(First in a series, titled “work” in which I document people working in the City That Works, aka Chicago)
I’ll tell you about my day later. First, let me tell you about the conversation on the way home.
“And then Maya said blah blah blah. Isn’t that funny, Mommy?”
“Yes. It is. Sounds like you two had a [...]

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(How polite.)
Day Two of the Experiment went well. I sauntered around a bookstore and ended up buying two books I’ve wanted for a long time, The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and First Language Lessons. I had a long chat with my friend Lori while no one demanded snacks in the backgound, and then [...]

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(Some things are sweet to imagine but creepy to depict on cloth curtains. Such as this, displayed at the local tutoring center. Children lit with the flames of knowledge and joy at being able to read a really, really large book from very far away. They even seem a little smug if you ask me. [...]

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We’ve never fished much. But this past summer Fi went to visit her grandparents in Florida and they introduced her to fishing, and she loved it, which led to a fishing rod for Christmas, which led to me setting up a fishing day, with local experts coming to teach 25 people in our homeschooling group [...]

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(North America up close)
Last night it was winding down time, my favorite time of day. Lately Ken has been the storyteller, since he comes home so late he doesn’t get much time with the kids otherwise. But last night, I got the honor. As I read Eragon to Fi, the boy asked me if I [...]

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Polyp is from the middle French, polype for octopus or nasal tumor. From the Latin polypus, and Greek poly & pous meaning foot.
So what is this then? A foot, an octopus or a nasal tumor? Whatever it is, I wisely avoided it at Kiddieland and stuck to the rides which only spin in one [...]

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(What does a royal breakfast taste like? Something divine from the well-washed hands of your children. Ken’s father’s day feast was no exception.)
Many of you are no doubt waiting to hear about how I followed up the mother’s day events (and uh, the camera gift). It wasn’t easy, I’ll say that much. Especially when [...]

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(Maypole kids)
Finally, all of the women who ask me all year long “How do you spend ALL day with your kids?!” as if it were some kind of pharoah’s curse, are getting their own little pox of children all around town. This is very satisfying to see, because most of the parents I see [...]

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(a view from a quiet moment at our local homeschool park day. I guess I have to crouch behind pillars to find these moments!)
Yep, the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are almost here. For the last two weeks, I have been transporting my kids, once a week, to a variety of parks where they [...]

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Every week changes the face of this gallery as new art and freebie magnets arrive. Occasional kudos and photos join the mish mosh, but one thing remains constant, the need to completely cover an ugly cream-colored metal surface with something personal.
In this case, watercolor art projects, shape art projects, a library books due on this [...]

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