By Megan Al took Bean to see Toy Story 3 yesterday, so I got to spend the afternoon alone with my little Peabody. First we did the weekly grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s, which he adored because he got a cookie and a solo shower of attention and affection from the Trader Joe’s gang. After…
Crybaby
By Beck If you really want to see Fate have a good chuckle at your expense, just try laughing at another parent’s predicament. WITHOUT FAIL, you will face the same predicament yourself in record time. It’s true! (sort of!) For example: a friend was fretting about her children heading off for a week with her…
Neighborhood Etiquette 101
By Kelly When we moved into our little town home complex in the fall of 2007, we didn’t have many neighbors. Such is the nature of a new development. In fact, when we took the kids trick-or-treating that Halloween, we discovered Natalie and Connor were the only children in residence at that point. (Pro: We…
Feeling Good About Myself
By Michael There was a story in the paper last week about self esteem. It’s not pretty, even though all the children interviewed are very pretty. And bright. And incredibly talented. For those of you who missed the story, it turns out that the self esteem movement might not be as beneficial as promised and—I…
In which these are the instructions for the morning
Guest post by Sarah Styles Bessey (Emerging Mummy) Stretch out in your bed, the one with the Ikea duvet and expansive depression right in the middle, beside the husband of your youth. Remain at the thin place between sleeping and wakefulness, watching the dawn come in. By now, you’ve somehow managed to be grateful that…
But Doesn’t Her Hair Look Great?
By Michael Bike path, Palatine, Illinois, Tuesday morning. Mom and four little tots on bicycles. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but I’m gonna assume for the sake of this post that the children are hers. I’ll also assume that she loves them. You can tell, because she’s at the street with all…
Sunday Night Teaches Me
By Megan We spent a beautiful afternoon in the shady back yard tonight, soft summery music the soundtrack to our kids’ play and their parents’ chatter. Al made a redneck slip-n-slide with the sprinkler and a huge piece of thick black plastic, the very same tarp we taped tightly over Peabody’s windows back when he…
Fairy Houses
By Beck It was Midsummer’s Eve yesterday and so after the thunderstorm and the earthquake – what?! – the kids ran outside and built little hasty fairy houses before they went off to bed. “I hope there isn’t another earthquake,” The Baby said, casually. “I don’t think my fairy house is very sturdy.” We’d thought…
Dinner Time
By Kelly I love summer evenings, when the light lingers like a welcome guest on the porch. The air is on the back side of warm, thick with the smell of lake water and hamburgers and sunscreen. The sounds of children laughing and yelling slowly give way to the buzzing of tree frogs and insects…
Chicken Butts are Forever
By Michael We’re sitting on the tarmac in St Louis. It was supposed to be Chicago, but one of those summer storms that sweeps across the Midwest sent us into a holding pattern and then we ran out of fuel and, well, American doesn’t fly ultralights, so we stopped at the nearest filling station. I…