The day has finally come.

For years, my son, The Boy, has had a computer and video games at his disposal. I've never had to put limits on how many hours he spends playing video games. He has always preferred to play outside - which obviously I've taken as a source of pride.

Well, now with this Rock Band phenomenon, that has all changed. I wrote a few weeks ago about how we played over Thanksgiving with a friend's game. I… Read More

Last week, The Boy quit Cub Scouts. I let him, but I'm not sure I did the right thing.

See, he didn't quit because he didn't like it. He was all into the activities, camping, sleepovers, songs, games, and all the other kid stuff that, frankly, drives this mommy nuts.

He quit because his former best friend has become a bully. My son says the friend pushes him around, tries to tell him what to do, and is just no fun anymore.

So, The… Read More

It hit me this week, as I was talking to a co-worker just getting into triathlons: Oh yeah! Triathlons are fun!

I think in the craziness of last year's Ironman I forgot that. With all the rigidity I imposed on myself - all the rules - the idea of having fun definitely took a back seat.

But triathlons are fun. Swimming, riding a bike, and running are enjoyable. Training with other people, especially my best girlfriends, offers me a productive way to… Read More

My baby, The Girl, came home from school recently with this pronouncement:

"I am the fattest girl in my class!"

Just like during this fall's crisis - she is not blonde, therefore she is not "pretty" - I was caught completely off-guard. I didn't know children of that age could have a negative body image!

And just as my daughter is not ugly, she is also not fat. If I were to compare her to the other little girls in her class,… Read More

Lately, Saturday night is game night in our household. John and I let our friends know we'll be home and invite them to come on over with their kids. We never really know who will show up, but people always do!

We do know we'll have a blast playing games. Sometimes we go with Rock Band for the Xbox 360, or sometimes we get physical with Wii Sports. And still other times we go for old-fashioned non-electronic games. The most… Read More

So, once upon a time, there was a mommy who held a full-time job, trained for an Ironman triathlon, worked full-time in software development, and only needed six hours of sleep a night.

Then one day, autumn in Seattle arrived, and that mommy disappeared!!!

Okay, seriously, last night: 13 hours of sleep. The night before: 14. Now, I admit to staying up all night on New Year's Eve, but still...for weeks, I've been in this pattern of being able to sleep longer… Read More