Children love talismans. Stuffed animals, security blankets, good luck charms. One of the sweetest things Camille does is leave little tokens under our pillows from time to time. We’ll be getting ready for bed, and find a polished stone, an artificial rose bud, a piece of her jewelry.
Since I’ve been sick, they’ve both been especially [...]
Ramblin’ Prose
Abby-tudes —
Category Archives: Abby-tudes
The tomb of Queen Susankamen
Theaters are sometimes just theaters
Abby came home with a little homework to get ready for a trip to Washington, D.C., next year. But she’d forgotten the place she had to look up on the Internet.
“It has something to do with the movies,” she said.
She was working with another student and wanted to call her. I said it was okay. [...]
Oh, snap
Tonight just before dinner, Susan was sitting on the floor with Pippin. I was cooking. Abby and Camille were at the table.
Camille was prattling on about nothing in particular, but was being somewhat annoying.
I said to no one in particular: “Where did we go wrong?”
Abby, hitting the nail on the head: “By having a second [...]
Take it to heart
I started to write about this earlier, but it’s been really, really busy at home and at work. Even during spring break we were scramblin’.
But while the kids and I were walking Pip the other day after several days of rain, I had one of those “Aha!” moments in my understanding of Abby.
We were walking [...]
It ain’t easy being a guy
I should qualify the title. It ain’t easy being a guy in a house full of women.
Abby, our soon to be 10-year-old, told me after showering that she was scared about her impending womanhood. I think I’m somewhat enlightened and I’m very open to talking to her about it. I asked her if she was [...]
What makes a leader?
Inspired by this from the next generation, I asked the girls who was running for president. They didn’t know. Once I told them the four who were in the running (McCain, Huckabee, Clinton, Obama) and explained the historical significance of the latter two, I posed the question: What makes a leader?
Greatness. Helpfulness. Kindness.
They say they [...]
Policing the dog
Pippin is a different dog when he takes a walk with the girls. He’s actually excited. When it’s just me or just Susan and especially at night, it’s nearly impossible to get him to go more than a few houses down the block. But get the girls involved, and he’s chompin’ at the bit to [...]
Abby’s chest pains
The last time a teacher called me on my cell phone during a school day, Abby had forgotten her EpiPen. On Friday, I got a call that she was having chest pains. The voicemail her teacher left (she was substituting for the day and has a child in Abby’s class with food allergies) left a [...]
Too good to save
I thought about holding on to this for Pic of the Week next week, but what the heck. It’s too good to wait.
Stinky poo
It’s working out that the girls are taking to Pippin in their own way. They both like to pick him up kind of like a baby (I wouldn’t let them hold a baby the way they pick him up). They generally keep up with him. They do love him.
Camille tends to be the watchdog, so [...]
Pip, Pip, hooray!
Two days of perfect crate behavior from the little guy. Of course, we’ve been coming home roughly every 2 to 3 hours to let him go pee and poo.
My favorite quotes from the kids so far:
Abby: “Mommy, I think Pippin was meant to be a part of our family.”
Camille: “Mommy, do you love [...]
Also, time to have that talk
Abby came into the kitchen later in the afternoon, and said, “Mommy, I saw a little pink thing come out of his pee when we were playing.”
“Yep, he’s a boy dog. He has a penis. It’s what they do.”
“Does that mean he wants to marry me?”
“Uh, something like that.”
“Mommy, it’s freaking me out.”
