Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A turn of the calendar means a bit of extra family time.
On January 2, 2012, I officially made Christmas go away. As I’ve said before, I am a Christmas nerd. I love the decorations, the smells, the food, the parties, the music – all of it. There is barely a corner of my house without a jingle bell or twinkle light and I wouldn’t have it any other way. However, come January 1, I am always ready to see it end. Perhaps it’s the dead tree dropping needles and threatening to set the playroom afire if there is so much of a warm breeze that wafts its way. Maybe it’s the myriad of extension cords that emerge from every single outlet in the house. Or it could just be the feeling of “out with the old, in with the new.” I am always breathing a sigh of relief when the last of the season is stored away in …
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A mother-daughter day, while not written down, tops all weekend errands.
“Stop and Smell the Roses.” Every parent has uttered this cliché at one point or another. When you have children, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the little things on your To Do List that you forget what’s important. This weekend, I had that rare opportunity to smell them roses – even though that was the last thing on my mind. My Sunday began as many of them do, with one parent taking a child and racing off to a sporting event (this week it was Ben’s soccer game in Providence). With Georgia and Quinn in my bed with me, I turned on a show that Quinn loves and fought the losing battle to catch a few more minutes of sleep. While lying next to them, the upcoming schedule for the day raced through my mind. I hate to admit it, but instead of …
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Two boys celebrate their birthdays differently, but cake and friends are what guarantee a Happy Day.
It’s been a big week here at the Shumway house, as we had two birthday boys within four days. The oldest family member (Andy) turned 40 and the youngest (Quinn) turned 2. Despite the 38 years separating father and son, there were striking similarities (as well as obvious differences) when it came to how we celebrated their big days. With Andy, we opted for a surprise party. Along with about 40 family and friends, we surprised him, toasted him and shared some laughs. We ate cake and BBQ that was smothered in a spicy sauce. At the end of the day, turning 40 didn’t seem like such a big deal. For Quinn, however, things were different. It was more of an intimate gathering (how many friends can one count when they’re two?) and the surprise came …
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
We all know fourth grade math is getting tough for parents, but you aren't alone if you don't know the answers.
Raise your hand if this is a familiar scene in your house: Child arrives home from school. Child dutifully spends 30 minutes doing math homework. Child brings said homework to parent to check over. Parent has minor stroke realizing that their fourth grader’s arithmetic skills have now surpassed their own. Dare I say that the dreaded homework is even more unpleasant for the parents than it is for the kids? Okay, I may be exaggerating a little but not by much. Is it just me, or has math gotten really, really hard? I remember the big four – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – and I always thought that if you had a handle on those then you were in good shape. Apparently, in the years between elementary school and working full-…
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Being a new face on the playground can be harder for the parent then it is for their kids.
We have all been the new kid at one time or another. Whether it was moving to a new town or beginning kindergarten, college or even a new job, everybody knows what it’s like to start over. Just imagine that feeling though, standing on the playground… as an adult! I met a great lady this weekend who is just that: “the new kid.” Having moved here a few weeks ago, she’s got two kids at Riverdale Elementary School, a husband who’s working full-time and is trying to carve out a place for herself. She explained to me that it can be hard coming into a tight-knit community like Dedham when you don’t know anyone, especially after having built a close group of friends in her former town. I started thinking about how I felt when I first moved to …
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
How a goofy face or silly song can save a toddler.
Sometimes, a funny face is all it takes. While sitting around the kitchen island last week eating dinner, the kids and I were discussing books they needed to read, chores to do and overall behavior that needed to improve. Just as I was about to bring the hammer down on the 10- and 6-year-old, the giggling started. With my blood about to boil for not being taken seriously, I realized just what was so funny. “Sorry, Mom,” Ben said, “but he’s HILARIOUS!” I looked over at Quinn who, while sitting in his high chair, had his index fingers in each side of his mouth pulling it open and was doing his very best to get a reaction. It worked. My baby boy will be turning 2 next month. Although life with a toddler is tiring to say the least, he has …
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
How our beloved friend Kathy Taraschi inspired the masses with her Sox national anthem performance.
It’s not that often that the whole family gets a lesson in courage, poise and grace all wrapped up in the form of a Red Sox outing. But last week, we got just that. And it was our good friend Kathy who taught us all. On Saturday, we headed to Fenway Park with two other families in our neighborhood, but it was not just to watch the Sox play the Rangers. We were there because our beloved friend and neighbor, Kathy Taraschi, sang the national anthem before the game. I must say… I have goose bumps just thinking about it. We have known Kathy and Bob (her husband) for years now; they are like the favorite Aunt and Uncle to all kids in the neighborhood and Mr. and Mrs. Entertainer-in-Chief to the grownups. Bob always has a funny story to tell and…
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
We told tales of historic hurricanes to hit us, but we were one of the lucky ones not to lose power this time around.
As Hurricane Irene prepared to come thundering into Dedham last weekend, we huddled up and battened down the hatches, Shumway-style. We, like everyone in the area, braced for what could be downed tree limbs, power lines and high winds. We watched the meteorologists and the online Doppler radar updates as though our lives depended on it. We were completely consumed by Irene and how she would affect us. And it was sort of fun. We regaled the kids with tales of Hurricane Gloria when we were kids and how she tore through our neighborhoods, uprooting trees and leaving us with no electricity for days. We told them about Hurricane Bob and the flooded basements that we had as a result. Andy and I were even able to tell them what it was like to be …
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Finding something for the kids to do is like trying to bail out a boat with a Dixie cup.
Let the patchwork quilt of childcare begin. You all know what I’m talking about: those few weeks between the end of camp and the beginning of school when working parents everywhere scramble to find coverage for their kids? We can’t all take two weeks off, but at the same time, an interim camp would set you back about $12,000. Unless you have a preschool-age child who has full-time daycare regardless of the season, then you’re in the same boat I am. And every Aug. 15, I find myself bailing that boat out. With a Dixie cup. This year, of course, is no different. One would think that I’d have learned my lesson by now but for some reason I just can’t seem to get ahead of this annual end-of-summer dilemma. Two weeks ago, Andy looked at me and …
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
To-do lists may work for the school year but when it comes to summer, it's best to simply go with the flow.
As I stood in front of the dry erase calendar and wrote the schedule for this week, I stopped dead in my tracks. Was August 20 actually this Saturday? How could Friday be the last day of camp? HAD I REALLY NOT WEEDED THE GARDEN YET? Sometime between cranking the A/C and buying school supplies it happens to everyone. We’re never ready for it and no matter how intently we watch the calendar it always sneaks up on us. Although we’re all grown up now and the words “Summer Vacation” don’t always involve two full months of playtime, July and August always seem to go by twice as fast as January and February do. One day, you’re sending cupcakes for the end of school party and the next you’re at Staples picking up notebooks and pencils. There I was…
Dan Maher
6:04 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Good to see the RedShum sauce made the cut! Happy birthday both to Coach and Q! more ›