tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48782003143081615292024-10-11T17:48:44.318-05:00DECONSTRUCTING THE COMPLICATIONS OF STAY-AT-HOME PARENTHOODthe IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-66444078595054861742012-02-07T18:54:00.001-06:002012-02-07T20:25:52.103-06:00

In the Huffington Post's recent article Friendly Fire, Glennon Melton attempts to open and then forever close the Pandora's box of working motherhood versus stay-at-home motherhood. Melton is upset with "ladies" who "insist on making everything worse by kicking each other's asses." From what I can tell, this kicking of each other's asses means any voicing of one's opinion on the subject,

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-538756334417735552011-11-09T20:23:00.005-06:002011-11-09T21:36:49.705-06:00

My friend sent this link to me the other day along with a request that I write about the Mommy Card phenomenon. Have you heard of these things? The idea is that it's challenging for parents of small children to exchange contact information at, say, the playground or swim lessons or whatever, and that it's even harder to keep track of the names and faces of parents and kids, much less which ones

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-64649605349634022292011-03-19T13:45:00.003-05:002011-03-19T13:49:33.842-05:00

I don't particularly enjoy being pregnant. Overall, the experience is a phenomenal one studded with countless awesome moments, but on a daily basis it's a drag. Clumsiness becomes a real threat. Clothing is particularly ill-fitting, uncomfortable, hard to find, and expensive. The ability to multitask might as well be a superpower. Less energy. No whiskey. Moodiness. Unpredictable appetite. No

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-67544280785721018322011-02-09T11:41:00.000-06:002011-02-09T11:41:46.467-06:00

This blog has never been frequently updated, but my posts have indeed slowed to barely a crawl. It turns out that I'm pregnant once again and, just like last time, baby-growing has leached from me all ability and desire to write. As a result, even the sparse post schedule I had established will likely continue to falter in the months to come. But I have not abandoned my blog. In fact, I have a

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-37413529511097724012010-12-05T20:58:00.003-06:002010-12-05T21:12:19.246-06:00

I recently ran into an old coworker at the grocery store. The last time I'd seen her I was six months pregnant and she was leaving our organization after having landed some version of her dream job. Now my thirteen-month-old peered up at her from behind my legs. "Is this your daughter?" she asked. "It sure is," I said. She gave the requisite compliments. I asked about her job and she gave me a

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-30248411596483926852010-11-07T20:52:00.011-06:002010-12-05T21:02:24.489-06:00

One of the hardest things about swapping a day job for stay-at-home parenthood for me has been the lack of co-workers. I miss the automatic interpersonal perks and challenges of seeing the same people on a regular basis, of striving to accomplish tasks with and sometimes in spite of them, of sharing a common professional environment, experience, and set of inside jokes. In my adult life, work

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-4534605022397704862010-10-27T19:43:00.001-05:002010-10-27T19:44:43.388-05:00

I've been kicking around a few new ideas for this blog. Mostly I'm thinking advice column. Shall we try it? Let's try it! introvertedurbanparent@gmail.com If you're looking for a second opinion and would like to hear from IUP, lay out your situation/question/dilemma/concern in an email. I'll take it from there and we'll see how things go. NOTE: Your correspondence will be re-posted here

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-11584258902764091202010-09-29T16:27:00.001-05:002010-12-05T21:02:42.664-06:00

Parts One, Two, and Three attempted to share the fodder behind my recent mediations on public parenting and the judging that ensues. Over the course of these posts, a bunch of really smart and thoughtful people chimed in with their comments and enriched this raw material into a meaty and complex conversation. No one was more thrilled than I, not only because I appreciate the feedback and added

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-13841467663784843242010-09-19T22:56:00.001-05:002010-12-05T21:04:08.946-06:00

This blog has been rendezvousing at Psych Central. I'll soon be referencing a bunch of comments that were posted to that site but cannot be read here. If you'd like to read up on those conversations and/or add your own thoughts, please go ahead and visit my reposts of The Handsome Daughter, Little Monsters (Part One), and Little Monsters (Part Two). Little Monsters (Part Four) coming soon.

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-56617444076054231982010-09-16T12:51:00.001-05:002010-12-05T21:03:16.130-06:00

Not long after the incident recounted in Part Two of this Little Monsters series, I received the latest installment of the Growing Parent Newsletter from Growing Child. In a piece entitled "Needed: The support of others," Carol Gestwicki gives calm and clear voice to a perspective I'd been needing to hear for months. I can't help but quote her at length. She writes: A friend recently sent me a

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-51410962210185604262010-09-14T20:09:00.001-05:002010-12-05T21:03:21.604-06:00

After weeks of avoiding the question of who – if anyone – has the right to judge the relative success or failure of parents, I had an experience that bumped the subject to the forefront of my mind. What was intended to be a brief, last-minute trip to the grocery store before my daughter's dinner, bath, and bedtime turned into a late-running, lengthy fiasco thanks to rush hour traffic and a glut

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-56682269886720663542010-09-13T20:03:00.002-05:002010-12-05T21:03:26.973-06:00

I've been planning to tackle the ever-popular question of whether or not "non-parents" are entitled to judge the technique and misbehaving children of "parents." Such a post has been requested by a bunch of people, some who have children and some who do not. For instance, when I began kicking around the idea of starting a blog about the bizarre social consequences of becoming a parent, my

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-14305862843005578432010-08-17T22:31:00.011-05:002010-12-05T21:03:32.782-06:00

One of the first issues that arose during my pregnancy was whether or not we were going to find out the baby's sex before birth. I didn't especially want to but my partner really did, and when he suggested half-jokingly that he could find out and keep it to himself I decided to go ahead and ruin the surprise with him. We'd find out eventually anyway, he rationalized; what would a few months

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-46617875997577334832010-07-27T23:08:00.040-05:002010-12-05T21:03:38.692-06:00

A dear friend of mine is getting married this weekend. I have a dress to wear but no shoes to match so I stopped at one of my favorite stores to see if they had in stock a pair I've admired online. Instead of putting my daughter in her stroller or carrier, I pulled her out of the car and hitched her straight onto my hip. She's a real active, fidgety baby and if you're going to strap her into

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-43872361851368566622010-07-26T18:53:00.018-05:002010-12-05T21:03:44.317-06:00

I'm definitely conflicted about my decision to write what might very easily be categorized as a parenting blog. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit right now to being a default hater of all things contemporary yuppie parenting and, as far as I'm concerned, writing a parenting blog is as quintessentially contemporary yuppie parent as it gets. My great disdain is, of course, a fallacy.

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878200314308161529.post-6505814473196255952010-07-25T20:38:00.035-05:002010-12-05T21:03:51.323-06:00

Mad Men is one of the few television shows I enjoy and possibly the only show my partner and I both love. I'm excited for the new season and have been indulging in media hype such as this problematically summarized compilation of video clips in The New York Times. Ah, the Motherlode column. By now I should know it's best to steer clear of this tinderbox unless I'm determined to ruin my own day,

the IUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076123232823791188noreply@blogger.com1