graduated from the police academy
Yup. Tonight I graduated from the police academy. We were “Class 20” to have completed the Decatur Police Department’s “Citizens’ Police Academy”. Other than having always been a closet “siren chaser”, I’m not sure why I enjoy the “public safety” kick that I’ve been on so much. As far as I can tell, it comes
all’s quiet
That’s something I can rarely ever write. As I mentioned, Camille and I tend to be homebodies. From the time Camille was born up until last October, it was rare that I had any time during the weekday that I was home alone. On the weekends or the evenings, Rob sometimes takes the girls out
homebodies ‘r’ us
I work from home. Thus, I’m home day in and day out. When I do get out of the house, it is to go to appointments, run errands and be “mom’s taxi”, things that I don’t enjoy very much overall. I have come to equate leaving the comfort of home with desperately trying to get
Emergency but not 911
At the last minute I volunteered to work at the Wine Festival in Decatur. With 2200 attendees and Ponce being closed, it is no small festival. Even more last minute due to cancellations, I was asked to be a gate captain. As my instinct is to say “YES!”, I readily agreed. Unfortunately, I had never
photo friday: legoland independence
While I only mention it here and there, I am very much a supporter of Free Range Kids. In fact, one reason that we moved to Decatur was so that my girls could have more freedom to take themselves to the places they want to go — the library, the yarn store, school(!), the yogurt
going to the doctor
Chloe goes to school. And Chloe’s sick (I blame that on school). When she’s been sick in the past, I’d have her take it slow, take a little bit of tylenol as necessary and let her body heal itself. But now I’m faced with “The longer she stays out of school, the further she’ll fall
compromise: theme park equilibrium
I’m a cheapskate. I hate to spend money. I look for deals. I hold my wallet close. “Do I need this?” “Why do I want to buy this?” I’m not an extreme coupon kind of person — I don’t NEED that much toilet paper, detergent or other crap. I buy what will make us happy,
spoiled rotten
My thoughts after reading Why Are American Kids So Spoiled? from the New Yorker: I harbor few illusions. My kids are spoiled. By some miscommunication, Chloe opened her “family” birthday gifts in front of her friends and a couple of the moms. While we are by no means “well-off” compared to the families of her
who walks whom?
A few weeks ago, our neighbors across the hall approached Chloe and asked her if she’d like to walk their dog on occasion. In fact, they were going out of town for a day and needed someone to walk him a couple of times. Chloe was thrilled by the prospect and loved it. O. is
instagram: camille and uncle ralph
Of all of the friends that we got to hang out with at Kindiefest this year, I think we’ve known Ralph the longest. We first met him over 9 years now … he was our very first kindie musician! In those nine years he’s been to our house; we’ve been to his. And Camille has
ronald the jellyfish
On our trip home today from Myrtle Beach, Chloe called in to talk to one of her best friends, Absolutely Mindy on Sirius/XM’s Kids Place Live. She was excited to tell Mindy about having picked up a jellyfish on the beach earlier. Until yesterday, I would have advised anyone to give a wide berth to
Bus Stop Mornings
One thing I never anticipated liking about Chloe’s foray into public school is walking her to the bus stop each morning. In fact, the bus was my first major complaint but that’s history now. Not only have we figured it all out, but the school system has worked out some kinks and improved communication as
decisions, decisions
I’ve generally never had a difficult time making decisions. I get an idea, I run with it. I’m probably even slightly impulsive. I’ve never understood Chloe’s difficulty with making decisions. She can become stalled with indecision. She gets herself worked up, not knowing what to do, and ends up crying because she “just can’t decide”.
At Home: Making Memories at the National Night Out Luau
While I spent this week again catching up from being gone and getting ahead to go away again, I also realized that I need to do a better job of making sure the girls have time to connect with their friends and neighbors. I want them to look back on their childhoods not as a
Restless Chloe
We walked in the door from a long day of homeschool classes, lunch with friends, gymnastics class, a library run. (Thursdays are rough on me.) Chloe was “tired”. Chloe “doesn’t nap”. Chloe disappeared for five minutes, then returned claiming boredom. Outside, inside. Decided to clean up a “junkie” pile, but got bored and stopped, leaving
Camille takes charge
A little less than a year and a half ago, Camille picked up knitting needles for the very first time. Little did I know that she would become not only the owner of an Etsy store (Camboodle) but also, from what I’ve seen, the youngest attendee at STITCHES South by at least fifteen or twenty
U-Joint – 14 apr 2011
As I’ve mentioned, Thursday is my very least favorite day of the week. It starts out with me being on a conf call while getting the girls out the door and to Decatur for classes. Then 4.5 hours in the kind of building that drives me nuts. Add in the library and an hour in
goodbye gold stars
I’ve never been a fan of gold stars or constantly saying “great job!” to the kids. If you’ve read any Alfie Kohn, you’ll understand this. I’m all for not only “natural consequences” but also for avoiding false praise. I see these as being two sides of the same coin. I know that I’ve been considered
shoals – 9 apr 2011
The girls had fun playing in the shoals in the river by the entrance to Indian Springs State Park. Slippery and cold, but fun.
abandoning the quiet
The house is silent. I rarely, rarely have moments like these. My work is finished for the week. The house is picked up and clean. No one is home but me and the cat. I could spend the next eight hours resting my back and leg and doing the things I enjoy, like playing with
GBK Gwyneth
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