Happiness at the Misfortune of Others
DEF schadenfreude SHOD-n-froy-duh, noun: a malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.My kids love a book called "No, David". It is the first choice for reading of both my toddler and preschooler. I first saw this book in a bookstore, and thought that the depictions of this rascly little boy and the trouble he gets in to portrayed a negative message to kids. On every page, David is doing something naughty and being chastised by his mother. I thought, what a negative book, and . . .
Speaking of Mutual Enjoyment
This is Mark's idea of doing something he loves with Jafta:Now if only he can get India on board. No pun intended. . . .
Mutual Enjoyment
I'm always looking for activities to do with the kids that are actually enjoyable for me too. Not that I don't love pretending to be an alligator all day long (what adult wouldn't), but sometimes I just want to do something that I enjoy too. Something that makes me feel like a part of the day was by my own choice. But it's hard work figuring out ways to eek out "me time" with two kids in tow. And since they don't enjoy art museums or avant-guard theatre quite yet, I'm left with . . . walking. . . .
The Softer Side of Sears
We just had another round of family photos at Sears. I always promise myself I won't go back to a mall-type studio, because I have had so many experiences of teenage photographers wasting my time and taking bad shots of the kids while they have a complete and total meltdown. Those studios are tough because they don't shoot rapidly enough to catch the kids in action, and then the space is so small that the kids are always running out of the camera range.And yet there I was two weeks ago, in the . . .
Parenting with Fear
I was recently reading the blog of another woman adopting from Haiti, and she was describing what it was like to find out she could not adopt a child she was caring for. She described that experience in a painful, honest way that gave me a serious gut check:When we had Sophia with us in May and June, an interesting thing happened.Once we learned that she would not ever be available for adoption it became harder to take care of her. Shallow? Unloving? Immature? Maybe, probably, yes - to all . . .
Living in the Moment
Being present in my daily life is a constant challenge for me. I tend to spend my time fretting about the future or grieving certain events in the past. But right now, I am having one of those beautiful seasons where I am just enjoying my family right where they are, who they are, today. Jafta's adoption is moving forward, and it's less of a concern. His developmental stuff is on-track and there is no more concern over any delays. He is talking up a storm and I love his emerging personality. . . .
Motherhood and Loss
I've just had another miscarriage. This is number 5 or 6 . . . hard to keep track. It followed the usual course: late period, positive test, but low hormone levels, followed by a quiet week of me getting my hopes up, and then bleeding, cramping, confirmation, and tears.This is my first miscarriage since adopting Jafta. I was able to carry India to term (this latest miscarriage is just another reminder of what a miracle that was). I am still devastated, but I am finding the experience very . . .
Spiderman gets a boost
Jafta has wanted a spiderman costume since he saw his friend Nate wear one on Halloween. We searched high and low, but just couldn't find one, so we settled on spiderman pajamas. We tried to convince him that it was a costume, but he wasn't buying it. He kept asking about the mask. Yesterday, he found a solution from my bottom drawer . He calls it "spiderman eyes". Um . . . the kid's creative! . . .
Modern Art and Tandem Puking
I had the most mortifying parent experience tonight. My friend, who is an amazing artist, was having a show at a local gallery. The gallery had an opening reception for the artists, and we decided to drop in and take the kids. I was thinking we would just make a quick appearance and leave. My kids are usually pretty good with stuff like that, and I want to expose them to culture, yada yada yada.So we head into the gallery and all is good. I've got India in a "mei tai" carrier and Jafta is being . . .
Stay-At-Home-Mom?
I don't know how much staying-at-the-house we actually do. We definitely leave the house every single day. I would go stir crazy but also Jafta BEGS to leave the house. If I try staying home in the mornings, he starts negotiating:"mommy, can we go swimming?" "NO, we're staying home today" "AHHHH! mommy, can we go to Nate's house!?" "NO, Jafta, we're just staying home today" "mommy, can we go to the park?"then he starts in on anything he think will work just to leave the house"mommy, we have to . . .
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