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Where parenting and politics meet, but don't always play nice.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'parenting'
My annual newsletter
‘Tis the season for holiday cards and form letters. That’s right. Check out those cards and one or two are usually stuffed with an annoying newsletter. Some family you hardly talk to sends along an impressive list of achievements designed...
“The yellow one’s the sun!” Why science projects suck.
There aren’t many statements that bring on a headache like, “Mom, we have to pick a science project.” I know history and literature. Graphing data and proving a hypothesis makes me tired and confused. When my kids ask for help that doesn’t in...
Volunteering can be tricky
My children’s school requires parents to volunteer their time. I believe the requirement is five hours a year. Not bad right? Technically, my five hours were up that time I drove a car full of 4th grade boys to a cultural fair and spent the day ban...
Christmas and Chanukah…they don’t even *sound* alike
From one of my first gigs with The Tampa Tribune in 2004… For parents, holidays provide one teachable moment after another, and by New Year’s, most of us are tired of learning experiences almost as much as turkey. Like most, my children a...
What do you want for Chanukah?
Pretty simple question, right? I can’t get much of an answer out of my kids. I asked for wish lists and Oldest handed me a note where he wrote: “Best Chanukah gift – Love.” Okay, Mother Theresa, you wanna relax? You’ve b...
Elf on a Shelf…those wacky, wacky Christians
A long time ago, one of my friends told me a funny story about how she kept her kids in line using the red light on smoke alarms. “I tell them Santa is watching through that light,” she explained. “If they’re fighting, picking their nose,...
Gratitude this holiday season
I like how the start of the Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/Shop Till You Drop season begins with Thanksgiving. Yes, I’m aware of the damage done to our Native Americans and all the horrors our European forefathers brought to this nation...
He comes by it honestly.
Saturday morning, my parents came over for breakfast before taking our nine and a half year-old sons to the USF Bulls game and a sleepover. In exchange for giving us twenty-four child-free hours so we could nap and surf the Internet, Husband thought ...
5 tips for new moms and dads
So you went and had unprotected sex, huh? I know. Seemed like a good idea at the time. You and your partner were walking down the street one day, enjoying zero responsibilities and a hefty savings account and thought, “How can we fuck this up?&...
Fallout from a post about baseball
“It’s all because of me and my old man. God, I fucking hate him. He’s like, he’s like this mindless machine I can’t even relate to anymore. ‘Andrew, you’ve got to be number one. I won’t tolerate any los...
It’s a fucking game
After two weeks of practice and a few rain delays, game day is finally here. The sun is playing peek-a-boo behind just a few clouds in an otherwise clear and bright blue sky. An autumn breeze doesn’t lower the temperature too much, still in the hig...
Republicans for rape and other fun issues
Republicans to American Women: Bros Before Hos A few weeks ago, Darling Rachel talked about Senator Franken’s first course of action – an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. This piece of legislation prohibits our...
Hybrid Mom in the news
Working moms – we need all the support, validation, and open bars we can get. A friend of mine asked why people don’t use the term “working dad” too often? For the same reason “moderate Muslim,” “Christian t...
A crazy costume idea for Halloween
Of all the wacky costume ideas for Halloween, this takes the cake. From a few years ago… Talked with dear friend Matthew* the other day. Went a little something like this: “So what’s your little boy going to be for Halloween?” I asked. ...
A mommy-writer’s worry
I write about a lot of things – politics, naughty bits, love toys. I wax philosophical about financial issues and have been known to share with readers the joys of meat-free living. For this, I’ve earned a buck fifty and tons of hate mail...
A vegetarian’s guide to eating dead animals again
Hear that? My vegan friends are losing their shit while meat-eating men went from six to midnight in two seconds flat. And while I appreciate your horror, Willow Tree, and am flattered by your fantasies of wiping au jus from my breasts where it spill...
How to explain 9/11 to children
I wrote this three years ago for The Trib. Parents prepare for certain questions when their children begin elementary school. My husband and I were no different, role-playing routines for the inevitable “Where do babies come from?” and “Is ther...
Fallout from President Obama’s speech
Yesterday was crazy. The first day back after a long weekend, I tried to motivate my exhausted kids to hustle in the morning and instead ended up cursing about teeth in need of brushing, toilets in need of flushing, and one mommy in need of medicatio...
Kids should not drive cars
Children under the age of eighteen should not get behind the wheel of a car without adult supervision. A new law currently in committee will establish minimum federal requirements for state laws regarding Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) and encourag...
A Teacher’s Wish List – 2009
Forget shorter days and cooler nights, this past week many parents took part in an event that signals the end of summer around here: back-to-school shopping. Mothers maneuvered carts through crowded aisles carrying lists provided by their children’...
Parents, sing along with me
Dig it? I knew that you would....
Finally. I wrote an article I can show my parents.
I’m not nekked. Or cursing. Or discussing religion. Or ranting about politics. I know. But read it anyway....
Comments and conversations from the road
Me: Oh my God. Isn’t this July? Tour Guide: (nodding) Mark Twain said the coldest winter of his life was the summer he spent in San Francisco. Me: (looking around and shivering) Word. My nipples just fell off. Tour Guide: (blink, blink, blink) ...
How you can tell your family vacation is over…before it starts.
Husband, two kids, and I are traveling up the Pacific Coast Highway this summer. Why? Because there’s nothing good on television. First we had to get there. Tampa to Los Angeles took three lifetimes and one annoying Lindsay Lohan movie. We spent th...
The Jackson Family to Michael Jackson’s daughter: “It’s okay, baby. Speak *into* the microphone.”
Miss me? I’ve been out of the loop, going crazy actually, and today, when I come up for air, this is what I get: Obviously. I don’t know from crazy. MTV Shows Who puts a crying child on national television? How many of those mourners s...
An idea for celebrating Independence Day with your kids
“That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States” What is the most important Independence Day tradition? “Celebrating Julie’s birthday!” “Fireworks!” “Barbecue garden burgers!” “Bee...
Are local agencies responsible for Jasmine Bedwell’s baby’s death? Or is she?
A young girl, Jasmine Bedwell, is abused. Her mother is incompetent, so the girl is turned over to the state and made a foster child. At 17, she drops out of school and gives birth to a baby boy, Emanuel Murray. Within three months, she gets herself ...
How to Survive Living at Home With Your Parents…When You are Almost Forty
If you find yourself back home with the ‘rents while looking for a place to live, towing a spouse and two kids behind you, here’s how to get through the experience with some style and grace. What makes me an expert? One time I yelled ...
Vegetarian Mommy Blues
Nothing strikes more fear in the heart of a vegetarian mother than her child saying, “Mom, I ate a hot dog today.” Oldest laid that one on me the other day and I still haven’t recovered. Their Tae Kwon Do camp had an outdoor barbecu...
Working At Home With Kids = Mental Freeze
Summer’s great, isn’t it? Sun shines almost every day, pool is ready when the heat hits, and there’s no rush to do homework or assignments or projects other than maybe to read a good book. So suck on a watermelon and relax. Right. Summer’s fu...
