Yes, last week I used the word “asshats”. One of my goals for this year is to try to swear less. It’s not going so well. And at the moment I tweeted this, I was very stressed out. You see, my son has a gorgeous, wide smile. And I would like to keep it that way. Boo had been suffering from a bad toothache the past 3 days – so bad that it had been keeping him up at night. When I asked him where it hurt, he pointed to the new “baby” molar that is coming in. Since he’s always had a difficult time with molars, we wrote it…

As a former client relations manager, I know that the concept to “smile when you are talking on the phone and you will sound happy” (even when you are angry/frustrated/annoyed) is an  excellent one. It really works. So is the idea that it is impossible to stay angry when you laugh. It is why I always try to make my children laugh when they are in a full on rage. (Note: This is not the same as laughing at them, which will ALWAYS make them even more enraged with you.) This is also why, as a stressed out 30-something in the hedge fund industry, my mommy bought me a “Tickle…

Today, Miss Pea was angry at me. For something. Like making her get dressed for school. Or trying to help. Or something. I forget. In a fit of rage, she threw down her skirt and yelled “I just can’t take it any more. I hate this life. I’m packing my bags and I’m running away!!!!” Trying VERY hard not to show a hint of a smile (because you know that just riles them up all the more) I asked where she would go and who she would stay with. I told her I’d miss her very much. She scowled, then said stonily: “Well, I’m coming back on Monday. Yeah. If…

This week’s “Project We” theme is “smile”.  My initial post has been rescheduled for a later date, the reasons for which will become obvious then (oooh, the suspense is killing you, I know). I’m working on something else in the meantime (which will be more lighthearted). Sam thought long and hard about the theme, and asked if he could write a poem instead of drawing a picture. This is his “Smiles Poem”: Not bad for a first grader, all on his own!!!  (Oh, yes, the spelling….the emphasis right now is to get them to write much and often. The spelling WILL come along, and they do work on spelling. He’s…

In her book “Watching the English”, Kate Fox has a chapter titled “Rules of Play”. It addresses such mundane things such as “reading rules”, or “Shopping rules”; it also includes a section on “Petiquette”. This section notes “The average Englishman will assiduously avoid social interaction with his fellow humans*….he will have no difficulty at all, however, in engaging in lively, amicable conversation with a dog. Even a strange dog, to whom he has not been introduced.” I thought, really, that this was all written to be a bit tongue in cheek. Until this weekend. Macy and I were out for a long walk, and we ventured into town. Passing numerous…

If you’re walking by my house and see a naked tree in the window, please don’t mock me. Yes, I realize it is January 8. This part is sad, messy, and not-surprisingly, not so much fun.  It’s as if, instead of putting on Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”, I should be listening to “Mad World” by Gary Jules or something equally depressing. Instead, I distracted myself by watching Sandra Bullock in  “All About Steve“, which was merely annoying instead. Anywho… I’m very nearly done. I did what I could tonight. Once THE TREE IS OUT OF THE WINDOW (hint hint) I can hoover up all those needles (for the next 7…

I’m sure there are times when my husband wonders what I do around the house all day. Some days, I do too. Oh, its not that I’m daydreaming. Or sitting on the couch blogging watching You Tube editing photos in Picnik eating bon-bons all day. No, I have a different problem. I am easily distracted. Like yesterday….. Tired of the clutter in my house that accumulated over the holidays, I set about trying to restore some order. Which eventually led me to my living room. Where my Christmas decorations and tree still stand. (Hangs head in shame.)  Taking on the tree was too overwhelming, so I decided to attack all…

Since I was brusquely woken up this morning by an agitated husband, whose car was stuck in the freshly fallen snow down the road, today’s blanks are ironically appropriate. Like Lauren over at the little things we do, I hate the cold. H. A. T. E.  The.  Cold. Anyway, enough about me. And more about me….it’s time for another edition of “fill in the blank” Friday! {photo via we heart it} 1. Winter is long and cold and wet and dark and cold. Yes, I said cold twice. And here in the UK, you can add rainy to that mix, too. Thank goodness for Christmas, fireplaces, my grandmother’s cozy afghans…

My friend Thom posted this on his Facebook page on New Year’s Day. I’m a longtime fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and this particular cartoon smacks of hope and possibilities, of new beginnings and unlimited options. It doesn’t think about what everything will look like when the snow melts, and the world is grey, slushy and messy. It’s not a glass half-empty perspective, which I realize I often have – and my poor, dear worry wart of a son has inherited. This is glass half-full, baby. That is so not me. I wish it was. Life would be so much easier if I was more optimistic. I’d KNOW I’d be…