Day 4478

 Figure out where the fireworks are happening, dress warmly, then go see them.

Day 4477

 It’s fun giving our boy crafts just to see his determination and focus in overdrive.

Day 4476

 “Boy soup!” she says confidently, staring at the Pictionary board.

Day 4475

 Welcome to the Labyrinth!!

Day 4474

 A little cold can’t stop our little dynamo from her Christmas crafting.

Day 4473

 How many Lego sets can you help build at the same time? 

Day 4472

 Christmas Eve, Swedish style. 

Day 4471

Do I get a prize for sewing in front of the children without swearing?

Day 4470

 Hang out with little kids and at first they’re shy and then a little while later they’re telling you about all the times they’ve had stitches. 

Day 4469

 Baby’s first ballet…

Day 4468

 When in doubt, go to Lee Valley.

Day 4467

 I forget how exhausting shopping is… even when you’re not dragging a gaggle with you 

Day 4466

 Always waiting

Day 4465

 We’ve successfully taught the five year old that tacos are a Tuesday food.

Day 4464

 Dear Children, 

Thank you for forgetting that yesterday I said you could put snowman faces on the snowmen today. 

Feel free to also forget tomorrow.

Best wishes,

Your Mother

Day 4463

 When the snow is that sticky, how can you not make big weird snowmen?!

Day 4462

 Betrayed by ice cream.

Day 4461

 Why not DOS games in 2024?

Day 4460

 Who objects to the pie part of pie?!?!

Day 4459

 Well, at least we know I can still wear business pants convincingly.

Day 4458

’Tis the season for secret conferences for gift planning!

Day 4457

 Shovel until your arms feel like noodles. Then shovel more. Heap blessings upon your shovel buddy for his snowblower largesse. Glare at the falling snow.

Day 4456

 We have the tree decorated and all the snow came. I can only assume it’s Christmas now.

Day 4455

 I wonder if any of our kids’ classmates play old DOS games at home or if we are the only weirdos.

Day 4454

 You never know what you’re going to learn when your kid tells you to read a book.

Day 4453

 And just like that, we have a ten year old.

Day 4452

 Goldilocks and the Christmas Tree

Day 4451

 Time to bond with the neighbours over snow shovelling!

Day 4450

 It’s pretty great having a kid come sit in the kitchen and embroider and chat while you’re washing the dishes.

Day 4449

 When you have to get creative for dinner and the kids like your happy little accident…

Day 4448

 I continue to have trouble deciding… do the librarians think we’re awesome because we take out so many books… or the worst because we return so many books?

Day 4447

BEES

BEES

BEES

BEES

BEES

BEES

Day 4446

 Do I have to do a lot of stitching to learn not to dramatically underestimate stitch time? Or should I just start multiplying my estimates by seven or so?

Day 4445

 One craft at a time, one craft at a time.

Day 4444

 Why not squeeze in a little math for fun just before bed?

Day 4443

 

BEES!

Day 4442

 We are not a mall-walking family.

Day 4441

 You don’t realize how much you need encyclopedias until you start playing Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?

Day 4440

 The perfect dinner, aside from the fact that only one kid would eat it.

Day 4439

 Get your atlases out, kids! It’s time for Carmen Sandiego!

Day 4438

 Welcome back, DOS games. It’s nice to see you again.

Day 4437

 LE TITS NOW

Day 4436

 You know it’s not good when even our media-deprived children nope out.

Day 4435

 How to entertain children at the shoe store: get them looking for the craziest pair of shoes on the clearance rack. 

Day 4434

 ‘I don’t want to go the library!’ the child says, and then tries to point out to you all the cool things they see at the library and picks out a stack of books…

Day 4433

 And now we introduce… DOS games!!!

Day 4432

 Dinner is French bread. Happy dinner.

Day 4431

 Intro to Borscht Eating

Day 4430

 Maybe if the inside of the house is Christmassy enough, the snow will come.

Day 4429

 Still no snow, but if once it gets dark out it can apparently still feel like Christmas vacation from vibes.

Day 4428

 And then we end the evening with Muppets and Gregorian chant.

Day 4427

 Exciting adventure: visit a different library branch!

