Your Preschooler

When you are a new Mom and you see the school signs of the school your child is going to attend to, you feel super excited. Then you become a parent and you don't have much time for that what with the spit-up, the 18 wardrobe changes a day (one for you, 17 for baby) and pureed food splattering your walls like the latest crime scene from Dexter.  Months, years go by and you realize your inbox is still getting these sweet little updates. "This week your preschooler will love going outdoors and collecting leaves, acorns and pine cones.  Make a fun collage, take pictures and enjoy the fall weather..." Reality:  Hm... sounds fun.  Except we head outdoors and she has no interest in the leaves or acorns. She wants to rip down my neighbors decorative yard border and pick up all the worms on … [Read more...]

Ugh. Family Illness. Hard.

Earlier this week I was back in my old stomping grounds.  A work trip brought me to Rhode Island and the southern part of Conneticutt.  While there I indulged in a bit of nostalgia by driving around, visiting old haunts (apparently my high school health teacher is now our school principal. huh.) and soaking in the senic views that part of the country has in abundance.  Maybe it was being so close to where I grew up, driving by the house my family built or working at a place my father has been so many times for his own job but I just couldn't shake the thoughts of him and how life and distance has made me feel that I know him less than I did before.  Sure, I can tell you the facts and that the man likes to fish but what's his favorite fish? I don't know.  … [Read more...]

The Golden Moment

TD is a rather mercurial child.  If you ask her how her day is going she is probably going to reply with an exasperated, "I don't know!" that is akin to a sullen fifteen year-old. Five=fifteen in attitude it seems. Then she is off singing in her polly pocket world as happy as a clam.  That is changing now that she has entered elementary school.  When I used to pick her up at preschool she was sullen.  She didnt' want to leave friends.  Kindergarten has changed all that.  I like to call this new stage, the golden moment.As soon as she spies me waiting for her at the bus stop each afternoon her face lights up. She runs off the bus, arms outstretched to me yelling, "Mommy!"  I get tunnel vision and see only her.  She is like this little drop of … [Read more...]

It’s All About Men

We are a house full of women, four of us and then the dog.  Yet our vocabulary is all about men.  I have a tendency to say, "Man!" when I'm frustrated.  At least it's not "Man, alive!" anymore. Thanks years of evangelical schooling where you couldn't even say the word, 'man', without adding something about life to the ending.The Comedian has been walking around the house over a year now exclaiming, "Aww..maaaan!" when things don't go her way.  She then hangs in her head in Charlie Brown-like hang doggedness.Now we are in a whole new territory in vocabulary courtesy of the Tiny Dictator.  "Mannit!"When she drops something.  When she spills something.  When she falls or gets frustrated, it's "Mannit!"I think we are starting a new trend, Mannit! … [Read more...]

The First Day of School, Knives Included

I'm no different than anyone else. I cannot believe that I have one child in Kindergarten now. Each day that I see her get on that bus I am surprised that we are already here. Then The Comedian says to me yesterday morning, "I have my knife in my purse. I'm ready for school, Momma!" Oh, Indeed. Preschool has begun. The knife stayed home. … [Read more...]

The End of Summer is Nigh

I've stated before that the month of August is like one long Sunday. The closer we get to Labor Day the more this holds true. I feel like each day is an hour and the light and air are already changing. The arrival of Hurricane Irene on the East Coast this weekend has ushered in cooler winds and I can't help but think of bright blue September skies and the golden light of fall. The end of a season always feels like something ominous is lurking just around the next corner. The skeptical New Englander in me comes forward and doesn't like what might be new and different just around the bend. The unexpected new elements of a season (*shakes fist at climate change*) do not put me at ease. I get comfortable in the present season and my fight to keep winter and its colder temperatures at arms … [Read more...]

Pumpin’ Ain’t Easy. Or is it?

I am beyond glad that my days of breastfeeding are over. While it got easier with each kid and can be downright convenient I started to want my body back after a few months. I was also sick of wrestling with nursing bra straps and only wearing clothes that made nursing easier. Talk about a fashion buzz kill. Don't even get me started on breast pads. Bah. This made me laugh though and I had to share. … [Read more...]

I Call Uncle, I am a Parenting Failure.

I feel completely and totally inept these days.  When I am out in public I feel like people are looking at me and thinking, "Lady, why in the world do you have three kids?"  I know that I am outnumbered. I look around me and feel like everyone is doing everything better, easier and in a less stressed out way.  I almost broke down in the middle of Target this morning when I couldn't steer the cart that is supposed to hold all three kids. A man in his 70s had to help me control them as The Comedian "houdini'd" herself from her straps and took off in the parking lot as I buckled the baby into her car seat.  I've been trying to keep a grip on all these welling emotions. Trying to stay in control.  I keep looking at the other side, "I have three healthy, beautiful … [Read more...]

A Week with Soucy

TD went off to camp this week (I still get nervous each time I think of it) and that means a week with The Comedian as the big girl in the house. It's been a blessing and a blast. We've had quiet story time (something she normally doesn't sit through), taken in a puppet show and Recess Monkey concert. We had a picnic at Wolf Trap, spent mornings rockin' to the White Stripes and cuddled.Even better I have realized that without her Chatty Cathy big sister around The Comedian can have some actual conversations. I told her she was a ham and she said, "I'm no ham. I Soucy-Ham!" It's been a really good week. … [Read more...]