It’s holiday Monday. There’s nothing teachers like better than a holiday Monday, except eight of them in a row, which is also known as summer. Today–a delicious holiday Monday–I’m pleased to bring you a guest post from the hilarious Tyler Tarver. Tyler is a teacher and a dad and an author, not necessarily in that […]
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How Do You Spell Relief? B-a-c-k-T-o-S-c-h-o-o-l
Vivian and William had their first day of school yesterday. After we used a logarithm to sort out the bus route, we drove to the school, met the kids when they got off the bus, and joined the queue of parents sloughing Lululemon bags overflowing with glue sticks and sharpened pencils. Welcome to the first […]
Reign of Terror: Unleashing Kids on Grandma's House
My parents live in a new house. It’s beautiful, but my kids tried their best to change that this summer. In our first week there, my seven-year-old twins gouged several walls, wrote on my parents’ RV (just in dust, thankfully), and broke a banister. Technically, Vivian and William didn’t break the whole banister: just a […]
Parenting According to Twitter
I think Twitter knows more about my parenting style than anyone in real life does. There’s nothing like putting the fun in dysfunctional in a public forum. Here are some of my parenting tweets from the past month. (If you’re not on Twitter, here’s a key. DD: Dear Daughter, DH: Dear Husband, 7yo: 7-year-old) Chapter […]
The Horrors of Minigolfing with Children
If you’ve minigolfed with young children, you’re likely aware that it’s a dangerous activity that could require hospitalization. To read about the mini-putt injuries we sustained when Vivian and William were four years old, please go to my humour column, which was published in yesterday’s Calgary Herald. Click here: Minigolfing with Kids: A Bad Idea. […]
Thing 1 & Thing 2's Excellent Adventure: Stop 3 = Maryland
Stop 2: Jefferson, Maryland Host: Thoughtsy Distance Logged Since Calgary: 4056 kms/2520 miles Next Stop: Joplin, Missouri After their adventures zip-lining in West Virginia, Thing 1 and Thing 2 headed northeast to Maryland (spot the Canadian whose US geography is improving). I’m delighted that Thoughtsy hosted my two stuffies. Thoughtsy is an entertaining and intelligent […]
When Your Child Wonders What Age She Can Have a Baby, Ask Facebook
Last week, seven-year-old Vivian was back at it, peppering me with questions about God, sperm banks, and babies. This is why I don’t home school, I thought. From September to June, I can rely on her classmates to give the wrong answer; in July and August, however, it’s up to me. So when Vivian asked […]
Thing 1 & Thing 2's Excellent Adventure: Stop 1=Tennessee!
Earlier in July, Thing 1 & Thing 2 had the first stop in their around the world adventure. They were hosted by the generous and hilarious Jessica Buttram, who writes beautifully at Meet the Buttrams. The things went by airmail in a padded envelope from Calgary, Alberta to Knoxville, Tennessee (2922 kms/1816 miles). If you’re […]
My Celebrity Look-alikes Are Men
The blogging world vibrates with great ideas. Clay Morgan has a ton of them. Months ago, he wrote a post about all the celebrities people say he resembles. Suffice it to say that Clay’s look-alike squad could almost fill a deck of cards. Then earlier this week, one of my sisters-from-another-mister, Lori Dyan, posted her […]
10 Examples of Vacation Weirdness
My twins and I tend to spend most of July at my parents’ house in Manitoba. My husband joins us for a week, then hightails it back to Calgary, where he is now. I love being a kid again. And I’m lucky: being at my parents’ house is comfortable and easy. But the first week […]