Day 4426

With the introduction of gym clothes, I suddenly have the opportunity to be annoyed with myself for being too up to date with laundry.

Day 4425

 Nothing bad can happen if you’re listening to Enya, that’s the rule.

Day 4424

 Welp.

Day 4423

 What country is more Canada than Canada? I need to know where we’re moving to.

Day 4422

 It’s good progress to have a kid who says the food tastes good even though her mouth feels like it’s on fire.

Day 4421

 You know you’re really an adult when you go into a bookstore and leave with only the book you were there to pick up.

Day 4420

Mother-son bonding: board game detective work, looking at cool buildings, and Lego. With a side of dance party.

Day 4419

When the historical note at the back of the middle grade book makes you cry, you should probably not listen to the folk song about the incident. Drink some water and try again tomorrow.

Day 4418

Turns out having an adult buddy to take kids trick or treating can be pretty fun

Day 4417

 We’re officially into Fill Your Boots season…

Day 4416

It is a blessing to have children who can make decisions.

Day 4415

 Some elections are more relaxing to watch than others.

Day 4414

 To make a messy space messier, give your children explicit instructions on what to tidy so that they can concentrate on other parts of the mess and spread them out.

Day 4413

 Why do people using leaf blowers make it look like a chore?!

Day 4412

 Only this child would use a Star Wars hat as a reference to make a blaster out of paper.

Day 4411

 But I don’t want to go to the library!! 

… can you read me more library books?

Day 4410

Some days are so lovely, yard work is pretty much a required activity.

Day 4409

 If you buy one kid a fox shirt, another child will notice and want a fox shirt. The first kid will see you looking at fox shirts and ask for a fox sweater. When more fox clothing arrives, the third child will ask for fox shirt. Or maybe a dress. Or maybe owls. 

Day 4408

On the last warm day of the year, why not go for a long walk so you can colour by yourself in a library basement?

Day 4407

 It might be too much spirit of adventure if you end up spending hours at the store…

Day 4406

 Books and legos and cake, oh my!

Day 4405

 Someday we will have children who enjoy all the garden produce…

Day 4404

 Inter library loans are bureaucracy magic.

Day 4403 (belated)

 I don’t have room for more dinner, but can I have seven more carrots?

Day 4402

 How to Hold Up Your Pants With Your Shirt, and Other Life Lessons From Bananas

Day 4401

 It is such a blessing having a big kid who likes to help out.

Day 4400

 Nothing like surprise bears…

Day 4399

 It always rains if you don’t pack raincoats.

Day 4398

<deep breaths>

Day 4397

A day off to prepare for your preparation day for holidays…

Day 4396

 It’s a long wait between getting your kids nicely dressed for picture day and finding out how weird their smiles were. 

Day 4395

 Taking children to the park is supposed to be guaranteed to make them happy. I knew I should have got the guarantee in writing….

Day 4394

 Bedtime is on excellent time to review with your mom if things you are afraid of are really real or if they live in Canada. Like thieves, wolves, and bears.

Day 4392

 When you find out the loose tooth is loose *somewhere* in the house many, many, many hours after it goes missing…

Day 4391

 Hot tip: if the rain is coming down sideways, you might have trouble convincing the adults to take you to monkey bars.

Day 4390

 “Is winter coming soon?” Ask the child who then wants to wear a tank top tomorrow and then also asks to be tucked under a stack of blankets as deep as she is…

Day 4389

 The children think I was being nice taking them to the park, but really I was avoiding social networking.

Day 4388

 Apparently it’s hard to get more efficient at herding cats.

Day 4387

 One of the many downsides of job hunting is having to answer the phone when unknown numbers call.

Day 4386

 “Are we going to watch science or are we going to do science?”

Day 4385

 “I’m just going to quickly…” is never quick at a grandparent house.

Day 4384

 Well at least I’m not a penguin who has to jump off a cliff in a storm to get food for my baby.

Day 4383

Low on energy, high on snot.

Day 4382

 Do fictional woods count? Or reading books about walking in actual woods?

Day 4381

 Functional, functional, brick wall.

Day 4380

It’s always a good day when spaghetti is in it.

