The Hack Mom

This is what happens when boys wake up too early. From this...

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:29:00 -0400

This is what happens when boys wake up too early. From this picture, I can tell that Chris woke up first, threw everything out of his crib then climbed out. Then he threw more toys around, shook the floor lamp, played with the window shade and took the stick securing the window. At some point, Mike climbed into his crib. Then Chris, with the window stick, climbed onto his dresser, knocked over the changing pad and somehow got stuck.

On Saturday, as we hung out outside the Ben & Jerry’s...

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:19:44 -0400

On Saturday, as we hung out outside the Ben & Jerry’s at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, Chris picked up my phone and pretended to talk on it. We noticed when he started holding up his hand, palm up, as if he was exclaiming something to someone on the phone. What could he possibly have been pretending to talk about????

Cookie cookie Sundae!! #hackmom http://bit.ly/ZQYEW8

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:41:43 -0400

Cookie cookie Sundae!! #hackmom http://bit.ly/ZQYEW8

Semantics

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:44:43 -0400

Mike: Mama, I hurt my finger!
Me: Oh no, you hurt your finger? Were you jumping?
Mike: No, I was hopping.
Me: You were hopping? Mike, hopping is the same as jumping.
Mike: *walks away*

Um…where’s Chris? Turns out he climbed out of his...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:42:12 -0400

Um…where’s Chris?

Turns out he climbed out of his crib, then fell asleep on the floor. #hackmom http://bit.ly/ZzQRjD

What a morning

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:43:47 -0400

It’s that time of the month, so of course I am trying mightily to fight off a full-blown migraine. When I went in to wake up the boys and get them ready for daycare, Chris starts heaving while standing in his crib and throws up, so I have to strip the sheets to get the smell out of the room, at the very least. (This is the morning after Mike overflowed his pull-up, leaking onto his pajamas, his sheets and his pillow — which he still insisted on sleeping on last night.)

In spite of all this, they are still such a joy. I love their smiles, I love making them giggle, and their discoveries and new skills amaze me. Maybe one day they will really annoy me, but that day is not today.

Playdate at the Natural History Museum

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:02:03 -0400

The week prior, Mike kept telling me he didn't want to see the dinosaurs and that they were scary. When we walked into this gallery, he yells, "this is awesome!"

We met up with Mike's daycare buddy Fia at the Natural History Museum. They had a blast. Fia's mom said that before we got there (we were late) she was kind of unimpressed with everything.

As you can see, she got a lot more expressive when we arrived!

Yeah so much for the dinosaurs being "scary."

Mike of course enjoying the chimpanzees, which I somehow Instagram'ed as lions. Le sigh.

The 2nd floor kids area had a lot of stuff for them to touch and, ahem, sit on.

Yeah, that's Mike kissing dinosaur bones.

Trinity, as always, spending a lot of time trying to get them on camera. Me, of course, catching him trying to get them on camera.

What's inside here?

Mike was right though -- the Natural History Museum *is* awesome.

Playdate at the Natural History Museum

Strawberry banana smoothies and all of a sudden they’re...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:35:44 -0400

Strawberry banana smoothies and all of a sudden they’re angels. 😇👼 #hackmom http://bit.ly/15e93S6

Um, Chris? Really? #hackmom http://bit.ly/ZhejMO

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:33:25 -0400

Um, Chris? Really? #hackmom http://bit.ly/ZhejMO

Mike is such a talker these days. Yesterday morning, he woke up...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:46:18 -0400

Mike is such a talker these days. Yesterday morning, he woke up and promptly and very seriously began to discuss all the misdeeds his daycare buddy Riley (a girl) perpetrated — pushing him, getting a timeout, etc. When I delivered him to daycare, it turned out those were his misdeeds, not Riley’s. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to capture one of our conversations and finally succeeded earlier this week. There are just some days when Mike is talkative on the way to daycare, and I struggle to get my phone recording and into the right position to catch it. I got lucky.

