It’s Friday, a day synonymous with going out, or– if you’re a teacher or a parent – with falling asleep in front of the TV by nine o’clock. Before you fall asleep, feel free to hop around to some of my recent writing around the web. Pregnant Woman or Vegas Tourist looks at the similarities between […]
kids
A Twisted Guide to the Worst Toys of 2011
If you’re planning to purchase toys for some darling children this holiday season, you might want to look elsewhere because my annual list of toys-that-suck is here. Without further ado, I present the worst toys from Santa’s workshop, where quality control appears to have taken an extended vacation. A 365 day one. Toys That Assault […]
Daughters, Bad Breath, and Losing It
I’m pleased to bring you my first ever Whiteboard Wednesday Guest Post. Chad Jones is a hilarious dad of two who I suspect sticks his foot in his mouth nearly as often as I do. He blogs about the bizarre (and slightly-less-bizarre) aspects of faith as well as being both a dad and husband. The […]
Happy Thanksgiving, eh?
It’s Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. Because we follow the metric system, our holiday comes earlier than our American neighbo(u)rs. The metric system also explains why Canada is colder than the US, why the Flames will beat the Penguins on Saturday night, and why Justin Bieber’s career will be over in 2016. If you want to […]
Bedtime Rhymes, Grimm Style
This summer, while spending a month at my parents’ house with William and Vivian, I learned that I’m not as much of a morning person as I think I am. I got used to my mom getting up with my kids and feeding them breakfast. I got used to sleeping in until 8:30. But that’s […]
How Do You Spell Relief? B-a-c-k-T-o-S-c-h-o-o-l
Vivian and William had their first day of school yesterday. After we used a logarithm to sort out the bus route, we drove to the school, met the kids when they got off the bus, and joined the queue of parents sloughing Lululemon bags overflowing with glue sticks and sharpened pencils. Welcome to the first […]
The Ironic Restaurant
The Ironic Restaurant reopened last week, with Vivian once again serving as the waitress, chef, and owner. She made her way around the room, taking our orders with an accent that could have been charged roaming fees. “What vould you like to drink?” she asked her dad. He looked up from his crossword. “What do […]
Car Travel Games (a.k.a. Hit Your Head Repeatedly against the Window)
We recently drove 800 miles with our seven-year-old twins. We’re lucky; our kids are good travelers. Throw a DVD on repeat play, and they’ll stare at the screen without noticing our Loser Cruiser came inches from killing Bambi’s mom. Every now and then, though, Guilty Mother Syndrome (GMS) hits me. I shut off the DVD […]
Kids Using Google: The Cons
This past Sunday, I once again tried to sleep in beyond 6:30, the time when my seven-year-old twins opted to wake. “Just go play computer games,” I told Vivian. William was already safely absorbed in some violent cartoon on TV that was three inches from his face. Vivian left. The world was quiet, and the […]
Kids Using Google: The Pros
Just over a week ago, while I was sleeping in, seven-year-old Vivian wrote and self-published a book. It was Sunday. My husband had left for work, William was watching cartoons, and Vivian was bored. Because I’m a good mother and had been out until 1 a.m., I told her to go play computer games. I […]