Day 4379

 One million harvests later and we finally have beet greens that are in good enough shape to eat.

Like many things, I can confirm they are delicious fried with garlic.

It must be the beet anniversary.

Day 4378

 I LOVE YOU HAG EMS

Day 4377

 Is there a way to eat Chinese food that doesn’t end with me feeling like my stomach has a bowling ball in it…. Other than moderation?

Day 4376

The kids think I am the nicest, but really I just didn’t want to deal with extra mini marshmallows lying around.

Day 4375

 Race day and everyone learns monkey bars say!

Day 4374

 Cries in the morning about having to go to school; excitedly chatters all evening about all the things she learned.

Day 4373

 You can’t just go places without an emergency book…

Day 4372

 Some days it just feels like you woke up as the wrong Dashwood.

Day 4371

 Having determined kids is a mixed blessing.

Day 4370

 Happy Giveaway Day, to all who celebrate!

Day 4369

 Our boy is absolutely determined to read me his entire infographics, one page at a time.

Day 4368

 Flattened by a bike ride

Day 4367

What a blessing it is to have a kid old enough and willing enough to help out and join in chores.

Day 4366

 I was not aware that I was so good (entertaining?) at washing dishes that children would squabble over getting to watch it happen.

Day 4365

 Turns out chores are much more effective if the kids don’t realize they’re doing chores. Helping mom with tasks: obviously not chores.

Day 4364

 Why not crack out the pool for the first time in September?

Day 4363

 Well just keep bringing shelves in and taking donations out until the house is tidy.

Day 4362

 But have you considered more courses?!?

Day 4361

 All three kids officially in school now, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard so much positivity after the first day. Long may it last.

Day 4360

A new shelf with tidy books on it is a wonderfully satisfying thing.

Day 4359

 I love it when the space cadet comes out of his trance and absolutely floors people.

Day 4358

 Sometimes all you need is a giggle with your big brother to turn your day around.

Day 4357

 It’s amazing how much entertainment you can provide for your kids by doing something simple wrong (pushing the shopping cart backwards) while pretending you’re doing it right and have always done it that way.

Day 4356

 Time, once again, to test to see if definitely asleep Banana is really truly asleep for real life.

Day 4355

 Why sit by the close river when you can go for a walk and sit by a far river?

Day 4354

 I could have gone my whole life not knowing what earthworms sound like…

Day 4353

 I wish I was surprised that my boy didn’t notice there was a fire drill going on…

Day 4352

 If you have to mow the lawn, why not do it to get your steps *and* be petty?

Day 4351

 You’d think these stinky babies would know by now that counting means business.

Day 4350

 How many storm systems can you get out of one weekend’s clear forecast?

Though thankfully only the threat of tennis ball hail…

Day 4349

 SWIMMING!!!

Day 4348

 Shooting stars!

Day 4347

 GIS specialization and clerical credentials in hand, where the good jobs at?

Day 4346

 And now, we wait.

Day 4345

 Not sure how to feel about one of my favourite childhood authors naming a daughter Twig.

Day 4344

 Time to read a book that will make me change/regret my life choices….

Day 4343

 I have been parenting long enough that I should definitely know better than to ask my children incredibly stupid questions like “Do you want me to put all the other playmobil sets together too?”

Day 4342

 Yes, yes, little ducklings. You make those third generation friendships.

Day 4341

 You never know what your wandering will lead you to when you live in a weird old neighbourhood…

Day 4340

Apparently you can’t expect witch homes to be built with quality materials.

Day 4339

 It’s significantly more uncomfortable to have a wasp in your sandal than a clover. Would not recommend.

Day 4338

 You never know what you’ll find when you go for a walk. A cat? A hawk? A little free library? A Benedictine monastery?

Day 4337

 Can you actually move out of your house if you’ve seen a hawk perch on it?

Day 4336

 Yes Virginia, thiefs are real.

What’s the shortest conversation we can have about this at bedtime that won’t leave you concerned?

Day 4335

 It’s funny that the kids say they never want to move and then we go to an open house and they start squabbling over bedrooms.

