Raising Devils

By KJ / Friday, October 30, 2009

Just in case you wonder why I’m not posting (on my fresh and changing website): Here’s what I’m up to tonight: The Third Annual Spooky Trail! I wrote about it for Wondertime last year if you’d like to check it out.

Because I Love Halloween

By KJ / Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Because I Love Halloween Originally uploaded by kjda And because I love Sam. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Playing Family

By KJ / Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Lily, Rory and Wyatt are devotedly and cooperatively playing an enthusiastic game of family with Rory’s doll house. (“Special for me!” but she lets them play. Sometimes.) So far I’ve heard the children go for an airplane ride, someone prepare dinner and ask how a school day was, a very convincing crying baby (that caused Rob to worriedly consider a rescue, but I was pretty sure it was faux, and I was right) and now, some kind of building. The […]

Being means WAY more than acting.

By KJ / Monday, October 26, 2009

There’s been a shift again. Emotion is nothing if not seismic in this family, but this has been a nice, gradual drifting of continents. Rory likes to perform, but sometimes I have felt that she was putting on a father frantic show for us–a show of happiness, a show of belonging, as if her performing it would convince us all. Sometimes she’d be just sitting there, kind of expressionless, and I’d look at her, and I’d get this frantic grin—not […]

A Halloween Book that looks like us.

By KJ / Saturday, October 24, 2009

A Halloween Book that looks like us. Originally uploaded by kjda I know my kids’ books–I co-authored a book about them, and I review them for DoubleX–but I have to admit that the advent of Rory has made me more aware of race in the pictures. That’s not really true–I was always aware–but more appreciative of books that look like us, and the Biscuit books–while not always my favorite, because they tend somewhat towards the inane–are good that way. The […]

A New Take on the Temper Tantrum

By KJ / Friday, October 23, 2009

Last night was windy–and where we live, that means it sounds like a freight train is coming over the hill. We lay in bed, listening, and began to hear, periodically, another sound: BANG BANG BANG. Or sometimes BANG. Or BANG BANG. It was not rhythmic, or constant, as you would expect of something the wind was blowing. And it not eventually result in the reappearance of a child, as you would expect from a kid-created noise. It just kept periodically […]

Spreading the Wealth

By KJ / Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Periodically, I vow to just tell them what I want them to do, rather than yelling at them for what I DON’T. In the interest of not complaining–or at least not complaining without making an attempt to change things–today I instituted a couple of improvements. Every day I come in with a big pile of things from the car–hats and mittens (so sad, already) and lunch boxes and bits of trash and sundry. Today I took along a single bag […]

What, Exactly, is Complaining?

By KJ / Monday, October 19, 2009

Two DoubleX friends are embarking on a month-long attempt to quit their kvetching that they have dubbed the Whiners’ Guide to Not Complaining. In it, they agree that although their wry, sarcastic style has led them to great personal and professional success, they could perhaps consider altering it just a tad–just a smidgen, perhaps–in an attempt not so much to alter their own black-humored, cynical personas but just to be more mindful of what’s hipster veneer and what’s becoming more […]

I Blame the Kitchen Island

By KJ / Saturday, October 17, 2009

We have, in our kitchen–oh, who am I kidding, it is the kitchen–a very large island composed of granite tiles and a sink. Behind it lies the 3’x9′ kitchen space; in front, four barstools and then the living room. This means that when friends are there I can cook and be in the thick of things, it means kids can do homework and art projects and I can empty the dishwasher, it tends to mean that I absolutely never sit […]

Thanks, New Kid’s Store!

By KJ / Friday, October 16, 2009

Thanks, New Kid’s Store! Originally uploaded by kjda In honor of the grand opening of our semi-new kids store (and to understand the magnitude of this, you must realize that there is no kid toy or clothing stories in town), there were girl gift bags, and boy gift bags. I know it’s a little blurry, but you can see the intensity with which the purple lip gloss is being applied. To lips. To cheeks. To forehead. Every once in a […]

Guess Who Would Have Preferred a

By KJ / Friday, October 16, 2009

Guess Who Would Have Preferred a Originally uploaded by kjda The girl’s gift bag? Not that he didn’t enjoy his little cowboy, and the Halloween tattoos were a huge hit. But the purple glitter lip stuff? Ahhhh…. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Poopyheads R Us

By KJ / Friday, October 16, 2009

We have a playdate this afternoon, one of our favorite neighbors and a friend of all three. She, Lily and Wyatt are all playing an elaborate game of make-believe. Rory is not; she likes some quiet time after school to do things without, I suspect, teachers coming over to make sure she is doing them in the approved Montessori way (although she loves Montessori; she has a bell and she rings it constantly around the house, saying “Please sa-ye your […]

Where in the World is KJ?

