I like to record days like today so I can look back in bleak mothering moments and remind myself that yes, sometimes I really am good at this mom thing ( Read more... )

One thing after another this week...Tuesday I got a call from the director of Z's preschool that he'd been fighting, and had hit the teachers who came to break it up. Z has been on video game probation ever since. So far we're getting better reports from his teachers, so we may phase some things back in this weekend ( Read more... )

And in the list of things I never thought I'd hear myself say...

"Z, please take the stethoscope out of your diaper."

In addition to becoming the Prime Minister of No, Z has been going through a recent language explosion. In the two weeks since we've been back from San Francisco, Z has suddenly started spouting all kinds of new words. Duck, cow, cat, ball, a fair attempt at milk (comes out "lk")...Aaron, what am I missing? It seems like every day he's got a new ( Read more... )

I was a Bad Mommy today. Oh, I started off pretty well, with a trip to the European Book Company to buy Z some board books in French. Z fell asleep while we were there, so I walked up to the Asian Art Museum, where the farmers' market had been replaced by jewelry and clothes vendors' stalls, and sat down by the fountain to eat the sandwich and ( Read more... )

We watch a lot of Blue's Clues in this house. It's one of Z's favorite shows, and he asks for it by name, by making the finger flick gesture the host makes when he sings the theme song. It's a good show--in addition to the usual preschool stuff like shapes, colors, etc, it teaches empathy and problem-solving, and what's not to like about that ( Read more... )

A few years ago I posted about my discomfort with the Santa myth. Author Dale McGowan has a great article on not only how he dealt with it in his family, but why. I like it!

Me to zudaru on his impending parenthood:

"Every day there are a hundred battles to be fought. If you fight fifty of them, you're doing good. If you fight fifty and win ten, you're doing great.

Z and I met K. near Emory for lunch today, and we ran into a mutual friend at the restaurant. This friend was with another person we didn't know, so he decided to introduce us. It went like this: "This is K., she works at the Health Department...and this is, um, Joyce." (My memory wants to insist it was more like, "um, just Joyce," but I'm ( Read more... )

Z loves his crayons. He knows the bin of them lives on the kitchen island, and we have learned that when he reaches toward the island and fusses, he's telling us he wants to color. We set him down in his high chair with a stack of paper and the crayon bin, and he goes to town. When we first gave him the crayons a few months ago, he couldn't ( Read more... )