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When Is A Vacation Not A Vacation?

When you go with your kids, that’s when.
 
I recently travelled to New York City with my sons. Jack, at 9, is a veteran of more trips to the Big Apple than I can count. This was only Ben’s second trip there. My mother and stepfather live in Manhattan; my brother and his family live out on Long Island. This would be the first time my mom would have both of her kids and all of her grandkids in one place at the same time, and we were all excited about it.
 
But first, we had to get there.
 

5 Ways to Go Green for Back to School

 Back to School Fact: 49.8 million students will attend public elementary and secondary schools in fall 2008.

 
As a parent, there’s one day of the year you wake early like a sugar-addled child on Christmas. You bounce around the house with 30 fluffy puppies-worth of skittering joy. This is the day your kids go back to school. You bound into your children’s’ rooms, honking an air horn not only to rouse the little buggers but to celebrate this momentous occasion. While they slump over limp with sleep crusted eyes, you cram them into clothes and catapult them out the door.

Memo to Mommy

I was having one of those tough days with my little Tot! You know the ones when she is not listening, hitting the dogs, throwing her food on the floor, spilling her milk on purpose and my favorite, telling me NO!
 
After she went to bed, I came across an article called “memo to mommy’ 
 
I want to share it with all of you moms. It made me realize this behavior will pass and is normal right??? I went to bed smiling that night……
 
 

Cracking the Code: Why Guys Do What They Do

Okay, let’s forget about all that “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” junk. Blah, blah, blah…we get it: men and women are different. But for all those things that irk you about your guy, did you ever ponder why he does what he does? Why doesn’t he ever put a thing away after he uses it? Why does he start putting on the macho act whenever you two are around his friends? Does he even know why he does this stuff?

Radio Mom

 Real Life: Tara Dublin

I spend my workdays as a radio DJ. Monday through Friday, from 9am to 2pm, you can hear me on 94/7 Alternative Portland. I love my job; it’s my dream come true. The perception of people in radio is a bit different from the reality…I don’t spend my nights rocking out at clubs or hanging with bands on their tour buses. I’m not up all night and sleeping all day on the weekends. The reason?
 
I’m a mom.
 
In my mind, I am a mother first and everything else comes after that. Working women have been wrestling with this for as long as they’ve been in the workforce.

PBS Dropping Mister Rogers??!!

The bible tells us there are a number of clear and distinct signs the apocalypse is coming. Plague, pestilence, famine and the cancelation of Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

How could this happen? PBS has announced its plans to pull the venerable 40 year old show from their weekday schedule. While not a full on cancelation, MRN (that’s what we “Neighborheads” in the know call it) will be relegated to a single episode on the weekends. But there’s something you can do to save it.