By KJ / Thursday, October 15, 2009

Where in the World is KJ? Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

The Garden Produce Project

By KJ / Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Our garden is done for the year, except for a few pumpkins that refused to turn orange (our plan is to spray paint them in glitter and go all Martha Stewart on their asses). The productive harvest is in the house. Tonight we ate soup made with the beans we grew (the shelling kind, not green beans) which was unfortunately not very good, though the beans themselves were delicious. Two ham hocks=too salty for one soup. (Good biscuits tho!) And […]

When Lily is Sweet

By KJ / Wednesday, October 14, 2009

When Lily is Sweet Originally uploaded by kjda She is very very sweet. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

New Hampshire Evening

By KJ / Tuesday, October 13, 2009

New Hampshire Evening Originally uploaded by kjda I was just sitting here, not being particularly grateful for the abundance that is my life, when I looked up and saw this. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Funny in the Mirror

By KJ / Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Tonight we dined out, at an elegant establishment offering free kids meals for members of the Dartmouth athletics kids’ fan club. (Imagine a non-chain Olive Garden.) Afterwards, Rory and Lily stood gazing into a full length mirror together, set at a perfect height for them to admire their little faces, and Lily began to laugh. Rory looks funny in the mirror! Why does she? I didn’t see anything, so I shrugged and went back to trying to persuade Rory to […]

New Hampshire Morning

By KJ / Tuesday, October 13, 2009

New Hampshire Morning Originally uploaded by kjda I’m pretty sure she’s saying “WTF?!” KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Happy Halloween!

By KJ / Monday, October 12, 2009

Happy Halloween! Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

The Art (Thanks, Sculpey!)

By KJ / Monday, October 12, 2009

The Art (Thanks, Sculpey!) Originally uploaded by kjda Wait until you see our “Halloween Tree.” what, you don’t have one? KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

The Artists

By KJ / Monday, October 12, 2009

The Artists Originally uploaded by kjda This is how we celebrated Columbus Day. For once, everyone is feeling very satisfied (and they are about to have pumpkin pie!)(not made from these pumpkins–who do you think I am?!) KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Outside the meeting

By KJ / Thursday, October 8, 2009

Outside the meeting Originally uploaded by kjda I am such a good citizen. Oh, except for the part where I blogging and not listening. KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Paging Dr. Freud

By KJ / Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Yesterday was a rough bonding day, in which I sank into something of a depression, convinced that I was ignoring all kids because I didn’t want to interact with Rory because I was so TIRED (in retrospect, it would have been quite accurate to say I did not want to interact with any kids because I was tired, and poor Rory had nothing to do with it). Anyway, I slumped on my couch, contemplating the impossibility of therapy in a […]

Personal Failings, We’ve Got a Few

By KJ / Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The BPS invited a bunch of psychologists to name things they didn’t understand about themselves, and while some of them took it as an opportunity to muse about consciousness and neurons, a bunch kept it real, and said, in essence–if I KNOW why people make certain mistakes, and I even studied it–why do I keep making the same mistakes? We’ve all got tropes we keep repeating even when we know what we do, why we do it and why we […]

And so it begins

By KJ / Monday, October 5, 2009

Sam gets a weekly note home with all the homework for the week listed. For Wednesday it says “bring in a white twin sheet.” We don’t have a white twin sized sheet. Do you? We have some very, very attractive polka-dotted ones. Apparently, though, the Romans did not wear red-polka-dotted togas. What we do have is an old full or queen sized sheet, only slightly moldy, that I used as a Halloween ghost last year. Here is what I WILL […]

Feeling bleh

By KJ / Sunday, October 4, 2009

We had such a great day yesterday that today couldn’t really be anything but a letdown. Let’s see…didn’t get through some work stuff, didn’t get ravioli made, didn’t make last batch of tarts, didn’t clean out closet, haven’t yet made lunches…Saturdays are WAY better than Sundays. There are a bunch of dids, but my mood is wrong to focus on those. Sam had hockey tryouts this weeked. He did make one of the travel teams, but the second tier one. […]

New Hampshire Girl

By KJ / Saturday, October 3, 2009

New Hampshire Girl Originally uploaded by kjda Her 10th apple, at least–future tarts! KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Rainy Saturday

By KJ / Saturday, October 3, 2009

Rainy Saturday Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

Patience, and Wagon Rides

By KJ / Friday, October 2, 2009

I am slowly but surely becoming a better person, and will no doubt achieve that flawless maternal perfection epitomized by, say, Dooce in time to work it on my great-great-grandchildren. I recently managed to go from being late all the time to at least much better (and wrote about it for Parenting–look, that glam mom in the accompanying picture is me! Really!). This month (season? year? decade?) the project is: Patience. The expert coach for the moment is Rory. Because […]

An Afternoon of Indulgence

By KJ / Thursday, October 1, 2009

An Afternoon of Indulgence Originally uploaded by kjda KJ Dell’Antonia sent from my iPhone

