Tweet There are a few snapshots that just live in my brain from moments in my life. They are the ones that no one could and would think to capture with film, but moments that are more vivid in color, clarity and memories than any photographs that I own. Not all of those snapshots…
Tweet The end of the school year is approaching, and I admit that packing lunches is getting old and my kids have pretty eaten the same lunch for the whole school year. My creativity is just done and I’m frankly ready for the school year to end. This really makes me think about the kids…
Tweet There’s a spot as I drive north on I-35 into Duluth that feels like home. It’s the spot as I summit the hill at Spirit Mountain and pass under some railroad tracks. Duluth then appears over that hill; the harbor comes into view with its bridges, grain elevators and ships, and Lake Superior spreads…
Tweet I have to remember. She came downstairs, first stomping, then with loud sighing, and then her hairbrush was thrown unto the vanity. Next came a loud “UGH” and a very harsh comment to her baby sister, who was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have to remember. I had…
Tweet I’m writing this for Jana’s Stream of Consciousness Sunday – so it shall be brief. ****** Esther continued to be sad about her coins. Strangely, it did not dawn on me to actively pursue finding another Canadian One Cent Coin for her. Life went on as Tuesday turned to Wednesday and there was dance,…
Tweet I love my children dearly. I love each of them just so much that sometimes I’m overwhelmed with this strange and crazy I love I have for them. Like I want to hug them up and tackle them with kisses and awkwardly have my 10 year old sit on my lap in front of…
Tweet I saw the scene playing out in the family room. I kept to my business in the dining room while I listened to Astrid speak to her sisters. I kept my hands busy, my eyes diverted, but my ears were very busy listening and my mind was spinning, hoping that no one would seek…
Tweet I hate milk. This is not a well-guarded secret. I’ve always hated milk. I remember fighting with my parents nearly every night as they would ‘make’ me drink my milk because it was like good for me, or something crazy like parents always make-up to get us to do healthy things. I remember them…
Tweet I have many worries for my daughters – will they be good people, will they help others, will they do well in school, will they never live in my basement, will they have a good haircut that matches their face, and of course will they please never wear capri pants. You know, the typical…
Tweet There’s more advice than I care to read about how to introduce a new cat to an old cat. Cats are territorial so it’s evidently important to introduce cats slowly so they have more time to get used to the new cat’s scent. Whatever. If I didn’t have kids, a job, the Internet, food,…
Tweet I survive each day only by making a plan. The morning shines brighter when I can get our day into a list of activities and corresponding times that flow as ordinarily yet orderly as a stream down a mountain. 3:00 put chicken in the oven, 4:00 leave to pick girls up from language,…
Tweet My Aunt gave us an old love-seat today. You’d never guess that this 12 year old love-seat is better than receiving Taylor Swift tickets for Christmas. We are slowly attempting to make our office into a functioning space and this love-seat gives us a place to start. Eloise and Esther immediately claimed it…
Tweet ******* The response to our ‘This is Childhood‘ series is humbling. I guess because if you are a parent, the memories and years are so fresh – even if they happened 20 years ago..and if you aren’t at that stage yet…well reading about your future is spellbinding. This week Kristen tells us about…
Tweet It turns out that the last thing you want to say to your seven year old as they board the bus is “Don’t be shocked if you come home and your cat isn’t here anymore! Okay, have a great day sweetie!” Because that seven year old will then tell her bus-mates, her friends,…
Tweet I let Eloise stay home from school last Wednesday. Sure, I let her believe that she was staying home because her teeth hurt from her new retainer…but in all honesty I welcomed the thought of having her home to help me a bit. I was my sickest on Wednesday and Astrid was on…
Tweet Take this easy quiz to see if you are ready to become a parent! 1. You can be a nurse without training! You can clean-up vomit – from floors, walls, clothing, hair, bodies, furniture, your MacBook, doors, stuffed animals, pianos and crayons – without gagging once while simultaneously holding a child and wielding…
Tweet Eloise got her braces off yesterday. These were her phase one braces that stayed on for six months. She now has a retainer and then will get her phase two braces around age 13 or so when she has all of her adult teeth. Phase one basically expanded her mouth so her teeth would…
