From the category archives:

no manual for parenting

How to Care For Introverts

October 16, 2011 no manual for parenting

  I first discovered this instruction and posted it in 2009. I just recently found the original article where this set of “rules” came from: The American dream is to be extraverted. We want our children to be “people who need people.” We want them to have lots of friends, to like parties, to prefer to [...]

Tagged as: guilt is the trip mothers take often, my youngest, trying to do the right thing

21 comments

Old Soul

October 12, 2011 no manual for parenting

My 8 year old, Mr. Monk, is on a “Back to the Future” kind of mission lately. He’s acquired two rotary phones earlier this year for a buck each at a garage sale. Probably my fault for I might have explained to him, with too much excitement, how we used to hate folks’ phone numbers [...]

Tagged as: isn't technology wonderful?, Mixtapes, my youngest, small things in life, things kids say, walking down the memory lane

14 comments

What caused time space discontinuum…

September 26, 2011 no manual for parenting

 

Tagged as: I want to know what's inside his head yet I am afraid to know, my youngest, things i found lying around the house, things kids say

16 comments

Raised by My Child

September 2, 2011 no manual for parenting

  “All children alarm their parents, if only because you are forever expecting to encounter yourself.”   – Gore Vidal   This is going to make me sound like an awful mother, ok, more than usual. I know many of you who are kind enough to read my blog on a regular basis adore my precocious youngest child. [...]

Tagged as: i love my kids but i hate parenting, just because i am older does not mean i am more mature, my youngest, parents behaving badly, things kids say, yup my kids will need years of therapy or write the next great american novel or both

46 comments

The Ice Cream Index

August 8, 2011 Making sure you know I read the Economist so you know I'm not dumb, just obnoxious

Earlier today I learned of these numbers today from Mature Landscaping: Salary of retired US Presidents ……………$180,000 FOR LIFE Salary of House/Senate ……………………..$174,00​0 FOR LIFE Salary of Speaker of the House …………….$223,500 FOR LIFE Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders …… $193,400 FOR LIFE Average Salary of a teacher ……………….. $40,065 Average Salary of Soldier DEPLOYED IN [...]

Tagged as: my youngest, the economy, the lipstick index, things kids say, what do you know?, You don't have to support the war to support the troops

35 comments

The Lesser of Two Evils

August 6, 2011 no manual for parenting

Yet another interesting conversation with my 8-year-old that makes me worry… [In the car] Mr. Monk: Mom? Me [Distracted by This American Life on NPR]: Huh? Mr. Monk: What’s the drug that starts with an M? Me [Paying attention now]: Eh… You mean Methamphetamine? [Crap! How did he know about Meth?!] Mr. Monk: You know what [...]

Tagged as: how much is too much, my youngest, questions kids ask, things kids say, Winging it

12 comments

If I could tell you one thing about parenting

August 2, 2011 no manual for parenting

My 8-year-old, known as Mr. Monk here, is singing a song that he improvises right now. In the middle of the Kaleidoscopic of lyrics, I heard,   Thank you for being our mother.   I chuckled. “I honestly do not know how to take that.” “Well, don’t take it as an insult. I am not being sarcastic.” [...]

Tagged as: guilt is the trip mothers take often, I am making it up on volume!, mother of the year, my youngest, nonchalant parenting it's legit

29 comments

A Reason as Good as Any

August 1, 2011 no manual for parenting

Conversations that happened yesterday… (Proving that thank goodness I work fulltime so I don’t spend too much time talking to my kids…)   [On the way to lunch] 13-year-old: My friend is jealous. He thinks we have the coolest license plate ever! [Be rest assured: It is dorky.] 8-year-old: Oh, mom, we should keep this [...]

Tagged as: my youngest, things kids say, things most likely only i find amusing

15 comments

Damned if I do. Damned if I don’t.

May 15, 2011 no manual for parenting

Because of my racial/ethnic/cultural/educational make-up, I do not watch what I tell my children: I tend to over-explain everything and over-analyze everything for them. I also like to point out instances of racial/cultural prejudices and stereotypes disregarding whether they may be too young for such identity politics theory talks. Sometimes I feel sorry for them ’cause [...]

Tagged as: how much is too much, movies, my oldest, political correctness overload?, political correctness starts at home, Shamelessly showing my identity-politics stripes, stereotypes, things kids say

32 comments

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