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David
SF Bay Area
Recent Activity
Wanted: A Place to Blog With Moms
Posted Jun 30, 2010 at Silicon Valley Moms Blog
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6
iPhone G4 for a Tech Dinosaur
Posted Jun 14, 2010 at Silicon Valley Moms Blog
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8
Modern Friendships
Posted May 26, 2010 at Silicon Valley Moms Blog
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12
Sounds exhausting. My parents are still healthy and active, but I know the day will come.
What holds a sandwich generation family together? Glue.
It's my job to be the glue. Hi. I'm new here, new to blogging. But, I'm not a new mom. Nope, not anymore. In fact, I'm old. I don't worry about whether I should go back to work anymore, about cloth diapers, organic food or even pre-school. We've moved on. I didn't think it could get any ...
My daughter is 17, and has been playing soccer since she was 5. I've seen over the years that parents get mellower and mellower. At some point, we realize most of the kids out there aren't going to get scholarships or play professionally. They are having fun, learning teamwork, experiencing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The parents on my daughter's club soccer team generally say "nice!" for a nice touch on the ball, and are quiet the rest of the time. It's very pleasant. And it took years for all of us to let go, and just let the girls play.
As for loud parents - I still see a few. I try to ignore them. You can't control others. But I do feel your frustration. My daughter is a referee, and has officiated games where parents and coaches were so unruly, they were red-carded and sent off the field. Yep, these were games of smaller kids. Those parents set a horrible example. It really does get better as the kids get older. The parents realize it's not actually life and death.
Don't be too hard on yourself. The pacing/yelling woman is the one at fault. Let it go, and look forward to next season.
My Soccer Confession
Since this afternoon, when my daughter's soccer team played their final season game, I've been a bit off centered because of behavior I displayed behind the lines. What set my behavior off was an unbelievably obnoxious mother. She's one we've all seen on the field - the one who yells louder ...
Major cool parent points!! Isn't that great? I have the same problem with my kids - sometimes it's pulling teeth to get them up and out for an event. But once there, they usually love it.
Bravo on the cool blogging mom event!
Tony Who?
Mid-day Saturday, my seven year old son sat in our living room defying me. "I'm NOT going!" "You don't know you don't want to go," I said. "This is going to be so cool -- it's a skateboard event!" "Mom," my seven year old daughter countered, "You think everything is cool." I thought my twins...
That's fabulous! Sounds like the talk happened just as it should.
When my daughter entered 6th grade, I had the "sex" talk with her. http://dadshouseblog.com/2008/07/02/how-to-talk-to-daughter-about-sex/
Kids love having open communication with a parent. I'm sure your daughter is very grateful you had that talk with her. She knows she can come to you with questions.
Not How I Planned It--The Puberty Talk
My daughter is in 5th grade. This is a big year for her. It is her last year in elementary school, it is the year that she will go away to outdoor school, and it is the year that she will learn about puberty during the health education unit on human development. My darling tween has some bas...
Last year I was in San Francisco to watch my daughter play in a soccer tournament. I wanted an apple, and I bought one at a little market near Golden Gate park. It cost me half of what I would have paid at my local Safeway!
Around that time, I was cutting back on restaurants, thinking it would save me money. To my amazement, my grocery bill went up by the same amount. i.e. - I could eat out every night for the same price as cooking.
I put two and two together, and realized Safeway charges Silicon Valley double what you pay elsewhere.
Guess what - I now get my produce from Milk Pail, a small indie market in Mtn View. I rarely pay more than $30 for a week's worth of fruit and vegetables. That alone has made a huge difference in my monthly bill.
Support your local produce stands, and you'll save a bundle.
If My Family Stopped Eating We Would be RICH!
Have you taken a look at your grocery bill lately? I mean have you really broken down all your monthly expenses to figure out where you are spending the bulk of your money? Ya, well if you do - be prepared to be shocked. How I know this is we did, oh how we did and I swear I will never be ...
When I was a teen, we took communal showers after PE class. These days, my teens don't even take a shower, let alone a communal one. They bathe at the end of the day, at home.
The Naked Truth About Swimming in PE Class
Back in the 1950s when my dad was a student in a Chicago Public School, the naked truth was that the boys went swimming in the buff during PE class. As Mark Brown described in a recent column in the Chicago Sun-Times, "This was an organized school activity where gym teachers would order their...
When I was a kid, my family was asked to leave a restaurant because we kids were being cranky and noisy and disturbing the other patrons. The plane thing seems similar. It's not a right to let your kids throw tantrums, and expect everyone around you to simply put up with it. I have no problem at all with Southwest kicking that woman and her kid off the plane.
Extra Extra, Screaming Toddler Thrown Off Plane
I have not yet tuned in to the CNN debate, but it seems everyone's talking about the woman who was taken off the plane when her cranky toddler would not stop crying. It's front page news, the columnists are taking sides, and it's all the talk on the soccer field. It seems we all must choose ...
