A Much Needed Family Outing Part III

After watching three different star shows, our son was ready to move on to a different exhibit. Since we had gone to the science center several times without daddy (we took friends with us instead), our son had been talking about building rockets pretty regularly for the past several weeks. In the physics based exhibit, there were lots of hands on activities including building rockets and launching them in competition against another rocket builder or rather launcher… I mostly see parents and nannies building rockets while the kids launch them. To date, our son has yet to build his own … Continue reading →

The Sleeping Boy

It was time to prepare. There was church to attend, floors to clean, dishes to wash, frosting to make, napkins to fold, and all manner of mess to clear from the floors before guests arrived. There was no time for squandering time. Things had to be done. And so it was that our son was enlisted into the army of cleaners. There was no ceremony or badges (no time for any of that of course), but there was drill sergeant-like orders barked from all sides. “Move, Private!” “Does that look clean to you?” “What do you mean you can’t see … Continue reading →

A Much Needed Family Outing Part II

Once we were inside the Mars exhibit, we began to learn about the many different of what would be required to go to Mars. We learned about space toilets that have to work without gravity. We learned about the terrain of Mars and its many “dust storms.” We discovered that both of our children would be too light to be able to walk on Mars. We learned about how all the things required for a civilization to flourish on Mars would get to Mars. We learned about tight living quarters and dehydrated food. We learned more than we really wanted … Continue reading →

A Much Needed Family Outing

Family outings are few and far between in my family. Even though we try to do things together as a family more often, it always seems like there is something more important and dire that needs to be done instead. As our small family struggles to find the balance between job work, dissertation work, house work, and play, we are often too exhausted to make our much needed family outings happen. However, the opportunity for a family outing arose rather spontaneously and we jumped at the chance to get out of the house and do something fun with our children. … Continue reading →

The Big Hat Tree

There are a lot of things that never change. Human relationships are important; we are driven to strive for happiness (but confused by what it is and how to find it); power is corrupting. By their very definition, traditions are supposedly unchangeable. But traditions are one of the things that historically have changed, ever so slowly, over time. Whether through marriage, death, cultural shifts, or other necessities; traditions are generally less stable than we would like to admit. Recently, I had the opportunity to be part of a new Christmas tradition that is trying to take hold. My son recently … Continue reading →

First Thanksgiving Part II

On thanksgiving day, my daughter awoke from her nap to find herself in an unfamiliar house with lots of unfamiliar faces all around her. She was not a fan of this particular situation. Initially when anyone got too close to her she, she would start bawling and would find the fastest route back to me. Realizing that she was not going to put up with me being in a different room, I took up residence on the living room floor while she played with some toys and her cousin (she was fine with the other baby everyone else was terrifying). … Continue reading →

Babies: The Movie

A couple of years ago, a movie came out that was titled, “Babies”. It is a documentary about just that. Four babies during their first year of life in four very different parts of the world. Japan, Namibia, Mongolia, and San Francisco. When I heard about it, I remembered thinking I wanted to see it, but like everything else, it got put on hold because I just had a baby of my own last year. But, recently, we decided to make it a family event and watch it with all three of our babies. It was fascinating to see the … Continue reading →

First Thanksgiving Part I

Last year on thanksgiving I was thirty six weeks pregnant with my daughter. I remember going to our family get togethers and feeling quite self conscious of my enormous pregnant belly. My daughter missed out on last year’s thanksgiving by three weeks, but this year she most certainly made her presence known. She began her first thanksgiving giggling and playing on the bed waking me up from my slumber. She very decidedly let me know that she was done sleeping and wanted to go downstairs. Apparently she was really hungry because she ate twice as much egg yolk than she … Continue reading →

A Playdate for the Girls Part III

Lunch time was a the most hectic part of the girls’ play date. They all wanted to eat at once, which is no great surprise when three infants are involved. This whole situation was slightly stressed by the fact that we only have one high chair and a tableless bumbo. The most upset girl got the high chair. I gave her some bits of cheese and frozen organic cheese to tide her over while I made her peanut butter toast. My daughter seemed to be the least upset (and it is no wonder being in her own house) so I … Continue reading →

A Playdate for the Girls Part II

After the initial tumbling introductions, the girls begin to play… but not with each other. The girls were all clad in cute girly attire and new shoes. My sister’s daughter, who is the oldest at fourteen months, just got her first pair of sparkly tennis shoes two weeks prior to our playdate. By now she is a very accomplished walker even though she did not start to walk until after her first birthday. With her advanced walking skills she kind of assumed the role of queen bee. My husband’s sister-in-law’s daughter had also recently gotten a new pair of shoes … Continue reading →