My aspirationally weekly, realistically more like monthly email of books and enthusiasms will keep your #tbr full and make sure you know what's next.
Rory is mortally wounded several dozen times a day. Rarely do ten minutes go by before the refrain begins: OUCHIE! OUCHIE! I know, I know that this is more of exactly what I blogged about two days ago. I know this is Rory, who just wants as much of me as she can get, and a true wound is an excellent way to get my full attention. But oh, it is getting old. And hard on Wyatt, giver of all […]
Read More
I think everyone will get a small giggle out of my quarantine story for AOL’s Kitchen Daily. Especially you, mom! Ah, those were the days.
Read More
Cross-posted at No Hands But Ours (a great site to find information and community for “special needs” China adoption). It has been a rough trip, these last six or seven months, and there were times when I thought I’d never look at Rory and feel just unadulterated happiness. I thought I’d always see the shadow of the things I had trouble with–the way her arrival changed our family, the way it affected my relationship with the other kids, the fear […]
Read More
Powerpuff Girls Originally uploaded by kjda Bubbles and Blossom. Buttercup won’t play… Which, if you know anything at all about the Powerpuff Girls, is totally typical. You should have heard Lily–oops, Blossom–“but we need someone with beautiful black hair like Buttercup!” “No! I don’ wanna!” I think she would have done it if Lily hadn’t demanded that she dress up. She’d already spent ten reluctant minutes as a fairy. Rory likes to be comfy. I have been cleaning out closets, […]
Read More
Sam had a “Jump Rope for Heart” event at school today. They were out early–at 12:30, for conferences–and participating kids could stay, and jump, and earn prizes and have big fun. But they were supposed to raise money for the American Heart Association. The papers came home weeks ago, and I said, Sam, look, you could really do this well, you know a lot of people. I will match anything you raise. After a week I brought the papers along […]
Read More
I went into the bathroom as Rory was supposed to be brushing her teeth, and found the mirror covered in suds of some kind, all over the back of the sink about where she could reach. What is that? I asked–and she froze. Did you do that? Dumb question, as it was wet, and she was the only child in there (or anywhere nearby). Frozen. Did you put soap on the mirror? Did you put water on the mirror? How […]
Read More
It’s been a long time since I visited the “do you love her yet” question. I’ve loved very few people on sight. Most of my friends turned out to be better after you got to know them some (which, in some cases, means I didn’t like them at all until later, when I did). I didn’t fall in love with Rob when we first met. In fact, it wasn’t until about 2 years later that I looked at him, strewn […]
Read More
A Originally uploaded by kjda So, I think this makes a fine addition to the Friday Festival of Sugar and Fat. I had cardboard that would never fit into recycling (in our world, it it’s bigger than 2′ by 2′ the recycling guys throw it back on your driveway, and I think they pee on it first, because they hate their lives), and I thought, well, why not burn it? And while we are out it, why not put some […]
Read More
Let the Party Begin! Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read More
Rainbow Cupcake results Originally uploaded by kjda And indeed, they made everybody very happy. Well, everybody except me. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read More
Rainbow cupcakes for Wyatt’s birthday Originally uploaded by kjda From Family Fun…seemed like a good idea when we started. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read More
Fwd: Future scientists dissect cow eyeball. Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: >
Read More
We are not big home maintenance types around here. I do not like to grocery shop, don’t dig shopping anymore, and have the house at a stage where most of the crap can at least be pushed aside into manageable piles. There are hioe and errand-type things that I wish would just happen (for example, i just realized that we’ve completely outgrown our stroller collection, and I really wish the fairies would just come get it). But generally, on weekdays, […]
Read More
About to race! Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read More
BoxSled Racing Originally uploaded by kjda With Hannah Kearney at the start gate! KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read More
Our local diner, Lou’s, hands out Wikisticks (you can see them in the picture below) to kids to play with while they wait for their food. Wyatt asked me to help him make a house and two people. Rory looked at Wyatt’s house, handed me her sticks, and said: C’you make my China? I said ok, and while I made her a house, she worked with some sticks. That me, she said of a blue circle with two legs. Look! […]
Read More
Wiki Processing Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read More
You must stay in bed. You have been up six times since I put you to bed 20 minutes ago, and you must stay in bed. Your daddy is out of town. For the third–no, fourth–night this week. And every single night this week, without exception, a dog, a child, or 100 mile an hour winds, or all of the above, has woken me up more than once. And on two days this week, a school has woken me up […]
Read More
Actually the title’s an exaggeration. I decried no Nintendo except on weekends (in an amount and at times to be determined by me) and asked my babysitter to impose something similar when they’re with her (often at her house, with her kids) and she went with maybe when they’re there in the evenings. So far, so good–we’ve had more outdoor play, more make-believe and more card-playing and puzzles already. It’s a relief to me just not to have to constantly […]
Read More
Check out the Player of the Game! Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone
Read More