Fiction Friday Part 9: The Pickup

– Posted in: Fiction, Novel in Progress, Parenting, Tammy Thinks, Worst Mom Randomness, Writing
San Francisco International Airport

We're catching up with "young" Eric again this week. Hopefully he wasn't permanently scarred by his experience in Thailand. If you really want to get all the down and dirty details, you should start at the beginning. But here's a bit of what's happened so far: Peter is married with children. What his wife doesn't know is [...]

Even the the Crappy Moments on Facebook are Fake — And that’s “Fine”

– Posted in: Blogging, Complaining, Depression, First World Problems, Parenting, Worst Mom Rants
Like this -- sure he's a mess. But look how cute he is.

Ever since that study came out about Facebook making people depressed, I've read many a blog and Facebook post professing the need to "get real" about our lives. In the most recent article, "We Need to Quit Telling Lies on Facebook" on Kveller.com, Sarah Emily Tuttle-Singer writes about her "real" Saturday with the kids, not the cleaned-up, Instagram-filtered [...]

Schools and (Lack of) ABA Therapy — What We Think Helped Our Son with Autism

– Posted in: Autism -- The Handbook, Autism Recovery, Newt's Story, Parenting, Personal Insanity, School
Newt at 3

So last week, I wrote about what my son, Newt, was like as a young child and what led us to get him tested for autism. This week, I'll give you the not-so-brief rundown of what we ended up doing for school and what we didn't do for therapy. On the day he was diagnosed [...]

He’s Leaving Home…And Mom’s Going Nuts

– Posted in: Chronic Pain, Crazy Tammy, Family, Kid Friends, Life is Dangerous, Logan's Story, Mom dying, Mouths of Babes, Parenting, Personal Insanity, Sappy Tammy, School, Stuff I Probably Shouldn't be Thinkin', Thank God Your Father's Home, Worrying
I'm pretty sure this is how a turtle would feel if it stood up.

We're a family of three, not four this week (or four, not five, if you count the dog). Newt, our 10-year-old, is away for two nights with his classmates at a wilderness camp. At Lake Tahoe. In the snow. Fortunately he's not snow camping (because that's only for crazy people). They're in cabins with heat [...]

“The Bath” — A Creative Writing Prompt with my Writerly Pals

– Posted in: Autism Recovery, Fiction, Newt's Story, Parenting, Personal Insanity, Stuff I Probably Shouldn't be Thinkin', Worst Mom Moments, Writing
rain_falling_in_the_water

I'm not sure how I got myself into this, but some "friends" (and I use that term loosely because, honestly, what kind of real friends would subject me to this kind of pain), have included me in a weekly fiction writing group. Seriously though, I'm honored and touched to be part of this. These are [...]

How to Teach Kids about Sex: Go See Les Mis and Leave the Kids with Dad

– Posted in: Elfie, Mouths of Babes, Movies, Newt, Parenting, Personal Insanity, Sex, Tenzin, Thank God Your Father's Home, TV, Worrying, Worst Mom Reviews
les-miserables-film-hathaway

I went and saw Les Miserables with a girlfriend the other night. It was an amazing movie, but for some reason, I still feel like I could just nitpick it to pieces. I'm starting to think this could be my calling -- professional life nitpicker. Too bad I can't get someone to pay me for that... [...]

Facing Down Buses, and Other Ill-Advised Stuff We do for Our Kids

– Posted in: Chronic Pain, Complaining, Cranky Tammy, Crazy Tammy, Elfie, No Good Deed, Parenting, Personal Insanity, The Kids are Killing Me
Mom and Elfie on the lift

So this is why I'm insane. Actually, make that part of why I'm insane. Telling the whole story would take way too long. Yesterday I went skiing with the family and some friends. It was lovely -- warmish, mostly rock-free, and not very crowded (most of the Californians were already sitting in traffic on their [...]

Some Small Moments in the Great Outdoors

– Posted in: Bright Side of Life, Elfie, Family, Growing Up, Jasper, Newt, Parenting, Personal Insanity, The Great Outdoors, Things To Do with Kids
girl on swing

My kids drive me crazy for so many reasons, but one of my major beefs is how they'll fight me about going outside and then become horribly devastated when it's time to come in. Yesterday, we walked (the kids rode their bikes) to the field by our house. It's not far, but because we live [...]