in 2002, I
*gave away all of liam's old diapers and such
*spent 5 days away from my children for the first time ever
*(sort of) met dennis miller and was freaked out by how much he really does look like my brother
*experienced my first new orleans mardi gras (& loved it)
*joined up with the local unschooling group
*got my first regular paying job since 1996
*got to know my city pretty well on foot, and joined the children's museum and the zoo
*had my heart broken on the bulletin boards of hipmama.com
*threw my first (and possibly last) elaborate children's birthday party
*started a live journal at the urging of a beloved hip mama friend, and a blog at the urging of another
*moved from a smallish place on one end of my neigborhood to a frigging palace on the other end, thus eating up all of my income each month on rent in exchange for the relative luxury of maintaining an air-conditioned two bathroom household
*fell in love with my neighborhood and began looking for a house to buy here
*gave macrobiotics a (brief) try
*went to jazz fest
*organized two events for feminist mothers, both of which lost money and left me feeling uncertain and dazed
*entertained quite a few houseguests
*directed summer camp with my children in tow for the fifth time
*subjected my children to nanny care for the first time in their lives, and am still listening to their complaints about it
*had what felt like a brush with death at coney island
*became a dedicated library patron
*took some major strides in getting back to my "old", more outgoing self, and made some new friends
*rekindled my unfortunate cable tv addiction
*lost it with my kids countless times and, for the first time, felt seriously doubtful about my parenting abilities
*wrote more than ever in terms of journaling
*produced no "finished" writing work and only published one issue of my zine
*took four major road trips with the kids and loved, hated, and survived the experience
*went on a second big trip away from the kids, and loved it
*spent a quiet new years eve at home for the first time since 1981

in 2002, nash
*learned to scream, "throw me something mister!" and catch the beads
*turned 5
*experienced bullying in a group care setting for the first time
*became increasingly interested in sounds, what rhymes with what, how a letter can change a word around, etc.
*learned some spanish and some sign language
*went through an intense "I hate you" period which finally evolved into "I hate your ideas."
*went through a period of intense homicidal utterings towards his brother, which finally evolved into "sometimes I hate him" and "he always does that" and etc.
*got his first mohawk! and then his first crew cut.
*claimed an identity as a "tough guy."
*discovered harry potter
*spoke to "santa" for the first time

in 2002, liam
*abandoned diapers for good in early january
*learned to scream, "throw me something mister!" and duck when the beads come flying
*turned three
*had non-family babysitters for the first time
*started riding a tricycle
*learned that screaming bloody murder if his brother even looks at him is very effective in getting all of the adults running
*began saying, "voila!"
*spent a lot of time as a baby dog, baby horse, etc., and some time as a "girl."
*started calling me "mom" and "mommy", both much to my chagrin
*learned to say, "mom, can I please watch some kids shows on nick junior?"
*saw india.arie at jazz fest
*developed a habit of getting me away from the computer by any means necessary: turning the computer off, throwing a toy car at my head, what have you...
*drew a picture of a person for the first time