tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105276982011-04-21T16:45:10.922-04:00My daughter is the Bumblebee. My son is the Sweet Potato. You'll have to ask their father.landismomnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1138061167447158392006-01-23T18:53:00.000-05:002006-01-23T19:06:08.930-05:00

This will be my last post here at Bumblebee Sweet Potato, blogspot edition. I'm moving, as of tomorrow, to my new home, hosted by wordpress. From now on, you can find me here. For all those of you who are kind enough to blogroll me, I'm hoping you'll take a few seconds to update your link--and if I've failed to include you in my new blogroll, give me a shout.As of now, I'm planning to leave this

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1137864874572515622006-01-21T14:49:00.000-05:002006-01-21T21:14:00.623-05:00

The Potato was pretty sick last night, and I'm dragging today. He ran a high fever, and he wouldn't go to sleep alone. I sat in the rocking chair in his room with him for an hour or so, and eventually let him fall asleep in our bed. The fever had broken by the time I fell asleep, but I didn't want to move him. I know all parents hate it when their kids are sick, but I'm scared as hell of

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1137641038872807922006-01-18T21:41:00.000-05:002006-01-18T22:23:58.920-05:00

I haven't been posting much lately, because I've been spending my time trying to figure out how to re-do my template. For some reason, I can't figure out how to make my comments appear in a new template, nor can I get my blogroll to work right. It seems like all the code is there, but it's just not working. Frustrating, to say the least. I'm sure I'll get it eventually, but I feel kind of stuck

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1137363455919676722006-01-15T18:05:00.000-05:002006-01-15T19:10:58.826-05:00

I was flipping through the Times magazine this morning, thinking that I was going to write a post about the cover story on the Living Wage movement*, and I went off on a mental tangent that led me to write this post instead. WorkingLife has a pretty good post up about it, if you are interested in the subject.In the last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about the book Red Diapers a lot. "Red

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1137263660337952572006-01-14T13:27:00.000-05:002006-01-14T13:34:20.440-05:00

Through the magic of StumbleUpon (truly my favorite Firefox extension), I found this cool site, GoogleMontage. You put in some search terms and it produces a montage of images that match to that. This is my montage of "bumblebee sweet potato." If you try it yourself, let me know!Tags:montage

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1137032126474664622006-01-11T20:31:00.000-05:002006-01-11T21:15:26.503-05:00

If you're a relatively new reader of my blog, you'll have missed these posts, which dealt with our frustrations with the Bee's kindergarten teacher last spring. I found out today that Mrs. X is retiring.I managed not to do a happy dance of joy in the school library, because I thought it would be unseemly. But I was doing it on the inside.You cannot possibly imagine how happy I am that the Potato

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1136837746054488652006-01-09T12:18:00.000-05:002006-01-09T15:15:46.106-05:00

...lemonade isn't really in season.We've had a rough, full of ups and downs week here at BBSP.To summarize:#1) A bad work situation for landisdad (which unfortunately involves me too) is causing him to leave his job. Which means that we will be losing over half of our income.#2) A potential opportunity means that landisdad could end up doing something he finds a lot more fulfilling, although at a

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1136568969155629362006-01-06T12:16:00.000-05:002006-01-06T21:58:10.286-05:00

I was tagged by Library Lady to reveal 5 weird things about myself. I'm offended, because of course, I'm totally normal. Okay, stop laughing! No, really, I'm just quirky.1. I can be hyper-efficient. How else could I spend so much time blogging? It has its downside, though, because occasionally I forget that I'm human and make scheduling mistakes that are just enormous, due to my confidence that I

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1136387343988659502006-01-04T09:36:00.000-05:002006-01-04T10:09:04.023-05:00

Trey at Daddy, Papa & me has a great post up today about the movement of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered families out of states where their civil rights are being taken away. There's a pretty chilling series of maps, too, showing how many states have adopted anti-family-friendly legislation in just the last five years.I'm sure that the people who led those legislative charges wrapped

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1136309736659658992006-01-03T12:33:00.000-05:002006-01-03T12:45:22.890-05:00

As we (or at least I) approach the one-year anniversary of this here blog, I've been giving some thought to moving out of the blogspot neighborhood. While Blogger has been mostly good to me, I'm feeling somewhat constrained by its limitations, and I've been wandering around the blogosphere feeling jealous of other people's ability to customize (& categorize!) their blogs.But I'm nervous.Will

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1136052876198169972005-12-31T12:44:00.000-05:002005-12-31T13:14:36.220-05:00

We're not big celebrators of New Year's Eve here in BBSP land. Today, the Bee has a playdate with a friend from school, which left the Potato temporarily bereft until he was tempted with a round of gorilla-butterfly. (One of the best games that landisdad invented to play with the kids is gorilla, where they put gloves on their feet, wear hats, and dance around the family room to obscure late 70s

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1135879110105405372005-12-29T12:46:00.000-05:002005-12-29T13:34:17.350-05:00

Yesterday, in an act of missed synchronicity, I read this blog post by Andi Buchanan at Mother Shock almost 12 hours after I actually needed to. I guess there's something going around in the houses of school-aged children--something that causes said children to act like the victims of demonic possession a la The Exorcist. I'm not sure if it's post-Christmas let-down, the boredom of being off from

