crazedparent

Camping (sort of)...

In the pre-kid day, the husband and I were big on camping. Week-long camping trips in fact. Hard core camping -- not showers, no bathrooms...just those stinking porta-toilets. Fun stuff.

As we got older -- and had kids -- we've been on one camping trip. For one night. Thirty minutes from our house. And I can hardly call it roughing it when my in-laws brought their sweet trailer. We'd escape from our tents for a few minutes of luxury. And then back to our dirt-dust bowl we'd go. Now you know why we've only been camping once in five years.

But Nol, he really, really wants to go camping. I mean desperately.

Over the weekend, we dragged out the tent and sleeping bags, pitched the tent in the backyard, and Nol camped out under the stars with his pops.

Me? I was snug in my bed with Q. since we were both sick. Luna slept nearby, snoring her little pup heart out.

It was a perfectly gorgeous night for camping. The moon was full. The air was warm with a slight breeze.  We live in between several redwood trees and at 5 am when I took Luna out, I could smell that tell-tale camping smell. Fresh air that kisses your lips when the wind picks up.

For a brief moment, it felt like I was in the woods.  Until I crawled back into bed...and the phone rang.

"Char, I need to use the bathroom. Can you unlock the back door?"

The benefits of camping in your backyard. I highly recommend it (especially if you can be the parent that gets to stay in the house).

Trainwrecks online, "embarrassment forever"...

I sheepishly admit that I have been following the latest train wreck called "Lindsay Lohan." Sure, the images of Britney Spears shaving her head and parading about town in her stupor were outrageous. But something about the photos of Lindsay Lohan apparently passed out in a car from a drunken stupor made me sad. The girl's not even 21 and her young, naive, immature and out-of-control self is now captured on film.

In the words of PC Magazine's editor in chief, Jim Louderback, "embarrassment forever."

Louderback wrote an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle a few weeks ago called, "Media in Our Lives: Embarrassment Forever." He writes, "YouTube, pervasive cell-phone video cameras, and even newer technologies are conspiring to foster an environment where nothing, and I mean nothing, is private."

When I first read Lourderback's article, I immediately thought of not just my blog but my writing overall. Parenting, and stories about my family, are the center and inspiration for many of my articles. I've been pretty tame in terms of what I post. I intentionally leave out stories and photos that could someday be used to embarrass my boys. Or worse yet, haunt them.

You can even take Louderback's story and follow it up with a dose of 'tween cyberbulling -- a recipe for a parental nightmare.

Getting back to La Lohan or Brit Brit, if you're a Hollywood celebrity, you know your life isn't really private to begin with. Behave in the public eye, right? Isn't that what mama always tells you? 

But bad personal judgment and terrible movies aside, no one needs embarrassment forever.

 

Read my stuff at Family.com...

For the past few months I've been doing some writing for Disney's recently revamped parenting site, Family.com. My story assignments have been most fun, largely because they are 100 percent relevant to my parenting realm. Take a read and if you enjoyed them and feel so inclined rate them with lots of stars! (You'll understand when you read the articles!) There's more to come.

-Kids Hobbies That Foster Family Time

-Five Months and Counting: Is Your Child Kinder-Ready?

-All-Purpose Birthday Gifts Under $20

-Family 5: Our Best Educational Toys for First Graders (Ages 4-7)

If you're on the prowl for some new blog reads, take a gander at the Disney Family Parenting Team Advisors (I'm on it, too, and I'm shameless about telling you.)

You are not the alpha...

On the day we picked up our puppy, we had to decide among three adorable, six-week-old black Labs: which one would be our Luna? The boys came with us, and the hubs and I were in a tailspin as the three dogs jumped around in their whelping pen. We picked up each dog, nuzzled them, put them back, watched them play to determine the bully, the wimp, and the one in between. They all had tiny distinctions in appearance, but we honestly had trouble telling them all apart.

Nol didn't. He kept his eyes on one pup. From the moment we arrived, he repeated, "Can we bring her home? Can she be Luna?"

And so in the end, the pup we brought home, the cutie with the few gold specks of fur on her chest -- the one that Nol picked out -- became our Luna.

We asked Nol why he picked that specific puppy: "Because she was the one who was playing the most."

Thunder should have boomed and lightening should have flashed: We had picked the alpha. The wannabe leader of the pack. The devil incarnate.

My assumptions were confirmed tonight when I described Luna's recent behavior at home to her vet. She's been super sweet until the past few days. As I've become tougher on her nipping and biting, she's been acting up -- trying to show me she's in control. The vet told me that within a few minutes of meeting Luna, she could tell that along with her high energy and cuteness*, it's pretty clear that she is going to try to assert herself as the alpha.

Like hell she is.

Tell me, does this little punk look like an alpha?

I think not.

It's gonna' be a long, arduous battle, this tug of war to be leader of the crazedparent pack. And if Luna is anything like the little guy who picked her out, I'm gonna be one tired mama.

But I'll show that bitch who's boss...at least when she's getting a bath.

*This has already been established.

Contests, coverage and cuteness...

In that order, some contests, cool coverage and general cuteness for your Tuesday...

