family life

Karate Kid

2.25.11

Today my girl tested out of the beginners class and now has her white belt in Tae Kwon Do. I love watching her strength and focus. She makes me so proud.

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I used to love snow. I spent my college years in Oswego, NY, where I became very familiar with the term “lake-effect snow” and never had a problem driving in it. Now I’m older. I have two children – and a collision with a tree on a snow-covered road – under my belt. Now it’s just not so fun anymore.

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Five Minutes

12.16.10

Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

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11 Things In 2011

12.13.10

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

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My Kids Have A Lot. So What?

11.17.10

I don’t see a problem with buying my kids what they want as long as we are working together as a family to earn them. Depriving them of a favorite game or toy just for the sake of making them appreciate it more when they finally get it seems more likely to create resentment than appreciation.

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Settlers of Catan Tournament

11.6.10

Our family loves to play Settlers of Catan and today we got together with some friends and had our first tournament. We were vying for prize money of $8 and some really amazing trophies…

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Halloween. And My Bubble.

11.4.10

Halloween was a blur this year. As the kids get older, they need me less. This is good, but it makes me feel a little less involved, as if events are speeding by. I did get some quality time with Logan when I took him and a friend on a haunted hay ride, which – WOW – So Much Fun.

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My Mom Strengths

10.8.10

When I read Know Your Strengths, from The Happiest Mom, I realized (again) how much I focus on the negative. I have the perception that the things I am good at (in parenting that is), everyone is good at, while the things I am bad at, everyone else is still good at. Not exactly reality.

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Don’t Always Take The Easy Way Out

8.20.10

I’ll never be a hard-ass parent. I’ll never be the type to get up every day at the same time and follow the same routine. I don’t want to be that person. I do want to get better at seeing things through and providing an example for my kids.

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Siblings And Family Time

8.19.10

I’d like our after-dinner time to be a scene out a 50′s sitcom, where we all talk and laugh and play together. I realize that’s not going to happen, but I’m sure we can make it better than it is now. What’s your advice? What’s your family-time routine?

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Christmas In July… And Every Other Month

7.15.10

My daughter is obsessed with Santa. And not in the “I can’t wait for Santa to come!” sense, but in the “Do you believe in Santa?” sense. She asks almost everyone she meets if they believe. It’s basically her second question after “What’s your name?”

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Stepping Back

6.5.10

My number one goal right now is to be a better role model for my kids. Part of that means being a better me, and part of it means letting go of some things that simply didn’t add much to any of our lives. So the blogging mojo? I actually feel it coming back now that I’ve let go of the pressure on myself. For the time being, I think I just might have found the elusive balance.

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The Case For Technology

4.17.10

Yes, TV, video games and the internet can be time-sucking, mind-numbing and addictive if you choose to use them that way. But they can also be engaging, social, motivating, and educational. I believe we need to stop blaming technology for family disconnect and learn how to use it effectively to connect the family.

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My Week In Review

4.4.10

Last week was full of fun. The week went from cold, windy, rain to warmth and sunshine, while we enjoyed family, friends, field trips, and shopping.

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Today I am 40

3.13.09

It’s my 40th birthday (as if I haven’t talked enough about that on this blog) and I feel fantastic.

Taking a look over my 40 years of life, I feel so amazingly lucky. I grew up in a good family, never wanted for anything, and never had anything horribly tragic happen. I married a wonderful man and we live happily in a beautiful home with our two awesome children. I’ve never been seriously injured or ill. Except for bouts of depression (that are well-managed with medication, exercise and “me time”), I have a fairy tale life. I am happy.

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Our Kids Are So Seriously Clones Of Us

1.30.09

I had a parent-teacher conference today at the girl’s preschool. Summary: She’s doing great socially, needs a little work on fine motor skills. Also had Parent Observation Day at gymnastics, with essentially the same report. It was funny to watch her talk, talk, talk to the instructor while on the balance beam and the bar, [...]

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The Lemonade Stand: Sell What People Want

7.2.08

A few people wandered back to the garage for our sale. When they did, L would come back to see if they had any questions about his toys. But in the end, it was the lemonade stand that got most of the attention – and the profit.

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