There are plenty of great reasons to convert to Judaism; but the one that’s making me seriously consider the switch is Christmas. Christmas doesn’t make me grumpy anymore, the way it did when I was younger. In fact, I’ve grown to really appreciate the family gatherings, the feasts, the music (in small doses), and even…
Tag Archive: toys
My Kids Are Hoarders
My kids are hoarders. I know this because every time I enter one of their rooms, one of them is hiding all of the old mail that was SUPPOSED to go out with the recycling. You’d think they could hoard something cooler, like kittens or diamonds, but no, not MY kids. My kids are all…
How to Bring Speak & Spell Back Into Your Life
The other day I was cruising the toy store aisles and was struck by all of the “old is new” toy characters on the shelf: Strawberry Shortcake, He-Man, the Smurfs, Transformers, Cabbage Patch dolls, Alvin and the Chipmunks. I could go on, but you get the point. Clearly, characters created in the early 80′s are…
Dolly Day Spa: Detangling Rapunzel
I love the movie Tangled. You know what was stupid? Buying the doll from Tangled. Rapunzel entered our home a princess with a dream, but has since decided to engage in some sort of multicultural identity crisis evidenced by her nascent attempts to incorporate dreadlocks into her hairstyle repertoire. Not a good look for her….
V Is Not Always For Victory
I have a small beef with the Vtech people. My youngest boy, Tom, loves his Mobigo. It’s brilliant for keeping him occupied in the back of the car on long and short journeys. I have no complaints. It is what it is. A hard wearing games console for the under 5’s. For his birthday this…
Clutter: Buried Alive, Or: Lurid Fantasies about Australian Icons
I am the anti-hoarder. I’m constantly stuffing things my family doesn’t use (though they might argue that point – who knew that backpack contained my husband’s Blackberry?) into sacks for Goodwill. The amount of stuff in my house refuses to lessen, though. The problem is that my husband and I are voracious thrift shoppers. We are…
An Open Apology To The Schmucks Who Got The Stuff On Top of Our Refrigerator
On top of my refrigerator you will find pans and a rice cooker. Oh, and a big ass box of Misused Toys. The refrigerator is where light sabers go when they’ve Jedi mastered everything on the mantel. It’s where baseballs land when a fastball gets perfected in the family room. It’s where the Life! Like!…
3 Ways to Get (Little) Kids to Clean Their Rooms
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and your kid won’t be living in your basement at 36 years old and not paying rent or buying groceries.” That’s the saying, right? Confidence that comes from self reliance is not a birthright. It’s taught. But. How do you…
