Are your smoke alarms up to snuff?

The fear of fire is always on my mind. Maybe it’s because I’m married to a firefighter. For me, that means that a bon voyage off-to-work-hug-and-kiss-fest is rarely complete without me sending one stupid and pleading thought out into the universe: please, please don’t let anything terrible happen. Maybe it’s because being married to his man also means always being reminded to unplug the toaster after using it and directed to notice where the emergency exits are when we take our seats in a theater. (Trust me, no matter how handsome he is, this is always an awkward start to a night.) Maybe it isn’t marriage but motherhood that’s made fire a threat that’s always in the back of my mind. My most distinct…

Why feeding a toddler is like a high octane sport

No meal with Isla would be complete without one cool shot of adrenaline, poured especially for me. It’s served straight up my spine, numbness across the chest, heart pumping through the ears, fingers tingling. She offers it in the kitchen, when my back is turned away from her. I’m facing the counter, slicing and dicing her serving of whatever’s on the menu. I hear her gentle coughing, then a sharp gag, then a moment of silence that lasts an odd second too long. The instant I whip around to face her—those cherub cheeks flushed red, her eyes uncertain, more silence—the adrenaline shoots right through me with a lone thought, She’s choking! Oh my god! This time, she’s really choking! Though I’ve thought this a couple…

Clueless about Cavities?

Remember Alicia Silverstone? I give her kudos for vowing to live The Kind Life and all…but there’s a wildly good chance that girlfriend’s putting her adorable little son, Bear Blu, at big risk for cavities. (Sorry, sister! The only reason I’m calling you out as being clueless about cavities is because, up until a few days ago, I was too.) Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Where’d she come up with that name for her kid?” (No, you’re too grown-up to judge, right? Of course, of course, me too!) No, what you’re really thinking is, “Old news!” because you’ve already seen the video of Alicia swapping spit with her son in an attempt to help him chew up his food—you and at least 169,000 other people, according…

Animal Pancakes and What Cheese Can Teach Us about Love

Warning to those traveling to the Netherlands with children: Wanneer u een dier Pannenkoek van het kindermenu in The Pancake Bakery bestellen, wees dan niet verbaasd als het wordt geserveerd overgoten met een gevulde slang en een aantal Zweedse vis zoals snoep die ervoor zorgt dat je kleintje zeggen “woooooooah!” (P.S. The translation is found later in this post so you’ll soon be in-the-know if only you have the patience to continue reading.)Diehard fans of this blog (you know who you are) may jump the gun and use Google Translate to discover the secret in that sentence. Those who speak Dutch will have little idea of what I’m saying as I’m quite sure my use of the language is a disaster. For everyone else, suffice to…

Snack-tivism!

Yes, I’m a thief. And proud of it, thank you! I stole following gem of a term, Snack-tivism from my favorite real-mom nutritionist, Sally Kuzemchak, M.S., R.D., who coined it (or a new, extremely apropos use of it!) in this brilliant blog post. Sally’s a trailblazer when it comes to improving kids’ snack habits. Not only does she feed her own children nutritionally appropriate snacks, she takes it a step further by proactively working to change the food environment her kids face on a day-to-day basis, like at day camp or as members of sports teams. Sally has four steps for being what she calls ‘that mom’ at kids’ camps, schools and sporting events; they’re exactly the kind of food activism we need to up the quality…

Feeding Isla

Posts from the “Life” Category

Are your smoke alarms up to snuff?

Why feeding a toddler is like a high octane sport

Clueless about Cavities?

Animal Pancakes and What Cheese Can Teach Us about Love

Snack-tivism!