Two weeks from Monday, the Monster returns to school.
Since we’ve been a little out of touch with the school this summer – or at least that’s how I’m feeling, to some extent – the wife reached out to the Monster’s teacher to get a list of school supplies for the coming year in the Together We Grow Kindergarten class. Most of the list really isn’t all that surprising to me… but still. Continue reading
A while back, the Monster decided he’d rather sleep on the futon in his bedroom instead of the toddler bed… or really any bed.
Where I sit, this isn’t a problem. I don’t care what he’s sleeping on, as long as he’s getting enough sleep and isn’t putting himself in any real danger. The wife’s of a slightly different mind, and would rather he use a bed. Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, back on July 1st, the new fiscal year began in Maryland, which meant that applications for Low Intensity Support Services opened for funding for FY2014.
By the end of the first day, Southern Maryland was done accepting applications for the year. Where we live, in Central Maryland, the wife went into a panic when she was warned a week later that applications would shortly be closing for our area due to similar demand. (She actually drove the forty minutes each way to hand-deliver our application so it would be there before the newly-imposed July 15th deadline. LISS does not permit applications to be sent by fax or email – they have to be hand-delivered or sent via US Postal Mail.) And we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re likely not to get any LISS funding for FY2014. Continue reading
So, yesterday, we went to a baby naming and then to Sesame Place (since we were in the area).
Going to the baby naming meant getting up fairly early – the naming was in a suburb of Philadelphia, about 2 hours drive from our house, and so we had to get up, get everyone washed, and get our butts on the road before we’d normally be done with breakfast on a weekend morning. Obviously, that’s not going to do things that help the kids get into a “mood” to be cooperative, but we had hopes. Continue reading
It’s not just that our dues to the synagogue were due this week, in order to be considered members in good standing to get our tickets for High Holydays, but the fact that I got the gabbai list for the rest of 2013, and my name’s up for Gabbai Sheni for Simhat Torah.
I’ve been reading Torah since my Bar Mitzvah (obviously). When I was single and living in Texas, I used to read on a regular basis for my congregation down there, since it seemed like a good way to give back. That tendency continued when I made the move back to Maryland, first at my grandmother’s congregation, then the congregation I joined on my own, and then finally at the shul where I attend with my wife today. Continue reading
The Monster’s verbal inclinations – whether regressing or not this summer – really do tend to send us into loops of repetitive questions.
The real problem is when we try to give him choices. Anything beyond a yes-no question lately tends to be a failure unless he’s highly motivated to give a more direct answer. Inevitably, once you get to a certain point in the conversation, the loop begins. Continue reading