Deanna Hoak

You guys haven’t seen pics of my kiddos lately, so here we go. (Forgive my picture-taking ability; Evan’s was taken with the iPhone.)
Blaine and I got new fancy dresses the other day. I intend to wear mine to the WFC banquet next year, and Blaine just wanted one for the holidays.
Here’s my pretty girl in [...]

Blaine started fourth grade last Monday but only got in one day before Fay shut down school for the rest of the week. (We got about two feet of rain in three days with Fay.) Since Evan was supposed to start kindergarten on Thursday, his first day was delayed.
But he started today. Here are the [...]

Evan’s school photo came this year with a note attached saying that the school was sure I’d want the photo retaken, because it hadn’t come out well.
Here it is:

So…yeah, the photographer didn’t do the best job cropping; and yeah, Evan is squinting in the sun. But all I can think of when I look at [...]

Him: Mom, are boys and girls different species?
Me: Species? No, we’re the same species. Why do you ask?
Him: Well, because, like, boys like video games and girls like–
Me: But I like video games, and I’m a girl.
Him: I don’t mean you. But aren’t boys and girls different species? Because boys like video games, and girls [...]

My son turned four today, and I’m amazed at how much he’s grown up, even in the last few weeks. I conducted a birthday interview with him over a period of several days, because his body is as physically active as his imagination is mentally!
And no, I didn’t make any of this up. To be [...]

So my darling daughter turned eight today, and I was so enamored of John Scalzi’s “Exit Interview for the Seventh Year” that he did with his daughter that I thought I would like to do one with Blaine as well (and probably for Evan in a week, on his birthday, so brace yourself for kid [...]

The best gifts in the world are these two wonderful, beautiful kids I have.

I had an utterly lovely Christmas, and I hope all of you did, too, whatever the day means to you.

While Blaine was in space camp at Kennedy Space Center, she and I got matching T-shirts, and we just had the opportunity the other day to dress up in them!

Are we not adorable? And we match my blog! :-D The shirts, in case you can’t see, say “I Need My Space” followed by a NASA [...]

Note: None of the below is to be taken as any indication that I don’t absolutely adore my kids. I love them dearly, but it would be nice to be able to talk openly about the challenges of being a parent working at home without the fear that you’re going to be accused of not [...]

I have my daughter signed up for this really cool camp at the Kennedy Space Center. The kids get to ride in motion-based simulators, work on designing space vehicles, talk to an astronaut, perform a space shuttle mission simulation, and all kinds of other fascinating stuff. Blaine, of course, is thrilled with it.
But when I [...]