When Hamlet was born, I held him a lot. Sure, there were times that I popped him in his playdome so I could work. But that never seemed to last long. I'd then hold him on my lap... and still not get much done.

Boris sometimes doesn't seem as lucky. To be sure, wearing him has helped hugely. He often falls asleep on my back, for instance, while I wash dishes or take Hamlet for a walk, or even while I… Read More

My brother and I had terrible sibling rivalry growing up. In fact, I'd characterize him as victim, me as bully. So I was especially sensitive to how Hamlet would feel when his baby brother arrived. I wanted them to have the same close relationship that Rain Dog and his brother have. I worked hard to prepare Hamlet--not too hard, because I didn't want him to catch on that it might not be a good change--telling him what he could expect.
… Read More

Before I ever had kids, I swore I'd never let mine play on adult-size computers. Not because I was afraid of content, but because of simple biomechanics.

Okay, biomechanics is anything but simple. Still, the idea of such small body parts using items made for much larger parts made me nervous. We all know how the wrong shoes, posture, or gait can create acute or even chronic pain in our adult bodies. How, then, could the wrong "fit" between… Read More

Nearly two years ago, Hamlet's pediatrician advised us to look into speech therapy for him. At 17 months, he'd said just one word--"doggie"--and by the time of his 2-year appointment, had stopped saying it.

I had mixed feelings about this. As we soon found out in an initial consult, the language used at the preschool level is very similar to the special-ed language used at the K-12 level. Both Rain Dog and I have had experience with special ed.: him as… Read More

Hamlet has, inexplicably, become interested in the story, "The Princess and the Pea." The first time Rain Dog read it to him, I laughed out loud at the part where the princess tells the queen that she just couldn't get comfortable. "I must be a princess," I told him. "There's pee in our bed a lot, too!"

Potty humor aside, I have to say that pee accidents are still not enough to make us swear off cosleeping. We've been doing it… Read More

We live in a heavily forested area near lakes. Lots of wood. Lots of moisture. Lots of rotting wood. Perfect food for carpenter ants. Which are apparently never quite happy enough with the feast in our yard, as they continue to try to come into our house. Year after year.
The first year we noticed them, we figured it was a fluke. We caulked their most obvious entry points.

The second year, Rain Dog went online and did some homework. He… Read More