tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post116724692788774117..comments2024-03-15T01:47:09.194-04:00Comments on ben and birdy: BenBirdy1http://www.blogger.com/profile/13328557199418095755noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-64171805747199750292007-02-21T23:45:00.000-05:002007-02-21T23:45:00.000-05:00I, too, cannot post on Wondertime. There were many...I, too, cannot post on Wondertime. There were many strange things so I gave up. I hope they fix the kinks. I loved the column and the comments on the cartoons. I liked what one woman (I can't remember her name now after all the clicking around with Wondertime haha) said about some boys needing to feel like they are super-hero's. My husband no longer lives with us and I think this is part of my son's way of feeling OK. (Karate chopping, "battling" etc). I didn't like it, but the post over on Wondertime helped me see it in a different way and to just lighten up a bit. Keep an eye on the behavior but loosen up.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your great columns. The Valentine Card post was great!!! I laughed for some time.<BR/><BR/>Thank you Catherine.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13147497622057703823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-38265860357866476922007-02-19T22:54:00.000-05:002007-02-19T22:54:00.000-05:00You are hysterical. Really. I dropped onto the mom...You are hysterical. Really. <BR/><BR/>I dropped onto the mommytrack when my oldest was 5 and stood by the doorway asking me why I was home from work, everyone had "learned to live without" me. Dagger. Left ventricle. When he was 8 and his brother was 6, I quit work and have been intimate with my washing machine every since. <BR/><BR/>I've thought of writing a comedy about how mommyhood REALLY works but never had a writing partner -- you've inspired me to find one (or maybe I'll create one?!? moms are resourceful, right?. In reality there are worrying moms and non worrying moms and neither can identify with the other....in my case it's mostly worry (hence my "nickname" of ww for worry wart). i would have preferred Erma Bombeck, but hey, you get what you get, especially on the mommy track.....<BR/><BR/>good luck and thanks for all the smiles :!:QAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1169571623111049982007-01-23T12:00:00.000-05:002007-01-23T12:00:00.000-05:00I tried to post at Wondertime and got "error" 2x.....I tried to post at Wondertime and got "error" 2x.. So, this is in response to your beautiful article "resolute". <BR/><BR/>Catherine, you have the unique, beautiful gift of putting into words what so many of us feel. You do it in a way that is heartwarming, raw, and hillarious at the same time. So so often your words and lessons are in my "mental mothering" brain... thank you so so so so much. My kids thank you too!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1168016030860460392007-01-05T11:53:00.000-05:002007-01-05T11:53:00.000-05:00Hi Catherine,Just wanted to let you know that I di...Hi Catherine,<BR/>Just wanted to let you know that I did write a post a Wondertime yesterday - it seemed to have worked, but I went back to check today it was not there. Oh well, I will try again.<BR/><BR/>p.s. my email address is bartlett6@hotmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167891935131581392007-01-04T01:25:00.000-05:002007-01-04T01:25:00.000-05:00I just tried to post over at Wondertime, and thoug...I just tried to post over at Wondertime, and though it let me log in this time, it would not let me post. What I wanted to say is this: I am so glad that you are willing to share so much of yourself (and your family) with us. I look forward to reading your column every week and find myself reading and nodding and identifying with almost all of what you have to say. I have even gotten my husband hooked on your columns. :-) We both think you are great.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14170855128569508247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167886105017855762007-01-03T23:48:00.000-05:002007-01-03T23:48:00.000-05:00Well, dangit... I left comments on Wondertime yest...Well, dangit... I left comments on Wondertime yesterday, but not today on your newest post, it won't let me!<BR/><BR/>Here is what I wanted to say there, but couldn't:<BR/><BR/>Oh, but your reaction and mine were exactly alike! I just read a follow up story on the Kim's today, and although it really didn't have any new information, I pored over it, trying to imagine myself in that situation. <BR/><BR/>And my own anticipation of grief is something I catch myself doing from time to time. I hate it, and yet I find myself powerless to stop it... It's a vicious circle...like reminding myself I need to SAVOR each moment because they may not always be there... and making myself miserable in the process.<BR/><BR/>As always, I love your writing Catherine.Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07913141712006395086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167859855626516472007-01-03T16:30:00.000-05:002007-01-03T16:30:00.000-05:00Hi, Catherine,I too tried unsuccessfully to post a...Hi, Catherine,<BR/><BR/>I too tried unsuccessfully to post a comment on one of your columns at Wondertime. I hate it when I come up with the perfect clever response only to get a "page not found," hit the "back" button and it's lost... it breaks my heart.