Me Day

After an overzealous attempt to work 6am – midnight and care for three kids with little sleep, I found myself exhausted. I decided to take a day off, a Me Day. Unfortunately, my execution of Me Day was more stressful than any amount of work.

CBS News series “Children of the Recession”: A call to action

Last week CBS News and Katie Couric ran a series called Children of the Recession. It exposed the impact of the recession on children, including an increase in homelessness as well as in the incidence and severity of child abuse. The statistics reported were sobering. The series reminded me that we each have a call to action.

Life with Stitch

My son was named to be a diplomat and peacekeeper but raises more sand than he keeps peace. So I’ve play-named him Stitch after Disney’s alien character genetically engineered to seek destruction. Read more in Life with Stitch.

How homework benefits young children — and their parents too

There’s a lot of talk lately about whether or not homework aids in learning and retention. I believe there’s a case to be made for a reasonable amount of homework. In fact, I believe homework has significant benefits for young children — and their parents, too.

Top 10 reasons to have kids at 20-something

Maybe this is a “grass is greener” perspective, but I think we should go back to having kids when we’re in our 20′s. So I decided to pull together this list of the Top 10 Reasons to Have Kids at 20-Something.

iPhone Apps for Kids – Shapebuilder and more

Shape Builder: an iPhone app for a 3-year old?  No way!  WAY!!!  My 3-year old regularly plays games online, and I could see her engaging with this drag-and-drop app.  I haven’t played it personally so I can’t speak to whether or not a 3-year old would have the motor skills to avoid getting frustrated.  Conceptually, though, I’d give it a thumbs up!  A nice distraction while waiting in line or at the doctor’s office.

I found this review of the app online:

A great little jigsaw app for children aged 3 to 5 years. Older children will probably not find it challenging enough, younger children won’t grasp the context. Darren Murtha appears to be the type of developer keen to make a living from this gig. I hope he has a good shot because his website suggests he is in the right space for producing educationally relevant games for young kids.Review: iPhone Apps for Kids – Shapebuilder and more

Read the whole article for more great reviews.

Anyone have experience with the app?  Let us know what you think.

The Gift of Time, Pursuit of Purpose– My Journey through Displacement

Today’s post was contributed by a good friend and former Fannie Mae colleague Tracey Amos. Tracey says, “Like many others in my situation, I did not choose to be displaced from my high-power, high-paying executive level job. Given the choice, I would not have self-selected into the club of the 13 plus million other displaced (aka unemployed) Americans. But bills and financial obligations notwithstanding, I have embraced this transition and the journey that I am on as a precious gift of time.” Read more of her inspiring post.

A New Kind of Baby

I was a big fan of baby dolls growing up, and so is my daughter. I must say, though, dolls today come a bit too close to reality. In our repertoire, we have dolls that eat, drink, sleep, talk, brush their teeth and, yes, even poop! But my invention, my new kind of baby, will top them all!

The War on Stuff

STUFF! STUFF! STUFF Everywhere there’s STUFF!!! The experts have failed me — maids, ministers, life coaches, even Better Homes and Gardens. So today I have declared a War on Stuff!

What’s all the Babble about?

There was a lot of tweeting yesterday about parenting site Babble raising $1.25 million. Babble describes itself as the magazine and community for the new generation of parents. I visited the site to see what all the babbling was about. I found a bit of melodrama, a bit of humor and even a few things that made me go “Huh?!?”. Read more about what I found in What’s all the Babble about?