I do not, for the record, consider myself a helicopter parent. I keep close tabs on my kids, sure. I like to think of myself as attentive, involved, and caring. But I don’t particularly hover, and I don’t freak out when my kids aren’t within immediate eyesight or earsight. I’ve gone away on overnight trips, [...]
OK, so even though Kellen won’t technically be eleven until tomorrow, I thought I would share the following conversation with you as proof that he’s wise beyond his years and certainly the early-admissions department at Harvard will be calling any day now … Kristie: “OK, so you’ve got to make a paper doll and dress [...]
I mentioned a few weeks (months?) ago that at one point in our past, Kellen was almost diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. I’m not sure I mentioned it at the time it was happening ….. I’ve slept since then and am not sure of a lot of things. Like why I thought those Sally-Jesse-Raphael red-rimmed glasses [...]
Last night I was reviewing some of Kellen’s homework. He had written a sentence for Language Arts, and although it’s certainly not my policy to technically *DO* my kids’ homework for them, I do look over their work and make any simple suggestions that I think they might have overlooked in error. He and I [...]
I am a horrible, mean, evil mother, because I make my kids do academic worksheets in the summer. Every morning, before we leave the house to do anything fun like swimming or the movies, they have to complete about five worksheets apiece, from various workbooks that I buy over the Internet. I buy grade appropriate [...]
Kellen: “Mom, can I move my bedroom downstairs?” Kristie: “No, why would you want to do that? I thought you liked having an upstairs bedroom.” Kellen: “Well, I thought having stairs in our house would be cool. But it’s not. It’s too much work. First you go upstairs and realize you left something downstairs. Then [...]
There reaches a time in every parent’s life when you realize your children have outgrown some of the traditions and beliefs of their youth. The Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa — they all bite the dust at some point. Somehow, some way, my kids still believe. I didn’t *think* they did, because their oldest [...]
So, Kellen came running in the living room tonight, animated, bursting to tell us about something … something obviously very “cool”, something obviously worth sharing — Kellen: Mom, Dad, listen to this, listen to how cool this is! {eyes glittery, big smiling face, clearly very excited} Kristie: Ok, what? Kellen: I just went in your [...]
In keeping with our theme of “Kellen and his Bodily Functions”, I give you a glimpse into my life from yesterday afternoon, which explains why rock stars and celebrities and game show hosts weep in jealousy for the glamour that is my life: I was on the phone with a friend when I heard Kellen [...]