Ten years ago I was dropping off my son who was only three – too young in my mind – to begin his first day of school.
Even with the staggered start the scene was chaotic. Cars parked in the kiss-and-ride area, kids unwilling to go into the schoolyard, grabbing onto their mom’s coat with a steely grip, while others ran around the fenced-in playground yelling and playing.
Remember Fit Mom, Maria Kang, who posted the “What’s Your Excuse” photo surrounded by her three sons all under the age of three in all her six pack ab glory?
This afternoon I received an email from my child’s elementary school informing parents that some of the intermediate students had been looking into making a drink called "Lean" or "Purple Drank". This drink is a mixture of prescription cough medicine containing codeine and promethazine, soda, and sometimes the kids pop in a couple of Jolly Ranchers for added colour and taste.
Back-to-school for our family means back to busy. I have two boys going to different schools, both with two very different schedules. Add in my older son who trains in a specialized sport four days a week, my younger son who does an extracurricular activity twice a week, and, you know, that whole pesky business of my husband and I having to work. Most nights are a bit of a gong show.
While driving my son home from his speed skating training a few days ago he asked me if I heard about the couple who have been married for 62 years and were now forced to live apart against their will because they have been put into separate care facilities.
I almost lost my ever loving sh*t and went on a five minute rant about how wrong this is on so many levels, but most of all a human level. You don’t separate a couple who've been married 62 years. You don’t separate a couple who want to be together, period.
I make no bones about the fact that I’m sad when my kids go back to school. Even when they were younger I was the mom who was hiding her tears as she dropped them off at school once again. Yes, they have moment when they drive me crazy and I threaten to sell them to the circus but for the most part, I really enjoy hanging out with my boys.
I was tagged in a photo on Instagram recently. The photo was of a mom with her new baby and she wrote about how a “real” mom’s body looks after giving birth. The person who tagged me said in the message that I keep it real Every. Single. Day.
She meant it as a compliment and that’s the way I took it because I know exactly what she meant. But I don’t support the meaning behind the message of the “real” mom’s body.
I love me a good fresh salsa and can eat it by the spoonful. This is good for my health (tomatoes have lycopene which can help prevent certain cancers) but not good for my pocketbook because buying fresh salsa is expensive.
And who the heck wants to spend all their time chopping up tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro to make your own? Not to mention the hell that is forgetting you just cut up jalapeno peppers and rubbing your eyes.
Thus my “Takes Less Than Two Minutes” Blender Salsa was born.
I read a comment on the internet the other day that said no kids should ever be allowed to play high level competitive sports until they are older. The gist of it was kids should only play house league when they are young.
I am in the (maybe not so) unique position of being the mom to one son who is an elite athlete and one who loves to dabble in a whole bunch of different sports.
I read a comment on the internet the other day that said no kids should ever be allowed to play high level competitive sports until they are older. The gist of it was kids should only play house league when they are young.
I am in the (maybe not so) unique position of being the mom to one son who is an elite athlete and one who loves to dabble in a whole bunch of different sports.
On the surface this may seem like a superficial lesson, but it’s not because in a way it’s asking our children to think about others. Others who may be forced to one day be in a confined room with no windows where people who haven’t learned this lesson were just moments before.
In fact those lesson-less people may even be in this windowless room RIGHT NOW waiting for another unsuspecting victim to come along.
And, as we all know, one can only hold one’s breath for so long.
I remember the exact date - January 6, 2013. I was sitting in a freezing cold car trying to gather up the nerve to go into my very first swimming lesson. I had signed up to race in a triathlon and the swim portion was mandatory. I had taken lessons as a kid but stopped around age 11 and while I could tread water and play around with my kids in a pool, I was definitely more of a floater than a swimmer. That first night, I couldn’t even complete one 25m lap.
We all have those times in our relationship where your sex life gets a little stale. Been there, done that. But if you're going to spice things up, these Do's and Don'ts will ensure there is more sexy and less scary going on. Because you don't really want to scar the paper boy, do you?
Don't try to surprise your husband by covering your body from head to toe in baby oil then whipping the door open when you hear him about to enter from a hard day at work. It may actually be the newspaper boy.
You've decided to get a puppy! Or maybe you're on the fence and are still trying to decide. Either way, congratulations! I can't even begin to tell you how much that little bundle of joy is going to change your life for the better. If everyone greeted you the way a dog greets you, we'd be living in an incredible world.
However, it's best to go in with your eyes wide open because there are a few things NOBODY TOLD ME before we got our puppy. Know what? I would have liked to have known because life is better when you're prepared.
We see you struggling with your toddler in the store. She’s having a meltdown in the candy aisle and you’re on the cusp of tears.
You look over and there we are with our lanky teens, mature tweens, and school-aged kids who actually help us push the cart and you think how lucky we are to be past this tantruming stage.
And in a way we are but there is some truth to the old adage “Bigger kids, bigger problems.”
I just finished reading an article on how parents are supposed to introduce solid foods to their baby and it was quite ADAMANT that there is a certain order and if you don’t follow this certain order, you will be messing up your baby’s palate FOREVER.
