Author name: Karyl F. Stein

First snow of winter 2011/2012 where we could play with it some. Not that I’m complaining as it *is* fun to play in the snow, go sledding and stuff, (not enough to do that this time). And it is pretty when it blankets the ground like a big cotton comforter. I guess it’s just the

Thanks all for the birthday wishes. I was in sunny Colorado that week. Well, maybe a couple cloudy days, but nice weather overall. Except it’d be like 20-something with the wind chill in the morning and by lunchtime it’d feel like 60-something and I’d get teased about my coat. Good thing I brought a light

For the past week and a half, water has mysteriously appeared in the basement collecting in small, scattered pools.  Fortunately, the basement is unfinished except for a somewhat painted and sealed concrete floor, but the kids use it as a play area and a lot of their toys are down there.  Again, fortunately, I have

The kids wanted to go to the mall instead of ice skating (??).  Ann had Liam pick out things for her to try on and vice versa.  William ended up in a suit and Ann a few layers at Aeropostale.  At Justice while waiting for Ann to change, William and I pretended to be asleep

Liam and I had a night together because Ann was at a sleepover.  We put together a 3-D puzzle, did laundry, cooked dinner, washed dishes, made beds with clean sheets from the laundry, played tennis in the basement, and played Minecraft.  There were a lot of cool things there. The next day we went on

Within a minute after it hit midnight, it sounded like something out of an action movie outside—gunfire everywhere.  My neighbor even squeezed off a few rounds.  There were some fireworks too, but there’s something distinct about the sound of a gun.  (The next day when talking about this with family I was asked about the

A month or so ago I had a run-in with a toilet that left a small yet deep gash on my wrist.  This topic came up during our large family Christmas gathering last night and of course I was obligated to show off the still obvious wound.  (My cousin easily trumped it, though, with his

Ann wasn’t happy with the way William and I were haphazardly placing ornaments on the tree, so she took them all off and had us organize them into distinct groups: snowflakes, angels/Santas, colored balls, stars, hearts, snowmen, animals, etc. (The Nativity scene is always hers to place as the angel on top is mine.) Then

Part I: Going With the Flow Three weeks ago my dad emailed me and asked if we were free the next weekend for a visit.  This was exciting because my parents live in Colorado and the kids and I don’t get to see them in person that often.  Our last visit was in Colorado during