I have a great David Mott mask. I wear it daily!
(hahahaha. sorry, being silly)
Halloween is Great for Adults!
Halloween is the most bestest holiday in the whole wide world! Think a kid said that? Think again! I'm a middle-aged dad, and I love Halloween. And not just because I like seeing my kids get all costumed up. Halloween is a time when angels can be devils, goody two shoes can be creeps, and the...
Your first sentence is hilarious! I think parenting books are a crock of shit. Relationship books are better - getting along with a spouse or loved one. But raising kids is personal. We all try to correct the mistakes our parents made with us.
As for this line from the book: "And hopefully, Father, if father is present, will refrain from lectures on table manners." - what a crock of shit! Was this book written in the 50s by Beaver Cleaver?
I'm a dad, and I don't have manners, let alone try to correct any! (Haha - tongue in cheek. But I do find that line from the book offensive.)
Your Tiny Terror: Learn to Live With It
After being a mom for almost seven years, it was time to take it to the next level and crack a parenting book. Truthfully I read parenting books when I had a newborn, but that was it. I have a library of Dr. Sears books, most of which have not been touched, but if anything, they make me look li...
I had a wry smile on my face the entire time I read this. Amusing exploration of an amusing topic. I don't think I was ever called Hubby while married, but I find the term more affectionate than demeaning. (Then again, if I actually heard it thrown my direction, maybe I'd wretch. Who knows?
A term for the little woman... hmmmm... (sorry, was that demeaning? haha. Said it on purpose.)
How about Goodwife! Puritanical props, all around.
Do We Men Really Have no Single Word for a Beloved Wife?
I’m an avid reader of mom bloggers, some of the very best of whom post right here. That’s one reason why I’m honored to be a token SV Moms Blog dad, along with the excellent David Mott. One thing I’ve noticed in my blog reading is that women have a word which they can use to refer to their hu...
Silicon Valley homes are so expensive, and a lot of them are small. Factory and cannery workers used to live here. My home cost more than I care to think about, but the kitchen is so small, and has almost no counter space. And yet... I do think about downsizing once my daughter heads to college in a year. My son won't be too far behind her. You can get a lot of house in other parts of the country by selling a home here.
Big House Envy
Our three bedroom, two bath home is small, less than 1,200 square feet. Most of the time the size doesn't bug me. But recently some friends showed off their newly remodeled home—almost double in size to ours. The home was magnificent: grand sweeping cherry Brazilian hardwood floors that ...
It's tough to know when it's okay to let a child quit at something, and when they should push through and stay committed. It's great to overcome obstacles and fears and accomplish something, but there's also value in failure, imperfection, and letting go. It can be a fine line for parents and kids both. Glad your daughter did well and was happy with her performance.
You Can't Quit Until You Learn The Lesson, Kid
Kneeling by her bed in the darkness, I could barely understand the words Boo choked out through frustrated tears: "I don't want to be a gymnast anymore if it feels this baaaaad!" Her first competition was coming up in less than a week. The outrageous competition fees, leotard, sweats, and ex...
My daughter plays high school soccer (U18) and it's very aggressive. Definitely a contact sport. The key is for the parents to remain neutral. Refs will call illegal moves on field. But if the parents get out of hand, it sets a bad example for the kids. Even worse than Brandi's sports bra.
Welcome to the Ultra Competitive World of...U8 Girls Soccer?
My how a season can change things. Though still six, my daughter's birth date put her into the next higher age division - some eight year olds and under - for soccer, which I expected to be more polished than the six and under division where girls occasionally forgot the no hands rule and the...
Funny story telling, but I'm still a little stuck on why the school requires fingerprints for volunteers. I know youth sports performs background checks. But fingerprints? Yikes. Seems a little paranoid to me. But, whatever.
That said, why not just collect a hair from everyone and store the DNA in the teacher's lounge fridge? (haha)
That's the Way I Roll
Late last year our school district put in to place a new requirement for volunteering in the classroom. Anyone who is left alone with the students for any length of time must be finger printed. Okay - fine....oh wait we need to pay for this ourselves? That would be $47.00 thank you very m...
Wow, much to deal with. I agree September is quite busy. I haven't reached the stage where I'm having to help with my folks. But my ex and I help each other whenever one of us is ill.
Sandwich'ed: From Back to School Night to the Nursing Home
April may be the cruellest month, but September is hands-down the busiest month. The last few weeks have been a flurry of back-to-school meetings, new school orientations, backpacks to buy, new soccer teams to get used to and the many other things that make September so hectic. Last week I a...
The good news is, this teacher knows your son has an involved parent. That's great! Teachers love it when they know which parents care. One of my daughter's teachers joked that it's always the A student parents who show up to back to school night. I think this teacher will be great with your child.
