Promise me promise me promise me you’ll watch this trailer. (And thanks to StarrLife for posting it. Now I’m off to grab some Kleenex.)

Before the chasing around last Sunday at Target, even before the lemonade and pretzel and the blushing over the iced mocha, Sophie and I stood in line at the snack counter – and I took a moment to reconsider the color purple. The clerk handed me Sophie’s little cup, and offered a big container of silly straws […]

Yesterday at Target (before things when south, before the running and the chasing and the time out) Sophie and I had a snack. She was eating her pretzel and lemonade and I was questioning the wisdom of ordering a premade sandwich when suddenly, she got up from the table. I wasn’t alarmed, she didn’t go […]

I have been working on my follow-thru. If I threaten a time out, I stick to it. If I count to three — and actually get to three — there are consequences. And if I promise to withhold a treat or toy or some other coveted something, I keep my promise. No, I’m not perfect […]

I have been thinking a lot about a young friend of mine. Let’s call her Rose. Rose is 11. She’s in sixth grade. She’s a totally kick-ass kid — I’ve had the privilege of watching her grow since she was in third grade, and so shy she wouldn’t look you in the eye. Now she’s […]

Ray built a climbing wall in our house, in the garage-converted-to-an-office that he’s now turning into a “Man Cave.” The girls adore the wall. And he loves teaching them to climb. I really like the photo above, of Sophie making it to the top in her PJs (don’t worry, Ray is right under her, and […]

When I was almost 7, I had all sorts of ideas as to what I wanted to be when I grew up. Most of the time I wanted to be a poet. I was reminded of that ridiculous notion for the gazillionth time this morning as I listened to some particularly fantastic poetry on “Morning Edition” […]

Sophie’s IEP meeting was last week, and we’re still in the throes of finalizing/reviewing/sign-seal-and-delivering, but things seem to be falling into place. It’s such a detailed process, designed to address every possible angle of your kid and her needs, but really what I find is that it lulls you (or me, anyway) into a false […]

Someone once told me that you’re not supposed to praise your kid too much. I’m sure there’s some sort of psychology behind it, but I don’t buy it. I don’t think you can praise your kid enough. Not if you mean it, anyway. And if I’m wrong, and it screws them up, I’ll happily pay […]

Sophie got a haircut Saturday. Normally a haircut is not cause for bells and whistles (she needs frequent bang trims)  but this time I let the girl at Supercuts whack a few inches off the bottom. (We’d been waiting for well over an hour, I figured we might as well make it time well spent. As […]