Michael Ann Dobbs's discussions

You should revel in your child’s sleep! Read more

Or, and hear me out on this one Sam, you buy a cargo bike. I’ve got a Yuba and it can carry 440 lbs. Its steel frame is sturdy (if heavy), its slightly smaller wheels keep the cargo (my five-year-old) carefully balanced. And I use (free!) Fresh Direct bags and some cargo nets to carry everything. Read more

We use timers for that. Five minutes before we need to leave and when we need to leave.   Today my kid ended up waiting for me! Read more

Just did the Easter Basket shopping! In the past I’ve definitely done sunglasses, stickers and chalk. Last year I got my daughter a flower press! Read more

I had to double check, but Caroline hasn’t done Strictly Ballroom yet! We definitely her take on that one. (And also the original Japanese Shall We Dance.) Read more

Yes, the interesting story is definitely hers.  Read more

Using  jar for dressing is also one of the best ways to get a young toddler (18 months +) involved in cooking.  Use a plastic screw-top jar, fill it up and hand it over. Kids love to shake them! Read more

Getting companies to pay workers fairly is something a high tax rate can contribute to! In the days before the idea that a corporation existed only to create dividends, a high enough top tax rate could actually encourage CEOs (and others) to pay themselves less, so they could actually have more take home pay. And then… Read more

Or it’s insurance (we went so far, we will go all the way if you make us).  People are going to be wondering about who said that FOR DECADES.  Read more

Is it clear that Vision transferred his memories of West View to White Vision? I thought he just unlocked his brain tissue memories. Read more

Yep, made a couple of student loan payments at the beginning of the pandemic, thinking it was a good way to pay down the principle while not accruing interest. Then realized that as long as the money was paid before interest accrued it DIDN’T MATTER if it was monthly. Read more

Ok, but as a swim instructor most babies quit having problems by the sixth lesson. I tell parents that right off the bat and I’ve only had a few kids (three or four?) over the last fifteen years that we’ve really had to reevaluate. (Not counting too cold of water, luckily no longer an issue at the place I work now.) Wh… Read more

I have a degree in writing (two actually) and one of the most successful writers I know did all his undergrad writing on a typewriter. He’d edit/rewrite when he typed the drafts into the computer. Read more

But there’ll be s’mores! Read more

You’re second paragraph “logical conclusion.”  They don’t do that logic stuff. It’s French and for sissies. Read more

We’ve been getting horseradish dill pickles at the local farmer’s market and saving the brine. It makes excellent Bloody/Virgin Marys with V8 (the virgin ones are for the five-year-old).   Read more

Vox.com is arguing it can be traced to Gamergate, but yeah, I think it’s one giant rattlesnake ball of all the conservative crazies sliding over each other. Read more

I really am not sure you can believe Evangelical Christians current position that God is perfect/good/on their side entirely/controls everything and believe in democracy. We talk a lot about cognitive dissonance, but that’s a level of reality conflict that just can’t be squared. Read more

Can anyone recommend an easy to clean humidifier? Read more

We were lucky enough to send our kid to forest school one day a week the year she was three. I’m from Arizona so it was a steep learning curve. Layers for the coldest days were: polyester or wool long underwear; fleece/sweats; down jacket and pants; waterproof rain suit. Thin wool socks; thick wool socks;… Read more