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About Angie

Angie (latte constantly in hand) raises her son, "Milo" (b. 2003), and her daughter, "Belle" (b. 2006), in Seattle with her lawyer husband. She is a writer, blogger and graphic designer who is egregiously tall and loves cookies with beer. She alternately struggles with existential angst and the fit of her jeans. Though she wearies easily of answering her son's constant questions and of negotiating with her daughter, she loves being present during their wonder years. One of her biggest parenting challenges is navigating Milo's severe food allergies. If she's not baking 50 cupcakes from scratch, she is reading ingredient labels and tutoring Milo, ad nauseum, to say, "No milk, eggs, tree nuts or peanuts please." Angie can also be found at: www.halfassedkitchen.com
Author Archive | Angie
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You Will Learn to Play Trombone, and You’ll Like It

As a mom, I, of course, want to expose my children to all sorts of social and cultural opportunities. And living in a large city (Seattle) there are lessons and groups for every interest a child or parent might want to embark upon. Milo and Belle could take part in soccer, basketball, curling, Karate, painting, cooking, trombone playing, French, 4-H, etcetera, etcetera. So, the question becomes, what do you choose? What doors do you attempt to open for your kids? (...Read More)

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Tall, Cool One

My two kids are really tall. This is no surprise. I am six-two and my husband is six-four. Height is our children’s birthright. Before marriage, but after the bulk of my young adult I’m-too-tall-and-I-feel-like-a-circus-freak angst had passed, I began to wonder what my offspring, if I was ever lucky enough to have them, would look like. I worried how tall they would get and if extreme height would affect their lives negatively. I wasn’t overly concerned with producing a boy, (...Read More)

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An Open Letter to My Son, Who Needs to Get a Few Things Straight

Dear oldest child, You are seven-and-a-half now. You have just started second grade. You’re developing empathy and a good sense of humor and I’m humbled to be a part of that. However. We have issues that need addressing. 1. Homework. I don’t like it any more than you do. In fact, trying to motivate you to sit down and complete 10 minutes worth of math gives me heartburn for six hours before the tussle even begins. You need to just (...Read More)

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Rules Are Made to Be Followed. Obsessively.

Let’s assume most of you have seen the movie Election, with Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Flick. If you haven’t, I think it’s safe to postulate that you’ve heard of Ms. Flick. She is an over-achieving, ruthlessly ambitious girl running for class president. I saw the film back in the late nineties. I laughed along with everyone else. And then I promptly forgot about it. Then, in 2005 I had a baby girl, who is now five-year-old Belle. She just started (...Read More)

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T Minus Ten Days Until I Take Over the World

School starts in less than 10 days. This is the year my youngest, Belle, will start Kindergarten. Which means that, for the first time in seven-and-a-half years, I’ll be doing my own thing, Monday through Friday from 9:15 to 3:20. You heard me. That’s six hours sans kids! Lately, I’ve been engaging in my share of fist pumping and stage whispering, “I’ve made it!” to my mom friends. But I also know, that while this is a celebratory time, I (...Read More)

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