PregnancyOctober 8, 2009
Vision
L.'s fall break is winding down. On Monday he heads back to school, and we take our deep breaths and cross our fingers, and hope for the best.
September 25, 2009
Unlikely albatross
The other day in the car L. mentioned that the year was going by really quickly.
"I can't wait for this year to be over!" he said.
"Is it that bad?" I asked.
"I just can't wait until the next year, and then the next, and the next. I can't wait until I'm eighteen!"
"Enjoy being nine while you can," the maternal voice of (40-year old) wisdom advised him from the front seat of the car.
He was quiet for a minute.
"You're right," he said. "I'll never get these years back once they're gone."
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- Tags: Special Needs, School Daze, Parenting, Operation Bento Box, L., Children
February 18, 2009
Sunday at the park
This past Sunday we finally broke free from the house and took the kids on a family trip to the library (more Junie B. Jones books--help us!) and then to this store to replace the little jeweled box of chocolates we got for L. for Valentine's Day. The dog swiped the box off his side table a few hours after he got it, and only minutes after he'd arranged all the chocolates just so in the box.
- Tags: Unbearable Lightness, Sons, Social & Emotional Issues, Parenting, Moms, Life, L., Friends, Family, Children
October 29, 2008
Math karma
Yesterday afternoon I sat in on a meeting while T. happily watched Dora's Halloween Adventure in the adjacent office (with ear buds on, no less). Someone in the meeting mentioned being "math challenged," and my mind instantly sprang to attention--not in a good way, but in an empathetic way. If there had been a soundtrack to my thoughts at that very instant, you would have heard the music from the Psycho shower scene playing in the background. More than one person at the meeting groaned and admitted to being "math challenged" as well, so at least I wasn't alone.
- Tags: Teaching, School Daze, Parenting, Moms, L., Homework Help, Dads, Children
October 14, 2008
Magic tree house
For a long time, one of L.'s favorite books has been Robert Ingpen's The Afternoon Treehouse. It's not the story that he finds so compelling, but instead the detailed plans and drawings in the book. Ever since he first read it (some three or four years ago), he's wanted a tree house of his own.
October 2, 2008
Organized chaos
L. had a friend come over to play yesterday afternoon and I made an attempt to help him clean his room. The other day a student told me that his own room is a "study in organized chaos" and I have to say this description fits L.'s room perfectly. I'm sure most eight-year-old boys' rooms are disaster areas as well, but perhaps without the layers of collections and unfinished projects in every corner. After it was all said and done, here's what I found in his room:
--three circuit boards, one handmade out of cardboard and wires
--several lengths of plastic tubing
- Tags: Parenting Advice, Parenting, Lessons to Live By, L., Children
July 28, 2008
Mixed
I think you can do everything you possibly can to get your child (and yourselves) ready for back-to-school day, but when the time comes, it's still difficult and bittersweet for all of you--at least that's the way it is at OUR house. On Sunday L. spent the day in his room, playing with his Playmobil and nurturing a healthy case of Back-to-School-Denial, with a capital D.
July 8, 2008
A party to remember
All weekend long our house was filled with family, and I just loved it. While I do like our quiet weekends and our just-the-four-of-us time, a part of me longs to have our house filled with family on a more constant basis. I like to entertain. I like to see the kids play with their grandparents. I like to cook for lots of people and have a packed dinner table, family sitting elbow-to-elbow, and lots of laughter and stories and lively discussions. Being so far away from our families makes the comings and goings so difficult.
July 1, 2008
Birthday Wisdom, Part I
I have a party to plan this week--L.'s eighth (eight years old!) birthday party. I think this one will be, by far, the easiest party we've ever had for L. He wants things simple this year--no friends, just his four North Carolina cousins and an assortment of grandparents and aunts and uncles. We're having our first ever pool party, which I wouldn't have undertaken at all if L. had wanted to invite several of his school friends.
June 20, 2008
Arms and the boy
Ever since my son discovered Avi a few weeks ago, and Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and The Famous Five, it's been all spies and good guys vs. bad guys, and intricate scenes of smuggling and treasure-snatching being enacted all across his bedroom floor.
