Speed is relative. I, for one, feel that the Christmas season has come upon us suddenly, with the holiday itself approaching at a ferocious pace, leaving me little time to prepare. LittleMan, on the other hand, is mired in that special December quicksand reserved only for small children, wherein he wants nothing more than to sprint straight to the morning of the 25th, while all the dull grown-ups hold up the party. "Is it after this day?" he asks every morning. In the peculiar syntax he has developed, "after this day" means "tomorrow." So while yes, Christmas is, in fact, after this ... [READ MORE]
Change Abounds
October 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
If I'm being honest, the first warning sign was LittleMan's midyear parent-teacher conference back in the Age 3-4 classroom (pre-Pre-K). "LittleMan! Great kid, awesome little guy, just like a little boy should be!" said his teacher. We nodded happily. The ice thus broken, she consulted her comment sheet for the nitty-gritty, and looked at us. "LittleMan..." She paused. "LittleMan...does not like art." "Oh, we know that," I assured her with a laugh and a wave of my hand. "He never really has. He doesn't have the patience for it. He'd rather be running around or doing imaginative ... [READ MORE]
Back in the Saddle Again
October 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It was November 2009. My husband had been on something of a "bromance" kick, with three bachelor parties, two football games, three weddings of best friends...It seemed like for weeks, he was either out of town or out of pocket. Some months are like that. There was a gal at the playground. One far more outgoing than I, with a son the same age as LittleMan, and as the two boys toddled around together we got to chatting. Her husband had Giants season tickets (as in New York Giants...as in football...as in out-of-state), and she, too, was flying solo quite a bit as he traveled back and ... [READ MORE]
In the Dark
October 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Wherever you are, it is dark. That is the first criterion. It is dark, and, with any luck, it is quiet. Because this is the Wind-Down Time. Usually, you are at home, in your baby's room, or in your room; but sometimes, you are in your in-laws' study, or your sister's guest room, or your college buddy's bathroom (in the worst-case scenario, and obviously not speaking from experience, of course). In any case, the time has come for your child to Wind Down, so you find or create a quiet space to rock and soothe and see it through. If your baby is nursing, the breast does the work. If ... [READ MORE]
Finding the Center
September 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
"Mommy," LittleMan said as we walked hand-in-hand from his school building the other day, rush hour traffic swirling all around, "I am just letting you know that I am going to be quiet for a few minutes now, because I'm feeling sort of tired. Quiet means you don't talk. Then when we get where we're going, I'll feel refreshed." "That sounds nice," I agreed. "I'll be quiet for a few minutes too." So we walked, and quietly watched the world trying to get home, by foot or bus or train or car, while the Bay Bridge traffic mounted and the Giants fans plowed towards the ballpark and the 5 ... [READ MORE]
Lockdown
September 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
About a month ago, my husband started reading this blog with some regularity, and he has begun to comment on it out of the blue, over dinner, or on the phone. It's funny, not knowing who's reading at any given time; I check the Stats page so I know how many people have clicked (5 today!), and I can see that they live somewhere in North America (unsurprising). I can assume, if I have posted the link on Facebook, that most of them are people I know. But then there are the Google searchwords. Random stuff: "eggless jalapeno poppers"; "Memorial Day"; "cry it out." And -- my cosmic ... [READ MORE]
To Babygirl, At Your First Birthday
September 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Dear Babygirl, Did you think I was neglecting you on this blog? I assure you that's not the case. It's just that, until recently, you weren't really that blog-worthy. Let's face it: your first year was what I fondly refer to as the Appendage Age (or the AppendAge), as in, you were basically an appendage dangling off my chest in your Ergo carrier, first all snuggled in and out of sight and now sticking out, waving those arms and kicking those legs and constantly attempting to eat my nose and pull out my earrings. But now the AppendAge is coming to an end. Babyman is in school five ... [READ MORE]
