Buckroe Beach

We had a great beach day at Buckroe Beach.                                                       

The New New Deal

Michael Grunwald, senior national correspondent for Time Magazine and the author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era,  writes in his new book about how the stimulus package was far more effective than acknowledged.

He discussed it on The Brian Lehrer Show:

Kids Enjoying Colonial Williamsburg

At Colonial Williamsburg for Eason's birthday. My mom got Eason the rifle he always wanted and the hat Andi picked out.

More pictures below:

Raising Successful Children (Is It Easier Than It Sounds?)

In the NY Times' Raising Successful Children, Madeline Levine, author of “Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success” asks "Is there really anything wrong with a kind of “overparenting lite”?"

She goes on to say:

The happiest, most successful children have parents who do not do for them what they are capable of doing, or almost capable of doing; and their parents do not do things for them that satisfy their own needs rather than the needs of the child.

Unnecessary intervention makes your child feel bad about himself (if he’s young) or angry at you (if he’s a teenager.)

Check out the whole article at The New York Times.

My Message To Camp Counselors

At the beginning of this summer the director of my daughter's camp asked some parents to come and speak to their staff about what we expect from the staff and camp, any fears we might have (made up or real), good or bad experiences that we have had and why.

I wasn't be able to go attend, but I did send an email with what I would have liked to say:

Parting Words From Osborn's Zeppie: Don't Complain

This June is the final school year for Osborn Principal, Clarita Zeppie. I was pleased to read Ms. Zeppie's message on the school website, however, in the school year's final Osborn Weekly newsletter she wrote:

Mother's Day at Big Daddy's

We went to Big Daddy's for Mother's Day with all the moms. Afterwards my mom and I went to see Dark Shadows, while everyone else went to the museum.

More pictures below:

Blue Water Grill

We took my mom to Blue Water Grill for her birthday.

More pictures below:                                                  

Gym Etiquette & Pet Peeves - A.K.A. Why #PeopleAtMyGymSuck

Gym etiquette isn’t hard to understand. It isn’t hard to grasp. It’s really just common sense. You already learned everything you needed to know back in kindergarten. Pick up after yourself. Put your toys away when you’re done using them. Learn how to share. Don’t hog all the best toys for yourself. Don’t distract others who are working. So you see, the gym really is a lot like kindergarten. I guess that’s why I feel so at home there… That, and when I’m all done with my workouts I get a snack and a nap. Yup. Just like Kindergarten.

Aviva's Happy Birthday Surprise

We surprised Aviva with breakfast on her birthday.

Check out the video below: