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Monthly Archives: October 2012

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Some Days, I Have No Words

October 24, 2012 – 11:02 pm

“It would seem that something which means poverty, disorder and violence every single day should be avoided entirely, but the desire to beget children is a natural urge.” —Phyllis Diller

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged food, James, mess, Owen, parenthood, play kitchen, Sophie | Comments (2)

Sophie’s New Backpack

October 23, 2012 – 9:50 pm

Last year I wrote an essay for The New York Times Motherlode blog titled “The Perfect Backpack.” You can read it here. After all that, we ended up getting Sophie a new backpack this year. Two reasons: (1) Last year’s backpack was too small for a regular size piece of paper—and her preschool teachers suggested […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged backpack, Etsy, Fairy Godmother Originals, handmade, Sophie, Susan Wasmer, The New York Times | Comments (0)

Tomatoes

October 23, 2012 – 9:20 pm

A couple days ago, in preparation for winter, we pulled all the tomato plants out of our (tiny) garden bed. Late this spring I went to pick up lunch at a restaurant for my family and in-laws, who were visiting. It was a Sunday—I didn’t realize the restaurant didn’t open until noon on Sundays. It […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged garden, homegrown, James, plant, Sophie, summer, tomatoes | Comments (2)

Brothers

October 22, 2012 – 9:33 pm

I was switching laundry in the basement when I heard yelling—from all the way up in the boys’ bedroom. The boys yell a lot and I’m pretty good at noting the difference between a he-took-my-toy yell and a I’m-hurting-for-real yell. James’s yell became louder and louder so I abandoned the laundry and ran up the […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged fight, James, Owen, siblings, yell | Comments (2)

My Monday (So Far)

October 22, 2012 – 1:38 pm

Picked up Sophie from preschool, dropped her off at play date. Came home with both boys and found a half-eaten plastic sandwich bag in living room. Realized bag had been filled halfway with raisins. Made lunch. Vaguely remembered something about dogs + raisins + toxicity. Marveled how the brain pulls out bits of long-ago information […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged dog, Fort Thomas Animal Hospital, James, lab, Owen, raisins, toxic, tucker, vet | Comments (1)

My New Backseat Driver

October 17, 2012 – 9:45 pm

Me: “Uh oh.” Sophie: “What?” Me: “I’m going the wrong way.” Sophie: “What do you mean you’re going the wrong way?” Me: “I’m lost.” Sophie: “You’re lost?” Me: “Yes.” Sophie: “Why didn’t you go back the way we came?” Me: “I missed my turn.” Sophie: “What does ‘turn’ mean?” Me: “You know. Right or left. […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged 471, backseat driver, car, Cincinnati, downtown, lost, Sophie | Comments (2)

Sophie’s 1st Day of Preschool (2nd Year)

October 16, 2012 – 3:27 pm

“Holidays are enticing only for the first week or so. After that, it is no longer such a novelty to rise late and have little to do.” —Margaret Laurence

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged backpack, fall, first day, front porch, preschool, Sophie | Comments (0)

A Pillowcase With Nini

October 15, 2012 – 11:24 pm

(photos and captions courtesy of my mom) Sophie cut most of the fabric … worked hard on the pinning … sang while she did her own ironing … pushed the foot pedal for all the sewing (and made French seams) … and made a beautiful pillowcase. I think Nini found a sewing partner. “It is […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged craft, handmade, Nini, pillowcase, sew, Sophie | Comments (0)

Labor Day Weekend in NC

October 12, 2012 – 7:22 pm

beautiful Katy; beautiful Colleen Luke Katy reading to Colleen and James the beautiful/terrifying spider waiting for dinner on their front porch climbing Jack’s beanstalk at Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem catching flying scarves initial pictures making donuts Colleen climbing a trip to the grocery tower building happy Pop Pop Katy and Tom, storytelling “But in the […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged colleen, Katy, Labor Day, NC, Nini, North Carolina, Pop Pop, tom, visit, Winston-Salem | Comments (0)

