Picking up the littlest from daycare the other day provided me with a healthy reminder to check my assumptions. “Before you check out, I have an incident report to review with you.” the daycare employee said to me. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. My brain screamed. I turned my head. I squinted at the…
Don’t Poke the Bear – Quick Quips about Chores
Marriage is the hardest damn thing I’ve ever done. My parents made it look easy. They always seemed to be in love when I was growing up. As an adult, I see they fight and struggle – constantly. My mom has high expectations. Dad is stubborn. I’m a perfectly lovely mix of both. My dad…
Saying “have a good day” without saying “have a good day” at camp.
I’ve been trying to find a new way to say “have a good day” as I leave my son at day camp each day. I don’t want to nag. I don’t want my words to get lost in the routine hustle of day-to-day. So far I’ve used: “Be the kid I know you are.” “Be…
People Don’t Bite People- This Kid, Take 2
Today I had reason to check out Lisa Wheeler’s People Don’t Bite People. Of course I did, that’s the exciting part of climbing a parenting hurdle. Just when you think you’ve secured the guide wires, everything shifts. Every night this week I have arrived just as the daycamp counselors are preparing Bean to wait in…
A Rain Coat and a Cookie
Last year The Undad and I were invited to a Facebook group that has changed how we parent and spend money. A private group with slightly less than 300 members entirely set up to give unwanted items away I rarely buy anything new now. Clutter is increasingly limited in our house. Santa brought Kijiji finds…
This Kid
Last year, on three occasions, over two weeks my husband was engaged in conversations about our son’s disruptive behavior at day camp. Including one occasion where our son had bitten another boy’s face. We had registered our son in a two week camp for 4 to 6 years olds the week of his fourth birthday…
I Got Hustled at Heritage Days (alternative title: I may need to learn how to clarify expectations in advance or use straight talk in front of my kids)
I hate disappointing my kids. Truly. Although, is there anyone that is like, man, I love disappointing my kids. It’s glorious. Watching their little faces fill with sadness, I live for that! So, I try to set reasonable expectations. We are going to Heritage Days. We have bought tickets in advance. We have this much…
Baby Gourmet – Get Into My Face
Several months ago a box of Baby Gourmet snacks showed up on our doorstep. YES!! We’ve been dedicated Baby Gourmet users since our first Bean arrived in 2014. I’d like to say we were first drawn to the non-GMO organic ingredients – no fillers, added sugar or salt, or artificial preservatives of any kind, product,…
Can We Just Take A Moment?
The air has been filled with noise lately. So much noise. The radio, like the comment section, is an angry buzz of change and frustration. People are stretching, just as others are huddling. How’d we get here? We’re stuck in these endless cycles of “busy” and just “one more sec,” “one more email,” and “one…
The Art of Authenticity
The Undad has been struggling. Struggling with where he fits and how he fits. What art is? What his art is? Is this art? If it’s not, what is it? For now the podcast is on hold and the blog is evolving. He knows, right now, he doesn’t fit here. He was thinking about ending…
The UnDad 