Experienced Bad Mom

Not Just a Bad Mom, But an Experienced Bad Mom

Bad Mother book

By

Ooo. While I’ve been busy (work, kids, life, what have you), one of my favorite mystery authors wrote a book that seems perfect for me: “Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace” by Ayelet Waldman. Here is the Amazon.com review: In the tradition of recent hits like The [Read More]

Girls who Rock the World, Part II

By

I realize I haven’t shared any Sydney stories lately. That’s because I spend all my time being a bad mom to Will, but not Sydney. I’m kidding! A couple weeks ago we had some really windy Spring days. Sydney was sitting at her picnic table playing as the wind swirled around her. She looked to [Read More]

Wanted!

By

Last week I shared how the librarian at our local library reprimanded Will for tossing around a 2″ plastic slinky while standing by the checkout desk. This week another librarian scolded him when he tried to sit on the check out counter, the check out counter where his 3-year-old sister was already sitting. I mean, [Read More]

Killer Plastic Slinky

By

I was at the library checking out. Will was standing to one side of me, tossing up a small plastic slinky into the air and catching it. He tossed it above his head maybe 1 or 2 feet and then caught it with both hands. The older librarian who was checking me out started waving [Read More]

Alex P. Keaton, Part II

By

If you read my post below, you know that recently Will and I negotiated a small payment for his upcoming performance as ring bearer in a wedding. I told the story of our negotiation to a friend, who is a mother and grandmother. “Whoa,” she said. “You didn’t give in did you? I would have [Read More]

Alex P. Keaton, Part I

By

My kids are going to be the ring bearer and flower girl in a wedding this summer. The bride is one of their former teachers and babysitters. It’s actually a nice honor, but I hope they come through for the bride! Will does not want to be in a wedding. I’m not sure why. Recently [Read More]

Time for a Nap

By

Both of my blog readers know that I work in research (when I’m working outside the home, that is!) Often, my work hosts guest speakers who talk about topics in child development. A recent talk caught my attention. It was about an experimental study of the effects of nap deprivation on emotion regulation. Hmm. Isn’t [Read More]

Pennies for Peace–or Pizza?

By

This morning Will shouted, “Mom! I need to take pennies to school today!” “Why?” I asked. “It’s called Pennies for Peace. Our class is filling up a jar with pennies. I need to take pennies!” This was doable. We have at least 3 penny jars around the house. I scooped out a couple hundred pennies [Read More]

What’s in a name?

By

Sydney and her dad were goofing around this weekend. They started talking about their names. “What’s your name?” asked Sydney. “Scooter,” Chad answered. “Noooooo. You’re not Scooter!” “Yes, I am.” “Noooo.  You’re not Scooter! What’s your name?” “Chad,” her dad finally answered. “Chad?” said Sydney. “That’s a terrible name!”

Car Wash

By

The kids were outside playing together. It was a minor miracle. The game they decided to play was “let’s-put-water-in-the-trash-can”, which I discovered after they made numerous trips past the window with cups of water in their hands and evil little glints in their eyes. I suggested that instead of putting water in the trash can, [Read More]

Happy Now

JENerally Informed