All posts by Kirsetin

A Baby Haiku

September 18, 2009family, Haiku FridayKirsetin

Headed east today,

A new life is almost here.

My cousin, not me!

The boys are off to school & I’m hopping in the car for the 6+ hour drive to my cousin’s baby shower. It’s her first, but I promise to be on my best behavior and not give all kinds of parenting advice that she wouldn’t really hear anyway. But I’m thinking of polling all of you for your top tip & bundling it as a gift later. What do you think? Good idea or will that make me the completely annoying cousin?

And on a related note: It’s Friday, hooray!

Should My Child Have A Cell Phone In Her Bedroom? Ummm….Are You Crazy?

September 16, 2009media, ParentingKirsetin

So you know I love my iPhone, right? I mean, if the house were on fire, after the kids and the photos were out, my iPhone would be right there on the “get it out now!” list.

You might also know that I’ve been guilty of texting while driving, which I completely regret and for which I offer many apologies. I applaud Utah and their new law. We just shouldn’t be driving and sending messages at the same time. No way. No how.

I used to worry about kids driving and talking on their phones. A few years ago, our friend’s nanny was driving, and talking, and accidentally ran a red light. By all accounts, she was a very nice girl and a great nanny, but her error killed a 10-year old boy in the other car and all of their lives have been changed forever. So my worry wasn’t misplaced. There are enough things to distract a driving teen. They really don’t need to be talking about what Jason said to Brittney in math class while they’re behind the wheel.

As if talking while driving weren’t enough, then the texting began. And e-mails. You can check your e-mail on your phone! Now this is a terrific feature if you have downtime between a class or meeting, or are in an extremely long and unproductive meeting, but it’s a horrible temptation for a teenager behind the wheel. If you think kids aren’t paying attention while driving and talking, I can’t imagine how focused on the road they are while driving and texting.

Then today, I read that a new study shows that incoming text alerts are affecting the sleep quality of half of all 16-year olds. It’s the little beeeeep, I guess, that’s waking them up. I’m no expert, but let me just tell you that if my kids (or I) don’t get enough sleep, it’s not pretty around here. The good news just keeps coming. Although, I must say, I’m less worried about lack of sleep because of text messages than I am about kids not focusing while driving because of text messages. But then, one can lead to the next, couldn’t it? A sleepy kid driving and texting…now that’s a scenario I hate to imagine.

But back to the point. When I read this study, I had one question, and it was this: Why do these kids have their cell phones in their bedroom?

What parent thinks this is a great idea? You’ve heard of sexting, right?

Come on, parents!

Back in the day, we used to want a regular old land-line phone in our bedrooms because it was cool. We wanted to have privacy. We needed privacy to talk about why Jim and Carla were arguing or why Bridget and Mickey broke up for the third time this semester. These were weighty issues folks. We needed that phone.

I didn’t get one, of course. Thank goodness, really, because now I know that an old-fashioned phone cord can be stretched around multiple corners and will fit under doors when necessary.

I also learned a little something about limits. And without going off on an extremely long tangent about setting parameters on cell phone use during family time, let me suggest that there is a time to turn those phones off. Period. Designate a place in the kitchen, office, or family room for phones to be re-charged at night and leave them there. Until morning.

Kids sleep in their rooms. Phones don’t. Sleep problems solved.

Look at that, I saved you a trip to the doctor’s office. Don’t mention it. You’re very welcome, of course.

Any dissenters? Other thoughts? Let’s hear ‘em.

My 2nd Blogoversary

September 14, 2009writingKirsetin

How fun is it that today, on my blogoversary, I have a post on Blog Nosh?!

Let me tell you. It’s fun. It’s very fun.

Two years ago, I’d never heard of Blog Nosh. I’d never even considered blogging. As far as I knew, a blog was an online diary of random daily events, like recording how often you changed your kids’ diapers and what you ate for breakfast. Too busy. Not interested.

But my literary agent insisted I need one. Our conversation went something like this:

Literary Agent: “You really should have a blog.”

Me: “A blog? I don’t want to write about changing diapers and making lunch.”

Literary Agent: “It doesn’t matter. You need an online presence. You should have a blog.”

Me: “Ugghh.”

And so it began. At the time, I had written magazine articles, published one book, and was working on a second book with my friend and co-author, Barbie. Because I was doing the bulk of the book writing, she took on the blog project. She signed us up at Blogger, and together we embarked on a year-long journey of discovering the blogosphere, learning who blogged about what, and trying to understand the concept of an RSS feed. And what a year that was! I had no idea there were so many thoughtful, funny women out here, writing their hearts out. I didn’t know I’d connect with you, come to know, and seek your council. But I did. And after the first year, it just got too hard to do this thing together – it was too hard to merge our voices into one, and so the blog became my solo project.

So now, on my two-year blogoversary, I want to thank all of you. I want to thank you, all of you, who take time from your lives to read whatever it is I have to say on any given day. I want to thank you, all of you, who have taken the time to help me understand this brave new world, to navigate the completely unfamiliar waters of the blogosphere. But most of all, I want to thank you, all of you, who share your hearts, your thoughts, your insights and your quandaries with the rest of us. You’re the ones who helped me find my way and feel connected, and otherwise, what’s the point? I mean, really?

Although I’m still working on the book project, I long-ago put to rest the idea of using this book as an “online presence.” Now it’s simply my blog. It’s a place for ideas. It’s a place to share what I’ve learned. It’s a place to ask you what you’ve learned. It’s a place to connect with other women and their incredible ideas.

Thanks, literary agent, for your misguided advice. It all worked out for the best.