Today I’m Struggling With…Strollers: Keenz Stroller Wagon Review

Having a second child opened up a world of unknowns. Challenges we thought we had mastered as parents were new again, and we once again remembered how hard it was to do the simplest things. One of the first things we knew we would need was a double stroller. Our kids are three years apart, and while H can definitely walk for long stretches, we know that sometimes we would rather have him contained. We bought a Baby Trend Sit N Stand Ultra, and were pretty happy with it.

If you’re not new to the blog, you also know that we go to Disneyland a lot, and on one of our first trips with two kids, we saw a family with a Keenz Stroller Wagon. Curious, we looked it up and found that it was, as the name would suggest, a hybrid between a stroller and wagon. However, since we already had a double stroller, it seemed redundant, and we (stupidly) waited many months before coming back around and making a purchase that would end up being a total game-changer.

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Today I’m Struggling With…The Patriarchy

There isn’t enough time in the world for me to address all the issues I have with society and politics at the moment. If we’re being fair it’s not really “at the moment,” but “at every moment leading up to and including this one.” I am a strong, smart, educated woman, and I believe that gives me a responsibility to do what I can to make sure people who are not as privileged as I am have the same or more opportunities than I have.

The fact of the matter is, my future happiness depends on feminism smashing the patriarchy. I want to be independent. I want to have a job. I want to decide whether I become pregnant again. I want to vote. I want to control my money. I want to continue my education. I want my children, as well as every other man, woman, and child, to have the right to make these decisions for themselves as well.

Since I don’t think I could possibly catalog every systemic issue that patriarchy creates in society, I’ve decided to put on my parenting hat and focus on something that is a near-constant talking point in our house: consent.

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Today I’m Struggling With…Sappy Christmas Movies

Made-for-TV Christmas movies have a special place in my heart, because they were the proof that my mother had one. Don’t get me wrong, my mother is an incredibly caring and devoted person, but her Vulcan-like tendencies lead to me believe, falsely, that she was devoid of softer emotions. Then came the Hallmark Channel, and Lifetime, and ABC Family and the deluge of sappy movies that, surprisingly, my mom loved. As long as they were fairly free of Jesus propaganda, we watched them. ALL of them. And now that I’m a mom (with a lot of free time), I’ve been filling the days with hours of mushy Christmas joy.

Therefore, in the spirit of the season, I have taken it upon myself to review ten sappy Christmas movies currently available on either Netflix, Hulu, or Freeform (formerly ABC Family).

All of these movie were made for TV, revolve around the holidays (generally Christmas), and are the kind of mindless, emotional, feel-good shmaltz that we all need around the holidays. But viewer beware…not all sappy Christmas movies are created equal.  Continue reading “Today I’m Struggling With…Sappy Christmas Movies”

Today I’m Struggling With…Passing On Bad Habits

As I sit here, writing this post, I’m eating Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles (should be a sponsor, but they aren’t) and peppermint bark, because isn’t that a classic and classy combination? I’m drinking water, but that’s only because I’m too lazy to make coffee and I don’t have any Cherry Coke in the house. I guess what I’m trying to say is: I’m a mess.

You know what? Fuck you, Ramsay.

To be fair, I know I’m not as messy as some people. I don’t do drugs. I drink, but I don’t get drunk (nursing, and all). I have a job. I’m actually pretty good at adulting. But at times, I’m pretty indistinguishable from the teenagers that I teach. My son is starting to get to the age where I worry about him adopting some of my bad habits and guilty pleasures.

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Struggle Buddy: Today I’m Struggling With…The Fence

Hello! I’m Danielle. I married my high school sweetheart and have two amazing, wild young boys.

Today, I’m sitting on the fence. I’m blissfully kicking my legs back and forth, not making a decision to move forward or backward. I’m trying not to choose to even get off the fence on either side onto the green grass.

It’s a delicate process.

If you are a person in our society, at one point in time, you will be on this exact fence with me. It’s the “Should we have any/a/a second/a third/etc child(ren)?” fence. Continue reading “Struggle Buddy: Today I’m Struggling With…The Fence”

The Bechdel Test…For Moms

As part of my unit on Media Literacy that I teach to my high school students every year, I talk about gender representation and The Bechdel Test. For those of you that don’t know, there’s a detailed explanation of the test here, but essentially, a movie/tv show passes if:

  1. There are two, named female characters
  2. Who talk to each other
  3. About something other than a man

Seems like a low bar, huh? Yeah, well a surprising number of films don’t pass. Continue reading “The Bechdel Test…For Moms”

Struggle Helper: Pumpkin Spice Boobie Bites

So I’m not gonna try to hide the fact that I am a basic bitch. I love fall. I love flannels. I love buffalo plaid. I love Starbucks. And I love pumpkin spice. No shame!

Yes I am, Ru. Yes, I am.

I also have a baby that has decided to cluster feed overnight and my milk supply is struggling to catch up. So when I was about to stir up a batch of my favorite no-bake lactation cookies, I decided to put a pumpkin spice spin on the recipe.

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Special Struggle: Disneyland Resort

My family absolutely loves Disney and going to the Disneyland Resort. I’ve had an annual pass since I was 14, and since then I’ve made countless memories there. When I became a mom, I couldn’t wait to share the magic with my own kids. We took H for the first time when he was four months old, and G when she was just two months.

As amazing as it has been to experience it with them, it also adds a whole new level of logistical difficulty to the process. So I’ve decided to put together my top five tips for visiting the Disneyland Resort with kids.

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