Lice, Ice, Bitches & Barf (LIBB)

"Don't ever let a problem to be solved  become more important than a person to be loved."  -Thomas S. Monson-

I follow a blog called " A Fine Parent " and a recent post featured a quote from Maryanne Jacobson, author of From Picky to Powerful , who noted that "Forcing and pressuring causes kids to eat less and dislike certain foods." Sumitha, the blogger, noted that Jacobson's talk at a recent Positive Parenting Conference was packed . I also just saw an article in NPR yesterday talking about kids and finicky food preferences, " Want Your Child to Eat (Almost) Everything? There is a Way ." I suspect picky kids are a relatively recent phenomenon. Affluence, changes in food production and consumption have played a part. But I'm wondering if seismic changes in parenting styles is the greater variable. Things that used to be perfectly acceptable for kids but can now lead to phone calls to Child Protection Services and legal actions taken against parents include: walking alone to school playing outside alone, in public spaces or at the child's own...

This past academic year was brutal on a lot of fronts. Things really got painful at the end of the year when 3 beloved colleagues announced they are leaving. Another who is even closer is likely to end too. This got me to thinking about whether I wanted to slog on amidst so much bullshit. And that led to applying to different jobs. One of them was still in higher education and involved directing the women's and gender studies' programs throughout the UW system. No word on that, but I'm proud of how assertively I handled the application process. The other (so far at least) was as a trainer in a corporate setting. As a friend put it, this company is basically the empire of their field. They have a reputation for hiring trainers fresh out of college who in turn leave the company pretty quickly. I liked the thought of teaching something so even though the position didn't call for teaching or corporate experience, I applied anyway since I actually have both. I got an ema...

Our dear shepherd mix, Zohra, has been sick for the better part of 6 weeks. What started as a bacterial infection treatable with antibiotics is becoming more disconcerting. Two rounds of antibiotics have not cleared up the diarrhea, and the new onset of vomiting and shaking. In the 10 years we've had her she's struggled with this off and on, roughly once a year. This time it's been going on with varying intensity since December. I'm beginning to wish I had called this blog "Lice, Ice, Bitches, Barf and Shit." Hold that thought... One of my summer goals was to work out more. In grad school I worked out 5 days a week. When I first started at RU 4 days a week was typical. This past year 2 or 3 was all I could fit in. Happily, last week I worked out 5 days (Mon-Fri), every morning before the day got away from me. I'm on track this week to do the same thing. Hurray. Despite that the number on the scale was up one pound yesterday. Grrr. A related goal ...

At the end of the school year the university honors two faculty members for their teaching excellence, one who is tenure track and the other who is an adjunct. This year both were in our dept. I had to keep the secret for the better part of a month and try to get their loved ones to the ceremony without raising suspicion. Date night. We actually seem to have a responsible babysitter and got to go out for dinner. After eating at a great local place we went for a walk downtown and saw this goose family out for a stroll down the river. Legos at the library. A sisterly embrace. And another: It's not easy to do this when you're 5'10". The weather was gorgeous. I made a totally satisfying meal out of random parts: leftover roasted cauliflower with cumin and red pepper flakes tucked into corn tortillas spread with guacamole, topped with black beans and some salsa.  Graduation: 2 students who started with French 101 and complete...

I came up for the name of this blog after a particularly challenging week. I typed the expression "lice, ice, bitches and barf" into a Facebook status update and really liked the alliteration. Here's the full scoop. Lice: The school nurse called me on a Thurs to say my oldest had head lice and needed to be picked up immediately for treatment. I'd never experienced it before and had no idea what to look for let alone how to treat it. A series of conversations with our daycare teachers, a trip to Walgreens, and a quick stop at daycare for a crash course in identifying and removing them started the ordeal. The product I picked up had a detangler in the box and it was in the exact same bottle as the treatment. I inadvertently started with it instead of treatment. I rinsed it out (but didn't shampoo it), then reapplied the treatment as directed. Then combed and picked. Then sent her back to school. Then stripped the beds, the couch cover, gathered all the towels, cl...

I love working from home instead of campus on Thursdays. Had a productive morning  The end of the semester is approaching so gradually things are easing up-so many are largely in the students’ hands (until it’s time to grade it all) I got to submit evaluations for some campus leaders. It was helpful to clearly and constructively articulate specific reasons why so many things are problematic. I sure hope they pay attention! Lunch w M @ a wonderful local Mexican place Walked to a local coffee shop to enjoy some time speaking French with a Québecois man. It’s so refreshing to be able to speak without thinking about comprehensibility I walked home on a trail by Virgin Lake park. The temperature was perfect. I bought sparkling wine for an upcoming celebration. I hope they don’t make me surrender my French degrees for not buying real French champagne but I don’t have $60 or $30 to spend on it! On the way to getting the girls a young girl had a stand set up in her driveway. I st...