Tag Archives: parenting

Our Magic Bands, ready for action!

Packing Without Tears: Preschooler and Pre-Teen Edition No Sanity Left Behind!

Disney Vacation Packing/Tying Up Loose Ends Day: Complete!!

Embed from Getty Images

Our Disney Vacation started today. How exciting!

Except for the dreaded day-before packing preparation. That’s usually the roughest part of the trip, right?

Suitcases

One suitcase small enough to avoid checks, plus one carry-on bag. L-R: S4, me, S12. Mike hadn’t packed at this point yet, but he will use one duffel carry-on bag and whatever room is left in our big suitcase that contains all the evil “liquids” not allowed on the plane. I prepaid $25 to check that bag today via Jetblue.com. I also printed all of our boarding passes already! You can do so up to 24 hours in advance with Jetblue.

Wrong! At 11 pm last night, I was sitting in bed, done with all my travel tasks, already relaxing and writing. This was on the day before we left for an 8-day vacation some 1,000 miles from home, with my entire nuclear family in tow. I must have been in quite a good place, preparation-wise, amirite?

I want to shout it from the rooftops. YES!

Continue reading →

MIR: The Good, The WTF, and The Alt-Good. Welcome to Life, 2017-Style. It's Been A While.....Time to Catch Up.

It’s been some time since I’ve blogged. Over a month, actually. Why? You could say that life has gotten in my way. Or, more specifically, work.

So. Much. Work.

Report card time can be stressful when you service, IDK, about 60ish students, I am learning. Also, dedicating a week-plus to writing up a detailed report on every kid’s progress to the detriment of sleep, family time, and at times, my sanity, has, plainly, sucked. Plus, after finishing all 60 reports, I then had to enter another round of student observational data, or risk falling behind on that. Because you know, after writing 60 reports, writing 47 more narratives is exactly the kind of wind-down activity I long for.

Yeah. It’s been a rough life, these last few weeks. Continue reading →

Book Review #2: #BabyLove: My Toddler Life by Corine Dehghanpisheh A 21st Century Picture Book For Toddlers And Moderation Moms Like Me!

You’ve Probably Seen The Headlines…

Eh, I think she’ll be OK.

About Toddlers and Cell Phones:

“Tablets and Smartphones May Affect Social and Emotional Development, Scientists Speculate,” (theguardian.com, February 1, 2015)

“Smartphone, Tablet Overuse Among Toddlers May Stunt Development,” (cbc.ca, February 3, 2015)

About Parenting and Cell Phones:

“Cell Phone Distracted Parenting Can Have Long-Term Consequences: Study,” (time.com, January 6, 2016)

“Dear Mom On The iPhone: Let Me Tell You What You Don’t See,”

At times, I do text or Facebook when I’m the parent in charge. Other times, I do not.

(deseretnews.com, February 15, 2013)
Note: Judgmental much?

And the epic rebuttal to the above:
“Dear Mom On The iPhone: You’re Doing Fine,” (huffingtonpost.com, August 11, 2014)

Yes, many folks on the Internet have strong opinions about cell phones, toddlers, and the parents who own at least one of each. Therefore, I was very curious about how

The author, Dehghanpisheh, is also the illustrator. She does a beautiful job creating vivid, colorful, fun, page-filling illustrations that complement the text well.

this subject matter would be incorporated into a read-aloud picture book for very young children when I was asked to review #BabyLove: My Toddler Life, which was written and illustrated by Corine Dehghanpisheh. I ended up on the final page of the story nodding in an enthusiastic manner, complete with a big smile on my face. What a great story this is! Not only was the book entertaining, but the characters and the plot totally resonated with me as well. Continue reading →

Book Review #1: Beyond The Tiger Mom by Maya Thiagarajan Blending the Best of the East and the West!

Have You Ever Wondered…

Thiagarajan’s book

If there is any truth behind the stereotype “Asians are good at math”?

Why Asian children consistently outperform their American counterparts in the West in STEM fields?

What the secret is to the drive that leads to success seen so often in young Asian scholars? Where does this work ethic originate?

How Eastern parents get their kids to behave and, like, do all this work without ending up with angry children who rebel and end up hating them for life?

If a child’s academic success can be mostly attributed to nature, to nurture, or to a combination of both?

Why American parents are so afraid of pushing their children to succeed?

Why American child-centric parenting is so damn exhausting?

If Asian educators could benefit from incorporating any current Western best practices in teaching within any of the core academic subjects?
(Spoiler alert: the answer is YES) Continue reading →

WIR November 8-November 15: Post-Election Suckage Not A Political Post. Well, not completely. Kinda not.

Twas a horrendous week last week, beginning with a traffic-filled, chock-full-o-illness, fear-inducing Election Day last Tuesday, and ending with gray skies and torrential rainfall this past Tuesday. In short, last Tuesday-Tuesday sucked.

Yes, Axl. I do need some time on my own.

Election Day-last Tuesday pretty much consisted of one crappy incident after another. In fact, plucking 3 highlights out of last Tuesday-Tuesday is going to be a definite challenge, because as of right now, I got nothin.’ Lowlights, however, I got plenty! Sigh. Here is to a better week this week. I gotta believe that.

This small town girl will NOT stop believin,’ Steve Perry.

Though I usually start with 3 highlights, I am at a loss for any possibilities in that area at the current moment. Therefore, I’m going with the yucky stuff first. Continue reading →

My Daughters Have A Big Age Gap, And I Love It I'm Guest Blogging on Be Your Best Mom This Week!

Big age gap siblings S2 and S10, 8 Years Apart

S2 and S10 have a big age gap being 8 years apart.

This week, I am thrilled to be guest blogging for the great Milena Barett at Be Your Best Mom Dot Com! My guest post is about loving the big age gap between my two daughters, S10 and S12. This age gap wasn’t planned, but I ended up loving it anyway. Eight is great, indeed! Follow the link below, and I hope you enjoy the read: Continue reading →

Week in Review: September 2-September 9: The First Week of School! It's The First Week of School! It's The First Week of School!

Yes, the first week of school has cometh. Joy for many parents across the land, I’m sure…..unless those parents are teachers like I am.

Haha J/K

Oh, Alice, I’m sure if I was a rock and roll star, I’d be smiling while sending my kids back to school this week too. 

I love my job. I really can’t complain. It’s not an easy job, and I’ve been moved around more these last few years than many teachers are in their entire career, but at least the powers-that-be always have kept my strengths in mind when moving me. Continue reading →

Daughter Different: When Siblings Are Polar Opposites They may be opposites, but my love is equally fierce.

When I was pregnant with my younger daughter, I was pretty confident that I’d have this “raising a small person” thing down pat the second time around. I mean, I had raised a daughter, pretty successfully, for the last 8 years! Another girl? This was going to be easy-peasy. Plus, I was older. Wiser, too (so I thought). Heck, I was straight-up walking, talking, Parenting Wisdom. Bow down to my daughter-raising smarts, all ye who enter here.

#LOL
#HowaboutNOPE Continue reading →

Becoming Cheer Mom: A Journey to Reluctant Acceptance I'm Guest Blogging on Be Your Best Mom This Week!

Acceptance of My Role As “Cheer Mom”: My First Guest Post

S10 the Cheer Champ.

This week, I am thrilled to be guest blogging about my reluctant journey to acceptance of my role as “cheer mom” for the great Milena Barrett at Be Your Best Mom Dot Com!  Check the link out here (and give her a follow while you’re there!): Continue reading →