Jennifer Briggs

The panda? The panda on the wall? It is very sad today! For weeks Sarah has been asking how the panda picture on her wall would feel when she and Amy were away for Amy’s birthday bash sleepover at Anna’s. We have been predicting that the panda would feel sad, forlorn, bereft, and dismayed. And… Read more »

Firstly, why did it take me years to notice the pants-wearing discrepancy in Daniel Tiger? I understand that some cartoon animals wear shirts (Donald Duck) and some wear pants (Mickey Mouse), but why do Daniel Tiger and his dad only wear tops but the mom tiger wears a shirt and pants?! Sarah’s school celebrated Dr…. Read more »

Last week the muscles around my left hip were not happy after an intense workout with my trainer. It took a couple days plus some work from one of my students before I felt normal. Then out of the blue I was hurting again. Then I got better. Then I saw my trainer again and… Read more »

Monday was so warm that Sarah decided to wear shorts to her swim lesson, but since it was also not as warm as it could be, she wore boots. As Anna said, “at last, it’s shorts and boots weather!” Swim lessons are going well for Sarah, and I can now keep up with Amy in… Read more »

Last night Sarah was reading the most high-level complex book I have ever seen her really read, following along with her finger and quietly saying the words out loud a bit as she read… it was the draft of my book about her! In my book I have a section about a time when some… Read more »

This week was Catholic Schools Week, so each day for Sarah was dress-down and had some special things at school. While that sounds fun, it may have contributed to her having some hard moments at school, especially as the week went on. She would get off the bus and report that she had been doing… Read more »

Sarah had many instances of experiencing the howling fantods this week. That is a new term I learned, although it is an old one, that means having extreme disquiet of the body and mind. Although we are used to the howling fantods when Amy uses the bathroom and Sarah can’t stand it, that particular scenario… Read more »

Did you start your morning having a hard time waiting for your birthday presents? Did you start your morning as a baby crocodile even though you were a baby panda when you went to bed? Sarah did both of these things. Yesterday she had BIG FEELINGS about waiting. At first I was trying to get… Read more »

The Great Mouse Proofing of 2023 is now complete. We hope. The struggle against the mice in our mountain house has been ongoing and we have tried various measures to stop them, all seemingly to no avail. Last weekend we discovered that they liked to take food out of the trash and carry it into… Read more »

We had an easy drive home from visiting my family…. Until we walked into our house. Before we left for our trip Sarah had wanted to order Goodnight Moon socks for my brother, to match her own. As I ordered the socks, I also found a new pattern of Goodnight Moon socks and ordered two… Read more »