<BR/><BR/>The gist of it was this: your Three-Ring Circus column was so wonderfully validating. This morning, as I was walking into my first day back at work in two weeks, I commented that it was oh-so-nice to move unencumbered, without two people (ages 3 1/2 and 20 mos.) hanging off of me, but wouldn't you know, I can't stop looking at pictures of them on line and I miss them terribly. Crazy Mama.<BR/><BR/>Happy New Year to you and yours! <BR/><BR/>Love, HadleyHadleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09810445267670567520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167795130424373862007-01-02T22:32:00.000-05:002007-01-02T22:32:00.000-05:00Week #2 of not being able to post over there at WT...Week #2 of not being able to post over there at WT. Hmmph. Well, at least there's THIS place to tell you that for the two thousandth time (give or take) you've made me sit back and reflect and think and wonder and feel once again that you have been able to so sweetly write what I have thought in some wordless shape, but could never begin to put into words. This part especially-<BR/><BR/>"...I remember how anxious I felt about keeping the babies alive when I was simply holding them in the warm comfort of the glide rocker, food and heat and shelter at my disposal. To be charged with keeping children alive — to be the keepers of the powerful beauty of their being. It is the most frightening task. And it's a responsibility felt the world over, every minute of every day, in places where the tools you have — contaminated water, too little food, war, fear — are all wrong for the job." <BR/><BR/>Thanks again. And Happy 2007!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167789194912791432007-01-02T20:53:00.000-05:002007-01-02T20:53:00.000-05:00I tried to post on Wondertime, going through their...I tried to post on Wondertime, going through their whole "give us lots of personal information and then swear you've read pages and pages of stuff we know perfectly well you're not going to read" registration process even though I hate it when sites make you do that, and then it wouldn't take my post (page not found error, with a list of reasons why it's more likely my fault than theirs---charming).<BR/><BR/>I followed the advice of another poster (emptying cache, restarting browser, etc.), but that didn't change anything. My husband is a computer programmer and couldn't do anything with it either. His diagnosis: "This site SUCKS." I'm really, really sorry about that, because YOU are awesome, and your posts are awesome, and I would love to comment my little heart out.<BR/><BR/>I hope by now that this pile of "I can't post!" comments is having some effect on your hosts at Wondertime, and that they're not shrugging and saying, "Huh. Well, I'm sure it's not OUR site that's the problem."<BR/><BR/>Hm. Crabby much?Swistlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13126937282657655091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167788630629038882007-01-02T20:43:00.000-05:002007-01-02T20:43:00.000-05:00I cannot post on Wondertime - you probably have en...I cannot post on Wondertime - you probably have enough proof now that it is not working but I wanted to say that your article on Birdy's smell aversion made me laugh so hard I cried. And I needed to laugh that hard after a day of failed bread making and toilet bowl cleaning. I hope in the future Wondertime will make it possible to subscribe to your blog. Also, I really felt like you did a good job of describing my "melancholy" view of the beauty of life. I guess I'm not the only secretly neurotic mom(I blame that on Oprah's shows about yet another way you didn't know you could die).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167757881740402072007-01-02T12:11:00.000-05:002007-01-02T12:11:00.000-05:00I love you. I had been reading your babycenter jo...I love you. I had been reading your babycenter journal since it began. I got kind of sidetracked the last few months... I'm so glad to have found you here. I don't think I have ever made it through one of your entries without having to stop and laugh out loud, and then later, wipe a tear. I read your book when I was pregnant with my second child and I loved it. <BR/><BR/>On the gagging, I can relate. When I was pregnant I craved roast beef sandwiches, I made my husband go out and buy a whole pound. Then 3 days later made him throw the whole thing away because it made the fridge smell so bad that I couldn't open it without puking. I'll never forget the look on his face as put it in the trash, with me standing on the far side of the room plugging my nose. <BR/><BR/>AshleyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167711335401959582007-01-01T23:15:00.000-05:002007-01-01T23:15:00.000-05:00Happy New Year Catherine, Michael, Ben and Birdy! ...Happy New Year Catherine, Michael, Ben and Birdy! I've been on blogging vacation for 3 months, and I realize now just how much I've missed reading you Catherine. I'll be checking out WT now.Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07913141712006395086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167698142276945292007-01-01T19:35:00.000-05:002007-01-01T19:35:00.000-05:00Add me to the list of people who cannot comment at...Add me to the list of people who cannot comment at Wondertime even after registering . . .