Daily LOL

The JOB of a Stay-At-Home Mom

I recently read an article by a former stay-at-home mom who writes that being a SAHM is not a job—that “choosing to create your own little person upon whom you’ll spend all your time and energy is a hobby.” And a privilege. At first I was outraged. Outraged by another person’s need to vomit forth her opinion simply to generate publicity for herself and add more fuel to the...

I Swear

A few weeks ago, I went to talk to my son’s sixth grade class about my new book, and what it was like to write it. After, I asked my son to critique my presentation. “It was good. Except you said the word ‘damn.’ You said it, like, three times. I could tell the principal didn’t like it. She frowned. You know she’s very proper.” “Really? I didn’t even...

Adolescentementia

A few weeks ago, my eleven-year-old son showed up at the front door after school with no shoes on. “Where are your shoes?” I asked. “They’re in my school bag. My feet got wet because I got snow in my sneakers so I took them off.” “Where were you when you took them off?” “Two blocks away.” “So you decided it would be better to walk in twenty degree weather...

Science: My Ass

I know what you’re thinking. That I’m going to make some big, heartfelt and dramatic pronouncement about my position regarding vaccinations or climate change or some other science related topic that has dominated the news lately. But I’m not. I’m here to talk about the most important scientific discovery of the 21st Century that no one is talking about. One that has not gotten nearly enough attention: the correlation...

Fifty Shades of Entertainment

I recently read an open letter a woman wrote to her children about Fifty Shades of Grey and how disturbed she was by it. She wrote the letter to her children because she doesn’t want them to confuse what they see in that movie with love. And I wondered if I should be doing the same. I confess, I didn’t think it was necessary since A.) My children are eight...

Love Lessons

It seems apropos of the season that we should discuss my eleven-year-old son’s love life. Let’s start with the fact that he even has one. It was not that long ago he considered girls disgusting. Apparently that has changed. His first foray into the world of dating happened early in the year when he asked a girl to the school dance. They were all set to go, but as...

The Con Game

My children usually walk to school on their own, but the other day I walked with them so I could carry a school project. “Are you Luke and Mark’s mom?” the crossing guard asked. “Yes.” “I just want you to know, I love seeing your boys every day! They are so sweet. They put a smile on my face.” “Thank you!” I smiled as I walked away. But once...

Good Enough

“Mom, would you teach me how to cook?” “Sure. It’s easy. Take this bag of frozen chicken, open it, dump it on the pan, and stick it in the oven. There. You’ve just cooked.” I know the above exchange makes me sound like a terrible mother. And some days I am. Well, maybe not terrible (okay, who are we kidding, some days I really am border-line terrible, but that’s...

The Truth About Boys

There is a perception that if you have a son, you’ll be running after him non-stop for the first few years of his life, but after that it will be smooth sailing. That boys are much easier than girls as they get older because with boys there is no drama. But, as the mother of two sons, I can tell you, that’s not necessarily true. Boys can be just...

Woman. Mother. Pervert.

The other day I was on my laptop typing something into my book club’s Facebook page when my eight-year-old son happened to walk by and glance at my computer screen. “Ew! Mom! That’s gross,” he exclaimed, as he noticed the cover photo on our Facebook page. It is of the Warwick Men’s Rowing Team. The half-naked Warwick Men’s Rowing Team. Despite being a page meant to discuss books, we...