Upon learning I was pregnant with Ian, the first thing I bought was What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It helped pass the time during those interminable 9-and-a-half months. When he was a few months old, we borrowed Dr. Ferber’s sleep book to “Ferberiz” him and he dutifully learned to sleep through the night. The same techniques [...]
They weave. They race. They tailgate. They thread the needle. I have a name for young guys who drive like bats out of hell on the highway. Video game drivers. These young dudes grew up playing video games, and you can tell that’s where they got their driving technique. Certainly not from driver’s ed, which – [...]
After years of repetitions of Curious George, Roald Dahl titles and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (all of which I loved), I miss reading aloud to our boys. Everyone is too old now, except 12-year-old Malcolm – on rare occasions. He’s currently rushing to finish The Hobbit before the end of school, and 40 pages of reading piled [...]
Warning: the following words may cause your blood pressure to skyrocket. Wrapping Paper Cookie dough Pizza dough Daffodils Bat-a-Thon Shoot-a-Thon Relay for Life This is not a jump rope chant or one family’s shopping and activity list for the weekend. No. This is actually a list of ways for schools, sports, and charities to raise money through [...]
I am so jealous of all the young moms who, through blogs, are documenting the lives of their children, from the moment of “congratulations, you’re pregnant” on through all the Firsts: smiles, rolling overs, steps, teeth, words, day of school, sleepaway camp…. Those are the years of maximum cuteness, and how fantastic to be able to efficiently and fairly [...]
From the time Ian was born, Chris and I knew we needed to pick a guardian for him, in case, you know, the unspeakable happened. When Hugh and Malcolm came along, we still needed to pick a guardian. But now the job was three times harder, because whoever inherited our kids in the event of [...]
Before having babies, I had illusions. My children would wear hand-knit sweaters, play with wooden toys, and eat what their parents ate. They would sleep through the night at four months, effortlessly learn a second language as toddlers, shake hands and make eye contact like small diplomats at 36 months. None of this folly came [...]
We just finished the first week of school and the boys are off and running. The brothers are in third and fifth grades this year – both serious growing years in my opinion. Chase will become more of an independent learner and thinker. Third grade does that to a kid. Noah will mature in ways [...]
It was a familiar scene. Having just sided with one of the brothers in a heated dispute involving the high stakes game of mini-van seat selection, I was accused by the other brother of the ultimate injustice: “You love him more than me!” “No. I don’t,” I countered immediately. “I love you both THE SAME.” [...]
In the beginning, there was Baby Ian, born May 15, 1991. Happy 17th birthday, #1 son! Everyone who had a baby that year remembers the suffocating heat of the summer of 91. If your child had already been born, he or she went semi-naked for months. This, Ian, was your everyday outfit. Cloth diapers and [...]
