then he said it again; my tiny little three-year-old shouted exuberantly and unmistakably, “Yahoo group!” The follow-up question: “Is that for your meeting?” My son asks before he goes to bed if I have to go to a meeting. I either say yes or that I’m…
Stress is something to let go of, too
I’d hoped that this spring season would find me happily detoxing away. I made a good start nutritionally, and I did the one dramatic foot soak. But I haven’t gotten much beyond that. We have been planning to move but had to do some unexpected negotiation after the home we want to buy got a…
In box finds simplicity
Wow, 11111! That’s a great number! Can you believe it’s the number of unread messages in my Yahoo mail In box? No, I am not kidding. And yes, many of them are digests of lists I seem to think I ought to keep even though I can get everything in the group site archives. The…
Moving targets — when your kid can’t count on you
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on April 28, 2009 Moving targets — when your kid can’t count on you “Leave, Mommy,” said my son when I walked over to where he was enjoying a friend’s toys. And upon leaving another playmate’s house, he protested: “No, I want to stay here. I don’t…
It’s a writing conference, and I’ll cry if I want to
I didn’t want to. I just did. Cry, that is. I was actually having a lovely time at the “Conversations and Connections” writing conference until we hit the moment of speed dating with editors. I froze. Choked. Lost it. Whatever negative verb you want to pick, it probably fits. The problem was partly that I’d…
Mama meets with other writers
“Mommy’s going to work all day tomorrow,” I told my son. “To work with your student?” Usually I leave for work only in the evenings, to tutor. When the sitter is here on Wednesday mornings, I say I’m working in the basement, usually for my “meeting” (new chapter of Holistic Moms Network). But tomorrow I’m…
Wanna take pretty pictures
I’ve been saying lately that I want to take a photography class before I turn 40. Well, I’ve got less than four years to do that now. I’m not sure how it will fit in to everything else I want to do, but I do want to learn how to capture things that I think…
Planting seeds of unknown future
So, we might be moving – nearby, but still. A move is a move. It’s hugely exciting to think of having a house that works better for our family, but it means I’m not sure what to do about planting anything. I don’t want to invest in creating a big raised bed (a la Square…
A room of my own?
Nothing is for sure yet, but we are moving in the direction of buying a larger home not far from our house. There are a lot of reasons I’m excited about this and crossing my fingers that it happens without us losing our shirts on two mortgages or unexpected repairs/upgrades (“might as well before we…
Birthday happenings
Our birthday celebration this year was to have a bunch of friends over just to play on a Monday morning. It was a little too crowded (too cold to go outside), but it was nice. I did get balloons, but all the food was pretty natural/low-processed — fruit, kale chips (baked kale), rice pasta with…
You don’t have to breastfeed, and we don’t have to be best friends, either
So there’s another big to-do about breastfeeding with the publication of Hanna Rosin’s article, “The Case Against Breastfeeding.” There are debates/opinions all over the email list on DC Urban Moms and I’m sure every other moms list out there. I’ve looked over a few posts, but I’m blogging to say that I’m kind of sick…