Sim health - Norpro 2-Tier Bamboo Steamer Norpro’s three-piece bamboo steamer set could steam a whole meal. At 10 inches in diameter and 6-1/4 inches high, it is large enough for eight pork buns (there’s a recipe on the box) on one level and a mound of broccoli, carrots, and snap peas […]

Home team
Filed under: 12-18 months, 5 years, SportsI have mentioned in previous posts that I very much enjoy sports. I played team sports in my youth, I play pick up basketball once a week, and very much follow sports, basketball in particular, with a feverish passion. Having two little boys watching my every move means they obviously get the gist of my liking of sports. Tasman, while only 17 months (so close to a year and half, thereby ridding my monthly age description - soon it will be…he is about a year and half), seems to have taken a stronger interest in balls than Hudson did. He kicks them, throws them, and actually is a bit obsessed by them, grabbing them and screaming “BALL!!” bugging out his eyes like he just struck gold. Give him a ball for each hand and I fear his head my simply pop off his neck in excitement. Hudson…well not so much. He of the “Dad, sports is stupid ” quote a couple of months ago still prefers other activities - more fantastical games of pirates or robots, or robot pirates. I love him for this, but when the opportunity came to go see my favourite team, The Toronto Raptors, play a game against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, at the Air Canada Centre last Sunday, it was something I was obviously not going to pass up. We took the bus. We took a subway, sitting at the front of the train to watch the darkness of the tunnel surround us. We bought popcorn and cotton candy. We split a Diet Coke. We peed in the urinal beside one another, crowds of beer-filled patrons waiting for us to zip up. We watched the game, or at least I watched the game. Hud watched everything else, the mascot, the little girl dancers (I may have glanced at the big girl dancers). He soaked in every morsel of visual entertainment a large sporting complex can offer. He watched the big screen above the court. He noticed the advertisements plastered everywhere (goooo team branding!), and of course by the mid third quarter he asked when the game was going to be over. Soon, I yelled over the very loud hip hop music, very soon. Disappointed? Of course not. He can, and will do things he enjoys - I am not the forceful sports father. But get this, at dinner on Monday night, a full 24 hours after the experience, Hudson began talking about the game. Not the event, but the game itself. How his favourite team is the Raptors (it does help that they are cool looking dinosaurs) and his favourite player is Chris Bosh. He also mentioned that King James - that’s Lebron James mom he explained - was very good and helped the Cavaliers win, especially near the end of the game. His words, not mine. I beamed - sliding the mac and cheese into my mouth. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

‘Meanest Mom on the Planet’ sells son’s car
Filed under: Teenager, DisciplineJane Hambleton had just two rules for her teenage son when she bought him a car: no alcohol and keep it locked. When after only a few weeks, she found found a bottle under the seat, she didn’t get mad. She put an ad in the classifieds. OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don’t love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet. “It’s overwhelming the number of calls I’ve gotten from people saying ‘Thank you, it’s nice to see a responsible parent.’” Hambleton said. “So far there are no calls from anyone saying, ‘You’re really strict. You’re real overboard, lady.” I am impressed by this woman’s courage. It’s easy to say you’d do the exact same thing, but would be much hard to actually go through with. Rock on with your bad self, mean Mom!Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Are you a competitive parent?
Filed under: Elementary school, 6-7 years, Working moms, Crafts, Creative projectsAre you a competitive parent? Is there such a thing as parental OCD? If so, is there a cure?I have always been an overly competitive mother. Part of it stems from the fact that I’m basically a competitive person. I just want to be the best at everything I do and motherhood is no exception.I was in Office Depot yesterday and saw some iron-on transfer paper that brought back a few memories. When my son was in first grade, the school celebrated 100 days of school by having a celebration. Every class decorated their classroom and the children were supposed to wear something with 100 things on it, i.e. a jacket with 100 buttons. These projects are what I now refer to as “parent homework,” but that’s a whole new post.I thought about what I could do for the celebration that was unique and highlighted my son’s individuality and interests. We decided to make a shirt with 100 different Pokemon characters on it by searching for various pictures online (thank you, Internet!) and printing them on the iron-on transfer paper. My son chose all the characters he wanted, counting 100 of them, and I thought it would be easy. I’d print several on a paper and then iron them on a white t-shirt and be done. Well, it became complicated very quickly. One hundred Pokemon are more than I realized. We ended up having to cut them all out and iron them on separately on the front and back of the shirt. I even designed a little front to the shirt that said “100 days of school” and the name of the elementary school to put in the center of the shirt. The shirt turned out very cute, and my son was very proud of our 100 things shirt we created together. In fact, his shirt won first place in his school, Hurrah! I enjoyed the project and I was proud of our creation, but after seeing kids wear a hat with 100 dots on it, or a shirt with 100 safety pins, I had to wonder if I had overdone it a little (a lot?).Any other competitive parents out there? Have you gone overboard as the team mother or class party planner?Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine British actress Pauline Collins repeats her stage success as the character Shirley Valentine, a married woman who decides in her middle years that she wants more out of life. Leaving her spouse behind, she heads to Greece, where she grows close to a low-key, local bloke (Tom Conti). Collins and director Lewis […]

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