Picket Fence Post

Things have been a bit chaotic over the past few days, what with some family drama (don’t ask), the never-ending slog of kids’ activities slowly sucking the life out of me, and trying to shoehorn actual work into the mix, never mind attending to volunteer efforts both The Spouse and I for some reason foolishly offered to do. Plus there was this fifth grade bread baking project we were supposed to complete over the weekend. The Girl actually completed the project on her own — with no help from her parents – but The Eldest Boy did not because, honestly, there was too much crap going on.

In the meantime, to make up for the lack of bloggy stuff, here are a few newsy items I’ve missed in the past few days:

– I had the pleasure of co-hosting the Manic Mommies podcast with Erin Kane last week. We talked about mid-season TV (Big Love, Lost, a bit of ranting about the current state of Grey’s Anatomy) and about our crazy kids’ activities (this was before family drama hit the Picket Fence Post household). You can download the podcast for free on iTunes, including where I called Erin by her co-host’s name, Kristin. Smooth move.

– It was with a heavy heart that I read the recent news stories about a teenage girl living in Massachusetts who committed suicide reportedly in the wake of cyberbullying. Adding to that was the fact that a local school district had an anti-bullying forum led by a Vermont father whose own 13-year-old son (two years younger than my twins) killed himself several years ago after he’d been bullied, and I’ve been wondering when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is going to legally define bullying behavior with an anti-bullying law and when schools are going to start taking harassment seriously and not as a form of “conflict.” If sexual harassment in the workplace and acts which create a hostile workplace can be outlawed, certainly bullying/intimidating/humiliating harassment and acts which create a hostile learning environment should be as well.

– In a similar vein, the web site Parent Dish had a provocative post about parents who bully and name-call other parents online. Blogger Amy Hatch asked, “How can we teach our children be kind to one another when we can’t model that behavior in our own lives?”

– Completely changing subjects here . . . If you were among those who were once fond of watching Hope and Michael Steadman, Nancy and Elliot Weston, Ellyn Warren, Gary, Melissa and the crew from thirtysomething, you’ll be pleased to learn that season two of the 1980s/90s drama is now out on DVD. My Pop Culture column this week is about why, even though decades have passed since these episodes first aired, “. . . I can find no current TV dramas which capture the gloriously messy and stressful, day-to-day slog of child-rearing, work and marriage as deftly and incisively as this 21-year-old series did.” (As you can tell, “slog” was my preferred word of the week. . .)

Image credit: Dyna Moe/Nobody’s Sweetheart.

This is, in a word, insane. Watch the Fox & Friends segment below where a 10-year-old girl and her father were interviewed about their recent lemonade stand escapade where New York City authorities not only shut down her lemonade stand in the park, but ticketed her for failing to have a permit.

Yeah, let’s use precious public resources — even more precious in a recession rife with cutbacks and dwindling tax revenues — and waste time going after those hardened pediatric lemonade stand operators. I’m sure there are NO other illegal street vendors to crack down on in New York City, people selling unpermitted stuff like, oh, I don’t know, knock-off purses or illegally obtained DVDs of recently released movies. Much easier to pick on a kid. Kids run slower.

At least the girl wasn’t wearing one of the nipple-tasseled T-shirts when she was selling her lemonade. Who knows would’ve happened to her then.

What, you haven’t heard about these shirts getting so much buzz on the internet? They’re “ironic” shirts for babies and toddlers designed to make a statement about the over-sexualization of young girls’ clothing. Here, let me share with you what the designer told the web site Parent Dish:

“The Nipple Tassel t-shirt was designed as a response to my own distaste at seeing mini versions of sexy clothes on young children . . . There is nothing very sexy about a baggy, lap neck, long sleeved t-shirt for a 6-month-old. So by embellishing this style of garment with printed nipple tassels, the result is not that the baby becomes sexualized by the tassels, but the tassels are made benign and silly by the baby.”

Certain to become a baby shower favorite, right?

Image credit: Twisted Twee via Parent Dish.

Item #1: Bo the “Crazy” White House Pup

Reading the quotes from Michelle Obama saying that her family’s new dog Bo is “kind of crazy,” likes to chew on people’s feet and is up late at night loudly playing with his doggie toys (and interrupting people’s sleep) hasn’t exactly sent me hurrying to go and purchase a dog for my own Picket Fence Post family as we’ve been contemplating since our 18-year-old cat died in December.

While I watched the Obamas be taken for a walk by Bo on the White House lawn on the day they officially introduced him to the press corps, I (the person who’d most likely wind up doing most of the canine care) made a mental note: No big dogs.

Item #2: Mother’s Day Polls on Parent Dish

The folks at AOL’s Parent Dish are trying to muster up some Mother’s Day buzz by asking readers to participate in a series of polls, including which female celeb would you be comfortable leaving your kids with, reality TV moms’ show do you want to be canceled and what you’re doing for Mother’s Day?

Speaking of which, if you were making a wish that could actually be fulfilled, for what would you wish for Mother’s Day? Be honest now. Would love to hear your heartfelt desires. I know if it were up to one of my good friends — who shall remain nameless in this space — it would be for Mother’s Day to be abolished.

Item #3: “Knock it off or I’ll leave you two on the side of the road!”

Okay, so I have no idea what the New York mother actually said to her 10- and 12-year-old daughters when, after they wouldn’t stop bickering, she ordered them out the car, three miles away from home in a shopping plaza area, and drove away. Reminded me of a scene from Desperate Housewiveswith Lynette Scavo.

According to news reports, the 12-year-old chased the car and was allowed back inside while the 10-year-old was helped by a stranger who called the police. The mom, a partner in a law firm, was arrested and charged with child endangerment, the New York Times reported. Clearly this woman was having an extremely difficult time and took an unwise, ill-advised measure, but I feel like I need more information about this before pointing a judgmental finger, like whether she was planning on returning after a certain period of time, etc.

But at least the next time my three kids start fighting in the car (as they did today during a long car ride) I can tell them that a mom really DID leave her arguing children roadside.

Image credit: Associated Press/Ron Edmonds via the Huffington Post.