Embracing January: Bear Hunting

Last Thursday, my younger sister called for mutual motivation to get our houses clean. We enthusiastically made our lists (I ignored the fact that I have four children under age four, which often renders list-making a ridiculous exercise), and we started wrapping up the phone call. I haven’t been so pumped up to scrub bathrooms in a good long time. Any mother of young children should know better than to have a long, involved conversation on the phone. Especially when potty... Read More

Surviving January: Beach Getaway!

Welcome to our Beach in January! Come plant your feet in the sand… happy toes kick back with a piña colada… (er, popsicle)… beach photoshoppage and relax in our castle in the sun! the stage is set I was so grateful last week for every comment from people who cheered me up, cracked me up, and couldn’t stop short of showing me up! 🙂 So many people said kind things about the photos… I got nervous! It reminded me of my mom’s story of her oil... Read More

Brain Potpourri

I’m stealing my title from a same-named post by American Mum, who stole it from someone else. It’s a blog train! In a disconnected sort of way. Speaking of disconnected, this post is all about covering a few things that don’t fit anywhere else. 1. I cut my daughter’s hair last week and immediately felt the heart-pangs of regret. First, I’m not good at cutting hair – I should have taken her somewhere. Second, I removed far more of her precious... Read More

Surviving January: Finger-and-Toe Painting

This has been a yucky week – no other word for it. The kids and I have colds, and the nose-wiping, combined with other things, had a result akin to the seriously heavy-duty bubble maker from last week’s post. I’ve felt bombarded. People want to help, but they can’t, because a) they can’t get here, and b) I wouldn’t want them to be the ones to find the banana peel that the kids left on the sofa. And then sat on. On the upside, the mashed peel... Read More

Surviving January: Bubbles

After the holiday red and green are put away, the winter blues hit our household, deepening with the inches of snow. This January my survival plan is to bring summertime activities indoors. While I try to figure out a way to bring in some sand – and then decide how to make castles in the house without regretting it – we’re starting the month with bubbles! We cranked up the heat in the house, found summertime clothes (they picked their own), and got the bubble... Read More