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
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
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
an apple a day
The girls went to our pediatrician for their annual checkups. Dr. B was surprised to see us — it had been so long since she saw us last that she was sure we had moved away. As it goes, I can’t remember the last non-annual visit we made to the pediatrician other than the one
coming soon to stores near you
(If they haven’t already arrived, that is…) Strollers complete with DVD players and/or slots for your toddler’s iPad: I did a double take when I saw this at the starting line of today’s Capitol 10K. At first I was disgusted. Isn’t there plenty for a child in a jog stroller to see, especially in the
Nervous, Anxious, Happy
Chloe has been a ball of uncontainable energy for the past couple of days … A few weeks ago, she was invited to tryout for the gymnastics team. Or pre-team. Or training team. Obviously, I have no idea what any of this means. Since I was sitting on the floor at the gymnastics center when
lesson learned
The girls get a (virtual) weekly allowance. Allowance at our house is not tied to chores, though on rare occasions I have been known to fine the girls when certain rules have been broken, most notably CDs and DVDs not getting put away. I’ve considered fining for gum wrappers on the floor and apple cores
mixed up files
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, we’ve been spending time decluttering, organizing and simplifying. Years ago, when I had 10 CDs and 5 DVDs, I didn’t worry about putting things back in the right boxes. I had so few, it didn’t matter. I’d find the one I was looking for quickly enough. When
Halloween, so last week
Oh, my. It has been almost a week since Candy Central, and I still have yet to post about it. I honestly don’t have much to say. For the past few years, costumes have been entirely up to the girls. I try to help with ideas or acquisitions, but really, it is all them. Good
The End of the Staycation
A little over a week ago, I was overly optimistic about our time management skills. I figured that since we had nothing on our schedule other than work and homeschooling, we could have a little staycation. And, despite Chloe’s trouble staying focused, we did manage to visit a few local sites, including the World of
Decatur Farmer’s Market
Each Monday, I hope to review and update our ever evolving 101 Things List. I’ve added a bunch of new things and linked to my entry about our trip to the US Space & Rocket Center. Another item from the list that we managed to enjoy this past week was a trip to the Decatur
A New 101 Things List
For a couple years, I worked on a 101 things in 1001 days list for myself A good friend has started dedicating a day a week to adventures with herlittle boy, and, while our schedules don’t quite permit that, I thought listing out things we want to do might be fun and useful. The list
Circus, or is that Drama, Camp
As you may, or may not, be aware, Chloe spent this week at Circus Camp. Since we are homeschoolers, sending her off to a camp where we knew none of the teachers, none of the kids and none of the parents was unchartered territory. Each day Chloe came home with stories about her activities, her
emotions
Chloe has always been a monkey, climbing whatever she can find — support pole in the basement, swingset in the playground, the car. Not surprisingly, going to gymnastics class is of her most favorite things to do. She’s ready to head to class far earlier than she needs to be and forces me out
happy birthday, free range kids
Last year, I wrote that camille and I were less than impressed with the book Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy. While that is still true, I find daily inspiration from her blog. I admit it. I am one of those parents. My kids roam freely. I don’t need to know where they are every
looking back
What do you want your kids to remember when they are adults and look back at their childhoods? The other night at the cabin, as the girls giggled and chatted deep into the night, I could feel myself getting more and more upset. Why were they not respecting my need for sleep? Didn’t they know
GBK Gwyneth
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