When you have twins that are your Alpha and Omega, every stage of child rearing is not only a first, but also a last. There is no need to keep anything for the next kid, because there is no next kid. It’s an all-or-nothing approach to parenting. While there are some developmental stages I might […]
Top 5 Fridays (or Wednesdays)
5 Must-Have School Supplies Worth the Price
Last week, I dropped $90 on school supplies for my 6-year-old twins. And that didn’t include clothes and shoes, two things that suck the life out of any budget. As you may know, I hate shopping. For some reason, I feel guilty when I spend money, though that has never slowed me down. Plus, I’d […]
5 Ways My Kids Have Made Me a Better Person
I write a lot of snarky posts. Basically, irony comes far more easily than ironing. But every now and then, I have un-ironic moments. They’re fleeting. Most of them aren’t worth stopping for. Sometimes I stop anyway. When I was pregnant with my twins in Bangkok, I was put on bed rest near the end […]
The Challenges of Teaching Twins To Ride Bikes
Alternate Title: Why I Suck At Parenting, Part 32 Before I itemize my issues with teaching my twins to ride bikes, let me just say that I’m not even talking about riding bikes on two wheels. I’m talking about riding bikes with training wheels. That’s how bad a parent I am. My kids can’t even […]
5 Parenting Tips I Learned from the World Cup
Tip One: You Don’t Need To Have a Lot of Money To Be Good Throughout the World Cup, I’ve adopted my husband’s favourite team: ABE. ABE stands for Anyone But Europe. It’s not that we’re anti-Europe; we’re just pro-underdog (well, unless Team Canada’s playing hockey). In the case of the World Cup, though, the group […]
5 Ways My Son Resembles Oedipus
Reason 1: If William sees my husband and me embrace in the kitchen (or elsewhere), he pushes us apart. William will wriggle in between us, usually by crawling through our legs, standing up, and wedging us apart with his head and his hands. Then he’ll hug me. Contrast this to Vivian who, upon seeing us […]
5 Blog Topics My Husband Wanted To Write
It’s the final day of me guest posting over at Canadian Family. I have one subscription to Canadian Family left to give away (and you still don’t have to be Canadian to win, enjoy, or understand the magazine). If you wish to enter, leave a comment below. I’ll post the 5 winners on Monday. Today’s […]
Retro Parenting: 5 Fun Phrases Our Parents Used
The return of 1980s fashion, from Vuarnets and blue eye shadow to legwarmers, has got me thinking about retro. In particular, retro parenting. Recently, I’ve been uttering phrases that my parents and grandparents used to quip when my siblings or I misbehaved. They may no longer be fashionable, but they’re fun. Here are my five […]
5 Reasons I Hate Having Pneumonia
Reason 1: I don’t have enough breath to read my kids a story. My breath is coming back, but for 9 nights I couldn’t breathe out the simplest story. I’m not even talking some Dr. Seuss tale that tests the dexterity of the most limber tongue; I’m talking reading stories with the simplicity of Good […]
Earth Day Tips for Lazy Parents
April 22 is Earth Day, which means kids will be coming home from school with great ideas. Most of these “great ideas” are things we parents wish we were doing already: growing our own vegetables, packing litter-less lunches, and singing Kumbayah. I admit defeat early in the three above-mentioned Save-the-Earth campaigns: I kill house plants, […]