Archive

August 20, 2008

  • No pain ...
    I have a high pain tolerance — too high, it would seem. I say this because I ran 11 miles in crazy winds and horizontal, pelting rain last week…

August 5, 2008

  • Herby’s wild night
    Our 12-year-old greyhound, Herby, is having a difficult year. Sometimes Ted and I get so caught up in the kids’ routine, we forget the…

July 22, 2008

  • Peaceful, easy feelings
    It was a few mornings ago when Deb and I were getting ready to go to work, packing lunches, finding clothes for the girls to wear — the usual…

July 15, 2008

July 8, 2008

  • The truth from the kid
    Kids say the darndest things ... darn them. In recent months, as various friends have celebrated birthdays, my children have been surprised on…

July 1, 2008

  • Guest stress
    It’s July, which means it’s crunch time. The guests are coming — weekend after weekend until August. I should have realized summer…

June 25, 2008

  • Library activities in Westbrook
    Now that the kids are out of school, you’ve got to find ways to entertain them. Sure, you can go with the old tried and true method of simply…
  • The cartoon watch
    When you boil it right down, one of our most important roles as a parent is civilizing and indoctrinating the children we raise. Our job really is to…

June 17, 2008

  • Adventures with PhenomeMom: June 26
    Some of my fondest memories growing up are of family camping. We didn’t go anywhere special. Hell, there wasn’t even a lake or an ocean…

June 10, 2008

  • Panic at the grocery store
    I shouldn’t be allowed to shop when I’m hungry. Not only does it make me twice as likely to snarl at checkout lines that move at the…

June 3, 2008

  • Survival of the fittest
    The past six months have been the hardest of my parenting life. Conjunctivitis, asthma, flu, colds and viruses have taken a toll on my family. Lauren…

May 28, 2008

  • Birthing bonus
    “If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.’’ — John H. Kennell, MD Birth is transformational. Not only…

May 21, 2008

  • Manly pressures
    I attended the Boys to Men conference last week. Boys to Men is a Portland-based nonprofit that “supports the healthy development of adolescent…

May 14, 2008

  • Adventures with PhenomeMom, May 15
    At first I didn’t believe anyone was really going to get a $600 check from the government. As I write this, I have yet to receive these…

May 7, 2008

  • The ‘N’ word
    Never say “never.” You know why (aside from the fact that it’s a paradoxical statement)? Because the moment the word leaves…

April 30, 2008

  • Lauren turns 2
    When I was a kid, there were moments when my father would stare at my sisters and I from across the table with a look of amazement on his face…

April 23, 2008

  • Pretty in blaze orange?
    Before the girls were born I was determined to try and minimize the amount of gender stereotyping they were exposed to. Silly me. I wanted them to…

April 16, 2008

April 9, 2008

  • I am woman
    I first realized I had a hard time doing two things at once when, at age 15, I attempted to both sustain an alluring gaze at a cute boy AND eat a…

April 2, 2008

  • The Great Escape
    Around this time of year, before winter melts into mud season, I’m consumed with thoughts of (temporarily) escaping New England. My daydreaming…

March 26, 2008

  • Birth & war
    Eva and Anya were born on March 19, 2003. Deb had been checked into Maine Med for a few days. The doctors wanted to be ready, but each day we waited…

March 19, 2008

  • Adventures with PhenomeMom, March 20
    My family watches a lot of movies. We can’t afford to travel, so watching movies together is like going to another world. We watch so many that…

March 12, 2008

  • Me time
    Life is about balance, and in order to achieve balance one must compromise — particularly if one has a family. Case in point: my morning…

March 5, 2008

  • To watch or ...
    Television is taking over at my house. On any given day, the kids and I will tune in to “Clifford,” “Curious George” or…

February 27, 2008

  • Maine families in need
    Being a parent has made me recognize myself in other people. It has allowed me to see a similarity of experience and new connection to people. When I…

February 20, 2008

  • Adventures with PhenomeMom, Feb. 21
    For several years I’ve been wanting to teach Winter altruism through volunteering. I’ve considered taking her to a soup kitchen to work…

February 13, 2008

  • Shower the people ...
    Sometimes I have to remind myself that I like people. Oh, I know. It’s that time of year: Love is in the air, strawberries are in chocolate…

February 6, 2008

  • Only the lonely
    It’s lonely to be a New York Giants fan in Maine. At this writing, the big game is a few days away and I’m living in a house divided. My…

January 30, 2008

  • Alternative learning
    Sometimes when people discover that I homeschool my children, they give me “the look.” If you’re a homeschooler — or a…

January 23, 2008

  • Adrift with books
    Each night when I check on the girls before I turn in for the night, I have to wade through an ankle-deep sea of books to reach my sleeping sweeties…

January 17, 2008

January 10, 2008

  • Plow Watch
    I want to start a new kind of neighborhood watch this winter — one that has nothing to do with crime, but everything to do with justice…

January 4, 2008

  • Anything but boring
    A friend of mine recently was discussing her new playgroup, commenting that the moms were far from the norm. These 40-something women — all…

December 26, 2007

  • A night at the museum ...
    As the father of 4-year-old twin girls – Anya and Eva – everyone always asks how I tell them apart. When they were tiny babies, I never…

December 20, 2007