Contests
If you're in the winning mood, you'd best enter these two contests:

-The "Share Maya's Mom" Sweepstakes: If you're not a member of Maya's Mom, go join and start inviting your friends to join. When they accept your invite, you'll be entered into a raffle to win some killer booty (how's that for good SEO?) including a $500 Spa Day, a Pedicure Party, or a night of babysitting on Maya's Mom (No, I will not be doing the babysitting, thankyouverymuch). Get busy -- the sweepstakes closes on Thursday, May 31.

-SV Moms Blog Makeover Contest: If you can plead your case in 750 words or less, you can win this kick-ass list of goodies offered by the SV Moms. Even if you don't think you need a makeover, who wouldn't want to spend a day at the spa, have dinner out, get a personal trainer for two months...and the list goes on. You should also see the other "door prizes." The only thing that really bites is the SV mom bloggers can't enter to win -- what's up with that (wah wah)?

Coverage
-Did you see me? Did you see me? I was on television representin' for Maya's Mom along with Ann Crady and some very cool Maya's Mom members. Does my voice really sound that nasal? God help me.

-SF Chronicle Magazine: Maya's Mom received serious SF Chronicle love over the weekend in the Motherhood Movement. I can't even begin to explain how proud I felt seeing Ann on the cover with her two gorgeous kids, and reading the story that included Maya's Mom and the only Bloggy Noodle I know, Sarah. In my teenage vocabulary, it's very cool and inspiring to work alongside these ladies.

Cuteness
-Say it with me..."Awww."

Happy Tuesday!

On lapses in blog posts: these are the facts...

It's been more than a week since I've posted. I offer no excuses, just honest facts:

-Luna is a sweet puppy, but her infant-like sleeping schedule is kicking my ass. After a week, she's down to one night waking, which is a nice. But still, after an entire year of not being shocked awake at night by crying kids, hauling my body out of a warm, cozy bed to take her outside in the cold night air to "potty up" is a shock to the system.

-Q. turned two on Friday. In celebration, we had a little family fiesta over the weekend and I spent my week preparing for it. A simple party, but I decided to be Crafty Chica and make everything. Including the cake. Perhaps I was inspired by this crafty mama. I went with a jungle theme cake because Q. loves monkeys. I ended up slicing the tip of my finger as I tried to cut a piece of Tootsie Roll, and for a few moments my husband thought I would be spending the night in ER waiting to get stitches. Alas, no such luck for a few moments of silence for me. Just a painful cut that does not allow me to play the guitar for the time being (Wksocmom, you must know I blame you for this travesty).

But the cake? Let's just say I'm pretty proud of myself...

-Truth be told, I'm having too much fun watching the boys enjoy their new puppy.

These are the facts. But stick around, there's more to come.

More puppy cuteness...

I can't resist. Come on, now, who doesn't love cute puppy faces?

A new addition to the crazedparent family...

I am so excited to announce that we have a new member in the crazedparent family.

Meet Luna, the "real" wonderpet.

She's all of six weeks old, and the cutest black Lab ever. Just think of the stories to come...

Forgotten family...

My husband is one of my biggest writing supporters. He always finds wonderfully written stories and shares them with me because he knows I'm always trying to improve my style. He also knows that I appreciate the fine art of storytelling.

This morning, he handed the newspaper over to me and told me to read "Forgotten Family" by legendary LA Times sportswriter writer Bill Plaschke. "It's a good feature style."

The boys had finished their breakfast and went off to play. I sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast and reading. The story was about the family of former LA Dodgers pitcher Tim Crews. In 1993, Crews was killed in a boating accident. At the time, my husband and I had discussed how Crews had been drinking and drove his boat with a few teammates. One was killed along with Crews; the other, seriously injured. And Crews left behind his wife and three young children. It was heartbreaking and so terribly tragic.

I was barely 100 words into the story...and I was crying as Plaschke wrote about Crews' now college-aged son, Shawn, missing "the father's touch." My tears went on for the rest of the story. And Plaschke even admitted that as he met with Crews' family, interviewed them, shared stories about Crews, they all cried -- himself included.

I was torn at the end of the story. Plaschke gave this family what they so desperately wanted and needed: memories of a man they loved and lost. Shawn Crews was only four years old when his dad died. And as he says in the interview, he doesn't even remember his dad's voice.

Yes, Crews' family needed to hear what Plaschke had to share.  But then he turned around and wrote about it. The story seemed so intimate. A side of me felt like Plaschke shouldn't have published it. Yet, I'm so grateful that he did. My husband was right -- it is such a well-written feature. I learned from it.

But perhaps most important, I remembered Tim Crews. As did so many other readers. Tim Crews and his family are no longer forgotten.

My post cannot do Plaschke's article justice. Please do read it.

True friends...

Not one. Not two. Three.

Three friends (you know who you are) sent me instant messages over the course of five minutes on Monday night to tell me that I must watch the night's episode of Dancing with the Stars when the video is available on ABC. Why? Because cutie Apolo and his partner danced to Rick Springfield's song, Jessie's Girl.

If those ladies aren't true buddies, I just don't know who is.