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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…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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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”

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Today I’m Struggling With…Other People’s Kids

I don’t like kids. There. I said it. I have never liked kids. I don’t even recall liking kids when I was a kid. I’m the youngest in my family. I never babysat. Until I had I had a child, I was never around babies for any extended amount of time.

To be clear: I love my kids. They are the bee’s knees. The cat’s pajamas. My world. But in no way does that obligate me to like other people’s kids, or as like to call them: OPP (Other People’s Progeny).

No. Actually, every interpretation of that acronym makes me uncomfortable.

Now that I’m a mom, I feel like I am expected to gush over everyone else’s kids, to find them endlessly charming simply because I have one (or two) of my own. And that’s just not the case. My coworkers have kids. They’re fine. My sister’s friends have kids. Cool. H has preschool friends. Neat. The case just remains, if I’m completely honest with myself, I don’t like kids.

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Today I’m Struggling With…Loneliness

I recently saw a friend whom I hadn’t seen in many years. She used to be my best friend and roommate, but life and my bad habit of losing touch had allowed us to drift apart. In the years since we’ve last spoken, we both have gotten married, I’ve had two kids, and now she’s pregnant with her first. When I was in her area, we got together and had breakfast with my family. The night before I was so nervous, because I realized I had nothing to talk about except my kids. I had no idea what else her and I had in common anymore. I feared to ask her the same dull, asinine questions that everyone asks pregnant women.

“How are feeling?”
“Are you nervous?”
“Have you picked any names?”

I hated having to answer these over and over when I was pregnant, but now I hated that I couldn’t think of anything better to say.

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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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Today I’m Struggling With…Potty Training

Let me start by saying that potty training my son took approximately six months, and I ended up in therapy before it was all said and done. SOOOO if you’re here because you’re at your wits end and have never been so frustrated in your entire life, well you’re in the right place. I can’t promise I’ll fix your issues, but maybe you can find a new approach and feel comforted by my commiseration.

Me, during potty training, month 5.

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