Category: Day-to-Day

  • All My Best Searching has FAILED!

    So I turn to you, oh internets, for tech support. How? HOW do I get WordPress to add my URL to the title when I leave a comment with the WordPress profile??? 6 *months* I’ve been trying to figure this out. I’m sure there’s a button, but I can’t find it. I can’t even figure…

  • My Embarassing Inventory

    Ooooh! Shiny new fridge. Restocking shiny new fridge involves pulling out the contents of the old fridge. I discover: 3 jars of pesto 2 jars each of black olive tapenade capers pear chutney baby dills black sesame seeds umeboshi plums mincemeat, one of which I just opened last night. 5 containers of olives, 3 of…

  • The Importance of Being Less Earnest

    Welcome to the January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Learning from children This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared the many lessons their children have taught them. Please read to the end to find a list…

  • Breast Feeding, Formula and Risk Analysis

    The choice between formula and starvation is a no-brainer. I had an inadequate milk supply. I did. Yes, I tried that. I tried that, too. With my first baby, I saw, oh… something like 17 doctors, lactation consultants, and midwives, including Dr. Jack Newman (the guru of Canadian breastfeeding). There were herbs, and pumps, and…

  • Better Music for the Kids!

    I am not getting paid for this, I just like fellow musical parents to have some better options. Let’s be honest here. Most music sold to children sucks. I have begged and pleaded with my parents not to purchase “music” that doesn’t have an actual performer, or claims a corporation as its writer. (Yes, I’m…

  • Here’s the Payoff

    Last night I was taking my 7-y.o. daughter to her first Taekwondo class, and my 11-y.o son asked to come along for the ride. In the car on the way the conversation turned to why she wanted to take it in the first place. “Well,” she said, “Christopher likes it. And I like a lot…

  • The Chicken Rodeo

    The chickens got out about 15 minutes ago, as they do every few days. When one has livestock AND a garden, this is an urgent situation. Last fall they skeletonized two rows of chard the week that they were ready for the market. So, I dashed out the door and met my son, sticks in…

  • The Dance of Balance

    Welcome to the October Carnival of Natural Parenting: Staying Centered, Finding Balance This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared how they stay centered and find balance. Please read to the end to find a list…

  • My Feminism Includes Foucault

    Or, Why My Blog Will Never Make Money My story may be so common as to be trite. There’s nothing special about “Intelligent young woman scuppers academic career to support husband and children”. Oh, what the hey, let’s throw a “promising” in there for good measure. You can choose where. I like to think of…

  • Birthdays are a-comin’ in

    Loud sing cuckoo? Eleven years ago this evening, I was hanging out in a hospital room waiting for this labour thing to get going already. It did, I became a mom as a result, and tomorrow we get to celebrate my son’s continued trip around the planet. All awesome. But for me, a birthday is…

  • Frugal by Habit

    I got a really sweet love seat from Freecycle the other day, so I now have a nice looking sunroom for the bargain price of… oh, $6 of gas to run to town for the couch. Everything else was already in the room, but this was the key piece of furniture necessary to ‘anchor’ the…

  • Well, That Blows

    Today’s post: a little more with the practical, a little less with the dilettante. Yesterday morning was entirely consumed with attempting to rescue the greenhouse from the dying throes of winter. Despite nigh-Herculean efforts, we were not successful. However, I think we kept our cool throughout most of the situation, and I was able to…