Blog — Hannah Disch

Posts in Parenting

It's Time For Elf on the Shelf (Or Not!)

Any day now my Facebook news feed will be inundated with pictures of the cute and clever things my friends have done with their Elf on the Shelfs (Elves on the Shelves?), links to lists of cute and clever things to do with an Elf on the Shelf and posts from friends lamenting their lame, last minute efforts to do something with their Elf on the Shelf before their kiddos notice that he hasn't moved in a few days (quick, fling him down the stairs!).

We don't own an Elf on the Shelf for a number of highly significant reasons that are similar to the reasons we don't "do" Santa or the Easter Bunny at our house. That's not what the season is about, I don't like to try to convince my kids to believe things that aren't true because I want them to trust me, blah, blah, blah. If you choose to do the Elf on the Shelf, Santa, the Easter Bunny, leprechauns, fairies and unicorns etc. with your kids rest assured that I AM NOT JUDGING YOU. I've just chosen to do things differently with my kids, for all the significant reasons I allude to above but also, and most importantly, because I am HORRIBLE at those kind of things.

Family, Holidays, ParentingHannah DischDecember 12, 2016Christmas, tooth fairy, traditions Comment

Your Daughter Is A Rock Star!

A few weeks ago Jordan informed me that he's in the highest reading group in his class. Last week he told me that he'd moved up to 6th grade spelling. And this week we received the following email from Sasha's teacher.

Your Daughter Is A Rock Star!

Hannah - I forgot to mention this to you when you were in our room today. I told Sasha I would email or call you both to let you know that she did a great job working on kidblog today. I took my whole class to the computer lab today to write about their favorite fall activities. Sasha ended up being my hero. She listened well to directions because getting to kid blog and logging on can be tough. She also started walking around and helping everyone who needed help. She did it in such a nice way and was really patient with everyone (when I was about ready to pull my hair out lol.)

Education, Family, ParentingHannah DischOctober 24, 2013mom bragComment

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

Well, it's official...summer is almost over and I can't say I'm particularly thrilled about it. I absolutely love summer. First of all, I'm not a morning person. At all. So not having to set an alarm is one of my all time favorite things. Secondly, I love warm weather. Being able to leave the house without having to pile on layers of clothes makes me very very happy. Also I love swimming, beaches, reading/napping under a shady tree, lemonade, iced tea and basil. Tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers are my favorite vegetables. And honestly, I love having my kids around.

Family, Fun, ParentingHannah DischAugust 29, 2013summerComment

Finally, A "Boring" Day!

When Jordan was younger, he used to think that any day in which no one came over and we didn't go anywhere was boring. I tried and tried to explain the concept of nice normal days in which we could hang around the house, get things done and relax. He just wasn't buying it. Fast forward a few years and he seems to like nice normal stay at home "boring" days even more than I do.

Family, Parenting, SimplicityHannah DischAugust 1, 2013Comment

Winter Blues...Blah

What a long, trying afternoon and evening. I spent most of the morning tired and down, but managed to perk up before the kids got home from school, only to listen to them whine, cry, mope and fall apart for much of the late afternoon and evening. I spent almost all my energy remaining calm and patient and now they're in bed and I'm exhausted.

ParentingHannah DischJanuary 24, 2013winter blues, whiny Comment

Praying for Polie

Faith, Family, ParentingHannah DischSeptember 26, 2012prayers, bedtime Comments

Like Mother, Like Son

I am so excited that my kids love to read, since reading is my all time favorite activity. Sasha goes to bed surrounding by books - stacked on her dresser, the floor by her bed and even on her bed. I love listening to her reading herself to sleep after I tuck her in for the night. Usually I have to pry a pile of books out from under her after she falls asleep, because I as much as I love books, I don't imagine they make a very comfortable pillow.

Literacy, ParentingHannah DischMay 2, 2011reading, books, favorite thingsComment

Persuasive Writing

Jordan's been learning about persuasive writing in school. Here are two of his assignments. Notice the blatant emotional appeal. Needless to say, he got a raise in his allowance (although not quite the amount he was aiming for) and if there was any way we could squeeze a dog into the budget, we would now be the proud owners of one.

Education, Literacy, ParentingHannah DischFebruary 22, 2011persuasion, allowance, pets, promisesComment

Not The Hair!

