NYC Moms

Lessons I Have Learned About Kids and Computers

... cross posted from our sister site, 50-Something Moms Blog.

We bought our first computer after I started teaching. Apple made it easy for teachers to buy a Mac for their personal use. I would be able to get work done at home, and my children could use it for school assignments. This was a big deal! I still remember when it was delivered and how we worked to set it up, plug it in, and turn it on. We went over house rules for computer use, which included first getting permission from mom or dad, and things sailed along smoothly for a few weeks. Then, without warning, the computer stopped making sounds. It didn't make so much as a "blip" or a "ding" and we could not figure out why. I finally called tech support, when tech support meant a person answered the phone and was able to help you. I explained the whole story and followed their directions to check everything that could be checked. The verdict was that someone had removed the computer's capability to make sounds, and the solution was to re-install the computer's operating system. Strategic questioning and good mommy detective work led to the conclusion that our youngest had single-handedly removed all sound from the computer. He was six years old.

Lesson #1: Despite all the precautions taken, stuff happens.

Click HERE to continue reading at 50-Something Moms Blog.

Trust no one?

... cross posted from our sister site, 50-Something Moms Blog.

The young man ringing our doorbell looked clean-cut and harmless enough. Opening the door, I assumed he was one of my son's friends and greeted him with a smile.

“I’m selling magazine subscriptions to help pay for my college tuition,” he began, racing through his spiel and waving a laminated brochure in my face. “Your neighbor Michael told me to stop by. I grew up in this neighborhood,” he added, motioning toward another street, which he named correctly. This kid had done his homework. We do have a neighbor named Michael -- but our Michael would never tell a solicitor to drop by and pitch magazine subscriptions. Smelling a scam, I said no and quickly shut the door.

Click HERE to continue reading at 50-Something Moms Blog.

Sam Lamott

... cross posted from our sister site, 50-Something Moms Blog.

Lately I've been thinking about Sam Lamott, the son of best-selling author Anne Lamott. I don't know of many women who haven't read Anne's Traveling Mercies, her collection of essays on her sobriety and conversion to Christianity. And for many moms in my age group, Anne's classic Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year, was their introduction to a whole new literary genre: the tell-all "momoir."

Sam (who's now 18) is often the lead character in Anne's writings. We've all watched Sam grow up on the page, from his first messy diaper to brutal arguments over his driving privileges. And legions of us are very grateful to Anne for so boldly admitting that motherhood can be an insanely difficult career choice.

Click HERE to continue reading at 50-Something Moms Blog.

Sex In the City leads to Sex at Home

I finally made it out to see Sex in The City the other night with a few girlfriends. I’m pretty sure we were the last women over 30 in New York to see it. All of the other people in the audience had already seen it.  Twice. I am not a loser. I am just a mother of a toddler.

The four of us met at Starbucks and headed to the theater where I grabbed two tons of overpriced popcorn, and some much needed Diet Coke, both of which I only eat when at the movies. We got great seats – front and center -- a bonus for being the last people on Earth to see the movie. I finished the popcorn before the movie even started and settled in for a night of movie bliss that I was overpaying a babysitter to allow me to see.

I will not spoil the movie since there are some of you outside of NY who may have not seen it already (for those of you in NY, it’s probably been spoiled already!). But suffice it to say, it measured up to my expectations. I was very happy. I have to say, though, that some things hit home that I’ve been thinking about ever since.

Pride for Iowa

... cross posted from our sister site, Chicago Moms Blog.

The news coverage came on CNN as a “Severe Weather” update. We saw that Iowa City was flooding. It was still raining. We called my extended family for the crisis-check. You know, the call that says: “I’m concerned, are you OK?” Everyone was “fine” and we wished them well, offered them to come to stay with us in Chicago if need be, and said we would help in anyway we could.

It wasn’t until this weekend, when talking to my Iowa born-and-raised cousin, that my heart filled with sadness and pride for the entire state. “Susie lost her whole house, her son’s room is floating…we finished grabbing boards and sand bags and she said: ‘Let’s go help Tim, he got it bad’”. Seriously? My cousin explained his shock that she didn’t consider her own desperate situation “bad”. He was calling to help raise money for his brother who had lost EVERYTHING. “What do you mean everything, Anthony? Furniture? Basement?” I asked. “Everything, as in he was out of town, and now has NOTHING.” He clarified. Yikes.

Click here to continue reading on Chicago Moms Blog.

Sex Ed with Visual Aids

... cross posted from our sister site, 50-Something Moms Blog.

I am not a grandmother yet, though many of my friends are. And that's okay with me. After the last grandbaby announcement, though, I began to wonder if my situation is due to something I said, or if my children have developed an aversion to cucumbers....

As soon as my children began to talk, I made it clear that no question was off limits. I honestly do not remember when we first talked about where babies come from: my daughter was two when my first son was born and I remember an on-going interest in what was going on with mom's belly; my second son was born six years later, and my oldest two had lots of questions about that. I treated love and sex like regular topics of conversation...until my daughter was ready to start high school. Then I knew I needed to kick it up a notch because we were entering the big leagues. High school was a whole new ball game. I decided visual aids were needed.

Click Here to continue reading on 50-Something Moms Blog.

The new kid on the blog block: 50-Something Moms Blog

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our newest sister-site, the 50-something Moms Blog. 

The 50-something Moms Blog is a collaborative group of mothers around the country, dealing with hot flashes and hot lunches, perimenopause and puberty, saving for retirement and paying for college. They've really got it all, even if they're not sure this is the all they really wanted. Meet the fabulous women behind the 50-something Moms Blog, sign up for their RSS Feed and come back day to day to follow the ups and downs of this wild decade!

The 50-something Mom's blog is the sixth sister-site to join the Silicon Valley Moms Group LLC.  Other Moms Group sites include Silicon Valley Moms Blog (launched March 2006), Chicago Moms Blog (launched April 2007), DC Metro Moms Blog, (launched September 2007) and New York City Moms Blog (launched December 2007) New Jersey Moms Blog (launched in April 2008) .