A to-do list I found on M’s floor today. I detect a nascent world domination plan here, which I suppose was inevitable given her genetic material. I’m intrigued by the
Category: Kid stuff
Latest in plush: statistical distributions
Having pretty much exhausted biological subjects (roadkill, organs, diseases), makers of fine plush lovies have moved into statistical distributions. You can buy a full set of ten, or individual distributions
Quilts
A few weeks ago I finally finished M’s quilt: It’s roughly twin-sized – 55″ by 75.5″. I’m quite happy with it, although the back (off-white lightweight polar fleece) isn’t perfect
In Which I Read Stuff: Kids’ Books
A while ago I was chatting with someone about books and bookstores and all that sort of thing and the question was asked: so, what do I read? I answered
It Gets Better
I’ve long had a lot of time for Dan Savage, low-bullshit un-shockable sex columnist and general sensible guy, but his latest project is really something I’d like everyone under the
School, v.2
80/365 Sept 7: First day of school Originally uploaded by morecoffeeplease. To our intense dismay — because we are both strong proponents of the public school system — for the
Better safe than sorry
Walking up the street today on the way home, M and I were passed by the ice-cream truck, which then stopped a hundred metres up the street by the park.
Twenty-seven things to do with trashed jeans
(OK, maybe only three. But it felt like twenty-seven since there was hand-sewing involved.) M is hard on pants. At this point in the year every single pair will have
Calling All Angels
A sad farewell to Addison, a very brave small boy who was born on my 30th birthday and who named his new immune system Steve. May there be no pain
Pierced ears!
50/365 March 19: Pierced ears! Originally uploaded by morecoffeeplease. M is very pleased with her newly-pierced ears. She chose studs with tiny pink pearls and tolerated the piercing with not
Women don’t breastfeed? Here’s a thought —
— maybe hospitals should be nicer to midwives. I gave birth at Women’s College Hospital, and of all places I fully expected them to support my midwives. But they were
The Annual Food Groups Collage
Starting in Senior Kindergarten, it seems to be traditional to send kids home with a badly-photocopied Canada Food Guide and some badly-photocopied grocery store sale flyers and assign a Food
Uhm.
Child: Guess what my favourite number is? D: Three. Me: Nine. Child: Nope, six hundred and sixty-six! Me: How come you like that number? Child: I dunno, I just do.
And yet M’s school insists I pick her up
Ah, how I love Lenore Skenazy. And STATS, who interviewed her. Perhaps the problem needed to be approached from a different angle, she thought. What if you actually wanted your
In which I fume about absurd school forms
I am facing the annual pile of forms from M’s school. I am immediately annoyed by the size of the pile. Welcome back! Let’s spend an hour filling out forms!
I have a geek child (yay)!
Shopping with M the other day: M: …and don’t forget we need some of the Mozilla cheese. Me: The which cheese? M: The Mozilla cheese. You know, for pizza. Me:
Desperately sad. Easily avoided.
I have to say something about this desperately sad story, in which two children, non-swimmers both, drowned and died along with their mother, also a non-swimmer, who had been supervising
Advice for idle parenting
The Idle Parent Children actually have an inbuilt self-protective sense that we destroy by over-cosseting. They become independent not so much by careful training but in part simply as a
M’s new bike
M’s new bike Originally uploaded by morecoffeeplease. She chose the red one over the white-and-pink one. I hold out hope that perhaps the pink phase might be nearing its end.
No training wheels
No training wheels Originally uploaded by morecoffeeplease. I took the training wheels off M’s bike on the weekend. A single three-minute riding attempt that same day produced much fussing and