If it were up to Ray, I’m quite certain there’d be an X Games version of the Special Olympics. He’s my daredevil. The guy hikes Camelback Mountain in the dead of the Phoenix summer; tosses himself and his mountain bike down South Mountain; and last week, he insisted on soloing a climbing route that had recently […]
All week, my dad’s been quoting Jon Stewart, who recently must have said something to the effect of, “War is God’s way of teaching Americans about geography.” I love that. And I love that my father is quoting The Daily Show. I don’t know much about geography, myself. I was never a good student when […]
The 6-year-old’s mom avoided me yesterday, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Maybe she was having a bad day. Or maybe I came on too strong. (MOI????)
I arrived at school today laden with backpacks and lunch boxes and kids, and one extra bag. In it, I had placed several books Sophie’s (finally) outgrown: one with signs for animals, another “touch and feel” and two musical books that she’d still play with if I let her. (I just had to retire the […]
Today was a darn good day. With one exception (a big one, she left the playground at recess) Sophie did well in kindergarten. Annabelle continued on her merry second grade way. We had gelato with Ms. X to celebrate Sophie’s Week One successes, and dinner after that (yes, we had dessert first, shoot me!) with […]
My grandpa is dying. He has been, off and on, all summer, but this week, i fear, it’s for real. My husband Ray (it’s confusing – my grandfather and my husband and his father AND grandfather are all Raymond) wants to know why I’m not more upset. He keeps nagging me about it. It’s true, I […]
Growing up, I always heard the adage, “Never put anything in your ear that’s smaller than your elbow.” (Good advice, though be honest: Who among us doesn’t enjoy a good session with a few Q-tips?) No one ever said anything about noses. Except not to pick, of course. Which is why I was annoyed the other day, […]
Last weekend, we painted Annabelle’s room. It was part of her 7th birthday present. Here’s the before. (Warning, the colors in these photos are much brighter than the actual paint! Maybe.): Now that I have a 7-year-old, it occurs to me that most of my childhood memories begin at 7. I have a few, from […]
I really did feel guilty, asking Ray to take Sophie to her dental appointment this morning. “No way!” he said. “You need to take her so you can hear the dentist complain about her thumbsucking!” It’s true. While Ray reprimands Sophie constantly for it, I just never could get too upset about thumbsucking. I sucked […]
In February, Sophie’s “team” at her pre-school broke the news that they weren’t so sure she was mentally retarded. They sent me home with a copy of my parental rights and a pink paper heart that Sophie had cut herself, with minimal assistance. This was huge. She might be relatively smart, but no one can […]
