Entries Tagged 'thoughts' ↓

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My apologies to my regular readers. I know I’ve been a little AWOL this past week. I spent most of it dedicating my time to a book sale at one of my kids’ schools. Remember the book fair last fall? Well…this event was markedly different from that one.

For decades, our PTO has run the fair in the fall. We have dozens of volunteers and even make a floor plan for the set up. We buy funky decorations and just go all out. In some years, the co-chairs have even served passed hors d’oeuvres for the teachers during their special preview day. We toned that down a bit, but still…we make a ton of money, have a lot of fun and, most important of all, we get books (thousands of them!) in the hands of kids and their teachers.

But last week’s shindig was supposed to be different. Not as big, not as much planning, not as many volunteers.

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As I post these photos, I keep thinking: “My kids love to eat pizza and enjoy cooking. Why do I ever order out? Pizza has to be one of the easiest things to make…”

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I’ve been Twittering about how much I wanted a WiiFit and guess what?! I have one!

Even better than that simple fact, though, is the story about how I managed to snag one of these treasured new Nintendo gems.

After a long, exhausting day entertaining 30 people at my home while a couple of sick kids sat in my playroom all day long, I remembered that this day was the day the game would be released for sale at all of our local game stores. Rats! I had been so caught up in my party that I forgot my plan — because I did not pre-order the game, I intended to go to the store when it opened to try to get one of the extra games. I had been advised by one of the game store guys that they usually get a couple extras (beyond the number of pre-orders). But I blew it. Forgot to go. By the time I remembered, I was not at all in the mood to go out and drive to the store (and I didn’t think I had much of a shot at getting one so late in the afternoon anyway).

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Technical difficulties.

That’s what a couple hundred people encountered the last time they tuned in to the podcast on Soapbox Radio .

That’s when, on Soapbox Radio’s premier podcast , I was lucky enough to interview BusyDad Jim , author of the Busy Dad Blog and BusyDad Tales . Okay, granted, it doesn’t quite compare to this interview , but it was fun! Trouble is … about 99% of the listeners couldn’t hear a thing.

It was a mess, but we look back on it and laugh because - here’s the good news - he agreed to another interview!

I love second chances. I give them to my kids all the time. So, let’s just consider the first podcast a dry run and the second show the real thing. Download either one (or both!) by clicking here .

My husband is a brilliant man. Very knowledgeable. About many things. I don’t say that to brag, rather to highlight his ability to answer our kids’ questions in many areas, including obscure historical facts and tidbits. But when it comes to math? He’s not their go to person. I am.

And I have to admit…it feels pretty darn good.

Sometimes I feel pretty inadequate when I don’t know the answers to questions about Greek mythology (was never a passion of mine) or ancient Rome (ditto).

But math? I love math. I tutored Calculus in college. I probably should have majored in Applied Mathematics. It’s exciting to me. Magical. Actually, I’ve been known to lecture the kids about the magic of math and to do so with a sparkle in my eyes and a smile on my face.

And you know what? My kids love math. I don’t mean to be smug; I mean, I’m not giving myself all the credit for that fact. But I bet it doesn’t hurt that I can get pretty excited about the Pythagorean Theorem . Or that I’ve told them about the navy t-shirt (I even remember the color) I used to have when I was around ten with a sketch on it that looked something like this:

Yeah, I’ve always loved math. In fact, when I was around my daughter’s age, special time with my dad consisted of his teaching me about the Base 10 system and slide rules . Woohoo!

So…why not celebrate it? I don’t shove it in their faces or insist that they learn about the slide rule before ever using a calculator (which is what my dad did with me). But they’re well aware of my passion for math. And they don’t hesitate to come to me with any questions that arise as they tackle daily homework.

And? It makes me feel good when they do.

I can’t wait until they start Calculus. Woot!

Every pre-teen and early teen I know is obsessed with this book:

Written by Rick Riordan, it’s the fourth book in a series (with one more book expected) and the kids tell me that it’s the most exciting of all.

Have a reluctant reader in your house? Show them this video:

Not mind blowing by any means, but it may at least get him/her interested.

You could also try this website, called simply Percy Jackson.

In the words of my son, “It’s a great book. Very exciting page turner. My favorite book. The whole series was intensely awesome.”

And my daughter? “These are the best books I’ve ever read. Especially Battle of the Labyrinth. Absolutely amazing. Really.”

And, hey, there’s even a summer camp modeled after the camp in the series (sold out this year, though).

If you’ve read the terrific blogs, Busy Dad Blog and BusyDad Tales , you’ll understand why I express such excitement about his guest spot on my new podcast. Here’s the promo video for the show, Soapbox Radio .

Want to know what that big announcement was? You’ll have to listen to the show!

To download the podcast, visit the Soapbox Radio site by clicking here .

We here at Soapbox Mom are excited about the latest addition to the site - a podcast called Soapbox Radio. It’s a show for moms, dads, men, women, and kids about anything and everything. I kicked off the show by highlighting bloggers, particularly those whom I know relatively well and think are just so amazing that I want the world to hear about them. I’ll have show notes and links after the shows as well as previews about upcoming shows right here on Soapbox Mom and also on my Soapbox Radio site.

I’m especially excited to say that on Tuesday, May 13 I was joined by my first guest, BD (or Jim) author of the Busy Dad Blog and BusyDad Tales - the comic (illustrated by Jim’s childhood friend, Jeff Day). Jim is a tremendously talented guy with an adorable young son, whom he fondly refers to as Fury. You can see Jim and Fury in the entertaining videos on his site and read all about them on both sites.

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Walking around the streets near Columbia University in Manhattan on a beautiful spring day, I stopped abruptly when I saw the sign. It said “Tom’s Restaurant” on one side of the building and “Restaurant” on the other. I stared for a moment or two, then grabbed the arm of another chaperone and said, “Wait. We have to stop. Do you recognize that place?” As soon as she saw it, she knew.

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