DC Metro Moms

Safety Gates on the Internet?

As a young mom I safety proofed my house, used car safety seats until the kids were 8 years old, held hands when we crossed a parking lot, and cut their food in to teeny tiny pieces. You might think that I would be relieved to remove the last door knob cover, but safety proofing doesn’t end when your child can open a door. Now that my children are no longer babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, why would I let down my guard?

When my oldest first asked to go online she was about 5 or 6. She had heard a commercial. She desperately wanted to go to Nickjr.com to play Blues Clues. I sat with her as she clicked around in the games. l taught her to stay on the Nick website. Her Nick days faded when a friend told her about Club Penguin. Club Penguin was pushed aside when Webkinz hit Hallmark stores and everywhere. Webkinz were the Silly Bandz of 2008.

Holding Firm...or Not

My husband and I do not see eye to eye on all parenting issues. Sometimes I am the heavy in the argument. The one who pushes my agenda down his throat. Occasionally he is the one who is insistent on an issue. There is one issue that we agree on. One issue that we both declared was a topic not up for discussion or consideration. Contact sports.

As a young couple -- we met when I was just-21 and he was almost 20 -- we quickly moved from getting-to-know-you conversations to deep discussions. I was a senior in college, while he was a junior. We weren't engaged. Nor had we dated long. It sounds strange to think about now, but we did talk about marriage, kids, and even death.

We talked about what we would name our due in the distant future kids. We tut-tutted at the way a couple at our health club brought their young kids to late night wallyball game. (Wallyball? I am dating myself now...big time. Wallyball was played in a racquetball court.) Sports was a big topic of conversation for us.

My husband is a sports nut. Nowadays he plays sports, watches games, coaches our children, and plays video games. As a kid, he played very few sports due probably to the long hours his dad worked and his mother's health. I have never played a team sport, except for P.E. classes. We both agreed that our children would play sports. My husband was excited to coach the kids in ANY sport. I wanted my children to have something that I missed out on -- the experience of being part of a team. We liked the idea of our future offspring being a part of a team.

It Was the Best of Birthdays, It Was the Worst...

O.K., perhaps that title is an exaggeration. I know that my 21st birthday was probably the worst as I had two finals and a paper due that day. You know that I celebrated in a huge way after my finals. You know since it was my first time drinking "wink, wink." This year's birthday had high highs and extremely low lows.

I am not one of those people who dwell on birthdays. I did not mind turning 40. In fact, I quite like milestone birthdays. As a kid I was ecstatic to be double digits. I remember being thrilled to find out I was pregnant a month before my 30th birthday. For some reason, I needed to see that red line before my 30th birthday. Of course, I was so early in my pregnancy that I had not told anyone. At my 30th birthday party, my friends were astounded that I did not drink any alcohol. Not that I was a lush or anything...

It's Elementary, My Dear Watson

As a young mom, I measured the passing of the day by signs. The arrival of the elementary school bus would signal that the world was awake and ready to get down to business. Now, my little ones may have been up for hours, but the school bus signaled the start of our official day.

I would see the huge-to-me kids staggering on the bus with too-big backpacks and cute lunch boxes. Occasionally one of the kids would tote an enormous display board or a bulky project. It took me some time to realize that the display boards were for the elementary school science fair.

Is there anything more fun than a media center full of Science Fair projects? The eager kid standing sentry beside her science board ready to answer questions. Or, the resigned expression on the face of the shy child who could think of nothing worse than explaining his project to a fellow student or a parent. The Science Fair is the embodiment of the spirit of learning in the elementary school. At my children's school, there are no ribbons or prizes awarded to students. There is no drama about who won or lost. The Science Fair is about kids doing a project they care about with a little help from their parents.

Whoops! I Did It Again!

It does not seem possible that in three months I have had three dead batteries. In my first 20 or so years of driving I had exactly one dead battery. Three dead batteries? In three months? My only question? Which kid turned on the interior light!?

Back in ‘88, I had no kids to blame for my predicament. I was a young editor commuting to D.C. each day. I parked on what is now I-370 -- it was then the satellite parking lot for Shady Grove Metro. I was a new college graduate with my first set of wheels. A Mustang. Now don’t get excited…my Mustang was the LX model with the 2.3 liter engine. My wheels were not turbo charged, but they were my wheels.

I arrived back at my car after a long day of work followed by a long commute. My commute involved walking to Dupont Circle Metro, taking the Red Line train to Shady Grove with hopefully no “this train stops at Grosvenor” moments, and finally boarding the shuttle bus to the satellite parking lot on 370. Now you can see why I prefer working from home.

