blog | PulseonParenting

Game On

Jul 16 2014

“Boo-Ya!” “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!!!” “In your FACE!!!!” Sound familiar? Just another friendly family game night. It’s amazing how much trash gets talked with a high-stakes game of UNO. Or when the Old Maid deck gets dealt. And in our home, when the dice are rolled and the marbles moved during Murder, our homemade version of Sorry, verbal carnage (G-rated!) abounds. Yup, friendly games can turn friendly families into fierce-tongued families. It wasn’t my competitive streak that caused the card game Beat the Parents to catch my eye at the store, but the clever word play on the movie title,…

Plucking the Petals of Daisies

Jul 08 2014

If you have a daughter, you know all too well her mood can change with fleeting regularity. And you may also be surprised at how early an age the emotional roller coaster can take a plunge. I know I was. In our household, that age was two. My husband and I did a “What the…?” as our little darling, a shrieking carmel-haired blur, ran from one end of the house to the other spurred by an unknown insult, only to emerge seconds later in a strangely calm trance, blankie in hand. At the time, her display was darn funny. It…

All “Growed” Up

Jul 01 2014

Some would say it is turning age 18. Others would say it comes with earning a steady paycheck, moving away from Mom and Dad, and paying income tax. Yet others would agree it is becoming parents. But after passing those milestones of life, (some of them achieved a couple decades or so ago!), I don’t feel like a grown up. Not even close. And I’m pretty sure I don’t act like it. Here are some examples that serve as proof: ~ I have never read Dickens or Austen…nor do I feel the urge to. ~Occasionally I find myself giggling with…

Homecoming

Jun 24 2014

Who says you can’t go home? harmonize Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles in their duet of the same name. They croon about the heady experience of goin’ back to the place where one comes of age. But Kent Haruf writes darkly in Where You Once Belonged about a hometown hero who returns to his stomping grounds to wreak havoc. Homecomings. Nostalgic? Strange? Or turbulent? I am on vacation this week in Iowa. While short on major attractions (which is fine) and long on corn bursting from fertile ground, we come because our families live here. Central Iowa is home. But it…

Summer Reading, An Excuse to Indulge

Jun 17 2014

The weather is warm. The days are longer. And if you are like most parents, you are on the run. You need a book that you can pick up and read anywhere, everywhere, if only for a few minutes at a time. Well, how about three books that fill that bill? One for each of the busiest, balmiest months of the year. This summer I am diving in to The Hunger Games trilogy. My nine-year-old son has been salivating over the yummy boxed set since it entered our household but I have declined him the privilege of being the one to bend the first…

Cub Scouts, You’re in the Army Now

Jun 10 2014

Of all the animals, the boy is the wildest ~ Plato Cub scout den mothers, I (cub scout) salute you. To take on the responsibility of guiding elementary school-age boys through Tiger, Wolf and Bear Scouts (names surely inspired by Plato himself**) amidst the chaos that ensues at meetings, you are a rare and patient breed indeed. Now I paraphrased Plato. He actually said the boy is “most unmanageable.” That may be taking it a tad too far, given how things went down at our Cub Scout Camp this past week. Present the unmanageable to a Boy Scout leader and you get…

The Power of the Post-It

Jun 03 2014

Those yellow sticky things which became the center of a class reunion “scandal” in the movie Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. The rainbow version that my kids wallpaper our house with cute little sayings written upon them. Whoever took Post-Its to the gym is genius. And made the day of countless women by sticking one to the mirror in the locker room, visible to all who applied their makeup and gave themselves a blow-out and even to those who simply passed through (the yellow color was a smart move). On the note was written in beautifully plain penmanship: You are…

Hooray for Summer?

May 29 2014

Recently we installed a wireless pet containment system for our sweet but “born-to-run” dog. As we train Lucy to her boundaries, she is becoming rather “hang-doggy” as she realizes the restriction to her freedom. No loping off to see her dog friends. No unleashed running through our neighborhood for the wild amount of exercise she desperately needs as a border collie mix. She is relegated to a leash for her daily walks now, under the watchful eye of one of her “people.” Does this sound familiar? If not for your own furry friend but for you yourself? Because it is…

Roll “Em!” (And Let it Roll?)

May 27 2014

What movies do you remember watching over and over as a kid? Ah, silver screen memories. The movies that defined our (respective) generations and which we pop in the player when we want to stroll down memory lane. And of course see if we can quote them word-for-word like we could years before. Have you shared your favorite flicks with your kids? It’s fun to experience those timeless Disney classics. Remember the “Wonderful World of Disney” on Sunday nights? Even though kids are amazingly tech-savvy and notice the graphics are out of date, the stories still draw them in. No…

Well, Enough About Me…

May 22 2014

We’ve all heard the line: Enough about me…what do YOU think of me? Ever realize you get so caught up in your own vision you forget: The situation isn’t about YOU? Just a rhetorical question. Except not for me. Since I mentioned it I have to ‘fess up (otherwise I wouldn’t have this blog post!). And my answer is: All too often. How much my being an only child plays into this, I don’t know. But I freely admit my forays into egocentricity because I realize that as a parent (it’s ok to silently agree with this) I hope my…

Category - blog