• Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Reflections on Parenting

    The Ability To Procrastinate Doesn’t Happen Overnight, You Know…

    August 26, 2011

    Everyone who knows me well can vouch for the fact that one of my greatest skills is the ability to procrastinate. (Case in point: I wanted to write this post about six months ago.) I’m terrible at time management when it comes to projects. That said, don’t believe for a second that I miss deadlines, because I don’t. I might finish what’s due at the very last possible moment before my deadline is up, but I do finish on time. In spite of my chronic procrastination tendencies (I prefer to say that “I work well under pressure”), I am, surprisingly, more organized than the average person. Okay, part of it…

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  • Amazing People,  Family Fun,  Reflections on Parenting

    Dynamic Duo

    July 25, 2011

    I just spent the evening with one of my favorite guys, just the two of us. D and I made steak fajitas for dinner and then traded our daytime clothes for pajamas, settled in on the couch, and watched the Foo Fighter’s documentary, “Back and Forth” (which I HIGHLY recommend, even if Dave Grohl and the guys aren’t your very favorite band as they are D’s). It was a lovely evening, punctuated by conversation only when we had something to share: there was no pressure to keep up the chatter because it was just fun to relax together. Jim and J are gone, you see: they’re currently sailing on a…

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  • Blessings,  Childhood Memories,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Reflections on Parenting

    Discussing The Duck Chick.

    July 21, 2011

    Jim and I pride ourselves on having excellent relationships with our teenaged sons. We all talk together, a lot. Unfortunately, every now and then our younger son J can’t get his entire thought out because he gets interrupted by our older son D (okay, and sometimes Jim and I). It’s very, very frustrating for him (understandably), which is why I make sure to make the most out of any time I can get alone with him. I ask him lots of questions that require essay-like answers and really LISTEN to him. Like yesterday, for example. I had to take him to the doctor because his right eyelid was swollen up…

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  • My Kids Have Mad Skillz,  Proud Moments,  Reflections on Parenting

    Sometimes It’s Hard To Wait For What’s Worth Waiting For.

    June 14, 2011

    We have worked really hard to teach our kids all about money and the importance of making good decisions with it, since they were old enough to know what money is. They know first hand that when you work hard for something, you appreciate it much more than if it were just handed to you. As a result, I’m proud to say that my kids have purchased their own iPods, computers, guitars, and cars. Well, car: only one so far. J has been talking about a car for a couple of years now, and naturally when he turned sixteen in February, he went into overdrive, so to speak. Suddenly the…

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  • Best Thing Ever,  My Kids Have Mad Skillz,  Reflections on Parenting

    How To Avoid “Mom, I’m Bored!”

    June 10, 2011

    Step 1: Have children. Step 2: Do your best to keep them entertained all the time when they’re babies and then toddlers. Step 3: Rejoice when they start preschool and then kindergarten, because although you adore your children and love spending time with them, that’s two and a half hours less (on 3-5 days per week) you’ll have to make sure they’ve got stuff to do, and two and a half hours more (on 3-5 days per week) you’ll have all to yourself. Step 4: Do the Happy Dance when they begin full-day elementary school. Step 5: Feel overwhelmed when that first summer vacation begins, because you’ve forgotten what it’s…

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