When I was little, I'd ask my mom if I could help her "cook", but as dicing or julienning vegetables was deemed too dangerous, I was demoted to Chief Rice-and-Produce-Washer. (Hated it. Booooring.) When I hit the double-digits in years, I was sometimes allowed to sauté or stir-fry (with repeated warnings, of course, to watch my wrists over the hot pan edges, which warnings, it seems, were not as effective as accidentally doing it once). When I was a teen and Mom would actually invite me into the kitchen to watch, help and learn, I couldn't care less. So I didn't pay any attention to what I was … [Read more...]
Smart Girls, Brave Girls Win.
"Listen up, baby girl. Pretty girls have fun but smart girls have everything. So be smart. Ok?" These priceless words of wisdom were imparted to my 7-year-old by two "smart, sassy and a little smart @ss-y" twenty-something “nieces” whom I’ve watched grow since birth. Their mum, my cousin-in-law and 15 years my senior, was the older sister I never had -- my confidante and adviser. I, in turn, aimed to be "the cool aunt" and confidante to them, chaperoning their birthday parties, kidnapping them for outings to the beach or movies, and when they grew older, hearing them out on topics that … [Read more...]
Kids Are So Embarrassing, Part 1
Just moments ago, my husband walked in the door with our preschooler, whom he'd picked up on his way home from work. "Honey, guess how many checks your son got today. (FYI, a perfect day earns three checks.) "Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good. How many? Two? One?" "ZERO." "Zero?! What? Why?!" (Is zero even possible?) Apparently, earlier in the day, our four-year-old rascal decided to drop his pants Full-Monty style, place his hands behind his heads, elbows out, and rotate his bare hips in a grand circular gesture, ensuring that everyone in the class got a good … [Read more...]
Top 10 Mortifying Moments, Part 2: Impressing a New Boyfriend Anita-Style
For the benefit of you single ladies out there, I'm sharing some lessons learned from another of my umpteen "most" mortifying moments today. This particular trip down nightmare lane takes us back about fifteen years, but I remember it like it was yesterday because yup, it was just that awesome. Back in the day, students attending So Cal’s universities weren’t utterly and ridiculously spoiled with fancy restaurant options all over campus. (Not that I'm bitter. I'm not!!) So during my undergrad years at U.C.L.A., Taco Bell was the on-campus eaterie of choice. And during my law school years at … [Read more...]
Confessions of a “Spirited” Mom, Vol. 1 of 1,000
Mommy Dreams and Dreamy Mommy: When I was a little girl, I loved playing with dolls and Barbies, playing make-believe, playing family. And I assure you, any time I played the “Mommy” then, I was happy mommy, sweet mommy, educational mommy, fun mommy or pretty mommy. I was never mad mommy, scary mommy, ugly bloated and PMS’ing mommy, or overworked and stressed out mommy. Then again, my pretend/dolly babies and kids were super low-maintenance. They were quiet, well-behaved, obedient little sponges. They complied the first time I asked them to do something. They slept through the night … [Read more...]