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1135741950063628502005-12-27T22:23:00.000-05:002005-12-27T23:13:59.630-05:00

from our three whirlwind days of fun & family in NYC, preceded by a day & a half of Christmas family fun here at home.The kids got a ridiculous number of new toys. I got On Beauty by Zadie Smith, Watchmen (Absolute Edition) by Alan Moore (yes, I am a geek!), and an incredible new winter dress coat from my MIL. We ate too much, drank just enough, sat around and played games (UNO! Monopoly!) and

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1135397118236548972005-12-23T23:02:00.000-05:002005-12-23T23:05:18.253-05:00

For those of you of the Christian persuasion, I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas. For the Jews, a Happy Hanukkah. I'll be back next week sometime. Possibly featuring kid pictures. In their new bathrobes. And slippers. So cute! Have a lovely holiday, and try not to let the kids eat too much sugar. I know I'll be failing at that one!

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1135282034517644712005-12-22T14:30:00.000-05:002005-12-22T15:07:14.540-05:00

Given how much attention was paid, at the beginning of this month, to the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest, I've been somewhat disheartened to see so many bloggers writing vitriolic posts about the NY transit strike. I understand, having worked in a city with its fair share of labor unrest, that living through a transit strike is not a fun experience, especially when it's cold outside. And

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1135090592789038852005-12-20T08:38:00.000-05:002005-12-20T09:59:25.206-05:00

The street that I grew up on dead-ended into the playground of the local Catholic school. The school had some enormous playing fields, and beyond them (behind a car dealership and the Acme-- pronounced Ac-ah-me, for those of you not from the Delaware Valley) was an acre of weeds and hillocks. I can't tell you how many days I spent with my brothers and the other kids in our neighborhood--the T

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1134693825752087412005-12-17T19:43:00.000-05:002005-12-18T20:41:26.703-05:00

I've been tagged by chip from daddychip to write about 5 ways my kids are weird. When I first read his post, I thought, "hasn't chip been reading my blog? isn't my whole blog about how weird my kids are?" I guess that isn't entirely accurate, though. Unlike chip, my kids don't read my blog, so I can write about things in the present. Here goes...1. I'm beginning to think that the Bee cannot tell

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1134755071683511402005-12-16T11:03:00.000-05:002005-12-16T13:50:40.213-05:00

I was reading this post over at the Bored Housewives Network, and I started to respond in comments, but it got kinda long, so I'm posting here instead.I'm married to a mostly secular Jew (albeit one who celebrates Christmas), so I do have some sense of how you feel. My dh is not overly anti-Christmas, but I think he keeps a certain distance from it. One of the things I've learned over time is

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1134699323661254602005-12-15T21:06:00.000-05:002005-12-15T21:15:23.680-05:00

About 8 weeks ago, my son was introduced to the joys of football. Or as he calls it, 'meatball'.He has some 'meatball' jammies now.He's watched some on tv with his dad.He points out pictures of 'meatball' players on the sports page.Tonight, the Bee's school had their holiday gift shop, where elementary school students get to buy cheap plastic crap for the people who love them. What did the Bee

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1134356300481696542005-12-11T21:58:00.000-05:002005-12-12T21:32:54.793-05:00

I was tagged with the seven meme again by Moonface at Midnight Musings. I'm curious about how memes mutate. Most of the meme is the same as when I did it about a month ago, but there are some new things, so I'm just doing those. Seven books or book series I love (only 7? right!):1. A Fable, by William Faulkner2. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling3. A Wrinkle in Time (and related books) by Madeleine

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1134352451149892222005-12-11T20:30:00.000-05:002005-12-11T20:55:57.893-05:00

I think what Robert Browning meant to say is, "a mom's reach should exceed her grasp."At least, that's the way I'm living this weekend.Let me just say, that the next time I think it's a good idea to bake Christmas cookies with three two-year-olds, the Bee, and a three-year-old, without an adult-to-child ration of 1:1, just shoot me in the head and go on with your life.I'll point out that the

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1134182314752604182005-12-09T21:21:00.000-05:002005-12-09T21:38:34.770-05:00

We had a snow day today. I blogged an amusing (to me, anyway) anecdote about it here. You can also see the photo that we're using as our Christmas card picture there too.I'm feeling utterly unprepared for the holidays this year. I've gotten a bunch of online shopping done, but I have barely even had time to look at the calendar, to figure out when I can take some time off. Happily, next week

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1134096096251848992005-12-08T21:10:00.000-05:002005-12-08T21:42:47.860-05:00

Sorry I've not been blogging much lately. My brain's been on fire with a project for work, and it's hard to think about much else right now. I've had a major breakthrough in something I've been working on for just under a year, and at least for now, all I can do is sit around thinking, "why didn't I think of that before? It's so obvious..."It also seems like everyone picked this week to squeeze

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1133742081557242122005-12-04T18:55:00.000-05:002005-12-04T20:06:16.366-05:00

Today's New York Times featured a Style section commentary about maternal desire that made me re-think some stuff that's been going on around here lately.I'll say upfront that I'm not the most physically expressive person in the world. Last year, on Election Night (after I had spent most of the year working to defeat George Bush), my boss came up and gave me a hug. "I know you're not a huggy

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1133455131642807472005-12-01T11:33:00.000-05:002005-12-01T11:44:24.066-05:00

