Picturepocket's Blog

Category: parenting

  • Life with Dog

    This last Thanksgiving we got a dog. It’s my first one and it would have been a bigger deal before kids. Now, it’s like we’ve acquired an aggressive toddler. People often say having a dog prepares you for kids. Perhaps. It totally works the other way too. Anyway, it’s a third thing I have to…

  • PSA

    Yesterday, I was in a massive line at the Dollar Tree with my kids and an older, single woman behind me decided this would be a awesome time to engage me about her memories, thoughts and opinions of child rearing. As a current, active mom, this is not the time. Seeing me in public, with…

  • Boy Mama Drama

    With Ivy in her third year of preschool and me not teaching this semester, I have a little more time to hang out with some of the other moms and kids. We’ve had a couple play dates and some informal meet ups at parks. Ivy has enjoyed hanging out with the boys from her preschool…

  • The Kid Zone

    This year, Tim and I took our children with us on our anniversary trip to Washington state. It’s a similar one that we took by ourselves three years ago. Obviously we modified it to suit their interests, less bookstores and more donut shops. Having kids in general is an adventure all by itself. There are…

  • Cubits & Curiosity

    I was thinking about my Dad recently and his impact in the world. While he never built anything large, nor entertained a wide audience, after his death, for years, I would run into people whose lives he had crossed and created a meaningful connection. One of his talents was listening, not necessarily for relational purpose,…

  • Lip Service

    This last weekend, we traveled to Eugene to see my mom and my daughters packed their own bags. My husband quizzed them before we got into the car about what they had packed. He said, “Did you bring extra clothes?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “Did you bring pajamas? They said, “Yes.” He said, “Did…

  • Work It

    One of the aspects of being a stay-at-home parent that sticks out to me is the physicality of it all. Maybe it is my personality, but I always preferred intellectual over physical pursuits. During recess in school, I was much more interested in reading a book than running for my life in dodgeball. My first…

  • The Checkup

    When I was an adolescent, I was nervous about going to the doctor, but my middle school required a trip to the clinic before participation in after-school sports. Everything was going fine, but apparently, I winced while the doctor was prodding my abdomen. When asked asked if it hurt when I peed, I lied, “No.”…

  • Deliver Me

    One of good things things that happened during the pandemic was the reinvention of grocery delivery. I used to hear about the existence of milkmen in the 1950s and had wished that we had that service today. Now, every week, I get groceries dumped at my front door for the about same price as gas…

  • Cleaning Day

    Well, the owners of the second house of interest have now accepted our offer to buy it. “Yes, we will take all your income for the next thirty years.” Again, we’re doing a contingency offer since the Mega Millions thing fell through last week. This time it’s a “bumpable buying” situation, meaning until we have…