Yesterday was language development day. After a successful attempt at getting the Snapper dressed without a fuss–victory is mine!–taking a stroller ride to KMart for laundry detergent, and some wonderful freeplay, we played with a stack of letter cards together. They’re the kind with the letter and some sort of representative object. We just went [...]
Archive for the ‘The Prairie’ Category
Friday Preschool at Home; the Garden
Posted in Parenting, Planet Sster, Teaching, The Prairie, The Snapper on May 2, 2009 | 1 Comment »
On Being Quiet
Posted in Planet Sster, Race, The Prairie on August 4, 2008 | 8 Comments »
It hasn’t been for lack of suitable material: my son’s rapidly growing, frequently outlandish vocabulary (which tonight expanded to include “pastaaaaaaa!” with a little growl); my evolving sense of race issues both personally and communally in our new neighborhood; the astounding–and I do not exaggerate–fact that our house has remained neat, clean, and under control [...]
Sad
Posted in I'm angry today, The Prairie on March 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It’s the worst kind of anniversary. There are no gifts. But if there were, this year would be paper. On the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Women for Peace Iowa held a protest outside of the offices of Senator Harkin and Representative Loebsack, complete with a flag-draped coffin replica. Yours truly and her [...]
Under the Knife, etc.
Posted in Fitness, Parenting, Planet Sster, The Prairie on February 5, 2008 | 5 Comments »
-The Snapper goes under the mask and under the knife tomorrow as the urologist looks for a missing t*sticle. It’s minor but it’s surgery, and it’s general anesthesia so there’s a undercurrent of worry. The next worst part of it is that he can’t eat or drink anything after midnight or have milk [...]
The two-year move
Posted in The Hounds, The Prairie on February 4, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Attic Man and I will have been married for eight years this June. It’s an even-numbered year, so unfortunately that means it’s time to move.
It’s not like we planned it this way. It’s just that every two years an opportunity for something better comes along: a move to Pittsburgh for grad school, a [...]
Caucus Notes
Posted in The Prairie on January 3, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Me: Hey, Edwards staffer! Please tell me your candidate’s latest position on troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Edwards staffer, turning significantly to my right, meeting my husband’s eyes: So glad you asked that! [super-long answer that I find acceptable but nauseatingly peppered with statements like, "well, you know I was just talking to Elizabeth the other day..."]
Me, [...]
Thankful
Posted in Planet Sster, The Prairie on November 23, 2007 | 1 Comment »
that when I was on the way home to Cedar Rapids from Madison, WI, listening to Beethoven’s Sixth and thinking about my life, and saw a sign that said “Welcome to Davenport” (!) I
a) knew where I was and how to get home from there,
b) had enough money to buy more gas,
c) didn’t have a [...]
Harvest Mist
Posted in The Prairie, The guys on November 3, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Yesterday I drove one of my guys to the Iowa 80 Truckstop to say “ooooooo!” at all the tractor-trailers. The land was blanketed in a thin layer of dust: harvest time, and the huge machines were at work until the last drop of daylight. It was one of my “Holy crap–I live in Iowa” moments. [...]
Heads Above Water
Posted in The Prairie on August 23, 2006 | 2 Comments »
Phase two of The Plan is underway: we’re both in full-time, reasonably paying temp jobs, and starting Friday, both of them will be during daytime hours. For the last five days we’ve been passing each other in the night and communicating via a family notebook. The only major mishap was a missed puppy feeding (they [...]
Race in Cedar Rapids
Posted in Planet Sster, Race, The Prairie on August 8, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
I mentioned in an earlier post that CR seemed more diverse, at least from a spreading-out-and-mixing standpoint, than Pgh. I also said that I’d have to wait to live here for a while to see how it all shakes out in reality, and I am starting already to get a feel for things. First of [...]