Day 4334

 So your child is sad because the clothes they wanted to wear are dirty. Have you tried putting them in clothes that are laughably oversized? 

Also, was not expecting my five year old to suddenly look like a humanities professor…

Day 4333

 Courses should not be allowed to leave you hanging.

Day 4332

 When you start reading Anne of Green Gables to the nine year old and the interfering five year old asks if a character is a good guy or a bad guy…

Day 4331

 You give your kid some crowns, you probably shouldn’t be surprised when dinnertime interrupts a coronation.

Day 4330

 After careful reflection, Banana has decided that she likes all her presents. No notes!

Day 4329

 I like adventures, but there’s a lot to be said for sleeping in your own bed.

Day 4328

 “Mommy, is this a bedside table? It’s just so clean? It has almost no stuff on it..:”

Day 4327

 Trying to make your kids appreciate the view while they’re trying to enjoy their books…

Day 4326

 Sometimes you just have to stretch your legs.

Day 4325

 Know when to fold ‘em.

Day 4324

 When even the adults walked their little legs off…

Day 4323

 Walk 10k to drop a letter in the box just around the corner and you might see some things.

Day 4322

 You let the children watch some Olympics and all of a sudden they’re disqualifying each other from games…

Day 4321

 Do not recommend spare tire adventures on vacation.

Day 4320

Why not expose everyone to geocaching and see what happens?

Day 4319

 And soon we will find out how bad an idea it was to introduce our maniacs to geocaching…

Day 4318

 Seems like a good idea to work on your travel bucket list before the places are on fire or underwater…

Day 4317

She’s the same smart as she was when she was four. Still as precocious as ever.

Day 4316

 Four cousins get fancy dresses and you get an impromptu flashlight-lit ballet performance with surprise toddlers and a battle scene…

Day 4315

 Have you considered more adventure?

Day 4314

 ADVENTURE!!!!

Day 4313

 I hope this doesn’t awaken something in me…

Day 4312

 Due to excessive morning piano, I seem to have developed an uncomfortable habit of gardening during the hottest parts of the day.

Day 4311

 Nothing exploded, there’s a big old plane flying around outside!

Day 4310

 Our dog is not cut out for adventure.

Day 4309

Foiled by frozen bananas… again.

Day 4308

Why can’t we just have two parallel societies going for AM and PM people so everyone can follow a comfortable schedule? We’ll meet for lunch or dinner and everyone can be happy.

Day 4307

 Sometimes we even see people.

Day 4306

Has anyone studied library hold math yet? I need someone with the math.

Day 4305

 I know I said dark clothes will make you hotter, but the label on the inside of your dress is fine and the colour of your pajamas under the covers doesn’t matter.

Day 4304

 Who knew War (the card game) could be so dramatic?!

Day 4303

 ADHD does not mix kindly with yard work on hot days.

Day 4302

 Maybe don’t name your children after strong-willed determined people.

Day 4301

 Do I get a prize for being less cooked than the children after going for a walk on a hot day?

Full disclosure: they also played on a playground in the sun while I mostly sat in dappled shade.

Day 4300

 VULTURES!!!

Day 4299

 All together again.

Day 4298

 It’s just rude when the kids are at sensitive to my poor choices and wake me up a zillion times through the night…

Day 4297

 On the one hand, dragging them out for a walk improved everyone’s mood. On the other hand, what on earth was I thinking putting an unsteerable stroller in the hands of a determined four year old?!?!

Day 4296

 If one bike ride doesn’t kill you, why not go for one that is one and a half times as long?

Day 4295

 Frankly Banana, I wouldn’t feel ready to sleep either when it sounded like the sky just cracked open.

Day 4293

 Let the TDF indoctrination begin!

Day 4292

 When your husband is heading out of town, it must be time to stock up on groceries and library books.

Day 4291

 The quickest way to make the youngest cry is to comfort one of the other kids.

Day 4290

 Throwing a tantrum when I won’t let you joust your unarmed sister…

Day 4289

 Mommy! Don’t get distracted!

Day 4288

 Only our boy would play on the playground in his bathing suit for the entirety of splash pad day.

Day 4286

 Ain’t no adventure like random prairie adventure.

