Posted in Lifestyle, Other Stuff, Parenting on Aug 27th, 2010
We’d been at it for several hours, side by side, each of us on our laptops. Spread on the small ottoman pressing against my knees were stacks of old tax forms. On the chair beside me, two more folders with notes and figures.
We actually began the process days ago, but I couldn’t continue, and my [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Parenting on Aug 25th, 2010
Believe me, my kids are no angels. They try my patience, drain my stores of energy, gnaw at my sleep, and keep trashing the space I’ve been trying to organize for months.
Kids driving you crazy?
I adore my sons. I write about them often. They do me proud, they challenge me, they have good hearts. My [...]
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Posted in Morning Musing, Parenting on Aug 22nd, 2010
Are you parenting partying teens? Care to hear my ten tips for surviving party chaos? For surviving normal chaos? The planned, the unplanned, the assumed stuff of parenting pandemonium?
Yes, it’s Sunday morning. (Insert *sigh* of relief.) Yes, for the moment it’s quiet. (Sigh number two.) No teenagers as yet stirring in the kitchen, after another [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Morning Musing, Parenting on Aug 14th, 2010
Fond of clichés? Don’t they breeze into our minds and tumble out of our mouths faster than a speeding bullet?
Catchy little phrases stick, don’t they? Good for what ails you? A quick fix? Oh yeah – tidy gems to sum up the world’s wisdom, like life isn’t fair, you get what you pay for, sink [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Parenting, Travel on Aug 8th, 2010
There’s nothing quite like it. Having family around, especially when you’ve been apart for some time. It doesn’t matter what your family looks like – nuclear, extended, blended – large or small. Those you love – happy and well – that’s as good as it gets.
Dinner for three
“I know it was hard,” I said.
My [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Parenting, Travel on Aug 7th, 2010
Domestic duties
I’ve been putting this off for weeks: stripping beds, umpteen loads of laundry, shelves in the kitchen to be emptied and scrubbed (post ant invasion), stemware to be rinsed and put away, dry cleaning to set aside, and last but not least – tending to the hand wash. The huge heap of hand wash.
No, [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Parenting on Jul 31st, 2010
I find myself stranded again. The car zipped down the street at noon yesterday, with my elder son behind the wheel. There was a brief exchange over a hastily planned camping trip in the mountains with friends. It’s a considerable drive, I’m sans vehicle for the weekend, but I said yes.
My kid ran errands for [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Parenting on Jul 25th, 2010
He’s taken the car. Already. He’s been traveling in France, Belgium and Holland for two months, home for eight hours, and he’s leaving already.
Yup. That’s about right.
But he asked politely, as usual. And first he hauled out bags of trash, asked what else he could do to help, and gave me a hug. Smart kid.
And [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Parenting, Travel on Jul 24th, 2010
Parenting panacea?
If there’s an effective panacea for parenting, I’ve yet to discover it – even after 18 years on the job. The mother job that is. And I’ve been hitting the Excedrin Migraine pretty hard these past hours. Good thing there’s plenty in the medicine cabinet, along with half a bottle of Pepto Bismol.
Yes, it’s [...]
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Posted in Lifestyle, Other Stuff, Parenting on Jul 18th, 2010
It’s a ghastly smell. Far worse than bread charred in the toaster.
Burnt popcorn. And I wanted that popcorn for breakfast! Of course, it was nearly six in the evening when I tossed the package carelessly into the microwave. Yes, I’m running a little late today. Ten hours late to be exact.
It’s been a day of [...]
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