Bunchland

What the cool parents are reading today:

1. An essay from a woman who swore she’d be a different type of mother than her own, but becomes her mother anyway. Is that inevitable?

2. Dealing with a teen daughter? Or maybe you just want to be prepared for when you have to deal with a teen daughter? Here are some tips for dealing with a teenage drama queen.

3. A good or not-so-good divorce question: How do you keep a good relationship with your kids’ grandmother now that she’s no longer your mother-in-law?

4. A 46-year-old man who never thought he’d be a dad looks at the ultrasound photo of his yet-to-be-born twins.

5. Tell me you haven’t done this lip-synch yourself in the car:

Last week: One Millions Moms boosts JC Penney via boycotts, what moms really think about their Mother’s Day gifts and what new moms and teen boys have in common.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. Musically challenged? You can still help your kids out by directly them to Magic Belles.

2. Attention lactivists: A cop in Washington, D.C. who recently gave birth asked her superiors for a desk job, as working on the street would require a bulletproof vest. The vest would be too tight and painful on her since she’s breastfeeding. A doctor agreed. But she’s been put on unpaid leave until (another?) doctor says she’s fit for duty. WTF.

3. Is the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law doomed from the start? Or have a few crazy sitcom moms made it all up? Crazy mother-in-laws do indeed exist, but typically they’re not as crazy as the woman who sent this email to her stepson’s fiancee: “If you want to be accepted by the wider Bourne family I suggest you take some guidance from experts with utmost haste. There are plenty of finishing schools around… I understand your parents are unable to contribute very much towards the cost of your wedding. (There is nothing wrong with that except that convention is such that one might presume they would have saved over the years for their daughters’ marriages.)”  Read more...