PulseonParenting | Let's Get to the Heart of Parenting

Am I Supposed to Check My Kids’ Homework?

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Mar 01 2016

I don’t understand homework in elementary school. My past, and likely yours, too, had many hours devoted to homework…but I never did any, had any, until middle school. And I settled myself after school at the kitchen table with paper and pencil because teachers told us do this at home and turn it in tomorrow, and I did (yes, I was one of those kids…). But it’s a different ballgame today for families: homework comes home for our elementary schoolers, and they really need some supervision, unlike (mostly) the older kids. It can be a time-consuming process, especially when…

Feb 23 2016

Last week, in Happy Birthday, Boys: “Infertility Unplugged” by the Numbers I wrote about my husband’s and my infertility experience from a mathematical point-of-view. This week, I turn to the lighter side. It’s hard to believe, even years later, that some aspects of infertility could actually make anyone laugh. And I wish I could have at the time; laughter is great therapy. But better late than never, right? So here are some of the absurd instances in our infertility journey: ~“The Folly of the Pharmacy.” Pharmacology was the toughest class I took in school. Anyone who can get a PhD…

Feb 16 2016

At this time 11 years ago, I was crying into my shoes…literally. Bloated as a waterbed, I tried desperately over my pregnant tummy to reach my shoes and shove my swollen feet into them. Time was of the essence; I needed to commute an hour away to sit for my recertification exam and shoes were a necessity in the frigid Wisconsin winter (and probably in the exam center, too). Fortunately my husband came to my rescue, armed with a shoe horn and sheer determination. It’s hard for me to believe my twin boys will turn 11 in a matter of…

Feb 09 2016

“So what is your birth story?” Have you ever shared with someone the story of how your children came into the world? I remember a friend of mine and I doing just that on one of the rare occasions we could sit and catch up. It was an enlightening personal experience, one I would never think to initiate and was glad she took the first step. The actual birthing experience may be a small fraction of life experience but it ends in the first time we lay eyes on our children, so it’s a story we as parents hold…

Feb 02 2016

Super Bowl 50 is just around the corner, which only means one thing. Well, two. The first being if your adoptive home is Colorado, and your son’s new favorite team is the Denver Broncos, then you are thrilled. And the second is all those original, entertaining commercials, which for many (myself included) are the reason to tune into the game. So anticipated are these ads, they seem to get at least as much post-game chatter as the game itself. Which is interesting because apparently my generation (X) is a pretty jaded bunch. As in, more resistant to the influence of…

Jan 26 2016

Back in May 2015 I wrote a post entitled Moms, Get Your Mammograms. I gave some (hopefully!) clear advice about when to obtain a first (baseline) mammogram and when to get clinical and self breast exams, because the information out there is confusing. It’s conflicting. Even the medical community grapples repeatedly with the when-and-how-often of screening. And they have done it again: in October of 2015, the American Cancer Society (ACS) released an updated set of guidelines regarding breast cancer screening. So I’d like to share with you some of the new recommendations, focusing on the information we women…

Jan 19 2016

Forget your troubles, come on get happy You better chase all your cares away Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy ~from the song Get Happy by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, performed by Judy Garland in Summer Stock (1950) If you smile, you will feel happy. There are some pretty fun studies out there to help support this. Just try it yourself. Smile, and you start to feel exactly what the upturned corners of your mouth show. But is feeling happy the same as being happy?

Jan 12 2016

I have never made it a secret that my twin boys are the product of science…I’ve “put it out there” since my husband and I shared the good news that we were finally expecting. And we’ve talked to our boys about their beginning, showing them pictures and telling them about the special doctor who helped us become pregnant with them. We found a wonderful age-appropriate book to read to all three of our kids (our daughter, conceived the “old-fashioned way” finds it especially interesting), back when they were in Kindergarten. Since then, I’ve looked for a book that is directed…

Jan 05 2016

What I suddenly understood was that a thank-you note isn’t the price you pay for receiving a gift, as so many children think it is, a kind of minimum tribute or toll, but an opportunity to count your blessings. And gratitude isn’t what you give in exchange for something; it’s what you feel when you are blessed–blessed to have family and friends who care about you, and who want to see you happy. Hence the joy from thanking. ~Will Schwalbe, in The End of Your Life Book Club I felt a twinge of hope when Mr. Schwalbe shared his epiphany about…

Dec 08 2015

Tis the season for decking the halls, baking cookies, writing wish lists… and nosebleeds. As the popular holiday song goes, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful… and our kids get nosebleeds. I remember one particular occasion, while staying in a hotel, my husband and I were sitting in the cramped bathroom with our son. We were unravelling rolls (yes, rolls) of toilet paper and emptying the kleenex dispenser trying to stop a terrible nosebleed. I was ready to throw in the towel, grab an actual towel, and take our son to the nearest urgent care when,…

My name is Heidi Black and I have it all... Maybe not in the traditional sense of the phrase but I do feel I have it all: three beautiful, healthy children, a devoted husband and father and the privilege of being a Domestic Engineer. (I used to call myself a SAHM but that just doesn’t fit when my day is filled with coordinating 5 schedules and preplanning their execution, all up to a week in advance.) And now, indulging in a not-so-secret desire to write, and following the advice “write what you know” I am ready to share what I have learned from this ironic life journey and along with you, discover answers to those many questions related to parenting.

Getting to the Heart of Parenting...

Am I Supposed to Check My Kids’ Homework?

“Infertility Unplugged:” the Outtakes

Happy Birthday, Boys: “Infertility Unplugged” by the Numbers

Too Much Information: a Conception Story

Hooray for Super Bowl Commercials…But Should Our Kids Watch Them?

A Mammogram Update: New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

The Happiness Project

Calling All Family and Friends of In Vitro Fertilization Kids

To Write a Thank-You or Phone it in?

Nosebleeds: What to Do, When to Seek Help