To say our first exchange student had a few food allergies is to say the Titanic had a glacier problem. Wheat, rye, oats, soy, nuts or chocolate gave her a terrible stomach ache. Citrus, kiwis, plums, apricots, raw apples, carrots, potatoes and onions weren’t as big a problem, but were also allergens. Fish would put […]
That time we were stranded in Nowhere
“I think we have a flat,” I say, noticing a change in the tone of wheels on pavement. It’s mid summer, but Mike has flipped off the AC for more power. We have the windows down for the drive up White Bird Hill. “Yup, hang on,” he says. We pull over. I’ve never changed a […]
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Guest Post: Simple Ways to Stay Fit This Spring
Note from Beth: This weeks’ FIT FAMILY post is a guest contribution from the perspective of a mom of younger kids. Emma is a wife and mother of two, who lacks the time for a serious diet or exercise plan. She is always looking for simple ways to stay fit and healthy. As a mother of […]
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Of iPad screens and dancing queens
On Saturday, Mike and I came home after the kids had gone to bed. We found my iPad on the kitchen table, its screen shattered. There was a note: “We’ll disguss (sic) this in the morning. I would recommend you not touch it. – Jack” Hmm. We would indeed ‘disguss’ this in the morning.
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If I go missing one day, someone talk to the dog
The whole weekend was a blast except for the part where the dog tried to kill me. The fact that she may have it in for me didn’t occur to me until much later. At the time, her little dodge seemed an ill-timed but otherwise routine attempt at a squirrel. This time, however, we were […]
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Somebody’s about to get punched in the head
Over the course of the past four or five years or so, we’ve had regular stints as exchange student host-parents. It’s different from being a regular parent. There’s not as much yelling. I’m finding, however, that my sense of motherly righteous indignation can get just as revved up on behalf of someone else’s kid as […]
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Stay away from things with teeth, and other advice for trail runners
Were I not working with Jack on his first half marathon, I’d currently be on a very different training schedule. The Race to Robie Creek is five weeks away, and my long runs should be in the ten-mile range right now. Jack is up to six and a half miles, adding another half every weekend, […]
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Aging like a mother
Last week at the dinner table, our eleven year-old referred to his dad and me as ‘middle aged,’ which brought me up short. “We are seriously NOT middle aged.” I said, working up a huff. This isn’t the eighties and I am not Bonnie Franklin (who was, incidentally, younger on One Day at a Time than I […]
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Things could be worse. There could be assassins.
Jack, who will be 15 in May, wants a summer job. He tells me that if he can get something full time at an $8 hourly rate, he’ll save up enough for a new computer and a PS4. I don’t know where all this stuff will go, since the family room (man cave) is pretty […]
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Slow Sunday Six
Jack lay prone on the floor. Every drawer in his dresser was open. “I can’t find any shorts,” he said. I closed a few drawers and dug through the bottom one, finding his gym shorts from the seventh grade. I had brought up a pair of my own running shorts as a suggestion. That didn’t […]
