I've written several times before about how my son has amblyopia, which is also known as "lazy eye." If you haven't read my previous posts, amblyopia is a brain disorder in which the brain doesn't process what one of the eyes is seeing. If left untreated, the eye will become weaker and weaker since it's not being used (hence the term 'lazy'), and eventually it will stop working all together, causing blindness in that eye. more

After nearly seven years, my son has begun to pee standing up. I don’t know when most boys start to pee standing up, or if they ever pee sitting down. I feel like this is the kind of thing you investigate and obsess about when you’re a first time mom and you’re potty training your first born. But my first born was a girl, so I missed that part, and with the second kid--well, we all know how things go with second kids. My son just sort of potty trained himself by imitating me and his sister, and I didn’t really have the time or the inclination to worry about it. more

It’s been four weeks and one day since I last saw my daughter, and visiting day could not have come soon enough for me. There have been some perks to her being away: there’ve been no arguments between her and my son for me to referee, there’s only one carpool run each day, there’s half the amount of playdates and parties and activities to schlep around to, there’s only one picky eater to worry about every night instead of two. more

I was in elementary school in the suburbs in the early eighties, when kids could still ride bikes to their friend’s houses, walk alone to school, and play outside in the summer until it got dark and the fireflies began to light up the sky. more

I’ve been hearing this new term, “jobby,” getting thrown around a bit lately. A cross between hobby and job, it makes reference to businesses started by women with children. As in, “My wife was so bored when the kids started school full time, she got herself a jobby.” On the Condescension Scale, I’d give it about a nine, maybe a nine point five. more

For the final event of the school year, my daughter’s Brownie troop hosted a mother-daughter tea, at the home of one of the girls in the troop. Now, this would have been lovely, except that the tea was not just any old tea. This tea was being billed as an “etiquette lesson,” and was to be led by an expert in etiquette and manners. Oy. more

I went to the same sleepaway camp for three summers, starting when I was eleven years old, and they remain to this day the best, and most formative, summers of my entire life. There’s just something about the combination of being away from your parents, living in a small space with ten other girls, and being cared for by teenagers that makes for an incredibly character-building experience. more

f you asked my children what their biggest complaint is about me as a mother, I am willing to bet that they will say it’s my rules about what they can and can not watch on television. (Although, the fact that I won’t let them play video games during the week is probably a very close second). more

One of the things that scares me most as a parent is that my children will grow up believing that they’re entitled to whatever they want in life. You see it everywhere: college graduates who expect turn their noses up at entry level jobs, expecting to land high-paying, satisfying work without first paying their dues... more

My daughter turned nine last week, and in the throes of planning her birthday party, the biggest question was not what type of cake to get, or how many pizzas, or what to give as party favors. Rather, the biggest question was: to gift, or not to gift? more