• Reading Board Books

    Almost every day, sometimes in the morning, and sometimes in the afternoon depending on the daily itinerary, we read a basket or two of board books. Of course, we read random board books at other times in the day too, but in the last few months, Peanut Maximus and I…

  • Conversation

    To illustrate the difference between an extrovert and and introvert, I give you this conversation that took place in our toasty family room while the fire was radiating warmth and we were reading or working on a project of one sort or another. Dr. Peds: If you were stuck in…

  • Up and Away

    This is what happens when you haven’t folded your laundry for a full month, and you have plans to listen to a long audio book of a novel you are having an English test on in less than 48 hours.

  • Cutting Down the Christmas Trees

    YaYa and The Devious Snail are far and away, and Mr. Trouble on Feet had a choir rehearsal on the day of the Christmas Tree Cut, so that left two parents, The Banana, and Peanut Maximus to get the job done. We had a terrific time. We dropped Mr. TOF…

  • Devious Snail: Celebrating 19

    We started the day out with breakfast in the bathtub, standing room only! On the menu: bagels with cream cheese. Unfortunately, the Devious Snail’s favorite type of bagel (cinnamon sugar) was not available, so we made due with other varieties. To wash it down, the Devious Snail gleefully poured a…

  • Scenes from Thanksgiving

    Grandma Kathy brought this excellent pilgrim hat created by Cousin Janzie in first or second grade, and it still looks good on her now! Thanksgiving was a bustling time of tremendous activity. There were board games, trips to see Christmas lights and ships in the harbor, excursions to thrift stores…

  • Thanksgiving: The Almond Prize

    Every year I make a fancy rice pudding dish at Thanksgiving. An almond is tossed in, and whoever gets it in their dish wins a special prize. Sometimes the prize is something really great. Sometimes it is something really silly. Dr. Peds had been saving this year’s prize in his…