I do not know how I manage to craft while not managing to blog about it. It must be that crafting puts me at my limit and blogging runs over. At any rate, I wanted to post a blanket I started for Esther back in November. This was before the gift avalanche, when I had nearly no girl things and… Read more →
Today, I was set to record a podcast over the phone with a guest at 3 p.m. Ransom takes his afternoon nap from 2:30 to 4:30, so is usually quieted down by 3 and it’s a favored recording time. At 2:50, Esther is sleeping. But I hear noises from Ransom that are loud enough to make me think he’s playing… Read more →
While pregnant with Esther I wondered how having a daughter would change me and create a different relationship than with our son. Here is one discovery. One of the obsessive worries I and many women have is to be attractive. For me, that usually means not “looking nice enough” but perfection. Which, as you can guess, is impossible. Even so,… Read more →
Dear Esther, This letter is to inform you that you have repeatedly violated the UN Convention on Human Rights. It quite clearly states that extreme sleep deprivation* is a form of human torture. You must cease and desist immediately, or face the terrifying consequences of seeing blue, helmeted peacekeepers sing kumbaya on our lawn. Either that or you risk losing… Read more →
I know—and probably will continue to know for some time—gobs of pregnant and new mothers. Since I’ve also gotten several asking for advice, I thought I’d condense the vitamin and gadget recommendations into one nice little Amazon list and post it here for easy reference and sharing. These are simple, natural things I found immensely useful for managing this uncomfortable,… Read more →
Long, long ago, on a farm far away, I knew that being a mother was hard. I didn’t know experientially that everything about pregnancy sucked except the baby (which, when it gets out, almost exclusively wants to suck), that the weeks after the hardest thing I have ever done in my life (getting that baby out) would make me look… Read more →
There’s a dichotomy between the public policy I’m likely to advocate and what I know to be a real education: Generally, I think it a good idea for schools to begin incorporating online instruction, particularly for classes they can’t offer like AP courses or Ancient Greek, and even support full-time virtual schooling for those students that may do better with… Read more →
If some government person knew how often we bluffingly threaten beatings and physical violence to each other in our house, I am certain we would both be locked up and Ransom shuffled about in foster homes. As it is, about the severest punishments Ransom gets are some very stern and repeated “No!”s and the occasional butt pat for tantrums. We… Read more →
A small rash of cases of women claiming job discrimination or firing for attempting to save breastmilk while at work prompts several thoughts. Nursing their babies is extremely important to some women, so important that some have held nurse-ins to protest being shuffled out of public places, and should be more important to others (barring the rare medical difficulty) for… Read more →
Ransom has been teething again. At least, we’re calling it that, because he’s been a stinker for several days and we have no other explanation. Tonight, at dinner, Nathaniel sent Ransom a verbal email. To: Ransom From: Dad Re: Your Piehole. Shut it. Love, Dad Image by Hillary Hartley.
Twitter Feed