My kids are so much fun. I wonder, is silliness a gene? Have they inherited this from me? Because I am quite silly my own self, real goofy. They feed off of each other and like to egg each other on. They laugh off of anything and blow the simplest joke out of proportion. It [...]

My daughter has had braces for a while, since 6th grade. She’s now in 9th grade and they are coming off in a few months. I can see how straight her teeth are now underneath the wires, and I am glad. Her mouth was so raggedy-looking, gaps in some parts and bunched-up teeth in others. [...]

I just heard they were going to be in town last week and the show is sold-out, so I was bummed. Iyende was all, Mommy I’m going to call next time they run the contest, that will be a great present for you! I was like, ok, whatever, real salty and pessimistic. Later on we [...]

We had so much fun. The kids wished me Happy Birhtday! in the morning and after school and gave me ideas for my party. I’m planning on having it next month at a skating rink with one of my cousins who is also turning 32. Tuesday my kids go over Brian’s mother’s house so we [...]

I remember when Iyende was born and a friend of my mother’s told me, There will be times when you get so tired. Just worn out from being a mother. I didn’t really pay any attention to what she said and back then, I was only 17. I had all the zest and energy of [...]

Scott and Todd had haircuts last week. We’ve been discussing cutting their locks for awhile now. The last hair cut they had I shaved the back and sides, leaving the front and top of their head in locks. This was towards the end of last summer, and as their hair grew I just trimmed their [...]

Today is Todd’s Birthday. He is five years old. He woke up this morning very early, he told me, but waited to get up until I was up. I got up around eightish, and as I was passing the boys’ room I glanced in, thinking they were still asleep. Todd was laying quietly on his [...]

Today is Scott’s Birthday. He is eight years old. This year he wants his birthday party at the skating rink, we are having it there in a few weeks. I made cupcakes for his class, and Todd and I took them in. I don’t bake frequently so Scott was very pleased to see me, I [...]

Today we went shopping for school supplies and stuff. One of the local papers printed up an issue that had all the school supplies needed listed not only by grade but by school, how cool is that. I guess the kids did not like having their supplies late last year because they have been insistent [...]

Monday night I cooked dinner and made ‘angel hair’ pasta with meatless meatballs in the tomato sauce. French-sliced green beans on the side. Usually I make this just fine, because pasta cooks so quickly. I went into the dining room for something instead of standing over the stove for the two minutes it takes this [...]

Check out this email some stranger sent me attempting to defend Cleveland Public Schools. Apparantly she was responding to something I wrote on an e-list regarding how shabby the education at Cleveland Public Schools is. Although this person has no clue about my experience with Cleveland Public Schools and it’s kind of rambling, I found [...]

So far this summer has been great. One of Iyende’s birthday presents was a season pass to Cedar Point, she has been going a lot. A few of her friends got passes too so that has been a big deal for them. The boys have been enjoying going to the park, doing crafts at the [...]

Iyende won the Spelling Bee for her entire school back in March. She went on to Regional finals and was second runner-up. Got a big trophy! She was excited about it, as we all were. This is the second bee she has been in, back in the third grade she placed to represent her school [...]

Todd is learning to read. I am glad because I was starting to get a little worried, he’s been 4 since November. Both Iyende and Scott were reading by their fourth birthdays. I know that you are not supposed to compare children and I know that most people consider any age before 6 to be [...]

Iyende decided she wants to be a cheerleader. I don’t know how I feel about it, exactly. I put her off for awhile when she asked permission. I don’t want her to be a cheerleader! It’s like all my work to ensure that she has a strong, feminist, healthy self-esteem is gone right out the [...]