You Know What I Love? School! (Plus Activity Angst)

By KJ / Wednesday, September 30, 2009

School gives us a glorious level of consistency in our lives that I would otherwise be unable to achieve. Every morning, for four hours, there is ritual and order in Wyatt and Rory’s lives. Every day, for 6 hours, the same can be said for Lily. Every day, for seven hours, Sam is safe and surrounded by kids his own age, learning age-appropriate stuff at a school that suits him very well. And every day, when I get everybody back, […]

A Thing I Hate About Breakfast

By KJ / Tuesday, September 29, 2009

If I’m in the kitchen making lunches (or, ideally, sticking the already packed sandwiches, etc, into the lunch boxes) during breakfast, they’re all lined up across from me at the bar. This seems to alert some sort of inner “soda bar” facility deep in the brain, as the combination of the bar, the kitchen and the breakfast makes them conclude that I am a waitress. A bored waitress. So if I’l there, they spend all of their eating time thinking […]

Lest You Doubt Our Small Town

By KJ / Monday, September 28, 2009

I just had the following conversation with my husband: Me: Heather says Extreme Home Makeover picked a house in Lyme, and Seth’s hardware store is donating a bunch of stuff, so he’ll be on the show. They’re really excited. Rob:Yeah, everybody was talking about this in the barber shop today. And then they played the theme from the Andy Griffith show, and my wacky neighbor popped in to borrow an egg.

News Flash: Not Everything is About Rory

By KJ / Monday, September 28, 2009

Or having four kids instead of three (or two, or one, for that matter). At some point over the weekend I said to myself “Self, you have got to quit this blaming it all on Rory/having four kids business.” I had bad days before we had Rory. I had days when I felt like I would never get out of the house, that the dishes would never be done and the laundry would never be washed (Full disclosure: I have […]

Meeting the Guo Jis

By KJ / Sunday, September 27, 2009

We met up with the Guo Jis today. Much, much bonding. Among those adults crazed enough to adopt themselves into biggish although not huge families–or possibly those women crazy enough to come up with it, and those men crazy enough to marry said women. But no, let us admit that we are all crazy, and that that craziness seems to spread into other attitudes–about life, mountain biking and its importance, many although not all general child-rearing practices and, I suspect, […]

Family of Four/Six

By KJ / Friday, September 25, 2009

I’m over thinking I’m not cut out to be Rory’s mom, I think. My new thing is that I’m not cut out to be the mother of four. Although… Rob was out of town for the last two nights. I think he’s been away a few times since Rory arrived, but this is the first time since school started in earnest, and in a full-on, all-out week–the week with nightly swim lessons. It’s a biannual occurrence that makes me simultaneously […]

How was the Big Birthday?

By KJ / Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Great, if you just whitewash it here and there. The thing is, from two on, I had to just get my skates on and GO. 2:00 pick up Sam, town, snack, buy balloons, 3:00 pick up Lily, home put together big ole’ plastic doll house, cry because we cannot play more with it and it is not ours (well, that would be Lily). 4:00 babysitter’s, share cupcakes, celebrate. 4:30 Farmer’s Market for dinner. Park, try not to get run over, […]

If You’re Not Reading Let’s Panic About Babies!

By KJ / Wednesday, September 23, 2009

You’re not laughing hard enough. http://www.lets-panic.com/

Happy Birthday Rory!

By KJ / Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Happy Birthday Rory! Originally uploaded by kjda Rory is four! (Well, in a few hours, anyway, and as best as we know, so there you are.) If you’re thinking “That’s a pretty lame cake for a 4-year-old, KJ,” well, you’re right. It’s also pretty tiny. But just outside the picture are the two plus dozen mini cupcakes she’s taking to school, and the extra cupcakes for breakfast, and still more to share with her babysitter and friends, it looks a […]

Updates and the Tattle Brigade

By KJ / Monday, September 21, 2009

Inspired by Guo Ji Mama, who updated her blog header the day her last daughter came home, I have FINALLY updated mine. Call it what you will. Maybe I wasn’t ready. Maybe I’d just forgotten how to use Cyberduck to upload the file to my theme, or more importantly to resize the picture. Maybe I’m just lazy, and the kind of hostess who leaves the giant bottle of nature’s miracle (used to remove the scent of doggie “accidents”) on the […]

Be as the Powerful Current (I made that up.)

By KJ / Sunday, September 20, 2009

Three solid i-friends (Mommy, Lori and the mother of Awesome Cloud) are in China right now. Some bonding troubles, not all is going perfectly–but I find myself envying them, especially those last two, who sound, at least, uncomplicatedly happy. I think China really screwed us–and this has nothing to do with Rory at all. But the quarantine…that was so hard, and so scary, even though in retrospect I can see that we didn’t need to be frightened, and so long…you […]