Word around school this week is that Sophie’s been swiping other kids’ drinks at lunch. She drains her juice box and nabs someone else’s drink, particularly if it’s strawberry milk. I stuck 35 cents in this morning, so she could get her own, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I didn’t mean to be in the cafeteria during […]
The Elmos aren’t working. Not so much, not anymore. At first, they worked so well, it seemed like a miracle. But I knew it wouldn’t last. Like most souls, Sophie is very interested in a good bribe. I see nothing wrong with that. Positive reinforcement is what it’s all about, as far as I’m concerned. […]
Yesterday Ray emailed me a picture from his phone. The subject line: “Ya ain’t gonna believe this…..” He’s right. Ya ain’t. For a long time now, he’s been taking the girls to the Phoenix Rock Gym. Annabelle scampers to the top of the wall, but for months, Sophie’s been stuck at one move — maybe […]
I met the most remarkable woman yesterday. We’d been emailing for weeks (months?) about our daughters. The woman lives in town, friend of a friend of a friend. My daughter is 5; we found out she had Down syndrome when she was several days old. Still, I remember the time before the diagnosis felt like eternity. […]
The other day, Sophie pointed to the top pocket of the thing hanging on the back of her closet door, (as opposed to the thing hanging on the front of her closet door, the thing hanging on her bathroom door, on my bathroom door, in Annabelle’s bedroom, on the back of my own bedroom door — you get the […]
“Hey, kids, we’re going to see the world’s second largest ball of twine!” Ray called out to the backseat, in his best Clark Griswold imitation. It did feel that way, as we set off for our Fall Break road trip last Tuesday. We were headed north to Winslow, Holbrook and Flagstaff, stops along Route 66, […]
This morning I walked by the playroom, where the constant churn of the piles of toys yields a new view every time you pass, and I noticed that damn Cabbage Patch Doll. I never really liked Cabbage Patch Dolls. They peaked in the 80s, when I was in high school, becoming valuable collectibles (someone didn’t […]
Yeah, yeah, I know. The Veep debate was THE television event of the week. And I was a good American — I did watch it, through my fingers, wincing, glad I was at a party and had an excuse to gulp vodka to numb the pain. I even fell a little bit in love with […]
Just when I think we’re just fine, making do with what Sophie’s being handed (or not) in kindergarten, something happens to knock me off my clogs. (If you’ve never worn clogs, you won’t understand that saying.) I reconnected this week with a lovely woman in town whose daughter is just about Sophie’s age, and also has […]
Kindergarten is a quarter gone. We had our parent/teacher conferences yesterday. It’s still well over 100 degrees — heck, it’s barely October — so it just doesn’t feel right to call the semester half in the can. But it is. Sophie is halfway done with her first half of kindergarten. And Annabelle’s half done with […]
