As soon as I walked into my son’s preschool classroom a few Fridays ago, I knew something was wrong. Both teachers had the kind of apprehensive look on their faces that generally precedes an overly detailed explanation of how Bruiser skinned his knee on the playground and would-I-please-sign-this-accident-report, or how he made the unfortunate choice […]

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January 30, 2012

The Lice Squad

We’ve had a crazy couple of months here at the Ferrier house as the family has adjusted to my new job, but everyone now seems to be settling in nicely. Bruiser’s crying when I leave him at preschool or in the YMCA nursery is now entirely fake, and something of an afterthought. His teachers all […]

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January 11, 2012

Because Little Things Mean A Lot

With two small children in the house, Christmas is a major time for milestones. A few nights ago, Dennis and I finally got around to wrapping all of the presents, after we’d gotten the kids in bed. The next morning, the children tumbled down the stairs to the Christmas tree, eager to inspect all of […]

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December 22, 2011

The Devil Made Him Do It. Seriously.

One of our annual Christmas traditions is attending our city ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker.” Ordinarily, Punky and I go with friends, but this year I decided that Bruiser was finally old enough for his first Nutcracker performance — and so last night, my husband, son, daughter and I all went to see the ballet […]

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December 19, 2011

Nutcracked

On Thursday morning, I held my 4-year-old son as he cried. “You’re going away?” he kept asking. “Am I going to be left all alone?” Welcome to my new reality as a working mom who travels, where personal fulfillment comes at a gut-wrenching cost. “Can’t I come with you?” Bruiser begged after I assured him […]

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November 21, 2011

Tug of War

At four, Bruiser is in that awkward age territory where he’s old enough to play outside with neighbor friends, but not quite old enough to do it without me there to supervise. This is particularly hard for him to bear because his older sister has the run of our small cul-de-sac, and so do most […]

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October 24, 2011

Tough Guy

I am now entering Day Four of a family vacation to Chattanooga and Gatlinburg and I am learning by this experience that nothing will try your patience like your own children. I mean, we’re having a blast– swimming in hotel pools, eating lots of ice cream, giggling our way through mirror mazes, shopping for souvenirs, […]

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October 18, 2011

Patience: Every Parent Needs It

I arrived at Bruiser’s preschool yesterday afternoon to find a group of parents milling excitedly around a table in the lobby. School pictures had arrived! Warily, I went to the table and gave them Bruiser’s name. He’s a photo saboteur from way back, and when they showed me his first photo, I smiled grimly. The […]

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October 14, 2011

The School Photo Racket

He was the kind of child who set off warning bells in my mind every time I saw him. You know the kind I’m talking about. There are kids your child could happily play with all day long without your intervention — and then there are the ones you watch like a hawk the entire […]

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October 12, 2011

Left Out

Between the ages of birth and three years, my son had his share of “moments,” many of which have been documented on this blog. From the time he was born he started things off with a bang, screaming bloody murder practically around the clock. After several doctor visits and unpleasant x-rays, the official diagnosis was […]

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September 29, 2011

The Revolving Door