Today is Blog Against Racism Day. I was all set to write this post a few weeks ago, but then I saw an announcement on Bitch PhD about BAR Day, so I decided to wait. Here goes.In second generation feminism, there was a writer (whose name escapes me right now) who wrote about her own transformative experiences as a feminist coming not as one huge realization, but as “clicks,” where a relatively

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1133239825002361922005-11-28T23:31:00.000-05:002005-11-28T23:50:25.036-05:00

Well, we're recovering from Thanksgiving here in Landisville. I managed to eat turkey every day, and drink quite a lot of good wine. Hope you and yours had a lovely time, too.As I mentioned a few days ago, my MIL came and stayed with us over Thanksgiving. She brought books for the kids, along with excellent mushrooms for the adults. And the book that she brought for the Bee was so extraordinary,

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1133061453606603342005-11-26T22:00:00.000-05:002005-11-26T22:17:33.626-05:00

Scarlett tagged me with this Thanksgiving meme. It's pretty time-sensitive, so I'm doing it right away! Here you go...1) What are three items you have leftover from Thanksgiving that are in your refrigerator right now?#1 At least four pounds of turkey#2 About 2/3 of a pound of cranberries#3 Some beautiful apple crisp2) What kind of leftover treats will you make with the three items you listed?

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1132950035959211932005-11-25T15:20:00.000-05:002005-11-25T15:33:27.663-05:00

I'm not sure what the blogosphere protocol for cross-promotion is. But I've started blogging at a community blog, the Bored Housewives Network (thanks for the invite, Doppelganger!). Here's a link to something I just put up over there. I probably won't keep cross-listing posts--that doesn't seem to be the way things are done--but I wanted to let folks know you can find me (as well as some other

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1132680688533808372005-11-22T12:24:00.000-05:002005-11-22T12:31:28.560-05:00

It's a common conceit of mine that I am 'handier' than landisdad. Partly, that's backed up by evidence--I've actually had jobs that involved manual labor and tools, and he's been a 'knowledge worker' all his life (lucky bastard!).But his knowledge worker tendencies do conspire against me sometimes. For example, I never ever read the directions for anything, until I've tried to make it work on my

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1132537631035543302005-11-20T20:46:00.000-05:002005-11-20T21:01:41.880-05:00

I'm predicting this will be a slow blogging week, given the Thanksgiving holiday and the fact that my MIL is coming to town for a few days. But I wanted to take a minute to give some props to Grace from I Am Dr. Laura's Worst Nightmare, for her work on the Katrina relief blog, Family to Family. The F2F blog provides info on families to folks who are looking to give direct material contributions

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1132321588729003932005-11-18T08:35:00.000-05:002005-11-18T08:46:28.790-05:00

Last year, on one particularly cold winter day, I got tired of telling the Bee to hurry up on the way to school, and I invented a game called "Who's in Front?". The game mostly consists of me growling, "I'm gonna get in front!" while the Bee giggles and runs ahead of me. When we turn the corner to the street her school is on, she likes to hide behind various trees. Under no circumstances am I to

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1132263607482535702005-11-17T17:07:00.000-05:002005-11-17T16:40:07.503-05:00

This morning, when landisdad dropped the Potato off at daycare, his teacher stopped to chat with him for a bit about how well the boy is doing in class. They had a few minutes of conversation, and then she said,"yeah, he's so smart, when we color with crayons, he NEVER eats them!"I about fell off my chair when I heard it. I guess the toddler bar is set pretty low.

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1132107583001298102005-11-15T21:25:00.000-05:002005-11-15T22:15:31.266-05:00

We had the Bee's parent-teacher conference today. Since I posted so much last year about our bad experiences with the kindergarten teacher, I thought I'd better update on the much more positive time she's having in first grade.Backing up, though--on the first day of school, we found out that the first grade teacher was pregnant, and would be going out on maternity leave in October or November (

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1131977982247454182005-11-14T09:13:00.000-05:002005-11-14T09:57:00.966-05:00

So I had my first-ever blog play-date yesterday. Oddly, neither the other blogger or I managed to discuss whether or not we would blog about the experience. So I'm gonna let her out herself in the comments, if she's so inclined, otherwise, you'll just have to keep guessing until we come to some agreement. It was a lovely day, and a lovely time with much playground equipment.Most of my weekend was

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1131767910244241112005-11-11T22:58:00.000-05:002005-11-11T23:03:21.806-05:00

The Bee had the day off from school today, so I kept the Potato home from daycare too, and made a mommy-kid day of it. The Bee had a playdate this afternoon, but the morning was mostly relaxing at home, marred only by the ginormous temper tantrum that the Potato threw in the coffee shop, forcing me to carry him home the four blocks. There's nothing quite like hauling a screaming, back-arching

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1131645302960114512005-11-10T12:47:00.000-05:002005-11-10T15:18:10.796-05:00

Hellloooo Internet? Is there anybody out there? Feeling a little lonely here today.Anyway, Jessica from Daydreams & Musings had a post on Tuesday about wacky hi-jinks going on at her condo board. Apparently, some humorless adults have decided to try to ban children from, well, acting like children, and she wants to do something about it. Check out her post, it's a pretty amazing story. I emailed