Unfriending The Washington Post

I have a confession to make. I stopped my subscription to The Washington Post...and I don't regret it. As a resident of the DC Metro area since the end of my sophomore year in college, I should feel a twinge of guilt. Shouldn't I?

The crux of the matter is that I was the only one reading it. My son was a kindergartner when I stopped the subscription. He loved the comics. He's now a good reader who can check out a graphic novel from the library. We read the graphic novel together. My middle daughter is more interested in rereading the Twilight books. She has not noticed the lack of a daily newspaper. My teen gets all her news from her friends on Facebook or by clicking on news clips from the MSN homepage. My husband hates change of any kind. I moved the travel coffee mugs from the cupboard to the pantry...he has still not forgiven me. He argued strongly with me when I said I was stopping the subscription. He periodically mentions the lack of a newspaper, but has not purchased one since I stopped the subscription.

Is It Too Much to Ask for a Toilet That Flushes?

My needs are simple... I need a toilet that flushes...all the time! That's it!

As newlyweds, my husband and I were fortunate to be able to buy a small townhouse. We purchased a new toilet seat, towel rack, toilet brush, and toilet plunger to make the new-to-us bathroom clean and fresh. I'm not sure why we bought the plunger. It was more of a decorative(?) rather than functional element. I'm sure a Home Depot salesperson told us we needed to have one.

Our toilet plunger is still going strong. Sadly, the plunger is put to good use multiple times per week. We have a plunger in each bathroom. Simply put we cannot function without the toilet plunger. Our toilets are temperamental and fussy. You never know when one will overflow. It takes all my strength to plunge the toilet...not quite the workout I envisioned.

Mommy, Do You Have a Job?

I work. I work hard. I don’t earn a steady paycheck or get benefits. I frequently go without an atta boy or praise. I have not had a job evaluation or raise in years. But, I work.

For the last 14 years, I have toiled away at home out of the spotlight. Six years as a WAHM. Six years as a SAHM. Now I am back as a WAHM. My job changes have gone without fanfare. When I quit my WAHM job to stay at home, I did not send out a press release to alert the media. No, I simply finished all my editorial assignments, said goodbye to my in-house editor contacts, stopped going in to my home office, and picked up the mop. Actually, I rarely pick up a mop, but you get the idea.

My girls -- who were 3 and 6 -- barely noticed my work-to-home transition because I had always worked when both were in preschool, napping, at nighttime, or when their dad was home. After a work hiatus of 6 years, I rejoined the workforce as a blogger, freelance writer, and brand representative. To me my new work assignments constitute a job, but family and friends are not convinced.

Why is it so hard for everyone to understand that I have a new job? My job is not a traditional job. I have neither a boss nor a job description. I don’t punch a time clock or get a steady paycheck. My commute does not include the Beltway or the Metro.

High School? How Can This Happen?

I had thought about writing a post about the snow, but really even I am "snowed" out. But, wait volleyball is in full swing. I could write about trekking from tournament to tournament following my daughters' teams. But... maybe another time. I definitely need to write about what I am going to do with the rest of my life...but I need to figure that out first. Baby steps...

Do you ever have a post brewing in your head that you know you need to get down on paper, but can't? I have a post that I need to write, but if I write it I can no longer ignore the reality of the situation. It's nothing to do with the health of my family or a possible move across country. But, it is a life-changing event for our family and my oldest daughter.

Warning: Saccharine, sugary sweet, and sappy paragraphs ahead. Watch for falling cliches. You have been warned.

When my daughter was born I could barely visualize her starting school, let alone graduating from high school. She was a tiny, delicate baby. So vulnerable. So in need of my care and support. I was adamant that I would look after my daughter 24/7 with my husband as my wingman and my mother on call.

As my daughter approached her 2nd birthday, I could no longer ignore that my life as part WAHM and part SAHM was in dire straits. I was exhausted keeping up with my toddler during the day while working on editorial assignments at naptime, after her bedtime, and on weekends. Oh, and did I mention I was newly pregnant, too??

Musings on Being Snowbound

I'm sitting here in dampish sweatpants with my hair plastered against my head. Why? I'm grabbing a quick moment to write this post. I raced inside after clearing the remaining mounds off snow off the driveway and walkway. With a teen, a tween, and even a 6-year-old snowbound at home, I am finding computer time tough to find. It would seem that Bejeweled, Facebook, downloading iphone apps to the iTouch, Yoursphere, Webkinz, Club Penguin, and Funbrain are all far more important than Mommy's work.

I'm back! I wrote the first paragraph of this post almost 48 hours ago. Why has it taken me so long to get back to this post? I'll tell you why...the Musings from Me household is in full snowbound mode. In order to finish this post before the spring thaw, I am employing the good ole bullet list.

What Snowbound looks like in our house: