Saturday, mom woke me up by calling at some ungodly hour to ask if we were ready to hit the road. “Nope,” I said, maybe piling on the sleepy voice a little thick, “still in bed.” “Oh, I thought you were going to hit the road early.” Actually that was the plan the night […]
A Mediocre Mom’s Cookie-Making Method
First, soften a cup of butter. Because somebody said on a cooking show once that using melted butter instead of softened butter makes for harder cookies, avoid melting the butter in the microwave. Instead put two sticks of butter in a large bowl and set aside until it’s softened. This step should only take a […]
Just one of those moments I’d rather not forget …
Jack asked Colin tonight who’d be on his Zombie survival team. After careful thought, Colin said his team would consist of: Jack Markley, who is good with weapons. Uncle Len Markley, who is good with cars. Bear Grylls, who is good with … well, it’s Bear Grylls. He’s kind of just good with everything, and […]
Zombie wannabees and how I missed seeing Brad Pitt
Spoiler Alert: or maybe not … This blog entry will deal in a roundabout way with the movie World War Z, and with what at least might be one or more significant plot points as interpreted by a 14 year-old. So, if that kind of thing cheeses you off, like it does my husband, and […]
Some things shouldn’t require explanation
There are moments when I think Colin exhibits what I want to believe is latent cleverness beyond what he could have inherited from either of us. Other times I’m pretty sure his relentless questioning is actually a form of obsessive compulsivity that I’ve seen before (ahem, Mike). Since overt boasting about my kids isn’t really […]
Of Swearing, Shakespeare and Smackwagons
Last week, Colin suggested a family ban on cussing, including his own use of profanity. Although I appreciate his attention to the matter, our ten year-old is more disposed to biting than swearing. I suspect the focus of his ban is probably more on me cleaning up my act. I don’t have the same kind […]
King of the campsite
From time to time this weekend, I noticed the couple in the campsite across from us. They would get up early, go for a run, come back for breakfast, jump on their bikes, disappear again, come back late for dinner. They were fabulously unencumbered by kids and pets and all their accouterments, ready to flee […]
What I’m doing when I should be working
So, it’s a hundred and freakin’ who knows how many degrees outside, and inside we’re starting to make each other crazy. I think part of the problem is my kids only unplug from the matrix long enough to make demands, eat all our food, or yell at each other. The other part of the problem […]
Take THAT Randy Newman
We came home last weekend on one of those overfull flights in a teeny airplane that underscore how someone missed the memo about the hoards more people commuting between Boise and Seattle than can be comfortably accommodated. We stopped downtown on our way home for a late lunch. The place was new, and trendy, with […]
When Yogi just isn’t worth the hassle
I have an embarrassing parental oversight to cop to. We’ve never taken our kids to Yellowstone. All the traveling we’ve done and one of our most cherished national icons has never even been a consideration. Technically it’s not my fault we’ve never considered this possibility. Although I was born in Boise, we lived in north […]