<BR/><BR/>What I tried to post there:<BR/>I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful piece! I also wanted to say kudos to you for dealing with what sounds like a trying situation with patience and humor. I look forward to reading your entries every week and appreciate you sharing your parenting adventures with us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167685049399496872007-01-01T15:57:00.000-05:002007-01-01T15:57:00.000-05:00sorry to say I can't imagine getting through the h...sorry to say I can't imagine getting through the holidays without internet access...I've become completely dependent on it.<BR/><BR/>Happy New Year, Catherine!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167664188950031622007-01-01T10:09:00.000-05:002007-01-01T10:09:00.000-05:00It's always something, innit, Cath? Lately my dar...It's always something, innit, Cath? Lately my darling 3-year-old Peej has developed an inability to go to bed without 3 or 4 frantic calls down the stairs. Last night it was, "Real Daddy! Real Daddy!" Turns out he is afraid of his windows. He never did explain the "real Daddy" part, aside from looking at me as if I were a lunatic when I asked him if there was a pretend Daddy.<BR/><BR/>BTW, I, also, couldn't post to Wondertime. I did manage once a couple of weeks ago, but this time got a "this page cannot be found" message.andiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01235587227884187849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167646993227806692007-01-01T05:23:00.000-05:002007-01-01T05:23:00.000-05:00Hi! I am up at 3:16 AM on New Year's Day raging wi...Hi! I am up at 3:16 AM on New Year's Day raging with insomnia, and your post was such a treat - and a link to a Wondertime post I hadn't read, too - double treat! I am not posting there because of the registration requirement - I may be weird that way, but there it is, no more registrations for me unless brutally necessary.<BR/><BR/>My middle child was fearless and not the least bit squeamish about anything until the cow's eye dissection in 2nd grade. I assisted in class that day and she was very excited about the whole thing right until I uncovered it, and she literally turned green, shoved her chair back, and focused elsewhere for the rest of the lesson. Really, pretty understandable if a bit extreme. But then, but then, but then . . . she became extremely squeamish about every single thing - bugs, bleeding, raw meat in the grocery store, mown grass, etc. etc. and she is just now overcoming a few of these things 7 years later. I'm not making any particular point with that story other than to say yep, kids are wired in so many ways, and they seem to be rewirable, but with unpredictable results.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167535115468015192006-12-30T22:18:00.000-05:002006-12-30T22:18:00.000-05:00Happy New Year, Catherine and family! Hope you've...Happy New Year, Catherine and family! Hope you've been enjoying the holidays.<BR/><BR/>I was unable to post at Wondertime, but just wanted to say that I enjoyed the post and commiserate - my daughter doesn't have the gagging problem, but my son does, but only when it comes to rice. Rice? What is so disgusting about rice? He can't tell me, but its white inoffensive blandness gets him every time - even causing him to projectile vomit when we insisted he try "just one bite." Uh, won't be making that mistake again any time soon...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167531405194648842006-12-30T21:16:00.000-05:002006-12-30T21:16:00.000-05:00Thank you so much! Your posts and Ben and Birdy a...Thank you so much! Your posts and Ben and Birdy articles have SUSTAINED me as I navigate the murky waters of parenthood (my son is 18 months and I am expecting a baby in June). Your kids are so wonderful and loveable, and you make it ok to be human and a parent at the same time. I think regularly about your comment that parenting is like "juggling quail eggs in the rain" and I try to be a mindful parent. Don't ever stop writing.macsisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03636035083892325774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167454248109214162006-12-29T23:50:00.000-05:002006-12-29T23:50:00.000-05:00So Catherine - you've inspired me. I thought you w...So Catherine - you've inspired me. I thought you would like to hear that. I've enjoyed your journals since my 3 1/2 year old was just born - and have followed you from babycenter to your latest spot (in the least stalker-sense possible). <BR/><BR/>I enjoy your blog and the Dalai Mama journal. I promise to comment there too - I know you want them to know what we're thinking. But today it's all about my inspiration. I've started my own blog. <BR/><BR/>http://omahamama.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>Even though I've kept a journal since I was about 9 years old, this is a brave step for me. What if someone actually read it?! But it's fun and it's a nice outlet. And even though I'm a working mom who lives in the middle of the country, Nebraska to be exact...I still feel like we have a lot in common. And I enjoy reading comments from your other readers. We mamas have to stick together!