Decades after we last ran between high-school classes and around the campus track and field, Jeremy Toback sent me an e-mail to say hello and talk about our common interest of family music. Jeremy’s been performing and recording for many years, but he’s never sounded so good as on his newest album, C’mon (a review of which will appear on this site in a coupla weeks). In the meantime, check out this free song to hear what makes the duo of Renee and Jeremy such a warm and vibrant treat for the early holiday season.
In the world of TV, things happen fast, so read the following and, if you know someone in Los Angeles who can call the number below today, you could be a tube star before you can say, “Gee, these strained carrots look good on my button-down shirt.” By the way, the show correspondent mentioned below is likely to be the beautiful mom and TV personality, Brooke Burke.
Tim Palazzola of the the daytime medical show, The Doctors, is helping produce a segment on family health; they are looking for Stay At Home Dads to participate.
Specifically, they are looking for a Stay At Home Dad that has more than one kid (ages 1 - 14) that is some what new to being at home during the day and has questions/ concerns about managing the household while his wife is at work. They have a special medical correspondent that we would like to send to that dad’s house to help him get things in order. The feeling of the piece is very positive, triumphant, and fun.
They are looking to start work this week, so any interest is appreciated. Call 323.956.8627 for more information. Good luck, dads!
Many of you have kids who are teenagers or are getting there all too fast. With this in mind, I am teaming up with the Mom’s Choice Award winning site, Radical Parenting. Writer-publisher Vanessa Van Petten brings teen writers to topics about parent-child communication, online safety, and more. I will present articles by her writers on my site and she will offer some of my work for the teens to read. Check out my first posting for them, Middle Earth…
My oldest son is entering middle school and I’m wondering who tinkered with my clock? Wasn’t it just the other day that I was in middle school? Wasn’t I so afraid of talking to other kids that I lugged a heavy book bag to avoid locker conversations and never showered after PE because of embarrassment? Wasn’t I too clueless to appreciate the smiles of Jaynee Strickstein and didn’t I choose to sit alone in my room reading about The Hobbit’s Middle-earth?
For me, reality is sinking in. I’m middle-aged. And if my son’s transition to the next level of school isn’t symbolic enough, there are other signs. Two icons of my junior high years, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, prematurely exited the world. My back muscles spasm if I look the wrong way. Facebook reconnects me with friends and pictures from my elementary through high-school years (did I really part my hair in the middle and wear such tight swim trunks?).
I stop the 8-track rewind to consider my first born. The one who had baby thighs like the Stay Puft marshmallow man and giggled hysterically when I crawl-chased him through our apartment. The one who liked to flash his size 4 superhero underpants to everyone because he thought he was cool. The one who just yesterday learned to read the picture book George Shrinks.
Years ago, I ventured into writing children’s stories and had the good fortune of taking a class taught by Michelle Markel. Markel has the curiosity of a child and the verbal acumen of a master poet. So, it’s an honor to have the chance to recommend her latest picture book, Tyrannosaurus Math. Now, I admit to being skeptical about mathematics ever being fun. Yet, with Markel’s nifty numerical wordplay (”It seemed like nothing could stop that bone munching, number crunching Tyrannosaurus Math.”) and the fruit-flavored illustrations of Doug Cushman (whose work includes a personal favorite, What Dad’s Can’t Do), I had a dino-rific time reading with my four year old. In fact, when my son wasn’t giggling at the lead character nicknamed T-Math, he was inspired to stop me after each page spread so he could make up his own (mostly incomprensible) math equations.
Tyrannosaurus Math is hip, entertainingly instructive, and playfully carnivorous — at one point, T-Math puzzles out a division problem and splits a horde of hadrosaurs into thirds with his brother and sister. Knowing her audience, Markel engages her early elementary school readers with themes of coming of age, family bonding, adventure, and tried-and-true dinosaur power. For teachers and academic-minded parents, there’s a math skills page at the end of the book to point out the examples of arithmetic problems T-Math tackles. The book has so many courses of verbal and visual sustenance, it should nourish children over dozens of readings.
Being a parent involves a sturdiness that goes beyond mental or emotional strength. It also involves an ability to handle other beings’ illnesses and bodily excretions (some of which might actually fly) and additional disgusting stuff. I’ve written about my own journey from fearful clean freak to intrepid germ wrangler in a column called “Grosser Than Gross.” In light of all the current concerns about germs and the various influenzas that could infect our families, Parenting magazine published a riveting piece on the “4 Grossest Kid Health Problems.” It’s unsettling to read about pinworms, scabies, ringworms, and lice, but the info is good to know so you don’t think your child is being attacked by micro outer-space aliens.
