Family News

We started Annie with the kids while I was folding clothes last week.
I turned it off after the “We Got Annie!” song, because I was growing more and more convinced now isn’t the right age for that movie.   But it was a terrific up-beat ending for their introduction to the movie, and the girls [...]

Ever since introducing the concept of homonym to my 3- and 4-year-olds last year, discovering new examples has been a source of delight for them.
Knowing a bit more now about the difference between homonym and homophone I’ve considered introducing the new word… but haven’t yet.
Natasha has been experimenting with the idea of heartsick (very sad) [...]

I went and auditioned last night for a play I know next to nothing about.
It felt a bit like an ethical quandary, truly:
Is showing up like an eBay bid, where if you “win” (are selected) you are bound to follow through and roll with whatever’s given you?
I resist being bound, but understand the thinking that [...]

Melody: I was playing with the cat!
Me: Was he enjoying it as much as you?
Melody [slowly]: NnnooooYeah!

I have this game I bought a couple years ago to use for the storytelling class I was developing at the time.
Looking for something new to do with the girls (I’m experimenting with letting Melody skip naps) I pulled it out and tried on the fly to see if I could adapt it to their [...]

Two weeks ago, now, Jay and I droe to Anchorage and back, leaving Friday afternoon and returning Saturday night.

The next weekend the Renaissance Faire got rained-out, but the girls still got to wear their costumes:

On Saturday to Papa and Grandma’s, and Sunday to church.  Yes, Melody wore a shirt under that vest.
I find I didn’t [...]

I am working on a short fairy tale to submit for publication (sort of a breather from the novel, you might say).
Naturally the language is how I would tell it.
So I’ve begun to go through it with my “Children’s Writer’s Word Book” checking the words I guess to be more challenging than the others.
I was [...]

A few nights ago Melody was using the potty after bedtime, so all the big lights were out.
Responding to her call for assistance I could see well enough that I didn’t turn on any new lights.
Melody reached out and took my hand, feeling it like clay in the dark, trying to recognize it. Finally [...]

Natasha [whispered to me]: Daddy’s being a good daddy: he’s changing the sheets.
~
She’s been playing one of Jay’s Everquest characters this morning, too, and I heard her run to Jay and shout, delighted, “I collected a striped blue butterfly!”  Which is doubly adorable because she only knows that because of the print that came up [...]

Isn’t this sad?
The girls didn’t even know what cauliflower is.  Shopping yesterday I bought some, and the girls’ reactions were great.
“What’s that?” (distrustful) “What do you do with it?”
I explained it by saying you can do anything with it you do with broccoli. One of the girls gushed, “You can make soup with it!”
So that’s [...]