1. When your kids have kids, would you prefer they call you something like “G-Dawg” or “Glam-ma”? According to Jezebel, some grandparents are eschewing the typical names associated with grandparent-dom and opting for their own titles. “The working theory is that they think of themselves as too young and too active for the traditional names, which conjure up images of gray-haired, bespectacled old ladies knitting in rocking chairs.” Fair enough!
Cynthia Kinnunen blogs about sharing stuff from your childhood with your kids
Family is pretty important to us. Even though most of our extended family is far away, we make extra efforts to keep in touch. This is particularly important when it comes to grandparents.
Grandparents (and great-grandparents and beyond) are the “old school” messengers of familial goodness. For us, it’s not just the wisdom and perspective they can share, it’s the stories and the connections to a disappearing past. Heck, it’s the cool and wonderful quirks we discover in those stories, too. Our grandparents were hilarious and silly and creative and fascinating! Who knew?
As a kid, I loved spending time with my grandparents. Like, really loved it. I was fortunate to have them around and that they, too, enjoyed having me around. Looking back, I have a strange mix of things that stand out in my memories of them. Read more...
Meri Perra blogs about the challenges she and her partner face in trying to raise their girls with feminist values
The timeline of my life recently struck 3-5. I’m still waiting for the party. In the meantime, I’ve had the opportunity to grow as a person. Or feel less sorry for myself, so that’s something.
You what it’s like: First one family member gets sick. Your kids are almost always the germy culprits, the patient zeros of the household. Moms brave through the multi-coloured leaky snots, the pukes, the fevers and, worse, the infinite grumpiness. Oh the infinite grumpiness is the worst of all.
But once in a while too much snot and puke and grump is like kryptonite for even the super-est of super moms. This time, I got sick. Read more...
Ahhhhh yes, Thanksgiving long weekend. Just kicking back and thinking about everything I’m thankful for. Show up at a relative’s place, eating enough to audition for Woman vs Food, finding room for dessert and napping on the couch. This is what Thanksgiving used to be like before Jr. came along.
This Thanksgiving we had to have three family dinners. Three. Back-to-back. There were no couch naps. There was barely any couch sitting. Two dinners were at family member’s homes. Homes with drawers full of knives and ground level plants and pets that expect petting and not fur pulling. One dinner was at our place. I made the traditional Thanksgiving tuna casserole, which is tuna, peas, a can of mushroom soup and plain potato chips. My mom made this every year for decades since we didn’t eat turkey, and she has passed the Thanksgiving tuna torch on to me. Read more...
Between day camps and out-of-town visitors, sleepover camps and work commitments, summer’s not all lazy days at the lake. But with the kids off school for another five weeks and the sun shining outside, it’s the perfect opportunity to clear your schedule for an afternoon, a weekend or even a whole week, and get down to the serious business of becoming closer as a family. And no, a microwave pizza in front of Nickleodeon doesn’t count.
3. In positive breast cancer news, the government of Ontario is expanding its funding for drugs like Herceptin. Now patients like Jill Anzarut can receive the drug whereas before Anzarut had been told her tumor was too small to qualify.
3. Author Mel Robbins thinks moms should just quit. Don’t just take Mother’s Day off, just stop doing the all the domestic chores altogether. (We’re guessing Robbins doesn’t count those mothers whose families all fairly contribute to the household duties.)
How cold is too cold? Parentcentral.ca looks at schools and school boards that are holding recess indoors when the temperature dips below -25 C. At what point do you say no to outdoor activities?
Sydney Loney at the Globe and Mail says that more Canadians are choosing to live in multi-generational homes. Have you moved in with your parents or in-laws?
Continuing with our kale obsession, we’re itching to try out these kale chips from Stay-at-Stove-Dad. Kale leaves + lime juice + parmesan? Who knew.
Raising both a boy and a girl? (or boys and girls) Check out the wise words on raising boys that Good Men Project co-founder Tom Matlack shared with Babble. It *is* pretty magical when an super-active kid with seemingly endless amounts of energy will cuddle up to you at bedtime to read a story. Read more...
