These pictures will make you wish you were a photographer: here the gent in question photographs his daughter in such inspired ways.  Blown away.   I was similarly inspired by this photographic collection of awesome playgrounds from around the world.

Here you can enjoy the list from Scientific American of the most obvious research findings of 2013, and begin 2014 with the Governor General’s message: it’s a shout out to families.  HOLLA!

A link to a fascinating podcast is HERE (thanks, Slate) and it’s rather illuminating in its discussion of children’s learning about and use of the word NO.  Enjoy!  (No!)

Meanwhile, closer to home, Little Girl is cutting her second molars (OUCH!).  While I empathise, I find myself kind of pleased to have something to blame the grouchiness on.  Big Girl’s grouchiness can be blamed on my current obsession about the amount of sugar we’re all consuming.  As the person responsible for feeding this family, I find it can be quite the burden to choose things that are delicious, balanced, and that the fellas will eat.

Motherhood, eh?  It’s all I ever wanted, and it wears me out.  Both things are true.