Don’t Drown in Paper

 Posted by Lisa on May 7, 2010  General  No Responses »
May 072010
 

I know with all this technology our society was supposed to go paperless. I don’t know about you but I am still at times overwhelmed by the amount of paper I have in my house. Tomorrow is my town’s bulk shredding day for personal papers and I am looking forward to it–sorta.

My organized friend Chris always reminds me as does a little flyer that comes in the mail from my town. This bulk day saves hours of sliding one paper at a time into the shredder. My friend and I commiserate about all the paper we have accumulated–bills, work files, receipts with personal info–and then we talk about how much stuff in closets and crawl spaces we have to wade and sort through to get it together–but we do. We are committed to making this day happen one time a year and it helps keep us from becoming one of those people on shows like A&E Hoarders and TLC’s Hoarders: Buried Alive.

Here’s what I have learned about getting rid of paper: Continue reading »

A Dad’s Point-of-View, by Bruce Sallan – A Rock ‘N’ Roll Dream Come True!

 Posted by Bruce on May 6, 2010  General, Teenagers  No Responses »
May 062010
 

A Rock ‘N’ Roll Dream Come True, by Bruce Sallan

On May 3, 2010, my son’s dreams came true! He went to see his idol Chris Cornell at a benefit acoustic concert at The Roxy, on Sunset Blvd, in Hollywood, California. With his girlfriend Logan, they pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Cornell was playing acoustic guitar with only a cello as back up.

At a pause between songs, Arnie shouts out, “Hey, Chris, I have a question for you” and gets his attention, to which Chris asks, “Yes, what is it?” Arnie then shouts, “It’s been my lifelong dream to jam on one song with you.” Cornell says, “Well, what do you play and do you have a song in mind?” Arnie replies, “I’ve been playing guitar for 6 years and I want to play Fell On Black Days” at which point the crowd is shouting to Chris, “Let him, let him!”

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Just Be Yourself

 Posted by Tracy on May 5, 2010  General  2 Responses »
May 052010
 

Recently my friend Lisa and I were talking and laughing and talking and laughing and laughing and laughing and I thought it would be cool if we recorded our convos. Well, next thing we knew we were hitting the record button and almost 2 months later we have shot and produced 7 videos for our YouTube comedy show called LOL Life with Tracy and Lisa.

It’s just two chicks poking fun at life. You can call our show sketch comedy mixed in with improv with sometimes a spiritual slant, a politically incorrect slant or whatever slant we are in the mood for that day.

This process has really served to help me see that the me I thought I was openly showing to the world has been in hiding. Well the real me has decided to stop hiding and let the world see how frequently wacky I am. And you know what, as scary as it is, it’s very liberating at the same time. Continue reading »

A Dad’s Point-of-View, by Bruce Sallan – My 13-Year-OId “Know-It-All”

 Posted by Bruce on May 4, 2010  General  No Responses »
May 042010
 

My 13-Year-Old “Know-It-All” by Bruce Sallan

There’s nothing new dealing with teens that think they know it all, but recently I’ve found that my 13-year-old is making me crazy with his attitude. I’ve got another teen at home – his 16-year-old brother, so I do have some experience living with a teen, but it doesn’t get any easier!

David and I occasionally go on short ski trips together, without his step-mom or older brother, and that is when David’s attitude tends to fully blossom. This “attitude” manifests itself in his regularly contradicting everything I say, questioning why he has to do something I ask him to do, and generally being constantly contrary.

Of course, being the mature dad and parenting writer that I am, my reaction is completely mature and appropriate. I yell, stamp my feet, and otherwise act like a five-year-old, which naturally only aggravates the situation. David, in response, acts just like a 13-year-old and pouts, muttering to himself about what an idiot I am. The result is a stalemate in which we’re both unhappy. Continue reading »

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Happy Mother’s Day to all moms and dads

 Posted by Patrick on May 3, 2010  General  No Responses »
May 032010
 

I always look forward to Mother’s Day as it gives me a chance to shower appreciation on my mom for all the great stuff she did for her 8 children way back in the day. It also gives me a chance to show my appreciation to my child rearing mentor, my older sister. Addtionally, I enjoy discussing with my, now teenaged, children; the wonderful ideas for them to celebrate their mom on Mother’s Day. I also, sneakily, love the fact that every Mother’s Day I get a card from my older sister since, as a long time divorced dad, she acknowledges and celebrates the “mothering” that I have done for my children.

I even mention, as a chapter in my parenting book (“DIVORCED DADS’ RULES FOR RAISING RELATIVELY STABLE KIDS”) that divorced dads (and frankly all dads) can play a role as both a mother and a father to their children.

That chapter in my book is called “Go Buy a Flowered Apron” and is all about doing the things that are necessary at the appropriate time. Nothing has touched me quite like getting Mother’s Day cards from my sisters, to honor the maternal aspect of my parenting. Continue reading »

72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life

 Posted by Bill on May 3, 2010  Dealing with Divorce and Your Ex, General, Getting Your New Life In Order, How to Communicate with Your Kids, Organizing, Raising Children as a Single Parent, Taking Time for Yourself  No Responses »
May 032010
 

I was recently looking for ways to simplify my life when I came upon this great article from www.zenhabits.com. I wanted to share it with all of you since I believe that in order to find balance in your life, you must first simply your life. I know that 72 tips is allot to absorb so feel free to scroll down and pick out what you believe most appliy to you. My hope is that you will find a few tips that will bring you balance and peace in your life.

The Short List
For the cynics who say that the list below is too long, there are really only two steps to simplifying:

  1. Identify what’s most important to you.
  2. Eliminate everything else.

    3. Continue reading »

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What Did You Call Me?

 Posted by Brooke on May 2, 2010  Balancing Work and Children, Dealing with Divorce and Your Ex, General, Raising Children as a Single Parent  1 Response »
May 022010
 

Yesterday I was in a  meeting with two single moms. One of them said she had met a woman the night before who refuses to be called a single mom, but a co-parent. “Genius,” I thought.

When meeting someone and they learn that I am a “single mom” the look on their face is always the same. Their expression goes from engaged to worrisome and sympathetic. “Oh wow! It must be so hard to be a single mom!” I quickly interject that my sons’ father and I share custody and I am not doing this completely on my own. I don’t want to mislead anyone. A single parent has faces struggles that I don’t have. I don’t deserve that credit. But that doesn’t mean that what I do is easy.

The world has a cut and dry view of what single parent means. But in reality there are two basic categories of single parents. There is the quintessential single parent, the one who doesn’t have the other parent involved in any aspect. Then there is the co-parent, whose ex-partner is in the picture and contributes in every aspect of child raising. But there is a gray zone in between which houses the single parent who’s ex only contributes financially, the widowed single parent whose partner didn’t abandon his or her children by choice, and the single parent whose ex lives a long distance away and only sees their children seasonally. You can break it down even further to single parent who is remarried, and married parent who feels like a single parent. Continue reading »

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