Day 4285

 You know you’re making good choices when you come back from your walk in the rain looking like you went for a swim.

Day 4284

 Travelling with children is infinitely superior to travelling with toddlers.

Day 4283

 It’s summer solstice, why not build a sleigh for gnomes for a dinosaur to pull around?

Day 4282

 Are thistles supposed to grow in eavestroughs? No? So we’re doing it wrong…?

Maybe we just need to reframe them as the most raised beds…

Day 4281

 When you have to build a toy out of things that came from your recycling bin, and your instinct is TITANIC!!

…don’t forget the life boats.

Day 4280

 I wonder how many days of playing nicely together we can get from bug catching?

Day 4279

 Occasionally, Facebook can be used for good.

Day 4278

 Accidentally taught the kids I am susceptible to limited edition goods…

Day 4277

 When you realize that your kids are old enough that you can maybe sometimes be a little impulsive…

Day 4276

 Tell me again how much you wanted to stand in line for the bouncy castle forever…

Day 4275

 Children: insist they want to get ready for bed on their own; get in a fight about doors; try reading a chapter book for a bedtime story.

Day 4274

 My four year old would like to register a complaint about there being more daycare(/school) days than there are weekend days. 

Still trying to figure out where to direct the complaint.

Day 4273

Why garden when you can ADHD garden?!

Day 4272

 When a throwaway comment from your reference child leads to you learning about THE BONE WARS.

Day 4271

 Prove to me you weren’t once the King of Spain.

Day 4270

 It’s nearly impossible to resist a giggling Banana.

Day 4269

 Wrigglemarole, wrigglemarole.

Day 4268

 Is your head still attached? Are you wearing your shoes? Where did you leave your nose?

Day 4267

 Oh, why the heck not?

Day 4266

 I wonder how many families have to do emergency weekday library trips when they miss the usual day…

Day 4265

 That feeling when you put away the mower just as it starts to rain….and rain… and rain…

Day 4264

 A fine night for a walk with a cat.

Day 4263

 Delicious lunch, excellent board game, finally spaghetti, excellent movie…. And then mom drops the slipper bomb.

Day 4262

 You never know what to expect when your child tells you about an interaction they had with a teacher; one kid told their teacher about a Eurovision performance that included a modesty garment and pyrotechnic short shorts, and the other learned her teacher used to collect McDonalds burger wrappers, iron them, and smell them. 

So I guess it isn’t always us being outed as the weirdos.

Day 4261

 Thank goodness we can turn the night around by bringing vertical pants into the fray. And attack donkeys.

Day 4260

 I was going to blame my recent gardening rampages for my aching back, but now I remember that Banana was definitely stepping on the cracks on the sidewalk on purpose…

Day 4259

 NOBODY TOLD ME THERE WERE BLACKSMITHS (sorta) NEARBY!!!

Day 4258

 Lego, library books, and surprise gardening.

Day 4257

And now we find out what all is on vinyl.

Day 4256

 Please grade the attached random pdf that is totally unrelated to the assignment according to the rubric.

Day 4255

Mow, mow, mow the lawn
Gently through the weeds…

Day 4254

 Happy Birthday Husband! For this birthday you get to learn the meaning of life. And you also get Lego.

Admittedly I’m making some assumptions about the first thing…

Day 4253

 I wonder how old Banana will be when she is officially running the household…

Day 4252

 It’s weird to have kids say they never want to leave this house and then have them quickly staking out bedrooms in a potential house.

Day 4251

 Started another howl…

Day 4250

 There are no rules for what children will like, only exceptions.

Day 4249

 Gaping world-building holes maybe should not drive me this crazy, but REALLY?!?!

REALLY?!?

Day 4249

 Rain, rain, come and play. 

Keep the fires and drought away.

Day 4248

 It’s nice to get several hours with no whining.

Day 4247

 Not to count my chickens, but tomorrow is map day, right? Right?! RIGHT?!?!

Day 4246

 Back to bananas, now with more leaks.

Day 4245

 The only way to get the children to leave their grandparents’ house quickly: threaten them with no library books.

Day 4244

 Probably the children will continue to enjoy watching Eurovision (even though they always hate new songs) if we make it a feast day.

