Asperger Awareness
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Thursday, February 02, 2012
There’a an interesting article in the New York Times today written by a man who was (briefly) diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in his late teens. Benjamin Nugent, author of American Nerd: The Story of My People, writes that when he was 17, he was judged to “fit the bill” of Asperger’s based on the diagnostic criteria.
And then, he grew up and moved to the big city and suddenly all of his issues sort... READ MORE
Stuff Parents Say
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Thursday, January 26, 2012
A few years ago, when my babies suddenly got a little older, I found myself having to answer that age-old question: why?
“Why can’t we watch this?”
“Why can’t I go there?”
“Why can’t I stay up past nine o’clock?”
These and a million other inquiries started making the room spin and I felt I was always working on a small thesis to explain to my children the reasoning for our decisions. I’d launch into... READ MORE
Smart Motivation
Posted by Arwen Mosher in News on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
When Camilla was little, a friend told me she’d read (in the book NurtureShock) that research showed that telling children “you’re so smart!” is counterproductive, and ends up undermining achievement as kids learn to overestimate their own abilities while also failing to develop the real confidence necessary to take risks.
Interested, I asked my super-intelligent, lifelong high-achieving sister what... READ MORE
Difficult Discussion
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Friday, January 20, 2012
This weekend for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, our parish is having its usual prayer vigil. We signed up for a half-hour time slot. Bryan’s going and I suggested he might take our five-year-old daughter with him.
But I wasn’t surprised when he hesitated. Because, you see, we haven’t explained to Camilla about abortion yet.
We did participate in the local pregnancy care center’s fill-a-bottle-with-coins... READ MORE
Nick that Name
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Do you have a nickname? Did you choose it?
Perhaps because my name has no easy nicknames and I’ve always just gone by “Arwen,” I’m fascinated by the topic of nicknames.
A few years ago I mentioned that we called my daughter Camilla “Billa,” a nickname we certainly hadn’t planned on when we carefully chose “Camilla Claire” before her birth.
But sometime around age three, “Billa” disappeared and we... READ MORE
Tiny Little Things
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, January 05, 2012
Last night a variety of factors converged in a sleep trainwreck: Linus and Ambrose both awoke every two hours all night long.
Six wakeups each times two babies. Do that piece of math and you’ll understand why I crawled out of bed in a stupor this morning.
But blessedly, I checked my email soon afterward and found a message from a dear aunt whose two boys are now in their twenties. She’d gotten our... READ MORE
When Other People's Kids Are Sad
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Family on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
This afternoon, my teenager Adam and I found ourselves in a busy discount store surrounded by holiday shoppers. The atmosphere was tense, made worse by large crowds and loud Christmas music. My greatest desire was to “get out of here ASAP”, but I ended up waiting for my Adam for a few moments in a crazy section of the store.
As I stood doing mental exercises to keep myself calm, I spotted not one... READ MORE
Parenting Pitfalls
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
This afternoon, in that challenging haze that is the hour before dinner, I had one of the most outrageous 30-minute spans of mothering in recent history.
It was the perfect storm (isn’t it always!) of me feeling overwhelmed and someone being grumpy and someone else getting into mischief and a fourth party not wanting to deal with the task at hand (and not handling that well, not at all). Throw into... READ MORE
Soldier's Mom
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Family on Monday, December 12, 2011
This past weekend, in various social situations and at Mass, I learned that three of my oldest son’s classmates will soon be leaving college and enlisting in the military. Two are destined for the Air Force, and the third will join the Army. I received the news from two of the moms, both of whom are friends of mine.
What struck me as I spoke with both of them independently was the emotions they were... READ MORE
The Gift Dilemma
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Our kids have too many toys.
If I were writing this on Twitter, I’d wryly label it #firstworldproblems, but the good fortune of our situation does not change the spreading-all-over-the-house, making-Mama-crazy aspect of it. There are too many toys.
Recent ruthless culling has returned our playroom to a manageable state, with a few age-inappropriate things stored and many many items sent to the donation... READ MORE
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