Category Archives: parenting

when you set a goal and God throws down

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“When it comes to technology and the kids nothing promised is permanent, nothing is etched in stone.  We try something and if it works, great.  If not?  Well, we try something else…

Which brings us to our latest shift.  It seems even our best efforts can’t get the kids enough non-screen time altogether, so BrightSide came up with the radical idea of no screens on Sundays.  I’ll repeat that.  An entire day without technology.  None.  At all.  Every single week.”

The goal of Friday’s post, basically, was the hope that sending good thoughts out into the universe might bless us with a semi-peaceful attempt at living tech-free for a day.  I wasn’t looking for Ghandi-like enlightenment, just sixteen or so hours with limited squabbling.

Here’s how it went.

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gunfight at the O.K. Corral (aka mamas, sons, and the battle cry)

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Last week I took Bear to get her hair trimmed.  I’m not winning any awards in this area – I’ve been known to go an entire year before remembering Bear needs a haircut, and since she isn’t really styling it I just take her to my own hairdresser.  Now, Penny is awesome and does a good cut, but she’s a white gal from Boston who mostly works with senior citizens.  Not exactly a cultural experience for Bear.  Then again, Penny’s scrupulous about getting the haircut right so I guess I could be doing worse.

But I digress.

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technology trial and error

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Life around here is one long experiment.  When it comes to technology and the kids nothing promised is permanent, nothing is etched in stone.  We try something and if it works, great.  If not?  Well, we try something else.

I’m sure the shifting ground rules irritate T-man and Bear, but it’s the best we can do.  And isn’t that the truth for parents everywhere?

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real world: Bear bangs into big city life

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My kids lead a sheltered life.  Shoot, who am I kidding – I’ve led a sheltered life.  There are hardships and then there are hardships, and I’ve got a good handle on where I fall on the spectrum.  BrightSide and I don’t want to raise precious snowflakes.  We want to expose our kids to the world and keep them grounded, but I don’t quite think it’s gone according to plan. 

BrightSide’s company provides incredible travel opportunities.  We’re blessed to go across the country or around the globe, to experience different cultures, to sample new cuisine, and to explore a planet where there are a thousand ways to live a beautiful life.  I’d never give it up, but we know this travel doesn’t immerse T-man and Bear in a daily reality for these cultures.

 

Which is what made San Francisco so bracing for Bear.

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50 shades of awkward

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It was movie night at the house and we were introducing T-man to Hitch, one of my favorite rom-coms ever.  Will Smith is da bomb, y’all.  Just sayin’. 

So we came to a kissing scene and I could actually see T-man shrinking into his chair.  Through sheer force of will he managed to decrease his body mass by .8% and would have, were it possible, sunk straight through the floor.

I shouldn’t find this funny, right?

 

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texts about porn are rarely good news

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Yeah, it happens.  Kids + technology + the internet = the source of a thousand awkward conversations.

“It was after a night spent with family — the adults in one room and the seven- and eight-year-olds in another — when I received a series of texts that began with: “Anna and Ella were watching PORN!” Apparently they’d been using an unrestricted adult iPad to search the web for “kissing pranks.” If you aren’t familiar with Rule 34, now you know. Rule 34 was on and popping in this scenario.”

Suburban Snapshots: So, Your Kid Found Some Internet Porn

Supergirl? No. Multitasking Super Schnoz Sixth Sense Mac Daddy Mama? Yeah, I’m that.

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We’re all born with a bit of superpower in us.  Some hone it a little more finely than others, but we all have the skills.  Otherwise surviving this traipse across the planet would require an unlikely amount of luck.  Me?  I’d say I have my fair share helping me along.

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20 signs (aka some really good reality checks when you’re just too tired to nail this parenting thing)

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“Most of the time, I am such a mom.

…I care about checking homework folders and attitudes, about making the team, the dental appointments, nutritious little snacks, and memories. I’m a multitasking mofo. I plan. I punish. I pin shit on Pinterest, and then sometimes, I actually make that shit, for chrissakes! Most of the time, I mom so hard, y’all. I’m on the ball. I read all 36 end-of-the-year emails from the PTA. I show up for all 36 special assemblies, on time, wearing a freaking bra and everything. I do. I’m a mom. 

But sometimes? Sometimes I am simply a very tired person—a person too damn tired to juggle it all.”

20 Signs I’m Too Tired To Mom – Scary Mommy