UTI, Lunch, and Putt-Putt, Oh My!
We’ve spent half the day doing our schoolwork in the pediatrician’s office, because my younger son has been complaining that his tee-tee burns. I’ve tried cranberry concentrate and lots of fluids for the last week, but he’s still complaining. They don’t think it’s a UTI, but rather some external irritation. But they’re going to culture […]
Kids and Loss
I discovered a stunning fact yesterday evening. My kids don’t always understand what I tell them. This is a stunner because I am a reasonably capable communicator. My verbal skills have tested well above average, and my communication ability is constantly being put to the test in the work that I do. So you’d think […]
Sibling Rivalry
My boys are all boy. And that means that I have to live, day in and day out, with the most outrageous levels of competitive spirit. The boys love each other, but each is determined to outdo the other, in everything. Most days, I can handle the competition with equanimity. But yesterday I lost my […]
Taking Things TOO Far
Three kids did a really dumb thing, and the grown-ups in their school are going way overboard in punishing them. The kids got the “bright” idea to set up a myspace account, impersonating a teacher at the school. They apparently managed to keep it up for three days, and, of course, word spread around school, […]
This Is Just SO Wrong!
There is a family in our area that is trying to regain custody of their daughter after giving her up to foster care when she was a few weeks old. She’s now eight years old. The Baker family has reared this little girl for eight years; they are what she knows as “her family.” Her […]
Little Vandals?
I am beginning to think that there are some young vandals in my neighbourhood. Here’s why. In May or June, I put out some solar path lights along the south side of my driveway. I had intended to line the walkway all the way to the front door, but never got all of them in […]
Bunk Beds….
The kids like their new bunks, except for a couple of minor things. The older one has to dodge the ceiling fan to get into his bed on the top bunk. When the fans were installed in this house (way before we moved in), they were installed smack-dab in the middle of the ceiling. The […]
The Kids Got Their Wish!
We finally put their beds together as bunk beds today. I’ve been trying to do that since something like May! But X lost the pins that secure the beds together somewhere up in the insulation of the attic when he started the (still unfinished) attic-decking project. And the beds are “This End Up!” furniture, which […]
Talking With Youngsters
It’s been rather a disappointment, really. The psychologist insisted that I be allowed to talk with the children every night at a given time, if we were to allow X to take the kids on this trip. And he has cooperated. But last night, the kids were constantly being distracted by their uncles and cousins […]
Depressed
This is turning out to be a pretty unpleasant week. I didn’t sleep well Sunday night or Monday night … partly because it’s so very hot, and partly because the offspring keep coming in to tell me they’re having nightmares. Tomorrow I have to go to the doctor, and I know he’s going to make […]