Unless you’re living under a really big rock, you’ve probably heard about hurricane Sandy and its impending beating on the east coast. We did a lot to prepare—some of it smart, some of it silly, some of it kinda selfish (see: stockpiling wine). Are you in Sandy’s path? How did you prepare? What am I forgetting?!

I’m often conflicted about youth sports—how they start so early, how it gets so competitive so fast, how cuckoo some of parents can be—but I’m starting to see some real benefits (for me!) and I’m loving it. Here’s what I mean:

One of the many ways Nick totally rocks as a husband and a dad: He takes the kids to the library regularly to pick out new books. And he researches cool and interesting titles before going. This started after he realized there was no time for quietly browsing the aisles with our two in tow (he’d end up grabbing whatever was on display and we’d often be stuck with crap bedtime reading material, like an encyclopedia-like book on rocks—yawn). I love putting the kids to bed after one of their library trips and seeing the new and interesting books they picked out. Nick’s latest find:

Nora, my two and half year old, is beyond her years in many ways which, when it comes to certain topics, can be disturbing. This PG-13 conversation took place at bedtime the other night as I was trying to leave her room. I’m not sure I handled it properly—would love to hear your thoughts. Here goes: