Tag: preschool
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Picture Day!
Recently, a small flyer came home in my child’s folder. It said, “Picture day is coming.” I remarked to Leon, “I’ll bet most parents don’t read that as a warning.” But honestly, I know enough of you do. I vaguely remember picture day. They’d line us up, give us a small black comb. (Where…
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Three! Three? Three!
At the most recent Writers Who Wine gathering, one woman said, “Oh, I just LOVE three year olds! That’s the best age!” Wrinkling her nose, another woman asserted, “No. It’s the worst age. Three year olds are just awful!” Before I had kids, I would have agreed with woman one. After I’d had one and…
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The Many Faces of Meltdown, Part II
Practically as soon as I posted my last collection of tantrum photos, I received a number of lovely new pieces. I hope you enjoy these and they help you feel more normal if you or your children sometimes look and feel like this. Aren’t walks supposed to calm babies? Sometimes they don’t. …
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The Many Faces of Meltdown
Inspired by this photo of my friend’s son at the grocery store I asked for courageous people to share photos of their kids having meltdowns for a short-winded collection. I am hoping that you will see beyond the fact that I am kind of laughing at childish rage, and feel comfort in the shared experience.…
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Herding Cats
The other night, I had my three kids post in mind. I asked the children if they would like to eat dinner outdoors. I partly did this because the evening weather was beautiful. I mostly did this because it seemed way too hard to convince the three of them to come indoors and clean up…
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Calculating My Weighted Parenting GPA
There are times, as a parent, when I feel like I’m doing a good job, and I happily give myself an A. Child spills milk all over the table when I am about to finally sit down. “It’s OK. Here is a rag.” Mind says: You stayed calm. No big deal. Good. See, you are…
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Joy is Now
Tomorrow is Asher’s birthday. He’ll be four. I had a moment the other day when I remembered his first birthday. On July 13, 2010, I woke up at the exact time he had been born, one year prior. I woke up so angry and sad. And I wrote about it. I used to blog on…
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Crossing Invisible Finish Lines
Recently, I found our old copy of Sandra Boynton’s Snuggle Puppy. Though Noah was not keen on sitting still and letting anyone actually make it all the way through a book without seizing it and possibly throwing it, I thought that book had a chance. It’s mostly a song, so I thought that would capture…
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I’m Not Cut Out for This
I’m not cut out for this. I turn around in my seat, having just finished hollering something ineffective and useless like, “I mean it!” And the children don’t care, and they aren’t listening, and I am filled with rage. I’m not cut out for this parenting thing. We are on our way back from Lake…
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The Waters Weren’t the Only Ones Raging: Bringing Children to the Water Slide Park
I have lived in Sacramento for four years, and never been to Raging Waters Sacramento (or any local theme park, really). There is a reason for this: I hadn’t felt up to dragging a bunch of baby children there. Since my kids are 7, almost 4, and 1, I have had some sort of baby…