Number Two child is working on his speaking skills. This involves yelling EVERYTHING AT MAXIMUM VOLUME. Requests for food are similar to that of a bull elephant trumpeting an immediate charge. Denials of questions about wanting more water/food/face-wiping are met…
One of the things I’ve learned about parenting from my step-mother, who is a wonderful parent and longtime journalist about family issues, is how to let it go. What fights are worth fighting? Does every moment need to be a…
The weekend was a tiring march from one required task to the next: dishes, laundry, clean house for party to which I’m not invited and must hide with the children in the kitchen and bedrooms, smear food off the floor…
Number Two has been working on his complaining skills. You’d think this is instinctual but toddlers are able to move up to the major leagues when it comes to protest. At over 1 ½ now, Number Two is finally realizing…
Flag Day in my little town is as enchanting as a Norman Rockwell painting. For the last few years, we’ve been taking Child Harbat to the parade to see local princesses waving from convertibles, dogs wearing hats, women in black…
What I love about Thursday Grab Bag is no rules! Nothing is too random or inconsequential! Let’s get started. [Tuesday night, dinnertime. Scene opens on the kitchen table where Number Two is sitting in high chair and emitting loud shrieks,…
My boy learns quickly. On his regular wagon rides around the yard and garden, in which he thrusts his arm forward like a Roman charioteer, we often stop to pick fresh strawberries. Now when I put him down to roam…
I think it’s important for children to ease into a nighttime routine with gentle calm and lulling quietude. A warm bath, books read in a soft voice, and then tender kisses before being tucked in under a cozy blanket, that’s…
I got the text everyone would hate to get: “Call me. In a car accident near the park.” This was from my wife, yesterday morning as I was in a meeting presenting to a group. Because my wife was texting…
I’m now on my second week of a stomach bug that has waged war in my midsection. Often an illness follows a trajectory like a hurled ball—a quick buildup to a peak followed by a long descent. This stomach bug,…
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