Because sometimes being a parent means doing what’s hard.
Posted in babies, kids and sleep, Mean Mom's Question Time on Mar 2nd, 2011
I don’t think it’s a huge leap to say that sleep — from your newborn’s earliest days to your teen’s freakish ability to sleep for what seems like days — is a major parenting issue. Can I get an amen on that? Amen. Thanks. I’ve always been … let’s call it “a stickler” or “tough” [...]
Posted in babies, exercise, family life, kids and sports on Dec 2nd, 2010
I never have to wait around for very long, or dig very deep, to find something to be either baffled or outraged about when it comes to modern parenting. Yesterday’s crazy-making dose came in the form of a New York Times article about sports for babies. Yes, I meant to write “babies.” The article opens [...]
Posted in babies, family life on Mar 5th, 2010
OK, so Pam and Jim had their baby on The Office last night. (And if you’ve got it DVR’d and haven’t watched yet, go away now and come back later, because spoilers are ahead). They had a girl. I want a girl. I really, really do. And for all the ridiculous reasons — the clothes [...]
I have a brand-new nephew, Nicholas (Nico, for short). His parents, my brother and sister-in-law, are mostly going minimal when it comes to baby gear. Part of that is a space issue–their house is pretty compact. But a bigger part of it is that, from what I can tell, and not including having read probably [...]
Posted in babies, birthday parties, family life on Oct 16th, 2009
Today is my baby James’ fifth birthday. My second son. And even though I’m a second child, and my husband is, too, we still managed to infect our darling baby with Second Child Syndrome. I’m beginning to believe it’s inevitable. All parents are prone, the second time around, to be less awed (and less cowed) [...]
Posted in babies, family finances, humor, school on Oct 7th, 2009
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 [...]
Posted in babies, family life on Sep 4th, 2009
If I were as mean a mommy as I profess, if I were so hooked on schedules and eager to turn my little babies into independent boys-to-men, if I so valued my me-time and my work ethic, then I wouldn’t want a third child quite so badly, would I? But I do. And I’m not [...]
Posted in babies, discipline, family life, kids and food on Aug 26th, 2009
Years and years ago, well before I had kids, I was hanging around in my sister’s newly refinished basement, playing some board games with two of her kids and my dad. My niece and nephew, Tara and Nick, were drinking juice out of those foil pouches, like Capri Sun (which now, by the way, are [...]
Have you read this article in the New York Times yet? It’s by writer and psychologist Alison Gopnik, and it’s gotten a bunch of media play in the last few days, because it’s about something supposedly revolutionary: Babies, Gopnik asserts, are quite a bit smarter than we think. I’m pretty sure I knew that already. [...]