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1131557110288946402005-11-09T12:20:00.000-05:002005-11-09T14:56:49.226-05:00

Back in the early ‘90s, there was a hiphop act I was particularly fond of in California called The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, whose cover of the Dead Kennedy’s “California Uber Alles,” compared then-California Governor Pete Wilson to Hitler.Sure it was a little over the top, but how could you dislike a song that opened,“I’m your Governor Pete Wilsonthe baddest governor to ever grab a mic

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1131218850993809472005-11-05T14:30:00.000-05:002005-11-05T14:27:31.016-05:00

Is there any better feeling, on a fall afternoon, than having a small child fall asleep in your lap as the two of you sit in a rocking chair? Cozy and warm, with a little human heat generator to ward off the afternoon chill...The Potato has recently decided that he is too big to nap. (He's too big for a lot of other things too, if you ask him, as evidenced by his cries of "I big boy!" every

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1131067765404277982005-11-03T20:34:00.000-05:002005-11-03T21:02:34.493-05:00

About a week ago, the Potato broke my alarm clock. It was a very old alarm clock--in fact, I've had it since my grandfather died in 1990--it belonged to him. It wasn't anything special as far as alarm clocks go--just your garden variety digital that made a horrible beeping sound every morning. It's the kind of thing that probably wasn't built to last for fifteen years, and I'm kind of surprised

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1130869731173797362005-11-01T13:24:00.000-05:002005-11-01T13:28:51.193-05:00

Well, not really. But I was checking out my site statistics today (is there any activity more vain?), and lo and behold, I have a new bunch of traffic after being quoted on Salon.com's Broadsheet. (Requires subscription or watching an ad.) Okay, so it's only two words--everyone starts somewhere.In other news, I finally got the 'a' fixed on my computer. I feel like I had a limb reattached.

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1130802871194773282005-10-31T18:54:00.000-05:002005-10-31T18:54:31.233-05:00

point me to a study that proves that calories consumed on Halloween don't count the rest of the year!Nothing? Drat, I was so hoping.And now, for your viewing entertainment, a gratuitous series of Halloween-related photos:painting pumpkins #1 & 2At a Halloween party on Saturday night On the way to school for the Halloween parade And going out trick-or-treating. (Why does the Potato look so

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1130700563683918632005-10-30T14:29:00.000-05:002005-10-30T14:29:23.706-05:00

I just finished reading Maureen Dowd's somewhat depressing essay on feminism in the Sunday Times Magazine. I'm sure this is going to be one of the more blogged-over things in the feminist blogosphere, but I felt compelled to write about it anyway.I'm an old-school feminist. I'm not really sure how that happened, as I feel pretty cutting-edge, but I guess I've been left behind by those who want to

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1130532875161774012005-10-29T21:02:00.000-04:002005-10-29T21:09:06.840-04:00

Well, okay, there's probably more than one thing if you want to be all literal and count things like trees & spiders & squirrels.But there's something much bigger than that living in our backyard. Something mammalian.Whatever it is has dug a hole under our shed. And yesterday when I walked out onto the deck to call someone (thanks for the crappy reception, myjob'scellphonecompany), I saw

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1130328356326552912005-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:002005-10-26T08:05:56.336-04:00

I'm writing this from a hotel room somewhere in Ohio. Last night, I got in to the hotel around 11:30 p.m., after a lovely evening spent in the airport watching my flight be delayed several times. I unpacked my bags, set up my laptop (huzzah for free high speed internet!), and opened my email to discover this message from landisdad: subject: If you miss our Potato (& yes, it actually said

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1130098046436321542005-10-23T20:28:00.000-04:002005-10-23T20:28:42.256-04:00

I just finished reading this really interesting book called Hey Waitress: The USA from the Other Side of the Tray by Allison Owings, a book that has been on my Powell's wishlist for a few years (and incidentally, I originally heard of in The Women's Review of Books). It's an well-researched book--a series of oral history interviews with a variety of waitresses, including a woman who worked the

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1129900785526512392005-10-21T08:59:00.000-04:002005-10-21T09:19:45.536-04:00

I was tagged by Non-for-Profit Dad with this meme. So here you go--all things seven in nature.7 things I want to do before I die:1. Take my kids to Paris (okay, when they’re a little older)2. Have a real office again3. Learn to speak Spanish4. Finish Remembrance of Things Past5. Visit my brother & his family in Japan, with my family. Before the kids are old enough to sneak out at one in the

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1129767269665784332005-10-19T20:00:00.000-04:002005-10-19T20:31:37.176-04:00

For weeks, we've been anxiously awaiting the loss of the first baby tooth in our house. There's been a lot of wiggling of a certain lower front tooth, but I was starting to worry that the Bee's first lost tooth was going to be the incisor that she's having extracted tomorrow. In fact, we had a whole conversation before bed tonight about how, if the tooth came out in the middle of the night, the

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1129510641395010722005-10-16T20:50:00.000-04:002005-10-16T20:57:21.420-04:00

Comfort Addict asked me in a comment to expound on the non-physical ways that our kids take after me and landisdad. It’s a question that interests me a great deal, so I thought I’d answer in a whole ‘nother post. In some ways, I can’t really tell how much my kids are like us. Do I have an objective enough view of myself to really see the ways that my kids’ personalities are like mine? Maybe,

