raising a boy

04.20.21
8
When I was in 4th grade, in addition to thinking that Corey Haim and I would one day meet and fall in love, I considered myself to have a very keen sense of style (as exhibited by that darling get up on your left here). I just knew what was in and I knew what I liked. Luckily for me, the stir-up leggings, pushy socks, and over-sized sweatshirts splattered with neon paint look suited my twice baked potato like figure. Oh, if only the Gen Z fashion dictators of today’s world had any respect for thin-legged-bloated-tummy girls like me… But in 1985, I had the potential to be totally rad. ...Read More
For the Win Maybe it’s his age, (I hope it’s his age), but according to Jonah, everything we do is soooo boring and not cool. He “barely gets to (insert ANYTHING a 10-year old would like to do),” and he never, I repeat NEVER gets to stay up late or have a sleepover in our bed. Also, I should mention EVERTHING I cook “is soooo gross and is always organic or made with stevia.” (Okay, I admit, that’s like half true. One point for Jonah). At seems like lately, on a daily basis, I become THAT mom: “Do you realize how lucky you are? How privileged you are?” I list all the ...Read More
House of Home and Family What do two babies under 2, a new house, a 4mm kidney stone, and a beautiful French Au Pair all have in common? C’est Moi, mes amis! C’est Moi! The good news is life has been anything less than boring. The bad news is that I’ve been so distracted that I haven’t written a blog post since May. And before that since April. And before that since February. That’s 3 blog posts for 2017 for those of you counting at home. For someone that prides herself on feeling productive, this has not been a very productive year on the writing and creativity front. But if you count productivity ...Read More
My “Particular” Guy Almost every night, without fail, about 45 seconds after I walk out of Jonah’s room and finally sit down on my bed with the loudest internal “Ahhh,” he calls me. “Mommmmmmmy.” Trying to summon every ounce of patience I have left, I tiptoe down the hallway quickly so as to not waking his sleeping baby brother right next door. Except as you may recall from several other posts, our floors seemed to have been transported from the Little House on the Prairie and they creak as if Pa is a’comin. “Yes, bud. What is it?” Usually, it’s a “can I have water, it’s too hot, why is the sky blue, can you ...Read More
Beyond the “Where Do Babies Come From” Good news, friends. My 7 year old now knows all about my uterus, my hormones, and also my amniotic sac… Well that is, my amniotic sac rupturing. You see, my child – my sweet, silly, sweaty, and ridiculously curious child – wants TO KNOW THINGS NOW and he isn’t really interested in a basic, sugar-coated, “see there’s this Stork and he flies in with the baby,” type of answer. NO. This kid wants raw, unfiltered, uncut, pure truth. And this mom, (hand raised here), has not not had enough (let me rephrase: ANY) caffeine in the last 5 months to manufacture 1st grade appropriate responses. ...Read More
You know those moments as a parent where you just give up? Where you just say, “Fine, eat the cookie,” “Okay, download another game,” “Yes, you can watch a violent, inappropriate movie/show, video?” Oh, no? You don’t know those moments? Oh, sorry. I think you’ve come to the wrong blog then. Head to my Pinterest page though where everything looks perfect my Pinterest page though where I make it look like I’m perfect…aI So… I don’t know if it’s just my 7 year old, but lately, everything ends in “Awww,” or “Not fair,” or  “Okay, fine but you have to___” (fill in the blank with something I have to do for him because somehow he’s ...Read More
Like most kids, when my son gets home from school he is starving. Though I send him a well-rounded and plentiful lunch, it usually gets half eaten because, recess. Duh. Often times, we have a slew of (sweaty) boys over for a playdate. Sometimes, it’s just me or my babysitter at the helm, other times, it’s kids and their moms for one big round of “don’t throw that down the stairs, boys play nice, please no jumping on the bed” extravaganza. The biggest hurdle for me and these playdates: Coming up with healthy but satisfying snack solutions that won’t require too much clean up or too much fuss. (He got more ...Read More
If you ask Jonah what he wants as a gift for his birthday or a holiday he’ll quickly tell you: “Something science-y.” I’m pretty sure his love of all things science started when we were flipping through the television and he saw footage of a volcano erupting… This led to begging to see more volcanoes erupt, which led to an interest in rocks, which led to an interest in the earth (and geology), which led to an interest in other planets and space. These days, we’re on to genetics. Yes, my 7-year old is now obsessed with DNA. For a recent birthday, (or nothing… because he has a family of adoring ...Read More
At a certain point, I thought Jonah’s love of bathroom talk (read: all things poop and fart) would sort of dwindle… With age, a bigger interest in sports, video games and Lego sets that have wiped out my savings, I just figured the potty talk would die. Oh, silly, woman. How wrong you were. Nope, poop talk is still a hit. And it’s even better when you’re 7 years-old and the other (grown) male in the house is right there with you in this topic. Many a night has a bedtime routine been derailed as a fart escapes one of them… Turning my house into a Beevis and Butthead sketch. (Butthead. Ha, if Jonah ...Read More
When Jonah was about 3-years old, I came up with a great idea one Sunday morning. It was about 9:30 in the morning and after being up at 6am, reading, watching a little television, playing with some of his toys, doing an art project, making pancakes and eating them, I was at a loss. The kid needed MORE. “What should we do nooooow, Mommy?” I probably should have dug deeper into the bag of good parenting, and encouraged some individual play then– play that didn’t require me to bring in the circus and jazz him for hours— but alas, that awesome mom guilt (which is totally worse when you’re single, I think), ...Read More