Author Archives: Carrie

nine year old taco

Wow. I didn’t think nine would be a big change, but oh lordy. Look at this girl. Look at her! Now compare her with last year: Wow. Wow. Wow. I’m not sure what has changed more — her hair or her teeth. The hair change happened in January when Lydia decided to go for a […]

sputnik; 84 months in orbit

Wow, 84 months in orbit! That’s seven Earth years! Just before his seventh birthday, Sam finished up first grade, so he is now officially a second grader. First grade was Sam’s first year of real, bonafide school work and he did really well with it. The first few weeks were a bit of a struggle […]

changing of the guard

I don’t think our family means to do this, but we tend to buy cars in clusters. In the space of about four weeks in 2004, my brother-in-law got a new Vibe, my parents got the Saturn L300, my in-laws got a Honda CR-V, and we got our Elliott. I swear none of this was […]

i have a kaiju problem

I’m not sure if Sam just lucked out by having naturally nerdy parents, or if he gets obsessed with nerdy things because of his nerdy parents. Either way, he is one lucky dude. His preoccupations become the entire family’s preoccupations — I hunt for toys and books for him, Steven finds movie soundtracks and pertinent […]

*thunk thunk*

Steven started up the clothes dryer, which immediately began to make an ominous *thunk, thunk* noise.  “Whoa, whose clothes are those?” I asked.  “The girl’s,” he replied.  “Ooh, better check for lip gloss! It’s either that or a rock.” After a few minutes of rummaging, Steven emerged from the laundry room, victorious. “Ah ha!” “What […]

not helping

After a long day of teaching, running errands, and fighting traffic I am glad to be home this evening. Sam warmly greets me with a verbal waterfall filled with tales of Minecraft, playing outside for hours and hours and hours, what he had for lunch, and how much he missed me. “. . . and […]

kitchen complaints, episode seven

Tonight we were scrounging for something to cook, so we ended up having breakfast for dinner. We scored major Parent Brownie Points with this move. Sam, while eating pankcakes: “I’m the luckiest kid in the universe!” Lydia, doubtfully: “Why?” Sam: “I had a regular dinner and a breakfast dinner!*” Lydia: “Well, I had breakfast and […]