Ron de Beaulieu

My kid asked me, "When is this summer going to end?!" And I think that we will all be much happier if the forecast is right for next week.

My kid told me that she named her new plushie jaguar "St. Paul."
I said, "That guy? Really? Out of the whole Communion of Saints???"

Kid said, "Mom. I named it after the place across the river."

My husband, teasing Older Kid: Maybe we should take you to the vet instead of a human doctor the next time you get sick, to save money.

Older Kid: Naw, I'm a person. My brother, though...

Love it when I get a mild illness and it starts to fade and I'm like Yay! but then an opportunistic infection shows up and says "Heyyyy" and then I start antibiotics for that and then a second opportunistic infection joins the party, and IDK maybe there will be more after this!! 😃

a man wearing an eagle mask and an american flag stands in a crowd Alt: A person at a sports game, in the stands, is standing up and flapping their arms. They are wearing a bald eagle mask, a red, white, and blue bandana, and a U.S. flag around their shoulders, the corners tied to their wrists. As they wave their arms, it appears that the flag is flapping wings.

It is very cool and normal that my prescribed antibiotics cost me $100 with insurance. So American and great.

He celebrated Older Kid's return:
"My monkey! My monkey! Monkey here! Monkey here!" *Points to Older Kid* "Monkey you! Monkey you!"

Today is Older Kid's first time ever doing an afterschool activity, and Younger Kid is PINING for her. He has been crying off and on and whimpering her nickname, "Monkeeeeyyy, Monkeeeeyyy," for nearly 45 minutes.

It is sad, but also very sweet.

Got an email from the Picture Day photographer, and younger kid took a not-bizarre photo for the first time ever. He's not making a wacky face, or trying to escape while his teacher holds him place.

We might actually buy this one.

C'mon, all of us kids back then donned our OLD NOBY flame shirts and headed to Walmart for the joys and delights of a completely generic shopping experience. Aren't you nostalgic for *checks notes* smiley faces?

There was a whole cultural narrative about that!

I saw a scare-mongering TV "news" feature when I was a kid (circa 1999?), about the HORRORS of an ADHD diagnosis. It pushed this DIAGNOSIS BAD message, and made it sound like there's a conspiracy in The Schools to diagnose all little boys. 🙄

Every new thing that I learn about Jacob Frey makes me despise him a little more.

In all the years of this man's involvement with Minneapolis politics, I have not once heard a thing that tempered my disrespect for him.

Have you tried panicking?

A friend told me about a kid she's known for years who she suspected was autistic but his parents insisted that he was "just being a brat."

Finally, in 4th grade, they took him to a psychologist. He was eventually diagnosed w/ ASD, ADHD, and OCD. That poor boy.

If you see this post a bridge

My husband got a notification on his phone that Google changed his search settings because he declined to verify his age on his Google Account. He's had his gmail account since 2003. It's 22 years old.

He says, "You think it'd be easy to have Gemini go IF Account age >= 18 THEN FUCKOFF=TRUE"

Same as you, actually! Just this morning, one of my kids was doing something very cute and very autistic, and I said to him, "I'm so glad you're like this."

The animal scavenger hunt is great because it gets you to look more closely at the artwork.

This was my second time visiting, but as I was looking for the animals with my kid, I noticed so much that I hadn't picked up on before.

Did you see the SHARE YOUR VOICE exhibit, the wide roll of paper where you can write something for the community poem?
My kid drew a rainbow on it.

Took my older kid (3rd grader) to the Turnblad Mansion yesterday. Kid loved it. "What a cool place!"

The end of an era.

Two weeks ago, I was given a tour of Park Board HQ, and when we went into the board room I thought, "There has been so much Becka Thompson buffoonery here." ☺️

I saw that! I typed it up because I was about to follow with commentary, but then I accidentally hit "Post."

This is an impressive level of incompetence.

The childish scribble reads:

Republican's
Are Better
Than
Democrats
Change my
Mind

Older Kid (nicknamed Monkey) loves to make up songs about how cute Little Brother is. Little Brother tries to reciprocate, and this is his latest effort:

🎶Clap clap clap!
Love Monkey!
Clap clap clap!
Every day!
Clap clap clap!🎶

(Yes, he says "clap" while clapping)

Yesss!
Silent Book Club in the Park with Bree is one of my favorite summer activities!

(I do have autistic kids and I am thankful every day that they are the way they are: perfect.)

"The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine has pointed out that 'untreated fever, particularly in the first trimester, increases the risk of miscarriage, birth defects, and premature birth.'"

Even if Tylenol did cause autism (it doesn't), I'd rather have an autistic kid than those alternatives. 🤷

"The biggest outside spender in Craig’s 2024 re-election campaign was a crypto-backed PAC called FairShake, which poured nearly $1 million into the race in support of Craig."

But I'm sure that has nothing to do with her enthusiasm for appeasement. Nothing at all.

Woke up from a dream in which I was made of raspberries and I fell down the steps at the Minnesota state capitol and went SQUISH.

How's that for an auspicious start to the day?

Ruin a band with a Supreme Court Justice

Lothar and the Learned Hand People