The Map-Maker's Mother

My brain seems to have decided on its own accord that real life is just not working out.
It has instead developed a single-minded focus on one thing: sewing. I’m a long-time sewer (seamstress?) and cranked out my first gathered skirt sometime in the early 80s, but for the past few years sewing has taken a backseat to (a) childrearing [...]

MapKid invented a new word this week: grumped.
To be grumped to be made grumpy, and boy oh boy howdy has he been grumped lately. The cat grumps him, as does our selection of breakfast cereal and his visit to the dentist. “That grumps me,” he announces, scowling, and proceeds to stomp around in an enormous huff. My [...]

My work-out routine was shot to splintereens this summer by my erratic childcare schedule, but I thankfully made it to Nia this week. Nia gets described in all kind of elaborate ways, but it basically boils down to Jazzercize for the New-Age-inclined. In other words, it incorporates a lot of yoga-type discussion of chakras in between [...]

We’ve just survived (I think) what could have been a really ugly situation.
MapKid LOVES karate–and has since he started a year and a bit ago. Yet his behavior there is consistently worse than almost anywhere else.
Karate combines a great many things that can tip him off. First, he often genuinely doesn’t understand what to do. MapKid [...]