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1129312299756984022005-10-14T12:38:00.000-04:002005-10-14T17:55:27.213-04:00

For the most part, I lost out in the gene pool wars when it comes to our kids. Almost everyone agrees that physically, our kids take after landisdad & his family way more than they do me and mine. In fact, we have a picture of my MIL at 5 years old that is the spitting image of the Bee.But there are some things that seem to have come down from my side of the family. They just aren't necessarily

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1129146031704920222005-10-12T15:38:00.000-04:002005-10-12T15:40:31.716-04:00

I’m spending a day at the car dealership, because the fan of my car started to make a horrible noise last week. And then it started to make a horrible smell. And I still had to drive about 300 miles, before I could bring it in for service. Not fun.Turns out, there were approximately 6,000 parking stubs that had fallen into my engine and were blocking the fan, some of which were scorched. Which

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1128912084463803402005-10-09T21:00:00.000-04:002005-10-09T23:12:44.526-04:00

stupid orange cat.Broke the 'a' off my keyboardNow I blog poorly.Photo by landisdad

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1128525165010776012005-10-05T11:08:00.000-04:002005-10-05T11:12:45.023-04:00

This month's Blogging for Books topic is to write about your close, personal relationship with a song. Here's my entry:In January of 1992, I was a mess. I was 23 years old, and I was living in my best friend’s mom’s basement, working at an expensive grocery store in the floral department. In the prior six months, I had broken up with a crazy boyfriend after he tried to throw me into a street and

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1128459888663058532005-10-04T17:07:00.000-04:002005-10-04T17:04:55.803-04:00

About a week after Hurricane Katrina, I blogged about my frustration at not being able to send tangible things and my plan to leaflet my neighborhood to collect donations for evacuees. I told folks that I would collect toiletries, kids' books & toys, and clothing until September 24, and send them off.My neighbors' generosity overwhelmed me--we ended up sending

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1128370189019651522005-10-03T16:06:00.000-04:002005-10-04T12:22:48.056-04:00

I was tagged by Christie. (If you're a right-wing Republican, don't mess with her.) I just finished loading a whole bunch of cds into iTunes--let's see what comes up.List ten songs that you are currently listening to. It doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're no good but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1128351716797634002005-10-03T10:39:00.000-04:002005-10-03T11:01:56.810-04:00

I was really saddened this morning to open the paper and see that August Wilson had passed away. His gigantic ambition--to write a play about African American life in every decade of the 20th century--was a tremendous addition to American literature.In my early adulthood, I worked as a stage manager on a production of Fences in San Diego. It was one of the last plays that I did before deciding to

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1128088805208466412005-09-30T09:51:00.000-04:002005-09-30T10:10:16.036-04:00

Yesterday, the Bee told me that one of her classmates (let's call her Lily) had told her (the previous day at school) that she saw her stepfather throw her mom across the room, and then punch a metal door. For a moment, I was stunned into silence. I asked the Bee what Lily's reaction had been, and she said, "she was really scared." I said, "are you scared too?" And she looked at me and said, "yes

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1127947483515685642005-09-28T18:38:00.000-04:002005-09-28T20:38:49.000-04:00

About two weeks ago, I was officially installed as the vice-president of the PTA at the Bee's elementary school. It's a sort of bizarre post--similar to the VP of the country, I guess, a lot of it is spent waiting around to see if you're going to have to step up and do the ultimate job. Unlike the executive branch of our government, though, being the VP of the PTA guarantees you the top slot in

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1127661101402277142005-09-25T12:53:00.000-04:002005-09-25T12:53:19.093-04:00

So the slumber party was a success, despite the ups-and-downs leading to it. There was a Barbie movie (shudder) with 3D glasses, no less. There was insane giggling. There were several balloon fights. There were declarations of best friend status. There was staying up way too late (although not all night, as they were trying to do), and then getting up way too early and eating pancakes for

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1127481261090618212005-09-23T09:10:00.000-04:002005-09-23T09:14:21.100-04:00

I stole this from Dawn. Rules: 1. Go into your archive. 2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to). 3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to). 4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. We spent the whole summer on the road--camped out, stayed with friends, and saw more of the country than I can remember. from the post "All (well some) of your questions

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1127307574429752012005-09-21T08:53:00.000-04:002005-09-21T22:23:36.396-04:00

So next week is the Bumblebee's birthday. We told her that if she wanted to, instead of having a big party this year, she could have her first sleepover this weekend, and that's what she decided to do. We told her she could invite three girls, but she ended up only asking two, and so far one of the moms hasn't rsvp'd. We had a fairly long conversation about why she could only invite girls to her

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1127010199397973892005-09-17T22:23:00.000-04:002005-09-17T22:23:46.566-04:00

I've been out of town for work for several days, and finally came home this afternoon. I really missed my kids while I was away, and that was exacerbated by the fact that several of my coworkers brought their kids with them to the meeting we were all attending. Watching other people's kids run around was fun, but it didn't make me regret my decision to leave the kids at home with landisdad.One of

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1126481103801356602005-09-11T19:03:00.000-04:002005-09-11T20:35:59.866-04:00

There's been a bunch of stuff going on here at BSP lately that has kept me from blogging with any seriousness. I'm going to try to delve into some of it, and hope that it makes some sense. On pure logistics, I've gone back to a more active work schedule, after spending most of August in a soporific haze. But my work has become more time-consuming without being more interesting, so I'm not that

