You would think that growing up in Southern California, I would be a seasoned disaster preparedness mom. Earthquake drills were a constant affair at school. We stocked cans of food and bottles of water in our garage. In my college dorm, a 6.7 earthquake threw me across the room when my bunk bed toppled over. My roommates and I nicked our bare feet on picture frames that had shattered on the floor. But I also had a mother that completely freaked out at the slightest ground movement. She … [Read more...] about To Freak or Not to Freak
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Kyra ran into the kitchen and said, “Mommee, he spilled juice on the computer.” Grabbing a towel, I raced Kyra into their playroom and caught Ethan finger painting juice on the case of the desktop (the same brand-new computer that only survived two months in our home and was featured in Raising Techno Addicts and Screen Time Fight Play-by-Play.) Thomas scolded Ethan while I cleaned off the computer and perched it high out of our kids’ reach. It didn’t appear as if juice had seeped into the … [Read more...] about The Computer is Dead
“Grrrr. I’m a dragon,” Kyra scrapped her fingernails along my kitchen cabinets as she flapped her Night Fury pajama wings. We heard Thomas and Ethan stumble down the hall to our master bedroom and dive under the covers. “I’m going to get you!” Kyra threatened. Ethan screamed. Kyra giggled hysterically and ran as fast as she could toward her victims. I sat down at our dining table cuing my family’s idea of holiday fun with MaMa’s. In three days, we would be flying to California to stay at … [Read more...] about Holiday Cuing
As I write this post, my son is sitting on my lap, driving Lightning McQueen up and down my right arm. This is where he likes to sit during the day if I have some work to finish on my laptop, but now it’s three in the morning and I just sat down for my prized few hours of writing time, when usually all through the house, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. My husband had established our alpha status earlier tonight by patiently returning Ethan to his bed at least ten times despite … [Read more...] about Who’s the Alpha Now?
After listening to Tuesday’s show, I considered placing an ad for a grandparent willing to make breakfast for my kids every morning or read them stories several times a week over video chat. On a whim, I typed into Google “Grandparents wanted” and was surprised to discover I’m not the first one to joke about this. Kristen, a reader of the New York Times Motherlode posted in “Absent Grandparents” that after her parents died she thought about placing this kind of ad in Craigslist. She says, … [Read more...] about Doting Grandparents Wanted (won AK Professional Communicator’s Award)
My son peered out the window at a light fading down the driveway. “Daddee!” he demanded and stamped his pajama sleepered feet, frustrated that he couldn’t be out there plowing with his father. My daughter had already gone to bed and I teetered on a chair, stuffing foam backer rod into cracks on the logs of our cabin. Even though Thomas devoted most of his weekends and vacations to chinking our log cabin home, we were getting worried about getting our energy improvements done in time for the … [Read more...] about The Alaskan Dad
Round One — Kyra patiently circles Mommee. “Can I play computer?” she asks. “Can I watch TV? Can I play Wii? Can I play with Mommee phone?” Freezing rain pounds on the windows reminding the fighters that there will be no respite from school, errands, or outdoor play. Mommee and Kyra collide with combos. Finally, Mommee tries, “How about we practice piano instead?” Kyra resets and says, “Okay.” Pings and pangs echo through the house. Referee Ethan leaps in and hits a note here and … [Read more...] about Screen Time Fight Play-by-Play
“Oh, I’m Skippy Kyra Jones, With a mind of my own, And I’ll bounce on my bed for hours. I know I’m a cat, But forget about that…” Kyra sings the last song from Skippyjon Jones and tosses it off the side of the bed. Strands of her long black hair tickle my nose. I kiss her warm little head, nestled in the crook of my right shoulder. She reaches for my face with her lips and plants a kiss on my nose. “Pointy Kiss,” she giggles. I look forward to this time of the day, where warm beneath a … [Read more...] about Kit, Kat, Kick