George Washington's Letter
on Nov 6, 2009 in academia medieval literature (a George letter but not the George letter)Earlier this week, I taught a seminar at a local university on the history of the book. I gave the presentation in a room filled with documentary treasures: several medieval manuscripts, a sixteenth-century...

The Thief in the Night
on Nov 5, 2009 in kids and school homework Late at night, after everyone goes to bed, I hide my kids' homework folders in strange places: underneath the seat cushions of the sofa, behind the video game console in the basement, on a pantry shelf next to the fruit snacks. I do this because I wa...

Game 5
on Nov 3, 2009 in World Series 2009 My husband's company gave him two tickets to Game 5 of the World Series, which was played last night in Philadelphia.I like the Phillies, but I liked the idea of having $5,000 in my pocket a whole lot more. That is how much our seats were going for...

Halloween Pictures
on Nov 2, 2009 in camera pictures When I went to take pictures of my kids in their Halloween costumes on Saturday night, I found that my camera's memory card was full. Full of awesomeness.These photos, plus an additional 87 pictures of monkey, serve as as the primary reason why I am...

Good News and a Good Opportunity
on Nov 1, 2009 in special moms advertising Miracle Mason 1. Remember Chandra? She was one of our special moms featured for Mother's Day. Chandra made me smile she sent me a limerick about her struggle with infertility:There once was a blue "mom" with no kiddiesWho tired of those inquiring old biddies!So sh...

The First Grade Halloween Party
on Oct 31, 2009 in Halloween party home room mother Halloween costumes Yesterday was my daughter's first grade Halloween party. As a room parent, I had the privilege of assisting 20 six-year-olds change into their Halloween costumes in preparation for a thirty second parade around the parking lot. Two other mothers, i...

Tutorial: Halloween Costumes for Academics
on Oct 29, 2009 in Halloween party Halloween costumes Most people can dress up as whatever/whoever they want for Halloween.If you are an English professor/Humanities graduate student/undergraduate English major/enrolled in A.P. English in high school, however, your costume options are a bit more limited...

Mall-O-Ween
on Oct 28, 2009 in Halloween trick-or-treating If you haven't taken your kids trick-or-treating at the mall, I highly recommend.The annual Mall-O-Ween in Philadelphia serves two mutually beneficially purposes: it enables mall stores to fulfill the community service requirement in their leasing co...

The Haunted House
on Oct 23, 2009 in Halloween sickness illness Thanks to an eleven-year-old neighbor, my children now know the truth about our house; namely, that it's haunted. No one knows for sure who died in our house or when, but judging from the quantity of red carpet and green wallpaper that graced our hu...

Adventures in (a Philadelphia Burger King) Playland
on Oct 22, 2009 in Philadelphia On Monday, someone stole my son's sneakers from the shoe bin at the indoor playground at Burger King. Kellen was understandably confused and upset. I told him that whoever took the shoes probably needed them more than he did. This confused my son eve...