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1126238707392610152005-09-08T23:55:00.000-04:002005-09-09T00:05:07.396-04:00

The Bee is back in school, and so far, so good on the best friend issue. I was worried that her end-of-the-year best friend was going to spurn her this year, but it doesn't look like that will be the case.I had to work late tonight, so landisdad went to pick both the kids up from school. When he got to the Bee's school, she and her best friend, and another boy were playing bowling. The Bee and

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1126027839007389712005-09-06T13:16:00.000-04:002005-09-06T13:30:39.016-04:00

Friday night, the Bee and I made collages, during our Mommy/daughter one-on-one time.Yesterday, the Potato and I got some one-on-one time, too, since his sister decided to sleep until 10 (?!). Here we are looking at boats on some big watee.And today's the first day of first grade, for my big, big girl. Sigh. Where did the summer go?

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1125766347400704582005-09-03T12:43:00.000-04:002005-09-08T22:38:01.443-04:00

Okay, so I've been sitting in front of my computer and tv for the last six days, feeling helpless and frustrated. I've gotten to the point where I've decided that not to act is putting me in a worse situation than to act. So I'm getting up from my computer, and I'm going door-to-door to my neighbors, to gather donations for the victims of Katrina. And then I'm gonna send them off to a software

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1125598787075272232005-09-01T14:03:00.000-04:002005-09-01T14:19:47.086-04:00

hat today to do some advocacy.I was reading this article on tompaine.com about the Senate's proposed efforts to repeal the estate tax. It occurred to me that it is utterly ridiculous to give a tax cut to anyone, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, while our country is going through a national disaster the way that we are right now. There are many appeals going around to raise funds for

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1125274782046028152005-08-29T08:21:00.000-04:002005-08-29T08:30:24.060-04:00

It's odd to write this entry, as so many people in the Mississippi Delta are at risk of losing so much. Almost hubristic.We spent the better part of this weekend unloading a bunch of 'new' furniture that we inherited in the dissolution of landisdad's grandmother's apartment, after she passed on two months ago. We also freecycled a bunch of stuff that we don't need anymore, now that we have better

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1125113012221449832005-08-27T08:39:00.000-04:002005-08-27T08:39:39.310-04:00

Soon after the Bee was born, my mom came to visit. We were having one of those 'now you're a parent, so I can tell you all these things I never told you before' conversations, and my mom started telling me a story about how her perspective changed after she had kids. There was a woman who lived in the next town over from where I grew up, who was abducted with her kids from a shopping center

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1124930947328295202005-08-24T20:45:00.000-04:002005-08-24T20:49:07.333-04:00

Here's a link to my final post on the San Diego Reader's website. I originally wrote this post back in April, when there were a slew of urban mommy/daddy bloggers pondering about moving to the suburbs--this was my perspective on the debate. Enjoy!

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1124762062054915762005-08-23T08:42:00.000-04:002005-08-23T08:54:38.373-04:00

There are times in my relationship with my children when I feel like I'm channeling the Commandant from The Great Escape, and they are Steve McQueen. The Bee in particular has an artful, almost Judd Nelson-as-John-Bender-like way of responding to punishment and threats (a reference perhaps more accessible to my Gen X cohort).That sort-of "give me another" kind of reaction.In a way, I almost

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1124718676311531872005-08-22T08:43:00.000-04:002005-08-22T09:53:23.373-04:00

School starts in two weeks. I can't wait, and neither can the Bumblebee. It's too hot to play outside, and after this weekend's party, landisdad & I had too much to do to take the kids to the pool yesterday.Consequently we suffered the whining and misery of a girl who hasn't seen her best friend since school got out.A lesson to me for next year? When your daughter decides in the last two weeks of

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1124649668111108602005-08-21T14:36:00.000-04:002005-08-21T14:47:32.883-04:00

As promised, here are some photos from yesterday's birthday party. We had a very nice, and small, party. The weather held with us, so the kids were able to splash around in the kiddie pool, and climb on the wretched princess castle, and generally leave the adults alone.The Potato is in a big fire truck phase right now, and many of his gifts revolved around a certain theme.Yes, fire trucks, fire

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1124463870879184052005-08-19T10:46:00.000-04:002005-08-19T11:04:30.886-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately, I have been planning the Potato's 2nd birthday party, set up for tomorrow. We're really hoping for a nice day here, so the kids can run around in the baby pool, and the adults can sit in lawn chairs and sip cool drinks. Pictures on Sunday!

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1124312529600372722005-08-17T17:01:00.000-04:002005-08-17T17:02:17.023-04:00

This week's San Diego Reader entry is posted here. Regular readers will recognize it from a few weeks ago.And thanks to all those sending good health wishes to the Potato--he's back to normal today.

