UncoolMom.com

Are Teen Hang-outs An Endangered Species?

2012-05-22T15:45:27Z

The title of this post is a question that has been on my mind since before I had kids, when I first moved to this suburb almost 19 years ago and was surprised at how early the “sidewalks rolled up” around here. Whenever Andy and I were out for the evening and wanted a late night dinner or snack, we were hard-pressed to find any eating establishments open past 9 p.m. And sometimes when we’d head to a little mom and pop restaurant in the neighborhood for an 8 o’clock dinner, by 8:15 we’d be the only patrons there, and even though their closing time was posted as 9, mom and pop would literally sit at a table near the kitchen, turn their chairs in our direction and stare at us until we finished, as if they were saying, ‘hurry up, we want to go home.’ It was weird, not to mention a little creepy ...

Outsmarted and Outfoxed: When Kids Call Your Bluff

2012-05-09T19:03:47Z

Dana Macario at the mom blog “18 Years to Life” recently wrote an account of how, to teach her kids to pick up their toys, she and her husband gathered up all the toys strewn about, stuffed them into large trash bags, put them in a closet and told their kids that for each night they picked up the rest of their toys, they could earn back one of the "hostage" toys. Logic would dictate that the kids would want their toys back badly, and it would take so long to earn them back, that once earned back, the kids would think twice in the future about leaving them lying everywhere. Logic would say this was a great way to teach kids a lesson in being neat without having to nag, “Pick up your toys!!” Only Dana’s kids chose ...

New Uncool Mother's Day Gifts!

2012-05-02T14:51:46Z

Just in time for Mother's Day-- new women's tees at The Uncool Shop! I designed 'em and I think they're much more chic than the previous ones-- new fonts, several new V-necks in gray, black and white (or you can change them to make them whatever color you need) plus a new regular tee that has hearts instead of the "O's" in the word, "Uncool Mom" (see below for snippets of a couple of the new designs). The new regular tee is less than $12 and the new V-necks range from $16-19. And, until May 8th, you can get free shipping on any order over $30 with the code, MOTHERSDAY12. Click "The Uncool Shop" on the right-hand sidebar to order and to see more-- there are still laptop cases, umbrellas and aprons in the shop, too! Paypal accepted!
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Time for a Coffee Brake

2012-04-27T18:12:13Z

When I first noticed the twitching, it didn’t alarm me much. I was sitting in church and glanced down at my left hand, resting on my leg. My left thumb was moving side to side slightly, without me telling it to do so. Weird, I thought, but we all sometimes get unexplainable twitches, twinges or pains that end up never happening again and not amounting to anything, right? I moved my hand and the twitching stopped. But when the twitching happened again the next day, I took more notice. I remembered Michael J. Fox talking about his early signs of Parkinson’s disease—didn’t he say it began with hand twitching? I consulted the Internet, which is where we all go to get a good scare whenever we need more medical information, and it confirmed my suspicions. Though Fox's first twitches were in his pinkie finger, when I Googled “thumb twitching” and ...

"One Day On Earth" Premieres Today

2012-04-22T16:56:53Z

Remember the 10-10-10 global film project in which my family and I participated? It was the first-ever simultaneous filming event occurring in every country of the world. Well, today is the worldwide debut of the finished film, entitled “One Day on Earth”. All over the world, the film is being shown at free screening events in theatres, cafes, churches, high school and college auditoriums—click here (or go to onedayonearth.org) for a list of cities/venues/times (make sure to scroll down to see the list). Unfortunately, none are close to the Dallas area so I’m going to have to wait until it comes out on DVD. I have no idea if any of our family’s footage made it in the final cut— from all the videographers, over 3,000 hours of video was submitted.

If anyone recalls, we spent 10-10-10 ...

Many Happy Returns: Some Post Tax Day Humor and Ways to Teach Your Kids About Money

2012-04-18T15:47:02Z

Whew- so glad to be done with the taxes! Yep, that’s where I’ve been over the past few days—glued to Turbo Tax and barely coming up for air. I HATE DOING TAXES because I always wait until the last minute. I used to do them all by myself, but I think Andy was tired of driving to the post office at 11 p.m. on April 15 in a panic (but hey, the postal employees always made it so festive and welcoming and would be standing out there waving signs and holding baskets and you could just drive up and throw in your envelope…) and so a couple years ago we started splitting the tax prep responsibility, so he does half and then hands the file over to me, usually in February or March. But I’ve always got a million other pressing things to do that keep me from opening that file, and so there I sat on Tax Day, finishing up “under ...

Pinterest & Teens: A "Good Thing"?

2012-04-11T18:40:49Z

I heard a sweet sound in the house over the past weekend I haven’t heard in a long time: the whirr of the sewing machine. A sewing machine, I might add, that I bought on a Black Friday years ago, getting up at four in the morning for a “Door Buster Special”. Allison was 10 at the time, determined to become a fashion designer and learn how to sew, and I was determined to help foster that creativity…

Ah, my daughters and I were once such a crafty bunch. I’m reminded of that a lot—in the garden, where stepping stones the kids and I made (out of cement mix and pizza boxes) still mark a ...

Uncool Mom Easter Post Featured at Mamapedia!

2012-04-07T14:35:05Z

Just wanted to let readers know that an "archived" Uncool Mom post entitled, “Building A Better Easter” was featured in the “blogger spotlight” this past week at Mamapedia, www.mamapedia.com (the direct link to the post is http://www.mamapedia.com/voices/building-a-better-easter). This is the third time an Uncool Mom post has been featured on the site, which is an online "mom community" of over 3.5 million members. It’s always exciting to be chosen by their editors-- it’s a great way for me to reach more readers, as Mamapedia emails a daily newsletter to its subscribing members and includes a link to the post. In addition, they add graphics and good photography to really give the post a boost. And this is a post I particularly like, about how we spent Easter afternoon bike riding around a city lake ...

The Feng Shui of Family Photos

2012-04-04T18:07:10Z

“The realtor has told me to put away any personal photographs,” said Mom the other day. “Is that right?” I just knew she was going to ask me that. She’s been asking me a lot of things lately since she just put her house on the market this week-- something she’s never had to do before. At least, not by herself. But Dad’s been gone for almost nine of the 50+ years she’s been in that house, and the kids all live far away, so it’s been a nerve-wracking and scary process for her. She phones often. While I’m no expert, I (and Andy) did sell a house less than six years ago (and shopped for a new one) and last fall, we helped his parents navigate a little bit of their move to “senior living”...

I’m sure my realtor friends would disagree, ...

Paper Bag Popcorn

2012-03-30T16:10:12Z

It's time to share another of my really GREAT no-brainer recipes. (Remember, to pass my test for greatness, a recipe must have minimal ingredients, not a lot of prep work, and so easy you can memorize it, yet it still also tastes good.) This one passes all those marks and is healthy to boot. I first learned it from Martha Stewart many years ago, then tweaked it to make a Good Thing better.

Who needs Orville Redenbacher to decide how much fat and salt goes on your microwave popcorn? And who needs the extra appliance of an air popper when this popcorn turns out just as healthy, fragrant and fluffy? Try this for your next at-home movie night, which for us will hopefully be tonight, as we try to finish up our Netflix copy of "Evita"...
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