Parenting is not rocket science, but this is one not-technical mama's experiment in raising curious, adventuresome explorers.
I think my favorite thing about this parenting gig is getting to experience the world through the eyes of a child. This manifests in a million different ways on any given day, but recently I've been enjoying it through my favorite 5-and-a-half-year-old's guesses. It was last spring when I first started noticing him use the …
Since it was just Easter, last weekend around this time I was sorting through the few things I'd gotten for our big boys getting ready to hide their Easter baskets Sunday morning. Jonathan was amused since I was insisting they must have Easter baskets, a tradition he didn't grow up with, so he wondered why …
Anyone else get stuck sometimes? The afternoon can sometimes seem so long. Anyone else's kid say things like, "Mo-om, what can I do?" Utterly bored, but then refuse all suggestions of fun activities? Here's the latest trick that's working for us: I start doing something. Maybe it's pulling out the train track and just starting …
Someone recently lamented to me how they've never had the glorious free time afforded by a maternity/paternity leave. First of all, HAH! While yes, 6 weeks without the daily grind of the nine to five sounds like nothing but time for all those extra tasks around the house or a nice vacation, the truth is …
Someone gave us one of those easy reader books, the ones with large print and simple sentences about subject matter which might appeal to a five or six year old learning to read. I'm all about encouraging kids to read, but the topics are what get me. Some of them are great. Then there are …
Funny story. The last day exploring Rome, last day of a long, full trip, we went to Aqueduct Park just outside Rome. We had a few hours to spend before our "big" adventure to the Vatican and Castel St. Angelo that afternoon, so it sounded like a low key adventure to spend the time wandering …
It's been a busy season around here. I'll spare the details, but suffice it to say, combined with my low energy/pregnant state, I'm sorry to say this little corner of everyday adventures has fallen a bit by the wayside. Don't get me wrong, things are still happening, but I miss chronicling them, documenting them, all …
If you're like me and tend toward conflict avoidance, you know, people's distress causes you serious stress, then can we just acknowledge for a minute how this makes parenting hard sometimes? Sure, I get it. I have to teach my kid good behavior. This includes, from time to time, reprimanding bad behavior or sticking to …
Eddie's school adventure is off to a great start! This week he went from nerves and apprehension Monday morning to the gushing report, "I like school!" when I picked him up that afternoon. He was eager to help me fill out the forms sent home by his teacher, insisted so adamantly in fact, I ended …
Around here we're getting ready for a BIG deal: first first day of school! All the feels, guys. ALL the feels. Eddie mostly feels nervous. From what I've read online that's totally normal. From what I remember from my own young school years experiences, that's totally normal. From what I know of his personality, that's …
