outsidevoice

Dear Swimmy, Today you are six. This is the first birthday of yours that has made me realize you are no longer a baby or a toddler. You are a little girl. And oh my G-d how that wrecks me sometimes. This year you stepped confidently into Kindergarten. Striding through those school doors like you [...]

“Mommy, Benjamin is tearing up my life. He’s not sharing!” “That’s because he’s eight months old and doesn’t understand sharing. He just knows you are the coolest thing ever in his little life and wants to be just like you. You’ll have to cut him some slack.” “Okay, but he still needs to learn how [...]

Lacking the time to take The Swimmy and Benjamite to get a Valentine’s picture taken, I thought I’d try to get some cute pics at home. You can see where this ended up. But there are some cute ones.

My father in law is magical. At least that’s what The Swimmy believes. You see, each Saturday we meet my father in law at a local family grill. You know…burgers, salads, and games to occupy the kids so the adults can eat. One Saturday, my father in law did something astounding to a five and [...]

Tonight The Swimmy will get consecrated at our synagogue. She will put on a pretty dress with a twirly skirt (the only really important characteristic to fashion in her mind), she will go up on the pulpit with 50 other five-year olds, recite some very important blessings and get her own little tiny Torah to [...]

Well, SnakeWatch 2006 continues. But! Before we were completely freaked out by Snakes On The Porch, we had a very big couple of days around here. First, the Mighty Mighty Benjamite got blessed and his Hebrew name this weekend. It was a lovely ceremony filled with friends and family and Husband and I almost got [...]

The Swimmy is spending June and July at a summer day camp at the local Jewish Community Center. You know the drill…swimming, playing, arts and crafting, field tripping, etc. (Do they have adult camp? ‘Cause all that is sounding really good right now.) We got our first “progress report” from her counselor today. And I [...]

While walking through the hotel lobby, notice a man who is, uh, balding and state (at full Swimmy volume), “Mommy! That man doesn’t have enough hair!”

Or… Random Things Overheard the Past Several Days That Have Made Me Lose My Shit ********************************************************************** Thursday Morning at High Holy Days Children’s Services Rabbi about to blow the Shofar (ram’s horn): Hey, kids, I brought the big one this morning. ********************************************************************** Last Night with the Swimmy The Swimmy and I were going to make [...]

Constantly re-invent words. Your latest? The little calculator that comes built-in to a notepad your great grandmother gave you. Is not a calculator. It’s a REMOMETER [ree-MOM-eter]. You bet it is.