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Parenting

This tag is associated with 98 posts

Perception is everything

We’ve been enjoying this first real warm Sunday. Since we got home from church Basil’s been cleaning out the garage. Catherine and I took a long walk through the neighborhood, then set ourselves up outside for a bit of fresh air and sunshine while Catherine chose her dining plan and filled out the housing information … Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday — 18 Years of Awesome

Happy 18th birthday today to our daughter, Catherine. She’s on her way! * * * * * * * * * * * Happy, happy birthday Catherine; the stars are there — just within your grasp. All you have to do is reach for them. xo Love, Mom          

Flashback Friday — Boxed In

Flashback to 1997. Don’t know what you were up to then, but Catherine was elbow-deep in every toy you can imagine … and playing with a white cardboard box. Isn’t it always the way? I stumbled on these photos while looking for something else. They were taken when we still lived in the condo around … Continue reading

No prom queen here

As time goes by, I command less and less respect. Not sure if it’s one of those developmental milestones I once poured over or maybe just me, but Catherine pulls no punches in expressing her opinion. (I can tell that some of you think she came by this honestly and not from the Vanech side … Continue reading

Flashback Friday — Christmas in February

Flashback to 2007 … and Christmas when it is supposed to be celebrated. That was back when things were far less complicated, schedules not nearly as full. Back then, we could celebrate with my best friend, Jacquie, and her family right then, in December, when the tree was still decked out in all its glory. … Continue reading

Snow Daze

Another day, another snow storm — or at least that’s how it’s starting to feel these days. And yes, another snow day. At the rate we’re going, Catherine will graduate high school after she moves into the dorm at Hofstra. But even high school seniors greet the news of no school with childlike glee. After … Continue reading

A step ahead

This will no doubt amaze you, but perhaps you are in the same boat: I have the ability to be embarrassing even if no one is watching. All month, I’ve been participating in Find Your Stride 2014, a free online challenge to take 10,000 steps a day — a widely recognized fitness milestone that most … Continue reading

Flashback Friday — Collegiate Dreamin’

Flashback to fall 1996 and this silly picture of Catherine in an Arizona U sweatshirt that belonged to Basil (I don’t know why; he didn’t go there). The photo seems appropriate given the news this week — four college acceptances so far, including Hofstra, her top choice. When she checked in with someone at the … Continue reading

On her way

The envelope was big, white and emblazoned in red with a 48-point message of congratulations. I couldn’t resist texting Catherine a photo of it — her first college acceptance letter — when I pulled it from the mailbox yesterday morning. Oddly, she of the fast fingers didn’t reply to my message, but rather burst through … Continue reading

Teenagers: They’re loads of fun

Kids say the darndest, cutest things. Teenagers? Not so much. When Catherine was little, helping make the bed meant pulling up “the comfortable”; the time between midnight and 6 am was “the side of night”; she wondered, while helping fold laundry, if my bras were meant for chasing butterflies. These days, some of what comes … Continue reading