After getting the handle on chronic migraines, and moving from Seattle, WA to Copenhagen, Denmark -- I think I"m reading to start posting at more than one blog again.

I've started a category called Advice Girl at my main blog, Magpie Girl. Any time the advice is about parenting, or even vaguely parenting related, I'll be cross posting over here.

It's fun to be back getting tip and tricks from Team Minti again!

Yours,

Rachelle Mee-Chapman
Magpie Mama

"Hey Eden! Wanna hear the worstest tone in the world? EEEEEECCCHHHH."

-Cate, age 6

Hello All! I've been away for awhile but am happy to report that I now have a desk (and a room!) of my very own. My writing studio is up, unpacked, and hooked up. I've been here three days a week for the past two weeks and it feels GREAT. I just stuck a note on my bulletin board reminding me to write a blog post every other day or so, either here or at Urban Abbess -- and in the new year I'll be up at Magpie Girl as well. (Alas, that's a site I wanted to start in November! But we are dangerously close now!)

On the home front, the last month or so had been really difficult. There were two weeks straight where the girls had half days at school, followed the by long Thanksgiving weekend, then ONE day of school, then TWO snow days. This in spite the fact that there was NO ACTUAL SNOW stuck to the ground. (Seattlites are wimps.) By the time Eden got back to her "normal" schedule she was completely tapped out from all the changes and spent the afternoon after the first full day of school in tears. We're just finally starting to level out. But now it's almost Winter Break. Here's hoping we can get Eden through with comfort and joy!

Cate, my six year old, is so freaking adorable it's hard not to play favorites. She's really into making books and will spend long hours at thier homework table (aka Cate's Table of Amazing Crafts) stapling pieces of paper together and illustrating tomes about the circus, fairy monkeys, or mean-big-sisters-who-look-like-this-when-they-tattle.

Paul recently treated himself to a much-deserved XBox360 and we are learning how to regulate tube time with the kids. They like to play Breakout (a racing game) with Paul or Viva Pinata or Lego Starwars by themselves. I can't play any of them, though I sometimes take my knitting downstairs and watch them play. The Wolfpup likes to hang out that way -- and I say any way a teenager will spend time with ya, take it!

Well, there's my little update. Stay tuned for advice, thoughts, and funny stories.

Happy Holidays!

Rachelle, aka

The Magpie Girl

Eden has been home with vague "feeling sick"ness for two days. Paul and I think it's stress. She's in third grade, and the principal says that this is a big year for kids "being really mean to each other." There's a group of kids that are in a club at recess, and from what I can tell it's basically the mean girl's club. Rosie, Eden's former best friend, told her she was on the waiting list for the club. Eden told her she didn't really like how the girls in the club treated her so that was okay with her. Yesterday Eden told me she was 'in between friends.'

I've ordered some library books about raising girls and the 'highly sensitive' child. I know one big piece of advice is to have kids join a club outside of school (girl scouts, church school, etc) so they have another playgroup that might treat them more kindly.  Eden gets overstimulated easily though, and really just needs to come home and chill after school, not run off to an after school activity. Aside from booking some playdates with other-than-Rosie-pals, I'm not sure how to proceed...

...and of course, even though my child is stressed to the point of stomach aches, I'm still narcissistically frustrated that I've been home bound and unable to work for two days. Remember  back when I had two-kids-two-years-and-under and I never even got out of my slippers for days a time? Yeah. I hated that. Now I go nutso after just two days of houseshoes!