How we are squeezing every last ounce of summer out of this vacation (7 Quick Takes) August 31, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window ~1~ Summer vacation is ending. It’s time I acknowledged that. I like to take off the last week of August to help get our sons ready for the school year. But somehow, with school starting on Tuesday, I realize that our school supplies are only 95 percent together, the summer writing assignments are not complete, […]
When you wish upon an Instagram picture… August 25, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window For their birthdays and Gotcha Days, our boys always get to pick something special for dinner. So as we were counting down to our younger son’s Gotcha Day—the seventh anniversary of the day we met one another—I asked him how he wanted to celebrate.
Hibachi fun, a surprise, sitters, finding a new hangout, and conference planning (7 Quick Takes) August 24, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window For our younger son’s Gotcha Day, we took him to a hibachi grill. He was excited to go, but then when we got there, all he wanted was a plate of fried rice.
Remembering the day we met our son seven years ago August 22, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Back in December 2009, I was standing in the lobby of the U.S. Consolate in Guangzhou, China, with friends who had just become parents through the miracle of adoption.
Aaaarggh, Matey! Our night as pirates in Baltimore August 20, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window What could be more fun than eating sushi on the water in Fell’s Point on a summer evening? We were about to find out.
An approaching storm and school year, meteors, a snack bar victory, and a 5-D poster (7 Quick Takes) August 17, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window My husband and sons made it home as the rain was starting, but there were no fish for dinner.
Personal archaeology: A piece of art I never knew I owned August 15, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Over the past few weeks, I have been going through some boxes of photos and mementoes. The idea is that I will organize them and maybe even discard some things I don’t need.
The truth hurts August 15, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Child & Youth Protection, Open Window Sometimes people do terrible things. They hurt people deeply. They hurt children. They let down people who look up to them, people who trust them. They lie about what they do, and sometimes they tell the people they are hurting to lie, too.
Crabs, beware aunts bearing gifts, a photo with Cal Ripken, and what we need from the grocery store (7 Quick Takes) August 9, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window It’s not really summer around here without at least one taste of steamed crabs.
A little comfort after an airplane crash August 8, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Colleen McCormick and Don Hudson were taking off from an airport in Mexico with their children last week when their plane started shaking and crashed.
How much is that doggy in the window? August 6, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Our 8-year-old wants a dog. He’d probably settle for a cat, but he really wants a dog.
Rooting for the Orioles, a rainbow, a sunset, a trip to the Green Dragon, school supply shopping, and more (7 Quick Takes) August 2, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window We’ve had a mixture of rain and sun this week, and one night I slipped out of the house to run to the store for strawberries.
