My Daughter Declares Herself Queen

Upon figuring out how to work her mechanical toy the other day, my daughter Brontë threw both her arms up in a victory salute, shouting, “I’M A PRINCESS!!!” Not sure how she defines “princess,” but I’m glad it involves competence. She may, however, be moving on to bigger and better things. Today, Brontë declared herself the […]

Poop Warfare: The Continuing Potty-Training Saga

Brontë and I continue to work on potty training, and I’ve just about exhausted my bag of tricks. It’s starting to feel like a two-year-old has taken me hostage. She has her finger right above the poop trigger, and either I meet her crazy demands, or this whole place is going to explode. Recently, she demanded that a […]

My Daughter Gives Her Sister Magical Powers

My daughter Brontë to her baby sister Bridget, after knotting a dishtowel around her shoulders: “I give you cape, sister. Now you are super.” Bridget giggled and flailed her arms in delight. Big sister had made her Superbaby.

A Tribute to the French

This post was originally going to be all about how my kids had a stomach virus during the past week, one that made them projectile vomit for days, in unison, all over the living room, the car, the bathroom, the staircase, and just about anywhere else that wasn’t a toilet or bin. But then the […]

Five Reasons Why Queen Elsa Is a Good Idea For Little Girls

In exciting toddler news, apparently Queen Elsa from Frozen has dethroned Barbie as the reigning queen of childhood royalty. I have to say, I’m very pleased with this development. Having discovered that it’s damn near impossible to prevent princess obsessions in little girls, I think the least we could do is give these princess skills beyond […]

What’s Up With All the Peanut Allergies?

My daughter Brontë recently started attending preschool. It was high time for her to go (she really wants to make friends with other children), but for me, it was bittersweet. It’s the end of an era: the World of Just Mommy and Brontë. It means she won’t stay a little girl forever. Someday she will […]

Children’s Toys Are Creepy

Having kids is a wonderful thing, but it’s exhausting. Also, the grass is green and the sky is blue. The power drain of childcare, though, is hard to fully appreciate until you’ve done it yourself. Sitcoms aren’t a good substitute. Beyond the physical demands, constantly being alert mentally wears you down. You are always having to make […]

My Daughter Has a Halloween Panic Attack

Children are unpredictable. As you can see in the photo, my daughter Brontë loves everything about being a Halloween pirate queen. Being a massive fan of dressing up, she jumped right on board the Halloween train as soon as she figured out costumes would be involved. She’s a fearless and enthusiastic kid. Whenever we’re in public, […]