. It’s bedtime. I’ve spent the past sixty minutes doing the following: sorting through kids’ dresser drawers and replacing summer tees with winter hoodies; hooking up lonesome socks congregating in a singles’ drawer; picking up books that have been flung by discus athletes-in-training; and removing embedded Lego pieces from my bare feet. A typical evening. […]
Leanne Shirtliffe
Shakespeare on Parenting
We have to study Shakespeare to graduate from high school, yet we don’t have to study anything to become a parent. What if Shakespeare could instruct us on the demands of childrearing? Or easier yet–what if we could twist the titles of his plays and apply them to parenting? Here are 10 titles of Shakespeare’s […]
On the Move: Dentists, Paying It Forward, and My 10 Cents
Dental Drama This morning, at 7 a.m., I was in the dental chair with my mouth cranked open as some medieval instruments threatened to give me a tongue piercing. I don’t love the dentist. I can’t understand how engineers put men on the moon over 40 years ago (and decided to bring them back) but […]
Did I Say That Out Loud? How To Embarrass Your Kids
Sometimes I think sitting down as a family at dinner is overrated. At least for the mother. I miss my university days of having a bagel and Sunchips in front of the TV with my roommate while watching Jeopardy and reruns of The Muppets. Now, in our Lego filled house, dinner table conversations sometimes seem […]
Reading: An Autobiography
It’s Monday and I’ve shoved irony under my bed to party it up with the dust balls. Before I coax irony out with a vacuum cleaner (which is a machine near extinction in my house), I thought I’d direct you to my “other blog,” where I”m posting today. It ain’t funny, but you might learn […]
Bring Out Your Dead: Parenting & Gardening
On Sunday, my husband came home from work and saw an empty planter. “What happened to our plant?” he asked. “I threw it out.” “Was it dead?” he asked. “Not really.” “You just got tired of it?” “Kind of.” “So you euthanized it?” “I guess,” I said. “I kept it alive for two years, then […]
StuffKidsWrite.com: Mom Is Not Your Boss
I remember watching episodes of Who’s the Boss. I even thought Tony Danza was cute. Well, times change. And most of us know who’s the boss in our households. Or do we? Head over to Stuff Kids Write to see what Tamara Lunardo’s seven-year-old daughter has to say about this very question. Simply click HERE […]
The Return of Whiteboard Wednesday
Today marks the return of Whiteboard Wednesdays. If you have no idea what this is, neither do my kids. So know that you’re not alone. Basically, Whiteboard Wednesday is when I write down something semi-idiotic that I said while parenting in the past week. This is easier than it seems. Some past Whiteboard Wednesday comments […]
How To Be the Teacher’s Pet
It’s holiday Monday. There’s nothing teachers like better than a holiday Monday, except eight of them in a row, which is also known as summer. Today–a delicious holiday Monday–I’m pleased to bring you a guest post from the hilarious Tyler Tarver. Tyler is a teacher and a dad and an author, not necessarily in that […]
Reign of Terror: Unleashing Kids on Grandma's House
My parents live in a new house. It’s beautiful, but my kids tried their best to change that this summer. In our first week there, my seven-year-old twins gouged several walls, wrote on my parents’ RV (just in dust, thankfully), and broke a banister. Technically, Vivian and William didn’t break the whole banister: just a […]