In six months, I’ll be 40. I wish I could say I’ve never felt better. But my memory’s not that sharp anymore. I’ve noticed I’m no longer as young as I think I am. This epiphany usually happens when I look in the mirror, a habit I’m trying to lose. I don’t wear a lot […]
Hilarious Family Moments
Reasons I’m Not Nominated for Parent-of-the-Year
It’s June. If you’re a junior high teacher in Canada, this means you’re running both a marathon and a sprint, desperate to make it to the finish line before you collapse. Factor in six-year-old twins in your “off” hours and, well, it ain’t pretty. Looking back at the past week, I can see a number […]
Ode to Turning 6
Yesterday, Thing One and Thing Two turned 6. It’s hard to believe it’s been half a dozen years since those two slime balls were pulled from my womb in a Bangkok hospital. It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since I called the night nurse at 4 a.m. and said, “Can you take them […]
The Mom Gene of Being Able to Find Things
I’m not sure if I was absent-minded when I was pregnant.I know I dropped a lot of things, my fat fingers refusing to grip anything breakable. Clumsy? Yes. Forgetful? Not sure. But I do know that not long after my kids were born, I started to be able to find things. Yes, the moms-can-find-things gene […]
Tigger and Eeyore: My House of Pooh
Last weekend, we had Vivian and William’s birthday party at a karate club. So desperate was I to get it over with, I held it two weeks early. If you’re a regular reader, you likely already know how much I despise birthday parties. But I gave in and hosted an extravaganza at a karate centre […]
Soccer, Scoring, and Snacks
It’s Day 3 of me guest posting over at Canadian Family. I am giving away one subscription of Canadian Family each day (and you don’t have to be Canadian to win, enjoy, or understand the magazine). If you wish to enter, leave a comment below. Today’s post concerns five-year-olds, soccer, scoring, and snacks. Here’s an […]
Kids, Chewing, and Dogs
This week I’m guest posting every day at Canadian Family. And the lovely people there have given me one subscription of their magazine to give away each day. If you wish to win, comment below. Of course, it would be great if you read the post in its entirety and found your way back here, […]
5 Great Memories of Mother’s Day Tea
I have to admit that I’m usually a skeptic about organized events for children. Whether it’s a birthday party, a visit to Santa Claus, or a play date, I feel like a tourist plopped into a foreign country without a travel guide. I was equally skeptical about the Mother’s Day Tea that was organized at […]
Compassion in Children
I think what I want most for my children — beyond having their basic needs met — is for them to be compassionate. During the past two weeks, as I’ve started to recover from pneumonia, I’ve witnessed a truckload of compassion from my five-year-old twins. It makes my heart sing. Each of my kids has […]
Bowling with Children: A Spring Break(down) Tradition
Bowling seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn’t have high expectations. I simply hoped for a better result than last Spring Break, when Vivian melted down because her name was listed last on the monitor; when my husband finished in fourth place, behind me and two kids who still peed in their […]