Just over a week ago, my new blogging buddy, Rob Shep and his lovely wife Monica, celebrated the birth of twins. Their son Hayden has been home for a bit, and yesterday their daughter Reese was discharged from the hospital. This post is a Welcome Home message for all of them. And a walk down […]
Leanne Shirtliffe
The Aftermath of Search Bombing
On the seventh day, I reflected. Yes, it’s been one week since Clay Morgan and I launched the Search Bomb on the blogging world. For the uninitiated, Search Bombing is when you intentionally search a specific phrase in order to get to someone’s blog; if you’re successful, your search will show up on that blogger’s […]
Children: the world’s first poets
My daughter, Vivian, loves words. I know, because she uses a lot of them, some of which I even listen to. When she really wants my attention, she writes notes. When I came home after a three hour writing session, this was taped to our front door: Last week, after I vacuumed the shards of […]
Remembering Grandma’s Cookies
I enjoy baking more than crafts, but that doesn’t mean I do it often. When I do bake, I tend to use my mom’s recipes, most of which come from her mother. I love my grandma’s recipes. They’re Depression-era farm recipes, which means they’re easy and economical and contain no bizarre ingredients like Cream of […]
A New April Fool’s Blogging Tradition: Search Bombing
Many bloggers are intrigued with the search results that bring people to their blog. Whether it’s “decapitated Barbie doll” or “giving your kid the middle finger,” looking at these phrases can be amusing, scary, and baffling. But what if a person were to intentionally search bizarre phrases in order to haunt another blogger? That is […]
The Art of Entertaining Children on a Road Trip
It’s Spring Break, or as I called it last year, Spring Break-down. So far, after four consecutive full days with my kids, I’m still remarkably composed. I haven’t been overly tempted to lock them in the closet, at least not for a long period; I’ve also locked myself in my walk-in closet only once during […]
3 Things You Should Never Teach Your Children
1. What Sarcasm Is It’s not much of a secret that I unsheathe my sarcasm sword regularly. When William knocks his glass of milk on the floor, I can’t stop myself from quipping, “Thanks for the help cleaning up.” It’s not going to get me any Parent of the Year nominations, but it’s my style. […]
Why Teachers Need Holidays
I’ve been looking haggard lately, more so than normal. I’ve had a long stretch of teaching, followed by two nights of parent-teacher interviews. Bedtime’s come too late and sleep has been unsettling. In the classroom, I’ve looked and sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcZlalsyOxE] I’m not sure if it’s the tiredness or the fact that […]
Another Craft Disaster with Kids
Last week I received a notification. I grieved, all stages. First I denied it. Then I bargained. Eventually I accepted it. There was no way out: I would have to do a fifteen minute craft with children ages three to six. At church. * I ponder. It’s Lent. Shouldn’t these kids be giving up fun […]
Bizarre Baby Names
When I was pregnant, the best decision I made was to tell no one the names I was considering for my uterus-imprisoned twins. I did tell my husband, though, which led to many name debates. For the majority of names we bandied about, we tended to respond with one of the following retorts: “That was […]