Posts Tagged ‘Momfluential’
Does talent matter?
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
Sawyer was not very excited for the first soccer practice.
He’d rather stay home and play with his Bey Blades. Or watch TV. He told me a couple weeks ago that he wants to take a year off from sports.
“Too bad,” said Mean Mommy.
I’m a big believer in sports. I like the lessons they teach, from working as a team to learning how to lose – and how to win. I also like my kids to be physically active, and they don’t even have PE at the school for the younger grades – unless you consider their teacher taking them out on the playground once a week for some sort of activity sufficient. Which I don’t.
So there was whining and complaining as he got ready to go to practice. We went through this with baseball, too. And just like baseball, once he gets there, he has fun.
He was trying hard while dribbling around cones and doing passing and shooting drills and he was smiling a lot.
He also is pretty good. It’s his fourth season. He has some skills. He’s fast.
What he lacks, thus far, is that competitive edge. That real desire to be out there. And I admit it’s frustrating to me, because he’s an athletic kid. He might not be the best player on the field, but he can certainly hold his own. And he’s a natural swimmer – he could do four strokes at age 5 – but he doesn’t want to compete in races so he refuses to join a swim team.
He has talent. But it might not matter.
My friend Ciaran posted this video about whether you should allow your child to pursue something at which they have no ability.
My question is, how do you get them to pursue something at which they’re good?
Because the truth is, no matter how good he might be at them, sports just might not be his thing.
I continue to sign him up, soccer in the fall and Little League in the spring (he gets the winter off, since he said “no” to basketball). He’s only seven, and I want to make sure he gives it a chance before he decides he really doesn’t like it. Because at some point, if he really protests, I won’t force him. And that makes me sad.
What do you think? Should you encourage your kids if they’re bad at something – or if they’re good but lack interest?
Tags: Ciaran, leadership, Momfluential, soccer, sports, when
Posted in Parenting | 51 Comments »
Hot mom shoes
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
My husband likes to joke that I have 50 pairs of black shoes and they all look the same.
Har har.
The truth is, the last time I bought black shoes was in 2007 for a wedding. They’re strappy low heel sandals that I haven’t worn since. They’re kind of frumpy.
I buy one pair of shoes a year (not including running shoes). They are my Naot sandals and I haven’t even bought a new pair yet this summer. And I wear them almost every day.
Next week I will head down to San Diego for BlogHer. And just like I did last year, I decided I needed a pair of party shoes. So just like last year, I met my friend Ciaran at Nordstrom Rack.
And just like last year, I came home with a pair of shoes I’m not sure I’ll keep.
I saw them on the top rack and the color was so fun I decided to try them on. Even though I didn’t think they’d go with the dress for which I was specifically shoe shopping. The heel was high but not a stiletto, which was important because I need to keep my achilles intact and every time I try to walk in shoes with toothpicks for heels, I can feel the backs of my ankles popping.
So I zipped them on in Size Gargantuan Land and walked down to where Ciaran was looking at normal-sized shoes. A woman and her teen-aged daughter walked by and the woman said, “Cute shoes!”
“Really?” I said, looking down at my feet. “I keep thinking, ‘Why does a middle-aged mom of three need these?’ ”
The daughter said her mother had just tried on some similar shoes, and they both really liked them.
As they walked away, the woman turned to me and said, “Buy them. Be a hot mom.”
Be a hot mom.
I don’t know why that stuck with me. Let’s face it: nothing says ICE COLD more than dragging three kids to the grocery store, wearing baggy yoga pants and a baseball cap and not even a trace of mascara.
That’s how I see myself.
A hot mom?
Not even.
But maybe. Those shoes..
Me?
Source: sofftshoe.com via Cheryl on Pinterest
What would you do? Keep them? Return them? Are YOU a hot mom?
Tags: blogher, Ciaran, hot mom, Momfluential, Nordstrom Rack, shoes, sofft
Posted in Just me | 94 Comments »
Mommypants Moment – So NOT her ex!
Monday, December 27th, 2010
Today’s guest poster is my friend, the incomparable Ciaran of Momfluential. Ciaran is not only brilliant and wildly creative, she is also a tremendously generous, kind and wise friend. She has been a mother for more than 14 years and has four kids. So it was tough for her to chose just one moment. The story she tells is one I’d not heard before. Can you even imagine if this happened to you?
It was late on a Friday. It was hot. I’d just picked the girls up from camp in their usual hot, sweaty and starving state of summer-fun exhaustion. My 2 year-old was still sniffling, having been awoken too many times from his in-car nap. My cell rang.
“Honey, I need you to stop by the bank and move some money for me,” my husband implored.
“Really? Do I have to? It’s so hot. The kids are cranky. I just got the baby to stop crying. Can’t you do it?” (more…)
Tags: Ciaran, I think I would've peed my pants, Momfluential, mommypants moment
Posted in Mommypants Moment | 27 Comments »
iGiftThanks. Do you?
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
My friend Ciaran, aka Momfluential, has a problem.
She is brilliant.
This is a problem because she has so many ideas and only so many hours in the day. Also, she has four kids.
Which means she might have five minutes of uninterrupted thinking time every other day.
That has not stopped her from her latest venture. (more…)
Tags: app, brilliant, Ciaran, iGiftThanks, Momfluential, this is so cool
Posted in Just me | 20 Comments »
I was Batgirl
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
I last wore a Halloween costume I was 10.
Nobody went trick-or-treating after 5th grade. I mean, that was for BABIES.
Of course now we know it’s a chance for teens to walk around looking like slutty versions of Halloween costumes.
But back then? It wasn’t cool. No teen – or tween – would be caught dead asking for candy. Toilet papering or egging a house? Different story entirely. (more…)
Tags: Angry Julie Monday, Anqi, Batgirl, lap dances, Momfluential, slutty halloween costumes
Posted in Just me | 48 Comments »
