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Showing posts from August, 2016

Kids And Chemicals

This is going to be a short one. Partly because its hot as I write this - like 95 and humid hot - and partly because there isn't much more to say than what I'm going to say. If you've been following along with me, you know that as a good parent, I have certain opinions on education I question whether rote memorization is a good thing , I appreciate a good reality-based  education , and as a result I really don't care if cursive d ies a quick painful death. What does that have with today's post? It has to do with the kind of education I want  my kids to get in school rather than pointlessly memorizing the presidents in order. I recently saw the following headline on WebMd:  6M Drink Water Containing Toxic Chemicals: Report Which admittedly sounds scary. I mean, just look at that headline. Six million! That is a lot of people. And they are drinking water- such a basic necessity! - full of toxic chemicals. Toxic ones. Its right there in the headline. Chemicals

Tuesday Trip Tip!

If you are like me, you really enjoying working out. But lets face it, almost none of you are like me. You likely aren't 6'2"; you almost certainly don't have triplets; and  most importantly, you probably don't like working out. Approximately 140% of everyone  made some kind health/workout related New Year resolution we have since forgotten. I'm no personal trainer, and I'm not a licensed physician or anesthesiologist, But if you want to get in the best shape possible in the shortest amount of time possible - a must for triplet parents - try  Keelo . What I like: Quick routines : sometimes as short as 9 minutes, but as many as 20. It is, as you may have guessed, HIIT (high intensity interval training). The "quick" is important when you have a full-time job and triplets. Customization : tell the app what you have available; it tailors your workout. Have dumbbells and jump rope? It will push exercise routines featuring that equipment. Havi

You Can't Hate The Pretty Girl

I hate the Olympics for all the reasons I stated here . I'm just not sure you can be a good person and root for such an awful occasion. Still, I find myself recording events, skipping past the awful commentary to get to the races, explaining to kids that they have  watch Michael Phelps because he is the greatest swimmer they will ever see, and rooting along with my kids for the "pretty girl" - gymnast Laurie Hernandez. Before you jump all over me, we don't emphasis looks. I'll mention that a particular act seems hard, or that the athlete must have practiced a lot and worked really hard to accomplish something. That is my parenting style: I compliment the work, effort and time it took to do something. I didn't come up with the nickname. We were watching gymnastics and one of the kids said "she is pretty." It was probably my daughter, because she is always noticing people's eyes and marking them as "pretty." And as kids will do, that

Why I Hate The Olympics (Or Did)

I hate the Olympics. I'm not sure exactly when it started. I remember loving them at one point. My parents absolutely adore them, so the love affair probably sprouted in my childhood. Back then the Berlin Wall stood tall and Soviet Russia was a very real threat. We were not long removed from school children hiding under desks to avoid nuclear holocaust. Rooting for the U.S. bordered on a moral duty. I can recall checking the morning's papers to see the medal count. But at some point it all became too much. Too much gross nationalism; too much overhyped hoopla; too much doping; too much controversy; too much rewarding hosting duties to cities clearly incapable of the job; too much displacing poor people so that relatively rich people can participate in a sport ; just too much. I see people on FB who post constantly about the plight of the poor in this country and who have been on humanitarian missions expressing glee and delight in the Olympics. I'm not sure you can be a