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5-Minute Pencil Studies

Once upon a time, I considered myself an artist.I attended studio art classes twice weekly. I even considered attending an art college — and in preparation, I devoted the summer vacation before my senior year in high school with 5-hour portfolio classes every weekday.I was accepted to some of the best art schools in the country. However, I decided to pursue a more "stable" future and decided to attend a traditional college instead. That being said, one of the reasons I chose JHU was for its affiliation with the prestigious Maryland Institute College of Art.I only ended up taking a couple of classes at MICA, and haven't done much drawing or painting since college. I subconsciously put that part of my life...

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My 3.5 Year Old Still Isn’t Potty-Trained

I know that she's ready, both mentally and physically. She meets all the requirements for potty-training, and more.But at 3 years and 6 months old, my Aerin is still in diapers.It is not for lack of trying. Books and videos. Pretty underwear she chose herself. Setting schedules. Going without diapers or underwear. Going full-on nude. Having her older sister (whom she shadows and copies all the time) demonstrate. Bribing. Begging. If you've seen it or read it online, I guarantee I've given it a go.By this point, I know that it's just a battle of wills. Because on the few occasions I have made her sit on the toilet — for up to FIVE hours — she still refused to go. And as soon as...

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Chalazion

A couple of months ago, we noticed a small lump under Aerin's left lower eyelid. (You can kinda see it in the first picture from this post about summer camp.) It wasn't painful and it didn't seem to bother her, so we took the "wait and see" approach. But over the weeks, the lump grew larger and redder. We took Aerin to the pediatrician who suspected the lump to be a sty and — because it hadn't gone away on its own — prescribed an antibacterial ointment. In addition to the ointment, we were to give her warm compresses, and hopefully the sty would go away on its own. When Aerin's eye didn't get any better after 10 days, we visited the pediatrician's...

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