This morning Dave told me that if I spent more than 15 minutes on Mothers of Brothers today he would: – divorce me (Too expensive.) – beat me (I have the black belt, my love.) – ridicule me (C’mon, sticks and stones, really?) – overcook my hamburger tonight. (!!!) Oh, the humanity. The man plays hard [...]
Today’s headline may draw a host of new readers, for all the wrong reasons. This post isn’t about Vargas girls of days gone by. It’s about finding old stuff – at yard sales, thrift shops, auctions, on the curb – and being thrilled with your new possession. MOB reader Anne H tipped me off to [...]
The Leukemia Society has been trying desperately to get in touch with me. I know this because they have called me every day for the last week. Their name pops up on caller ID and I let the call go to voicemail. I have nothing against the Leukemia Society. They do excellent work but I [...]
Yesterday Hugh walked home from school and was disappointed to find that I was the only one in the house. He had found a turtle in the neighbor’s yard and wanted to show it off. He described it as “pulsing” in his hands, which I found ”repulsing.” But thank heavens I had the presence of mind [...]
It’s Saturday morning and Noah and I have to run to the bookstore to pick up a gift for a friend. I hop in the car; he hops in the passenger seat… with his Nintendo DS and turns it on. Me: Put that thing back in the house. Noah: Why? Me: It’s an eight minute [...]
Yesterday I was reading the Complaint Box feature in the New York Times online. The writer was griping about how common it has become for salesclerks and receptionists to rhetorically ask “How ya doin” without expecting or desiring any answer. She found the inquiry false. This generated a flurry of comments, which quite often raises [...]
In the criminal justice system, petty theft in suburbia pales in comparison to the truly heinous crimes which we see on the cable news networks each night. Knowing that the punk perpetrators are likely never to be caught, families often take matters into their own hands. These are their stories. Bing! Bing! The crime: On [...]
Browsing around through the blogosphere, it becomes clear that safety and security are top of mind with many writers. Many so-called Mommy Bloggers, especially those with young children, refer to their kids by aliases. They often photograph their children from the back, or with their heads cut off. No doubt they have read cautionary tales [...]
A confession: My boys spend too much goddamn time staring at screens as their primary form of entertainment. DS… Wii… Runescape… Facebook… Guitar Hero. This list is long. As parents, Dave and I do our best to ask them to turn the equipment off when we notice that their eyeballs are bleeding. And we remain [...]
Perhaps a year ago, I first heard a strange new expression: “Yes, my daughter is going to get to walk at graduation, even though she won’t technically have all her credits.” Wait, what? Walk? Ever since then, the “walk at graduation” phrase – or even just “walk” – has been raining down on my [...]
