Our Impossible Adoption Story
If you're looking for the unbelievable account of how "impossible" became "done" in 5 business days, start here.
Slow. Down.
It is the beginning of the end of a busy Monday.
I still have lots to do. Lots to write and design and Photoshop.
Meatball is getting cranky, because it’s about time for his pre-bedtime nap. He usually sleeps from about 8 to 10 PM, wakes up for a fresh diaper and a snack, and reminds us that it’s bedtime. Sometimes 8:30. Occasionally he puts it off until 9.
We diaper. We read a book. We rock. He sleeps. Successfully transferred to the crib, it is now Mommy time for a couple of hours.
Or twenty minutes.
We rock. He sleeps. He wakes up in the crib. I leave him in the crib until he becomes unhappy about it, but now we’re creeping past 9 PM. Mommy time is evaporating. We walk around the house closing blinds and testing faucets and inspecting ceiling fans, but my mind is racing – because it’s been racing most of the day – from one project to the next, from one To Do list to another. Read more…
April Through The iPhone
We’re a week into May already.
April couldn’t have started worse, really. And when it rains, it floods, apparently, because that’s all it seemed to do last month. I was looking forward to a thick bed of tulips at least, but something has decided – this year, for the first time – to nibble them down to stumps. Despite my efforts.
But there was also a cute baby, and excellent pizza, and salamanders with Husband, and time spent with family. There were “play dates” that were really coffee dates for mommies, and asparagus wrapped in bacon – so April wasn’t all bad.
Still, I’m not sad to see it go. Here’s to better things in May.
If you could sum up your April in one word, what would it be?
Good Reads
Five Ways To Teach Your Kids About Sexual Development {The Gospel Coalition}
If your son or daughter does not want to kiss or hug you or someone else do not force the exchange. Instead teach them to say, “No thank you.” They can give a high five or wave hello or goodbye. Encourage your children to seek help when something feels uncomfortable for them. It may take awhile for extended family members to catch on to this new trend in relating, so you as your child’s advocate will need to explain what is allowed and not allowed.
New Zealand says no to bizarre baby names 4Real, Juztice and Lucifer {The Telegraph}
The list of 77 names reveals one child was set to be called “Anal” before the Department of Internal Affairs vetoed the proposal, while another narrowly avoided being dubbed “.” or full stop.
The 13 Creepiest Things A Child Has Ever Said To A Parent {BuzzFeed}
My three-year-old daughter stood next to her new-born brother and looked at him for a while, then turned and looked at me and said, “Daddy, it’s a monster … we should bury it.”
I’m not sure what it says about me that I laughed so hard at these.
The Parenting Myth That Drives Me Crazy {HuffPost}
And, fine, maybe we can find pockets of truth in these exaggerated stereotypes, but most childless people can find enough competent Dads and rational, hygienic Moms to give them hope. By now the caricatures are looking pretty transparent. Yet there’s one parenthood myth that’s continuing to masquerade as fact and it must be stopped. It’s found in TV scripts, advertising messages, and casual conversations among parents:
Finding Beauty
Photo credit: Code Poet
One third of 2013 is already gone, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little disappointed.
Fifty years from now, if someone offers me a bottle of wine from 2013, I will not tilt my head to one side as I survey the label and muse about, “That was a good year.”
I’ll probably send it back and ask for something else – anything else. Can I send back the last four months and ask for something else?
At my lowest point, I remember sitting in the minivan, in the parking lot at work, and having this epiphany that life – just “life,” in a big, general, existential sort of way – is painful and sad. Because even the happy times and the good memories become things that we hurt and cry over years later (or months or weeks later, if we’re the unlucky ones). Because everyone eventually leaves his body in a box while loved ones sort through aging photos and pretend like they’re cheering each other with old stories.
But once upon a time the emo kids eventually became scene kids, because even kids with too much eye liner know that’s no way to live.
I’m not saying I don’t think it’s true, but it’s certainly no way to live.
So now, I feel like I’m on a mission to rediscover beauty in this battered, broken world. Read more…
Smartphones Are Ruining Us
If we hang out on Instagram you may have already seen this, buuut …
I’m working on a project with the comics that I’m really excited about. More on that in the next couple weeks!
Spits and Wiggles 