http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost Peek behind the picket fences . . . where over-caffeinating is a competitive sport and parenting is distinctly imperfect. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:46:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Picket Fence Post family survived two Thanksgiving dinners this past weekend and managed to fill two squares on the Dysfunctional Family Bingo card . . . though I'm not sayin' which two because my loving family members read this blog. *waving, 'hi' to family* The day after Thanksgiving I (at my parents' ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/12/01/thanksgiving-check-christmas-bring-on-the-advil/ When I first started blogging in 2005, I dedicated an entry to something called, "Dysfunctional Family Bingo," a term coined by a Brookline, MA psychologist in 2000 who was trying to come up with a funny way to cope with the inevitable madness that occurs during big holiday dinners. I completely adore the ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/24/dysfunctional-family-bingo-2008/ Item #1: Primetime Adoption Stories If you've been watching House, 30 Rock and/or Brothers & Sisters lately, you might've noticed that they have at least one thing in common: Storylines involving career-oriented women who are seeking to adopt children. Sadly, thus far in the season, none of the fictional women has had any good ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/20/three-for-thursday-primetime-adoption-stories-proposed-ban-on-fast-food-ads-qa-with-blogging-sistersmad-men-fans/ Jan Eliot is scaring the crap out of me. Just as I'm in the process of giving my twin 10-year-olds a little bit of responsibility -- letting them stay home for small intervals of time while I go pick up their brother in town some place nearby, as long as they keep ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/19/this-weeks-stone-soup-makes-me-wanna-teach-my-kids-how-to-heimlich/ While walking through Stop & Shop I spotted a 75 percent discount bin filled with Halloween stuff. At the top of the heap of candy were many bags of High School Musical candy. High School Musical strawberry pop rocks to be exact. I was surprised to see them because I didn't ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/19/hsm-waffles-and-pop-rocks/ Years after readers of the world excitedly gobbled up the thousands of pages in the seven-book Harry Potter series, I have finally reached that milestone myself. My twin fourth graders have been obsessed with Harry Potter since 2006, when they plowed through the books during the summer. To date, they've read each of ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/17/finally-completed-the-harry-potter-series/ For the second time in as many years, the Tooth Fairy neglected to visit our home last night after a child in our house lost a baby tooth. The last time this happened, The Spouse and I suggested that perhaps the Tooth Fairy had too many homes to visit and that she'd likely arrive ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/17/tooth-fairy-screws-up-again/ Item #1: School Celebration Overload To celebrate Halloween with his classmates at school, my second grade son had "friendship salad," where each member of the class was asked to contribute a piece of fruit. Members of my fourth grade daughter's class were asked to bring in a pumpkin so students could carve them in class. My ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/13/three-for-thursday-school-celebration-overload-home-births-ankle-woes-contd/ . . . in it, my mother arrived at my house, unannounced, on a weekend day. With great flourish, she presented The Spouse and I with a baby she said she "picked up" for us. (My mother's a super-shopper. Plus she's been agitating for us to have a fourth kid. *Insert ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/11/so-i-had-this-dream/ We have nicknamed The Eldest Boy "The Instigator." He's frighteningly adept at identifying people's sore spots and pressing their buttons whenever he's either irritated with them or simply bored. For example, he knows that if he asks me if he can do something and I say, "No," and he continues to ask ... http://www.wickedlocalparents.com/picketfencepost/2008/11/11/the-instigator/