“Mommy, what’s that string?” Like a curious puppy, Carmen has followed me into the bathroom, where she spies the white cotton curled between my thighs. I pause a beat, then answer: “It’s my moontime.” A lovely euphemism coined by my husband to describe what one friend calls “our monthly hormone poisoning.” “Is it an ow-ie?” [...]
Entries Tagged as 'preschooler'
MOONTIME LADIES
October 26th, 2011 1 Comment
Tags: Are You There God It's Me Margaret · Betty Dodson · menstruation · period · preschooler
Facing the Facts of Life (2)
December 1st, 2010 3 Comments
After revealing the secrets of procreation to my kids, I think back to my own childhood illumination. I can’t exactly remember how I learned about sex. My mom gave me a book called Where Did I Come From?: The Facts of Life Without Any Nonsense and With Illustrations, but at that point I already knew [...]
Tags: facts of life · preschooler · Sexuality · Where Did I Come From?
Facing the Facts of Life (1)
November 18th, 2010 3 Comments
The big parenting moments sneak up on you when you least expect it, when you’re zoning out behind the wheel, say, driving the kids home at the end of a long day, wondering what the hell you’re going to serve for dinner. We were coming back from gymnastics when the girls got on the Egg [...]
Tags: Natalie Angier · ovary · preschooler · Sexuality
I Am Three, Hear Me Roar
October 26th, 2010 4 Comments
There are two kinds of mothers. Those who can calmly craft a homemade Halloween costume, wielding a hot glue gun like a calligraphy pen, and those who settle– whether in shame or resignation– for a store-bought get-up. For weeks, my youngest seemed content to be a Ladybug. We already had the Ladybug costume that Grannie [...]
Tags: Parenting · preschooler · three-year-old
Preschool Graduation
June 24th, 2010 1 Comment
Fancy dresses? CHECK Fancy tights? CHECK Party shoes? CHECK Potluck dish, plus picnic blanket, plates and utensils? CHECK Two hyper & overtired girls and one frazzled mom? CHECK Then it’s time for the annual preschool Graduation Ceremony in the school garden, complete with adorable kid singing, ribbons bestowed on each child and a MayPole dance! [...]
Tags: preschooler · sugar · sugar kitty
Never-Never-land
May 25th, 2010 1 Comment
My preschooler is on a quest for a Nanny. She writes up an advertisement for someone to take care of her when her mother is busy, distracted, or grumpy. The two job requirements are: -Must Speak English -Must Be Friendly Ava is hoping for Mary Poppins or Maria from The Sound of Music (I’ve had [...]
Tags: Mary Poppins · nanny · preschooler
Four Going on Fourteen
April 20th, 2010 No Comments
April vacation, and A is alternately a diva and a doll, soaring through emotional highs and lows. My mom has always said that age Four is a “mini-adolescence,” but I didn’t quite get it until today. “I’m NEVER going to talk to you again, Mommy!” A announced, in public, at Open Play Gymnastics. The other [...]
Tags: adolescence · preschooler · school vacation
The Princess Phase
April 11th, 2010 1 Comment
The revelation comes at bathtime: “Mommy, you know what? All the Princesses meet a Prince in their movies!” My daughter’s eyes grow wide with the thrill of discovery. At age 4, she’s utterly captivated by the Disney Princesses, despite my best efforts to downplay them. These nine highnesses shine like beacons of magic, beauty and [...]
Tags: Ariel · Aurora · Cinderella · Disney princess · Dora the Explorer · preschooler · princesses · Snow White
Playdate Parade
March 12th, 2010 1 Comment
We haven’t hosted many playdates at our house since C was born. When it comes to girls, Two feels like enough company and Three’s usually a crowd. But today a small miracle occurred. We brought A’s friend M home with us after preschool, and it was a rousing success! In fact, having M here actually [...]
Tags: playdate · preschooler · Sleeping Beauty
Ho Ho Hoax
December 27th, 2009 2 Comments
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 [...]
Tags: Christmas · preschooler · Santa Claus