But not a sausage party. Which our boy would also like to celebrate. With real sausages.

Day 4243

 Just sitting around, waiting for the Rupture.

Day 4242

 Find a horse book for one daughter and watch kitten rescue videos with the other - just asking for trouble.

Day 4241

 You can just rest, little one. You don’t have to do things all day. Just rest. Maybe give up those bad habits now…

Day 4240

 When you realize some of the Eurovision contestants were born in the wrong century…

Day 4239

 Tricked the Banana into having a nap; only almost fell asleep myself about twenty seven times.

Day 4238

 Is it unseemly to laugh when your neighbours leave food out for the deer and the deer eat the food and also the new plants in their flowerbeds?

Day 4237

 We might have to try to find a happy medium between five library books and maxing out the card.

Day 4236

 EVIL GIANT MODE!!

Day 4235

 Banana, not sure what colour her sister’s hair is, then wondering if her own hair is beige.

Day 4234

 No one was more excited about her siblings’ concert than little Banana.

Day 4233

 I was annoyed about last minute laundry, but I can’t say I ever expected I’d get a last minute request to send a ukulele to school

Day 4232

 You’re instructed to play restaurant with one kid and then another passes you a toy and tells you with no context whatsoever that they brought you a free toy for your child.

Day 4231

That feeling when the children skip along all together, holding hands. That feeling when they race off ahead, arms stretched out, yelling “AIRPLANE MODE!!!”

Day 4230

There’s something about introducing people to Eurovision and having your kids singing along with the songs and loudly making requests…

Day 4229

 Are they really supposed to eat like real people already?

Day 4228

You’re officially old and decrepit when you hurt yourself drying your hair.

Day 4227

 Dinner, dessert, snack, second dinner, more snack.

Day 4226

 Trying to explain why it was not okay for Splat the Cat to release all the ice cream out of the vats at the ice cream factory, even though he and the other cat-children cleaned it up…

Day 4225

 What kind of mutant children dislike spaghetti but love fish?!

Day 4224

 Not do long ago we had to adjust to walking sooo slowly to pace alongside distractible toddlers… now they run off ahead. Still try to convince me to carry them sometimes, though.

Day 4223

Thanks to Banana for getting me thinking about a third solution to our space problem; magic wardrobe. 

Day 4222

 It’s not every day you get five billion and twenty eight thumbs up for dinner.

Day 4221

 The child who bellows WHAT at us has great hearing. 

Apparently she just needs to not be little, which is not her strong suit.

Day 4220

If you keep circling your meatball options, someone will eventually cave for consensus.

But still no spaghetti.

Day 4219

 When you finish the first day of a course 19 days ahead of schedule…

Day 4218

 It’s nearing midnight on a Monday… it must be time to learn about trestle bridges!

Day 4217

 I don’t care what you choose, just choose. Not choosing is making you and everyone around you miserable. Just choose. 

JUST CHOOSE.

Day 4216

 When your kid casually mentions world war eleven…

Day 4215

 Give the children a bonus day off: smurfs and Lego, all day long. 

Day 4214

 If your chair has given up, why not walk your little legs off in the drizzle until you find the lost library?

That should fix it…

Day 4213

Being finite is an important part of the charm for parades.

Poop parades are utterly lacking in charm and as an added insult, are uncomfortably infinite.

Day 4212

 My cleaning comes in two styles; rampage or ADHD.

Day 4211

 It’s time to play… How Many Ridiculous Things Can You Have a Tantrum About During Dinner?

Day 4210

 One-on-one time with kids is pretty great. Especially when you don’t have to accomplish tasks.

Day 4209

 I underestimated the value of side quests when shopping with children.

Day 4208

 Have you tried sadly eating gummy bears and having another tantrum?

Day 4207

 Having a blazing tension headache is much less worse when you don’t have to sit at a computer all day.

Day 4206

 THE ICE MUST FLOW!!

Day 4205

 Do they let you use the the fancy slingshot sometimes if you’re an assistant arborist?

Day 4204

 (Business) Day one of unemployment starts with the news that your former employer wants to get hold of you.

