Posts tagged as:

rio

Did The Nields Ever Play For The Queen Of England?

May 4, 2012

No, they did not. They did play lots of house concerts in Ireland, though, while traveling there. They played for every house that hosted them. Ask me how I know? Because Rio interviewed them, and one of her first questions was, “Did you ever play for the Queen of England?” The Nields are one of [...]

Tagged as: interview, music, rio

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Choosing A School

April 10, 2012

Ah, school decision making. How I don’t love you. Deciding where to send my kids for school feels like one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made as a parent, especially this year. Here’s the sitch, for readers just tuning in: a few years ago I set out to homeschool my kids. Rio put a [...]

Tagged as: homeschooling, rio, school, serena

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Good-bye, Classmate. Hello, Penpal

April 9, 2012

Last week we talked about how to say good-bye to a school friend, and everyone had great suggestions. Skype! Instant Messenger! Email! Facebook! That’s right. We live in the future, where keeping in touch with Germany is so much easier than it was during my own childhood. It’s hardly like saying good-bye at all. Except [...]

Tagged as: penpal, rio

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Being Nibbled By The Homeschooling Bug

June 24, 2011

I keep starting blog posts and then not writing them because OMFG you would not believe how much writing I do all day. I mean, you would, because I post it all to the Internets and share it with you on the Twitter and like that. But it turns out that even I can become [...]

Tagged as: homeschooling, parenting, rio, serena, writing

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Pirate Santa

December 31, 2010

Rio: Wouldn’t it be cool if Santa was a pirate? And he lived on a pirate ship and sailed through the air and threw all the presents off it? Me: Yeah! The reindeer could be his crew. Rudolph could wear an eyepatch and have a wooden leg. Rio (to the tune of Frosty the Snowman): [...]

Tagged as: funny, rio

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Giving Thanks

November 27, 2010

Spent Thanksgiving with my family like we always do: at my mother’s house, with my sister and her family. This was the first year all the kids have been big enough to warrant a kids’ table. Rio is so grown up now, she helped my mom prep all the food, and even washed the dishes. [...]

Tagged as: holidays, rio

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Rio Can Totally Read!

November 17, 2010

[in which I shamelessly brag on my kid] A few weeks ago, Rio was struggling with Dr. Seuss. She’d made huge strides in reading since starting first grade. Which is to say, she’d moved from complete disinterest in the subject to a determined, steady effort at mastering simple words. She could totally wrestle Red Fish, [...]

Tagged as: parenting, reading, rio

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Sewing For Six-Year-Olds

November 15, 2010

Rio, age 6.5, came home the other day and announced her intention to make a doll. She didn’t ask for any help with this project, so I didn’t offer any. We got out the sewing box. I sat next to her knitting a pair of mittens while she cut up some waste fabric and tried [...]

Tagged as: crafting, rio, sewing

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Some Imaginary Friends are Stinky

August 3, 2010

Staggering to the shower this morning, Serena stopped me in the hall outside the bathroom door. “Kayleigh and Jesi are in there, Mama,” she said. “Who are Kayleigh and Jesi?” “Kayleigh is my friend and Jesi is Rio’s friend.” Rio, from the bedroom, joins the conversation. “You can go in there if you want, Mama, [...]

Tagged as: imaginary friends, play, rio, serena

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The Indigo Girls Rock My Baby’s World

August 2, 2010

We hit the ground running: we went to an Indigo Girls concert last night, about 15 hours after getting home from Argentina. Both girls slept through it. It was adorable, but I may tease Rio for 20 years for sleeping through the show we flew home a few days early for her to go to. [...]