a date with grandpa mark
Mark and I had a rare date night this weekend. We’ve been really bad about date night lately, and the sad truth is that even though we value it IN THEORY, in practice we often just don’t have the energy to feel like we can make an evening “worth” the money we spend on babysitting. It seems like every tine a schedule date night comes around, what I’d really rather do is go back to my bedroom, shut the door, and just take a nap. It’s hard to rally for a night out on the town. So . . .
how to get kids to pick up before getting out new toys
This year was our first year at a Monstessori preschool, and I wanted to share one of our learnings that we have incorporated at home. While Monstessori holds to a child-led educational philosophy, it is definitely far from a free-for-all. In fact, a Monstessori classroom tends to look like a very neat and structured environment. Even though kids are empowered to learn at their own pace, there is also a good deal of structure put into place. One of the most genious ways this . . .
the underlying tension of gender roles in the pursuit of an egalitarian marriage (or: what I learned from watching friday night lights)
Mark and I just finished watching Friday Night Lights. We were WAY late to this party, because I absolutely refused to watch a football-centric show, no matter how good the reviews were. Finally, a friend had a serious chat with me about how empty my life was without Friday Night Lights, and I had a conversion experience. We became instantly addicted, and watched the whole series in a matter of months. If you haven’t seen it, I’m going to give away the plot a bit, but not the ending. . . .
what I want you to know: the face of abuse is a master of disguise
What I Want You to Know is a series of reader submissions. It is an attempt to allow people to tell their personal stories, in the hopes of bringing greater compassion to the unique issues each of us face. If you would like to submit a story to this series, click here. This guest post is by Alissa. No one ever thinks they're going to end up in an abusive relationship. It's never anyone's goal. However, it happens every day and sometimes it happens to people you'd never dream it would. I was . . .
a compassionate look at undocumented youth in the US
This video is six minutes long. I really hope you will take the time to watch it. It involves a series of interviews with undocumented kids, activists, policymakers, non-profit leaders, educators and members of the clergy. I realize that immigration reform is a hot-button political topic, but the issues this film raises are beyond partisan opinion. There is a social justice issue occurring in our country for kids who were brought here illegally. Their future is grim, and it’s . . .
that’s what HE said: father’s day edition
{click the title to read the whole post} Mr. Curry and Lola Moon | Flux Capacitor He has overidden the status of blood with the status of the heart.For me, this great joy will be an everlasting one: that I, who had a father I struggle to comprehend, a brilliant, abusive and ill man who dictacted my childhood with his fierce rages and lies and abuse, was able to provide my daughter with the kind of father I had always dreamed of having: one who lives day by day in his family as if there is . . .
BRAVE: A Parent's Guide to Disney/Pixar's Latest Movie
Brave is Pixar’s 13th feature film release, and strikes a perfect balance between the stunning visuals of Pixar films and the classic storytelling of Disney’s quintessential princess movies. Modern parents will be delighted, however, to discover that Brave is a princess movie centering on a strong mother-daughter relationship, with nary a Prince Charming in sight. Brave focuses in on a plucky heroine named Merida; a brave and adventurous young woman who is slated to be betrothed in order to . . .
do you really play with your kids?
I’ve written about this before, but one of the more difficult aspects of motherhood for me has been reconciling the disparity between the mother I envisioned I would be, and the mother that I really am. My husband and I had a long and bumpy road to becoming parents, so I had a long time to imagine myself as a mother. And while I’ve lived up to some of the expectations that I’ve held for myself, I’ve also been surprised by some of the aspects of motherhood that have been most challenging for . . .
hot topics: teens getting bikini waxes, and facebook shame as discipline
This week over at Babble Voices, I'm tackling some hot-button parenting issues and I'd love you to weigh in. In this post, I'm talking teen girls and bikini waxes, and specifically asking if this is a harmless form of hair removal, or an example of teens being sexualized too soon. In another post, I'm talking about this picture that is making the social media rounds: We are seeing more and more examples of parents taking to social media to discipline their kids . . . but is this such a good . . .
an ode to Mark
My husband often takes a backseat role on this blog, but it certainly isn’t because he takes a backseat role in our family. I don’t write about him as much, in part because much of what I do here is an exploration of my own processes and feelings, and in part because recounting the silly things a child says or does is not quite as cute when done to a spouse. I try to protect his privacy a bit, even though there have been moments that I just couldn’t resist sharing. (Ahem, 3-D Chuck . . .
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