Day 4203

 Good thing we have the Easter Hedgehog to make our boy the best Reese’s piece he’s ever had…

Day 4202

 When, oh when, will the Easter hedgehog come?

Day 4201

 It’s Friday, let’s start a riot over fish sticks!

Day 4200

 Free at last! 

And now we wait for that reality to actually sink in…

Day 4199

 When your kid cracks one of the best jokes you’ve ever heard and you’re not totally sure she did it on purpose.

Of the somewhat crushed paper pumpkin craft: “It’s not a pumpkin anymore. It’s a squash.”

Day 4198

 What am I going to do with 12 and a half years of meeting notes and why am I still making more?

Day 4197

 Voting for a glacier doesn’t seem like the worst possible use of your vote… unless of course the glacier is represented by a raving pack of performance idiots.

Day 4196

 CAR WASH ADVENTURE!!!

Day 4195

How long until the littlest can sing a pirate king ballad?

Day 4194

 You realize how much you’ve built when it’s time to pass it over to someone else.

Day 4193

 Someday this kid will have a birthday that isn’t a floods or Covid or portfolios. 

But in the meantime he gets to be a Jedi. So. Winning?

Day 4192

 Apparently sheesh is a bad word and the daycare should regularly host pizza party dinners for the children.

Day 4191

Bless the hygienists who don’t try to have a conversation with you while their metal sticks are in your mouth.

Day 4190

 How exciting that it is the last day of winter.

Day 4189

 I shouldn’t be surprised when our boy says one of his three favourite animals is the walking whale, but somehow I still am. 

(Side note, how great is the name ambulocetus? A+)

Day 4188

 Turns out if you go to the library often, the children start to trust they’ll get to go back and start becoming efficient about picking out books.

Day 4187

 Apparently individuals can do Friday news dumps too.

Day 4186

 Turns out lazy pie is pretty delicious.

Day 4185

 If they’re not going to eat it anyway, why not add the spicy sauce?

Day 4184

 Turns out there’s a big difference between playing music for a kid and giving them access to music they can play on their own.

Day 4183

 It’s officially the season where homeowners get to play in puddles and it’s a service to the neighbourhood 

Day 4182

 Let the library adventures begin!

Day 4181

 Young Banana: very pleased with herself for how effectively she put me to bed last night, but also very ready to go back to the normal arrangement.

Day 4180

 Those children are extremely effective at putting parents to bed….

Day 4179

Going into the office is dumb, but if you want to pay me to explore the building, by all means, let’s explore.

Day 4178

 Sometimes I wish winter didn’t have so many sequels.

Day 4177

 If you all get out of the car, you’re not just dropping off the library books and picking up one hold. 

Day 4176

 Evil child demands you sing to her, demands you keep singing to her… and then interrupts in the middle of a line to say she’s done with you and wants the other parent now.

Day 4175

 I suspect it is fairly rare for an avid reader to want to read Harry Potter for the first time because she went to a themed birthday party.

Day 4174

 “Are all mammals real?”

Day 4173

 Why is this child always eating my entire face?

And why must she make her stand on the dumbest of hills?

Day 4172

“Do you have Playmobil on your schedule?”

Day 4171

 Pizza and flannel and doing coursework and parenting instead of reading the end of the mystery.

Day 4170

It’s not often you end up with a new travel destination on your bucket list because of a weather alert, but if you do there’s a good chance a rabbit hole was involved.

Day 4169

 Once even the cynics believe winter is over, that’s when second winter begins…

Day 4168

Well, she really commits to the bit when she has a tantrum…

Day 4167

 If at first your tantrum don’t succeed, why not tantrum even harder?

Day 4166

 It’s a little bizarre still not being able to do your Christmas baking in February because you still don’t have brown sugar.

Day 4165

 Why must the library make me choose just one more book so many times?!

Day 4164

 It’s a Puffy Pizza Party

Day 4163

 ‘Mommy, can you sing all of the lullabies forever?’

Day 4162

 Another round of one of my least favourite games, Where on Earth Did Teddy Go?

Day 4161

 WE ALL BRING HOME THE BACON!!

Day 4160

 Planning Library Adventure Days. It doesn’t matter how many times we have grey spring this year, we can still have food and books.