Sign #451 I'm old

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:22:50 -0400

I just realized if I sing “I’ll be there for you when the gray skies are cold…” to my kids when they’re teens, I’ll get the same look people get when you sing “Come and knock at my door…” now.

"I’ve come to realize that being a mother makes me a better executive, because motherhood forces..."

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:59:36 -0400

“I’ve come to realize that being a mother makes me a better executive, because motherhood forces prioritization. Being a mom gives you so much more clarity on what is important.”

- Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! CEO

When Chris is in this outfit, I call him hip hop, or “hip...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:47:50 -0400

When Chris is in this outfit, I call him hip hop, or “hip hop anonymous.” #hackmom #robschneiderquote http://bit.ly/YLZ7ry

Sign #453 I'm a mom

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:10:11 -0400

While walking to the post office near work in Studio City, I recognized the actress who plays Lexi on Disney Channel’s “Ant Farm.”

We met up with a couple of the other kids from daycare on...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:45:43 -0400

We met up with a couple of the other kids from daycare on Saturday morning at the Skirball Cultural Center to check out Noah’s Ark. I’d been wanting to take the boys here for a while, and when discoverLA came out with its “Discover The Arts” 50% off deal, I jumped on it. I think its safe to say everyone had a really fun time.

kottke.org: Children should be allowed to get bored

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:13:36 -0400

kottke.org: Children should be allowed to get bored:

manvchild:

jkottke:

So says education researcher Teresa Belton:

The academic, who has previously studied the impact of television and videos on children’s writing, said: “When children have nothing to do now, they immediately switch on the TV, the computer, the phone or some kind of screen. The time they spend on…

This is what I call “benign neglect.” I had a happy childhood, but I don’t necessarily remember my parents spending every waking moment entertaining and indulging me. Would I be the incredibly handsome, cool guy that I am today if I hadn’t spent so much time in my room going over my Dungeons and Dragons manuals?

Once your kid has graduated into Tiny Real Person status, they are ready for some benign neglect. It can be hard, but some days you need to push through the immediate insistence on your involvement and become that “old-school” parent that nods off on the couch, lazily watches some boring thing on TV or simply checks out for awhile. Ya know: that horrible dictator who won’t let their kid have the iPad even though they aren’t using it. Boredom is a great catalyst for the imagination!

Totally agree.

Mike is living the suite life. #hackmom http://bit.ly/10vbuMk

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:00:15 -0400

Mike is living the suite life. #hackmom http://bit.ly/10vbuMk

This is what Chris wanted to see at the Laker game. #hackmom...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:29:59 -0400

This is what Chris wanted to see at the Laker game. #hackmom http://bit.ly/106IhVM

You've been Lipped

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:15:37 -0400

Chris loves to take off his shoes and socks right now. He usually does it in the car, but lately he’s been doing it in his high chair. It’s a nuisance, especially considering I’ve been sleeping late these past few days and I need them out the door fast. Anyway, this particular morning, Chris kicked off both shoes, and I put them back on, telling him, “no, no.” After doing something in the kitchen, I came back to find he had kicked off his shoes again. This time, I swatted a foot, and said, “No, Chris! Don’t take off your shoes, no!” while shaking a finger at him.

He looked at me, eyes all big, and his lower lip began to jut out. I swear his eyes just grew bigger as his lip jutted out further, and I broke down laughing. I couldn’t keep going with the scolding. I said to my husband, “I’ve completely lost the effectiveness of this. Look at his lip.”

Anyone have any strategies to keep from being Lipped? Chris has learned this technique all too well.

Toddlers tend not to share, but give it time - latimes.com

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:08:00 -0400

Toddlers tend not to share, but give it time - latimes.com:

I wonder how many of these kids in the study were siblings or only children and whether that affected their ability to share at age 5 or 6. This morning, I was pretty shocked when Chris (who will be 19 months tomorrow) gave back a car he had snatched from his big brother’s hand. I think siblings, especially the ones closer in age, learn to share much earlier.