Sunday Morning Puzzle

October 12, 2012 – 8:56 am

“There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.” —Deepak Chopra

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged andy, entry, James, Owen, pjs, puzzle tucker, Sophie, sunday morning | Comments (0)
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    My favorite orphan/pickpocket had dress rehearsal and parent night tonight, which is the night we can take pictures. It’s tech week. She’s had 26 hours of rehearsal since Sunday. So much hard work went into this and the kids did it all, including an amazing crew that built the set, made the costumes, advertised, did makeup and hair ... they have six shows in the next four days and Sophie is loving it. Tonight she said the people involved is the nicest group of people she’s ever met. Thankful for all the directors, teachers, high schoolers and parent volunteers who have dedicated so much time to this. We’re new to the world of theatre (aside from attending) and so thankful Sophie’s had such a great first experience. Celebrated my Grandma’s 86th birthday today ❤️ I feel like this image is such a great representation of life. (It’s also Frank Stella from MoMA, one of my Christmas gifts to Andy. He finished it today. One piece was missing. He has yet to finish a full puzzle in this house. There is always one piece missing. We’ve lived here 9 years. He blames the kids and pets. I blame the ghosts.) 🧡 Spent today looking at similar cheekbones across generations. My grandma made soup (even though I told her not to cook, I’d bring something), insisted on another dip of ice cream, and when I left said, when talking about memories, “you’ll always have today.” I will. This dreary Wednesday has been made much better by these gold velvet shoes with peacocks embroidered on them, which were delivered today. (James is appalled.) Although the West Hollywood Bodhi Bookstore closed in 2010 after more than 40 years in business, they’ve maintained an online commercial presence. That, too, is sadly ending (they’re having a huge sale if you’re in need of some smudge sticks or books on enlightenment). I bought some stones for the hell of it (Andy’s been surprisingly nonjudgmental about this). This particular one is supposed to “heighten mental clarity and stability in otherwise chaotic situations.” Between that one and my pocketed sodalite (also known as the poet’s stone it’s said to “ease communication and self-expression”) and nightly cappuccinos lovingly made by Drew, I am almost done with the big part of Honest Labour, a book I am super passionate about but have failed to finish editing for several years due to other work, children and life (procrastination is made easier when the author is dead). Maybe once done I can switch to my new yellow aventurine stone, which apparently will help me foster ease and balance. And then my yellow tiger eye stone as I move forward with “passion and determination” to convince y’all to buy it (seriously, it’s a book of essays—even non-woodworkers will love it). [Edit to add Andy just came up here to ask about James who can’t sleep, and I said not to worry, I gave him a stone to help. He’s now being judgmental about the stones. 🤣🧘‍♀️) That kid in the middle in the white scored a couple baskets today ... My own family regularly baffles me. Five people live in this house. I love age 9. But sometimes, especially when I’m working late at night, I look at this picture on my desk and I have this deep, primal urge to scoop those babies up and hold them to my chest. And it hurts. This picture is so accurate, in every way. The outfits, the expressions, Owen’s split ear (thankful for the dear friend at our party who also is an emergency medicine PA). This last decade has been kid-heavy, for which I’m deeply grateful. There has been great joy. Also, deep sorrow. But we’re not special. No one walks through time without scars. I’ve lived long enough to now know that sometimes the truths of the matter are the hardest to bear. And maybe it’s my background in journalism but I will always seek and desire those truths, no matter how hard. For they, along with all we share so publicly, is the makeup of life, real life. Smiles and split ears. All of it. Tonight I gave out many kisses, sad but mostly happy, knowing we get to turn several timeline pages—a year, a decade, 20 years. Today’s strong winds did not go unnoticed. Cheers ❤️ WinterFest Gebhart family Christmas ❤️ Cincinnati Ballet’s The Nutcracker in beautiful Music Hall where we were so impressed with Sophie’s good friend Morgan (a party boy) and James’s classmate Madeline (a cupcake). Dinner in OTR followed. It was a melting of both sides of the family—as my family arrives, Andy’s departs and we have more Christmas to come. Christmas Eve / Christmas morning / Uhl family Christmas ❤️ Santa ❤️ Merry Christmas ❤️ Christmas cookies, a tradition since Lizz and Andy were kids. They take almost all day to make, and when you join the family you have to work up to being allowed to ice—three flavors always: lemon, orange and almond. (I was a sprinkler for awhile.) These were Marty’s favorite cookie and every year he spent hours on the dough, cutting and baking. Andy took over last year. He said it was hard. It still is. But the cookies, and tradition, is still sweet. Bittersweet, I suppose, best describes it. Nonpareils everywhere (and plenty in the kids’ mouths).
    TAP

  • Favorite Essays

    Choosing Compassion in a Culture of Fear

    Seeking the Bigness in the Everyday

    The Love in Trying

    The View from Up High

    Season of Innocence

    The Huffington Post guest post: Apologies to the Parents I Judged Four Years Ago, a TIME's top 10 opinion piece in 2012

    Simple

    Changing Love

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    andy art birthday christmas colleen dinner discipline family fashion florida food friends Grandma handmade happiness health holiday James Katy life love mess motherhood music Nini Owen parenthood parenting Paw Paw play Pop Pop preschool siblings sleep Sophie spring summer thanksgiving time toddler tucker vacation welcome winter worry

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