My mind, and the places it goes

Our latest The Brookline Parent column at Brookline Patch was supposed to run on last Friday as usual, but due to a production error, it ran on Saturday instead and has just been re-featured this morning. So for those of you who missed it...

I wrote a column that definitely lives up to the name The Brookline Parent, as I talk about the fun we had entertaining the kids in Brookline last Sunday (November 18). Come to think of it, we took the kids around Brookline a lot this past Thanksgiving weekend as well...

Go read A Grand Day Out to learn how we entertained Muffin and Squeaker locally.

This week in The Brookline Parent, I discuss a recent incident in which Muffin appeared to feel bullied at school. This wasn't something mabfan and I were quite expecting to have to deal with at such a young age, but we thought it might be helpful to others if we talked about what happened and how we dealt with it. Also, Muffin herself asked us to write this week's column about it. Click to read Shutting Down the Bully Pulpit.

In this week's The Brookline Parent column, I recap our visit on Sunday to the inaugural Brookline Day celebration. Find out about Muffin's quest for a balloon and what happens when you find the golden egg. Click to read A Brookline Day Adventure.

In this week's The Brookline Parent, we celebrate our fiftieth column by looking back at the previous 49 columns and what topics most caught our attention during the past almost two years. Click to read Fifty First Drafts.

In today's The Brookline Parent column, I discuss how mabfan and I have tried to get Muffin and Squeaker interested in science. I also mention some of the national efforts to keep girls interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Click to read Stop! In the Name of Science!.

Busy weekend:

-- Made pizza for Shabbat dinner (well, pre-Shabbat dinner, since the girlies go to bed right after candle lighting this time of year).

-- Made chicken salad (recipe made up totally on the fly) for Shabbat lunch.

-- Made yummy, yummy potato salad to go with the aforementioned chicken salad.

-- Hosted new community member named Josh for lunch. Squeaker was heard to say later "I like new Josh!"

-- Lunch went long and segued into afternoon gathering with aunt_becca and her family. Her B and Muffin and Squeaker had a fun playdate in our living room since it was too hot to go out to the park.

-- Early-Sunday-morning wakeup by small girlies led to sleepiness for whole family but did not cancel...

-- Sunday morning playdate in the park with H, son of vettecat and sdavido.

-- Trip to Public Library of Brookline to take advantage of summer Sunday hours. Spent two hours in the library.

-- Stop for ice cream at JP Licks, at which we ran into a friend.

-- Extremely tired girls went to bed relatively smoothly. ***Note the ironic foreshadowing.

-- Finally gave in and joined Facebook.

-- Watched the season premiere of Leverage.

-- Neglected to either write or knit while watching TV.

-- Sleep interrupted by small girls. Awake 3:30-5:45 or so.

-- Saw sun rise for first time since Squeaker figured out sleeping through the night.

In this week's The Brookline Parent column, mabfan discusses just *why* he and I are so exhausted this week. (Spoiler: it was Muffin and Squeaker's fault.)

Click to read In Sickness and In Sleep (or Lack Thereof).

In today's Brookline Parent column, mabfan discusses how we try to give Muffin and Squeaker opportunities to socialize through playmates. Click to read Occupy Playdates.

In this week's The Brookline Parent column, mabfan channels his inner Sam Seaborn in "Celestial Navigation" and is nuts about dental hygiene. Read about the trials and tribulations of trying to get the girls to care for their teeth, and how Sesame Street helped us, in Nothing But the Tooth.

This morning (a day early, due to tomorrow being the seventh day of Pesach and therefore a yom tov), our The Brookline Parent column discusses Muffin and Squeaker's experiences preparing for Pesach and then at the Seder. Click to read It Was, In Fact, Just About Enough for Us.