Dilovely’s 90s Coming-of-Age Playlist, Vol. 1

Okay, 90s music peeps, where’re you at? This playlist is for YOU. It’s made with love (and was a much bigger task than I first thought, mostly because nostalgia-related rabbit holes are especially long and sticky). Folks love to use the phrase “coming-of-age” when talking about movies and books. I think it’s meant to evoke Read More

14 Nice Things I’ll Remember About Shutdown

School is upon us. Students, parents, and teachers are, I believe, universally unsettled about back-to-school. Whatever the normal preparations, uncertainties, anxieties, and excitements would be, they’re different and more intense this year. I’ll be honest: after three days of training last week, discussing with my colleagues ways to deal with all the million tiny details Read More

Nerdy Mom Plays With Kids’ Toys, Vol. 1

If you’re a Di-hard, you already know that I have nerdy tendencies. You know that I have young children. Sometimes when you spend the majority of your time with kids, your perspective warps a bit. This was bound to happen. NaBloPoMo Day 3.     More to come! *** [subscribe2]

Happy (Chinese) New Year

Hi, folks. Looks like I (completely, by a long shot) missed posting this “new year post” at the official beginning of 2016. But hey – Chinese New Year was only yesterday! Gung hey fat choy! And since we did not manage a proper Christmas card this year, this must serve as our retrospective message. Time to get Read More

Happy Birthday, Three-Year-Old!

Dear Baby AB, It has already been two weeks since your birthday! I know you’re not a baby. You are THREE. That is BIG. But of course, you’ll always be my baby, so I reserve the right to call you that. I just want you to know, belated or not, that we’re all besotted by Read More

A Message to the Daddies on Mother’s Day, or “How (Not) to Incur Mama’s Wrath”

This post is dedicated to all the fathers and fathers-to-be out there, with love – especially if this is your first Mother’s Day. I hope some of these words can be useful to you, or to someone you know. (If you are an equal-time, full-time, or single dad, then you can stop reading now… Welcome to Read More

How do you know if you’re done having kids?

It seems silly, sometimes, to wrestle with this question. Should we have another child? I know it’s a luxury even to be able to ask this. There are lots of people for whom having kids is not a true choice – either the opportunity or ability is not there, or, in some cases, the option not to have more Read More

Quotable Moments From My Toddler

I was reminded by my family last weekend that I haven’t yet shared the weird pearls of toddler philosophy that my daughter has been imparting to us since she learned to talk. Frankly, I haven’t written down nearly enough of them, because life is too busy and my memory for details is shockingly short. Another reason I haven’t Read More

Kindergarten Quotables Variety Pack

I realize it’s been ages since I talked about the cute stuff my kids say, and it’s not because they don’t say cute things. Okay, sometimes it’s because they don’t say cute things. At five and two years old, respectively, my son and daughter both have a tendency to freak out about seemingly minor incidents, Read More