At the age of 4, Sasha has had 4 haircuts. Two of them were planned, while the other two were decidedly not. Her first haircut was courtesy of her cousin Tristan. We spent Mother's Day 2009 at my sister and brother-in-law's house. The adults were hanging out and relaxing while the kids played all over the house. At one point Sasha came and told us that her cousin Tristan had done her hair. I glanced at her, saw he'd given her a ponytail and told her it looked nice. When we got home, I got a call from my sister informing me that I might want to check Sasha's hair since she had just found long blond hair in the wastebasket. Sure enough, Tristan had given Sasha bangs, and I hadn't even noticed.

ParentingHannah DischFebruary 15, 2011hair, surpriseComment

Not Ready For This Yet

This is, as accurately as I can remember it, a conversation Jordan and Karlye had in the car on the way home tonight (some names have been omitted to protect the innocent). Background: The kids were talking about what they wanted to name their future potential children. I couldn't hear the names they were saying at first, although I believe Jordan's current favorite girl's name is Brazil.

ParentingHannah DischNovember 13, 2010funny, kid talk, goals & dreamsComment

Update on the Jo

Education, Literacy, ParentingHannah DischOctober 30, 2010mom brag, readingComment

N or M

Some of my favorite "Sasha-isms" are "naybe" instead of "maybe"and "grow-mup" instead of "grown-up". These are often used together in sentences that start out, "Naybe, when I'm a grow-mup..." The poor little girl tries so hard to keep up with her big brother and sister. When they're here she follows them around trying to play with them, talking and talking at them and trying to get their attention. When they're not here she spends a lot of time talking about what she'll do when she's as old as they are and imitating all the annoying things they do that I'd like a break from while they're gone.

Family, ParentingHannah DischAugust 4, 2010kid talk, responsibility, imaginationComment

"When I Grow Up"

About a week ago Jordan brought this picture home from school. It's a picture of him working in our basement (which we are currently finishing). I love how he even drew the step stool and the fan that Justin's been using down there. His goal for quite a while has been to be an artist when he grows up, so when I saw this I asked him about it. He said he guesses he'll be two things - an artist and a handyman. I thought that sounded like a pretty complementary combination.

Family, ParentingHannah DischMay 27, 2010kid talk, goals & dreamsComment

Wheelin' and Dealin'

Jordan had yesterday and today off of school. Earlier this week he asked me if he could have his friend Nicholas sleep over some time over his long weekend. Then he wanted to know if Nicholas could sleep over, would I make macaroni and cheese from a box for supper. It's so funny how the kid is not that interested in my fabulous homemade mac and cheese but he loves any kind that comes in a box. (Oh wait, he's not a big fan of the Annie's organic mac & cheese either.) Not sure how this all fits into his New Year's resolution to eat healthier, but anyway...

ParentingHannah DischApril 23, 2010kid talkComment

Here Goes Nothing

A few days after Christmas, we were at Justin's dad's place, getting ready to go sledding. I wanted Sasha to go to the bathroom before I put her snow pants on, for obvious reasons, but she was having none of it. I finally convinced her to go and followed her into the bathroom. She hopped up onto the toilet and said, "Here goes nothing...because nothing's coming out!" which was followed immediately by a tell-tale tinkle sound.

ParentingHannah DischJanuary 25, 2010kid talk, potty trainingComment

Kids Say...Part 2 or 3?

ParentingHannah DischDecember 20, 2009kid talkComment

Jordan's Favorites

One of the things that makes me happy is reading kids' writing when they're just learning. Lately one of the best parts of my day is when Jordan shows me what he brought home from school in his folder. I love finding out what's going on in his head. Here's a few samples with captions (in case you have a hard time reading them).

Education, Literacy, ParentingHannah DischDecember 10, 2009favorite things Comment

Indian Summer?

Today was such a good day. I got a lot accomplished with a minimum of stress and whining. Admin. asst. work, freelance work, two loads of laundry, made Jordan's birthday party invitations, dishes, remembered to give Jordan his allowance and have him take a shower, balanced my checkbook, paid bills, swept out the garage and did some other stuff.

Fun, Parenting, Health & WellnessHannah DischNovember 9, 2009yoga, playtime, fresh airComment