Lunch Mommy
Posted by Martha
It’s the first week of summer vacation and I am on a cloud because I slid right into home plate during the final days of school to score a winning “Working Moms Can Participate at School” point for us all. After ten months of school I was able to make good on the promises I made to be an active mom at school. (It should be noted that these promises were between me and myself and I am fairly adept at forgiving myself when I don’t deliver.)
I successfully ended the “Mommy, can you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE work in the lunchroom today? Abby’s mom does it every week,” refrain.
So, I spent my lunch hour opening juice boxes and passing out forks. I left out my lectures on why you should eat vegetables before ice cream and just [...]
Modern Day Mom
Posted by Clair
As we sat down to dinner as a family last night, it dawned on me…we are THAT family. You know the one. The family that is only home to run in, drop bags by the door, change clothes and run out; the family that often eats out of paper bags and drinks using straws; the family that has more luck finding clothes in the dryer or laundry baskets than in the closet…you know us.
There are days (many) where I feel like I have somehow failed the parenting gods. I often feel that as a working mother of children heavily involved in sports and activities, I have done a poor job of being June Cleaver. I don’t cook from recipes, I don’t know how to sew (not even a button), I don’t use the iron (a spray of Febreeze and a run through the dryer usually does the trick).
But, last night, [...]
Summertime!
Posted by Erin
The school year is done and we’re in camp mode. You would think that camp mode wouldn’t make much of a difference to me since it’s not like my work hours change, but camp mode beats school mode by a country mile. I loooove camp mode. Yes, camp mode means packing lunches, still, and lots of laundry, but camp mode also means no homework! (I never thought that, as an adult, I would have the same visceral reaction to homework that I did as a middle schooler. But I do! It’s almost worse now, because I have to pretend for the sake of my children that homework is an essential part of growing up. And that it will make you smarter. But I can’t help feeling like homework is a punishment for parents. Anyway, I digress.)
Watching my children in camp mode brings me right back to my childhood. The smell [...]
Teeny Weeny Bikini for Baby?
Posted by G.I. Jane
My husband and I decided to enroll our five-month-old daughter in a swim class this summer – more for the sake of a fun family activity than the need to teach a five month old how to swim. So we were left with the task of finding two things: swim diapers and a bathing suit.
Swim diapers were easy…check. Finding a bathing suit, technically, was easy but while looking I found something a bit disturbing: string bikinis for babies? I personally have no problem with a two-piece bathing suit for my infant daughter – the sight of her milk belly and little bellybutton makes my heart melt – but a string bikini? With small triangles tops covering non-existent lady parts? And strings holding up the bottoms? Is it just me [...]
Sports Day
Posted by Ward
I went to my son’s first lacrosse game the other day. This is a monumental occasion because I ask if he wants to join the team for every sports flyer that comes home and he never does. Finally, when asked about lacrosse, he said yes. We signed him up and I thought, “Great. He’ll be an athlete and this will be his sport.”
I watched him practice the first time and he started picking it up: scooping, cradling, throwing. Come game day the coach puts him in at forward about four minutes into the game. I’m excited, visualizing him scooping up the ball and throwing past the goalie for the game-winning goal. I come back to reality and see him standing in front of the other goal, stick down by his side, having a nice conversation about something with the opposing goalie, not realizing a game is going on. Later in [...]
Homework Help
Posted by Clair
Most days my husband is home in time to get our kids off of the bus, take them in and feed them a snack. By the time I get home (about 45 minutes later), the house is in total chaos and my darling hubby is convinced that he’s done his kid-time for the day, and leaves it up to me. So that means I am in charge of homework. Ugh. Homework. There aren’t even words to begin to describe just how much I dislike homework. So being in charge of monitoring homework is like the bane of my existence. Yet every night, Monday through Thursday, it’s my job to be proctor. Let me try to describe the scene at my house during a typical homework experience. One kid [...]
It’s a Nice Day to Start Again
Posted by Martha
Okay, Monday. Let’s do this. You’ve taunted me all weekend with your early alarm. Sunday night, my home’s floors were clean and the children’s clothes were folded and put away leaving a mere 2/3 of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the laundry room for the next climb.
Between the alarm’s screams and putting on our shoes at the door, my family was able to check off every scheduled task. I served hot oatmeal and made my second cup of coffee to go. At the door I realized that I neglected to pack lunches and, whammo! Monday wins. So I broke the news that the kids would be in the lunch line at the cafeteria and after they checked the menu, my daughter said, “Don’t worry Mommy, you picked a good day to be a bad mom. Today corndogs are on the menu!”
Timing really is everything.
