I’ve long been aware that there is tension between my mother-in-law and her mother, whose 90th birthday we just celebrated. As far as I can tell, this tension dates back roughly to my mother-in-law’s birth, so neither my spouse nor I is directly involved, but indirectly? You bet.
I wasn’t particularly aware [...]
I’ve never particularly enjoyed piñatas. The wild scramble for the goodies after it’s destroyed reminds me of every competitive trauma I ever suffered, and I think that in general they send the message that “the strong get more, while the weak ones fade.”
Nevertheless, I’m helping to plan a party next weekend, and I’ve agreed [...]
In the normal way of things (and more often lately in the name of household economy), the Pooch bats cleanup in the food department. Bread heels, leftovers, the burnt bits: these generally fall to the Pooch. This is how I am able to report that stale Honey Nut Cheerios, eaten dry, actually [...]
Editing his older sister’s Mii (personal avatar for the Wii game system) to include warts, wrinkles, and facial hair.
My older child leaves tomorrow morning for three nights at Outdoor School, which will triple the longest time we’ve ever been separated. I know, this is just the first of many little suction cups on my octopus arms popping off, but it still stings a bit.
Caroline Heldman, Ph.D., assistant professor of politics at Occidental College, writes in Ms. Magazine that media consumption, especially of fashion magazines, is bad for women’s mental health:
My research with college age women indicates that the less women consume media, the less they self-objectify, particularly if they avoid fashion magazines. By shutting out media, girls and [...]
Yesterday I was hanging out at the school carnival with an acquaintance and his adorable 3-year-old son. At one point, the kid was standing on a long bench, and then he tripped to the other end, tapped an older woman on the shoulder, and when she turned to him, gave her a smooch right on [...]
On the heels of the hot mommy/celebrity pregnancy/MILF fad comes this quote from a press release, from Suzie blogging at Echidne of the Snakes:
It is nearly impossible to hide a plastic surgery transformation from your children. Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer takes this contentious topic head on with a new children’s book, “My Beautiful [...]
I read a lot of book reviews, and of late I’ve noticed an interesting little quirk that many reviews seem to share: whenever the parents of an author or a biography subject are mentioned, they usually get two adjectives, e.g. “brilliant but troubled” mother, “difficult and distant” father.
This, of course, leads me [...]
Spouse (to Kid #2, on helping him wirelessly connect his Nintendo DS to the Internet so as to be able to trade Pokemons online): “I don’t know if you’re half as impressed as you ought to be.”
Kid #2 (bent over DS, busily scanning available trades): …
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