parenting | PulseonParenting

A Mother’s Promise

Nov 11 2014

I promise: ~to listen to you. Because you are clever, funny and insightful. ~to play catch, bake cookies and make crafts with you because we have our best talks when we do those things. ~to not feed you crap…most of the time. I promise to wash those beautiful, 88-cents-a-half-pint nonorganic raspberries through two off-key versions of “Happy Birthday.” And also to feed you Fruity-Pebble-encrusted donuts every three months because, hey, life is too short to miss out on something so decadently gross. ~to encourage you in the path you are meant to follow, not the one I think you should…

Overscheduled, Underworked

Oct 02 2014

I’m just going to come out and say it: Kids need to work more. They need to scatter legos and build, build, build. They need to challenge each other with board games and don old clothes, pretending to be a Spy Kid, Dorothy from Kansas or Captain America. If play is a child’s work, why don’t they get to do it more often?

Several Thousand “Octibels” Above the Ground

Sep 23 2014

Not unlike many infants, my younger son at six months old had a penchant for squealing. His whole body shook with unbridled glee as he opened his little mouth wide and let loose, eyes shining with the head-ringing volume he attained. As proud as he was, and even though he was making the happiest of infant sounds, few others were as pleased as he was at his ability. Case in point: the crabby fellow air traveler who had the nerve to tell me he didn’t like being seated next to a mother and her baby on an airplane. So…

Plucking the Petals of Daisies

Jul 08 2014

If you have a daughter, you know all too well her mood can change with fleeting regularity. And you may also be surprised at how early an age the emotional roller coaster can take a plunge. I know I was. In our household, that age was two. My husband and I did a “What the…?” as our little darling, a shrieking carmel-haired blur, ran from one end of the house to the other spurred by an unknown insult, only to emerge seconds later in a strangely calm trance, blankie in hand. At the time, her display was darn funny. It…

All “Growed” Up

Jul 01 2014

Some would say it is turning age 18. Others would say it comes with earning a steady paycheck, moving away from Mom and Dad, and paying income tax. Yet others would agree it is becoming parents. But after passing those milestones of life, (some of them achieved a couple decades or so ago!), I don’t feel like a grown up. Not even close. And I’m pretty sure I don’t act like it. Here are some examples that serve as proof: ~ I have never read Dickens or Austen…nor do I feel the urge to. ~Occasionally I find myself giggling with…

The Power of the Post-It

Jun 03 2014

Those yellow sticky things which became the center of a class reunion “scandal” in the movie Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. The rainbow version that my kids wallpaper our house with cute little sayings written upon them. Whoever took Post-Its to the gym is genius. And made the day of countless women by sticking one to the mirror in the locker room, visible to all who applied their makeup and gave themselves a blow-out and even to those who simply passed through (the yellow color was a smart move). On the note was written in beautifully plain penmanship: You are…

Hooray for Summer?

May 29 2014

Recently we installed a wireless pet containment system for our sweet but “born-to-run” dog. As we train Lucy to her boundaries, she is becoming rather “hang-doggy” as she realizes the restriction to her freedom. No loping off to see her dog friends. No unleashed running through our neighborhood for the wild amount of exercise she desperately needs as a border collie mix. She is relegated to a leash for her daily walks now, under the watchful eye of one of her “people.” Does this sound familiar? If not for your own furry friend but for you yourself? Because it is…

Well, Enough About Me…

May 22 2014

We’ve all heard the line: Enough about me…what do YOU think of me? Ever realize you get so caught up in your own vision you forget: The situation isn’t about YOU? Just a rhetorical question. Except not for me. Since I mentioned it I have to ‘fess up (otherwise I wouldn’t have this blog post!). And my answer is: All too often. How much my being an only child plays into this, I don’t know. But I freely admit my forays into egocentricity because I realize that as a parent (it’s ok to silently agree with this) I hope my…

Makeup!!!!

May 20 2014

To set the right tone, let me help you hear what I hear when I read the title of this post. Remember the Looney Tunes cartoons? In at least one of these animated features someone gets blown up (Wile E. Coyote comes to mind) and then another character yells, in a manner that curdles blood: MAKEUP!!!! Eeewww. My circulatory system is in havoc, pulse racing and heart pounding. This is the same way I felt, and the same voice I heard (in my head), when I saw my child’s third grade friend wearing, you guessed it, lots of…. MAKEUP!!!! Now…

May 15 2014

{Ok. The first draft of “Part Two” was a mess. The junk has been corralled and put out to pasture! Below is the honed, endlessly-edited version.} To get this post organized I had to make a handwritten list of all the points I wanted to include. (The definition of gravitas in our electronic world!) Previously on May 13 (How About Homeschooling, Part One), I wrote how a friend (an educator) and I talked the topic of homeschooling and our sugar-fueled discussion caused me to wonder about the possibility of homeschooling my son. As I pondered, many thoughts and concerns came to…

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