Sunday, July 15, 2012
Summer’s here and the living is easy—however, some of the questions I have to answer when my kids get curious are not!
There are some parents who can drive 50 plus miles with their kids in the car and the silence is absolutely deafening. No matter what engaging tidbit is presented to hopefully entice even the smallest of nibbles, the kid won’t offer up so much as a sigh. Well, in my world, that never seems to be the case. Whether it’s the ride to church, the jaunt to the milk store or even a ride to the emergency room to have a Lego removed from an ear canal, somehow my powder blue minivan becomes the catalyst for whining, joke-telling, bodily functions (ah, you’ve got to love 10-year-old boys!), tattling, chattering, confessing, complaining and most of all – questioning. The questions vary on any given day, but a reliable sampling of these riveting …
Monday, July 9, 2012
I completely admit that going to see "Magic Mike" was supposed to be more or less of a thrill--but turns out I was wrong--it was even better--it prompted a hopeful,rut-free summer!
Independence Day has come and gone, and with that summer can officially begin. Seven glorious, sun-drenched weeks of vacation left, just waiting to be spent any way you like with friends, loved ones, pets and we certainly can’t forget—our children. Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it? Ok, so maybe “glorious” and “heaven” aren’t quite the right choice of words when you wonder what type of stimulating environment will keep your kids even remotely happy if your beach days get rained out or when the thoughts of using a glue stick, pipe cleaners and glitter for any more craft projects is enough to make you lose your mind. There are many of us who tend to find ourselves in a bit of a rut midway (yes, I realize we’re not even close to midway …
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The family bed is a very controversial topic, but what about when it includes the family pet?
Now that I’m a mid-lifer (you do the math) I’m realizing more than ever how little I actually have control over in life. I no longer fret over my child’s public comments concerning her dentist’s bad breath or worry that I’m really too old to wear my hair up in a cheesy clip. So if people want to talk about the things happening in my bedroom (especially all the noises, more on that later), let them. It all started (bear with me, this will end up in the bedroom, I promise!) when my husband began traveling on a regular basis for work two years ago. Ah yes, thanks to our thriving Rhode Island economy (hey, it’s not that I like I’m bitter, I’m just telling it like it is) he has had to do business elsewhere, as in not in the Ocean State. But …
Sunday, June 24, 2012
We all have dreams--and after reading one of my son's reports on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--I now have a new one!
My kids got out of school last Friday and no sooner did the bus roll out of the hood, their backpacks – heaping with everything they could possibly clean out of their lockers – came tumbling into the living room and landed on every possible open walking space all within 35 seconds. I twitched momentarily then gasped for breath knowing that they’re in my charge now for the next 10 weeks! As I sifted through piles of reports, essays, math packets and petrified food remains, I reminded myself that I’m not a newbie summer-vaca mom, and that every year the 10 weeks of summer gets a little longer, I mean easier. I may be a S.O.B. (Save Only the Best mom) but I treat the belongings of their last-day-of school treasures much differently than …
Monday, June 18, 2012
Dr. Seuss was amazing, brilliant, and can still teach all of us – young and old – how to live life!
I’m on a literary high at the moment. As the school year winds down and the balmy days of summer arrive, I can think of nothing more I want to do this summer than read. I believe this addiction to books may have something to do with the past nine months. Oh good God no, I’m not pregnant, but having all eight kids in school this year, I vowed I would read at least one, maybe two, big girl novels before June. Well, let’s just say I exceeded my goal and have read nearly a dozen choice novels, but even better—my youngest child Annie, now finishing up kindergarten, learned to read this year. When she’s not dolling herself up with my make-up and heels, she’s reading a book to her Barbies, the dogs, the dog’s fleas—basically anything that will…
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
It's inevitable that the change was coming--but now that I've gotten a taste--all I can do is embrace it.
Well, I’m almost 48 and it’s finally starting to happen. They said it would, and because I didn’t become a mother until the ripe age of 30 – while most of my closest friends were already sending their kids off to high school – I didn’t believe them. It just seemed so…far away for me. Seeing that our last child flew the coop to all-day kindergarten this year, I knew there would be certain changes that would come my way, but I kind of assumed that I wouldn't be paying attention to this until much later in life. It’s not like we’re totally empty nesters yet and I have all day to take care of this type of thing. My husband, on the other hand, is not sure quite what to make of all this; after all, he’s used to getting me as a cold leftover …
