From the category archives:

no manual for parenting

Thirteen

March 9, 2011 no manual for parenting

My firstborn is thirteen today. It’s official: I now have a bona fide teenager on my hand. I am still wavering about whether I should have made this birthday into a big deal or not. I hope he was not expecting a big to-do. I hope he was not expecting a PlayStation 3 this morning as he [...]

Tagged as: bad mommy alert, Did I tell you that I love you?, guilt is the trip mothers take often, happy birthday, my oldest

24 comments

Mass at 5

January 30, 2011 no manual for parenting

Warning: According to my Blog Advisory System, this post is rated RED for The Touchiest of All Touchy Subjects. I wrote it last week but did not have the heart to publish it because I was worried about losing readership. In the end though, I have got to do what feels right by me and [...]

Tagged as: can't bite my tongue, Catholic church and me, GOP YOU CAN’T TAKE AMERICA BACK THE REST OF US ARE STILL USING IT, trying to do the right thing

55 comments

My Chinese babysitter is going to FIRE me soon

January 20, 2011 no manual for parenting

I sometimes feel very sorry for my children: because how I am caught between two worlds, they too are caught between two worlds. Many of you have commented on my responses to the Tiger Mom Controversy with great insight, grace and kindness. One comment that made me pause and reflect upon the factual state of [...]

Tagged as: Being Chinese, guilt is the trip mothers take often, i love my kids but i hate parenting, nonchalant parenting it's legit, you can never go home again

17 comments

The Need for Convenient Justification

January 19, 2011 no manual for parenting

This is a different reaction from my reading of the controversy surrounding Amy Chua’s WSJ article, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior?” Yesterday, I said, Bring it on! The can of worms has been opened! Today, I will continue to clear this raging case of “Oh oh oh I have something to say Pick Me Pick Me” [...]

Tagged as: Being Chinese, guilt is the trip mothers take often, i love my kids but i hate parenting, nonchalant parenting it's legit, sarcastic bitches rock

26 comments

If it is round and comes in pairs…

January 15, 2011 no manual for parenting

My boys are becoming more and more uncouth each day, and I am not doing anything about it because deep down I think I am a 13-year-old boy. I am going to blame it on Austin Powers though. Lately they have been watching Austin Powers. All three of them. Yeah. I know. Mr. Monk loved [...]

Tagged as: parents behaving badly, raising boys, things kids say, things most likely only i find amusing

23 comments

The Unnecessary Saga of the Travelling Jacket

December 6, 2010 no manual for parenting

I have no idea what’s been going on with me as a mother. The fact that I am away from home on a business trip while leaving mu children to the care of a babysitter does not bode well for my chance of winning Mother of the Year anyway. But I did figure out why [...]

Tagged as: bad mommy alert, guilt is the trip mothers take often, how did i get here?, how we do it in the suburbs, mother of the year

21 comments

Let Them Eat Cake

November 27, 2010 no manual for parenting

The night before Thanksgiving my then 7-year-old boy, Mr. Monk, found it difficult to fall asleep because he was giddy with excitement: grandparents and uncle were flying to celebrate the holiday with us, and his birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year. “Mom, you know why I love Thanksgiving?” “Why?” I asked, knowing he was excited [...]

Tagged as: guilt is the trip mothers take often, happy birthday, mother of the year, my youngest, You won't miss what you don't know

33 comments

Mens Size Small

November 16, 2010 no manual for parenting

This Sunday I dragged my kids shopping. I would like to emphasize how unusual this was: I am not crazy. I do not go shopping with them any more because I treasure my sanity and I dislike turning into a banshee inside the store. My secret banshee identity is reserved for inside the house, away [...]

Tagged as: i am not ready for this, my oldest, things you don't think about until you are a parent

14 comments

Reality bites. No. Reality kicked my ass.

October 19, 2010 no manual for parenting

There is no other way around it: I am a hypocrite. Isn’t it an ironic coincidence that after my holier-than-thou tirade against bullying and my immagonnakickyourpunkass battle cry, my 12-year-old son told me tonight that he has been called all sorts of names at school? Names such as gay, nerd, retard. Hurled at him, in [...]

Tagged as: are you fucking kidding me?, i am a badass inside my head so shut up, i love my kids but i hate parenting, psychotic foaming, reality bites, trying to do the right thing

50 comments

Opening up a can of whupass

October 11, 2010 no manual for parenting

I am fuming. Ok, what’s new, right? But this time it is something personal. It may be trivial but it has consumed me ever since I had the following exchange with my son this past Friday. After a whole weekend of thinking it over and calming down, my anger and indignation has been only stewing [...]

Tagged as: how we do it in the suburbs, my oldest, trying to do the right thing

30 comments

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