Note to self: stop trying to take your family to Saturday evening Mass. Item 1: you’re trying to take children to church during the Witching Hour. And when you have spent 4 hours in the car and done two presentations, you are going to have trouble summoning the energy to deal with it. Item 2:…
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Pinewood Derby Day
Today is about (insert epic announcer voice) The Thrill Of Victory and the Agony of Defeat…. …or something like that. My oldest is a bright, thoughtful kid. Empathetic and sensitive and introverted, and in short, a continual source of pride to me. Not perfect, but a continual source of pride nonetheless. “He wants to get his…
Read MoreWhy You Should Never Play “Nurse” With A Child Who Wields A Light Saber
On the tail end of a three-way after-school light saber duel, Nicholas runs up to me. “Mommy, will you play a game with me?” Stifle a groan. “What kind of game?” “I’ll be the nurse, and you come tell me what’s wrong and I’ll fix it.” “Okay.” “My office is up here.” “Okay.” He climbs…
Read More(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: When You Give A Boy A Brush…
Okay, we didn’t give it to him. He found the brush that came with Tinker Bell, and after dinner the other night he decided he just had to do this… (I knew there was a reason I don’t comb my hair. You can see where he’s been combing because it’s already turned to frizz.)
Read MoreSweet Snippets, illustrated with random cute pictures
-1- Julianna is sitting on the couch with the Night Before Christmas book her grandparents Basi recorded for the kids. “Hey Bruvvers! BRUVVERS!” she hollers. “Come! Here!” Deep in Lego Land (AKA the back bedroom), the boys don’t acknowledge her. But Julianna is not to be deterred. She clomps up the stairs, never thinking how…
Read MoreUpdates On the Kids In 7 Quick Takes
#1: Alex Unusually for Alex, he’s been bringing homework home this week. They have these four-page readers on different subjects related to the state of Missouri. This week’s was on the river system. Alex worked a while and then tapped his pencil on the map on the page, asking, “How do we have room for…
Read MoreMedical Drama and Other QTs
-1- It has been a week of medical drama. Julianna has had a cold for two weeks, which didn’t really process until her cough got worse Monday night. I don’t worry about her health very often anymore, but for some reason this time I worried. I took her to the doctor to make sure she…
Read MoreRandom Unconnected Thoughts For A Wednesday
1. If I ever write a memoir, I think I will call it Snuggles With Batman. 2. I have been running around town this week in the incessant rain-drizzle-downpour-deluge-drip with Michael wearing his Batman jacket. It’s supposed to be a 3T but, well, you can see how it fits. He calls the hood his “helmet.”…
Read MoreRecital Day: A V-log (sort of)
(Text, more or less): It has been about ten years since I gave a recital. When I gave recitals in college and grad school, I: Practiced three to four hours a day Had my own dedicated practice room, with no internet connection Practiced first thing in the morning before class. Practiced after class until ensemble…
Read MoreMe, My Kid, And Risk Aversion
There was an article in the Washington Post last week about middle schoolers and risk taking. Essentially, it said: in order for children to morph into adults, they have to take risks–defined as anything that takes them outside their comfort zone: crazy hair, weird clothes, a new activity–or scarier alternatives like drugs, sex and…
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Kathleen M. Basi 