Who Took My 7-Year-Old and Replaced Him With a Teenager?!
Over at Mommasaid.net, my friend and colleague Jen Singer lists some of the reasons parenting teens is harder now than it used to be (exhibit A: sexting. Shudder). Jen actually has a newly-minted, real-life teenage son. I do not, yet (though I do sometimes stare at the welter of kid-size sneakers, boots, and soccer cleats near the door and imagine them three times the size, and my heart aches for a mudroom and a shoeless infant in equal measure). So no, I have no actual teens yet — but geez, oh, man is my older boy acting like one lately! …Keep Reading
Angels in the Outfield, Devils at Home: I’ll take some private mayhem if it means good behavior in public.
We had quite the day on New Year’s Eve. We woke to a snowstorm, which we drove through, slipping and sliding, for an hour to reach a lawyer’s office in a town that’s normally a 20-minute drive away. We were closing on a refinance of our home mortgage, a process that had taken many frustrating months and literally reams of paper (you’d think much of this could be done digitally, but alas, no). We’d gotten several extensions of our locked-in rate, the last of which expired on that day, so there was no option left: We had to drag the …Keep Reading
What’s in a Name? In Mine? A Lot!
So, I didn’t change my name when I married my dear husband just over 9 years ago. Surprised? No one who knew me was, but I’m continually surprised at the hoopla it causes even now. Or maybe especially now, with our two sons firmly entrenched in the local public school system. But more on school later. First, here’s why I did it (or, to be precise, didn’t do it): I like my name. I always have. I like that it reflects my Italian-American heritage, even though it’s not immediately obvious to everyone that it’s even an Italian surname (and to …Keep Reading
Smile, Honey! It’s Picture Day!
The other day, both boys came home with the familiar order form and info sheet in their backpacks: Gear up, mom and dad, it’s almost Picture Day! I hate picture day. To be precise, I don’t hate the day itself, since I’m not, literally or otherwise, in the picture. True to my meanness and aversion to being a Joiner, I don’t even volunteer to herd kids to the all-purpose room or comb hair and fix bows. What I hate is the form itself (murky, impenetrable); the packages offered (many choices, none of which make sense); and even the modifications you …Keep Reading
Noggin, Noggin, Wherefore Art Thou, Noggin?
The latest I hear about the basic-cable TV channel Noggin (“It’s like preschool on TV!”) is that it’s now called Nick, Jr. Can commercials be far behind? My husband and I (well, my husband, actually) stumbled upon Noggin while flipping through the many upper (as in, above 100) channels we have in our cable system. He happened to land on Noggin when it was airing a show no longer on the air that was a condensed version of Sesame Street (how it crossed over from PBS to Noggin, owned by Nickelodeon, we don’t know, but it caught our then-toddler’s attention). …Keep Reading
The Riedlbauer’s Effect: Our Low Vacation Expectations
For many Americans, and famously for much of Western Europe, August is vacation season. Everyone who’s anyone decamps for mountains, lakes, beaches, theme parks, the family cabin, the campground… you get the idea. We’re not going anywhere; in fact, we haven’t gone on vacation in any real sense (that is, for more than a few days; to somewhere that doesn’t involve visiting a relative; or to a place that has bought new sheets for the beds in the last four decades–more on that later) for, um, ever? I, personally, haven’t been on vacation For Real since my honeymoon. I’m not …Keep Reading
Ain’t it the Tooth: My Tiny Toothpaste Rant
I don’t like to whine (though I am genetically attracted to complaining. There’s a difference: Complaining suggests that there’s a problem that can and should be fixed. Whining is unproductive, but sometimes feels good.) So. Here’s my current complaint. I can’t find toothpaste for my boys that meets their need for something simple, yet without too bracing a mint flavor; and my need — no, my determination — to avoid buying something specifically kiddie. My reasons are dual. One, the kiddie-focused stuff is sneakily (or maybe not so sneakily) more expensive per ounce. I do not enjoy being taken for …Keep Reading
The Birth of a Mean Mom
“I hold their hands in parking lots and when crossing the street, but then let them run ahead.”