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1124204235554467542005-08-16T10:44:00.000-04:002005-08-16T10:57:15.560-04:00

The Potato is home sick today. He woke up with a fever, and was doing that kind of listless, draggy thing. We went downstairs for breakfast, and he threw up all over the kitchen floor.I'm from the school of parenthood where sick kids get to watch tv all day (when they're not napping). My kids are only allowed about 1/2 hour of tv a day normally, so this is a very special treat.After I got him

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123981550681734972005-08-13T21:05:00.000-04:002005-08-13T21:05:50.690-04:00

So last week while landisdad and I were on vacation, we got a babysitter one night and went out to dinner. We had a few minutes to spare before our reservation (how did that happen?), so we wandered in to our local hippie store to browse. I can't remember what landisdad bought, because I was hypnotized by the magazine rack full of zines on one wall.I first experienced zines in the early '90s,

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123784323395885752005-08-11T12:16:00.000-04:002005-08-11T14:22:22.123-04:00

Here's a link to my current post on the San Diego Reader's Blog World. This is a post that I wrote just for the Reader--it's sort of an intro to my blog, and I didn't feel the need to post it here, but now you can comment anyway (if you're so inclined). If you're interested in the blogs that I mention in the post (apparently they don't post links, 'cause they were in the original), you can get to

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123718518422167142005-08-10T19:25:00.000-04:002005-08-10T20:01:58.430-04:00

I was very excited today to find out that the Women's Review of Books, which suspended publication in December 2004, has acquired new funding, and will be relaunching in January 2006.I can't tell you the number of books by women that I discovered through the WRB. Without them, I would have been late to the Marjane Satrapi party, for sure. Ditto Sarah Water's excellent novel, Fingersmith. They

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123590780272769172005-08-09T08:25:00.000-04:002005-08-09T08:33:00.276-04:00

For months, the Potato has been talking. He has a growing vocabulary, and recently added the word "yes" (which is oh so helpful). But until now, he's mostly used the words to describe 1) things he sees ("truck, Mommy!"), 2) things he wants ("mik!"), and 3) things he doesn't want ("noooeeee!"). Last night, the family was eating dinner together, and the Bee started to tell us about her day at

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123518094139789492005-08-08T17:01:00.000-04:002005-12-22T23:40:53.450-05:00

I got tagged by Desperate to be a Housewife to do the 100 things post. It's taken me quite a while to do it!Here goes:1. I was born in Middlebury, VT.2. I have three younger brothers, three step-brothers and three step-sisters.3. I was a heavy smoker until I was 26, when I quit cold-turkey.4. I am older than my husband. By one day.5. I am a cat person--we have three cats.6. When I was 21, I lived

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123348647973287472005-08-06T12:42:00.000-04:002005-08-06T13:17:27.990-04:00

This post was inspired by an ongoing discussion of the division of household labor that's been going on over at Half-Changed World.Landisdad and I are both slobs. It's not that we never clean, it's just that we don't do it every day, and we tend to not put things away after we use them, so our house is always filled with clutter. Before we had kids, this wasn't really a problem--we would neaten

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123121059423436602005-08-04T05:50:00.000-04:002005-08-04T17:59:47.330-04:00

Regular visitors to my blog know that I am an inveterate reader. I learned to read young, and never looked back. But what you may not know about me is that my childhood ambition was to be a writer. One of my first independent acts as a child was to submit a joke idea to Mork and Mindy (I told you I was a geek). By independent, I mean that I went to the library and researched how to send a story

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1123115125673187072005-08-03T20:24:00.000-04:002005-08-03T20:39:24.440-04:00

Note: this is not the special announcement that I promised--that's coming later in the week.We're still on vacation, and yesterday, we went to the beach. Unfortunately, my body decided that it was the right moment to inform me of its advanced state of decay. Because while I was jumping into a wave, I heard a 'pop', and felt a searing pain in my left calf. I hobbled out of the ocean and collapsed

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1122653239958989452005-07-29T12:10:00.000-04:002005-07-29T12:07:19.976-04:00

So tomorrow is the first day of the first vacation that landisdad and I have taken in the last three years. Whoo-hooo! Two years ago, I was about to go on maternity leave, and didn't feel like I could take a vacation before that. Last year, I worked on the presidential election, and didn't have the time to take vacation. This year, I insisted on it. We're not going away, we're just staying home

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1122497734473261032005-07-27T17:06:00.000-04:002005-07-27T16:55:34.586-04:00

In many ways, landisdad and I face the same challenges that are faced by set of parents who both work outside the home. (Well, okay, I mostly telecommute, but the challenges haven't changed that much since I've been working at home.) We juggle the daycare and school pickups against our need to work late nights sometimes. We slide in calls to the doctor's office to schedule annual check ups while

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1122434223516752682005-07-27T00:05:00.000-04:002005-07-26T23:17:20.736-04:00

"War is an episode, a crisis, a fever the purpose of which is to rid the body of fever. So the purpose of a war is to end the war."-William Faulkner

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1122313585417733692005-07-25T12:42:00.000-04:002005-07-25T13:46:25.426-04:00

The Sweet Potato is a very sweet boy. But he's about to turn two, and that chemical thing that happens in the brain of toddlers is definitely happening to him.Cranky. Irritable. Easily frustrated. Hey wait, that's me.No seriously, the boy got on my last nerve last night, and all I can do is think, "this will pass."Doesn't every child go through a phase where they demand a bath, then decide that

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1122134776411955852005-07-23T12:02:00.000-04:002005-07-23T12:35:52.070-04:00

