July 21st, 2010 03:34pm
The SEX talk
It’s not the most comfortable of talks (this is apparently so when MY children are involved). But it’s the most necessary. (read the article…)
It’s not the most comfortable of talks (this is apparently so when MY children are involved). But it’s the most necessary. (read the article…)
July 14th, 2010 02:44pm
Being my kid’s embarrassment
As a parent, you will only be cool to your kids for so long. And when the tides change (and they will) you will become the most embarrassing creature on the face of the planet. (read the article…)
June 24th, 2010 04:09pm
Forced to enforce
When kids disobey, it is our job to crack down on them. What they probably don’t know, however, is we really don’t want to. (read the article…)
June 22nd, 2010 03:46pm
Vacationing with teens
The only thing worse than traveling with toddlers? Traveling with teens. But with some careful planning, a teen vacation can actually be quite pleasant. (read the article…)
June 11th, 2010 09:35am
The right age for cell phones
May 17th, 2010 04:54pm
The Terrible Tweens
May 12th, 2010 04:19pm
The worst age
Kids are capaple of driving even the most dedicated parent insane. Every age has its drawbacks. But which one’s the worst? (read the post…)
April 7th, 2010 01:39pm
6th grade right of passage
It is a 6th grade right of passage to attend 6th grade camp before the end of the school year. It’s a way to celebrate the end of elementary school, and a way to make new friends from other schools before being bunched together in the big, scary halls of Jr. High.
At 12 years old, I went with my class to our own 6th grade camp. I was excited to leave my parents and sisters behind and have the opportunity to hang out with all my friends for a whole week. And the best part? No school work! We spent the days playing games out in the field, going through “ice breaker” games that helped us to get to know our future classmates from other schools. We ate in the cafeteria, food that was just as good as cafeteria food can get, but decent enough to eat. And we’d stay up way later than the obligatory “lights out” call mandated. About 6 of us were crammed into a cabin with bunk beds. I got the top bunk, and shared the room with some of my closer friends from school. Our parent chaperone was very lenient, allowing us to hang out on each other’s bunks after the last call was given as long as we kept it down to a low roar. I think this was also to encourage us to stay in the cabin and not sneak out. And for the most part, it worked. (more…)
March 29th, 2010 11:02am
Fuzzy Legs
When I was a kid, I was so embarrassed about my hairy legs. It wasn’t like the blonde, almost invisible body hair of my friends. I had thick, dark, Italian hair. And it was very noticeable. As a young tween, I was at an age when every single blemish on anyone’s body was noticed and made fun of, and my hairy legs had already been pointed out to me. There really was no question about it. I couldn’t wear pants in the heat of summer for the rest of my life.
It was time to shave.
Of course, I was afraid of shaving. I had been told that if I started shaving, I’d never be able to stop. What if I decided afterwards that I really wasn’t ready to shave? I’d be a prisoner to the razor for the rest of my life! I was told that the hair that would grow back would be even thicker and darker. I imagined my legs covered in big, black polka dots of hair that I would have to chisel off to keep my legs looking bare. And then there was the question of how MUCH to shave. Do women shave their legs AND their arms? When shaving their legs, do they shave all the way up to the hip? Is a woman’s body supposed to be completely free of hair altogether? (more…)
March 2nd, 2010 11:59am
First Kiss
Over the weekend, while my texting tween was hunched over her cell phone, she paused long enough to ask me if she could go over to the house of this new “friend” to hang out. I agreed, thinking that it was no different than when she went over to one of her other guy friend’s house. Her first guy friend had been friends with her since 1st grade, and for several years had even considered themselves best friends. I had gotten to know this kid well, as well as his family. And there had never been any reason to not let them hang out. But after I agreed to let my daughter hang out with this new “friend”, I immediately regretted the words. Why? My daughter was a tomboy, naturally drawn to being one of the guys at school, and chatting with her guy pals on Facebook. So what was causing me to bristle at the thought of her hanging out with one of the guys?
For one, it was the way they had been texting back and forth consistently for the past several days. Two, it was the way she lit up, eager to talk up his good points every time I asked a few innocent questions about who he was, what he liked, his intentions for my daughter, plans for the future, and what his parents did for a living. You know, innocent. Three, she was getting to the age when male-female friendships developed into something more than just hanging out, and I wasn’t sure that I had counseled her enough on matters of the heart and the art of being chaste.
Most of all, it was that I didn’t even know this kid or his parents. (more…) « Return to Blog
About This Blog
Single-parenting it since 2004.About the players:
Me: 32 year old dreamer
DQ (Drama Queen): 12 year old dramatic tweenage daughter
The Taz: 9 year old tornado son
Mr. Wonderful: my patient and loving boyfriend
Ex: my ex-husband and my kids’ learning fatherEmail me at crissi@santarosamom.com
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