Archive - February 2014

The other day after lunch in town, my first-grade daughter found a vertical pole to spin around.  In her innocent fun, she really got into it.  I mean, really got into it and…yeah.  It was disturbing.  Anyway…I’m going to continue on in a totally different vein.   But her little, uh, performance, will tie in.  I promise. What is more frustrating, time-consuming and stressful than potty-training the kids?  Getting them ready for school and out-the-door (hereby known as “OTD”) is a top contender in my book.  I think I’ve sprouted more gray hairs with the latter than the former.  It is a…

When I feel my blood pressure rising, my blood on a rolling boil and my head a-poundin’, I try (try!) to ask myself this question before I erupt:  Are my kids just getting to me or are they actually doing something hurtful/dangerous/rude…?  (aka my might-try-to-patent-if-I-weren’t-bureaucratically-challenged  “Mommy Barometer”) In other words, is it ME?  If so, I take my pulse.  And retreat to the other room (or, admittedly, to my smartphone to cruise Facebook) for a little break.  If it is misbehavior, I still take my pulse….on parenting.  And then attempt a calm, reasonable approach to the hurtful/dangerous/rude issue.  Am I…

“How you do anything is how you do everything.” I was wowed by this quote from Editor Kristin Van Ogtrop’s note in the January 2014 Real Simple.  I also felt: Introspective. Intimidated. And oh, let’s not forget:  Inadequate. How daunting those few words are!  My self-reflection on how well (or not) I behave, react and perform in the moment led me to the scary possibility that everything I do is crap and my kids see it.  If last night’s supper was a performance barometer, my kids will be able to pen quite the “tell-all” if they become famous. But in all…

“What would be your asking price to do all the “Mommy” work?” Come again?  It could have been an insulting inquiry, but it wasn’t, actually.   A frustrated family friend, who had had-it-up-to-there with the grind of paying bills, calling utility companies, and trouble-shooting random homeowner responsibilities while balancing his career and fatherhood, had simply had enough.  At least I worked from the home, and flexibly at that.  What WOULD I ask in yearly salary to do all the unavoidable junk that takes away from family, career and FUN? If I’d been prepared to answer his question (a job offer, possibly??), I…

Remember “Not Me” from the Family Circus cartoons?  We all know how alive and well this little ghost is in any home with kids: “Who spilled milk and didn’t clean it up?!” “Not me!” “Not me!” “Well, it wasn’t ME”! No matter the offense, this trio of responses in my house rarely changes.  (The only caveat is that they blame the dog, even though she is lactose-intolerant, doesn’t have opposable thumbs, etc.). And my rebuttal doesn’t change, either: I’m not going to be angry if you tell me the truth.  It’s dishonesty that upsets me. When no one owns up…