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Feeling Grumpy? Sleep Deprivation Affects the Healthiest

Posted Nov 1st 2007 11:36AM by Mary Kearl
Filed under: Healthy Living, Parenting, Kids, Family Dynamics

When I was younger there always used to be the point in the night where I would get really slap-happy drunk (no, my parents weren't spiking my Kool-Aid!) and the slightest thing could set me off laughing. Jump ahead a half-hour or hour into the night, and if I was still up, the slightest thing could set me off crying. Then the next day, if I didn't get enough sleep I'd be grumpy and snappy -- definitely not my usual cute-kid self. Sure, I was young and childish then, and I've matured (?) since then, but my Mom who knew best then, and still does, as mothers often do, always says that I'm just not my "happy-camper" when I don't get enough sleep. Now it seems researchers are finally catching up to the wisdom of parents!


Continue reading Feeling Grumpy? Sleep Deprivation Affects the Healthiest

Freaking Out About Going Gray

Posted Oct 18th 2007 5:42PM by Mary Kearl
Filed under: Healthy Living, Family Dynamics, Personal Growth

I think I was 8 or 9 when I realized my mom died her hair. I thought it was an awfully gross process. She got into this huge brown- streaked shirt (from years of dyeing) and the whole floor smelled like icky chemicals. So being the precocious young kid that I was I said something snotty like, "I'm never going to do that when I grow up. I don't care if I get gray hair."

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Cantella Hound

Posted Mar 4th 2007 3:55PM by COACH OF COACHES
Filed under: Healthy Living, Family Dynamics

Well, I finally caved. For years my kids have been asking for a dog and for years I have said that I just don't think I have the time or energy to commit to taking responsibility for one more thing. But recently my boyfriend convinced me that having a dog would help the kids learn about repsonsibility and also appreciate animals, so we started

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My Budget Deficit

Posted Jan 12th 2007 8:35AM by COACH OF COACHES
Filed under: Parenting, Family Dynamics, Money

Well, I resolved to get my finances in order. It's been a process fraught with anxiety. Back when I was married, I kept a close tab on the cash flow, always worried about going into debt. When I got divorced, and found myself (happily) with full custody of my 2-year-old and 5-year-old children, with (unhappily) no child support or alimony payments due to me.

I took the hit to my finances philosophically, figuring I was a good saver and a good earner, and that for a few years I would just have to close my eyes and hold my breath and probably go into debt in order to keep my children housed, clothed and cared for.

Well, it's been almost three years and it's time to take my head out of the sand. I've met with the financial advisor once to review my situation, and next week I will go again to get some recommendations. But yesterday I received a call from the numbers man at the advisor's office... He had a number of questions, but the one that really struck me was, "I don't think this is right... I'm going over your expenses and it looks like you are operating at a deficit of around $1500/month."

Sigh. I had to call back and tell him that sounded right.


Motherhood's a Real Doozy, Isn't It?

Posted Jan 9th 2007 10:02AM by COACH OF COACHES
Filed under: Marriage, Parenting, Family Dynamics

I just received this email from a friend of mine who is preparing to leave for her brother's wedding in India. She will be leaving her husband and three young daughters at home. Before having children, she was a real adventuress -- with stints in Budapest, Mongolia, China, and I can't even remember where else. Check out her email:
"yes, i'm going alone, which has been a surprising source of anxiety for me.
i've put off packing until right now (i'm procrastinating, as you can see)
and have been so edgy the past few days. steve of course is perfectly
capable of parenting and taking care of himself, and i know the trip itself
will be great -- it's not those things. i'm just SO agitated about leaving
steve and the girls. boo hoo. it certainly doesn't gel with my self-image
of being a spontaneous, intrepid traveller...."

The Fellini Family

Posted Jan 9th 2007 9:57AM by COACH OF COACHES
Filed under: Love, Relationships, Family Dynamics

Over the holidays, my boyfriend met my extended family for the first time. Not my brother and sister and parents and my closest cousins, who he has met several times before, but the whole extended family that comes out of the woodwork at holiday time. I was not really worried about it, because they're my family and they have also just been a part of my life. I've never judged them, though I guess on some level, I would spend more time with them if I really thought they were my kind of people (it's true that early in life I said to my mother -- I guess we have relatives so we know people we wouldn't ordinarily choose as friends). In any case, I was surprised (and, of course, insulted), when my boyfriend commented at one point, "I feel like I'm in a Fellini film." Yikes! Are families really that bad?

"Hey Mom, did you know I almost drove the car off a cliff when I was 16?"

Posted Jan 8th 2007 6:56PM by Jessie Lesh
Filed under: Parenting, Family Dynamics

At a recent family dinner, I had a conversation with my mom about parenting during the teen years. Talking about parenting strategies is always interesting, since different people may surprise you by their thoughts on the subject depending on their own experience. But it's ESPECIALLY interesting to have this chat with one of your parents as an adult. THEN, to take it one step further...it's pretty fascinating to engage in this conversation with a parent once you are all grown up, but before you have kids of your own. I am old enough (32) and have had enough distance from my teen years now to pinpoint where I think my parents may be gone wrong in parenting situations. But of course, to their defense, I'm not yet in a position to judge, since I have never had to play the role of parent myself.

Continue reading "Hey Mom, did you know I almost drove the car off a cliff when I was 16?"




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