Yes, I’m pregnant. And it’s been that way for approximately the last 34 weeks. If you’re following me on Twitter, you’re probably as sick as I am of my pregnancy-related tweets, marvels upon the process, and general observations about how …
Continue ReadingIn the crowded aisles of New York ComicCon, a quiet book called out to me. My eye was drawn to the painterly, slightly retro style, and as I thumbed through the book, I fell in love with all of the …
Continue ReadingIf you grew up in the United States, or if you grew up in Canada and had access to American television networks, you may remember the “Stranger Danger” PSAs. If you are unfamiliar with this campaign, watch: The “Stranger Danger” campaign was a huge failure. Why? One of the reasons it failed is because if […]
Continue ReadingThere are plenty of challenges that we face as parents. Some are simple, like learning how to simultaneously change a diaper, finish a phone call and prevent your child from knocking over everything on the changing table. Others, like helping your child when they’re sick, are a lot more difficult and frightening. As Mom to a […]
Continue ReadingLast week, I had the pleasure, the very wonderful pleasure, of taking my youngest son Sammy to our local indie theater for a viewing of Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey. The film follows the rise of Kevin Clash, puppeteer and voice of every child’s favorite furry, red Sesame Street character, Elmo. With a lot of […]
Continue ReadingThe Walking Dead series on AMC is in its second season and is hugely popular, so it seems only natural that it would be getting its own video game. Although there is no release date yet, sources say that it should be coming in late 2011 or early 2012. It will be available for the […]
Continue ReadingA few days ago, my son Michael had the privilege of being the Master of Ceremonies at the Veterans Day Ceremony at his middle school, Caddo Middle Magnet. He did an excellent job, and I am very proud of him. Why did he get picked to do it? Because the person organizing knew that he […]
Continue ReadingBil Keane, who is best known for creating the comic The Family Circus, has passed away at age 89. He passed away from congestive heart failure after his condition worsened over the last month. When I was young, my parents got the local newspaper every day. Being a kid, my favorite section of the paper was always […]
Continue ReadingI have two boys in my house and watch as they play video games that they like; the ones where you have to beat a level or find the secrets, beat the boss and save the day. My attention span for those kinds of games fell by the wayside about the same time as the […]
Continue ReadingEvery once in a blue moon I get in a crafty mood; I put my laptop aside and take out the paint, scissors and glue. Occasionally, I take my hand-made wares to a craft market, or in this case, a maker’s fair, and sell them to those who might appreciate them. This past weekend, I […]
Continue ReadingHave you seen this strange cartoon that appears Monday nights, on Cartoon Network? It’s called Adventure Time, and I have to admit, my whole family is in love with it. When I say that it is strange, I mean that it is like no other cartoon you have ever watched before. When I say that […]
Continue ReadingWhen I saw the advertisements around my humble town of Shreveport, Louisiana for a production of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, I thought to myself, “Oh, a puppet show. That’s nice; another way to enjoy the story, besides just watching the movie.” After actually experiencing it a few days ago with my husband and 11-year-old […]
Continue ReadingAs a GeekDad, I’ve made an effort to steer my kids on the way towards geekiness, not by indoctrination but by simply exposing them to the geeky things I love and the reasons why I love them. To my delight, …
Continue ReadingA few years ago I would have written a post arguing that no child needs a cell phone, let alone the mini-computing marvel of the contemporary smartphone. But now? I’m a believer. I got my son a smartphone last year as …
Continue ReadingMany of our daily conversations are dominated by some combination of these four topics: Our homes, our partners, our children, and our appearance. This is particularly true for women, as social pressures drive us to focus on these things above all else. However, habit can become stifling, and it’s probably not healthy to fulfill any […]
Continue ReadingWe all know them. The moms who seem to be always doing. Whether they are balancing a chequebook in one hand whilst nursing a babe in the same arm, simultaneously talking on the telephone with the other hand to schedule a playdate for the other sibling, all the while going through the grocery list […]
Continue ReadingDid you count thirteen petals on the Black-Eyed-Susan? It’s fun for kids to count petals on blooming flowers “springing” out of the ground. It’s also a lesson in higher math. Last week I attended the NSTA Conference in San Francisco where I met Sarah C. Campbell, author of the picture book Growing Patterns. Sarah presented […]
Continue ReadingThough I no longer have babies or toddlers in my house, I still appreciate a good product aimed at itty bitty folk. I really enjoy the simplicity and innocence of early childhood books and toys. So when Clavis Books, a Dutch publisher, sent me some unexpected books to review, I was quite pleased. It was […]
Continue ReadingIt’s difficult to explain a situation to your kids when you’re having a hard time wrapping your head around it, too. The scale of the devastation in many parts of Japan after last week’s cataclysmic earthquake and tsunamis is near-incomprehensible …
Continue ReadingIt’s difficult to explain a situation to your kids when you’re having a hard time wrapping your head around it, too. The scale of the devastation in many parts of Japan after last week’s cataclysmic earthquake and tsunamis is near-incomprehensible …
Continue ReadingThe Golden Kite Awards are given each year to the most outstanding children’s books published during the previous year, and written or illustrated by members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. The following blurbs are from the SCBWI Press Release. Jennifer Holm’s novel Turtle in Paradise receives this year’s Golden Kite […]
Continue ReadingAnyone familiar with me knows that I have a camera on my person at all times. If you see me walking down the street, I have a camera. I’m here, therefore I shoot. Wait. My first post for GeekMom and I’ve told a lie. The truth is that I’m usually carrying anywhere from 3 to […]
Continue ReadingSequels. Some are bad. Some are worse. But some match the quality and excitement of the first, perhaps even surpassing it. The sequel to 2009′s A Whole Nother Story, Another Whole Nother Story is everything a sequel should be. It …
Continue ReadingAll parents experience this. When kids reach a certain age, they often become very upset when they make mistakes on a piece of artwork. My daughter, in particular, would get very upset when she messed up a picture, and she …
Continue ReadingThe power of photography plays a huge part in how we think about the Great Depression. For those of us who weren’t alive during that time, we only have what we’ve learned from others to go by. But one of …
Continue Reading*Note: Use discretion when clicking the links to read the discussion and viewing images produced by the TSA scanners as some material is inappropriate for children. As a frequently flying GeekMom, I’ve flown under the old and new guidelines, had …
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You may remember GeekMom’s rollicking sex ed day a couple of weeks ago. Andrea and I posted our respective views on talking to kids about sex, which is way more openly than the average mom, judging from the comments. (Here is Andrea’s post, and mine.) Several commenters on those posts asked for or suggested good […]
Continue ReadingAfter reading my November 16 GeekMom post on talking with your kids about sexuality, one reader, Angie, commented: Ok, immediately, as in right now, go to Amazon, and buy this book: Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid They’d Ask) by Richardson and Schuster…Andrea, this is EXACTLY what you’re […]
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So my kid joined the Cub Scouts. He loves it. His pack is filled with friends from school, and the pack leader, dad to one of the kids, is warm, personable, and willing to play British Bulldog with a gang of screaming ten-year-olds. It’s good. But, oy vey. The Cub Scouts? Really? What about that […]
Continue ReadingMy boys are voracious readers. Sometimes I’ve even been tempted to make them put the books down and do something else. Anything else. A friend of mine tells me that this is a good problem to have. Her son, the …
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