This morning I was still stirring in bed when the doorbell rang. Tom, it being his morning to wake up and deal with the heathens, was chastising Chompy, who had pooped in his overnight diaper.
Continue reading “Free-range”Free-range
Tag: Artie
Alarm clocks
I’d just signed Artie out at pickup when his after school teacher, a young woman named Miss Bai, came up to me.
“Arthur is so cute,” she said. I relaxed a little bit. These short exchanges during pickup are often when she provides feedback – most of which is positive: “Arthur played very well today, not too rough.” Or, “Arthur spent most of his free play time coloring in. He likes cars, especially fast, expensive ones, so you could also print some coloring sheets out at home for him.” But sometimes she’ll tell me that he did, albeit unintentionally, play too rough with some unfortunate classmate or that he had a harder time than usual keeping his fingers out of his mouth.
Continue reading “Alarm clocks”Sh*!% and giggles
One morning back in Sydney, in the middle of putting his socks on, Artie asked me, “Mama, how do you say ‘fucking’ in Chinese?”
Continue reading “Sh*!% and giggles”Seven books and a baby
Over deep dish pizza on New Year’s Day, our friend Dan proudly mentioned that in 2023, he actually read the number of books he had resolved to read. The number was impressive – 42! – considering he is a hands-on dad of two young kids (though not as young as my baby) and works full-time.
Continue reading “Seven books and a baby”The Bear and I
Two months after my friend gave birth to her second child, we met up for lunch at a cafe, on a tree-lined street in Redfern. Normally extremely punctual, she arrived a few minutes late, but this was by design. As she approached the cafe, she saw that her baby was beginning to doze, so she took an extra loop around the block to ensure he made it to the land of Nod. A small investment for what she hoped would be a cry-free lunch.
Continue reading “The Bear and I”Great Expectations
At the dry cleaners the elderly shop owner smiled at Artie, who was crouched at the window peering at lucky cat figurine.
Continue reading “Great Expectations”This is Not the Age
When Artie was around 18 months, Tom and I felt like we’d gotten into a good rhythm. I’d written this post a few months before and was still enjoying this early phase of toddlerhood. Artie was happy at home, happy at his daycare, happy at our friends’ homes and various playgrounds where he proved to be surprisingly independent. He was always down to explore or up for a jump.
Continue reading “This is Not the Age”
VERY HIGHBROW 