<BR/><BR/>So thanks - for the inspiration. And thanks for your wonderful words, I really do enjoy reading all of your wonderful posts.Melanie D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01542313652003967176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167446532782155482006-12-29T21:42:00.000-05:002006-12-29T21:42:00.000-05:00Hi Catherine,It has been a while! I will pop over ...Hi Catherine,<BR/>It has been a while! I will pop over to Wondertime soon to check out the latest and try to comment...It has been a happy/sad time as a beloved Uncle (my Godfather actually) passed away suddenly the week before Christmas. So instead of last minute shopping and baking we were at the hospital and or funeral home all week. Not a nice way to spend the week and certainly made for a strange Christmas this year.<BR/><BR/>Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Our kids did manage to have an amazing time and we are not done yet. We have more people to see! Alexandra had her 6th b-day yesterday so that just adds to the insanity...I mean fun!<BR/><BR/>All the best to your family for a wonderful New Year.Jeniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13100043209000589029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167441763651653372006-12-29T20:22:00.000-05:002006-12-29T20:22:00.000-05:00I've been reading your columns for years now witho...I've been reading your columns for years now without ever posting - I guess I thought I had nothing to say because I'm 22 and have no children! The beautiful picture of Ben and Birdy finally sent me over the edge - I had to tell you that your kids are gorgeous and that I enjoy your writing SO MUCH even though I can't relate from personal experience. I hope that I have a family like yours someday! I just love your parenting philosophies - my children will also wear what they want and play with toys that others consider gender-specific, no matter what gender they are! The world needs more parents like you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167420242260692832006-12-29T14:24:00.000-05:002006-12-29T14:24:00.000-05:00I had to tell you that I laughed so hard reading y...I had to tell you that I laughed so hard reading your latest post at Wondertime. <BR/><BR/>My son has a neck thing, that he unfortunately inherited from me. He cannot bear to wear anything around his neck. No turtle necks, mock turtle necks, not even crew neck sweaters too tight. If he does its gag, gag, gag, splat puke. I really worry about him on his wedding day (20 something years from now maybe they will have an invention to cure him from this problem) because in that tight collared tux he will be saying, "I Justin take thee - gag, gag, puke- to be my wife..." It just wouldnt be a pretty sight! Ive suffered through it myself and know its tough - remember the whole choker fashion fad of the 80s, needless to say I NEVER wore one of those! Anyways, its funny how we get these little naunces. I once asked the doctor about it, because I too was worried about sensory integration disorder. She told me that we are all about one or two idiosyncricies away from a sensory integration disorder! Go figure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167402267931538052006-12-29T09:24:00.000-05:002006-12-29T09:24:00.000-05:00Oh my gosh, that shirt is hysterical - but I am al...Oh my gosh, that shirt is hysterical - but I am also weird like that. C, you should totally get that! :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167401407495895492006-12-29T09:10:00.000-05:002006-12-29T09:10:00.000-05:00Tried to post at WT. Didn't work.What I was going ...Tried to post at WT. Didn't work.<BR/><BR/>What I was going to say is how glad I was to read about another crazed smeller. I am Super Smeller. It is a horrible curse and a wonderful blessing. I can smell EVERYTHING. <BR/><BR/>It runs in the family. My sister does it too. She'll complain endlessly about somebody who smells like "scalp," and I'll know exactly what she's talking about.<BR/><BR/>I bought her this t-shirt for Christmas. Maybe they have it in Birdie's size. It reads:<BR/><BR/>I smell the smelly smell of something that smells. Smell!<BR/><BR/>http://www.engrish-store.com/smsmwotee.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31773345.post-1167367972050442442006-12-28T23:52:00.000-05:002006-12-28T23:52:00.000-05:00So, I'm doing my best to hide out at my parents ho...So, I'm doing my best to hide out at my parents house since it's considered antisocial -- as it harkens back to my childhood -- if I take five minutes to myself after my daughter goes to bed. It doesn't help that I'm howling out loud (with great empathy, of course) in the study while reading your column!<BR/><BR/>My own little one is currently going through a phase (I hope) where she cannot handle any spots on her clothes or garbage on the floor -- this has made her a great source of entertainment for her older cousins while gifts are being unwrapped -- and I'm waiting to see if it passes or develops into something to be more concerned about. <BR/><BR/>And since it was a struggle every morning and evening that I was pregnant to brush my teeth without puking in the sink (how's that for a mouthwash commercial?), I will be giving your friend's trick a shot.<BR/><BR/>All the best for 2007!NotSoSagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04782162947524115936noreply@blogger.com