Jellybean and The Book of Norman
Tweet By Brett Buckner The dude sitting outside the pizza place looked befuddled when he saw me and Jellybean coming. We weren’t dressed weird or anything; I was wearing the corporate uniform of a short-sleeved dress shirt and khaki Dockers, and Jellybean was wearing a flowery dress. Rather, it was what Jellybean bellowed when she [...]
Read More →Hamster smoothie, reality TV and Olympic speed-walking
Tweet There are certain terms that simply don’t belong together: Hamster smoothie, reality TV, Olympic speed-walking, and after a recent weekend, I’m gonna add another to this Resume of the Ludacris – relaxing with kids at the beach.
Read More →One wild and “hairy” week
Tweet We playfully call it the “Cop Knock.” It’s The Diva’s subtle way of telling us she’s about to enter a room and we’d better be prepared. We call it a “Cop Knock” because it’s loud and the way she bursts into a room three seconds later is so frightening that My Lovely [...]
Read More →Teens are confusing
Tweet Like the teenagers we struggle to raise, parents are never satisfied. We complain because they ignore us, disconnect from us, roll their eyes when we speak, act like we were born in the Stone Ages and are generally as about as pleasant to hang around as a bag full of angry badgers. [...]
Read More →There’s a new Diva in the house
Tweet It’s like living with a tiny tyrant, a pint-sized Imelda Marcos with fewer shoes, Paris Hilton minus the paparazzi. The Diva’s no longer The Diva. That tongue-in-cheek title’s been wrestled away by Jellybean whose become the most demanding cuss this side of Celebrity Rehab. And the way she talks to her dear [...]
Read More →Remembering Kimberly
Tweet We’d been friends since first grade, but I hadn’t spoken to her in a decade I remember the last time I saw her. It was my high school’s 10 year reunion – the Riverview Academy Vikings class of 1992. We’d all graduated from college, taken over the family business or settled into [...]
Read More →Daddy to the rescue
Tweet It’s the shout heard ‘round the house. The one that makes my skin crawl, not because I don’t wanna help a Jellybean in distress, but rather because … well … I just don’t want to do it. “DAD-E-E-E-E-E! Can you come and wipe me?” Ewwww! Honestly, I thought after we got the [...]
Read More →Daddy to the rescue
Tweet It’s the shout heard ‘round the house. The one that makes my skin crawl, not because I don’t wanna help a Jellybean in distress, but rather because … well … I just don’t want to do it. “DAD-E-E-E-E-E! Can you come and wipe me?” Ewwww! Honestly, I thought after we got the [...]
Read More →Parenting is about the small joys
Tweet There are joys great and small that come with being a parent. For every first word or graduation ceremony, there’s an expected giggle or insight that makes us swell with pride. Public humiliation is such a small joy. And it’s a door that swings both ways. Jellybean’s embarrassed me by, for example, [...]
Read More →Cool doesn’t care about temperature
Tweet My grandmother – or maybe it was Captain Kangaroo – used to say, “Cool doesn’t care about temperature.” While such wink-and-a-nod sarcasm was mainly aimed at yours truly, they pertain to teenagers of any generation, when looking good and fitting in defy all other forms of logic. It’s why so many young [...]
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