Day 4159

 Put a trigger warning on the email before you send me a picture of my 100 year old son…

Day 4158

 Banana might be onto something. Pancake Day, Valentines Day, Hulk Day is quite the trifecta.

Day 4157

 Pancake Day!

Perhaps an adequate substitute for tuna casserole.

Day 4156

 Welcome back, little dog. Welcome back, little dog noises.

Day 4155

 Sometimes I wonder if we are too detailed in our declarations.

Day 4154

 Accidental 10k!

Day 4152

 We bring the blizzard.

Day 4151

 Wait, they let you go on vacation even if you haven’t finished all your work? Do people know about this?!?!

Day 4150

 Usually you don’t have to ask yourself whether you should bring your skis on a ski trip.

Day 4149

 How long until the world stops swimming?

Day 4148

 No matter how many times you say you want R-P-S, I’m still not gonna know you want Vaseline until you say Vaseline.

Day 4147

 No glasses, no dinner out… but we did get an ice chipper and a flock of baby yodas. And really, who could ask for more?

Day 4146

 What modern life clearly needs is more feast days.

Day 4145

 “Mommy, the beasts haven’t carried off the Christmas tree yet.”

Day 4144

 Nothing like your kid that was sent home sick telling you about the kids in their class who were throwing up.

Day 4143

 Buying all the things. Some were bigger successes than others.

Day 4142

 The trouble with doing five loads of laundry is that you have to fold five loads of laundry.

Day 4141

 You’re not allowed to make a mess right after the cleaning rampage is over! VERBOTEN!

Day 4140

 The moment our boy realized the library is full of reference books…

Day 4139

 PUZZLES!!

Day 4138

 When your kid is showing you videos of their baby on their phone…. And the phone is a block of wood, but you’re expected to react to what’s happening in the video.

Day 4137

 Commit to the bit.

Day 4136

 Apparently nothing is funnier than kicking your mum in the butt.

Day 4135

 Banana excitedly told us she got to meet a mouse at school today. Eventually she clarified that it wasn’t a real mouse. And then said the mouse was from Nigeria. Or maybe the United States.

Third, where did you hear about Nigeria? They don’t do Eurovision and you’re four.

Day 4134

Someday Banana will not find it deeply hilarious when I pretend to chomp her. So I better chomp as much possible while I still get those crazy giggles.

Day 4133

 Welcome back, Banana Banana.

Day 4132

 Re-christening the bear formerly known as baby. I look forward to at some point having a few years when no one’s name changes.

Day 4131

 Not quite the type of engagement they were hoping for.

Day 4130

 No thank you.

Day 4129

 I look forward to the day we don’t have to sneak into Banana’s room while she’s sleeping to try to check her temperature without waking her.

Day 4128

 Pretty on-brand for Banana to cheerfully ignore high fever by force of will.

Day 4127

Banana does everything intensely, even crashing.

Day 4126

 Christmas is dead. Long live Christmas!

Day 4125

 I’m spoiled forever; living somewhere where bucks don’t casually saunter past the front window would be such a disappointment now.

Day 4124

 Layers on layers on layers on layers so you can go shovel the snow…

Day 4123

 If these kids keep growing, we’re gonna need a lot of large shovels…

Day 4122

 BEES!

Day 4121

 It turns out if you need to lure a Banana out of bed, apple fritters are the best bait.

Day 4120

 Yes child, I’m sure the madames had you stitching all day long, that sounds extremely likely…

Day 4119

 Prego: a reminder that spaghetti cures all ills.

Day 4118

Let’s read our Pedias and calculate how many Banana Banana’s long everything is!

Day 4117

 Yes child, if you want reference books for your seventh birthday, we can get you reference books for your seventh birthday.

Day 4116

 Eat shortbread until the urge to write a resignation letter fades away.

Day 4115

 If you give a kid a gingerbread cookie, they won’t particularly notice when you go for a walk. By yourself! During waking hours!

Day 4114

 They shouldn’t be allowed to give you hard stuff after the holidays; ease us into the new year.

Day 4113

 Ringing in the new year with friends and legos.