Back to School Blunder
This year the back to school night at my kid's elementary school was terrific. I left each child's classroom with optimism and a general sense that they were going to have a great year. However, when I attended my son's middle school night, I went home anxious and wishing that I had kept my ...
What a fun treasure hunt! Brought back memories of my own childhood. I loved creative play like that as a kid. I think it's great he was so into the pirate spirit, he wanted to rush back home and hide the loot from other pirates. Maybe from the very pirate who buried it!
As for not wanting to share the loot - he's a pirate captain for sure. And he figured he needed to share a little, or he'd have a mutiny on his hands. Jack Sparrow, watch out!
Pirate Straight Talk: Are You Gonna Share The Loot?
Every girl dreams of a pirate treasure hunt. At least I have. So, when it came time to plant a treasure map with an "X" to mark the spot, I was bursting with excitement for TJ's first hunt. Our three year old swashbuckler thought we were out for a routine weekend walk to the neighborhood pa...
Your daughter's right - you're a hottie! (Am I aloud to say that here? I don't need any husbands tracking me down. Doh!)
I'm mid 40s. Life just keeps getting better. It's all about letting go of attachments, and enjoying the moment as life unfolds
I am almost f***ing 40
I don't really feel old, I actually feel the same as I did when I was in my twenties. Why is that after about 18 we still feel like the same person - just don't look it? I sort of feel the same was when I graduated high school, when I rushed a sorority, graduated college, got married, bough...
I'm like your sister - self-employed, with minimum health insurance because it's so expensive. I almost never go to the doctor because it will cost me too much. Instead, I try to stay as healthy as possible - diet, exercise, cocktails in moderation (I posted that on SVMoms yesterday: http://www.svmoms.com/2009/08/best-healthcare-plan-diet-exercise-cocktails.html )
My healthcare coverage will pay for major surgeries if I need. Any other medical coverage is pretty much out of pocket for me.
Health Care--Something Needs to Change
My family of six is fortunate to have good health care. My husband works for a company that provides medical, dental and vision plans. Like 80% of Americans (according to Time Magazine’s latest poll), we are happy with the medical coverage we receive. But does this mean we should turn our b...
Bonggamom - I totally agree with you. Some medical conditions can't be beat by diet and exercise alone. Also, part of the reason I wrote this post was because I'm so frustrated with the high cost of healthcare. Maybe it's a defeatist attitude on my part, but it sometimes feels like diet and exercise are the only way I can fight the healthcare system.
I find it ridiculous that, when it comes to setting insurance premiums, someone who eats right and exercises like I do is categorically lumped with other "men my age", even if those other men have unhealthy diets and don't exercise.
I know Blue Shield used to encourage healthy life choices with a "my life path" campaign (not sure if they still promote that). But they charge me the same premium, whether I practice healthy living or not. That's silly! On top of that, rates can go up if I'm diagnosed with a condition, which makes me wonder why I have insurance in the first place.
Forget two aspirin - give me another cocktail, please! :-)
Best Healthcare Plan - Diet, Exercise, and Cocktails
When I started working for myself some years back, I started paying for health insurance without any corporate help. I was shocked at the high cost, especially for the monthly premium. For someone like me who eats right and gets plenty of exercise (I love cycling!), it didn't make sense. My ph...
I work for myself, and pay for my own health insurance. And because rates are so high, I'm basically covered for major surgery catastrophes, and not much else. I have a post up at SV Moms talking about how I stay healthy: http://www.svmoms.com/2009/08/best-healthcare-plan-diet-exercise-cocktails.html
Yeah, the word "cocktails" appears in the title of that post. Maybe that reflects the sad state of healthcare in the US.
There is no there there
I have hesitated to get into this debate because to me, it is much ado about nothing. We don't have an actual bill in the Senate yet. There are (last I heard) 5 different drafts in the House right now. The truth is, no one knows what we're talking about yet, so why get into the mud? Because s...
Yes, some CEOs are bozos. But rookie pro athletes and their agents think the market price for their rookie services should be more than last year's draft class - regardless of whether league finances are on the up or downswing.
This just in: The 49ers top draft pick Michael Crabtree is refusing to sign unless he gets paid more than Oakland's Heyward-Bey who was selected higher than him, because mock drafts that never happened guessed that Crabtree should have gone higher. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=dw-michaelcrabtree080609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Now there is a case of someone negotiating to his full potential! (Summa cum laude graduates in scientific fields, take note.)
2009 NFL Tailgate Party Isn't Leaving My Driveway
Imagine you're offered your first job out of college. It is exactly the line of work you prepared for, the perfect career for you. But rather than show up on the agreed-upon first day of work, you stay home and ask for an extra million dollars or two. Say what?! Let me remind you - you have...
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