I don’t know what to do about Santa. At age 4, Ava has fully grasped what happens on Christmas. The anticipation of presents has whipped her into a Christmas frenzy, nearly equal to my own holiday stress. While I worry about shopping, spending, wrapping, decorating, and not baking enough cookies, my daughter writes out party [...]
Entries from December 27th, 2009
Holiday Stuff: A Horror Story
December 23rd, 2009 1 Comment
Winter fills the house with STUFF. Some of it necessary, some frivolous. It’s 5 degrees outside, and indoors, A and C wreak havoc through the rooms, strewing toys and clothes everywhere. They sneak into every closet, drag out their summer sundresses and bags of old STUFF I’d set aside to give away. They unroll all [...]
Tags: clutter · consumerism · stuff
Spilt Milk on the Radio!
December 18th, 2009 3 Comments
I’m thrilled– I’m going to be on Vermont Public Radio over the holidays! After nearly 1o months of writing my column, it’s finally going somewhere other than this blog (and of course the Brattleboro Reformer). I don’t want to jinx anything, but it looks like I’ll be driving up to the VPR studio in Norwich, [...]
Toddler War
December 17th, 2009 No Comments
At a loss what to get the children in your life this holiday season? Try the latest toy craze— Zhu Zhu pets, fuzzy electronic hamsters that mimic the intelligent responses of live animals. Said hamsters love to play and explore the house, making 40 different noises, purring when you stroke them. My 4-year-old periodically asks [...]
Tags: discipline · toddlers · two-year-old
Snow Soup
December 6th, 2009 No Comments
How could I forget that I love snow? Last night, the first snowfall of the winter turned our gray-brown world into a wonderland. Today sunlight glistened through white lacy branches. The promise of transformation. “Snow is magical!” exclaimed A. To my delight, she couldn’t wait to get out and play in it. She got dressed, [...]
Sister Talk
December 4th, 2009 No Comments
Two siblings talking at the breakfast table. Another miracle… They now share a private conversation separate from our adult world. The two-year-old interrogates the 4-year-old, delighted at her new verbal prowess. (dialogue recorded September 2009 and just now rediscovered in an old notebook)… C: D’you like SNAKES, Ava? A: NO. C: D’you like BEARS, [...]
Tags: conversation · siblings · sisters
Home Sick
December 3rd, 2009 No Comments
A. is home from school. She caught the throw-up bug from C. and is running a little fever of 100.2. Her cheeks are flaming pink and her skin hot to the touch. Other than one watery vomit at 2 am, she is animated and full of energy as usual. Perhaps more so, since she [...]
Tags: sick