First, a note. Regular readers of my blog know that landisdad, while aware of my blog's existence, was not reading it. He is now, so we have to stop talking about him (just kidding, darling!). I'm not sure if he'll comment or not, but I thought you should know.This morning, as we were getting ready to go to the Farmer's Market, I threw a t-shirt and shorts on to my unshowered body. The Bee, in

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1121793096690717142005-07-22T20:42:00.000-04:002005-07-22T09:27:53.366-04:00

I was tagged by Mrs. B, so here are the five things I miss from childhood:1. Having a good relationship with my dad. I've blogged in the past about my difficult relationship with my dad, and at this point, we haven't seen each other for over two years. The last time I talked to him, I was pregnant with the SP--my dad doesn't even know if the SP is a boy or a girl. I've learned in this life not to

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1121957904816898262005-07-21T10:54:00.000-04:002005-07-21T10:58:24.823-04:00

Oops, I'm a day late. Well, I worked a trillion hours yesterday, so sorry about that. "Irony is scissors, a divining rod always pointing in two directions. If the evil act can't be erased, then neither can the good. It's as accurate a measure as any of a society: what is the smallest act that can be considered heroic? In those days, to be moral required no more than the slightest flicker of

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1121777564313825022005-07-19T08:46:00.000-04:002005-07-19T09:00:05.100-04:00

for a moment to recognize the father of air conditioning, William Haviland Carrier. Because it is a fetid swamp today on the East Coast.In other news, the Bee is coming home tonight (huzzah!). So far, reports of her activities have ranged from the extremely specific ('we saw eleven deer, two of them were fawns, four of them were mommies, four of them were boys and one was the daddy'--don't ask

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1121614410344643362005-07-17T11:25:00.000-04:002005-07-17T11:33:30.350-04:00

So the Potato has decided to spend his weekend of parental attention on a major language acquisition project. So far, the new words that he's debuted include "noodle," "upside-down," "too-too" (aka "choo-choo") "flower," and "tractor."I loved this phase of the Bee's development, and I'm very excited for the Potato to be increasingly verbal. It's great when kids are learning new words every day--

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1121440696379209022005-07-15T11:13:00.000-04:002005-07-15T11:18:16.390-04:00

Well, amid a flurry of last-minute packing (lip gloss is very important), teddy bears and car seat shifting, the Bee has gone away. She was very excited when I dropped her off this morning, and barely even noticed when I left (she was playing with her cousin). I know that in many ways, this will be much harder on me than on her, and that's a good thing. I know that the girl I sent away is not the

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1121257519375324132005-07-13T08:23:00.000-04:002005-07-13T08:25:19.380-04:00

This is the most important thing about me--I'm a card-carrying reader. All I really want to do is sit and read or lie down and read or eat and read or shit and read. I'm a trained reader. I want a job where I get paid for reading books. And I don't want to have to make reports on what I read or to apply what I read. Maxine Hong Kingston Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1121102796568945042005-07-11T13:19:00.000-04:002005-07-11T13:26:36.576-04:00

A few weeks ago, my mom called to ask if she could take the Bee away on vacation with her for five days in mid-July. Two of my brothers will be there (one of whom is very close to the Bee, the other one is her beloved uncle who she never sees), along with one sister-in-law & one cousin. Landisdad and I have been debating the concept for quite a while, and we've finally decided to let her go along

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1120968109523818732005-07-09T23:30:00.000-04:002005-07-10T00:08:53.830-04:00

This is probably a kind of a weird reading recommendation for most people, but I'm enthusiastically promoting Don't Sleep with Stevens by Timothy Minchin. Despite the somewhat provocative title, this is a history of the nearly 20-year campaign to organize the J.P. Stevens textile company run by the TWUA (which, through mergers, later became ACTWU, then UNITE! and now exists as UNITE HERE). The

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1120766573851323022005-07-07T16:01:00.000-04:002005-07-08T09:04:18.016-04:00

This month’s Blogging for Books topic is to write about a pivotal moment in your life as a parent. I was sitting at my computer, contemplating what to write about, when I saw the news about the London bombings. And that led me to my post of the day.On Monday, September 11, 2001, the Bee was about to turn 2, and I was pregnant with our second child. I went to my local coffee shop to get my daily (

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1120738736221745372005-07-06T23:59:00.000-04:002005-07-07T08:18:56.226-04:00

"Once a man I was leaving told me I could go if I would leave my skin behind. I was so young I didn't even know that I was wonderful..." Ellen Gilchrist

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1120580326903923632005-07-05T12:07:00.000-04:002005-07-05T12:18:46.913-04:00

One way that I know I'm a parent? Listening to a two-year-old say "no" all weekend is cute, not annoying.The Sweet Potato learned how to say "no" this weekend. While I am aware that, in time, I will tire of having my child say no to me all the time, for now it's still very cute, and I just want to eat him up every time he says it. The SP has taken longer than the Bee to become verbal. For a while

landismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10527698.post-1120256514368174432005-07-01T18:14:00.000-04:002005-07-01T19:30:13.273-04:00

Have I mentioned that I hate to cook? Well I do. When landisdad is working late, or away, our kids eat much worse than when he's here. He does most of the cooking in our house, and since he likes to cook, he's mostly happy to do it (or if not, he can get his own blog and complain about it).Lately, he's been working a lot of evenings, and I decided that we can't just have mac and cheese every

landismomnoreply@blogger.com